Pork Fried "Rice"

This is a great way to use up left-over pork. It's also a great way to get your family to eat LOTS and LOTS of veggies. 

Ingredients:

8-12 oz. pork, diced

1 can sliced water chestnuts

1 head bok choy, roughly chopped

2 carrots, quartered length-wise and sliced 

1/2 zucchini, chopped

1/2 c. green onions or regular onion

olive oil

2 eggs

coconut aminos

fish sauce

garlic (fresh or powder)

ginger (fresh or powder)

salt

pepper

"riced" cauliflower

sesame oil

Chop up your veggies and your pork. 

Cook your pork (or warm up leftover pork--which is what I did).  Cook in some olive oil, fish sauce, and coconut aminos.  I just drizzled some of each over the top of the pork in the pan. Remove from pan and set aside. 

Saute your veggies in 2 batches.  In the first one, cook the carrots, zucchini and onions together.  The second batch will include the bok choy and water chestnuts.  The first batch will take a little bit longer to cook until tender.  (Thinking back on it, I would probably cook the zucchini with the bok choy rather than the carrots.)  Set the veggies aside.

In a bowl, whisk eggs, a dash of coconut aminos, some salt, pepper, garlic and ginger all together.  Scramble in the same pan used to cook everything else.  Set aside and make sure it's cut up pretty small. 

Add your "riced" cauliflower to the pan.  Pour a little more coconut aminos on here, and some of the other spices if you think it's required.  Mix all the veggies and meat in.  Cook for a couple minutes until the cauliflower is tender and everything is heated back through.  Drizzle with sesame oil. 

Enjoy!  What veggies and meat do you like to throw in your fried rice?

Sausage Stuffed Squash/ "Squasage" Casserole

The ingredients for these 2 recipes are identical.  It's really just a matter of preference in how you'd like to serve them.  Is it going to be a main dish, or a side?  Just for 4, or a group?  These are both "hurry it up" type meal.  You can revise it to just the ol' cook in the oven method if you'd like to, but I rarely allow myself enough time for that unless I'm really on top of the ball.

2 acorn or 2 butternut squash
1 lb Italian Sausage (store-bought or homemade)
1 carrot, chopped finely
1 stalk celery, chopped finely
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
2 T. Italian seasoning
Salt
Pepper
1 egg
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped finely
Olive Oil

Sausage Stuffed Squash 

Cut, seed, and peal the butternut or acorn squash.
(Save the seeds for pepitas!) I used a butternut squash and sliced the top solid part and set those aside. Place the two squash "bowls" into a microwavable glass dish (such as pyrex) with a 1/2" of water.  Microwave for about 5 minutes, or until tender, but not too tender.

In a frying pan, mix the sausage, carrot, celery, onion, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.  Cook until sausage is done. Add 1 egg and scramble the mix (it should not be very egg-y).  Add the parsley and drizzle with a little more olive oil.  Scoop into squash bowls and broil in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until nice and hot and the meat is slightly browned.

With the slices of squash, you should microwave those on a microwavable, oven-safe plate or tray (I used my small stone). Make sure they are covered  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and broil along with the sausage bowl.

Serves 4 as a main dish this way.

"Squasage Casserole"

Prepare your butternut or acorn squash, by cutting in half, seeding, and peeling.  Cube the squash, place in a dish, and microwave, covered, for about 5 minutes, or until slightly tender.  (This can be shorter or longer depending on how much time you have.

Prepare the sausage the same way as above.  Mix with the squash cubes, place in a casserole dish, and bake until heated through, squash is completely tender, and ready to serve.

This way is great as a side!

Enjoy your Squasage! 


What other sweet or savory squash sides do you enjoy for the holidays?

Karissa's Meatballs

The other day my friend Karissa posted her tantalizing meatball dinner on facebook.  It sounded so delish that I just had to have the recipe.  After I made up a batch and tried a few of them for lunch, I asked her if I could post the recipe--she was gracious enough to allow me to share it here!

