Garlic Rosemary Shrimp & Paleo Cocktail Sauce (made without ketchup!)

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Shrimp with cocktail sauce is not something I ate growing up. The entire category of shellfish was on my short list of foods that sucked, right there next to tomatoes, ketchup, asparagus, and carrots. I have only a few memories of actually eating shellfish as a kid, and most of them include my dad sneaking tiny shrimp into stews to see if I could detect them. 

Clearly, I just didn't understand that shrimp, roasted and tossed with garlic and rosemary is a gift from the sea. (I eventually learned to like everything on that list, aside from ketchup--ugh!).

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I've also learned to appreciate a really good cocktail sauce. One that's zesty. One that actually makes the shrimp taste better, instead of masking it. On that does not include--you guessed it-ketchup. Instead it's made with real tomatoes, horseradish, and garlic. A bit of cayenne, and some lemon juice to round it out. When you start putting real ingredients in cocktail sauce, it actually becomes a power food! Did you know that horseradish is considered a cruciferous vegetable? With molecules called glucosinolates, it's been show to help fight cancer. Horseradish has ten times more glucosinlates than broccoli... So dig in already! 

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The beauty of this recipe is it's flexibility. Sensitive tastebuds? Hold the cayenne. Timid when it comes to garlic? Add a little, taste it, and add some more. It's easy to take this recipe and turn it into you own signature sauce concoction.

Garlic Rosemary Shrimp & Paleo Cocktail Sauce (made without ketchup!)

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

More shrimp! Less ketchup.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the Shrimp:
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the Cocktail Sauce:
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 to 1 ounce piece of fresh horseradish
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss the shrimp with the melted oil, minced garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Spread the shrimp out on a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, until shrimp are pink and cooked through.
2. While shrimp cooks, prepare sauce: If you are using a high speed blender, add all of the ingredients and puree until smooth. If you are using a standard blender or food processor, mince the garlic and shred the horseradish with a microplane and then whisk all of the ingredients until combined.
3. Serve shrimp warm on a platter alongside a bowl of sauce.

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Slow Cooker Pork Chile Verde

Update: This recipe was updated with new photos on 11/16/2017. I also simplified the instructions. This new version is a bit saucier, which I love, but if you prefer less sauce in your chile verde, use 4 tomatillos and 1 can of green chiles. 

Green chile is one of my long-time favorites. Pork green chile, chicken green chile, green chile migas. I love it. Always have. probably always will. 

What's more it can be made in a slow cooker very easily. Usually when the days get shorter I get busier: work ramps up at the office, and the early sunsets make me feel tired earlier. There seems to be less time, in general. Which means the slow cooker gets a lot of mileage! At least, when I can get my act together and start it. 

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It turns out, Chile Verde is considered a "Colorado Favorite" by tourists. Who knew?! I was just scooping the stuff into my mouth as fast as I could and had no idea I was fulfilling such a Coloradan stereotype. I guess what they say is true.  

A tip from a Chile Verde vet, if I may: serve it with a Margarita on the side. 😋

Other things that add to the experience: sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, fresh cilantro. You can even add diced up bacon to the recipe while it cooks (brown it first). YUM! You can also stir in 12 ounces of white beans, or add 2 cups of diced potatoes while it cooks. Basically, the possibilities are endless and once you start customizing your chile verde, you'll be hooked like all of us here in Colorado! Or, at least, this one person over here in Colorado. 😏

Looking for a dessert with enough tex-mex flare to follow this dinner? Try this raw, paleo Margarita Pie. 

Slow Cooker Pork Chile Verde

Published September 6, 2014 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Total Time: 8-9 hours

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Ingredients:

• 8 medium sized tomatillos
• 4 cloves garlic 
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• 2 six-ounce cans hatch green chiles (I use hot, but mild is fine if you prefer!)
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Optional: Dash of ground cayenne pepper
• 1 pound cubed pork shoulder
• 3 cups chicken broth
• For serving (optional): minced cilantro, sliced jalapeños or other chiles, minced red onion, sliced avocado, shredded cheese, and/or sour cream. 

