First Father’s Day Pelau

Tags

chicken, Pelau, Rice, Trinidadian food

It’s day “I don’t know” and we still haven’t been able to go out to eat; with this being hubby’s first Father’s Day, I opted to make one of his favorite dishes: Pelau. I don’t have a lot of experience making this but I have had a version of this once or twice and neither of those times yielded a perfect Pelau.

Today will make the 3rd time and once again, it’s not perfect but it was still tasty.

Pelau is a rice and chicken dish, this particular version is Trinidadian, which is where my husband’s family is from. It contains brown sugar and coconut milk; almost like a carribean arroz con pollo. I am listing the recipe as is but will add my modifications for next time. It came out very mushy – still tasty but will def add less liquid next time.

Found the recipe from The Spruce Eats here:

• 3 pounds chicken thighs (and/or drumsticks, cut up into large pieces) 2lbs chicken legs and thighs
• 2 tablespoons green seasoning  sofrito
• 2 teaspoons grated garlic
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or canola oil)
• 3 tablespoons cane sugar (can substitute for brown sugar) brown Sugar
• 2 cups rice (washed, drained and parboiled) long grain rice 
• 3/4 cup onions (chopped)
• 1/2 cup sweet peppers (chopped)
• 2 cups cooked pigeon peas (canned is fine) soaked green lentils
• Optional: 1 cup carrots (diced)
• 2 cups fresh canned coconut milk (dilute milk with water if using canned coconut milk)
• 2 cups 3/4 cup cooking liquid (stock, water or reserved cooking liquid from peas)
• 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions (white and green parts)

At leaset

At least 1 hr before cooking, combine chicken with sofrito, garlic, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper in a bowl or sealed bag and let marinate. I marinated mine overnight.

When ready to cook, I find its easier to have all ingredients ready to go since so much needs to be monitored while you’re cooking.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium- high heat. Get the oil nice and hot and add the sugar. For this part, you want to almost burn the sugar and look for it to be foamy with dark edges. Once the sugar is browned and foamy, add the chicken. The chicken should make a loud sizzling sound and you should brown the chicken for 10 minutes over the medium- high heat.

Add rice, onions, peppers, carrots and peas and fold to combine – about 5 minutes.

Add cooking liquid and coconut milk and bring to boil. Let boil for 3-5 minutes, cover, and reduce heat to low. Allow rice to soften for 35- 40 minutes.

My rice had too much liquid in it so it was really mushy – like risotto. I tend to like my rice a little fluffier so the choice is yours. If you like risotto style rice, the recipe from The Spruce Eats tastes great. I tweaked it so next time it will be fluffy. When cooking rice, you can always add more water but you can’t “fix” mushy rice.

Hubby enjoyed it and there were enough leftovers for the following day- it tastes even better on day 2.

Crustless Apple Crisp with Oat topping

I had an abundance of apples and couldn’t think of a better way to use them up than with an apple crisp. Sure, apples are more of a fall fruit but my weekly vegetable delivery has been sending a regular supply of apples like Gala, Pink Lady, McIntosh and honeycrisp – and I have made apple butter 3x now – it was time to change it up. It’s almost 4th of July – America’s Independence Day and apple crisp like a crustless apple pie… what’s more American than apple pie???

The recipe is easy to follow with the most annoying part having to peel (optional) and core the apples. Other than that- its a dessert you literally throw together.

Apple Crisp (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

8 to 10 apples, peeled, cored, and diced (peeling is optional)

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp All- Purpose Flour

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

1/4 cup water

juice of half a lemon

Topping:

1 cup quick cooking oats, dry

1/2 cup All-Purpose flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*.

Place diced apples in a 9×13 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Pour apples in baking dish and in a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Once combined, pour over apples and lightly toss to ensure the apples are evenly coated with the sugar mixture. Add lemon juice and water.

In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter. Texture should feel like wet sand. Pour mixture over apples making sure to cover all the apples.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour, or until apples are soft and topping is crisp.

Serve warm, in a mug with a scoop of your favorite ice cream or as is.

I used my Halo Top chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.  What a comfort!

