"Fried" "Rice" AKA Cauliflower rice on a sheet pan

Neither Rice, nor Fried.

I got this from Whole30 Recipes on Facebook, posted by http://pretenditsadonut.com/

In a bowl, mix:
24 oz. cauliflower rice (I used half cauliflower, half frozen sweet potato)
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
Garlic clove or garlic powder
3 Tbl coconut aminos
1 tsp fish sauce
1 Tbl oil  (I've used almond, avocado, and olive in the past)

Spread out on a parchment covered sheet pan, cook at 375 (F) for 10-15 min.
Whisk 2 eggs in a bowl, pour eggs over the cauliflower, mix around.
Put back in oven for another 10-15 minutes.

Food Cook-up.

In an effort to make a bunch of food for the week, do as few dishes as possible, and be efficient, I did this recipe group:

Things to do beforehand - mise en place the spices and what-not.

Turn on oven,
Put one tray of asparagus and one tray of green beans to roast with olive oil, salt, and vinegar.
25 ish minutes.

While that is cooking, chop and prepare the "fried rice."  (Baked cauliflower.)

Also, chop and prepare the White Chicken Chili Bake from http://www.justjessieb.com/2016/03/white-chicken-chili-bake.html.

Both of these took longer to prep than I had planned, so the oven had a few minutes of down time.  Whoops.

In an effort to minimize dishes, and also time, I did not saute any of the vegetables.  In the final product, you could definitely tell the onions weren't sautéed, they were a little sharp.

The Baked Cauliflower takes about 25 minutes, the Chili Bake takes about 50.  I put in a tray of small fingerling potatoes to roast after taking out the baked cauliflower so no space was wasted.

After those 3 dishes were out, I made meatballs with sundried tomatoes based on this recipe and they were amazing:  http://cookprimalgourmet.com/whole30-sundried-chicken-burgers

I did half ground turkey and half bison.

While that was cooking (~ 25 minutes.), I prepped this in the instant pot: http://thechrisellefactor.com/2017/12/the-golden-soup-that-will-make-your-skin-glow/
Saute onions, garlic.  Add ginger, curry paste, broth, sweet potatoes, turmeric, some cayenne, salt, pepper, and coconut milk, set to 15 minutes, natural pressure release.


Yum.

Instant pot whole chicken:

Saute breast side down for a few minutes in avocado oil and spices- salt, pepper, cardamom
Saute other side for a few.
Add 1-2 cups water, high pressure for 32 min, natural release
Fall off the bone awesome!

The stunning return(ish) of the blog, Instant Pot addition:

Frozen chicken thighs (from Trader Joe's).  Still frozen.
A big blob of bbq sauce, and then another cup of water, just in case in needed more liquid.

18 min. pressure
NPR for 15 min, then QR

Removed chicken from pan, added a pile of zucchini/squash that had been spiralized, and the sweet potato strips from TJ's.

6 min. pressure
QR

Both worked pretty well.

Scoot

Braised Short Ribs

Cobbled together from various recipes:

Ingredients:

Some beef short ribs

Salt/Pepper

Bacon or Pancetta

Olive Oil

1 Onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

2 shallots, diced small

2 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

2 cups broth

can of tomato paste

balsamic vinegar, ~ 1 cup (Blackberry flavored)

Sprinkle salt and pepper on ribs.  Set aside.

Heat oven to 350.

In a dutch oven, on top of stove, cook pancetta or bacon.  You're after the fat, not necessarily the bacon, so feel free to snack on the bacon while doing the rest of the cooking!

Add olive oil, sear ribs in grease.  Remove ribs.

Add carrots, onions, shallots, cook for a couple minutes.  Add broth, scrape bottom of pan to get the little browned bits off.

Add tomato paste, vinegar to just about cover ribs, more salt and pepper, and the rosemary and thyme.  Put the lid on and put in the oven for 2 hours.  Reduce heat and cook for 30-45 more minutes.

Pull out and let sit for 20 minutes with the lid on before serving.

Yummy!

