Ham n’ Egg Cups with Cheese

So one of the challenges of not eating bread is… well, the big question. What the heck am I going to use to hold my stuff?!

There are a lot of low carb, grain free ‘vessels’ out there. You just have to get creative. This morning for breakfast I had this fantastic, thinly sliced Russian Pitt Ham that had a very large circumference. So I decided to make it into cups to hold my eggs. And it worked perfectly. I would recommend that you invest in a few ramekins though. You could also use a muffin tin or a cupcake pan, but I didn’t want to mess with using my oven and instead opted for the toaster oven. And the ramekins were the only thing that fit.

So here’s how I make Ham n’ Egg Cups with Cheese:

1. You’ll need a couple of ramekins, 2 pieces of thinly sliced ham (about 5-6″ in diameter would be best), 2 eggs and a piece of your favorite cheese. I used some yummy swiss.

2. Pre-heat the toaster oven then place the slices of ham over the ramekins but don’t jam the ham down into the cup. Just create a sort of…indent for the egg to sit. Carefully break an egg into each cup on top of the ham.

3. Bake until the egg whites have set, about 10 minutes. Check on them every once in a while to make sure the ham edges are not cooking too quickly. Once the eggs whites are set add a piece of cheese on top and continue to bake until the cheese melts.

4. Remove from the toaster oven and gently lift the ham and egg out of each ramekin and onto a plate. Serve with whatever sides you feel like. I ate mine with avocado and some Tamazula.

And THAT… is how you hold your stuff!!

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Everyone loves a quickie for lunch, right?

Cilantro Lime Chicken. This one took me all of ten minutes. And had I not been so hungry I would have taken a prettier picture with a lime garnish, maybe even a dollop of sour cream (that I didn’t have). But you get it. You can add some yummy toppings to this and really bump it up a notch. And make it more pretty. Because pretty food tastes better.

So here’s how I made it:

1. You’ll need about 1 lb of thin sliced chicken breast cut into 3/4″ strips. You can use any kind of chicken breast but the thin sliced cooks nice and quick and you won’t have to do as much cutting and handling of the raw chicken. And to me that’s a plus. I’m a freak about salmonella and the less handling of raw chicken the better.

2. In a large saute pan, heat up about 2 Tbsp of Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. While the oil is getting nice and hot season the chicken with salt and garlic powder.

3. When the oil is hot, add the chicken to the pan and get a nice sear and some browning on one side. That means once it’s in the pan don’t mess with it until your ready to turn the pieces over. After about 3 minutes flip the pieces over and cook until just done and you see no more pink. Seriously, this should only take like 4 minutes.

4. Once the chicken is cooked through turn off the heat and add about 1 1/2 c. cilantro (or however much you’d like) and give it a stir to mix it in. I love cilantro so I add a lot. At least 2 c. Plus it wilts down.

5. Plate the chicken and cilantro and squeeze lots of fresh lime juice over the top. I topped mine with a little bit of cheese and my favorite salsa – Tamazula. Had I had sour cream I would have added that too!

Quick. Easy. Delicious.

Happy Eating!

Italian Sausage Sandwiches with Peppers & Onions

So last week my posts were few and far between. Ok… I’ll be honest. They were non-existent. But I was thinking about posting something and that’s what counts, right? And in my defense I was very busy. Cooking actually. For a friend’s baby shower.

Per her request I made Italian Sausage Sandwiches with Peppers & Onions. She had had them years ago at my baby shower and would always talk about how good they were. So, come her turn, that’s what she wanted. Italian sausage sandwiches with lots of peppers and onions. And I delivered. A whopping, healthy 8 lbs of sausage, 5 lbs of onions and about 12 lbs of peppers. And I thought I wouldn’t have enough… ha! Sometimes Italians have a distorted sense of food proportion but better safe than sorry I always say.

And talk about the perfect party food. This is one of the easiest things to make for a large group of people. It’s always a huge hit. A perfect storm of flavors. Sausage. Onions. Peppers. A taste bud trifecta. And ridiculously easy to make. Three ingredients. That’s it. Well, four if you count the roll but since I’m a Primal girl I ate mine sans the bread and it was just as tasty.

