Chili!

I don't have too many photos this time, but I didn't really feel like standing on my feet in the kitchen today, so I made some chili in the slow cooker.

I had made some homemade pickled jalapeño peppers from the book Fermented by Jill Ciciarelli, so I added those in for some extra flavor. 

It took me about 30 minutes to prep, I browned the meat while cutting the vegetables. Then I let it cook on low for about 3 hours before I turned it down to "keep warm."

Here's what I used:

1 lb. grass fed ground beef, browned 

1 lb. ground turkey, browned 

1 large can organic diced tomatoes

2 cans organic tomato sauce

1 can organic red kidney beans, rinsed (optional-- I don't eat them, but the hubs does)

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 sweet onion, diced

5 small garlic cloves (2 larger ones)

1 tbsp. homemade pickled jalapeños (optional)

4 (or more) slices cooked bacon, crumbled

1-2 tbsp. raw, local honey

For the Chili Seasoning (sometimes store bought chili seasoning packets have flour and sugar added. When you make your own, you can control the amount of salt if you are watching your sodium intake.)

2 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. cumin

2 tsp. oregano

1 tbsp. seasoning salt

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Here's what to do:

Throw it all in the slow cooker, stir it up, turn it to low and let all the flavors mix together for a few hours, until you are ready to eat.

Tip: If you like your chili more chunky, take the lid off for 20 minutes, or put it on sideways for an hour and some of the water will evaporate 

Serve it up in your favorite bowl!

Fermented Jalapenos

A couple of months ago, I ordered the book Fermented: A Four Season Approach to Paleo Probiotic Foods. I took a quick look at it and figured I would look back at it again when I had some time.  So a couple of weeks ago, I took it out again and bought some of the ingredients.  I attempted to make some pickles, but they didn't work out.  I am still working on the Kombucha (maybe I will post about it later).  

Anyhow, the hubs and I had "taco night" with some friends last week and I had bought some extra jalapeno peppers to pickle.  I LOVE jalapenos, so I figured if all goes well with my pickling, then I can always have some on hand when I need to spice things up!

I followed the recipe for pickled cucumbers from Fermented. Except, I left out the dill.  I let them ferment for 6 days and pulled them out today to use in our chili.  They are delicious!! And look how cute they are in that little jar!!

Here's the recipe (adapted from Fermented: A Four Season Approach to Paleo Probiotic ):

Ingredients:

5-10 Jalapeno peppers

1 tsp. salt

Water (the amount depends on the size of your jar)

1 large garlic clove

1. Slice your jalapeno peppers (remove the seeds if you don't want all the heat)

2. Fill up your jar that you will be using with water and pour that water (plus a little extra) into a pot of water. Add the salt and heat it just until the salt dissolves. 

3. In the meantime, transfer your jalapenos and your garlic clove to your jar.

4. When all the salt is dissolved, pour the water mixture into the jar.

5. Lightly cover the jar and let it sit for about a week, or until you feel that the peppers are soft enough.

*I used a mason jar and just put the disc lid on top, I did not use the ring, as it makes it too tight.  The photo above is the jar I am using to store the final product.

8.  When they are finished, place them in the refrigerator with a tight lid and enjoy!

Tips:

• Check on your peppers every couple of days.  
• If you see any mold, just scrape it off the top and try to push the jalapenos down farther into the water.
• If your peppers are slimy or have a stinky smell to them, you should probably scrap them and try again.
• It is normal for the water to be somewhat cloudy.

EZ Roast Chicken

I bought an organic, free-range chicken the other day.  When I got home from the store, I rinsed it off, took the packet out of the cavity and stuffed some lemons in there.  I sprinkled it with salt and pepper.. you could add more spices though.  I put it in a bowl and left it out to dry off a little bit.  Then, I put it in the fridge for 2 days.

When I was ready to start cooking, I slid it into a glass baking dish and put it in the oven at 425 degrees.  

After an hour, I checked it and it was getting brown on the outside, but it was not fully cooked.  I turned the oven down to 400 so that it didn't get too brown on the outside.  I put it back in for about 30 more minutes and it was done!

I had my hubby cut it up and I served it with broccoli and steamed cabbage!

A Big Step

So, I recently started eating a lot cleaner.  In April, I completed the Virgin Diet and after YEARS of not being able to lose weight, I did! I went on the diet to be healthier since I had a lot of digestive issues. Basically, I cut the seven foods that are the most likely to cause food allergies or intolerances.



Well, since then, I have not been very good.  I have cheated. A. Lot. It is difficult in the summer, but I have been working out every day and I am not doing my body any good by cheating on my healthy food!  My brother picked up this book when I was with him one day and he started the "Whole30."  It is 30 days of REAL FOOD. Protein from meat, seafood, or eggs. Vegetables. Healthy Fats. Occasional fruit. That's it.

