Slow cooked, one-pot meals are simply the best. Fresh ingredients, a variety of vibrant colors, and that slow-building aroma that fills the house all day long?? It’s priceless!

My Chicken No-Noodle Soup is a great weekend favorite of ours. Start it in the morning, and feel free to let it simmer super low all day long (though it can be ready in as fast as about 3 hours, including prep time). Or, more my style these days – start it at 7pm and treat yourself to a hot “tasters” cup around 10pm… it’s better than a hot toddy before bed!

If you have kids, this would be a fabulous recipe (the soup  - not a hot toddy) to cook with the whole family.

Here’s my idea…

I’ve heard that including your young ones (even toddlers) into the cooking process greatly increases food and nutrition awareness. Start with the grocery shopping – bring the kids and let them pick out the greenest celery, the most crooked looking carrots, and so on with all the ingredients. Teach them to look for local and organic, if available.

Once home, let the rotisserie chickens cool down to room temperature. (You can also cook the chicken yourself – I just prefer this version because it speeds things up a bit). Get the whole family around to help tear the meat off the carcass. It’s a completely messy, greasy, hands-on project that’s actually really fun. (And you can snack on some of the tasty chicken as you work.)

Have someone with good motor skills take care of the veggie chopping and straining (details below), and let everyone participate as you add ingredients into the soup pot. It’s a labor of love, and I guarantee that you’ll have a home full of eager eaters when the soup’s done simmerin’!

Ingredients:

• 2 Rotisserie Chickens
• 3 Quarts Vegetable Broth
• 1 Yellow Onion, halved
• 1 large bunch of Carrots (or 4 large Carrots), thinly sliced
• 1 large bunch of Celery, thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoon Thyme (fresh or dried)
• 1 Tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning (or similar seafood seasoning)
• 1.5 Tablespoons Sea Salt (use none, more, or less as desired)

Instructions:

• Have two large bowls and two large pots available.
• Separate the chicken meat from the carcass by tearing it apart using your hands.
• Place the torn edible meat pieces into Bowl #1, and the chicken bones, skin, and other spare parts into Bowl #2.

• On the stove top, have a large pot on medium heat. Place the chicken spare parts from Bowl #2 (all of them!) into the pot. Add the onion (peeled and cut in half), and the 3 quarts of vegetable broth.

• Allow this to heat up to a boil (may take 20 minutes or so). Once boiling, place the lid on the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 hour.
• Chop your celery and carrots into thin slices. If the slices are too thick, no worries, the soup will just take longer to make (you can taste them as you go).

• After your chicken soup stock has simmered for one hour, strain all contents of that pot over another empty large pot (using a colander) so that all that remains is the broth. Go ahead and toss the strained parts, they’ve done their job!

• Place the second large pot containing your soup broth onto the stove top.
• Add the torn chicken meat, sliced carrots and celery, thyme, old bay seasoning, and sea salt. Gently mix everything around using a ladle or wooden spoon. Should look something like this:

• Place the lid on the pot and simmer for 1 hour.
• Serve. Eat (careful – it will be HOT). Enjoy!
• When done, store in smaller airtight containers and store in the fridge. The soup will stay good in the fridge for a few days, but you can also freeze extras to pull out and heat up later :)

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE FOR CHICKEN NO-NOODLE SOUP!

I’ve scheduled this post for this morning hoping some of you will be inspired to make this recipe this weekend. If so, please share your experience! I would love to hear how it goes!

Asparagus is a delicious, easy veggie and the fern-colored spears add a touch of elegance alongside any of your favorite proteins. I consider this little treasure of a recipe our “A-List Asparagus” because the simple addition of nutmeg and lemon elevates it to a superstar status. You could invite Robert Downey Jr. (or your A-List star of choice) over and feel proud serving this dish. I love that it’s still super easy, so as not to frazzle you while under the stress of entertaining such stardom.

