The Ramblings of The Traveling Cook

Lump Crab Stuffed Salmon Fillets and 21 DSD- Day 2

2014-10-13T22:45:00.003-04:00

Day 2 of 21 DSD: So far so good. We have been craving some sugary drinks but I was able to get some stevia sweetened pop for an occasional treat so I think that helped. For dinner last night made this incredible meal.

I have been craving seafood and C just found out that he loves crab. I keep seeing at the store these delicious looking already made meals of crab stuffed salmon but I am never impressed with the list of ingredients that are in it. I really wonder how they come with compilation of some much nasty stuff.

Well I thought I would make some myself and hope for the best with a lot fewer ingredients this time. :) I found some great green beans from the market and quartered some lemons to give this meal some delicious acidity. (Sorry for the quality of the photos :( )

When they came out of the oven, I was so happy they turned out and they look so fabulous. There is no way that we could afford a meal like this at a restaurant that would taste this good so I was so thrilled when it turned out.

I cut about a pound and half of salmon into four fillets and removed the skin. Then in the middle cut a slit into the fish and spread it so I could scoop the filling into it. Put the filling in at baked it at 350 for 20 minutes.

Lump Crab Stuffed Salmon Fillets

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs of wild caught salmon- cut into 4 fillets (about 1.5 in. wide and butterflied in the middle)

Filling:

6 oz can or fresh lump crab-drained
1/2 cup of homemade mayo
1/2 of a small onion-diced finely
1 teaspoon of dill
3 small cloves of garlic-minced
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika-sprinkled on the top
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare salmon fillets and preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Drain crab meat if using canned.

3. Mix all of the ingredients together except the paprika.

4. Even spoon 4 portions of filling into the middle of the fillet.

5. Push filling in gently and spread as desired.

6. Cook for about 20 minutes in the oven.

7. Quarter some lemons to squeeze over the cooked fish.

21 DSD, Farmer's Market, and Quick Lunch- Day 1

2014-10-11T14:44:00.001-04:00

Today is the day! The journey of going through 21 days of now sugar starts now! Starting today I will be sharing my thoughts and meals that I will be making the next three weeks. Lucky for me I am going to use a couple of my own recipes already posted on here. :)

This is my first time doing one of these and I am going by what I have have researched and read about. To me it basically Paleo/Primal with no sugar.

What I have done was plan about one to two weeks of meals and I will try to be sharing the majority of those during the next 21 days. They are going to include some soups, roasted root vegetables, chicken, autumn pork loin, and some seafood.

I had a great morning at the farmer's market. It was disappointing to only see a few vendors left this season but thankful for all the produce I could get for a decent price. Can't beat vegetables that are so fresh with dirt and all. I thought I would share some of the awesome veggies I was able to get this morning.

Cabbage, squash, green beans, peppers, turnips, parsnips, carrots, and kale. :)

So fresh!

Look at these awesome colored eggs! :)

After running around in the market and at my grocery store and stocking up on some new supplies like avocado oil and a bunch of other great stuff, I was not wanting to make some crazy lunch. When I am not in the mood for cooking, I just want something quick. For lunch today, I made C and I some lettuce wraps.

I made these lettuce wraps with Boston lettuce, mayo, two types of salami, ham, and some sliced banana peppers.

For dinner, I think ribs are on the menu. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Well Hello Again!

2014-09-01T15:19:00.002-04:00

The End to My Summer :)

Hello everyone! If you all haven't noticed my blog has been pretty quiet for the past few months. :(
That will be changing soon. I have found inspiration to blog once again. Yay! :) I may not be posting much in the next couple weeks as I am finishing my bachelor's degree. Probably will finish out summer and then be back to posting recipes or last posting pictures of yummy food. I thought I would let ya'll know to expect some recipes soon in the beginning of October as I want to start the 21 DSD. If anyone would like to start that with me, please let me know.

I am currently working on the layout of the blog, so if something doesn't work right, I apologize. I may be taking down or redoing some recipes that I have posted in the past.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful summer.

Soon it will be pumpkin everything!

Sweet and Smokey Oven Baked BBQ Ribs

2013-12-27T18:20:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! Hope you all have been doing well. I have been enjoying Winter break from my college classes and spending time with my family and friends celebrating the holidays. I should have posted some baking recipes but lately some of them have been a disaster. I guess we all live and learn. I did find a pretty awesome recipe for coconut flour based "sugar" cookies.
Well it has been quite snowy here and C and I have been craving BBQ. Grilling is out the question because of were we live, I had to improvise. Those of you that can grill, especially year around, be grateful :). C loves ribs, well why not bake them?! These ribs are pretty awesome. When shopping for these, we go through nearly every single package making sure they have a lot of meat on them and are marbled nicely. We have been pretty lucky so far for the most part. These ribs are so easy to make which makes them more appealing, to me anyway ;).