It is a 30-day reset.  SO, if I cheat. I start over at day 1. SO NO CHEATING! Who's with me?  Starting Monday, July 29th. 

ZOODLES!

My turning slicer, as discussed in the last post.

We made Zoodles (zucchini noodles!!)

We placed them in the cast iron skillet with a little bit of oil, some onions, and seasoned salt.  We fried them up to al dente texture (about 8 minutes).

Then, we at them for breakfast with bacon, eggs, and gluten-free banana pancakes!

Noodle slicer!

So I was pleasanlty surprised one day to come home to a package.  Turns out it was this little gem from my brother-- a housewarming gift!!

It's a slicer that also makes food into noodles.  He came to visit me for the week, so we tried it out and liked it.  We tried to make everything into noodles!! We had curly sweet potato fries this night.  After he sliced the sweet potatoes (it only takes about 2 sweet potatoes to feed 4 people), we placed them in a bowl and drizzled oil on top.  

We shook it up to coat the potatoes with oil and then placed them on the pan.  We tried to make sure to spread them out evenly.

We placed them in the COLD OVEN... yes, we did NOT preheat it!  Then turned the oven on to 425 degrees and baked them for about 12-15 minutes.  When you let sweet potatoes warm up slowly, the natural sugars come out so there is no need for sugar and butter!

We served them up with some grilled veggies and steak cooked on the grill.  Perfect summertime meal!

Tessemae's Salad Dressing

Go to your refrigerator and take a look at the ingredients of your salad dressings and marinades.  Can you read all of those words??  Our goal is to know exactly what we are putting in our bodies.  Well, have no fear, your clean salad dressing is here!



They have many flavors, but my favorite is the balsamic.

Hubby's favorite is the Zesty Ranch.  It is not a creamy ranch, so no worries about aversions to dairy products.

Ways to use Tessemae's dressings:

1. On your salad
2. As a marinade
3. Fill your slow cooker with 4 chicken breasts, half a bottle of chicken stock, and half a bottle of Tessemae's.  Cook on low for 4 hours.  We used the mild hot sauce and had buffalo chicken salad. Hubby LOVED it!!

It is difficult to find a retailer for Tessemae's.  The closest one to us is about an hour away, but you can order online http://www.tessemaes.com/.  

Meatballs

We LOVE pasta in this house!  Lately we have been making our own sauce so that we know EVERY ingredient that goes into it. We eat brown rice pasta and we cannot even tell the difference! Brown rice pasta is made from rice, which is a grain, so it does not have gluten or flour in it.  Your body process grains slower than gluten or flour and it is low on the glycemic index. 

I made these lean meatballs to go with our sauce and our brown rice pasta.  First, gather all the ingredients.  I like to sneak in extra vegetables for flavor and fiber, so get a big mixing bowl and add in your ingredients. 

Disclaimer: I NEVER measure things!  I will give you an estimate of the measurements, but add as much or as little as you desire.   :)

 1 egg

1/4 c. chopped onions

1/4 c. chopped green peppers

2 tbsp. tomato sauce (homemade)

1/2 c. almond meal (added for extra protein)

and of course, your lean meat-- I used 97% lean ground beef, 

but ground pork, ground chicken, or ground turkey would work as well

Stir it up and form it (even though I hate touching raw meat, I had to use my hands)

I used my cast iron skillet and added some sauce and some oil 

(palm fruit or coconut oil are best, but I only had olive oil, so I used that)

Cover the pan, set it on medium heat and wait until they are AT LEAST half cooked

When they are about half browned, you can turn them over.  Some of mine broke, so be VERY careful! They are done cooking when they are all the way brown and the internal temperature is about 160-165 degrees. 

Serve them with brown rice pasta and LOTS of sauce.. ok, you don't have to have a lot of sauce, but that's what we like!

Full Recipe makes about 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/4 c. chopped onions

1/4 c. chopped green peppers

1/4 c. tomato sauce 

1/2 c. almond meal (added for extra protein, but not necessary)

1 lb. lean, ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey)

2 tbsp. oil (palm fruit, coconut are best)

1. In a mixing bowl, combine onions, peppers, egg, 2 tbsp. sauce, almond meal, and ground meat.

2. Mix it all up and form it into small balls of meat.

3. Add oil and desired amount of sauce to a frying pan and place the meatballs in the pan.

4. At medium heat, cook the meatballs until they are fully brown inside and out and the internal temperature is about 160-165 degrees.

5. Serve with brown rice pasta and tomato sauce and enjoy!

Healthy Snack

This is one of my ALL-TIME favorite snacks.  A sliced organic apple with 2 tablespoons of cashew butter.  The ingredients of the cashew butter are cashews and sunflower oil... NOTHING else!