Here’s how I make Italian Sausage Sandwiches with Peppers & Onions:

1. Since I doubt you’re cooking for 30 people let me scale things down a bit. You’ll need about 1lb of sausage (maybe 4-6 links), approximately 6 green bell peppers, 3 large onions, about six to eight  6″ french rolls or Italian rolls (the kind that are crunchy outside and soft inside), either sliced provolone (my favorite) or shredded mozzarella and salt to taste. All of these amounts are guidelines. If you’d like more peppers then add more. If you’re Primal like I am and aren’t going to eat the roll, increase the amount of sausage. This recipe is very flexible and you can’t mess it up by changing the amounts of the ingredients.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy bottomed skillet brown the sausage in some olive oil. While the sausage are browning slice up the onions and peppers into rings and not too thin. You don’t want them to disintegrate as they cook.

3. When the sausage are browned transfer them to a roasting pan (or a large baking dish) along with any juice and cover them with the onions and peppers. Add about 3/4 c. of water to the bottom of the pan (to prevent any sticking or burning) and put the pan into the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour.

4. Periodically check on the sausage to make sure there is enough liquid in the bottom (the peppers and onions should release their juices but if not add a little water when necessary) and also give everything a stir. When the peppers and onions are nice and soft (no bite left) they’re done.

5. Take the pan out of the oven and cut the sausage in half and stir everything together. If it seems a little flat you can add some salt. But usually the flavor from the sausage as well as the peppers and onions is enough. It’s not supposed to be overly salty.

6. To prepare a sandwich slice the rolls open length wise but don’t cut them all the way through. You need a spot for the sausage to sit.

7. Add 1/2 a link to each roll along with some peppers, onions and then top lightly with cheese. Bake (or broil) for a few minutes just until the cheese has melted and the rolls are warm and a bit crunchy.

Serve with some of the juice on the side and sop it up with the bread… oh maron’! …Divine.

Happy Eating!

Refried Beans So Good You Might Think I’m Mexican

Homemade refried beans. They’re totally NOT primal but on the rare occasion I want to eat a rebel meal refried beans would be it. I make these a lot for my husband since he’s a) not Primal and b) Mexican. It’s the kind of meal I can always feed him in a pinch. Like if I’ve spent too much time blogging or goofing off on Facebook and forget to take something out of the freezer for dinner. Bam! I just make some homemade refried beans slap them into a tortilla and no one’s the wiser. Saved! Whew…

I’m not sure why anyone would buy refried beans from a can when you can make them so easily at home. And impress your friends. Again like so many other things I make, there’s only like, three Ingredients: Bacon, beans & jalapenos. Simple.

I know there are other ways to make beans but my beans are…well, they’re flipping fantastic! I dare you to ask anyone who’s tried them. And since I’m such a nice person … I’ll happily share with all of you.

Here’s how I make my beans:

1. You’ll need a pound of bacon, a 40oz can of Sun Vista Pinto Beans (I find this to be the best brand and usually the cheapest) and a little jar of sliced jalapenos, like the kind you put on top of nachos.

2. Now, you may be saying that using canned beans is not traditional. I disagree. I have tried both methods – cooking pinto beans for hours after cleaning and sorting them and canned beans. I find canned beans are not only much faster but they’re also more reliable. Sometimes if the beans are old they will never soften up no matter how long you cook them making your beans hard and lumpy instead of smooth and creamy. And you can’t tell unless you actually cook a bad batch and by then it’s too late. Your beans will be ruined. How do I know this? Because it’s happened to me. And for this reason I always use canned beans.

3. The first thing you do is render all the grease out of the one pound of bacon by frying it up in a pan. And pan choice is critical. My suggestion is to use a deeper pan with a high edge. Nothing too shallow because remember you will be adding a large can of beans to the grease and mashing the beans right in the pan. Which brings me to my second suggestion. Use a stainless steel pan. Nothing non-stick. Otherwise you may scratch the non-stick surface off and into your beans. And that would be gross AND unhealthy.

4. When you have your bacon frying in the pan don’t fry it too hot. Render the grease out slowly and you’ll get more. And not burn the bacon or the grease. Once the bacon is crispy and fairly brown (but not burnt!) lower the heat as low as possible and take out the bacon. If the bacon doesn’t get eaten right away I just cool it and put it in a ziplock and store it in the freezer for use with other meals. It keeps very well this way.