Don't these look delicious?! These are especially awesome with a potato salad that I concocted. I will post that recipe within the next few days, so keep an eye out because it is the BEST.

Alright are you ready for some BBQ?!

Pick out a nice rack of baby back pork ribs. Rinse off and pat dry.

Now add a dry rub. This time I actually bought a rub from a local spice shop. I hardly ever measure spices but when I make it I add a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, salt, brown sugar, liquid smoke, smokey paprika, and a pinch of chipotle pepper. Now massage those spices in there!

Wrap your ribs in foil, meaty side down, and place in an oven at 250 F for about 2 hours. During this time you could make some sides like that potato salad I am going to post soon or some coleslaw with sweet potato tater tots. Yum!

Now take out, drain all the juices, flip to bone side down, up your oven to 350 F and starting applying the BBQ sauce. I applied a layer of BBQ sauce every 8 minutes about 4 or 5 times. Homemade BBQ sauce is probably the best but I like these two sauces if I am in a pinch (Weber's Original) Here's a recipe that I have used for homemade BBQ Sauce here, I would suggest instead of brown sugar using coconut sugar or even honey and sub the cornstarch for tapioca flour.

This the finished product!

Sweet and Smokey Oven Baked BBQ Ribs

Cooking time: 2 hours and 40 minutes

Servings: about 5 servings

Ingredients:

Rack of baby back ribs

Rub of your choice or a make a mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, salt, brown sugar, liquid smoke, smokey paprika, and a pinch of chipotle pepper.

BBQ sauce- homemade is preferred, recipe here!

Cooking Instructions:

Rinse rack of ribs and pat dry.

Apply rub.

Cover with foil meat side down and put on a cookie sheet.

Cook at 250 F for 2 hours.

Drain juices carefully! It's hot!

Increase temperature to 350 F.

Apply a layer of BBQ sauce and cook for 8 minutes. Repeat this step four to five times.

Cut and enjoy!

Hope you all will enjoy this recipe, especially if you are snowed in and want some summer inside the kitchen!! Please leave comments to let me know how you liked it or with suggestions or thoughts. Hope you all have a Happy New Year if you don't hear from me before than!

Dairy Free Pepper Ranch Dressing

2013-12-10T01:06:00.000-05:00

I used to love ranch dressing and I would put it on everything. Fries, pizza, you know name it, I probably had ranch on it. Well since going to Primal/Paleo, I now make my own. I have tinkered around with it trying to find the best taste. Well I think finally found it today! It is on the peppery side but I like that with a grilled chicken salad. You can always half or just leave out the pepper all together. To me, this tastes pretty close to the real stuff and the extra pepper just makes it that much better.

Dairy Free Pepper Ranch Dressing
Cook time: 5 min.
Makes about 1 cup of dressing

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of mayo- homemade mayo is preferred (healthier and no additives!) here's a quick and easy recipe for homemade mayo here!
1/4 cup of milk- I like to use coconut milk (not canned) or almond milk works too
2 teaspoons of dried dill
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of pepper

Instructions:
Add all of the ingredients and whisk with a fork or if using a jar just shake it up until thoroughly mixed.
It seems pretty thin but it does thicken and the flavors really come together when it sits in the fridge for about an hour or so. I am not sure how long it will last in the fridge as we usually use it up the same or next day.
Hope you all enjoy it!!

I made a grilled chicken salad with it today for lunch. C thought it was the best salad he ever had! :)

I used romaine, hard boiled eggs, onions, and dried cranberries.

I grilled one chicken breast, let it rest, then sliced it, and let it cool, then added to salad.

Delicious lunch!!!

I am sure diced avocados, tomatoes, and bacon would go really with this too!

For an easy take to work lunch, make the chicken the night before, pack lettuce with eggs and other veggies, put ranch in a small separate container and you're ready for lunch!

General Tso Chicken and Cauliflower Fried "Rice"

2013-12-06T15:41:00.000-05:00

I have been celebrating my birthday all week. Yesterday was officially my birthday and I had so much fun going to a delicious Indian restaurant with my mom and watching a whole season of Downton Abbey with my boyfriend. It was such a nice day.