Pregnancy, Food Aversions, and Vegetarian Fried Rice

Tags

baby, cravings, food aversion, Fried Rice, kimchi, kimchi fried rice, korean, Mommy to be, morning sickness, preggers, Pregnancy, pregnant

The day I found out I was pregnant, I thoroughly enjoyed a massive lunch of fish tacos, several glasses of Rose, and a scoop of cookie dough. I usually am not a huge sweets person but after having a tapas style dinner of wine, cheese, and oysters (that tasted very metallic to me that day), I came home and plowed through not one, but two cookies from Levain bakery. Those not familiar with Levain, they are massive cookies that are the size of softballs and can pass for a muffin top on their depth alone.

Since confirming my pregnancy, I became suddenly aware of all the wonderful foods I love that are on the list of foods pregnant women cannot have; right there at the top of the list: Deli Meat. Between morning sickness and the very sensitive stomach (AKA the runs), there were few things I really wanted and a turkey sandwich was at the top of the list. Thanks to a very rare but very dangerous risk of listeria, cold cuts were on the top of the No-no list, right there next to raw fish, under-cooked meat and eggs. After speaking with my doctor (because toast DOES get boring quickly), she assured me that indulging in a comfort food from a place that I trusted no more than 1x per week was ok – she wanted to ensure that I was getting enough to eat.

Aside from really wanting to eat the things I wasn’t supposed to, I didn’t have too much of a hard time. Getting ready for work in the mornings were rough as the morning sickness would set in as I was finishing my breakfast and last all the way through the 30 minute train ride all the way through lunch. I would pack my lunch and plan my dinners. To be honest, on most days, I really had to psych myself up to eat certain things but once I took the first bite, I had no issues. I heard about some expectant mothers having meat aversion and I thanked my stars I didn’t have that.

But then I got sick for 6 straight weeks. I couldn’t even think of anything pregnancy related- just how miserable I felt being sick for so long. As we speak, I am sick again thanks to seasonal allergies but I am feeling TONS better than I did before. But the moment the sickness started to subside, the weeks of baby-related symptoms I didn’t have came with a vengeance to make up for lost time. I had a roasted chicken in the slow cooker one day and when I was on my way home, my husband sent me a text telling me dinner was almost ready. I could not for the life of me go anywhere near that chicken. I love chicken. But I refused to eat it and instead went to my favorite Italian sandwich shop and ordered an eggplant sandwich. Eggplant. EGGPLANT? I can’t even believe it as I type it but I devoured it and it stayed down. My meal planning was done. I could not anticipate the food aversions so there was no point in planning.

Thankfully, I have some great coworkers who humor my weird pregnancy-related cravings and go on adventures with me to find what I fancy. When the meat aversion rolled around, all i wanted was creamy hummus and a warm fluffy pita. I feel blessed to have great hummus places near both work and home – even had the owner of my favorite Lebanese place personally deliver my hummus. Even as I type this, I think I could very well destroy a bowl of hummus with a fluffy pita…I digress. It has been a few weeks of the meat aversion but I have embraced meat when I could tolerate it. I craved fried tofu the other day, so I gave in. The past 2 weeks, I have been craving salad – crispy romaine lettuce with creamy dressing and occasionally, a protein I can tolerate.

Over the weekend, I agreed to get Korean BBQ for lunch which went well until they put chicken on the grill – feeling like chicken is going to be on the “yuck” list for a good while. Just recently hubby picked up some chicken from Popeye’s which normally, would have been welcomed, but the smell of that chicken had me in the kitchen frying up tofu and making fried rice out of my leftover kimchi – a recipe I totally made up but will totally make again.

I hope to get back to eating normally but until then, I will be indulging in all the carbs: Bread, bagels, pizza, and rice.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Butter

1 long onion, diced

1/2 cup leftover banchan: (2 Tbsp of Kimchi, chopped, 2 Tbsp of bean sprouts, 2 tbsp kimchi cucumbers, chopped, and 2 tbsp seaweed)

2 cups leftover white rice

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

Directions
Heat butter in a large frying pan and add the diced scallions; saute until fragrant.

Add the chopped banchan and its juices except for the seaweed which will be added towards the end.

Saute the banchan and scallions on medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

Add in the leftover white rice and break up with a spoon, while folding the banchan into the rice. The rice should get coated with the spicy sauce. This should take another 3- 5 minutes.

Once the banchan has been incorporated into the rice, drizzle the soy sauce and sesame oil over the rice and gently fold. Fold the rice until it has been heated through and allow to cook on low for 5 minutes.

I tossed in some fried tofu and topped with a fried egg.

