Naked Pulled Pork

I say "naked" because, it's without any BBQ Sauce ...

And surprise, THIS time, Hubby ate it and said it was pretty damn good. Yeah, he said that about the green beans too ... maybe his back pain was just making him super complacent?

What surprises me more than anything is that this humble hunk of pork can be transformed into something so freakin' simple with just a few ingredients ...

3 to 5 pound pork roast (I used a boneless pork butt this last time which makes me wonder, how is it boneless??)
1 tsp himalayan salt (the pink stuff)
half bottle of liquid smoke
1/2 cup water

Grab your crockpot.

Usually, I trim some of the fat, but this last time I didn't. So I guess it works either way ;-) Trim or not, it's up to you!

Grab a tsp or so of salt and sprinkle it all over everything and then massage the butt . Not a lot, you don't want anyone to give you funny looks, you know?

Toss that bad boy in your crock pot, fat side up.

Add your half bottle of liquid smoke all around and over the top,

Pour in the 1/2 cup water around the sides.

Put the lid on the crockpot.  Set on low for 10 hours or more.

Now. 10 hours could be fine. I've had times where it's a big bone in hunk of meat and it takes 16 hours ... you want the meat to basically fall apart when you stab it with a fork.

Once cooked, pull out of the crockpot and let it cool a little until you can touch.

Once it's cooled enough, pull it apart, making sure to pull the slimy fatty stuff and discard that.

Go ahead, take a taste. I think you will be surprised! If you feel it's a little dry, add a little of the juice from the crockpot and add that to the meat.

Go ahead and serve this up with a side of green beans or whatever else you'd like ... no need for a bun or bbq sauce which makes this a family friendly Whole30 meal!

Enjoy!

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Whole30 Crockpot Pot Roast

Ok, so we all know that Whole30 is simply about veggies and protein ... no sugar, no grains, no dairy, yada yada yada.

Then tell me THIS:

Why is it so hard sometimes to find something to eat?? 

Explain that to me, please?

I see you out there nodding your head in agreement.

The last time I was at Wally-World shopping, I came across some marked down beef. You know me, I'm all about a bargain (hence my Alter Ego, Frugal in Florida) so I scooped up this roast for $9.99.  Not the 'best' price in town, but certainly a lot cheaper than some of the other stores around.  Does anyone else remember when this stuff was like, $1.99 on a fairly consistent basis?

I had picked this hunk of beef up to make a batch of Mexican Beef but I think Hubby is getting burned out on that so I opted for Pot Roast instead on a fine Sunday morning. Because, you know, if you want to use the crockpot, you best get started early in the morning!

It's a simple recipe ...

1 hunk of beef. This was 2 1/2 pounds. I would have preferred a larger roast but it's what I had
1/2 carton (or 16 ounces) Beef Broth (read your labels! Kitchen Basic, no salt is compliant from what I can see)
2 onions, cut in half and quartered
2 stalks celery, cut in chunks (I omitted the 2nd time making this, totally optional)
handful of baby carrots
salt & pepper (or a seasoning concoction of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder)
3 bay leaves
a sprinkle of thyme

Drop the onions and celery in the bottom of the crock. Aw, what the heck, toss in the carrots too. First time I added carrots to the top and don't recommend that!

Add the hunk of beef to that and season well with the salt and pepper or spice mix.  Pour the broth around the edge of the beef, drop in the thyme and bay leaves to the liquid.

Place the lid on the crock pot and set on high for 6 hours or so.

Once the beef is cooked, remove from the crockpot. IF you want to make a thicker gravy, pour the juice in to a sauce pan and heat on high heat. Make a mixture of 2 tbs arrowroot powder and 2 tbs water, mix well. Once the liquid is boiling, pour in half of the arrowroot mixture and stir til thickened.

Serve up with a side of smashed potatoes or riced cauliflower and call it a meal!

Enjoy!

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Mexican Beef in the Instant Pot

We've been using the InstantPot a little more lately because it's QUICK and doesn't heat up the kitchen!

I mean, seriously, what other reason do you need?

Yup, lunch at my desk was pretty exciting! I had this with riced 

cauliflower and green beans ... yummm

So ... this recipe comes from Nom Nom Paleo ... same place That Damn Fine Chicken came from ... and a few other recipes to be shared very very soon as well!

Anyway.

I'm waiting for the beef to go on sale, or for when I can finally make a quick trip to Costco to pick it up cheaper as beef is just expensive lately! The protein alone on this one cost me $17 or so ... and no, it was not grass fed, groomed, petted or anything else special like that. It was just Publix. Luckily, I used a $5 off $40 coupon, but still ...

Ok, lets get to the recipe, shall we?

TIP: 

Make this a DAY BEFORE you want to eat it, honestly! It's so much better the next day! I was in heaven at lunch for 2 days with this at the office ... yummmm

2 1/2 pounds of beef - I used a chuck roast but you can use brisket, boneless short ribs, flank, etc.
1 tbs chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs ghee
2 onions, cut in half and sliced thin (I used a red and a yellow)
1 tbs tomato paste (freeze the rest in a small ziploc!)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 tsp fish sauce
dash of black pepper
cilantro

Cut yo' beef in to cubes, like 1 1/2 inch cubes. Seriously. Does ANYONE measure their cubes? I just cut mine in to a little bigger than a generous bite size ;-)  Toss the beef in a large bowl and season with the chili powder and salt.

Turn the InstantPot on Saute and add the ghee and onions and saute til just soft. Add the tomato paste and garlic, give a quick stir and cook til just fragrant. Uhm, I LOVE the smell of garlic and onions cooking!

Add in the beef, tomatoes, broth and fish sauce. Cover and lock the lid in place, making sure the vent is CLOSED.

Press the keep warm button (to turn saute off) and then press the "meat" button which sets the time at 35 minutes.

Go find something to do for 35 minutes. Wash dishes. Watch the news. Blog. Browse Pinterest. Stalk the kids on Facebook.

After 35 minutes are up and you hear the InstantPot beep, you can either press the warm button to turn off the pot and let it release naturally, OR you can leave it as is and let it stay on warm and release naturally. Whichever way you go, just don't do a quick pressure release (where you hit the vent open!).

Pull the beef out and add a little bit of the juice to the dish with the beef.

Serve this up with some riced cauliflower or over some zucchini noodles and garnish with cilantro if that's your thing!

Enjoy!

TIP: If you have leftovers, you can certainly freeze this either in a dinner size portion OR individual portions for later in the month of your Whole 30!  I'm looking forward to making this in September, 2016!

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)