We thank a recent episode of Alton Brown’s show, Good Eats, for the flavor inspiration.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh Asparagus
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter (we suggest butter from grass-fed cows, such as Kerrygold Butter)*
• Sea Salt (to taste)
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
• ½ Teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg (pre-ground is okay, but give the fresh a try if you can)
• 1 whole lemon, zested

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 415 degrees.
• Break off the bottom ends of the Asparagus spears (about an inch or so will naturally break). Discard the ends.
• Coat Asparagus spears with the melted butter.
• Sprinkle with Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black pepper, to taste.
• Roast on a baking sheet for 12 minutes (for medium-sized spears – time may vary based on thickness).
• Once the spears are roasted, remove them from the oven and freshly grate the nutmeg over the top (you can use a fine-grate zester for this).

• Next, use the same zester to zest your lemon over the top of the asparagus.

• Gently toss the Asparagus a bit more to even out the lemon and nutmeg flavors.
• Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE OF A-LIST ASPARAGUS.

So… our slow cooker died recently, which was indeed a tragedy, but also the perfect excuse to dust off our Dutch Oven we’d purchased awhile back. Slow-roasting something in the oven is just slightly different from using a countertop slow cooker, so I thought I’d share our favorite Dutch Oven Pot Roast recipe with you. Now you have a variety ways to cook pot roast under your belt!

We discovered this recipe from the well-known Pioneer Woman. Thank you, Ree!

Ingredients:

• 1 whole Chuck Roast (grass-fed beef is always recommended!)
• Cooking Oil of your choice – enough to coat the pan (we used bacon grease)
• 2 Whole Onions, halved
• Sea Salt, to taste
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste
• 1 Cup Beef Broth
• an additional 3 Cups Beef Broth
• 3 sprigs fresh Thyme
• 3 sprigs fresh Rosemary

Instructions:

• Choose a nicely marbled piece of meat for maximum flavor.
• Preheat your oven to 275.
• Generously salt and pepper your Chuck Roast on all sides. Don’t be shy.
• Heat your Dutch Oven (an oven-safe & stovetop-safe large pot) to medium-high heat. Once heated, add your cooking oil (about 3 tablespoons or so).
• Add your halved onions and brown them on each side for 1-2 minutes per side.
• Remove your onions from the pot and set aside. Add more cooking grease if needed.
• Add your salted, peppered roast to the pan and brown on all sides – again, 1-2 minutes per side.
• Keeping the heat on, remove the roast from the pan and set it aside.
• Add 1 cup of the beef broth (you can also use red wine, if you’d like) to deglaze the pan. Use a wooden spoon or whisk to scrape the meat and onion bits off that are stuck to the bottom (these will add awesome flavor to your roast!).
• Turn the stovetop heat off.  Add the roast back to the pan, and add enough beef broth to cover the meat about halfway (this is about 3 more cups of beef broth for a 2.5-3lb roast).
• Add the browned onion halves and sprigs of thyme and rosemary to the pot.
• Place the lid on the pot, and roast in the oven for 3 hours (for a 3lb roast). Roast around 4 hours for a 4-5lb roast.
• Serve. Eat. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE FOR DUTCH OVEN POT ROAST!

One of the things we have missed most from our past life involving processed food is Caesar Salad. It seemed that only great-tasting caesar dressings existed in restaurants or bottles on the grocery store shelf. Inspired this past Thanksgiving to track down a delicious home-made recipe (quality control, you know), Jake found one that was a hit for us and all his family too. It involved coddling an egg, which was a term I’d never heard before, and a few other not-too-scary ingredients and techniques. It’s a fun one to make with someone as well – perhaps the perfect pairing to my Date Night Pizza!

So, without further ado, I am honored to introduce you to… (drumroll please)… CAESARLICIOUS:

Ingredients:

• 1 large Egg (farm-fresh if you can get one!)
• 1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 Tablespoons fresh Lemon juice
• 1 medium Garlic clove, crushed
• 1 pinch Sea Salt
• ½ Teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Capers
• 1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
• 1/3 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 medium heads of romaine lettuce hearts

If you desire, also include

• 1.5 teaspoons anchovy paste or 4 flat anchovies*

Instructions:

• Bring a pot of boiling water to a boil, add the egg and cook for ONLY 45 SECONDS (coddling the egg). Remove from heat and let it cool off.
• Combine the Worcestershire sauce, Lemon juice, crushed Garlic, Sea Salt, Fresh Ground Black Pepper, Dijon Mustard, Capers and Anchovies (if you wish) in a bowl.

