Primal Elk Chili

Roland came home one day and announced that we were buying 1/3 of an elk. As a girl raised in a non-hunting family, I was excited for the new experience, but a little intimidated by the prospect of what to do with elk meat. So, I have been on the hunt (pun intended) for new recipes and uses for our freezer full of elk. Some have been terrible, others acceptable, but this one turned out delicious. Which is a good thing since I made enough to feed us for 4 nights in a row. I'm sure somewhere, Martha Stewart is cringing.

I adapted this recipe from one I found over at Civilized Caveman. Check out his site. He's got some great recipes.

Primal Elk Chili
2 lbs ground elk meat
4 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 yellow bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (14.5 ounce) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
3 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 T garlic salt
2 t cayenne
2 t oregano
2 t black pepper
2 cinnamon sticks
3 T butter

In large stock pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped onions and saute for about 10 minutes. Add in zucchini and peppers and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Add elk meat and all spices and mix well. Continue to cook, stirring often, until meat is no longer pink, approx 10 minutes.

Add in tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and whole cinnamon sticks and stir to combine well. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks and serve hot with shredded cheese if desired.

Roasted Cabbage

I am always looking for easy and tasty vegetable options, because, let's face it, you can only eat steamed broccoli so many times. This is a great way to prepare cabbage. It is easy and always gets a great response from the dinner guests. I used this preparation for our St Patrick's Day dinner party also, since it seems like crock pot cabbage always turns out soggy and flavorless. Give this one a try along side your favorite meat dish. I recently served this with a dry-rub seasoned flank steak and it was a delicious meal!

Roasted Cabbage
1 large head green cabbage
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking sheet or roasting pan with non-stick spray. Wash outside of cabbage head. Cut head in half (through the core) and then cut each half in half twice more, leaving you with 8 wedges. Arrange wedges on baking sheet and brush each wedge with a little olive oil. Flip wedges and repeat on other side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast in oven for 15 minutes. Carefully flip each wedge and roast for anther 15 minutes. Enjoy!

"Spaghetti"

Spaghetti has always been a favorite meal at our house. But since we have given up grains in our diet, I thought we would have to give up this meal as well. Luckily, I found an easy and healthy substitution....spaghetti squash! Roland was hesitant the first time I made this. He really did not want me messing with the spaghetti recipe he loves, but after tasting it, he was sold. We love this recipe and I use it often for dinner at our house. Hope you enjoy it too!

Primal "Spaghetti"
1 medium (or 2 small) spaghetti squash (I usually can get about 6 servings from a medium squash)
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 lb ground hot Italian sausage
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or use the recipe below to make a homemade sauce)

Tomato Basil Sauce
1 can (28 oz) tomato sauce
1 large avocado
Handful of fresh basil leaves (or use dried if necessary)
garlic powder, to taste

To make homemade sauce, combine 4 above ingredients in blender and blend until smooth, adding a little water if sauce is too thick.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Use a metal spoon to scoop out all the seeds and stringy center (like you would on a pumpkin). Rub a small amount of olive oil on the exposed squash in each half and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Turn squash halves face down in a roasting pan. Add about 1/4 inch of water to pan. Cover pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, combine Italian sausage, onion and minced garlic in a large sauce pan.

Cook over medium high heat until sausage is browned and cooked through. Add spaghetti sauce to meet mixture, reduce heat to low and simmer until squash is done roasting.

Once squash is ready, remove foil, and turn squash halves face-up. Using 1 fork to hold the squash in place, use a 2nd fork to scrape from the edges toward the center of squash. The "meat" of the squash should easily shred into "noodles".

Serve "noodles" topped with meat sauce (and a little fresh grated Parmesan) along with a green salad and you are all set!

Penne with Italian Sausage

This recipe is a favorite at our house. It is fresh, delicious, and can be made to be low fat and healthy. I've made it for company a couple of times and it has always gotten rave reviews. I generally use spicy Italian sausage for the extra flavor because we like a little kick, but you can use the mild version for less spice or turkey Italian sausage for a lower fat version. I've made all of these versions and they are all great.

Penne with Italian Sausage
1 lb Italian sausage links (generally there are 5 links in a package)
1 medium onion, chopped (yellow or white)
2 cloves minced garlic
28 oz diced tomatoes (1 large can or 2 regular cans)
2 T pesto
1 1/2 cups penne pasta
3 cups fresh spinach
2 oz feta cheese

Cut sausages into 1/4 inch slices. In large saute pan, combine sausage, onion and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until sausage is cooked and no longer pink in the center, stirring frequently.

Add diced tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium saucepan, prepare pasta as directed on package. Once cooked, drain and set aside. Once finished simmering, add pesto to sausage mixture and stir to combine evenly. Spread cooked penne in bottom of 13x9 inch baking dish. Pour sausage mixture over pasta. Add spinach and feta and use spatula to carefully stir and turn all ingredients in pan to mix well (we are going for a casserole feel here, not separate layers).

Baked uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Easter Lamb & Roasted Asparagus

Every year for Easter dinner we have the girls over and Roland makes a lamb roast. It is a tradition everyone looks forward to. With Easter coming up this weekend we are getting ready for another delicious dinner and I thought it would be the perfect time to pass on a few of our ideas. Last year Roland made a video explaining how he prepares the lamb.

Easter Lamb



Our side dishes vary from year to year, but we generally have a rice or potato side dish (last year it was rice pilaf, this year we are trying au gratin potatoes), rolls and a vegetable or two.One of the family favorites is this roasted asparagus. It is so simple but tastes great.

Roasted Asparagus
1 bunch of asparagus
olive oil
salt & pepper

Preheat the broiler. Wash asparagus and snap off bottoms of stems. Arrange asparagus on baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Broil for approx 10 minutes or until asparagus just starts to become tender but not soft. Half way through cooking I usually shuffle the pan a little to rotate the spears.

Happy Easter! I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is an easy and tasty recipe for homemade chicken pot pie. It is also much lower in fat than the store bought versions. For the crusts, I use the premade ones in the refrigerator section of the grocery store (next to the biscuit dough). Each box contains two crusts so you have a top and bottom. You just roll them out and they are ready to use. If you have a great pie crust recipe, you could substitute that for this recipe.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 unbaked pie crusts
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In saucepan, combine cubed chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add chicken broth and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain, reserving the liquid and veggie mix separately.
In same saucepan, saute onions in butter over medium heat until soft. Stir in flour and seasonings. Slowly add reserved chicken liquid and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Roll out pie crusts and brush with egg white wash. Place bottom crust in pie dish and bake for 6 minutes. This will create a bit of a barrier so once you add the filling, the crust will not get soggy. Remove crust from oven. Add chicken/veggie mixture into crust. Pour gravy mixture over filling. Cover with top crust, seal edges and trim any excess dough. Make several slits in the top for steam. Bake for 30-35 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Makes approximately 6 large slices.