Smoky Crockpot Chicken Soup

This recipe is based off of The Freckled Foodie

Into a crockpot, put:
~ 3 lbs. chicken thighs (I shredded them after they were done cooking - they fall apart)
2 small onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 small sweet potatoes, chopped
spoonful of garlic paste
1 T dried basil
2 T tomato paste
2 T South African Smoke Seasoning from Trader Joe's.  (It's Paprika, basil, salt, and garlic.  And it's amazing.)
28 oz. can diced tomatoes (fire roasted)
Can of coconut milk

Cook for 8 hours.

It's delicious, but I didn't do well with the veggies/meat ratio.  I'll add more veggies to the leftovers.

Scooter

Sweet Potato Flatbreads

This recipe is from 21 Day Sugar Detox Cookbook by Diane Sanfilippo.

Mix together:
2 medium sweet potatoes
4 eggs
2 T gelatin (the kind that gels)
1/4 cup coconut oil
shake of salt
enough coconut flour to make it seem the right sticky-dough consistency

Divide into 16 little patties on parchment-lined sheets, cook at 400 F for 20 minutes, flipping them a little over half way through.

Really good with honey, which I'm pretty sure is not allowed if you're actually doing the sugar detox.

Scooter

Paleo Meatballs with Chia seeds

This recipe came from: Bare Root Girl

I'll give the measurements she gave, but I always just wing it:

1 lb. beef (I used bison)
2 T tomato paste
2 cloves garlic (I used dried.  Horrors, I know.)
2 t italian herbs.  (I used more like 2 T, on accident)
1 t sea salt
1 t ground pepper
2 T chia seeds

Combine all ingredients and mush together.  Let rest for a few minutes so the chia seeds can start to absorb moisture.

(The recipe cooked the meatballs on a skillet, but I did it in the oven.)

Form into meatballs, put on a cookie sheet covered with foil.  Bake at 400 F for 25 ish minutes.

They're really good!
Scoot

Sweet Potato Sausage Hash

I asked my sister how she made this after having it several times, courtesy of her.  Every time: "It's super easy, you do blah, blah, blah, and by the way, it's in that cookbook we both have."

Cookbook: Paleo Slow Cooking by Chrissy Gower

I think I overlooked it every time b/c the fist word in the title was jalapeno.

My method:

Thinly slice about 3 sweet potatoes, chop up several bell peppers and 1 onion.  Slice up 8 links of pre-cooked sausage from Costco - some kind of turkey Italian something or other.

Layer everything into the crockpot, add a dash of smashed garlic, cook on low overnight.

Breakfast for days!  And lunch.

Scoot

Quick curry-ish dinner

In a large skillet on the stove-top:

Saute a chopped onion in coconut oil.  Add a big dollop of chopped or crushed garlic (TJ's jarred works great), and some curry paste (Love the Mae Ploy brand).

After 5 mins, add ground beef, cook until browned.

Add half a bag of chopped frozen peppers (also from TJ's).  Or like two chopped fresh peppers

After two minutes, add half a bunch of kale, cook until starting to wilt.

Add a can of coconut milk, cook until heated through.

Enjoy!
Scooter

Tandoori Chicken

I wanted to make the Easy Tandoori Chicken from Nom Nom Paleo.  I didn't have Penzeys tandoori seasoning, but I looked up the ingredients online, and guessed at what to put in.

So:
A couple lbs. of chicken thighs (boneless, skinless), sprinkle some salt and pepper on them.

In a bowl:

1 can coconut milk
lemon juice from one small lemon

Unmeasured amounts of:
garlic powder
paprika
turmeric
cumin
coriander
cardamom
cinnamon
ginger


Pour over the chicken and let marinate for up to a day.

Bake in the oven, on a racked pan, at 375 for 45 ish minutes.  The instructions said to flip them half way through, but I neglected that part.

Scoot

Chili - Smoky and Deep

I wanted to make a deeper, spicier, and smokier chili than I normally make.

I had several different kinds of dried chiles - Guajillo, ancho, new mexico, morita, unknown small red ones.

I dry toasted these on medium high heat.  After they cooled a bit, I added some water and let them soak for 30+ minutes. 

Brew a cup of the smoky caravan tea, with a few things of cardamom in the tea strainer as well.

