Spicy Sauteed Shrimp

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Shrimp is one of those food I am always craving.  Shrimp cooks fast and it can be used in many cooking applications. It is also quick cooking, and if you buy tail on and deveined shrimp, they are a convenience food. This recipe is so simple, but incredible delicious.

Shrimp also has many health benefits. Besides helping your balance your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, shrimp are an excellent source of B-12 and selenium.

Spicy, Sautéed Shrimp

Ingredients

1 pound large shrimp defrosted, deveined, and shell removed

4 tbs melted butter, olive oil, coconut oil, or ghee

3 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbs hot sauce or to taste

1 tbs butter

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt

1 cup flat leaf parsley or cilantro

2 tbs butter

pepper to taste

juice of one lime

drizzle of olive oil

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine the shrimp, 3 tbs of fat, red pepper flakes, hot sauce, and salt. Stir to coat – the shrimp should be glistening. If you are using olive oil as your fat, you can store this bowl covered in your fridge overnight to make the next day.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbs of your fat. Your pan is ready when the oil shimmer or the butter stops bubbling. The fat should not smoke.  If it begins to smoke, clean the pan and start the fat again.
3. Add the shrimp to the pan. They should sizzle.  Keep stirring the shrimp until they become opaque and firm.  This took me about five minutes.  You can add more fat at this point if it looks like there is not enough.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the extra butter and pepper.
5. Finish the dish with the parsley, olive oil. and butter.

I put this over a bed of sautéed greens for an easy meal.

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf

Look at that tight bacon weave

It’s bacon! Sometimes I just need to wrap things in bacon.  I learned about bacon tapestry when I made a bacon explosion for my husband’s birthday. Sometimes I need my food in loaf form. This meal satisfied both of these desires in a big way. I made this loaf with a combination of turkey and hot Italian sausage because that is what I had in my fridge and because I thought it would be awesome. Turns out, it was awesome.

 

 

Ingredients:

1 tbs butter

1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 lb ground turkey

1 lb hot Italian sausage

6 oz tomato paste

1 tsp white wine vinegar

Meatloaf raw next to the less successful porcini mushroom meatloaf.

2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp cumin

4 tbs Worcestershire sauce

2 large eggs

3/4 cup ground flax seed

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 pound bacon

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Over medium heat, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil and butter until the butter is melted.
3. Add the onion and heat until they are translucent and tender.
4. Add the garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, and cumin and saute until fragrant about 30 seconds.
5. Add the tomato paste and mix with the other ingredient. Saute for another 30 seconds to add some caramel flavor.
6. Finally, mix in the vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
7. Remove the mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
8. In a large bowl, mix the meats, eggs, ground flax seed and skillet ingredients. I use the tips of my fingers so I don’t over squish the meat and make the meatloaf dense.
9. On a sheet pan or in a lasagne pan, form the meat into a loaf.
10. You can either weave the bacon on top or just place it to cover the loaf.  The weave does look cooler though.
11. Sprinkle the bacon with smoked paprika and some grinds of black pepper.  This would be the appropriate time to take pictures for facebook, twitter, or to text your friends your dinner to make them feel jealous.
12. Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 55 – 60 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. If the bacon is not crispy enough for your taste, turn on your broiler and cook for 3 – 5 minutes.
13. Allow to cook for 10 minutes. This would be another good time to take pictures.

I loved this meatloaf. LOVED! This would pair well with roasted veggies and a salad.

Spice-Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Two weekends ago, I went to an amazing restaurant and ordered the spice crusted pork loin.  The spice and texture on the meat was amazing. It was so juicy! I set out to recreate this dish and I was surprised how quickly it came together. I was able to create the whole dish in about 30 minutes. I am not sure if I used the exact spices they used at the restaurant, but the blend I put together compliments the meat well. I set out the tenderloin to defrost in the refrigerator the night before. I normally brine pork before roasting in the oven, but the meat in the restaurant did not seem to be brined.

Try this recipe for a flavorful, juicy tenderloin that comes together quickly.