Well I have been missing Chinese food and I found an absolutely awesome recipe for General Tso Chicken. I hate frying foods as I used to burn them or not cook things like chicken all the way through but burn the outside. I finally got frying foods best friend, a thermometer. So if you do not have one and want to make this, I would suggest you do as knowing what temperature the chicken is. Ok, it tastes just like take out but it is gluten free and no bad additives in the sauce. This chicken goes so well with cauliflower fried "rice".

What I loved about this recipe was how easy it was. Just marinate the chicken in an egg white marinade and then add to a bowl of tapioca flour etc and then fry! The sauce is easy to make as well. I would suggest doubling the sauce recipe.

I found this wonderful recipe at Jan's Sushi Bar Blog. You can find the General Tso Chicken recipe here.

I did not get a chance to take pics of the Cauliflower Fried "Rice" but I will share my rendition of the recipe.
I like to do things the easy way and if I can add everything to my blender or food processor, I will. So I did and takes so much chopping out the way!

Cauliflower Fried "Rice"
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 10 min.
Servings: About 3

Ingrediants:
3 tablespoons of coconut oil
1/2 head of cauliflower- stems removed
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
2 teaspoons of minced ginger
1 medium onion- quartered
1 cup of carrots- coarsely chopped
3 green onions- sliced
3 eggs- mixed

Instructions:
Add oil to pan and let it melt.
Add cauliflower, onion, and carrots to food processor or blender and pulse until everything is very coarsely chopped. The cauliflower will want to look like rice.
Add the veggies to the pan and saute.
Add the soy sauce, garlic, and ginger.
When nearly tender add the eggs and mix in pan to scramble.
Cook until tender.
Top with sliced green onions.

Hope you enjoy both recipes!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2013-11-25T14:40:00.000-05:00

Happy belated Thanksgiving! Hope you all had a wonderful, tasty, and safe Thanksgiving. Now that we all are hungover from the such delicious food, I thought I would share something easy and lite! I am sorry for the lack of posts.. again.. My classes have been pretty hectic lately and have not had the chance to take a lot of photos and try new recipes.

Well I love pizza and this recipe that I found actually is not that hard. It has a nice crust and even bubbles a little without the wait of yeast. Trying to find the right combo of pizza toppings can be frustrating with the lack of cheese. Well I came up with a BBQ Chicken toppings to go with the wonderful pizza crust recipe from Feed the Clan Blog. To go check the crust recipe out go head on over there. It is a thin crust pizza and it is kind of crisp on the outside, it is rather chewy, in a good way. What contributes to the chewiness is the main ingredient of tapioca flour. Being on a budget, experimenting with tapioca flour is kind of nice since it is pretty cheap compared to coconut flour and almond flour.

To make the pizza:

Make your crust, recipe here.

Bake the crust for about 30-35 minutes

For the toppings for my BBQ Chicken Pizza:

I chopped one large chicken breast into small pieces. Sauteed til fully cooked. I also seasoned with a BBQ seasoning or you could sub with anything you think would fit best.

I made a BBQ pizza sauce by combining half of a small can of tomato paste and a 1/3 cup of BBQ sauce. ( I like Weber brand as it does not use HFCS).

I diced up some red onions.

I popped it in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Hope you enjoy this pizza as much as I did. I was thinking about maybe next time mixing it up and making a Mexican taco pizza.

Ideas for Prepping Your Healthy Thanksgiving Menu!

2013-11-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

Hello all! What is everyone doing for Thanksgiving? Making a big turkey? Leaving that for someone else to cook? Well I am not sure what exactly I am cooking for Thanksgiving but I have accumulated a list of recipes that I certainly want to try. I thought that I would share these recipes with you in case you are looking for something new or a substitute for a certain recipe. I know I am looking to try a healthier version of the green bean casserole. Yea I know legumes are not necessarily Paleo but c'mon it's Thanksgiving. The maple pecan pie filling that I posted is absolutely lovely and does not use refined sugars. Alright so let's get sharing!