Karissa's Meatballs

2 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. sausage
2 eggs
1 minced onion (mine was kind of small)
1 minced bell pepper (I used 1/2 of a pepper)
6 minced baby bella mushrooms
2 T. dried basil or 1/2 c. fresh (approx. measurement before mincing)
4 cloves minced garlic
salt
pepper

Combine all of the ingredients well and form into meatballs, either the size of golf balls or slightly larger similar to that of a racquetball.   It makes about 4 dozen golf balls and 2 dozen racquetballs.  Bake at 400* for 15 or 25 minutes, relative to the size you formed your meatballs, flipping once half-way through baking.  Pour off undesired grease and broil for up to an additional 5 minutes making sure they don't burn.



(Note: If frozen, place in the oven at the beginning of the preheating cycle or let thaw for about an hour before ready to bake them.)

I'm so excited to now have 4 dozen of these little suckers stocked up in my freezer to make an amazing meal for my family on those nights that I haven't planned well for dinner, time gets away from me, or I simply want an easy dinner.

Update: I no longer have 4 dozen in my freezer due to the fact that we devoured several for dinner tonight.  They were excellent.

I suggest pairing them with Karissa's Zesty Coconut Sauce over Zucchini "Pasta".  You won't regret it.

Karissa's Zesty Tomato Coconut Sauce

This is an easy sauce to put together with very few ingredients.  I suggest that you enjoy sooner rather than later.

Karissa's Zesty Tomato Coconut Sauce

1 lb. tomatoes, blanched to remove skin
1 can coconut milk
1 can Rotel
1 can tomato sauce
1 T. Italian seasoning
1 t. garlic powder
salt
pepper
dash of cayenne pepper

(Italics not in Karissa's original recipe.  I added them to the batch I made.)

Combine all ingredients and blend well until smooth.  Bring to a gentle simmer and thoroughly heat through.  If you would like, let reduce until desired consistency is reached.

Serve over Spaghetti Squash or Zucchini "Pasta", along with Karissa's Meatballs, and enjoy!

Go ahead and make a large batch and put some in the freezer to go along with the extra meatballs you have!  Or you could enjoy a week of easy lunches for work.  

Beef Soup/Stew

2-4 T. arrowroot powder*
salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs of stew beef, bite sized
2 T. Ghee
a small handful of mushrooms, finely chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 white sweet potatoes (or white potatoes*), largely diced
2 cups pearled onions (or 1 whole onion, roughly chopped)
2 T. tomato paste
4-6 cups of beef broth

*Controversially Paleo, and Whole30... make your own judgement call here.  I chose not to use it today.

IF using arrowroot powder, mix powder with salt and pepper coat bite sized pieces of beef.  If not, skip to the next step.

Heat large (or dutch oven) over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes.  Add ghee, beef, salt and pepper.  Brown on all sides well.

To the meat, add mushrooms and garlic and saute for a couple minutes until softened.

Add celery, carrots, sweet (or white) potatoes, onions, tomato paste, and beef broth.  Simmer for as short as 30 minutes (beef will still be somewhat tough) or as long as a couple of hours.

If you use arrowroot powder, this will thicken it making more of a stew.  However, for Whole30, it will remain more soup-like.

SO yummy.

Mexican Chicken Lime Soup

It's the time of year that really should qualify as good soup weather.  Well, in some parts of the country it is still quite warm... like where I am.  However, for me that does not change the fact that I am hungry for soup.  So I decided to make a batch of this soup and it ended up tasting SO yummy.  This really is a simple recipe.

Mexican Chicken Lime Soup

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 T. cooking fat (Ghee is what I used this time)

salt and pepper to taste

2 cans of diced tomatoes 

2 c. shredded chicken

2 c. chicken stock

3 1/2 T. Mexican Spice Blend 

Juice of 1 lime

Place red pepper, onion, and garlic on a pan and pour melted ghee over it. Salt and pepper it to taste.  Broil this for about 20 min.  (This step could be simplified by sauteing the vegetables in the soup pot until they are soft; however, roasting them under the broiler first adds a depth of flavor.)

While they are roasting, cook your chicken and shred it.  Since I happened to make the stock today as well, I was able to get 2 cups of meat off of the chicken carcass.  They were super tender and fell apart into an amazing consistency in the soup.

                       

                       

In a pot, combine peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, chicken, broth, spices, and lime juice.  Stir until mixed well and simmer until warmed through or ready to serve.

Topping ideas:

Avocado Lime Dressing (minus the water)

Shredded Lettuce

Salsa/Pico De Gallo

Cheese*

Sour Cream*

Corn Chips*

*NOT Paleo/Whole30 approved (I added these for my husband.) 