• Crack the coddled egg and add to these ingredients.
  

  coddling the egg cooks the whites just a touch - should look like this

• Whisk until smooth.
• SLOWLY add the olive oil to the bowl in a steady stream while constantly whisking again until smooth. If you add the oil too quickly, the dressing will be separate and will not emulsify.
• Tear the Romaine hearts into 1-2 inch pieces and place in your salad bowl. Add dressing, toss, and top with the grated parmesan.
• Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

*We made the recipe without the anchovy paste, and it tasted great – the Worcestershire is zesty enough for us!

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE FOR CAESARLICIOUS!

When Karen told me that Randy from Kleinfeld Bridal in New York helped her find her gown, it all made perfect sense. You see, I watch Randy on Say Yes to the Dress help brides find their perfect gown quite often, and as soon as I saw Karen step into her Amsale gown, I just knew that it was a perfect match. She looked absolutely stunning, perfectly composed, ready to marry the man of her dreams.

Karen and Derek were married on a gorgeous July day in Seattle. Before the official festivities began, we ventured to the University of Washington for a fabulous photo shoot of the happy couple and their wedding party. It only made sense, seeing as this is the campus where the two first met. Afterwards, celebrations ensued with decor of tart green apples and luscious, plump blueberries. Everything looked modern and colorful, with a gorgeous view from the top of the Columbia Tower Club in Seattle.

Congratulations to the happy bride and groom ~ thank you so much for having Jake and I out for your wedding, we hope you love the photos!

Wedding Coordination & Decor: Kirstie Warren of Simply Wed / Getting Ready Hotel: Fairmont Olympic / Ceremony & Reception Venue: Columbia Tower Club / Cake: Tallant House / Bridal Gown: Kleinfeld Bridal NY / Hair & Makeup: Tessa at Mode Organic Salon / Officiant: Julie Cooper / Videographer: Cabfare Productions / DJ: Seattle Parties / Print Goods: LaBelleVieDesign / Favors: Sees Chocolates

He’s a New Yorker, megastar of social networking, and a big, big Sounders fan. She’s a New Mexican with a delicious sense of style and taste. Together, as Seattleites, they’re a force to be reckoned with, projecting more endless good energy you just can’t get enough of. Their friends are addicted to them, and their families built from strong ties of love. Bring them all together beneath one roof at the Edgewater and good times are sure to erupt.

A small hats-off to the bridesmaids for the most hilarious toasts we have ever heard. We observe a lot of wedding toasts. Some nice, some good, some… horribly awkward, but you ladies stole the spotlight in a way I wish more bridesmaids would.

Congrats to the happy couple! We’re so happy to know you ~ enjoy a few of our favorite images here.

Be sure to check out the bride’s blog featuring yummy low carb meals and fabulous fashion as well!

Thanks so much Amy and Michael for having us out to shoot your wedding! Much love, Joey and Jake

Hi Friends!

I hope you have been having a wonderful summer! While I certainly have been enjoying the Seattle sun these past few weeks, I must admit that I am very much looking forward to Autumn’s arrival. I have been craving a big dose of overcast skies, cooler air, and the perfect excuse to pull my beanie hats and Ugg boots from the closet…

Jake and I have been eating a lot of the same things around here lately (which just fine with us!), but, the other day I stumbled across something so fantastic, I ran straight to the liquor store so that I could make the recipe that same evening.

Yep, you heard me, the liquor store.

The day had started so simple. I was working from home, sending off emails and getting caught up, when the food network’s Barefoot Contessa caught my attention. I heard the words filet… butter… and… cognac? I was instantly intrigued. Ina Garten was whipping up the most delicious-sounding steak sauce to pour over some filets. It just so happened that I had some grass-fed filets in the fridge that we had planed to BBQ that night, but now it seemed that steak salt was going to be too simple of fare. So, off to the liquor store I went!

