Paleo Mug Cake

What do you do when you are hungry and there are limited snacks at home ?  Both - the hubby and I - were bored and hungry on Friday evening after dinner.  Yeah.. we get hungry a lot after dinner.  Just do not know why. We could have double serving of dinner and still feel hungry after.

The first thing that came into my mind was : Mug Cake. We have a to go  recipe (<=click) for mug cake and loved it. But it called for the use of almond butter and we do not have almond butter at home.

I decided to google for a recipe that uses ingredients which I have at home. First on google list was this recipe from Delighted mum. I was skeptical as it does not use baking soda at all !

Desperate for snack.. I decided to give it a try( with a few changes) which was a good decision because this cake is so easy and soooo sooo good.

We have since make it twice and I cannot resist the temptation to make it again after writing this post :)

My adapted version:
Ingredients :

• 3 tbs of almond meal
• 3 tbs of cocoa powder
• 2 tbs of honey ( more if you like it sweet)
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a microwave safe mug.
2. Microwave for 2 minute

~bel~

Pot Roast

 

I have always make my pot roast in the slow cooker and have been toying with the idea of making it on stove top or oven. The hubby and I decided to take yesterday off from running and this give me a perfect opportunity to try a recipe. 

I did a quick search on the internet and decided to try this recipe from Simply Recipe. It look simple enough with just some easy ingredients which we have at home. The only changed I made from the recipe was to substitute red wine with beef broth. I am sure this will taste much better with red wine.

The hubby gave a triple thumb up for this recipe and went for 2 big servings. Well, both of us polish off the whole pot roast.  The hubby last word was " you have to make this again".. so I guess this is really good. 

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 lb of beef shoulder or boneless chuck roast (look for a piece that is well marbled with fat for best results)
• 2 Tbsp olive or grapeseed oil
• Salt, pepper, italian seasoning to taste ( I use a blend of seasoning which the hubby make)
• 2 large yellow onions, thickly sliced, lengthwise (root to tip), about 4 cups sliced onion
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1/2 cup of red wine ( Iuse beef broth)
• 1 bay leaf
• Several carrots, peeled and cut lengthwise

 Directions
1 Use a thick-bottomed covered pot (oven-proof if you intend to cook in oven), such as a dutch oven, just large enough to hold roast and vegetables. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil on medium high heat (hot enough to sear the meat). Pat the roast dry with paper towels. Sprinkle and rub salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning all over the meat. Brown roast in pot, all over, several minutes on each side. Don't move the roast while a side is browning, or it won't brown well.


2 When roast is browned, remove from pan and set on a plate. Add the onions to the pan and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, until they begin to brown. Add the garlic and carrots to sit on top of the onions. Set the roast on top of the onions, garlic and carrots. Add 1/2 cup of red wine. Add the bay leaf.

3. Cover. Bring to simmer and then adjust the heat down to the lowest heat possible to maintain a low simmer when covered . If cooking in the oven, bring to a simmer first on the stovetop, then put in the oven, start the temp at 300°F for 15 minutes, then drop it to 225°F

3 Cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, or longer, until meat is tender.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

 

We have some weird weather the past week. It was hot and it was cold and wet. It was hot on Wednesday at 80 degree and it changed over night to thunderstorm on Thursday at high of 55 degree. Well.. it is probably not so cold if you come from east or north east. But this is Texas.. anything lower than 70 degree is Brrrrr for us :)

And yes.. it was brrr for us on Thursday. So I decided to make a beef stew to warm our soul. I found this recipe (<= click)  from Simply Recipe and adapted it to the ingredients I have at home. I love this recipe for the simple reason that it is not tomato based. I am not a fan of tomato based stew. The use of beer and beef broth with just 2 tablespoon of tomato base is perfect. The hubby agreed that this is a keeper. We have some leftover on Friday and it seems to taste even better. 

Ingredents ( My adapted version)

• 2 Tbspcoconut oil
• 2 pounds well marbled chuck beef roast, cut into 2-inch piece
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 pint (16 ounces) stout or any dark beer ( I use shiner bock)
• 3 cups beef broth
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2-3 potato and sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 3-4 teaspoons dried thyme
• Salt and pepper

Direction
1, Heat the coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in the oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the beef as it browns. Once browned on all sides, transfer the beef pieces into the slow cook

2 Add the onions and celery to the pan in which you just browned the beef. Sauté the onions and celery until they begin to brown at the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Cook for a minute or two, then add a little of the Guinness, enough to make it easier for you to scrape up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Transfer the celery and onions into the slow cooker.


3 Add the rest of the Guinness, the beef broth, carrots, potato and sweet potato, and thyme to the slow cooker. Add two teaspoons of salt. Cover and cook on "high" for 4 hours, or "low" for 8 hours. When done, add more salt to taste.

~bel~