Chicken Curry with Cauliflower "Rice"

This dish was quite a risk for me. I'm not a huge coconut or curry fan, but I was inspired by a recipe I pinned on Pinterest. I read a variety of curry recipes and adapted them to my taste. I was scared to have Ben try it because Thai is not on his list of favorite cuisines. What a nice surprise! We both loved it! It felt like we ordered Thai takeout. We were both impressed at how the cauliflower rice tricked our brains into thinking we were soaking up the juices with white rice. This is a new recipe added into our "favorites" rotation.

Need

1.5lb chicken breast
2 chicken legs
2 tbspn ghee
2 c. chicken stock
3 large gloves chopped garlic
2 tspn curry plus a pinch
1 c. unsweetened coconut milk
2 large carrots sliced
1 lb. green beans
1 red bell pepper chopped
1/4 tspn fresh ginger
2 tbspn fresh chopped basil
One large dried chili pepper- I used Guajilla
Salt and Pepper
Head of cauliflower

Prepare

1. Heat ghee in dutch oven pot on medium-high heat.
2. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of the chicken.
3. Brown the chicken on high heat for about 4 minutes each side. Transfer the chicken to a plate. You may have to brown in two batches.


4. There will be some juices and chicken pieces left in the pot. Pour 1/4 cup of the chicken stock to deglaze your pan. Reduce to medium heat.
5. Add the garlic, peppers, and carrots. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a pinch of curry. Cook for about 4 minutes.
6. Add the green beans and cook for another 3 minutes.


7. Return the chicken to the pot.
8. Put in 1 cup coconut milk, remaining chicken broth, and bring everything to a boil.
9. Season with curry powder, fresh basil, ginger, salt, and pepper.
10. Place the chili pepper in the pot.
11. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 2 hours. The chicken should pull apart.

Using your food processor shredding attachment, shred the raw cauliflower. You should end up with small pieces of cauliflower that resemble white rice. Heat the "rice" in a microwave covered with a damp paper towel for 2 min.

Serve the chicken curry over the cauliflower rice.

Fajitas no Tortilla

We enjoy Mexican food at least one time a week. There are not many Mexican dishes we will not eat. While cheese dip, chips, and enchiladas are yummy, we opted for a more "fit" Mexican dinner tonight. I grilled a flank steak, sauteed some peppers, and added guacamole. It definitely satisfied our craving and we didn't even add any cheese! Ben would be a happy man if I made this dinner at least once a week for the rest of our lives.

Need

2-3 lb. flank steak
1 tbspn chili powder
1 tbspn cumin
1 tspn ancho chili powder
1 tspn garlic powder
2 limes- juice and zest
4 tbspn olive oil + 2 more tbspn for cooking
1 red pepper cut into strips
1 green pepper cut into strips
1 orange pepper cut into strips
1 medium onion sliced
Salt
Pepper
Fresh made salsa of your choice
Guacamole

Prepare

Create the steak dry rub by combining the chili powders, cumin, and garlic powder. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on both sides of the steak. Poor the remaining olive oil in a gallon size bag. Use this dry rub to cover the entire flank steak. There will be plenty left over, so save some for the peppers. Liberally salt and pepper both sides.


Add the juice of 1 lime into the gallon size bag with the olive oil. Zest the entire lime and add it to the bag. Place the rubbed meat into the bag, refrigerate, and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

When you're ready to cook the meat, heat a indoor grill pan and a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Add the meat when the grill pan is hot. Allow the meat to cook on medium for about 8 minutes a side. Once each side is cook, flip again and cook for another 3 minutes each side. Flank steak will get tough if overcooked. We cook ours to medium-rare which has an internal temperature 130 to 135 degrees F. When the meat reaches desired temperature, allow it to rest for 5 minutes. If you cut the meat before, all of the juices will run out.


While the meat is cooking, add the peppers and onions to an oiled pan at medium heat. After about 4 minutes, add the juice and zest of one lime. Using the left over rub, add your desired amount to the peppers and onions. I added about 2 teaspoons. After I still had about 1 tablespoon of rub left over. Cook the peppers and onions on medium heat until soft.
(8-10 minutes)

Serve with fresh salsa and your favorite guacamole recipe!

Pulled Pork

Most of us probably do not own a smoker or have a device where we can allow pounds of meat to slowly cook and smoke all day. Most of us do probably have a crock pot. Pork is my favorite thing to cook in the crock pot. If you eat pulled pork, then I recommend making it in your crock pot. It stays moist and has a lot of flavor! This recipe completes the meal for the southern BBQ dinner we enjoyed. All that was missing was a sweat tea.

