Hearty Stovetop Chili

It may come as a surprise, but Heather and I are huge fans of chili.  Even in the peak of summer, it's likely that we have plans to make chili, are making chili, or are eating leftover chili.  Our recipe has always relied on cooking up the meat, onions, and peppers in a skillet, transferring that to a crock pot with salsa and diced tomatoes, and then cooking it overnight or all day.  While this makes a great chili, we wanted to attempt something in one pot, and done in under an hour.  This worked out quite well, and I think this may be my preferred method of making chili.  We also experimented with a faux-corn bread, which is so close to being ready.  We will link to it as soon as it's perfected.

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef

2 chorizo chicken sausages

4 slices of bacon

1 and 3/4 cup bell pepper slices
1 onion, diced

8 cloves of garlic

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chills

1 16 oz jar of chipotle salsa

1 8-oz can of tomato paste

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp chipotle pepper

1 tsp smoked paprika

Method

Place bacon and crushed garlic in dutch oven over medium heat until both bacon and garlic are fragrant (approximately 3-4 minutes).

Add in ground beef and stir frequently to brown on all sides.

Add in onion, jalapeño, bell pepper, and chorizo.  Mix in and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Add in salsa, diced tomatoes with green chilis, and spices.  Simmer covered for 15 minutes.

Add in tomato paste, and mix thoroughly.  Simmer an additional 5 minutes uncovered.

Enjoy this fantastic chili.  It's got great flavor and is not an all-day endeavor.  Keep an eye out for when I have the faux-corn bread figured out because it's an amazing companion to this chili.  Right now it's just not quite there.  Soon.  

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Jalapeño-Lime Skirt Steak with Bell Peppers and Onions

This recipe was a quick to put together; we marinated the skirt steak, seared it on our cast iron skillet, and then threw it in the oven in our awesome new cookware.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Juice of 2 limes

3 cloves of garlic, pressed

1 jalapeño, diced

1 skirt steak

1/2 large onion, halved and sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, sliced

1 medium green bell pepper, sliced 

Method

Place steak in a large zip lock bag.  Add coconut oil, sea salt, black pepper, lime juice, garlic, and jalapeño to the bag for the marinade.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes in the marinade.  We placed our steak in the refrigerator, which solidified the coconut oil; it might be better to leave it on the counter for this time.

Put the cast iron on the stove and preheat to medium-high heat and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side.  First things first you should also set the oven temperature to 350ºF.  We let the steak rest for a few minutes while preparing the onion, jalapeño, and bell pepper.

Place the skirt steak into the oven and cook for 30 minutes.  We took the skirt steak out when the internal temperature hit 135ºF.

Slice the steak and serve over the vegetables.  Enjoy!  And while you're here, don't forget to check out our give away of Diane Sanfilippo's Balanced Bites here!

Bacon & Sweet Potato Jalapeño Boats

This was an experiment that Heather and I have been tossing up back and forth for about two weeks now.  We weren't sure exactly how to execute it, but we finally pulled the trigger yesterday morning when we decided we were going to attend our first meat-up hosted by Stacy and Matt, of Paleo Parents fame.  We have lived in this area for some time and always had or found an excuse to not go, but it was absolutely amazing!  We also spent some time chatting with The Domestic Man.  Both of these blogs are great resources, if you're not already aware of them.

If you are in the Northern Virginia area, I highly suggest you attend. If not, try to get together with friends monthly--the positive reinforcement and social gathering is very powerful. 

Potent Primal BBQ Sauce

If you haven't discovered Stubb's BBQ sauce, you are missing out. It's the cleanest, tastiest stuff on the market. Yes--I did just say tastiest--and coming from a former Sweet Baby Ray's-enthusiast, that's A LOT.

However, Stubb's is not Whole30 approved. In fact, we've not seen a Whole30-friendly BBQ sauce at any store, any time, any where. So, we make our own during Whole30 challenges, and this time, I think we made a good one. :)

Why do we love this sauce so much? Well, it's got bold tomato flavor, the natural sweetness of which is subtle but delightful. Then there's the slightly smokey, lingering heat from the roasted jalapeño and spices. Finally, it has a great tangy bite from the garlic, mustard, and lime juice. 

Warning: This sauce is not for the faint of heart. If you don't like spice or heat, don't bother reading the rest of this post. You're wasting your time.

Just kidding! You could easily modify this to suit your tastes, whether you like more kick or less in your sauce. (Follow the recipe below, and then water it down a smidgen with chicken broth or amp up the heat with more spices once you've tasted it.)

Potent Primal BBQ Sauce