Makes four 1 cup servings.

Meatza

Tags

low carb, meatza, paleo, paleo diet, sausage

 

Pizza is one of Brent’s favorite foods. His top three favorite foods are Pizza, Ribs and Chicken Wings. Pizza is by FAR his absolute favorite. On nights when take-out is in order, I have to actually protest pizza before the idea is even brought up… Its a good thing we live in NY – the pizza here is good enough to eat at on a weekly basis. But when we were on Paleo, I could tell Brent was going to have a hard time giving up his pizza. It was a good 2 months in to our Paleo regiment when Brent saw the pizza delivery guy in the hallway of our apartment building and the guy said “HEY! We Thought You Moved!!!! Long time no see!”

And that’s when he started to request pizza again. Because I really wanted us to stick to the 90 day plan, I started to do some research on pizza and found a paleo pizza crust (review coming soon) but with a 2 week wait for shipment, I got sought instagram for inspiration. Stupid Easy Paleo had a gorgeous photo of a mediterranean meatza….oh, what is meatza, you ask? Meatza is a pizza made with a meat “crust”. It is in no way a crust but more like a meat party with some sauce and veggies. Basically, Brent’s dream meal.

Meatza supreme (feeds 2-4 people)

1 lb hot italian sausage, casings removed

1/2 cup marinara sauce

3 leaves of fresh basil

1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced

handful of pitted sliced black olives

Preheat oven to 400*. In a large skillet (i used a 9 inch), prep pan with a spray of olive oil and add sausages to pan. Create one giant meat patty in the pan and heat over medium heat. The idea here is to get the meat on the bottom caramelized.

drain any excess liquid in the pan.

Assemble the Meatza with sauce, mushrooms, olives, peppers, onions and basil leaves.

Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are wilted.

Cut into 4 pieces and dig in. Served with a side salad.

Knife and fork are a must.

This was really good. And filling. But I’m a NYer, i need my crust.

Getting back on track

Tags

cabbage, chicken, healthy, low carb, paleo, paleo diet, plantains, sweet plantains

 

Its been a while.

Between getting engaged, losing my wedding venue and moving (yes, moving!) I haven’t had the time nor the mental energy to sit down and commit to a post. But in the weeks that have passed, a lot has changed. I am sitting in my new living room with my new view of the Manhattan sky line, I have appointments with potential wedding venues and my healthy diet has been on track. Everything gets put into perspective when you go through trials. Before Brent and I moved, the potential move hung over my head and stressed me out. I was depressed over having to start over looking for a new wedding venue. But that all changed when we got the keys to our new home and started the moving process. Moving in general sucks. The only good thing is the fresh start and forcing yourself to get rid of things you don’t need. For five long days, we made a million trips from one apartment to the other with a shopping cart and a dolly. I didn’t think of our wedding once during the move and when the move was finally done, I was so appreciative that I could check one thing off my list. And you can imagine my relief after Brent and I moved heavy furniture with just the two of us and one out of two elevators out of order. One thing is certain, looking for a venue will be a cake walk compared to this move.

I won’t lie, the next few posts are back logged from when i was cooking regularly. Brent and I have been surviving on take-out for 3 meals a day, for 7 days straight. The day we moved in, I made a breaded tilapia filet with broccoli and mac and cheese. It was all we had in the new place but was so happy to use my new kitchen! Below is a hearty low-carb dinner that was thrown together last minute. If you’re paleo, this is 100% paleo. If you’re not paleo, this is 100% delicious and just so happens to be low carb.

Roasted chicken with sauteed cabbage and sweet plantains.

 

To start, I preheated the oven to 450*. I lined a baking pan with foil (for easy clean up) and placed well seasoned chicken thighs and drumsticks in a single layer. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes on each side.

 

While the chicken is roasting, prepare the sides. For the cabbage, i shredded half a head of cabbage and sauteed with a sliced of chopped bacon. The bacon drippings made for a nice base for the cabbage. Season the cabbage with salt and pepper and saute over a medium heat for about 10 minutes or until cabbage reaches desired texture.

To plate, i served B 3 pieces of chicken, a cup of the sauteed bacon cabbage and half of a plantain that was lightly fried in olive oil. I had 2 pieces of chicken.

A simple, healthy, and delicious dinner for any week night. Just give yourself a little extra time for the chicken. I like mine with a nice crispness on the skin.