I purchased a low-cost brandy to use, and the resulting sauce was every bit as decadent as I had dreamed it would taste. We paired our filets alongside a heap of butter-roasted bell peppers and zucchini, and when the steak sauce poured over into them it was a match made in taste-bud-freaking-heaven. I had to restrain myself from licking my plate clean. I stared a my plate so sadly when not a single bite remained.

Also, for any of my Type 1 Diabetic friends out there wondering about the shallots in the recipe – they did not spike my blood sugar! My pre-meal glucose was 84 mg/dl. I gave 1 unit of novolog as I counted the veggies as 15 grams of carbs (I ate one large red pepper and one medium zucchini), and my post-meal glucose was 85 mg/dl 1.5 hours after eating. Winner, winner, steak sauce dinner!

Here’s the recipe – and forgive my iPhone photos – they’re not quite as clean and shiny as my normal photographs but it just happened to be what I had on-hand :)

Ingredients:

• 4 Filet Mignon (Grass-fed if you can get ‘em) – we only cooked 2 but saved the extra sauce
• Sea Salt (to taste)
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
• 3 ½ Tablespoons Butter, divided** (Grass-fed, such as Kerrygold, is recommended)
• 1 ½ Tablespoons Olive Oil**
• ¾ cup chopped Shallots (3 to 4 Shallots)
• 1 cup Beef Broth
• ½ cup good Cognac or Brandy

Instructions:

• Sprinkle filets with Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper on both sides. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
• Heat 1 ½ tablespoons of the butter and the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until the butter almost smokes.**

• Place the steaks in the pan and lower the heat to medium. Sauté the steaks for about 4 minutes on 1 side and 3 minutes on the other side, for medium rare. Remove the steaks to a serving platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Add the shallots to the pan and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.
• Add the beef broth and cook over high heat for 4-6 minutes, until reduced by half, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Add the Cognac or Brandy and cook for 2 more minutes.

• Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
• Serve the steaks hot with the sauce poured on top.

*Recipe copyright 2004, Barefoot in Paris (Barefoot Contessa). Originally called Filet of Beef au Poivre.

 **If you’re concerned about using butter or olive oil, which typically are not recommended for high heat cooking, I recommend substituting both with Ghee instead.

{CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE FOR SIMPLE STEAK SAUCE}

Do you have a steak sauce that you love to make? I’d love to hear about it!

Happy eating :) Joey

Last month, Jake and I had the honor of spending the weekend up in Roche Harbor with Katie and Casey and their closest family and friends as they exchanged hand-written vows and said, “I Do.” There is always a special feeling in the air when everyone travels to a destination wedding. You can feel the excitement from everyone around you that they have left their work and woe’s behind to let loose, have fun, and come together to have a good time.

Compliments as well to the fantastic wedding planner, Katy Leiser of Unveiled Events, gorgeous flowers and decor by Alexa of Fiore Blossoms, delicious food from Roche Harbor Weddings, and awesome live music from the talented brothers of Two Buck Chuck!

Katy and Casey… thank you for having us out and for making us feel so included in your special day. We think your kindness and beauty show in all your photos – we hope you love them :)    ~ Joey & Jake

Want to see what we dined on during our weekend away from home? Check it out here :) Happy eating!

I was trying to think of something genius to call this recipe, but couldn’t find any great adjectives that began with the letter P (I like a bit of alliteration). I suppose just posting pizza at all on a paleo-friendly site is crafty enough… but as soon as I thought of this title, I knew it was absolutely perfect. I call it… Date Night Pizza.

Why, you might ask?

It’s attractive…

It smells delicious…

It tastes absolutely mouth-watering…

It fulfills your every desire,

And it leaves you wanting more and more. And more.

Perhaps a bit like your last date? Or maybe like a date you’re hoping to have?

The gooey, melty cheese combined with Italian herbs atop a grain-free dough makes it the healthiest pizza around. The fact that it’s pizza at all just makes it oh-so-sinful, adding that touch of excitement to your date. Kind of like riding a motorcycle, without the actual danger.

