Recipe of the week...

Afternoon Everyone!
 First of all, I was SO surprised at how much feedback I received after my first post, now that I know there are more than just a handful of people reading this, I'll have a little more motivation and maybe I can make a difference in someone else's health also!
 Well, we are a whopping 4 days in, but so far it hasn't been bad and I feel great. This was (and will continue to be) a crazy week, but neither of us have "cheated"yet, that will come Saturday as I celebrate being another year older.
 I am a big advocate for a slow cooker. My Crock Pot is one of my favorite kitchen pieces, so naturally the first recipe I picked to post from this week slow cooked all day yesterday and made an amazing dinner before we headed out for our kickball game (yes, you read that right)
 Paleo Recipe number 1 is.....

Stuffed Pork Chops

2 large pork chops (100% grass-fed of course)
4 strips of bacon - cut into 1 inch pieces
1 granny smith apple - peeled & cut into large chunks
2 cloves of garlic - diced
1/2 of a large onion (or 1 small onion) sliced
lemon (optional)
spice of choice - I used paprika & pepper

You will also need toothpicks

1) Slice deep pockets into the SIDE of each pork chop (make sure you don't cut through to the side of back - you need a good, sharp knife to make this easy!)

2) Fry the bacon to almost done. Add the diced apple, garlic & spice of choice to the bacon & stir well. (You want the apple to absorb the bacon grease) When bacon is done remove the pan from the heat.

3) Spoon the stuffing into a separate bowl (leaving as much grease as possible in the pan)

4) Toss the onions in the left over bacon grease (no heat, just tossing) & I seasoned them with a little bit of Italian seasoning & pepper

5) Stuff the pork chops with as much stuffing as you can fit in them. Use the toothpicks to seal the opening.

6 )Cover the bottom of the crock pot with half of the raw onions, place the pork chops - stuffing side up - on top of the onions, then finish it off by topping the meat with the rest of the onions & any left over stuffing. (Side note - the apples taste amazing. You have to try at least 1!)

7) Cook on low for 6-7 hours. When done, zest with lemon if desired.

I'm still new to this whole blogging idea, and I forgot to take a picture of the final product. It was just so delicious we got all excited and dug right in :) 

I made balsamic acorn squash chips as our side dish, they were DELISH! Kind of ugly (of course I forgot to take a picture) but tasted great! I will post that recipe soon!

These past few days have been filled with lots of googling and research on "can I eat ___?" We have learned a lot, and still have a lot of road to cover, but so far, so good! The meals have been awesome and it hasn't been too hard to avoid the no no's, let's just hope it stays that way! 

Hope everyone has a great weekend and a fun & safe St. Patrick's Day!!!