5. After the grease has had a chance to cool down for a few minutes open your can of beans draining away most (but not all) of the liquid first and then add it to the pan. It’s important not to add the beans when the grease is too hot otherwise it will pop and splatter like crazy and you might get a nice grease burn. Not good. Trust me.

6. After you’ve added the beans turn the heat back up to medium and start mashing them in with the grease until they are nice and creamy and the grease is completely incorporated. You don’t want any grease swimming on the top or the sides of the pan. If the beans are starting to bubble turn the heat down a bit.

7. After the beans are mashed and the grease incorporated add a few of the sliced jalapenos. You can add as many as you like depending on your taste. I usually put in 4 or 5. Also, and here’s my special trick – add in a little of the jalapeno juice for extra flavor. Maybe 2 Tbsp. Stir the juice into the beans and give the jalapenos a quick mash to break them up. Serve em’ up however you like!

Yep. I think I’m due for a rebel meal soon.

Happy Eating!

Poached Egg in a Red Sauce

Peasant food. We all want it even though we may not know it. It’s the food that comforts us. The food we grew up with. The simple food. Completely devoid of pretentiousness but never devoid of flavor. Unless of course your mom was a horrible cook and well, then…I’m so sorry.

When my Nona was growing up in Southern Italy she came from a very wealthy family and they lived high up on a hill looking down on the rest of the town. Looking down on the peasants. The working people. The farmers. Everyday my Nona was carried to school on the back of one of her nannies. All the way down the steep hill.

She was treated like a princess, wearing the finest clothing, eating the finest foods and carried to school, yet she hated it up on that hill. She loved nothing more than going down the to the markets with the farmers where there was excitement! And good, good food.

She’s always had impeccable taste.

After she was sent to the United States and married my grandfather (I think it may have been arranged) one of the meals she would make was something so simple yet so delicious. It was the peasant food she loved so much. I don’t even think it even had a proper name. Just an egg poached in a very loose red sauce. And man is it ever good! When that rich and creamy yolk breaks and mingles with the red sauce… ha! Heaven.

And it’s so easy.

Here’s how I make it:

1. You’ll need 2 cans of stewed tomatoes. If you can find the kind with onions and bell peppers added, even better. You want stewed because you need that watery, natural tomato juice. That’s what when heated will be poaching the egg. If you use a thicker sauce like crushed, pureed, or a marinara your egg won’t cook properly. If that’s all you have on hand though you can thin it out with some water. I’ve done and it’ll work you’ll just need to finesse it. You’ll also need a couple of eggs, some chopped onion and bell pepper (about 1/2 c. combined), a bit of olive oil and some salt to taste.

2. To a heavy bottomed sauce pan add a drizzle of olive oil and on medium high heat saute the onions and peppers until just soft. Add the stewed tomatoes some water if necessary and salt to taste. The spices in the dish and very minimal, don’t think traditional Italian meat sauce with basil and oregano. This is more like a tomato juice…sauce. Mild. You want the egg to be the star.

3. Bring the sauce to a soft boil and cook for a few minutes then turn down the heat to LOW. Here comes the trickiest part… the egg. Essentially you will be poaching an egg in the pot with the sauce.

4. With the sauce on low heat use a spoon to push aside any large pieces of tomato, onion or pepper, making a pocket or area for the egg. Then CAREFULLY break an egg into the spot you just made. Don’t break the yolk! It will probably sink all the way down and you won’t be able to see it but remember its exact location. If the sauce cools off too much you may turn up the heat but NEVER let it boil too hard or you will break and disrupt the egg. You want it to stay completely intact so that when the white is completely cooked you can carefully scoop it out.

5. Cook the egg in the sauce for about 5-7 minutes adjusting the heat up and down and controlling the amount of boil. To check and see if the egg is done I tilt my pot a little until I catch a glimpse of it. You can even scoop some of the sauce around the edges out into another dish if you need to. But whatever you do DON’T TOUCH THE EGG. Otherwise it will end up looking like Chinese egg drop soup – egg white all over the place.