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 475°F. Peel the papery outer skins from the tomatillos, wash them, and slice them in half. Cut the onion onto 4 to 6 large slices. Arrange them all on a sheet pan along with the cloves or garlic. Brush with 1 tablespoon avocado oil, and place in oven. Roast until the tops of the tomatillos are browned, 10-15 minutes.
2. Add roasted vegetables, canned green chiles, cilantro, lime, spices (cumin, coriander, oregano, and optional cayenne), salt, and pepper to blender, and puree to make the Roasted Tomatillo Sauce. Mixture should be similar to a less chunky salsa.
3. Now, add pork, roasted tomatillo sauce, and broth to your slow cooker.* Set to medium heat and cook for 8-9 hours.  Serve hot and top with preferred garnishes. 
4. *Optional step would be to brown the pork in a skillet or the bottom of your slow cooker before adding the sauce and broth. This enhances the flavor of the meat. 

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Paleo & Primal Swedish Meatballs in Mushroom Gravy

Update 1/3/2018: I refreshed this recipe with new photography, and have also updated the recipe a tiny bit to give you the option of making dairy-free gravy or gravy made with milk/cream. It is fabulous with cream, though the original recipe called for almond milk.

After a couple of thunder and hail storms, it has finally cooled off here. We escaped to Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday, and I found myself wishing for a sweater and a mug of hot coffee. We were lucky enough to get up close and personal with an Elk! But, these cooler temperatures mean that I am finally in the mood to talk about warm food again. So here we go: Paleo Swedish Meatballs.

When you Google the origins of Swedish Meatballs, you don't find much in the way of answers. What you do find is a lot of people talking about IKEA, and how they've discovered the furniture store's famous recipe. In truth, I've never stepped foot into an IKEA, and so when I hear this I furrow my brow and wonder how a furniture store ended up so famous for beef and gravy. Anyone with me? (Update, 6/28/2017: I have now visited IKEA once. I love it and hate it at the same time. I hate it because I hate shopping. I love it because there are so many solutions in once place!)

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Since I haven't tried IKEA's meatballs, I can't weigh in on their flavor. My own memories of Swedish Meatballs don't make much more sense, anyways: they include a lot of Costco and have nothing to do with Sweden. This is why I found myself searching for answers. Why are they Swedish? While I consider myself a perfectly competent Google-maneuverer, I can't say I came back with many answers. It does seem that in some parts of Sweden, some meatballs are served in gravy. Unlike French Fries, maybe Swedish Meatballs do have an origin-appropriate name. I never really got to the bottom of the issue, because at that point I just gave in and decided it was time to eat. Maybe that's what French Fries and Swedish Meatballs have in common: they're just too dang delicious for anyone to really care what they're named. 

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Serve them over a pile of spaghetti squash or on toothpicks as an appetizer. Swedish or not, there's something about gravy that just hits the spot.  

Paleo Swedish Meatballs in Mushroom Gravy

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free   |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Better than IKEA.

Yields: 25 meatballs   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the meatballs:
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 white onion, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoon parsley, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

For the gravy:
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup bone broth
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (corn starch will also work)
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1 cup almond milk, coconut milk, OR whole milk (Pro tip: for extra creamy gravy, try 1/2 cup half-and-half, 1/2 cup whole milk)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Place the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl, aside from the coconut oil. Thoroughly mix the meat until all of the ingredients are combined.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Form 1-inch balls with the meat mixture, and when the oil is hot, placing the meatballs in the skillet. (I did this in two batches). Cook the meatballs until they are a deep brown on the bottom, and turn them, cooking the opposite side until brown. Remove cooked meatballs from skillet and set aside.
3. For gravy: Using the same skillet that had the meatballs (the meatball drippings should still be in the skillet), sauteé the mushrooms, stirring occassionally.
4. Once the mushroom have a nice sear, turn the heat to medium and pour the broth into the pan. Scrape the pan to get the flavor of the meatballs incorporated into the gravy. The broth should begin to simmer.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the arrowroot powder into 1 tablespoon cold water. Add the mixture to the skillet. Pour in milk or choice, and add the salt and pepper. Allow the gravy to simmer for at least 5 more minutes, until it begins to thicken. Add the meatballs back in. Cook for 1-2 more minutes, coaking each meatball in gravy.
6. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot. Great on their own as an appetizer but a good main dish when served also good over spaghetti squash.

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