Seared Ribeye with arugula salad and Plantains

Tags

dinner, healthy, low carb, paleo, plantains, ribeye, Steak

I have become a HUGE fan of steak. I have always liked steaks but before Paleo didn’t really have a method for preparing it. Once I figured out my method, I ventured out into all the different steak house cuts that known to be expensive when dining out, but making at home saves tons of money and really allows you to do just about whatever you like with it.

While dining out the other day at a steakhouse with BR, a woman at a table seated next to us ordered a filet mignon and asked for it to be cooked “super well done”. While everyone is entitled to their preferred temperatures, choosing a filet mignon at a restaurant and having the chef cook every ounce of moisture out of it, is a total waste of good meat and good money! Want a well done steak? No Problem- make one at home!

BR and I prefer our steaks medium. So, if you are going to make this recipe and you like your steaks a little more done, just leave the steaks in the oven for a little longer.

For this particular dinner, i had taken these ribeyes out of the freezer and had a green plantain. I had just run out of sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. Then i remembered, my CSA dropped off a beautiful bag of arugula. Arugula can be very bitter, so i always dress it in an acidic dressing to balance out the bitterness.

Ingredients: for 2

2  6-8 oz rib eyes

1 TBSP of your favorite steak seasoning (i use a blend of salt, garlic, onion, and cayenne pepper)

1 tsp oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 450*.

Season ribeye on both sides.

Heat an 8 or 9 inch cast iron skillet or heavy bottom frying pan with oil over a medium high heat for about 2 minutes.

Once the pan is screaming hot, carefully add the two ribeyes and allow them to cook undisturbed for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes is up, turn over and allow to cook for 3 minutes.

transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 10 minutes. (if you want it well done, leave it in the oven for 15 minutes). Once the pan is removed from the oven, allow to rest undisturbed for 10 minutes.

Serve atop an arugula salad. I dressed my salad with lemon juice and a touch of olive oil.

And a side of plantains!

P.S.

PALEO!

 

Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms over Creamy Polenta

Tags

chicken, dinner, low carb, mushrooms

 

 

The problem with having a queue of photos to blog about is sometimes you see a photo of something you ate and think “what the H is that?”. I take notes and menu plan but once the week is over, the source of the menu plan disappears. With water stains or even food stains, the piece of paper just never makes it. So, as I am about to upload a whole new slew of photos, i recall this recipe that Lauren from Healthy-Delicious inspired.

For anyone watching their refined carbs, this hearty dish sits atop some creamy and hearty polenta. 

 

 

Lauren jokes that this dish is nothing to look at…while its no masterpiece, its certainly delicious. And i should note, hers looks MUCH better than mine.

I made some changes based on what i had available but I kept to the her instructions for the most part.

Ingredients:

2 thin chicken breasts

2 tsp flour

1 Tbsp olive oil

6 ounces white button mushrooms

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup chicken broth

 

But please check out Lauren’s recipe here for further instructions and her stunning photography!

 

Paleo Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps

Tags

beef, diet, dinner, Gluten free, healthy, low carb, paleo

When Brent and i first started our Paleo journey, a long time friend sent me some emeals, Emeals is a weekly meal planner that you can customize based your dietary needs. No meat? No Problem. No Grains? thats okay too! Looking at her emeals, the recipes were listed with directions and a shopping list was attached. 7 meals per week sent right to my inbox. I decided to subscribe for a little inspiration since I felt like our diet was in a bit of a rut.

I loved having an idea of what to prepare. Since Brent and I bring lunch to work on most days of the week, i opted for the family size meal plans to have extra.

One of the first recipes I used with emeals was this Asian Beef Lettuce Wrap recipe. It was simple to follow and there was plenty of room for me to tweak this to make it more my own preferred style. I just really enjoy the inspiration. 

 

Asian Beef Lettuc Wraps (serves 4)

1 lb lean ground beef

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

2 cloves garlic, minced

16 oz package sliced fresh mushrooms

2 cups shredded green cabbage

¼ cup coconut aminos (or substitute soy sauce)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 heads Bibb or butter lettuce, leaves separated

Method:

Cook beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 8 minutes or until   browned; drain and set aside. Heat oil in skillet; add onion, carrots and garlic. Cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add mushrooms; cook 8 minutes or until browned. Add cabbage, and cook 3 minutes or slightly wilted. Add coconut aminos, stirring to combine. Return beef to skillet, and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Spoon beef mixture onto lettuce leaves; roll up and devour!