Spice Crusted Pork Loin

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Ingredients:

2 small pork loins  (about 2 – 2 1/2 pounds)

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tbsp garlic cloves

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp caraway seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rinse and pat dry two pork loins. Trim of excess fat and remove the silver skin.
3. Sprinkle with salt and ground pepper to taste. I normally use 1/2 tsp of each. Set aside.
4. In an eight-inch cast iron skillet or saute pan toast the whole spices for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
5. Combine the spices with olive oil and stir to combine.
6. Coat the pork loin on all sides with the spice mixture.  I put the spices and olive oil in a loaf pan and rolled the loins in the spices, pressing them down gently.
7. In a large, oven-proof saute pan on medium-high heat place the pork loins turning to brown on all sides. Mine took about two minutes on each side. Some spices with come off the loin during cooking and that is alright.  You will still have enough left to create a great crust.
8. Place the pan into the heated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees.
9. Cover the finished pork loin and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

This meal will combine well with the curried Brussels sprouts of the creamy, cheesy cauliflower.

Easy Salmon Salad with Green Apples and Sunflower Seeds

Image via wikipedia

Sometimes I need an easy lunch option and don’t have any protein leftover from dinner. On these days ,I like to make a salmon or tuna salad with homemade olive oil mayonnaise and flax-seed crackers. I get lost of omega 3 fatty acids with minimal effort. I paired the salmon with a green apple to cut the fattiness of the dish with acidity and tartness. For the lemons in the recipe, sometimes I juice several lemons at the beginning of the week and keep it in a container because who squeezes a lemon for only a little bit of juice.  I do the same with the rind and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for later use.

Salmon Salad with Green Apples and Sunflower Seeds

Ingredients:

10 oz cooked wild salmon (can be in a can, pouch, or leftover fillets)

1 medium green apple

2 tbsp sunflower seeds (unsalted)

1 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil mayonnaise

1/4 tsp kosher salt

pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, break up the salmon.  If you are using a salmon fillet be sure to remove the skin and check for bones. Remember to use wild salmon.  Even though it is more expensive, the flavor is much better and they have more omega 3 fatty acids.
2. Cut up the apple in a small dice leaving the skin on. I usually use organic apples because they are a more manageable size and I don’t worry about eating the skins.
3. Add the apples and sunflower seeds to the salmon.
4. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. The lemon juice also prevents the apple from browning if you are going to eat later.
5. Mix in the olive oil mayonnaise. I like a lot of mayo, so I might add more than the 2 tbsp. Add what you like.

I pair this with baby greens for a hearty salad or eat it with my flax-seed crackers.

Olive Oil Mayonaise and Aioli

Image courtesy of wikipedia

Mayonnaise in an emulsion of eggs, oils, vinegar or lemon juice, and mustard.  The lecithin in the egg yolks stabilizes the mixture.  The first time I tried to make mayonnaise I used a whisk and I think that my arm was going to fall off.  Making mayo this way was a two person job. Since then, I have used a blender to easily make this concoction.

Olive Oil Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

1 large egg

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp whole grain mustard

1 tbs lemon juice or white wine vinegar

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the egg, garlic, lemon juice and mustard in the container of a blender or food processor.Blend until smooth.
2. Blend on low speed while pouring oil into the blender in a fine stream as the mixture emulsifies and thickens.

Aioli

Ingredients:

5 large garlic cloves peeled

Image courtesy of wikipedia

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 large egg

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

 Directions:

1.  Mash the garlic and salt together in coffee grinder until it is a paste.  You can use the small work bowl on your food process or a mortar and pestle. In a the large bowl of you food processor or in a blender, process the egg for 30 seconds.
2. Add the garlic paste to the food processor and add the oil in a this stream until it is fully integrated into the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before using.

You can keep this a week in the refrigerator.

Curried Brussels Sprouts

Curried Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are possibly my favorite vegetable and I am always looking for new ways to prepare them. Last night, I was searching for something that went with the scotch eggs from Well Fed. When I was making this dish, I added my own spice mix, but if you are feeling tired and do not have all of the ingredients, you can always use yellow curry powder.

When I was making this dish, I caramelized some onions create a depth of flavor and add sweetness to the dish.  Caramelizing onions properly takes about 45 minutes of sauteing over low heat. If you want to skip this step, I would add tbs of anchovy paste along with the spices and then add 1 tbs of honey to the dish at the end of cooking.

