Pigs, thank you for your ribs

Is that a disturbing title?  Seriously though, how good are ribs?!  My dad came across a rib recipe ages ago and that's the only recipe my mom will use.  Bull's-Eye BBQ sauce with oregano and thyme...really...how could you go wrong!?  I can smell the aroma and taste its goodness as I write this.  So after buying said bottle of Bull's-Eye, a challenge was presented to me NOT to use said bottle.  My husband is great about reminding me we're doing Paleo (as I laugh to myself).  Some days you want to be lazy and buy the bottle of BBQ sauce that uses molasses and salt and sugar.  (I still love you Bull's-Eye!)  So the hunt was on.  I came across a BBQ sauce recipe I thought sounded okay.  I mean, when you've had a dish the same way for YEARS, it's not a huge desire to change it up all of a sudden.  However, I wanted to treat my husband to a great Paleo rib, so I thanked God I had bought 2 ingredients the day before (which I needed in this recipe) and got to work.  I browned the ribs on medium high heat and then put them in a crock pot (my new favorite form of cooking - so easy!) with the sauce and let them go for an hour on high and then turned them down to low for about 4 hours.  By the end we had tasty ribs that were Paleo friendly.  Again, pigs, we thank you for your contribution to our yummy dinner!  You can find this recipe at www.sonofgrok.com.

SoG Zesty Barbecue Zauce

Ingredients:
- 1 6oz can tomato paste (preferable organic)
- 1 to 1.5 cups of beef stock (I made my own but if you buy, you want it without salt)
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- .5 of an onion
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) (I used regular olive oil)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (I used kosher salt)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder

Directions:
1. Dice your onions and garlic as fine as possible. You want your BBQ sauce a little chunky but the more fine you dice these, the better the flavor will spread through the entire sauce.
2. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Whether you use 1 cup or 1.5 cups of beef stock will depend on how thick you want your sauce.
3. Bring sauce to heat on stove with a low setting.
4. Cover and simmer. Stir frequently and taste regularly. The longer you simmer, the more consistent your flavor will be. I simmered for 20-30 minutes.
5. Enjoy!

Porkalicious

Oh pork.  You're delicious.  Especially you bacon.  I could eat you everyday.  I almost do.  Moving right along.  Tonight's dinner is Pork Tacos.  I absolutely love these tacos.  I found the recipe on recipezaar.com and until tonight, didn't even realize it's paleo friendly.  Now, these are seriously great with corn toritllas, sour cream, and cheese, but when you're trying to behave yourself on the paleo way of life, those things aren't necessarily acceptable.  To make up for my sweet dairy, I decided to buy some "veggie toppings".  You know, things like onion, jalapenos, tomatoes, cilantro, and avocado.  I tend to make a quick guac by combining the avocados with some garlic and onion powder and a quick squeeze of lime juice.  Joshah loves it!  Time for a yummy recipe...

1 pork shoulder roast (3-4 lbs)
1 yellow onion - diced
Zest of 1 orange
2-3 T cumin
1-2 T garlic powder
Light sprinkle of kosher salt (you can omit this if you're being hardcore...I like a tiny bit to bring out flavor)

Preheat oven to 375.  Cube pork shoulder into 1 inch cubes (remove as much visible fat as possible).  Toss into a bowl and add everything except onion.  Combine and pour into a 9X13 pan.  Sprinkle onions on top of meat.  Cover with foil.  Place in oven for 1 hour 30 minutes.  Every half hour, stir meat so it evenly cooks.  At the end of cooking time, remove foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and shred meat with forks (or whatever you find handy).  The paleo way would to be to serve these in romaine lettuce leaves with your favorite toppings.  So yummy and super simple.  Hope you enjoy!

My Paleo History

My sister was the one who introduced me to the Paleo diet.  When I heard about it, I thought she was crazy!  How could anyone not live with sour cream, pasta, and brownies?!  Never in a million years did I think I would do it.  However, after my husband heard about it, he expressed interest in it.  I'm a stay at home mom, so the idea of cooking 2 meals (one for my husband and one for my 3 chittlins and me) did not sound appeasing.  I thought about it long and hard and told my husband I would give it a try.  I wanted to be supportive of him and so our journey began.  We started January 3rd and I can only say we are going to keep eating the paleo way!  The results can't be beat.  I've lost weight.  I feel better.  My eczema has nearly cleared up.  Life is good.  

Now, believe me when I say there have been times when I've had a craving like nobody's business  Take for instance the time I craved cake for a good 4 days!  However, after having said cake, I got the worst headache in the world (I had been off all sugar for 2 weeks).  It's amazing what different types of food can do to your body, in a destructive way.  All this to say, I hope you enjoy some of the recipes I'll be posting.  I've scoured the web for recipes and have been impressed with almost all the ones I've tried.  Those will be the ones I post.  No point in having you try paleo only to be disappointed.  Beth, I hope you can figure out what's for dinner through this blog! :)