I seared some round steak on one side, cubed it, and put it into the crockpot.

I browned up some mild pork sausage with a poblano pepper, and put it in the crockpot.

In the same pan, I sauteed up some onions with turkish cumin, smoked paprika, smoked pepper, and some "southwest" seasoning.  Put those in the crockpot.

Cut up some butternut squash, put that in the crockpot.

Cut up a green bell pepper, a red bell pepper, and an anaheim pepper.

Cut up some jarred fire-roasted red peppers.

Put the soaking chiles into the food processor, added a few chipotles in adobo sauce, and whirred until pasty and smooth.  Put this all over the stuff in the crockpot.

Add the tea to the crockpot, a few shakes of fish sauce, some garlic powder, a little bit of coconut aminos, and a can of fire-roasted tomatoes.

Put on low to cook overnight.  In the morning, I may add:

zucchini

chocolate

whiskey

We'll see if this is any good!

Scoot

Oxtail Stew in the Crockpot

Saute some onions in butter.  After a while, add the oxtail and some stew meat, and brown the meat on all sides for a few minutes.

Put into the crockpot with:
Carrots
Celery
Potatoes
6 oz. of tomato paste
broth
thyme
salt
pepper

Let the crockpot rip for 8 hours on low!

First time cooking with oxtail, it was delicious!

Scooter

Beef Jerky Recipes

Currently marinating:

1) Teriyaki sauce out of a bottle
2) Pineapple juice from a can + ginger + tamari (or maybe it was Bragg's Liquid Aminos)
3) Whiskey + smoked salt + smoked pepper + tamari
4) Horseradish mustard + tamari

Will dry tomorrow night and update!

Update: they're good!  I really liked the teriyaki.  And, of course, the whiskey.

Now in the dehydrator:
1) Coffee Rub
2) Cinnamon-Cardamom Rub
3) Hickory smoked salt and pepper Rub
4) Pepper and Alder smoked salt Rub

Scooter

Barbecue Sauce

Decided to try to make some of my own BBQ sauce again today.  I didn't follow any specific recipe, but looked at a bunch and meshed into my own ideas.  I tried to find all the "smoky" things I had.

Pre-pre-prep:
Pull out a package of caramelized onions from the freezer.

Pre-prep:
brew a cup of Stash "Caravan" loose-leaf tea.  It's a tea that is "a dark, robust tea with a distinct smoky flavor."  I really wanted the smoky flavor.  I also add a few cardamom seeds, a few crushed coffee beans, whole cloves, and a sprig of fresh rosemary to the cup.  Let it brew while I made and ate breakfast.

Prep:
In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine:
1 28 oz. carton San Marzano tomatoes
finely diced caramelized onions
the pre-prep cup of tea, with all solids removed
Couple drops of Red Boat fish sauce
Couple Tablespoons of Dijon-Horesradish mustard
A little bit of pomegranate balsamic vinegar.  (I wanted to use espresso, but I was out.)  Maybe 2 teaspoons
A bit of apple cider vinegar.  Maybe 1 T.
A  bit of coconut aminos.  Maybe a little less than 1 T.
Couple pinches of hickory-smoked salt

Couple shakes of:
Penzey's BBQ 3000
Cumin
Chili Powder
Garlic
Black Pepper
Smoked Paprika

Smaller shakes of:
ginger
cinnamon

Let it simmer until desired thickness.  (on Medium for me, low was too low.)  Stir occasionally.  Mine will be simmering for at least 30 minutes.

Scooter

Spring Rolls!

Ingredients: 

Rice wrappers from the Asian food store

The fillings:

Rice noodles (the "glass" kind)

Cilantro

Basil

Mint

Arugula or butter lettuce

cabbage or cabbage slaw

bean sprouts

shredded carrots, etc.

Method:

Soak rice paper in water for 10 ish seconds, put in the fillings, wrap it up!

Delicious served with peanut sauce.

Scooter

Salmon burgers - oven baked

This was based off a combo of recipes between Melissa and Dallas Hartwig's It starts with food and Melissa Joulwan's Well Fed 2.