Beverages and Appetizers- Ideas and sites

Soda water with lemon and lime juice mixed with cranberry juice
Apple cider in a slow cooker with cinnamon and some cloves

The Main Course
Turkey from the Primal Palate
Spinach and Cranberry Stuffed Pork Tenderloin by DJ Foodie

Sides
Apple-Cranberry Holiday Stuffing from the AutoImmune Paleo
Sugarless Cranberry Sauce by Wellness Mama
Gravy by Holistic Squid- this could be awesome over mashed cauliflower ( just boil, mash with some butter or coconut oil, season, and bam! low carb mash)
Sweet Potato Casserole by Wellness Mama - I love how there's a marshmallow topping recipe with it too!
Grain Free Stuffing from Wellness Mama
Healthy Green Been Casserole from Wellness Mama

Desserts
Cranberry Crumb Bars with Pecans and Rosemary by Real Food Kosher
Apple Cider Doughnuts from Paleo Spirit- Super yum dipped in apple cider!
Pumpkin Pie from Comfy Belly
Pecan Pie Filling
Pumpkin Bars by Beauty and the Foody- boyfriend approved :)
Cranberry Orange Muffins by Healthy Living How To
Pumpkin Roll from Primally Inspired
Xylitol syrup- well I like honey and maple syrup, I sometimes try to keep it low carb by using Xylitol made from birch trees, here's a recipe that can be used as a substitute for maple syrup or honey without the aftertaste.

Leftovers
Chicken Artichoke Salad- while the recipe is with chicken, I am sure that leftover turkey would be delicious! Maybe add some cranberries! Yum!
My Creamy Kale Soup- Instead of sausage put in leftover turkey!

Well I hope this list was helpful and found some inspirations for your own Thanksgiving menu. Please share any recipes or ideas!

Paleo Creamy Kale, Sausage, and Sweet Potato Soup

2013-11-10T04:44:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! Hope you all are enjoying the last day of the weekend. Since it has been so cool outside, I have been craving soup. I was inspired to make this soup that was based on an Olive Garden soup. Well this is a whole lot better for you than the soup from there and it is so easy to make and delicious, the drive to Olive Garden would be more work. So let's get to cooking and then we shall eat!

Here are the ingredients you will need.

Start browning your sausage. I chose savory sage flavor instead of regular or Italian.

Chop up your bacon and add that to your sausage when it is mostly browned or you can cook in a separate pan. :)

Add your veggies (onions, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes) to the 5 cups of water and two cups of chicken stock. Let that cook for 10 minutes while simmering then check the softness of the sweet potatoes.

Then add your kale and cook for a couple of minutes so it can wilt. Add your can of coconut milk and simmer. Then add your sausage and bacon. At this point I added some sage, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.*

Enjoy!!!!!

Paleo Creamy Kale, Sausage, and Sweet Potato Soup

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Yield: 5-6 1.5 cup servings
Ingredients:

· 1 lb. ground sausage
· 8 slices of thick cut bacon
· 2 sweet potatoes- peeled and cubed
· 1 medium onion- diced
· 1 cup of mushrooms- sliced
· 4-5 cups of kale- chopped (another suggestion I have seen it to use spinach!)
· 5 cups of water
· 2 cups of chicken stock
· 1 can of coconut milk or 1 1/2 c of milk of your choice*
· 1 Tbs. of garlic powder
· Salt and pepper

Cooking Directions:

1.      Start browning your sausage.

2.      Chop up your bacon and add that to your sausage when it is mostly browned or you can cook in a separate pan. When cooked, take off of heat and drain.

3.      Add your veggies (onions, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes) to the 5 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken stock. Let that cook for 10 minutes while simmering then check the softness of the sweet potatoes.

4.      Then add your kale and cook for a couple of minutes so it can wilt.

5.      Add your can of coconut milk (or choice of milk) and simmer.*

6.      Then add your sausage and bacon.

7.      At this point I added some sage, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

8.      Enjoy!!!!

* I recently saw a question regarding this recipe using coconut milk. It is only used because it gives this soup that milky creaminess. In NO way shape or form does it taste like coconut nor does it bring any sweetness. :) Because you want the creaminess, I would NOT use lite version. The type I usually use is the Thai Coconut Kitchen. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions!

For the Love of Cheese, and Icecream!

2013-11-03T17:56:00.002-05:00

So sorry about the lack of recipe posts recently. I have not made anything to interesting the past few days. Well I did make C some pumpkin bars last night, but I was too tired to take pics of the recipe and my kitchen was a mess...

