Yummy Chili

I love soup and chili is a sort-of soup. Plus, it's comfort food in the winter. I usually love my chili topped with cheese and more onions. But dairy is out for now so I topped this chili with avocado slices.

And of course, chili gets better the next day, so I'd say make a double batch and have plenty of leftovers. I'm going to a potluck next week and I'm going to be bringing this chili. That way I know there is something Whole30 approved, clean, and filling.

I found this recipe for chili from Melissa Joulwan and modified it slightly.

Food for Thought:

• Since this recipe has you simmer for at least 2 hours, make sure to start in time. I didn't start prepping until 5pm thinking we'd eat at 6pm. Wrong!
• The hint of chocolate adds a bit of interest, but I could have added even more chocolate.
• One pot cooking is great! Easy for clean-up.  And only a small bowl to mix the dry ingredients together.
• Could be great in a crock pot. Make everything on the stove first, and then transfer to crock pot to finish cooking and simmering.  That's how I'm going to do it for my upcoming potluck.

Would I make this again?  Definitely YES. This was a winner

Ingredients - Serves  3 - 4:
2 tablespoon Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
1 onion, diced  (I used 1/2 sweet onion and 1/2 red onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound of ground beef
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) beef broth
1 cup water

Instructions:
Add oil to a large deep pot and saute onions until translucent. If you use coconut oil, you can turn the heat up a bit higher. It took me about 5 minutes until the onions were translucent. Then add the minced garlic and saute the onions and garlic for another minute.

Add in the ground beef and crumble it either with a wooden spatula in the pot or just with your hand before placing it into the pot.  Brown it until it is no longer pink.

While it is browning, in a small bowl combine the dry ingredients: oregano leaves, chili powder, ancho chili powder, ground cumin, salt, and unsweetened cocoa. Mix these together with a fork and then pour into the pot.  Mix the dry ingredients with the ground beef mixture until it is thoroughly mixed.

Add the tomato paste, the diced tomatoes plus the juice, the beef broth, and the water.  Mix it well into the ground beef mixture.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let this simmer for at least two hours.

When ready to serve, top with onions, avocado, or even cabbage.  Here it is with a side of crispy brussels sprouts.

Grilled (sort of) Salmon with Avocado-Lime Salsa

For Day 1 on the Whole30 Eating program I had scrambled eggs with kale and tomatoes for breakfast, I actually only had an apple for lunch, and for dinner, I made grilled salmon. I was going to bake it in the oven, but I took out my George Foreman grill and used that.

As a side dish to the salmon, I sauteed yellow squash with some onions in olive oil.  No too many photos for this one.

Ingredients (serves 2 - 4)
2 pounds of salmon, cut into 4 pieces (I had just over a pound of salmon with the skin on)
1 TBS Olive Oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp Ancho Chili powder

And for the avocado salsa
1 avocado (diced)
1/2 red onion (diced)
juice from two limes
chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Food for Thought

• You could probably season the salmon and make the avocado salsa the night before.
• For the avocado salsa, I'd probably double or triple the batch and use the next day on top of some scrambled eggs or even put in a salad.
• This is the first time I've use the George Foreman grill to cook anything but burgers and it was easy with little clean up. My Foreman grill is a small one and had to cook only one salmon piece at a time.
• Since my salmon had the skin on, I grilled the seasoned-side face down so I could remove the skin after about 2 minutes and continue grilling.
• Not too much clean-up. The grill was easy to clean and the avocado salsa was all mixed together in one bowl.

Would I make this again? Yes!   The salmon was flavorful with those spices; however the lime flavoring overpowered the seasonings on the salmon (I thought).

Instructions

Mix the spices together in a small bowl.  Spread some olive oil on the salmon and then spread (or pat) the spices on the salmon. Let this sit on the counter or in the refrigerator for about 15 - 30 minutes (now is a good time to start sauteeing other vegetables for you side dish.)

When ready to grill (you could also put this in the oven or the barbecue), I had to get a sharp knife and cut through the skin. Place each piece on the grill and cook until desired amount of done-ness.  I think I only cooked mine for about 3-4 minutes.  

As I mentioned earlier, since my salmon had the skin on, after about 2 minutes, I lifted the lid and peeled the skin off. Then continued to grill for about another 45 seconds or one minute.

For the avocado salsa:

Combine the diced onion, lime juice, and diced avocado in a bowl. Mix in some finely chopped cilantro to taste. Add salt to taste.  Stir it all together and refrigerate until ready to use.

Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

My daughter had some Brussels Sprouts at Thanksgiving and she really loved them and thought we could do something yummy with them as well (maybe even try the same recipe.)  I arrived late at Thanksgiving so I wasn't able to sample the deliciousness, so I opted to make something else.

I love multi-taste sensations (casseroles, quiche, lasagna, etc.) so this recipe had all the ingredients to make me smile - not to mention it is super-easy.  Modified from a recipe from Food Network Magazine.