Need

3-4lb pork butt
1 onion quartered.
1 tbspn cumin
1 tbspn chili powder
1 tbspn salt
1 tbspn pepper
2-3 gloves garlic halved
1/2 can of chipotle peppers (make sure no sugar or wheat is added)
1/4 c. spicy brown mustard
1 tspn apple cider vinegar
1 c. broth (chicken or beef)

Prepare

1. Mix together the spices (cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper) to create a seasoning rub.
2. Using your hands, rub the seasoning over the entire pork roast.
3. Take a knife and create slits throughout the meat. Add the half pieces of garlic throughout the meat. Make the slits deep enough so that the entire garlic piece can fit.
4. Add the quartered onion to the bottom of the crock pot.
5. Put the meat in the pot fat side down.
6. Whisk together the chipotle peppers and mustard. If you like spice, use the entire can of chipotle and increase your mustard ratio.
7. Add this mixture to the top of the meat covering the top and sides.


8. Pour the stock and vinegar around the meat.
9. Set the crock pot for 8-10 hours.

I would prefer to enjoy the meat with a side of barbeque sauce, but barbeque sauce usually has some kind of brown sugar or high fructose corn syrup added to it. Occasionally I do eat it with sauce and it's awesome. Tonight Ben opted for some hot sauce. It was moist, favorable, and delicious!

Fresh and Light Coleslaw

I have been making this coleslaw for a while. I just cannot bring myself to add tons of mayo and sour cream to cabbage. It just seems too heavy. Instead, I add olive oil and other light ingredients. I made this coleslaw to accompany the pulled pork and collard greens. It made it feel like a good old country BBQ at the Thoele household!

Need

1/4 head of red cabbage
1/4 head of green cabbage
1/2 bag of baby carrots
1 red pepper
1/2 jar of dill pickles chopped
1.5 tbspn honey
2 tbspon olive oil
1 tspn apple cider vinegar
2 tspn salt
2 tspn fresh black pepper
Food processor
Prepare

1. Using the shredding attachment on your food processor, shred the cabbage, carrots, and red pepper. Empty into a large bowl. (You can also buy the bagged coleslaw at the store and julienne the red pepper.)


2, Chop half the jar of dill pickles. You can buy any brand you like. I try to buy pickles that do not have any added sugar.
3. Add the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to the cabbage mix and toss.
4. Next, add the honey and chopped pickles.
5. Toss the entire mix together and taste test. You may want to add more salt and pepper according to your taste.

Salty Collard Greens

There is a good reason that I call these collard greens salty. As I was preparing the greens, I was quite excited about the potential of them. Knowing I wanted to cook some southern BBQ, I saved the bacon fat from the morning's breakfast. The onions and garlic were giving off the most succulent scent. I was gathering my ingredients and I was seriously giddy when I added the ham hock to the pot. I went to add some sea salt and the container was being a bit stubborn. I tried to measure the salt using a teaspoon, but it was not going fast enough. I decided to just add a few "shakes" to the pot. Big mistake! As I was shaking the sea salt container, the top fell in the pot, and the ENTIRE container of salt fell into the collards. The entire container. Of course I screamed! Ben ran out of the bathroom panicking, shaving cream around his face and all. His solution was to simply "add more collard greens." Really Ben?

I ended up salvaging the batch by rinsing the entire pot through a colander. I got rid of the salt, but was worried about the flavor. I started a new batch from scratch using the old collard greens. In the end, they turned out to be quite alright.

I have lived in Georgia for just about 6 years now and I have grown to love collards. For a girl who grew up in the Midwest, I think that they would be approved by any southerner.

Need
1 lb bag of collard greens
3 tbspn bacon grease
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 smoked ham hock
1/2 can of tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
1 tbspn honey
1 tbspn apple cider vinegar
1 tspn salt
1 tspn black pepper

Prepare

Using a large pot, melt down the congealed bacon grease on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, garlic, ham hock, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onions are translucent. Add half of the chicken stock to the pot and turn to high heat to boil. Once the liquid is boiling, add half of the bag of collard greens. Allow the greens to cook down and add the remainder of the chicken
stock and collard greens.










Once all of the collard greens are cooked down add the half can of diced tomatoes. The tomatoes really do not add too much to the flavor. I just like the color. Finally add the honey, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Make sure your salt cap is on!