Curried Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

3 tbs olive oil or coconut oil

1 lbs fresh brussels sprouts halved lengthwise or 1 lb frozen petite brussels sprouts

1 medium sweet onion sliced lengthwise

1 tsp grated ginger

3 garlic cloves minced

1/4 tsp mustard seeds or 1 tsp whole-grain mustard

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground tumeric

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp smoked paprika, if you do not have this use paprika

1/2  tsp chili powder, preferable chipotle

zest from one lime

juice from one lime

1 tsp kosher salt

Directions:

1. In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tbs oil.  When heated add the brussels sprouts cut side down and cook for 5 minutes or until the
   

   Image via wikipedia

   brussels sprouts are browned. If you are using frozen sprouts, rotate them while cooking and cook for 10 minutes or until browned. Remove the browned sprouts to a waiting vessel.

2. Turn the heat down to medium low and caramelize the onions. This process should take 30 – 50 minutes with you stirring every five minutes.  If the onions look like they are going to burn, add more oil and reduce the heat. The resulting onions should taste sweet and have a deep caramel color.
3. When the onions are caramelized, add the oil and then raise the heat to medium. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
4. Add the spices to the oil and stir into the onions.  Saute the spices until fragrant, about another 30 seconds.
5. Add the brussels sprouts and stir to coat.
6. Turn off the heat and add the lime.

You can also prepare the elements of this dish ahead of time, refrigerate, and then reheat in a skillet right before dinner. If you desire, you can also add a fresh tomato to this dish and saute it along with the spices until the juice has thickened.

Onion image via wikipedia.

Mushroom and Leek Frittata: Savior of the Most Important Meal

Flickr image via orchidgalore

Sometimes I get overwhelmed. I get overwhelmed by the demands of work, the demands of family, and the demands of home. These are the time when I don’t manage to get the slow cooker set up the night before. These are the times when I would order take out and scarf it down without a second thought and end up feeling worse than before. But now that I am being more mindful of what I put into my body, I stop before I pick up the phone and make a frittata.

A frittata is an Italian omelet and makes great refrigerator velcro. I often put left over veggies, cheese, and meat together to create delicious and easy meals, served with a salad. They also make great next-day lunches. Many of the recipes I encounter for frittata advise putting non-stick pans under the broiler, but I am not comfortable heating non-stick pans to that temperature. I use my stainless steel.

Here is a recipe I find myself making again and again.

Leeks, Mushrooms, and Smoked Gouda Frittata

Ingredients:

6 large eggs

2 tbs heavy cream

1/2 cup shredded smoked Gouda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup (small handful) fresh, finely chopped parsley

1 large leek

2 cups mushrooms sliced

2 tbs butter or ghee

1 tbs olive oil or coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler on high and place the oven rack in the upper one third of the oven.
   

   Image via brokenarts

2. Place a large, oven-safe skillet (10 – 12 inch) over medium high heat and add the olive oil and butter.
3. Add the leeks and the mushrooms and cook until the leeks and brown and soft and the mushrooms have browned.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, salt, pepper, parsley and half of the cheese.
5. Add the egg mixture to the pan. Slowly stir the sides and the bottom of the pan until you have large curds of egg mixture with wet parts in between.
6. Allow the mixture to cook for another two minutes or until the underside has set.
7. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top and place the frittata under the broiler for 5 – 7 minutes.
8. When the top is brown, remove the pan from the oven.
9. Allow to cool from 5 – 15 minutes before eating.

Flickr mushroom image via orchidgalore.

Egg image via brokenarts.

How to Make a Great Steak

Beef cuts image courtesy of wikipedia

I never really ate steak before I started on my low-carb lifestyle. I was afraid of red meat, fat, and apparently delicious flavor. But since I have made “the change” I can gobble down steak at least once a week with none of those previously felt qualms. I sometimes buy a beef loin and cut it into individual steaks to save money and make sure I am always flush with quality steaks.

For today’s preparation I used a sirloin steak and an enamel coated cast iron skillet. This skillet holds heat the best and heats evenly. By heating the meat over high heat (300 – 500 degree fahrenheit) creates the maillard reaction. This reaction causes a delicious crust to form on the steak, another source of all flavor. After the steak is finished, you can use the drippings and fond to create a delicious pan sauce to further flavor your steak. This preparation can also be done outside over a grill still using the cast iron pan.

Flickr herbes de provence in garden form courtesy of cliff1066.

The Great(est?) Steak

Ingredients

1 steak (sirloin or filet mignon) 2 – 3 inches in thickness

kosher or sea salt

freshly ground pepper

garlic clove

2 tbs butter or ghee

chopped herbs (parsley, tarragon, oregano, thyme, herbes de provence, etc.) optional

Directions:

1: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

2. Heat your pan over high heat until water droplets dance across the pan before also immediately evaporating. Use a cast iron skillet that has been well seasoned, an enamel cast iron skillet, or an oven safe stainless steel skillet. Do not use non-stick.