Ingredients (Serves 2 - 4):
1 lb of Brussels Sprouts (I used 12 oz)
1 Cup shredded Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 Cup breadcrumbs
Salt, pepper, ancho chili power, garlic powder
2 TBSP butter

Food for Thought:

• This can be a low-carb meal if you eliminate the breadcrumbs
• Speaking of bread crumbs, you could crunch up Corn Flakes on top instead
• You could also use 1/2 cup of cheese, but I think "the cheesier the better"
• Not too much clean-up - 1 large pot, a strainer, and a 2-quart baking dish

Would I make this again?  YES - the reason this serves 2 - 4 is because both my daughter and I had seconds and finished off the entire portion!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray 2 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  If no spray available, use butter.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  While waiting for the water to boil, rinse the Brussels Sprouts and cut off the outer layers of leaves and the stems.

Add the Brussels Sprouts to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Drain the Brussels Sprouts and coarsely chop.  I made 3 cuts vertically and 3 cuts horizontally.  This is a good time to remove any excess stem or outer leaves you may have missed.

Place the chopped Brussels Sprouts into the baking dish.  In this same baking dish, add in the seasoning to taste (garlic powder, fresh ground pepper, kosher salt, ancho chili powder) and stir.

Add the heavy whipping cream, the cheese, and top with breadcrumbs.  Take several pats of butter and place on top of the breadcrumbs.

Bake until bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Stuffed Cabbage

Okay, this cooking thing isn't so bad after all.  I was thinking, what would I like to experiment with?  Almost instantly, cabbage came to mind, but what to do with it?  Steam it and lather it up with butter?  Buy some corned beef?  And then it hit me, stuffed cabbage!

While I was out having a pedicure, I got some suggestions on how to make it the "french" way - (stuffed and just put butter on the top).  Here's what I came up with, and OMG - it was so good!

Food for Thought:

• My daughter thought it was sort of like potstickers (only with cabbage) and thought a dipping sauce (in addition to the juicy sauce in the recipe) would be good.
• An entire head of cabbage yielded about 11 stuffed cabbages and I have so much cabbage left over!  I saved them to make another favorite, cabbage lasagna (good for low carb or gluten free).
• Still quite a few pots/pans to clean.  One large one for placing cabbage in boiling water, a saucepan for the tomato-brown sugar topping, something to put them in the oven, and I also used a cookie sheet to put the hot cabbage pieces.  But clean-up was a breeze.

Would I make this again?  Yes, most definitely!

Ingredients (serves at least 4):

1 head of cabbage

1 can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup vinegar (I wanted to use Red Wine Vinegar, but I didn't have any.  So, I used 1/2 balsamic vinegar and 1/2 white vinegar)

1 lb. ground pork

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1/8 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup uncooked rice (I used instant rice)

1 egg

seasonings:  I used kosher salt, pepper, basil, thyme, Spike, garlic powder (all my standbys)

In a large pot, bring water to boil (you'll be placing the entire head of cabbage in this pot, so make sure it is big enough.

While you are waiting for the water to boil...

Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage and toss (I removed the top two layers of leaves.) Remove the core from the cabbage.  There may be an "official" way to do this, but I used a sharp knife and cut around the core at an angle taking little "stabs" all the way around.  Then I grabbed the core and jiggled it out.  Set the cabbage aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a saucepan, combine the canned tomatoes, brown sugar, vinegar, 1/2 the onion and seasonings.

Reduce heat to low/simmer.

In a bowl, combine the ground pork, the other 1/2 of the onion, bread crumbs, rice, and seasoning.  Add the egg (I used a separate bowl to 'scramble' the egg prior to adding to the pork mixture.  

Then use your hands and mix everything together.  The pork mixture should be firm and stuck together.

Once the water is boiling, drop in the entire head of cabbage.  After about 2 to 3 minutes (and the outer layer is soft and flexible) use a pair of tongs and carefully peel away the outer layer of leaves.  If you pull them off from the core, the leaves should come off in one big piece. 

Continue this process until the cabbage leaves are too small for stuffing.

Now you are ready to stuff the cabbage. I cut the large cabbage leafs in half, cutting arond the center part that was connected to the core.  In each cabbage leaf, place about a palm-sized amount of the pork mixture.  For the smaller cabbage leafs, you'll need about a meatball sized amount.  

Fold the cabbage ends in and then roll.  You may need to adjust the amount of pork mixture if you find you've over-filled.  

In a baking dish, place a small amount of the tomato mixture in first and then place the stuffed and rolled cabbages on top.  Add another layer of tomato mixture and another layer of cabbage. Top with the remaining tomato mixture.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, enough time for the pork mixture to cook.

I can hardly wait to see how this tastes for leftovers!

Zucchini-Yellow Squash-Mushroom Bake

Went to Trader Joe's and came home with some zucchini and yellow squash.  I normally just steam them, but since I'm now blogging, I thought I'd do something different.  I was "hemming and hawing" and then I remembered an old recipe I used to love.  

