Cider-Glazed Salmon

Salmon is one of the best ways to fill your seafood quota for a week.  This recipe isn't my favorite, or the easiest, but it's a good change-up if you're looking for a sweeter preparation.

Recipe

4 skinless salmon filets
1/2 c apple cider
1 1/4 tbsp honey
lemons, halved
12 oz baby spinach
1 1/2 tbsp white wine
olive oil, salt, pepper

1. Boil the honey and cider in a skillet and reduce by half.  Put the salmon in a baking dish, pour the cider glaze over, and let sit 10 minutes.
2. Heat a tsp of olive oil in an oven-safe skillet, and put in the salmon, sprinkle with salt & pepper, brush on half the glaze, and cook a few minutes.  You want it a bit caramelized...  Turn and glaze with the rest of the sauce, add the lemon halves, and put it in the oven at 350 degrees.  Cook it there 6-8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt a tbsp or two of butter in a skillet (potentially the same one as the first step).  Start to wilt the spinach and sprinkle with salt & pepper, then add the white wine.  Cook until tender.
4. Serve the spinach with the salmon on top and lemon as garnish.

Notes

The recipe uses a few too many dishes and pans for my liking, although three for a full meal (including veggies) isn't too unreasonable.  I found it sweet but lacking a little bit of, I dunno, variety of some kind.  So worthwhile to try, but not the best I've made or had.

Crockpot Jambalaya

A few years back, my go-to dish was old Zatarain's jambalaya out of a box.  So when I happened across this (paleo) jambalaya recipe, I was pretty excited to give it a try from scratch:

Recipe

4 c chicken stock
rice (optional)

Meat
1/2 lb chicken, diced
1 package andouille sausage, sliced
1/2 lb raw shrimp, deveined

Greens
4 peppers (mix of colors), chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes
2 c okra (optional)
2 jalapenos, diced (optional)

Seasoning
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 bay leaves
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
hot sauce (optional)

Start with the stock, chicken, greens, and seasonings all in the crockpot to cook on low for 6 hours.  With 30 minutes to go, put in the andouille, then with 20 minutes, the shrimp.  You can add the rice for 20 minutes too, or cook separately.  Done.

Notes

So the chicken and shrimp amounts are pretty approximate - anything up to or a little over a pound won't overwhelm.  As simple as the instructions are, the toughest part is all the chopping.  The peppers, onion, garlic, etc. are pretty straightforward, but the okra was surprisingly gooey.  And it was my first experience with prepping raw shrimp.  The little legs, shells, veins...  gross.  And honestly, the andouille is really the star of the dish.  It's soupier than other jambalaya's I've had, but more colorful.  And great!  Next time just need to find more eaters.

Crispy Carnitas

This. is. UNBELIEVABLE.

slightly adapted from Mark's Daily Apple:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/crispy-carnitas/#axzz2K3ExGQtN

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 lbs. boneless pork shoulder/butt, cut into 5 pieces
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced
water, for braising

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix together salt, cumin and chili powder and rub all over meat.
Place the meat in a large, heavy pot with cinnamon stick, bay leaf, garlic and onion (Ideally the pot is large enough so that the meat is in a single layer).
Add enough water to almost, but not entirely, cover the meat.
Put the pot in the oven, uncovered, and braise for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  Stir the meat just a few times while it cooks.
You'll know the pork is done when it's really tender, slightly browned and most of the liquid is gone.
Shred or break up the meat with forks or your hands into the desired level of shredded-ness or chunkiness.
Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaf from the pot.  Return the pot to the oven.
Roast the meat, mixing occasionally, until the meat is as dark and crispy as you like it.  (This process will go even faster if the meat is spread out on a roasting pan or baking sheet with any remaining liquid that was left in the pot.  If time is tight, you can also put the meat under a broiler.)

NOTES:

I cannot even begin to describe how delicious and succulent this is.

We used a bone-in pork butt, which we cut the bone out of and gave to the dog.  So everyone was happy.

We skipped the browning part at the end in favor of 

incredibly moist meat with just the outsides crispy--a fine option--and also cuz we wanted to consume it asap.

As this was the main dish of a Superbowl-themed meal, I served it with nachos (for the non-paleo eaters), homemade guac and sweet potato fries.

MAKE THIS NOW!!!!!!