3. While your pan is heating, put sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the steak.

My steak dinner with roasted brussels sprouts and asparagus sauteed with leeks and bacon.

4. Rub each side of a garlic clove.

5. Lightly sprinkle the herbs onto the steak.

6. Place the steak on the pan and sear for two minutes. This will create smoke, a lot of smoke. If there isn’t smoke, your pan is probably not hot enough.

7. Turn over and sear the opposite side for two minutes.

8. Put pat of butter on the steak and place in the oven for 10 minutes for a medium to medium-well steak. You can also put an herb compound butter in the steak.

9. Check the temperature of the steak with an thermometer.

rare 125, medium-rare 135, medium 140, medium-well 145, well 155

10. Remove to a warm plate and place another pat of butter on the steak. Cover loosely with foil for 5 – 10 minutes.

Pan Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shallot, onion, or leek

1 cup good red wine this can be replaced with 1/2 cup water and 1 tbs tomato paste

2 tbs Dijon mustard

2 crushed cloves garlic

1/2 cup fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, oregano, tarragon, basil, etc)

1 tbs butter

Directions:

1. Over low heat, add the shallots, cook until softened.

2. Add garlic and saute for one minutes.

3. Deglaze the pan with red wine.

4. Mix in the dijon mustard and herbs.

5. Heat for two minutes until heated through.

6. Turn off heat and finish with 1 tbs of butter.

You can pour this sauce over the steak or veggies. It is especially good with sauteed mushrooms.

Beef cuts image courtesy of wikipedia.

Herbes de provence image courtesy of cliff1066.

New Year, Low-Carb Lamb Chili

Remains of New Year's Eve Revelry.

Happy New Year! After recovering from my out-to-late night and eating this delicious and bacon-loaded recovery breakfast, I thought about making some long cooking dish. I wanted to be able to sit at home, under a blanket reading a good book and not have to worry about fussing over dinner. I came up with the idea of chili.  And not just any chili, but one using the one of my favorite meats: lamb.  I love how lamb’s unctuousness can turn any ordinary dish into a lips-smacking, and finger-licking affair.  For this dish, I also added the marrow bones while it was cooking and reducing in enhance the flavor.

Low-Carb Lamb Chili

Lamb Chili with Marrow Bone

Ingredients:

3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil

2 lbs lamb stew meat, which usually come from lamb neck or lamb shoulder,cut into 2 inch pieces with (my lamb came with marrow bones)

1 lb hot Italian pork sausage removed from the casing

1 lb ground pork, cubed pork shoulder, or cubed pork butt

1 large sweet onion diced

2 poblano peppers seeded and diced

2 red, orange, and/or yellow peppers diced

2 cloves garlic diced

1 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes

1 6-oz can tomato paste

2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes no salt added

1 cup chicken stock

2 tbs Worcester sauce (optional)

Image via wikipedia

1 tbs anchovy paste (optional)

2 tbs chipotle chili powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbs smoked paprika

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 tbs dutch process cocoa powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp kosher salt or sea salt

1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. In a 6-quart dutch oven over medium-heat, heat oil until it is shimmering.
2. Add the cubed lamb to the pot and brown on all sides.  Add this in three – four batches so the lamb does not steam.
   

   Fond image via wikipedia

   Brown bits (fond or suc in France) will start to build at the bottom of the pot – fear not. They are the essence of pure flavor.  Do not let this burn – reduce the heat if it becomes dark brown.

3. After the lamb has finished cooking, remove to a bowl.
4. Add the sausage and pork to the pot to brown over medium-heat in three batches and remove to a waiting bowl.
5. After the meat has been browned and removed to a bowl, add the peppers, onion, and red pepper flakes.  Saute until they are soft, scrapping the bottom of the pot to remove the delicious brown bits. The liquid from these veggies will help deglaze the pot.
6. Add the garlic and saute for one minute.
7. Add the anchovy paste and tomato paste. Saute for about one minute to begin to caramelize the tomato paste.
8. Deglaze the pan with chicken stock.
9. Reduce heat to low and add the meat back to the pot and stir to combine with other ingredients.
10. Open the can of whole tomatoes, reserve the liquid, and open the tomatoes with your fingers to remove as many seeds as possible because they are bitter. Then crush the tomatoes with your hands directly into the pot.  Add the remaining liquid.
11. Add the diced tomatoes and liquid.
12. Add the herbs, spices, pepper,  cocoa powder, Worcester sauce, bay leaf, and one tsp of kosher or sea salt. Reserve the rest of the salt for after the chili reduces because the salt content in the stock and tomatoes will vary.
13. Stir together the ingredients and cover.  The chili should be at a low simmer for one hour.
14. Taste the chili and adjust the seasoning to taste. Do not add salt yet.
15. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes – one hour to thicken the chili.
16. After the chili has come to the desired thickness, taste and adjust the salt levels. If you included the marrow bone, remove the marrow and stir into the chili. Remove the bones and the bay leaf.

You can garnish this with some smoked gouda, sour cream, or cilantro. This recipe will pair especially well with my coconut flour cheesy biscuits. You could also put this over Your Light Side’s caulitots or Paleo Gurl’s Kitchen’s twice baked cauli-tots.

Make Veggie Chips and Feel Self-Satisfied

Some delicious veggie chips.

I hate buying things I can make cheaply and veggie chips are one of those things. The seven dollar bags of chips make me want to live in a shotgun shack off the grid, screaming that I will not participate in your system you capitalist pig-dogs.  Making things myself gives me a sense of self-satisfaction that I did not give in and purchase something I can easily make. So this is how I finished my vacation week by  cooking some snack foods for New Year’s Eve. I used some leftover beets, kale, carrots, and sweet potatoes from my fall garden.

Since I had never attempted this before I learned several things:

• Keep the oven at a low temperature 250 to prevent burning and make sure the veggies crisp properly. All other temperatures are wrong and will lead to burnt edges.
• Salt after the chips are baked and not before.
• Slice the veggies 1/8 of an inch.
• Make sure the slices are even all the way to the edges.
• Use a silicon mat or parchment paper to line the baking sheet, especially if you are using a dark pan.
• Put the kale in a separate bowl because it is too fragile to be combined with the other veggies.
• The root vegetables shrink a lot during cooking.
• Remove cooked chips as they finish and allow the remaining chips to finish crisping.
• Different specimens of the same types of veggies can vary in their moisture content and may take more time to cook.
• Since they are baking the vegetables glycemic index will rise because sugars become more concentrated.

I used this recipe as a starting point, but made some substantial changes.

Ingredients:

2 medium beets

2 large carrots – they should be broad carrots so that the peeled strips don’t shrink to puny shards.

1 bunch of kale

2 medium sweet potatoes

lots of olive oil

kosher salt

garlic powder

cayenne pepper

pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250
2. Using a mandolin, or a knife if you are much more talented than I, slice the beets and the sweet potatoes to 1/8 of an inch slices.
3. Remove the kale from the stem and rip into bite sized pieces.
4. Using a peeler, peel the carrots into strips only on one side so that the slices become broader with each stroke. Cut the slices in half.
5. Place the different vegetables into different bowls and then drizzle with at least 2 tbs of olive oil.  Different veggies absorb the oil at different rates.
6. Mix the oil with your hands until the veggies are coated and glistening. There should not be a puddle of oil left on the bottom of the bowl.
7. Place either silicon mats of parchment paper on four different baking sheets.
8. Place the veggies on their own baking sheet.  With the size vegetables I had, I needed to do this in batches with two different batches for each vegetable. This will vary based on the size and shape of the individual vegetables.
9. Bake the veggies for the following times: sweet potato for 20-25 minutes, kale for 15-20 minutes, carrots for 15 – 20 minutes, and beets for 35 – 40 minutes. Turn the sweet potatoes, carrots, and beets once during the baking.
10. Remove with spatula or tongs if you are removing single chips. Take the baking mats and slide right into the waiting bowl if you are removing a whole batch. When all the chips are done add the salt, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper to taste – I did this by making one pass over the bowl with each spice. Place the kale in a separate bowl because they are much more delicate than the rest.
11. Eat. You should feel self-satisfied because you did not purchase these easy-to-make chips in the store.
12. Store in sealed bag – I’m not sure how long because the chips have never lasted more than a day in my house.

Of course, these directions are specific to my electric (sigh) oven, in which I have a tested thermometer to make sure the temperature is stable.  If you are using a convection oven or an oven in which the temperature varies, I would check on the chips often.