So cheese. I miss cheese. Goat cheese is great an all but I miss lovely gooy stringy cheese. Has anyone tried mozeralla goat cheese? I have thinking about getting it but its on the pricey side, maybe another day or week. I have tried numerous brands of vegan cheese and they just tasted super funky and had the weirdest consistency. We miss cheese. Cheese just makes everything better except our stomachs, woo our stomachs with dairy, not so nice. So I am trying to let my insides heal, so definitely no cheese. We miss ice cream too. There are a lot of dairy free ice cream recipes out there but alas, they need an ice cream maker. :( Sad, maybe I'll save up for one. Coconut ice cream is great at the store but not a whole lot of flavors and its even more expensive then Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I am sorry but paying 7 dollars for some chocolate coconut ice cream is a little too much for just a little thing. :( If anyone has any great dairy free options, please let me know and share on here! Would love to hear all about them!

So I have been browsing recipes today and I have found some great ones that I will hopefully be trying out. There is one (actually two) that I am especially excited about that I am going to tinker with and I hope they turn out and if they do, most definitely going to be sharing it on here! So just be patient, more yummyness will be coming shortly, just have to wait.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. You'll hear from me soon and hopefully I will hear from you soon too!

Oh I did make some great sugar free brownies the other day for my grandma's birthday. For those of you that wanted the recipe here it is. http://www.foodiefiasco.com/amazing-low-carb-brownies/

A Halloween Treat: Maple Pecan Pie

2013-10-30T23:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween all! What are you up to this upcoming Halloween? Dressing up, going to a party, going trick-or-treating with the kiddos? Well while you decide what to do, why not make this wonderful and super tasty maple pecan pie?! I mean it is pecan pie made with maple syrup AND coconut sugar without corn syrup and it tastes AMAZING!! Now I used two recipe from two different blogs. For the crust, I used Primally Inspired's dough for her apple dumplings (original recipe here) and for the pecan filling from Deliciously Organic's blog (original recipe here). These two blogs have a wealth of information and recipes so please make sure to check out their original recipes and another awesome stuff they may have!!

Let's start with the crust!

Here are the ingredients you will need. Now I forgot, to put in there the coconut sugar, whoops!

Now let's get started! Add the coconut oil, dairy free milk, lemon juice, and vanilla to a medium saucepan and let everything come together as much as oil and milk can come together over medium heat. ;) Then remove pan from the stove.

Now the original recipe calls for arrowroot powder and I did not have any so I substituted with tapioca flour. Now I have no used arrowroot flour before so I am not sure what the consistency of it is, but with tapioca flour, is can be very gummy. So while this crust is tasty, with my substitution, it is not a flaky crust but a very tender and possibly a little elasticy (yes, I know this is not a real word) one. So add your sweetener, in this case Grade B maple syrup and tapioca. Now this looks like a huge blob of a mess, but as Primally Inspired promises, it will come together! And it does but I forgot to take a pic of it. Sorry, I made this pie as a request at like 4 in the morning. Now let the mess cool, because you're going to add and egg and egg chunks in a pie are not cool. So now wait a few minutes, go check Facebook or read some more of my blog posts! Actually should probably started on the filling. Sorry.....

Alright now that the mess is cool add your egg, mix around a little bit then add your coconut flour. See it is coming together now! Now you can roll out between two pieces of parchment paper or you can be lazy like me and just plop it is and press the dough into the greased pan with your fingers. There might be a little bit extra dough unless you're using a deep dish pie pan, then they're might not be extra, or you get all fancy with your crust, which I might do another day for another pie, but not today! :)

Now pre-bake your crust. I did mine at 375 for about 10-15 minutes.

Now let's get to the yummy filling!

Heat up your syrup til about 220 degrees F in a small sauce pan. Yea, have fun with the dishes, unless you have a dishwasher, then I am jealous. I digress... Now when that is a simmering add that to your coconut sugar ( I am sure brown sugar would be just fine) and butter (again, subbing with coconut oil or ghee will probably work fine too) and whisk away! Then add eggs and vanilla and whisk some more!

Add your filling to the pie crust. Then pecans. Put a crust shield on it with aluminum foil around it so the crust doesn't burn. Cook at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes then at 350 for 10-15 mins. The middle will be little bit jiggly but it will firm when it starts to cool.

This is a super yummy recipe, I hope you enjoy it and I hope you all have a super fun but safe Halloween!!!

Pie Crust

Please go to Primally Inspired's blog for the original pie crust recipe here.

Maple Pecan Pie Filling

Original recipe here.
Prep time: 10 min.
Cook time: 30 min.
Total time: 40 min.
Yield: filling for one pie
Ingredients:

· 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon Grade B maple syrup
· 1/2 cup coconut sugar
· 2 tablespoons butter 
· 3 large eggs 
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
· 1 1/4 cups pecan halves

Cooking Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2.      Warm maple syrup to 220 degrees F.

