Happy Holidays beautiful followers!
It's been a few days since we spent some time together and I'm so excited for this post. Namely because I have some amazing recipes to share with you! We also did some decorating yesterday and the tree is looking beautiful. Now to shop and get some presents underneath it! I love the holidays!
Saturday, I made baked chicken breasts so I'd have leftovers for the week. They were my best yet and they were super easy. I have a new rule of thumb when it comes to baking chicken breasts thanks to this recipe. I read somewhere that you should always bake them at 350 for 30 minutes and they'll come out juicy and perfect every time. They did! I pounded 4 chicken breasts (trust me, use wax paper so you don't spray your kitchen with flying juices- eew), dusted them with curry powder and salt and pepper. After they were done I tossed some broccoli in olive oil, black pepper and a dash of balsamic vinegar and baked it at 400 for about 15 minutes on a cookie sheet with foil. Make sure you save your broccoli stems for PaleOMG's Broccoli Fritters- like WHOA..... Lastly, I cut up some cucumbers and gave them a bath in about a tablespoon of rice vinegar and salt and pepper (Jeremy LOVES this cucumber salad).
Monday I made Paleo Pizza which was amazing as usual. I have the recipe in 11.10's post. I didn't modify anything with the dough because it was so darn good the first time! This time I added some leftover chicken breast as the main meat.
Tuesday I made buffalo bacon burgers sin bun. I experimented a bit an tried doing them without eggs because I read on a website that buffalo burgers are better without egg or flour of any kind. So I just added onions and a few spices and made them into patties. They turned out great although I think the egg really does help them stay together. I also cut up some beautiful heirloom tomatoes, 1/2 an avocado and prepped some nice large pieces of Romaine lettuce (for the bun). I'll take more pics of this next time, Jen says I need to 
And then there was Wednesday--- like you don't even understand the amazingness of my Carnitas!!! I read about 30 different recipes and couldn't decide which one was the best so I made my own! This took forever to make and was a lot of effort but it was worth every second, food of love. Here goes:
3-4 lb. pork butt
1 orange
4 bay leaves
2 tbsp corriander
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 quart organic beef or chicken broth
4 dried adobo peppers
1 large white onion
On Tuesday, this stuff all goes into the slow cooker. I started mine on Tuesday night at about 8, set it for 10 hours (low) and then set it for another 6 hours (medium low) when I woke up in the morning. Keep in mind this is just a braising liquid and you can add a variety of other ingredients. Do some research on Carnitas before you make them. And if I had a dutch oven- I would have gone a totally different direction. To be clear this is the slow cooker to the lard bath method (mmmm lard).
On Wednesday, prep your garnishes. Get your corn tortillas ready (Not Paleo, but I spent over 24 hours on this dish, I decided to indulge, you can also use butter lettuce), avocado, red onion, jalapenos, salsa verde, raw Cojita cheese (optional), limes and cilantro. You can add cabbage or tomatoes too, I kept it simple with the most authentic add ons.
Next is the fry step. Use about 4lbs. of lard. I got some from my butcher, they render it themselves. If you want to render your own lard, click here. Place the lard in a big stock pot on low heat and allow it to melt. Check the temp and heat the lard to 350. This is very important, if it's too hot you'll have REALLY crunchy pork. If it's too cool, the pork will just soak up the fat, not yummy. Place small batches in the pot and give them about 30-45 seconds per. You can gauge pretty easily by keeping a close eye, a spatter screen is helpful too.
Pull the pork out, get 2 forks and get to forkin! Pull apart the meat-envision how big the chunks would be if God himself made the perfect taco.
I also wanted to update and show you the Carnitas scramble I made with the leftovers!! Dice some onion, cilantro and bell pep and throw them in the pan with about a cup of meat. Whisk 5 eggs (for 2 people) and pour them over the ingredients. Cook on medium low heat for about 5 minutes without flipping- then give them a flip/fold. Top with salsa and cilantro, enjoy!
WOD 11/21-
WU-Cardo, mobility, core (back squat, deadlift, front squat, thruster, OH squat) 2x10
Challenge- 20 minute AMRAP (60 jump rope, 20 sit ups, 20 pushups 20 body weight rows, 20 kettlebell swings)
Challenge- MAX pullups 1 minute.
WOD 11/22- Challenge: Burpees over strap, box jumps, squat jumps, pullups, jump rope/tucks (1 minute each, 15 second transitions, 3 rounds)
WOD 11/24: Run/Walk with Jeremy (down APS, up Sycamore canyon, back down Salinas to the truck)
WOD 11/25: Ran around on the beach with friends and dog.
Lots of Love and Happy Holidays!
Live to Thrive,
Lauren
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11/22 – tricep dips and jump squats! YIKES!! That was a crazy one! Did you try Casey’s Turkey Trimmer workout?
Can’t wait to see you next week!
You’re amazing! How do you manage to do it all?
Thanks Ivar! I do what I love and love what I do!