I nearly ran out of room in my largest frying pan for all the meaty veggie goodness. The dish was really tasty and filling. Also who doesnt love faux tacos! Also, if lettuce wraps arent your thing, you can totally use regular tortilla wraps or eat this over rice. Its a jack of all trades dish.

wanna try emeals??? Click the banner below  🙂

Asian Marinaded Chicken Thighs with Asparagus bundles

Tags

asparagus, bacon, chicken, dinner, Gluten free, healthy, low carb, paleo, sides

 

 

 

One of my go to, easy put together dinners is this asian marinated chicken. This chicken dish is super quick to put together, not to mention delicious. 

 

Ingredients (serves 4, or two really greedy hungry people)

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1/2 cup coconut aminos, or soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup raw honey (regular honey is ok too)

1 tsp fresh grated ginger (1/2 tsp if using powdered ginger)

2 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 tsp powdered garlic)

1 bunch of scallions, sliced (optional)

 

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar, garlic, ginger, honey and sesame oil. Pour mixture over boneless chicken breasts, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

While the chicken marinates, I prep my side dishes. Since Brent and I follow a low carb diet on a more regular basis these days, I made some bacon asparagus bundles. We found a great hardwood smoked organic bacon, sliced to order with our local grocer that doesn’t run cheap but we find we cant stay away from it! Its so good. 

 

Bacon Asparagus Bundles

1 bunch of asparagus

6 slices of bacon

a sprinkle of natural sea salt

Preheat an oven to 450*. Arrange a baking sheet with parchment paper or non stick foil.

Trim asparagus of woody ends.

Wrap several stalks of asparagus with bacon. Some prefer to tie the bacon in a knot but i prefer the spiral method for more bacon coverage.

Sprinkle the asparagus lightly with sea salt. Roast in the oven for 10 -12 minutes, depending on how you like your asparagus. I like mine with a little char/crunch. 

 

Back to the chicken.

Heat a large grill pan or non stick skillet over a medium high heat. Allow the pan to fully heat to get the desired effect with the chicken. If the pan sizzles wildly after a sprinkle of water hits the pan, place the chicken on the pan and allow to cook undisturbed for 6 minutes. Turn over and cook for an additional 6 minutes or until the center is no longer pink.

Allow the chicken to rest and while resting, garnish with chopped scallions.

 

This is, hands down, our favorite chicken dish. I added a bit of sauteed fennel to the dish.

The leftovers are great for lunch!! (if there are even any leftovers)

Paleo Pumkpin Pie Spice Donuts

Tags

dessert, donuts, doughnuts, healthy, paleo, paleo diet

Happy Valentine’s Day, Loves!

Whether you’re single, attached or don’t like to talk about it, I hope you have a lovely Valentine’s day filled with comfortable pajamas, warm blankets and delicious eats! oh, and lovey feelings!

This year, BR and I are opting for a night in on Valentine’s Day. We have reservations for the sofa and plan on sharing a cozy blanket while watching whatever is on our Netflix queue.

But before I was attached, I used to love Valentine’s Day. My best valentine’s day was when i was dumped a few days prior and I decided to throw a “love stinks” party at my apartment with all my single friends. We had tons of wine, tons of eats and had a blast.

One thing that I have kept going strong, is making a dessert for the equally loved and hated holiday. Some occasions, i ate the whole damn thing by myself (because love stunk) and other times, i shared the goodies (because sharing the love gives me the warm and fuzzies)

I got the warm and fuzzies for sure when I discovered a paleo donut recipe from  the Against All Grain blog.  It had surely been some time since I enjoyed a baked food of the dessert variety since I started paleo and i was itching for donut. This recipe delivered. And I shared them with some non-paleo, sugar loving coworkers who loved these babies.

So, this Valentines Day, skip the heart shaped chain donuts mass produced and chemically processed in favor of these super simple, super delicious, gluten free donuts. Be sure to visit Against all grain to get the complete recipe here.

I had intended on frosting these babies but after sneaking a taste when they were done, they were perfect just as they were. So I left them as they were. 

I shared a few of these donuts with some co-workers, though i wanted them all for myself, and enjoyed them with my morning coffee!

Make a batch for you and your valentine, whether your valentine is yourself, your dog or your boo, make them.  These babies are awesome.