EatPood

Dreamy!

Today my boss, Coach Rachael, gently prodded me to post something by pointing out that tomorrow is National Peanut Butter Day. Yes, it has been a while since I posted a recipe. Mea culpa, peeps!

Right now, I’m in the midst of Day Seven of my second Whole30. In the first six days, I’ve had no fewer than three food-related nightmares. In my dreams, I’ve eaten cake with pink frosting and a bite of a cookie. Plus I drank a glass of champagne. Terrifying ! Well, maybe not to everyone, but all of these things are verboten on the Whole30 – as is peanut butter. I dare not encourage you to cook with peanut butter because I fear it will lead to another nightmare for me!

I do, however, have an almond butter recommendation from the brilliant Everyday Paleo.

Thai “No Peanut” Sauce
½ cup almond butter
½ cup canned coconut milk
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
Juice from ½ a lime
½ tablespoon fish sauce
1 ½ teaspoons fresh grated ginger
½ teaspoon crushed garlic
Hot chili oil to taste (I used ground fresh chili paste because that’s what I had)

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium sized mixing bowl and serve as a dipping sauce.

As recommended by Everyday Paleo, we tried this over Thai beef stir fry. Click the link for instructions. We also had it with chicken from a Barefoot Contessa recipe that I love. I marinated our chicken in lemon juice and olive oil. I used this No Peanut sauce in place of the actual peanut sauce I used to make. It was great!

What are we eating(?) plus a recipe

Sometimes meal planning is a troublesome nuisance. I know it, baby, but for the past week or so, I’ve been cruising along without much problem. I thought I’d share a snapshot of what we’ve been eating, just in case you’re looking for inspiration. Also, there’s a recipe at the end because I’m nice like that.

Saturday 11/12 - Red pepper, bacon and feta stuffed chicken breasts with braised cabbage

Sunday 11/13 - Apple cider-braised pork shoulder with Brussels sprouts and apple sauce

Monday 11/14 - Oven baked chicken with roasted carrots

Tuesday 11/15 - Meatballs in Marinara and Salad

Wednesday 11/16 - Buffalo chicken tenders with sliced veggies and homemade ranch dressing

Thursday 11/17 – A cobb salad of sorts - spinach salad with hard boiled eggs, sandy creek farms turkey deli meat, bacon, avocado, green onions, orange peppers and homemade ranch dressing

Friday 11/18 - Dinner out at Bridge Road Bistro – I had a grassfed beef burger (no bun) with caramelized onions, bacon and mushrooms along with a Bistro Autumn Salad. Cliff had tuna tartar.

Saturday 11/19 – Apple Cider Braised pork shoulder with mashed sweet potatoes, applesauce and spinach salad with roasted beets, oranges and feta

Sunday 11/20 – pan roasted pork chops with cranberry red wine sauce, sautéed kale, mashed sweet potatoes and applesauce.

Buffalo Chicken Tenders
2# boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders
½ C Frank’s Red Hot (original)
½ C melted coconut oil or melted butter
2t garlic powder
1/2t cayenne pepper (or less if you don’t things too spicy)

Preheat oven to 400.

If you are using chicken breasts, slice them vertically into the size of chicken tenders. If you have tenders, ignore this paragraph.

Whisk sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.  Actually, I melted the oil in a very small sauce pan and then whisked the other ingredients directly into the sauce pan.  And, if you want to know my deepest, darkest secrets, next time I'm using pastured butter in place of the coconut oil. 

Place chicken in a gallon Ziploc bag and pour half of sauce over chicken. Pour the other half of the sauce into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken. You will toss the cooked chicken in this sauce after it cooks.

Seal bag and toss chicken in buffalo sauce.

Place chicken tenders on a broiler pan and bake at 400 for 25 minutes.  I used a baking sheet covered in foil. 

Remove the cooked chicken to the bowl with the remaining sauce. Toss the chicken in the sauce until it is well-coated.

