Beef and Cauliflower Soup

We have been trying to follow a Paleo/Primal diet for a while. It started when our first daughter and I had a stubborn case of thrush and a holistic nutritionist I met said that dietary changes were the only way we were going to kick it for good. We have fallen off the wagon several times, but we notice that we feel better when we cut back on grains and other starchy foods.

Well with a new baby at home, I was very focused on quick easy meals that our toddler would eat with us. We relied on pasta more than I'd like to admit, and the times that we did get the paleo style meals I hoped for, it was pretty boring. Everything was pan fried or steamed because I didn't want to turn the oven  on during the Phoenix summer, and not much seasoning. Just some type of meat or fish and two vegetables and repeat.

I happened on The 30 Day Guide to Paleo Cooking by Hayley Mason and Bill Staley at the library. We started cooking our way through it and really enjoyed it. It includes meal plans and shopping lists which I love (I've always been a sucker for those), and the food tastes great. My one complaint is that I don't like the mix of meals. We are talking about cooking our way through it again, but I think I will rewrite the meal plans and shopping lists so that you don't end up with a bunch of beef one week, lots of fish the next, or lots of greens followed by only white and yellow veggies, etc. I'll be sure to share my rewritten meal plans and shopping lists with you.

One of the recipes we recently tried was for Bison Stew. We had to use beef because our Meat Shop didn't have any bison stew meat. The results were delicious. I love the combination of beef broth and cauliflower. It tastes so rich and decadent. Yum!

Beef and Cauliflower Soup (based on The Food Lovers Kitchen)

2 lbs. beef stew meat
1 T coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
6 cups of beef broth
3 sprigs of thyme
3 sprigs of rosemary
1 head of cauliflower, broken into small florets
fermented sauerkraut
salt and pepper to taste

Brown the meat in the coconut oil in a large Dutch oven. Remove the meat from the pan. Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the meat and broth to the pot.  Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 5-6 hours, adding the cauliflower for the last hour of cooking. Top with sauerkraut and serve.

This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday, Full Plate Thursday and Frugal Food Thursday.

Onion Soup

I came down with a terrible cold and cough a couple of weeks ago. My weakened pregnant immune system has taken a long time to get back to 100%. I tried every home remedy in the book including inhaling steam, hot water with lemon and honey, the wet sock treatment and more. My mom suggested making some onion soup. She swears by it for helping loosen up the congestion. I wouldn't say it was a miraculous cure, but I think it helped. The best thing is that it is easy to make which is perfect for when you are feeling under the weather.

Heat a dutch over or heavy bottomed pot, and add butter and oil. Once melted add the sliced onions.

Cook the onions until tender, and add beef broth, thyme and bay leaf.

Simmer the soup until it reaches the desired texture. Serve with buttered toast points.

Onion Soup
2 T butter
2 T coconut oil
2 lbs. onions, sliced
4 C beef broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 t. of thyme

Heat up a cast iron dutch oven or heavy bottom pot and add the butter and oil. Once melted, add the onions and cook until soft (about 15 minutes). Add the broth, bay leaf and thyme and simmer until the soup reaches the desired consistency (about 30-60 minutes). Serve with buttered toast points.

This post is part of Pennywise Platter Thursday and SoupaPalooza. Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored byKitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset