CSA SEASON! And Simple Slow Cooker Chicken

 

CSA Season is upon us!! I had my first pick up this Tuesday. Have you signed on yet? If not, it may not be too late. If there are no CSA's around you, look for your local farmers market. They may only run a few days a week, so make sure you schedule them in when to your weekly routine. Oh, wait a minute, you don't know what a CSA is? Well, let me explain :)

The Zone & Garlic Pulled Pork

The diet style that I really want to look into first is the Zone. This is the meal plan prescribed by CrossFit and definitely is effective for losing weight. The Zone also does not strictly prohibit the consumption of any particular food. The two biggest components of the Zone are portion control and balance. 

The Zone diet works off of a block system; each food is categorized in a particular macronutrient (carbohydrate, protein, fat) and assigned a serving size. Each serving size is one block. The blocks are designed to provide each meal and snack with a macronutrient break down of 40% carb, 30% protein, and 30% fat. 

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Groundhog's day was just last week and Mr. Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow. Prediction: Early Spring! Unfortunately even an early spring is still 6 weeks away. In the meantime, here is an easy slow cooker chicken soup recipe that is sure to keep you warm.

Venison Ham with Onions and Sweet Potatoes, Slow Cooker Style

When you want to go all natural with your meats there is hardly a better way to do it than venison. Deer, moose, elk, and other big wild game have completely organic and natural diets and not a trace of antibiotics or hormones. Constantly on the move, these animals sport very lean mean. They are also rather large, so one harvest can feed a decent amount of appetites for quite some time.

Fortunately, I know quite a few hunters who tend to harvest a bit more than they need for their own freezers and I get to reap the benefits of their miscalculations. I was recently informed that a bit more would be coming my way soon, so in preparation I pulled some my back stock out. I came across a venison ham that just sounded like it would hit the spot!

Never having cooked a venison ham before (not like what you think of a pork ham; this is a cut from either the shoulder or the rump of the deer and cooks like a beef roast would), my first idea was to roast it in the oven low and slow for a few hours. However, my plan for the day also included baking several dozen cookies (and no, they were not paleo style, but it's a Christmas tradition! By next year they will all be, though :) and I did not think that venison aroma would bake into snickerdoodle's very well. Low and slow, though, huh..... Slow cooker! Perfect!

Venison Ham with Onions and Sweet Potatoes, Slow Cooker Style

The Food
- 1 venison ham
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Medium white cooking onion
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 can beef broth (low sodium if you can find it; if not, don't add any salt to the dish)
- Pepper
- Dried chopped onions
- Dried sliced garlic
- Red pepper flakes

The Prep
Cut onion into 1/8 wedges
Peel and slice sweet potatoes about 1/3" thick
Season meat with pepper



The Method
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and sear the meat on all sides
Add the meat to the slow cooker
Surround with onion wedges and sweet potatoes
Sprinkle pepper, dried onion, dried garlic, and red pepper flakes to taste over meat and vegetables
Add can of beef broth
Set cooker to low
After about 2 hours flip meat (if you're home)
After another 2 hours flip meat again (if you're home)
Between 5-6 hours the ham should be fully cooked; when done the meat will simply fall apart (internal temperature should be over 160°)
For ease of serving, remove vegetables with slotted spoon to a serving plate/bowl and shred meat in liquids
Either add the vegetables back to the meat and liquids or serve individually

Enjoy :)