Serve chicken with fresh sliced veggies and homemade ranch dressing.

Chicken recipe adapted from The Food Lovers' Primal Palate.

Mommy’s tired of salad

Yesterday morning Jack asked me if I ever get tired of eating eggs for breakfast.  Well, no.  Not really, but I’ve hit another wall. It’s a salad wall. I just don’t feel like making salad these days so I’ve been trying to find other ways to deliver veggies to my peeps. They’ve accepted some things and rejected others.

Slaw - Accepted

 
We loves us some slaw. I used purple cabbage, chopped broccoli and diced apple in this batch. I proposed a diced orange, in place of the apple, with an orange vinaigrette. That idea was rejected. I stuck with the apple and used my standard slaw dressing adapted from the Barefoot Contest Cook Book.

1/2C homemade mayo
1T cider vinegar
1T Dijon mustard (make sure it’s sugar free)
1/4t celery salt
½ celery seed
¼ t Celtic sea salt
¼ t freshly ground black pepper

Zucchini with Sundried Tomatoes - Rejected

 
What is so bad about zucchini? Why am I the only one around here who likes it cooked? Whatever! I’ll keep making it until somebody else takes over the house elf position I currently hold.

2 zucchini, sliced in half length-wise and then sliced into half rounds
4 sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
2T of oil from the sundried tomatoes (include the capers if they’re in there)
A dash of red pepper flakes
¼ t Celtic sea salt

Heat the oil in your skillet. Add the zucchini and sauté lightly. Then add the sundried tomatoes, pepper flakes and salt. Sauté about 2 more minutes.

Spinach Pesto - Accepted

 
I wanted to make the parsley pesto posted on Everyday Paleo  in March. Maybe I should have made sure I had parsley, but - you see - I always have parsley so I didn’t bother to check. Guess what? I didn’t have parsley! Instead, I grabbed some other green stuff from the fridge which happened to be spinach.  

 
We ate this pesto over chicken breast pieces. I cut the breasts into thirds lengthwise, drizzled them with some left over sundried tomato oil and baked them in the oven. I also dipped forkfuls of roasted acorn squash in it. Fantastico!

4 big handfuls spinach
Juice of 1 large lemon (about ¼ C)
1 ¼ C olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 green onions, roughly chopped
½ to 1 t red pepper flakes
¼ t celtic sea salt
½ t freshly ground black pepper

Put everything in your food processor and go to town. Then taste. This is easy to adjust to your palate. I like things lemony. If you don’t, hold back on the lemon juice. You can always add more.

Pesto recipe adapted from Everyday Paleo.

Ain't no Thing like a Chicken Wing and Ranch Dress-Ing

Guess what I'm doing right now?  I'm cleaning my oven.  Soooooooo I may not have mentioned that baking bacon is not entirely mess free.  Yup.  It's true.  I forgot.  I'm sorry!  The inside of the oven gets a bit greasy once you've baked a few pans of bacon.  It turns out you might need to clean your oven more than you would if you didn't bake bacon.  But, everyone has a self-cleaning oven now.  Right? 

Now on to the recipe(s).  I promised my friend (Code Name: Baby T) that I would post this Ranch Dressing recipe.  Here it is, girlfriend!!!  In the Spring Road test kitchen, we like to dunk our chicken wings in this dressing, so I'm starting you out with that.

Further, additionally, and moreover, I like my wings brined. You can skip this step, but listen, man, I’ve already tried that. The wings just aren’t as good if you skip it, Mr./Ms. Lazy Pants! Because brining takes time, this isn’t a weeknight dish for most people. Make your wings over the weekend, and enjoy them while you watch March Madness in April.  Heck - you might have leftovers to eat for lunch at work on Monday!

 
Wings and Brine
1/3 C Kosher salt
1 t black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 lbs chicken wings, cut at the joint

Dry Rub
2 t dried rosemary
2 t freshly ground black pepper
2 t paprika
2 t Kosher salt
2 t garlic powder
2 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano

To brine the wings, put the salt, peppercorns and garlic in a large pot with 4 C water, and bring to a boil.