Nothing says love like a homemade meal, so I highly recommend grabbing the ingredients for this and sharing it with your loved one (or the one you want to love you). Add some candlelight, a glass of Chianti, and some Marvin Gaye in the background and be sure to thank me later for a fabulous date night :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked, riced Cauliflower (“rice” it by chopping it finely, using a food processor, cheese grater, or smashing it with an avocado tool)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella (or cheese of your choice)
• 1 teaspoon Fennel
• 2 teaspoons Oregano
• 4 teaspoons Parsley
• Toppings of your choice. (I went with some organic pizza sauce, more mozzarella, pepperoni, hot Italian sausage, and topped it with a generous sprinkling of fennel, oregano, parsley, basil, and thyme.)

• Preheat oven to 450.
• In a bowl, mix together your cooked, riced cauliflower, eggs, and mozzarella.
• Spread dough mixture onto a baking sheet or pizza pan. Make it as thick or thin as you’d like.

uncooked crust "dough"

• Sprinkle with the herbs.

• Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes, until desired doneness is reached. Some edge-burning is normal.

cooked, grain-free, pizza dough

• Remove from the oven, turn the oven off, and cover with your favorite pizza toppings. I recommend to cover the entire crust with your toppings for ultimate deliciousness. Any plain crust around the edges just ends up tasting like cauliflower, but, with the sauce and stuff on top, it all just tastes like regular pizza. It’s like magic!
• Turn your broiler on High.
• Place your pizza with toppings on the top rack near the broiler. Watch it until the cheese melts and bubbles and until the toppings look the way you’d like. I broiled ours for almost 10 minutes because I like really crispy pepperoni and sausage.
• Remove from oven. Dough will typically be drier around the edges and softer in the center of the pizza. I used a spatula to serve it up, and we ate it with a knife and fork – it was too soft for pick up.

*Note about the cheese – we don’t recommend dairy until you have already done paleo for a full 4-6 weeks. Our friend Kurt Harris MD explains why here.

*Note to my diabetic friends – remember that pizza sauce or anything with tomatoes can be sweet and can potentially cause a blood sugar spike. Use pizza sauces with caution and always keep your sweet veggie intake as low as possible. I spread our pizza sauce really thin to avoid unnecessary blood sugar spikes with this recipe.

{CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE FOR DATE NIGHT PIZZA}

Happy eating! Joey

While I am certain Jake and I are not the first people to ever grill their veggies, we stumbled upon this means of cooking by accident. We invited some of our family over for dinner last night and were planning to roast Cilantro-Lime Chicken and asparagus. I had planned on roasting everything together, until I realized that only the chicken was going to fit in the oven. Oops. So, Jake suggested we grill the asparagus instead. Sounded good to me, I like anything that ends up with grill lines on it. Turned out to be our best accident yet!

I didn’t take photos the first night we did this, but luckily we had some leftover asparagus and ended up grilling it two nights in a row. There is no printable recipe for this, since it’s more of a technique, so here goes!

1. Prep your asparagus. Break the ends off (just snap the bottoms using your hand and they will naturally break one to two inches off the bottom) and rinse thoroughly. Or not so thoroughly. Whatever floats your boat.

2. Add asparagus to a large Ziploc bag.

3. Toss in your cooking oil of choice and your favorite veggie seasonings. (Tonight, we used avocado oil, a bit of sea salt, and lemon pepper.)

4. Zip the bag shut, and shake it all around to distribute the yummy flavors evenly.

5. Lay asparagus on your grill when ready. Grill for 2-3 minutes per side.

Chef Jake, focusing as he turns the asparagus :)

Remove. Eat. Enjoy.

Grilling adds a delicious texture!

We paired our grilled asparagus alongside delicious, grass-fed grilled filets. YUM.

Next on my wish list is one of these Grill Roasting Pans from Crate & Barrel!

Have you grilled your veggies? Let us know your tricks!

Happy eating :) Joey