In a bowl, mix together:
Big can of salmon, drained  (14 ish oz?)
Half a can of sweet potato (1/2 cup ish)
1/2 ish almond flour
2 eggs
Spices! Like:
Big shake of parsley
small shake paprika
garlic
salt
pepper

Let sit in the fridge for 10 minutes.  (Or, 2 if you're impatient like me.)

On a large cookie sheet, put some parchment paper and brush it with melted ghee.
Use a 1/3 cup scoop, scoop out mixture and form into patties.
I formed about 8.  It filled up the entire sheet, I made them around 3 in. across.

Brush the tops with ghee, bake in an pre-heated oven at 425 F for 20 minutes.  Pull them out, flip the burgers over, and brush again with ghee.  Cook for another 15 minutes.

Scooter

Snowy Day 2 ish week food prep

So, I decided I wanted to prep a bunch of meals at once.

The recipes, with a few variations of ingredients:
Beef Stew - Crockpot
Chili - Stovetop
Chicken Chile - Stovetop
Meatballs - Oven (Bison)
Blueberry Pork Breakfast Sausage - Oven
Chicken Thighs - Oven

The method:

I needed to go to the store for a few ingredients, so I prepped the Beef Stew in the Crockpot first, then set it on low.  It'll go for 10 ish hours.

Then:
Chopped onions and garlic for Chili and Chile and put in a bowl.
Chopped sweet potatoes for C&C, put in a separate bowl.
Chopped bell peppers, zucchini, and celery for Chili, put in a separate bowl.

Heat up olive oil in a pot, cook half of onions/garlic for Chili.
Add 1 lb. ground beef.
Add spices.

When meet is brown, heat up olive oil in another pot for Chile.
Add onions/garlic.  After 5 minutes, add sweet potatoes to Chile.
Keep checking in on Chili to make sure it's OK.
Add peppers/zucs/celery to Chili

Open cans of tomatoes for Chili, chicken for Chile, and green chiles. Drain.
Chop Chiles.
Add tomatoes and sweet potatoes to Chili.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour.
Add chiles, cumin, salt, and pepper to Chile.

Add broth to the chile.  Bring to a boil, simmer for 20 min.  Add chicken, long enough to warm it up.

Clear off counter area.

Heat oven to 425 F.

In a large pan, lined with foil, place chicken thighs.  Salt and pepper both sides.  Drizzle with olive oil, add rosemary on top.  Put in oven.

Immediately make breakfast sausages and put in oven with chicken.

Make meatballs.  In 20-22 minutes, pull out the breakfast sausages and put meatballs in oven.
Cook for 20-25 minutes.

Pull both meatballs and chicken out of the oven.

Cool everything off, package, and freeze!

Scooter

Blueberry - Pork breakfast sausages

This recipe was based off of the Stuff I Make my Husband blog.  That recipe has actual amounts of spices (and a few different ones), I just wing it.

Mush together in a bowl:
1 lb. ground pork
handful of frozen blueberries.  (could use fresh.  don't need to thaw)
a couple shakes of the following:
sage
paprika
salt
thyme
coriander
nutmeg
pepper

The recipe calls for cooking it in a skillet, I just formed patties with my hands and baked in the oven at 425 F for 21-23 minutes.  I had it on the low rack, and the juices that were running off started to burn.

I can't believe I've never made my own breakfast sausage blends before, these are awesome!

Dear Self: I made 11 patties, needs a big cookie sheet to cook them on.

Scooter

Orange-Ginger-Garlic Chicken

This was also based off a recipe in Diane Sanfilippo's 21 DSD.

On a stove-top,  preferably in an oven proof skillet, add salt-and-peppered chicken thighs, skin side down, to coconut oil.  Cook for 5-10 minutes.  Add minced onion, minced garlic, minced ginger, juice from several oranges, 1/3 cup coconut aminos, several teaspoons of fish sauce.  Add all this to the chicken.

Her recipe calls for baking it in the oven at 425 F for 30 minutes, but since a fire started in the oven when we turned it on, we just left it on the stove-top, covered, for about the same amount of time, occasionally stirring.

Really, really good.

Scooter