I remember the first time I read Danielle’s blog, Against All Grain—I was planning my wedding and looking for grain free recipes for my bridesmaids’ luncheon.  As someone who can’t eat any grains, gluten or refined sugars, it was difficult to plan all these fun wedding events with foods I could actually eat!  My mom and I settled on her apple spice coffee cake and it was delicious.  It wasn’t till after wedding craziness settled down that I started regularly following Danielle’s blog—and I couldn’t stop reading and making her delicious recipes!

As someone who also suffers from an autoimmune condition, adapting a new way of eating can be overwhelming and sometimes very lonely.  Danielle’s story, recipes and joyful spirit has brought so much encouragement to people all over the world.  Her new cookbook Meals Made Simple: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free and Paleo Recipes to Make Anytime goes above and beyond your traditional cookbook—the pages are not only beautiful but filled with tips, ideas and tricks for making healthy eating not only fun and delicious but also simple.

I’ll be honest, I am not the most organized person.  Most days I am overly ambitious and buy countless herbs and foods to cook, then realize that I don’t have enough time to cook it all or even eat it all! Or, you may also be the type of person who decides last minute to make something and then heads to the market 3 or 4 times in one day. Guilty, yes thats me too! So if you are anything like me and wondering what to do with bunches of basil or herbs or pounds of meat in your freezer, Meals Made Simple is for you!

Danielle has included an 8 week menu plan and shopping list, complete with ideas for leftovers, freezer meals and 30 minute meals.  There are pantry lists, calorie information and even tips on making healthy eating affordable.  But these recipes are gourmet and delicious! Going grain-free and paleo doesn’t mean that food has to be boring or flavorless, but rather it can be comforting, colorful and mouth-watering.  Meals Made Simple has recipes of all sorts, flavors and textures—from big salads to comforting dinner rolls, from breakfast scrambles to lemon curd cakes and from grilled salmon with peach salsa to meatball meat loafs, this book has something for everyone!  Oh and there is even a recipe for pizza pasta, which I can’t wait to try!

As a true southern California girl at heart, I absolutely love Mexican food! Seeing a recipe for Chipotle Barbacoa, I knew exactly what I had to make.  We have had so many house guests recently, that it was nice to have a simple dinner to come home to after a long day of working.  Dinner was quickly on the table and with the summer heat it was nice to not have a hot kitchen and only one pot to clean! This beef roast is a great meal to serve to crowds as slow cooking it for hours turns a tougher meat to a tender meat, and its very cost effective.  I served the barbacoa as lettuce wrapped tacos topped with guacamole, salsa, raw cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.  Yes, I will admit I had 3 servings and everyone at the table couldn’t stop eating this delicious meal.  Thank you Danielle for another fabulous recipe!

Make sure to pre-order Meals Made Simple, I promise you won’t regret it!  And head over to my Instagram for a chance to win a copy of her cookbook before it even hits shelves!

Chipotle Barbacoa {Gluten Free and Paleo}

Spicy, smoky shredded beef for a grain free and paleo dinner option.  Simple to make, this tender, tasty meat is delicious with a side of guacamole and feeds a hungry crowd.

Ingredients

• 1 (3-pound) center-cut beef shoulder roast
• 3-5 dried chipotle peppers, seeds removed
• 1 small yellow onion, quartered
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup low-sodium beef stock or chicken stock
• 3 bay leaves

For serving

• lettuce
• salsa of choice
• guacamole
• chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

• Cut the roast into 2 pieces and trim any fat.  Place in a slow cooker.
• Combine the chipotle peppers, onion, lime juice, tomato paste, garlic, vinegar, cumin, salt, oregano and cloves in a food processor or blender.  Process until smooth.
• Pour the pureed pepper mixture over the roast and add the stock and bay leaves.
• Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.**
• Remove the beef and shred with 2 forks.  Return the meat to the slow cooker and continue cooking for 1 to 2 hours, until very tender.
• Serve over a bed of lettuce with salsa, guacamole and cilantro.

**I do not own a slow cooker, so I baked mine roast in a dutch oven at 225 degrees F for 6 hours.  I then shredded the meat and cooked for an additional 20 minutes.