Pulled Pork Tacos with Mexican Cauliflower “rice” (gluten / grain / dairy free, paleo)

This has become one of our favorite meals.  One thing I’ve learned since taking on this Paleo challenge is how to be creative in the kitchen.  I’ve trashed all the ideas I used to have about the way food was “supposed to be” and am learning how to cook differently. Take these tacos for example.  The shell is lettuce, the rice is cauliflower, and there are no beans or cheese.  Ok fine, there is a little tiny bit of raw goat cheese.  Couldn’t resist it. But still. My point.  Thinking outside the box has resulted in the best food ever to come out of my kitchen. As long as my spice drawer is fully stocked, and my fridge is full of meat and veggies I’m good to go. And any meal that starts with sizzling garlic and onion is gonna be good. That is just simple truth.

Bear with me a little on this recipe.  Or at least use your own creative cooking freedom. There are a lot of components to this.  They are all hard to mess up – so just go with it. Add a little more of this, a little less of that.  It will be good.  Promise.

pulled pork tacos with mexican cauliflower %22rice%22

INGREDIENTS: (pulled pork)
METHOD: (pulled pork)
  1. Put onion in the bottom of slow cooker.  Add pork roast.  Top with garlic and spices.  Fill with water until pork is submerged about half way.  Cover, turn on high, and let cook for 4-6 hours until pork is fork tender and pulls apart easily.
INGREDIENTS: (mexican cauliflower “rice”)
METHOD: (mexican cauliflower “rice”)
  1. Grate raw cauliflower either in food processor, or with handheld cheese grater.  It should be coarsely grated, like long grain rice, and not overly fine – like couscous.  If you grate it too small, it will be soggy.
  2. Heat olive oil in large sautée pan.  Throw in onion and garlic and sautée until golden and fragrant.
  3. Add cauliflower “rice” and ssautée over high heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly.
  4. Add in remaining ingredients.  Sautée on high for another 2 minutes until fully incorporated.  You may have to pour off a little extra moisture from cauliflower and tomato.
  5. Done!  Make sure not to over cook, will become too mushy rather quick.  High heat, short period of time is the way to go.  Almost like flash frying it real fast.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:
  1. Set up assembly line with all your fixin’s – some options:  lettuce for shells, sautéed onions and peppers, guacamole or sliced avocado, salsa, fresh cilantro, lime slices… and don’t forget your “rice” and pork.
  2. Assemble tacos.  Consume.  I like my “rice” on the side.  Husband and bro-in-law prefer it inside the taco lettuce shell.  Doesn’t matter what you do as long as you like it.
*Use organic ingredients whenever possible.
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Bacon + Green Onion Side Salad

One thing you will quickly learn about me is that I LOVE bacon.  I can’t believe I’m admitting this publicly, but last week I ate bacon for seven meals in a row.  SEVEN.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch, dinner, breakfast.  Decided I should lay off for a little bit.  That lasted for one day.  I just can’t get enough.  Anyways, this salad is my go-to side salad to accompany almost any meal.  I always have the ingredients, it is super quick, and oh so tasty.  I hope you enjoy this trusty little salad.

INGREDIENTS: 
  • 1 head of lettuce of your choice (I use red-tip lettuce)
  • 4-6 cooked slices of organic, pastured bacon (save the fat, you’ll need it for the dressing)
  • 1/4 cup green onion
  • 1/4 cup bacon fat
  • 1/8 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/8 cup 100% Pure Maple Syrup
METHOD:
1.  Wash and tear lettuce into bite size pieces.  Combine in bowl with chopped green onions and chopped bacon.
2.  In a saucepan over low heat, melt bacon fat and add maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.  Remove from heat as soon as bacon fat returns to liquid form.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then pour over salad, toss, and serve.
*Use organic ingredients whenever possible.
Posts may contain affiliate links.  If you purchase products through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Flax + Honey will receive a small commission.  This helps in covering the costs to keep the site up and running.  We appreciate your support!!

Cheese Crisps

One of the hardest parts of cutting out processed foods for me was changing up my kids snacks… Owen was young enough when we changed our eating habits to not register any change, but Jacquelyn was another story.  She was the queen of processed snacks. Goldfish, Annie’s Bunnies, Oreo’s… you name it and the kid wanted it.  I tried again and again to make a whole wheat version of a cheese cracker, but either failed miserably or decided it was waaaay too much effort.  Until, I stumbled upon these gems.  They are easy, crispy, cheesy, and only one ingredient.  Yes, you read that right.  One ingredient.  Cheese.  In our case, organic cheese from grass-fed cows.  Doesn’t get much better than that!

INGREDIENTS:
METHOD:
1.  Pre-heat oven to 350.
2.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3.  Cut cheese into approximately 24 teaspoon sized chunks and evenly spread among cookie sheets.  You can also grate the cheese and scoop teaspoon sized piles onto the cookie sheets.
4.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until cheese spreads out and begins to turn brown at the edges.  It’s better to err on the side of overcooking, rather than undercooking.  If you take them out too soon, they won’t crisp.
5.  Immediately pull parchment off hot cookie sheets an onto cool surface.  I set it straight onto my granite countertops.  If you leave cheese chips on cookie sheet to cool, they won’t crisp and will be overly chewy and gummy.
6.  After 5 minutes, eat em all up.  I dare you to try to save some for later.
7.  Four additional things… one time I shredded the cheese and added some spices – garlic, paprika, and cumin.  It was amazing.  You can be creative here.  Secondly, you might want to transfer them to a paper towel to soak up the excess grease.  I don’t bother with this step, but you might want to.  Third thing – feel free to grate more than one type of cheese.  Cheddar and parmesan are particularly delightful.  And lastly, dip these suckers in salsa or guacamole.  Trust me.  You won’t regret it.
*Use organic ingredients whenever possible.
**Adapted from Joyful Abode.
Posts may contain affiliate links.  If you purchase products through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Flax + Honey will receive a small commission.  This helps in covering the costs to keep the site up and running.  We appreciate your support!!