Spicy Italian Beef Sausage

2 lb. ground beef
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
3 t. paprika
1 1/2 t. Italian seasoning (or mix your own)
2 cloves fresh garlic or 2 t. garlic powder
1/2 to 1 t. crushed red pepper flakes (depending on how much pizzazz you want to add)
1 egg

Mix and mix and mix some more.  Done.

Balsamic Steak Alfredo

Start with steak.

Cover it with some olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and rosemary.  

Cook your pasta according to the directions. 

ook your steak in a Cast Iron Skillet.  It should take about 3-4 minutes per side.  Once it is finished, let it rest while you finish up the sauce. 

While the steak is cooking, slice grape tomatoes in half.  Drizzle them with oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Broil them until they are starting to blister slightly, turn them over and broil them a bit longer. 

In the same pan, pour in the Alfredo sauce. You can make your own, or you can use your favorite store-bought sauce.   Using the same pan allows the flavors from the steak to permeate the sauce. 

Mmmm.

Mix in the noodles.  

Place the noodles and sauce on the plate.  Top with some steak.  Drizzle with balsamic glaze.  Sprinkle Feta cheese and tomatoes on top.  Mmmm. 

Enjoy!

Honey Chicken

Ingredients:

2/3 c. honey

1/2 c. lime juice

2 T. soy sauce or coconut aminos

2 t. sesame oil

2 dried red peppers, crushed (~1 T.)

Combine all of the ingredients and heat over medium until the honey has melted.  The soy sauce acts as the salt and the red peppers are the pepper, so feel free to add more or less of these ingredients to taste.

I used about 10 chicken tenders and poured half of the marinade over the chicken and poke the chicken to allow the flavors to mingle.  Let this rest for about 30 min. (Set the rest of the marinade aside to serve with the meal and/or use as a dressing later.)

Place the chicken on a broiling pan. I don't have a broiling pan, so I just use cooling racks over a baking sheet. Bake it at 375* for about 12-14 minutes.  About every 4-5 minutes, I spooned over some of the marinade.  Since it was going to cook, I used the marinade that the chicken had been in, however the last time you coat it right before serving, make sure to use the fresh marinade so that it is not contaminated with raw chicken.  I served the chicken with green beans and coconut rice.  

Mmmm. 

Cut any leftover chicken up over some fresh romaine lettuce.  Use the remaining marinade as the dressing.  If you desire, saute some Ramen Noodles and almonds together for just a few minutes with some butter until golden and use them as the croutons on the salad.  Enjoy your leftovers as new meal!

Enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna

1/4 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese 

2 cups (8 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided 

1 can chopped green chiles

1 medium onion (about 2/3 cup chopped) 

1 can (28 oz) green enchilada sauce 

12 (6-in.) corn tortillas 

3 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken  (or extra cheese for vegetarian option)

Soften cream cheese. Chop cilantro.  

Mix cream cheese, 1 1/2 c. Monterey Jack cheese, cilantro, and green chiles together. 

Cover bottom of dish with enchilada sauce.

Dip tortillas in sauce. 

Make one layer of tortillas. 

{This usually takes 4 tortillas.  I made 3 separate casseroles because my brother and his family came over for dinner.  My sister-in-law is vegetarian, so I made one vegetarian lasagna.}

Scoop out the cream cheese mixture and spread around.

Sprinkle with onion.

*For the vegetarian dish, add 1/3 of additional cheese.*

*For the regular dish, add 1/3 of the chicken.*

Repeat these steps to create three layers.

Sprinkle 1/2 c. cheese on top of the casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes or until bubbly in the center and golden brown.  

{It can be covered and microwaved on high for 20 to 30 minutes and then finished off in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes to crisp it up.}

Enjoy with sour cream, limes, guacamole, chips and this homemade salsa.

Homemade Salsa:

4 Roma tomatoes

2 serrano peppers, seeded

2 shallots (or 1/2 onion)

cilantro to taste

2 T lime juice

1 T hot sauce of choice

1 t salt

 Chop everything into chunks.  Remember the veins and seeds are the hottest part of the pepper.  Leave as much or as little as desired for level of hotness. 

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. 

Blend to desired consistency.  

Enjoy!