 
Remove the pot from the stove, and allow the water to cool. Add the chicken wings and 4 C more water.

 
Put the pot in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Prepare the rub by mixing all the ingredients together in small bowl.

 
After you have brined the wings, drain them; rinse them; and pat them dry.

 
Divide them between two large zip loc bags. Then, divide the rub between the two bags. Seal the bags. Taking one bag at a time, use your hands (on the outside of the bag) to distribute the rub over the wings as evenly as possible. At this point, you can cook the wings or put them back in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

 
Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil, and lightly oil the foil. Arrange the wings on the foiled-lined baking sheet.

 
Put the baking sheet into the preheated oven, and broil for 8 minutes. Then, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Using kitchen tongs, turn over each of the wings. Return the baking sheet to the oven, and broil for 5 to 8 minute more until the wings are crisp and golden. You also can prepare the wings on your grill.

 
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Please don't bring up bleu cheese dressing.  I am not eating that right now - remember?  This is really good with wings.  Try it!

In this recipe, you can use premade mayonnaise or make your own. I won’t tell you what to do, but I will insist that not everyone thinks I'm crazy for making mayo. If you are itching to know how I’m making my mayo these days, post a comment so I can get back to you via email.

1 C mayo
Juice of ½ lemon
1 scallion, minced (use the white part and about 1 inch of the green part)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ t Celtic grey sea salt

Whisk all of the ingredients together, and serve with you wings!

I like to add a few shakes of Tabasco too.

 
Wings Recipe adapted from Food Network
Ranch Dressing recipe from Elana's Pantry

Do you hear the words coming out of my mouth?

Cue the dramatic music.  Dim the lights.  Roll the camera.  Action! 

I keep preaching.  I keep talking.  I keep telling you all about locally grown meats, eggs, fruits and veggies readily available to you my, CrossFit WV family, through the Monroe Buyers Club.  No one listens to me.  Nevertheless, I forge on because I care about you.  Honestly, truly, deeply. 

Cut!  Enough of my sad story and on to the recipe...

Recently, the Monroe Farm Market added Wilson Mill Farms to their growers. This means locally grown trout is among the products available. This fish is certified naturally grown, which is basically a grass roots version of organic. I bought a whole bunch and tried out the following recipe. This dish came together quickly and if I do say so, qualified as a success here in the Spring Road test kitchen.

Trout with Red Cabbage and Chipotle Slaw

• 2/3 cup mayonnaise*
• 4 tablespoons (or more) fresh lime juice plus lime wedges (for serving)
• 3 teaspoons (or more) minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 boneless trout fillets with skin
• 4 tablespoons canned, full fat coconut milk
• ½ lb thinly sliced red cabbage (about 4 cups)
• 2 cups matchstick-size strips peeled jicama (or carrots)
• 1/2 cup (packed) plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup unsalted natural pepitas (pumpkin seeds; optional)

Whisk mayonnaise, 4 tablespoons lime juice, 3 teaspoons chipotles, and cumin in large bowl to blend.

Sprinkle fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Spread some of the chipotle mayonnaise over flesh side of trout fillets.

 
 
Whisk coconut milk into remaining chipotle mayonnaise in bowl. Put the cabbage, jicama (or carrots), and 1/2 cup cilantro and toss to coat with some of the remaining chipotle dressing, if desired. Season slaw generously with salt and pepper. Reserve any remaining chipotle dressing to serve with the fish.

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. I used my cast iron skillet. Add trout, flesh side down, and cook until deep golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn fish fillets over and cook until just opaque in center, about 2 minutes.

 
Place 1 fish fillet on each of 4 plates. Spoon slaw alongside; sprinkle slaw with pepitas, if desired. Sprinkle fish with 1 tablespoon cilantro and serve with lime wedges and any remaining chipotle dressing.