I modified it a bit (just to be different).  One of the best things about this recipe, it makes great leftovers.  In fact, I think I like this dish better the day after.

Ingredients (serves 4):
 - - use enough zucchini and yellow squash to make about 3 cups, sliced
Zucchini, thinly sliced (I used 3)
Yellow Squash, thinly sliced (I used 1)
1 cup of sliced mushrooms (I used baby portabellas)
1/2 chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
Olive Oil (about 1 Tbsp)
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon dill (I used fresh)
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. shredded Monterey Jack/Cheddar (divided)
1/2 cup crushed Corn Flakes (I used Special K) - optional
   - the crushed flakes added some "crunch" initially, but for leftovers, they don't add any

Variations:

• If you want a little less fat, you can cut the cheese in half and only use 4 oz. of shredded cheese. I love cheese and think "the more, the merrier."
• If you want more of an egg texture, reduce the amount of veggies
• Add diced red or yellow bell pepper

Would I make this again?  Yes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large skillet, saute the garlic and onion in olive oil until the onion is translucent.  

Add zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, and seasoning stirring constantly.  Saute until vegetables are tender, yet crisp (about 5 minutes).  Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and add 1/2 the cheese.  Stir in the sauteed vegetables and stir to combine.

Grease an 8 x 8 x 2 baking dish with olive oil or non-stick spray and add the vegetable mixture. Top with the remaining cheese.  Optional:  crush some cereal (Corn Flakes, Total, Special K) and add to the top of the vegetable mixture.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until fluffy and brown.  You can place a knife or toothpick into the center and it should come out clean.  Note:  often it is difficult to tell if the knife or toothpick is clean because you are inserting it into the zucchini or squash and it will look "wet."

As you can see, it looks like some of the flakes are more absorbed than others.  In the future, I would probably not use flakes.  It didn't add to the flavor.

Also, zucchini and yellow squash contain a lot of water, so the bottom of the baking dish seems to have some liquid.  I don't mind, but you may want to use less vegetables (2 cups).

Carrots With Dill, Agave, and Lemon

So, it's Thanksgiving and the dreaded question I feel I must ask when a friend invites me to dinner:  "Is there anything you'd like me to bring?"  Of course, I hope the answer is no (unless it's a bottle of wine or something).

I offered to bring a vegetable dish and carrots came to mind. I modified the recipe I found at kneadforfood.

Food for Thought:

• The taste and texture of the carrots were very good.  I didn't add any salt or pepper and I thought it could have used some, but other people told me the carrots didn't need any other seasoning.
• I like things simple and this recipe had a significant amount of prep.  Items needed:  A large pot for blanching, a colander for straining, a bowl (I used a large plastic container with lid) for mixing the glaze, a saucepan to make the glaze, and a cookie sheet for the oven.
• I think you could blanch the carrots the night before (and maybe blanching isn't even needed)

Would I make this dish again?  Yes

Ingredients (serving for 8)

3 Bunches of Carrots (with the tops on)
4 Tbs Butter 
4 Tbs Agave nector (you could use honey)
2 Tbs Olive Oil 
Zest from 1 Lemon
Pinch of thyme
Sprigs of Fresh Dill

For Thanksgiving and when you are having guests over, it is all about presentation, right?  So, purchase the carrots with the tops on them (for eating at home, the baby carrots would be okay, and then no peeling needed - how easy is that??)

The first thing to do is to cut the tops off the carrots.  Leave about 1/2" of the greens.

Get some salted water boiling in a large pot to prepare for blanching the carrots.  You'll only be putting in 4 or 5 carrots at a time so you'll be blanching in batches.

Peel the carrots.  There is a ring of "dirt" around the top and I didn't like the way it looked (even though I knew no one was actually going to eat the very top) so I took the tip of my carrot peeler and sort of "carved" out the dirt.

Once the water is boiling, blanch the carrots for 60 – 90 seconds.  Remove the carrots with tongs and place in a colander and run some cold water over the carrots to stop the cooking process.  Be sure NOT to overload the boiling pot of water with too many carrots at one time.

Preheat the oven to 450º

Dry the carrots with a clean paper towel.  You can do this now or when the glaze is cooking.

Make the glaze by combining the agave, butter, olive oil, lemon zest, and thyme in a pan and cooking over medium heat.  It should thicken up a bit and get syrupy.

Once the carrots are dried and the glaze is ready, transfer the carrots to a large bowl and toss with the glaze. (I used a large oblong plastic container with lid and shook and this worked well.)

Once the carrots are covered in glaze, place them on a baking sheet and lay the dill over them.

Roast for 20 – 25 minutes. Discard the dill.  Some of the edges of the carrots will appear to be burned (this is from the glaze) but that is fine.  

Place the carrots in a serving dish and cover with foil until ready to serve. I garnished the serving dish with extra dill.