3.      Pour onto coconut sugar and butter; whisk.

4.      Add eggs, vanilla, and salt; whisk.

5.      Pour onto pie crust; add pecans.

6.      Put a crust protector or aluminum foil.

7.      Cook at 400 deg. For 15 minutes.

8.      Lower heat to 350 deg and cook for about 10-15 more minutes.

9.      Middle may kind of jiggle in the middle but it will firm when cooling.

10. Let it cool and enjoy!

Butternut squash and meatball deliciousness!

2013-10-28T23:30:00.000-04:00

Well it is definitely fall over here which means.. wait for it... squash and pumpkin season!!!!! Well I found the best recipe ever to use them up and it tasted ever so wonderful so I thought I would share the recipe!!! I found the original recipe here. The original recipe used spaghetti squash and I only had a butternut squash that I bought ever so nicely priced at our local farmer's market. I did a couple of alterations but make sure to go visit What Jessie Eats blog as well for the original recipe! She has some great stuff on there!

Here we go! Butternut Squash and Meatball Deliciousness!!!

So here we go! Let's start cooking. Now depending on what type of squash you use, make sure to know around how long it takes. I had never cooked a squash until this recipe so, I did not know it takes FOREVER. My butternut squash was a big one so I cooked it for around 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Here are the ingredients that you will need. I forgot to put an onion, so pretend there's an onion. ;)

I recommend starting to prep your squash as it takes the longest to cook. Pre-heat your oven at 350 degrees F.

I cut off a little bit off the top so I could cut through it easier. Be careful!

Now remove the seeds and carve it out a little bit. To make room for the meatballs, when the squash is cook, you can remove some of flesh to make more it bowl like as the flesh is to hard pre-cooked to carve out more. Once you take the seeds it, rub coconut oil, olive oil, or butter all over the inside. I used butter this time as I handle it OK for the most part. I used European butter as it has more flavor and less water than American butter.

Put it on a baking sheet and your ready to go! I cooked mine at 350 degrees F for about 1 hours and 15 minutes.

Mmmm! YummY!!!!

Butternut Squash

Prep time: 10
Cook time: 45 mins. to 1 hr and 15 mins.
Total time: 55 mins to 1 hr and 25 mins.
Yield: two halves
Ingredients

1 butternut squash- or any other type you like
2 Tbs butter, olive oil, or coconut oil

Cooking Directions

I recommend starting to prep your squash as it takes the longest to cook.
Pre-heat your oven at 350 degrees F.
I cut off a little bit off the top so I could cut through it easier. Be careful!
Now remove the seeds and carve it out a little bit.
To make room for the meatballs, when the squash is cook, you can remove some of flesh to make more it bowl like as the flesh is to hard pre-cooked to carve out more.
Once you take the seeds it, rub coconut oil, olive oil, or butter all over the inside. I used butter this time as I handle it OK for the most part. I used European butter as it has more flavor and less water than American butter.
Put it on a baking sheet and your ready to go!
I cooked mine at 350 degrees F for about 1 hours and 15 minutes.

Now let's get to the meatballs and delicious onion and mushroom gravy!

Mix your ground beef with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper, and salt. Add your egg mix and form your meatballs and put them in the pan. I was able to make 9 meatballs with 1lb of ground beef.

While those are browning start prepping your veggies. I used bella mushrooms and a medium onion.

When your meatballs become all nice and browned all sides and cooked through, remove them.

Add a tablespoon of coconut oil or butter to the pan. Then add your sliced mushrooms and cook on medium. When they start to brown add your diced onion.

Then add your beef stock and coconut milk to the pan and season with salt and pepper and garlic powder if you like. Let it start to simmer. Add the coconut flour and simmer. Then add your thickening agent, the original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of arrowroot or tapioca start. Mine did not thicken very well so I did add a tablespoon of corn starch. When you add a powdered thickening start to a liquid, it is a good idea to mix the powder with a couple tablespoon of water otherwise when added to a gravy it creates lumps of starch.
It will then turn into this wonderful golden delicious brown gravy. This would be great on white potatoes as well.

Now add your meatballs to the lovely gravy and let them cook in there for a few minutes.

You may want to prep your squash and take out a little bit of the flesh to make room for the meatballs and gravy. Ladle them in and Walla! Wonderful Fall deliciousness!!!!

