Picture Problems...

I have had a couple of Paleo successes in the kitchen this week, but I have no proof. Either I forgot to get a picture, or it was eaten quickly. Pictures are tricky. I read a food blog this week that featured photography tips and found a few of my critical errors.

 1) Fully knowing how to work your camera and its settings. I don't.  Keep trying to find the time, but in the meanwhile it takes great pictures of my kids with me knowing only about 10% of its capabilities. :)

 2) Best food pics come from using natural light. So pics need to be taken in the daytime.  My pics are taken about 30 seconds before they are eaten for dinner, so I am not getting a lot of natural light. I don't see this problem resolving itself.  So subpar pics will continue...

I got a few new cookbooks this week. I had been putting off purchasing some of the new Paleo books that are out, so I finally just got on Amazon.com and they showed up at the door. Lots of great new ideas and already inspired a few meals.  The hubby is excited that there is a way to make "biscuits and sausage gravy" that is paleo. 

Paleo Comfort Foods by Julie and Charles Mayfield
Make it Paleo by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason
Quick and Easy Meals: Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson

Chicken "Tortilla" Soup

I called it this so that my husband would have a frame of reference for what he about to eat. There is a fabulous recipe for "chicken tomatillo stew" in the Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook.  I already had shredded chicken as leftovers, only seasoned with garlic,salt and pepper.  I also had some diced red/yellow/orange peppers frozen .After reading through the recipe I realized that I could skip the garlic, onion, jalapeno and tomatillo steps by just using a jar of Trader Joe's Salsa Verde. So this is what happened:

In a soup pot:
2 Tbsp coconut oil
Sauteed a handful of diced frozen peppers
Added chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika (about 1 Tbsp of each)
Sauteed a couple of minutes
Added shredded chicken
Added 4 cups of chicken broth
Added 1 jar of Trader Joe's Salsa Verde
Stir and simmer.

It was delicious and quick.