 
Do you like the blurry photo?  My family sits around waiting for me to photograph our food before we start eating.  They're very patient, but I was rushing to take the picture so we could chow down.  It shows!!! 

A few notes... I forgot buy jicama so I ended up using carrots in the slaw. I had pepitas but I forgot to use them! No worries, though. The entire family approved this dish, even the littlest, pickiest member.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious.

*Ok, so I made my own mayonnaise, again, but I didn’t follow the recipe I posted a while back. This time I used grapeseed oil. Some of the mayo went into the chipotle dressing and the remainder into a dairy free ranch dressing. I’ll share that recipe in a later post. If you’re dying to know how I made my mayo, let me know.

 

“Fresh breath is a priority in my life”
~ Farmer Ted, Sixteen Candles

Even though this bit of trivia is not at all relevant to our little blog here and you didn’t ask, I’m gonna tell you anyway that I was sixteen years old when the movie Sixteen Candles premiered on May 4, 1984. This quote (and many others from the movie) is part of my lexicon. What is more, while fresh breath may be a priority in my life, it’s often overshadowed by my love of coffee and garlic. Shield your delicate noses if you see me coming!

Very Garlicky Vinaigrette

4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 T Dijon mustard
1/3C red wine vinegar
1C extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the garlic, mustard and vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk well. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil whisking constantly until the dressing is quite thick. Season with salt and pepper.

This powerful dressing is truly yummy, but don’t use it on delicate greens. Try something crispy like romaine. We had it the other night on a salad with romaine, chicken breast, bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, hard boiled eggs, onion, tomatoes and some other stuff.

Over and out!

Manifest Destiny… or something like that

The Kinneys aren’t a ham eating clan. So…one time we had this stuff for Easter dinner with couscous even! Since we’re WV pioneers with no family around here (like the Ingalls family braving the Wisconsin frontier in Little House in the Big Woods), we eat whatever we want with no one to criticize our disregard for tradition.

indonesian ginger chicken

1C honey
3/4C soy sauce
1/4C minced garlic (8-12 cloves)
1/2C peeled and minced fresh ginger root
2 chickens, 3.5 lbs each, quartered with backs removed

Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic and ginger

root in a small sauce pan over low heat until the honey is melted. Arrange chicken in a large shallow baking pan, skin side down, and pour on the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Marinate over night in fridge.

Preheat oven to 350. Place baking pan in oven and bake for ½ hour. Uncover the pan, turn the chicken skin side up and raise the temp to 375. Continue baking for ½ hour more or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh and the sauce is a rich dark brown.

even better…

use the marinade with wings. grill those suckers and serve them with this stuff…

creamy cilantro dipping sauce

1/3C chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2C greek yogurt (or 1/4C yogurt and 1/4C sour cream)
1/4C mayonnaise
juice of 1/2 lemon
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to incorporate fully with salt and pepper.

Wedgey-licious

This is the best Wedge Salad, ever!!! The secret is the homemade dressing. Now some of you might not partake in dairy products such as buttermilk, but I think Mark Sisson would approve of a real, homemade dressing with recognizable ingredients, to wit: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/strange-fat-free-food/ . His site even endorses making yogurt and butter using dairy products so a little buttermilk to thin your dressing is probably not going to damage your lean to fat ratio. Check it out, man: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/diy-butter-yogurt-kefir-tempeh/ .

THE DREAMIEST WEDGE SALAD EVER

1 1/2 C mayonnaise
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T coarsely ground black pepper (fresh ground pepper is imperative!)
1 t Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
1 C coarsely crumbled blue cheese
Buttermilk (optional)

1/2 lb thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 large head of iceberg lettuce, cut into 6 wedges, each with some core attached
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

Mix first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Add blue cheese and stir until well blended. If too thick, thin with buttermilk by tablespoonfuls to desired consistency. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until golden brown and beginning to crisp. Arrange lettuce on plates. Spoon dressing over. Using slotted spoon, transfer warm bacon from skillet onto salads, dividing equally. Garnish with red onion. I also like to add some tomato slices to my Wedge because I’m kinky like that.