Meatballs

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: around 15 mins
Yield: 9-10 meatballs
Ingredients

1lb ground beef
1 egg
2 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 TBS garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Cooking Directions

Mix your ground beef with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper, and salt.
Add your egg, mix with your hands and form your meatballs and put them in the pan. I was able to make 9 meatballs with 1lb of ground beef.
While those are browning start prepping your veggies.
When your meatballs become all nice and browned all sides and cooked through, remove them.

Onion and Mushroom Brown Gravy

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Ingredients

2 1/2 cups sliced mushroom
1 medium onion-diced
2 cups beef stock
1 cup coconut milk- I used the carton kind
2 Tbs coconut flour
2 Tbs arrowroot or tapioca starch

Cooking Directions

Add a tablespoon of coconut oil or butter to the pan.
Then add your sliced mushrooms and cook on medium.
When they start to brown add your diced onion.
Then add your beef stock and coconut milk to the pan and season with salt and pepper and garlic powder if you like. Let it start to simmer.
Add the coconut flour and simmer.
Then add your thickening agent, the original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of arrowroot or tapioca start. Mine did not thicken very well so I did add a tablespoon of corn starch. When you add a powdered thickening start to a liquid, it is a good idea to mix the powder with a couple tablespoon of water otherwise when added to a gravy it creates lumps of starch.
Let it thicken nicely on medium heat.
When gravy is thickened add your meatballs to the lovely gravy and let them cook in there for a few minutes.

Hope you enjoy this delicious recipe. Don't forget to check out the original recipe here at What Jessie Eats!

Cold weather = warm soup and bread

2013-10-27T20:03:00.000-04:00

It has been pretty cold over here and it was snowing the other day, so which means a craving for grilled cheese and tomato soup. Well I can't have normal bread (or cow cheese for that matter) and I have not found a great recipe until NOW! I am super excited about sharing this. I tried to make tomato soup. While it had a nice flavor, C and I decided it best suited as tomato sauce. :( I figured out a different recipe but I will make that for a different blustery cold day as many will be coming soon anyway. So instead I will review and share the bread recipe with a couple alterations I made.

Isn't this lovely? I mean c'mon, it looks like whole wheat bread. To me the bread was kind of sweet and was dense but it was nice to have with some olive butter and some jam. I did make a BLT out of it and it was just kinda weird. I did make grilled cheese, I used goat cheddar cheese, and it was pretty good. It did not toast the greatest though. I think this bread would be best for jam and nut butter, jam and butter, and possibly a turkey type of sandwich as the bread is kind of sweet. The bread cuts wonderfully.

I found this recipe from Paleo Guilty Kitchen Blog. Here is the link to the original bread recipe here.

My bread did not rise as much as hers but I did make a couple of alterations. Instead of ground flax seed I used chia meal. I love chia seeds and I think they are a great source of nutrition. Here's a link of all of the great benefits chia seeds have to offer. Chia seeds are increasing in popularity and can be found at local health food stores and some supermarkets. I bought ground chia seeds and I was only able to find ground there. I have found in some cases that flax seeds and chia seeds can be used interchangeably, I just prefer to use chia seeds. I did use store bought almond butter as she recommends making your own, I am not sure my basic ninja blender could handle it. I have not tried making my own butters as of yet.

Doesn't that look delicious? Well it was! Hope you are able to make this soon. Here's a link to the original recipe from the Paleo Guilty Kitchen Blog.

The Ultimate Breakfast: Kale and Eggs

2013-10-25T04:06:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone! Now I am not the type of person who likes to eat a heavy breakfast and this breakfast while filling is still nice and light.

Doesn't it look yummy and fresh?

Let's start with the kale and veggies! Now I added onions, red peppers, and mushrooms to the kale but you can take out or add anything in that suits your fancy.

Let's start prepping!

Remove the stems from the kale and chop up.

Dice up the onions, mushrooms, and red pepper.

Get your eggs out, let them sit out for a few minutes as it will help with the evenness of the cooking. I prep the pan with a little coconut oil, crack my eggs, cover and then turn on the heat to medium low when I put in the kale.

Add your diced veggies, cook at medium low, and when the onions start to turn clearish that's when you add the kale. It looks like a lot of kale but it reduces A LOT!

When your eggs look like this, turn off the heat and let it sit on the stove covered and it will continue to cook. I have found doing this has helped me not to create a crusty bottom on the egg.

We like our eggs slightly yolky in the middle and this does the trick. :)

Your eggs and veggies should be done cooking around the same time. The kale really does not take a long time to cook, so keep an eye on it.

