Paleo Andouille Sausage & LSU Baseball

Going on the paleo way of eating hasn't been too bad on Jesse and I so far. We've found great recipes to help ease the change. Granted we finally had a kitchen fail last night with chili verde out of Everyday Paleo cookbook, way off the mark of delicious. But I found a great recipe to alter to help with lunches and dinner: Andouille Sausage.... the Stephen way ;-)

Most store-bought sausage has sugar in them, which as everyone knows, is not allowed on the paleo diet. This also is a great way for me to get Jesse to eat sausage. She claims that if she can see what goes into the sausage she is more likely to eat it, knowing there isn't a lot of extra fats or leftover random meats thrown in to make it. So I made my own twist, instead of using pork for this sausage, I used Buffalo and lean ground beef from Whole Foods. I will say that the sausage is delicious and has great flavor, but some might think its a little dry since the fats aren't there to make them juicy. But I'd rather kinda dry and delicious and being able to eat it on paleo. By the way, one major need for this, a meat grinder. So my twist is listed below:

Stephen's Homemade Buffalo & Beef Andouille Sausage

Makes 16 links

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

185g Calories, 4g Fat, 35mg Cholesterol, 911mg Sodium, 5g Potassium, 1g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 

0g Sugars, 32g Protein, 2% Vitamin A, 0.1% Vitamin C, 0.1% Calcium, 8% Iron

                                                                      Ingredients:

                                                                      2.5 lbs Buffalo Stew Meat

2 lbs 95/5 Lean Ground Beef

3 Tbsp Minced Garlic

2 Tbsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp Chili Pepper

1/8 tsp Mace

1/8 tsp Allspice

1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

1 Tbsp Paprika

1/4 tsp Ground Bay Leaf (roughly 1.5)

1/4 tsp Sage

3 Tbsp Liquid Smoke

1 Sutter Home Merlot Individual Serve (roughly 6 oz)

2 hog casings

As you can see, we sautéed up some red & yellow bell peppers as well as some onions. It makes a great and quick lunch or dinner.

Since Jesse had to attend graduation at her college, per requirements for being faculty, I decided to head out to the LSU vs. UNO game with my buddy Ben. I got a little bored during the third inning when LSU was already leading 8-0. So I pulled out my handy, dandy iPhone with the Panorama app and got a great view of Alex Box Stadium. I'll probably take this again during Friday's game since there will be an addition above the press box and on the scoreboard with the additional naming of the field after legendary LSU baseball coach, Skip Bertman. Skip by far led the resurgence of LSU baseball and turned the program into the powerhouse it is today. They've won 6 NCAA National Championships since the 1991 season. Only 3 teams have 6 or more championships; LSU, USC, and Texas. Not only did Skip have a hand in the baseball program and the building of the new Alex Box Stadium, but he was also the athletic director when LSU won it's 2nd and 3rd National Championships in football, and the men's and women's basketball teams were making it to the the Final Four round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Anyways, good days are ahead in both sports and in life. Jesse and I will keep you up to date on any new adventures we might have. Until next time, take it easy and find a good pattern to enjoy life by eating healthy, exercising regularly, and traveling a little to relax.

Wednesday: Enchiladas & LSU Baseball

Tell me this little guy isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen. He can have a good time with anything. Jesse was getting up this morning and put the rest of the bottled waters into the refrigerator and threw the empty plastic and cardboard container on the floor. Two minutes later, she finds Marco nice and cozy inside the plastic cover and ready for a little cat nap. How at 7:45 am, does this not cheer anyone up for a good morning? I know when Jesse texted me good morning with this picture, and it pepped me up.

I already knew Jesse was a good cook, but she decided she wanted me to be experimental and try enchiladas for the first time. So she cooked up some slow cooker salsa chicken enchiladas. Now little did I know that Jesse had some salsa in the freezer from a kitchen fail earlier in the year, but she used it in the slow cooker to help flavor the chicken which turned out to be a good idea. I admit that my first taste of enchiladas was a good one and as Jesse and I say, it'll be added to the repeat list.

Jesse's Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Enchiladas

Makes 6 servings

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

220g Calories, 11g Fat, 44mg Cholesterol, 622mg Sodium, 0mg Potassium, 20g Carbs, 11g Fiber,

0g Sugar, 21g Protein, 4% Vitamin A, 0% Vitamin C, 21.3% Calcium, 6% Iron

Ingredients:

12 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

1 package Enchilada Sauce

1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

6 flour tortillas

2 cups Salsa

Steps:

1. Place chicken and salsa in a crockpot and cook on low for 3 hours.

2. Take the chicken out of the crockpot and shred with two forks.

3. Roll chicken in 6 flour tortillas.

4. Place tortillas in a baking pan and cover with enchilada sauce and cheese.

5. Cover and cook on 400 degrees for 20 min.

6. Serve and enjoy.

We decided that we weren't going to over do it on the workouts this week since we had our 5K on Saturday and I was getting over feeling sick. So instead of hitting the gym for Jesse to do Zumba and hitting the weights and cardio for myself, we headed over to Alex Box Stadium for the LSU baseball game versus Grambling. We had a good time cheering on the Tigers and visiting with long time friends of my family.

Good ole Marco can find comfort any place he looks, so he climbed on top of the laundry and snuggled up between a pillow and my arm, using my arm as a "paw rest." I have to say, he's the sweetest and cutest cat, too bad we can't keep him, but someone will get a great cat once they take a chance on him.