If you are lazy, like me, you can slap the bacon on a foil lined baking sheet and bake in an oven at 400 degrees for about 15-20, turning the bacon halfway through cooking. Once it looks nice and crispy, take it out; let it cool; and then crumble it.

STOP THE FREAKING PRESSES!

I could not wait one flipping minute to tell you about this recipe. A recipe so easy it defies logic. A recipe that makes little children sing, “This is sooooo good mommy!” A recipe that makes moi feel like shouting, “Eureka!”

Without further ado… 

Grilled Salad

2 head Romaine lettuce
½ C feta cheese
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
Balsamic vinaigrette – Buy it. Make it. I don’t care.
(I make mine with 1/4C balsamic vinegar, 2/3C EVOO and a squirt of honey)

Split each head of lettuce length-wise.

Drizzle the cut side of each half with a healthy dose of olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper the way you like it.  Grill each half, cut side down, over a hot fire for approximately 90 seconds.

Remove to a platter. Sprinkle evenly with cheese and allow to cool.  Drizzle each half with an equal amount of dressing.  Cut each half in half again across the width and serve.

This sounds weird, but it is so super yummy. The lettuce isn’t soggy or wilty, but rather, as aforementioned, yummy. I mean it!

I found this recipe by “patiodaddio” at http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/ .

homemade mayo and other good stuff

Hear me out. Mayonnaise is a wonderful thing. I am aware that one can purchase jars of this creamy goodness, ready-made, at a grocery store or quickie mart. But, if you haven’t tried homemade mayonnaise, then you are missing out on something really tasty. Think Chips Ahoy versus mom’s Tollhouse cookies. Your mom doesn’t put partially hydrogenated cottonseed in oil in her cookies does she? Well, in turn, I don’t put soybean oil or calcium disodium EDTA in my mayo. You can taste the difference. For real!  I'm not saying I do this every day.  Just sometimes.  When I have time and I feel like it.

mayonnaise

If you have food processor or blender, you can have mayo in no time. Most recipes call for vegetable or corn oil, but I just use extra virgin olive oil because that’s what I keep around here.

1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 ½ T fresh lemon juice
4 t Dijon mustard
1C olive oil

Bring whole egg and egg yolk to room temp. Put whole egg, egg yolk, lemon juice and mustard in bowl of food processor and process for about 15 seconds. With motor running, slowly pour oil through the feed tub and process until the mayonnaise is thickened.

a variation on this theme…

This dressing is mayonnaise based. Try it on some mixed baby greens with avocado slices, toasted nuts of your choice, tomato, bacon and orange slices. The sum of these parts is a bright, happy flavor. Also, the dressing will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.

creamy lime dressing

juice of one lime
1 egg
1T Dijon mustard
1 C olive oil
zest of one lime
freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

Put egg, lime juice and mustard in bowl of food processor; process 15 seconds.

 

  

With motor running, slowly pour oil through the feed tub and process until thickened. 

 

 

Transfer to a bowl and fold in lime zest and fresh ground pepper.

Voila!  Creamy Lime Dressing!!!

 

... and a total non sequitur

everyday guacamole

Do you like guacamole? I make it almost every day for lunch. Cut out ¼ of an avocado. Score the flesh with a knife and scoop it onto a plate. Sprinkle it with salt, fresh ground pepper, a few drops of Tabasco, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Smash it all up with a fork. Fold in some diced tomato if you like that. Then spread it in a slice of turkey or on top of some chicken and enjoy your own private fiesta!

This will only work for you if you don’t mind a little brown edge on your avocado. I just wrap up what’s left of the avocado in some cling wrap.  When I reach for my partial avocado the next day, the cut side is brown, but never you mind - it still tastes good. 

Okey-dokey, that’s all I have for you today. Have a great weekend, my Tribe members. Good luck to Team CrossFit WV at the Pump and Run!!!