Allow the collard greens to simmer for about 4 hours. The longer they simmer, the better!

Pancakes with Warm Berry Compote

Ben and I are big breakfast people. Every weekend we eat a huge breakfast, drink hot coffee, and relax in each others company. Sometimes we go out for breakfast, but lately we have been staying home. When it comes to breakfast, I love something sweet. However, "normal" pancakes use flour, sugar, and more sugar. Not anymore!

My sister-in law, Erin, and brother, Josh, shared their almond flour pancake recipe with me. It is easy, delicious, and guilt-free. They make them often and even their 4 children approve. Today I made their pancakes, but added a few twists. I tossed in some toasted pecans and made a warm berry compote. Ben said, "they were better than a restaurant." I have to admit, I agree! Thank you Josh and Erin! :)


Need for Pancakes

2 c. almond flour
2 eggs
2 bananas
1 tspn. baking soda
1 tspn. baking powder
1 tspn. cinnamon
1 tspn. vanilla
4 tbspn. toasted raw pecans
Ghee or butter

Need for Compote

2 c. fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)
1 tbspn. water
1 tbspn. honey

If you haven't ever toasted nuts before, you should start. It makes a huge difference in flavor! We buy raw pecans, toast them, and store them in a container to eat as a snack. To toast, simply put the pecans in a pan, set to medium low heat, and toast until you start to smell them. Flip the pecans, and toast for another 3 minutes.


To make the pancakes mix together the eggs, almond flour, bananas, cinnamon, vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder. Fold in the pecans. (The batter will be thick. Do not be alarmed.) Heat a griddle pan to medium-low heat and add 1 teaspoon of ghee to the pan. Once the ghee is melted, add a small spoon full of batter to the griddle. Because the batter is so thick, smash the pancakes down using your fingers. Set the griddle heat to low. The pancakes will cook very quickly. It will only take about 3 minutes each side. Remove the pancakes to a platter and repeat.










While your pancakes are cooking, put your berries and tablespoon of water and honey in a small sauce pan. Cook the berries down until they are soft and create a liquid. This process takes about 5-8 minutes. It depends on how chunky you want the compote.

We will be making these again!

Three is NOT a Crowd Chili

They say "three's a crowd." Well, it is most certainly not in my Le Creuset pot! Cold days always inspire me to make a big pot of chili. There are many reasons why I love chili, but the main reason is that you can put anything in chili! This time I omitted the beans, but I made up for it by adding three different kinds of meat: ground beef, ground Italian sausage, and chicken apple sausage. The chicken apple sausage makes it for me! If there is enough veggies and meat in a chili, I don't even miss the beans.

Need

1 lb. ground mild Italian sausage
1 lb. grass fed ground beef
1 package Aidells Chicken Apple Sausage
1.5 c butternut squash peeled and cubed (about 1 small squash)
1 c chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
2 celery stalks chopped
1 yellow pepper chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 jalapeno seeded and chopped
1 large can of fire roasted tomatoes (organic if possible)
1 large can of tomato sauce (organic if possible)
1 c. beef broth
1 can water
3 heaping tbspn chili powder
1.5 heaping tbspn cumin
1 heaping tbspn ancho chili powder
1 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn salt
1 tspn pepper
1 bouillon beef cube

Prepare

Start by browning the Italian sausage and ground beef on medium heat in a large pot. While the meat is cooking, prepare your vegetables. When the meat is brown, add the squash and onions. Throw in a few pinches of chili powder, salt, and pepper while this is cooking. This will really bring out the flavor! Once the onions are translucent in color, add all of the peppers and celery. Cook for another 4-5 minutes.


Add the tomato sauce, fire roasted tomatoes, and beef broth to the pot and set to medium-high. Fill up the tomato sauce can with water to gather the extra tomato flavor and add to the pot. Once this mixture comes to a boil, add the chili powder, cumin, ancho chili, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. If you like your chili spicy, throw in a few pinches of cayenne pepper.



Simmer the chili as long as you can or at least 4 hours. The longer it simmers the better it taste. I usually make it the day before to serve the following night. Because the chicken apple sausage is already cooked, add the sausage about 30 minutes before you plan to serve.


Not into meat? Take out the meat, use vegetable broth instead of beef, and add beans and more vegetables likes zucchini and carrots. The flavor will still be good. If I wasn't trying to get rock hard abs, I would probably add a bottle of beer instead of the water too.(Apparently beer doesn't make rock hard abs though) Enjoy!