Kale and Veggies

Ingredients

7-8 cups kale
1 medium onion-diced
1 cup mushrooms
quarter of a
red pepper
goat milk feta

Cooking Directions

Dice the onions, red pepper, and mushrooms.
Cut off the stems of the kale and slice.
Add a little bit of coconut oil to your pan.
Add the red pepper and mushrooms and cook them about two minutes.
Add the diced onions.
When the onions are getting soft add the chopped kale.
Cover the pan and cook on medium to medium low and stir every couple minutes.
Takes about five for the kale to fully cook.
Take off of heat, serve, and enjoy.

I topped my plate with local goat feta and fresh from the market tomatoes. Gives it a nice tasty touch! Hope you will enjoy this meal as much as we do!

Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, and Steak with Honey Glazed Carrots

2013-10-22T00:44:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone! Hope you all are enjoying your Fall day! Can't believe how cold it is and I think I saw my first snowflake! Not Cool!!!!!! Well people probably do not want to be grilling or they have already started to put away the Summer patio. Well here's a recipe for some ribeye topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms so good, no one needs that A-1 sauce.

To start you will want to prep all of your ingredients. Peel and cut the carrots, slice the mushrooms and onions, and season the steak. Make sure to take your steak out as it will cook more evenly when it is near room temperature. Start cooking the carrots first.

Honey Glazed Carrots

Recipe by The Traveling Cook

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients

about 2 1/2 cups pealed and cut into about 1-2 in pieces of carrots
2 cups water
1/2 Tbs raw local honey
2 Tbs water

Cooking Directions

Wash your carrots and start peeling. I cut the ends off.
Put them in your pan and add your 2 cups of water, you just want enough water to cover the carrots.
Place a lid over the pan. Put your temp on around medium to medium high.
Let them cook for about 15 minutes.
Take the lid off and let them cook for about five more minutes until there is not water left.
Then add the 2 tablespoons of water and the half of tablespoon of the raw honey.
Let that cook a little and lower your heat.
Walla! Yummy glazed carrots!

Now lets start on the caramelized onions. Those can start cooking about 5 minutes into while the carrots are cooking.

Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

Recipe by The Traveling Cook

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients

1 Tbs coconut oil
1 medium onion- cut in half and sliced
1 package of mushrooms- used shiitake this time

Cooking Directions

Put about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in your pan.
Start heating the pan, on medium low to medium. If the onions start to brown to quickly make sure to lower heat!
You can chop or add smaller mushrooms whole. I used shiitake this time but baby bellas and white mushrooms work well too.
Add those to your pan and cook them for a couple minutes.
Add your sliced onion.
Season with salt and pepper.
Then cover.
Check them every couple minutes and stir.
Once the onions become a tan color and are soft, they should be ready.
Can taste them to see if they are to your liking too.
These taste great with steak, sauteed kale, or even eggs!

Now on to the steak!!

Steak

Recipe by The Traveling Cook

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 12-20 minutes
Total time: 17-25 minutes
Ingredients

1lb steak- ribeye works well or any other cut
cracked black pepper
sea or Celtic salt

Cooking Directions

Take the steak out of the fridge to let some of the chill off of it. This lets it help the cooking process as it will be more even if the middle is the same temperature at the outside.
I used ribeye but I other cuts will work well. The cooking times may be different so keep that in mind and it also depends on how well you want your meat done. We like ours medium, which is a pink in the middle.
Season your steak liberally with pepper and sea salt and rub in on both sides.
Now that your pan is hopefully nice and hot ( I use medium temp on my electric stove) place your seasoned steak carefully on the pan.
Make sure to be careful and not get splattered.
For my cut of steak, I cooked mine for about 6 minutes on each side.
Do not keep flipping over as you want a nice crust on the outside.
Do not cover either as you will steam the steak instead of searing it.
Now that you have cooked the steak, you can check to make sure it is the cooked to your liking but do not slice it open.
Let the steak rest! Let it take a little nap! Around 8-10 will do otherwise you lose all of the lovely juices and end up with a drier steak. :(
Now that the steak is up and ready to be eaten cut in and enjoy!

Hope you all will enjoy this dinner. Steak is always a nice treat meal to have once in awhile, especially when there is a good sale. Well I am off. Going to the market tomorrow and I am sure it will be a blast. Maybe I will post photos tomorrow!

Welcome!

2013-10-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Welcome to my new blog. I should be posting recipes or creations that I will be making in the next few days as I have just started this blog and quite new with this thing. So patience is welcomed. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!