6. When the whites of the egg are completely cooked (I don’t like slimy egg white but if you do take it out earlier) turn the heat off.

7. Grab a shallow pasta bowl and scoop some of the sauce into it. Once you have a good amount in the bowl grab a large spoon and carefully lift out the poached egg and place it directly center and on top of the sauce in the bowl. If you’re like me and like it hot serve with hot chili flakes.

You may have mad skills in the kitchen and can handle cooking multiple eggs in the sauce but I find that any more than three or four and you’re asking for trouble. Just sayin’.

Happy Eating!

Loco Hot Cocoa

I’m just going to say it. No one should ever buy a packet of hot cocoa mix. Unless… well, unless you’re camping or something and you can’t make it homemade. That’s really the only time I think it might be acceptable. And even that’s a big if. Next time you walk past some Swiss Miss at the grocery store, take a look at the ingredient list:

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Nonfat Milk, Calcium Carbonate, Less Than 2% Of: Natural Flavor, Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Mono- And Diglycerides, Carrageenan. Contains Milk.

Mmmmm, sounds delicious doesn’t it? …Hardly. The fact is there is nothing even remotely similar between homemade hot cocoa and the stuff from the packet. If you’ve ever had hot cocoa made from scratch you know exactly what I’m talking about. There is just no comparison. AND… one is natural and good for your health and the other is processed and very, very, very bad for it.

It was a gloomy day today so when my kids came home from school I whipped them up a batch of homemade hot cocoa and topped it with my all-time favorite thing – a big dollop of heavy whipped cream! They were very happy and said I was ‘the best mommy ever!” and I was pleased knowing that it was sugar free AND good for them.

Here’s how I make Loco Hot Cocoa:

1. You will need 1 1/2 c. of half and half, 1 1/2 c. of whole milk (when I’m feeling decadent, I use heavy cream and half and half), 1/3 c. ZSweet (or to taste), 1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp. high quality cocoa powder (I use Valrhona) and about 1 1/2 c. heavy cream, whipped.

2. In a medium size sauce pan or pot, add the half and half and milk and heat gently on medium heat. Whisking, add the cocoa powder and sugar. Whisk frequently and be careful the milk does not come to a full boil. You don’t want to scald it. You want to warm it up until it’s just shy of a boil.

3. When it’s heated pour into mugs and top with freshly whipped heavy cream.

Now… go into your kitchen and throw away any packets of hot cocoa mix. You don’t need them anymore. It’s so easy. Just make it from scratch.

Happy Eating!

Lula Kabob With Tzatziki & Tomatoes

My kids can be a challenge (read major pain) to feed at dinner time. First of all they tend to be grazers when it comes to food. They’re long and lean and unlike their mother they have very dainty appetites or so I believe, since they waste so much food. Unless of course it’s bedtime. Then they’re starving as if they haven’t eaten for days! It’s the strangest phenomenon…??

But last night when I told them I was making Lula Kabob for dinner, instead of being greeted with the usual and highly annoying “I don’t like that.” I was greeted with cheers and excitement.

C’est vrai? Can this be true? I was afraid to believe it. But maybe…. just maybe… I hit the mommy jackpot. I found the Holy Grail of What My Kids Will Always Eat For Dinner. It was too much for my mind to process and I kept thinking “it’s gotta be the meat on a stick. Everyone loves meat on a stick…”. So I nonchalantly rolled with it lest they realize… I’ve found their Kryptonite.

They licked their plates clean last night. And you can be sure that this meal is going into the rotation.

Here’s how I make Lula Kabob with Tzatziki & Tomatoes:

For the Tzatziki

Tzatziki is one of my favorite condiments. I love, love, love eating it with meat. It’s cool. It’s creamy. It’s just so darned delicious! Sometimes I buy it from Trader Joe’s and sometimes I make it from scratch. It depends on how much time I have and if I have the ingredients on hand or not. I’ve even used the Trader Joe’s stuff as a starter and then added my own ingredients to it. They both taste great but with the homemade you can control the consistency. Thick or thin. Your choice.

1. For homemade tzatziki you will need about 4-5 Persian cucumbers (Trader Joe’s sells these, they’re very small and skinny. If you can’t find the Persian ones a Hothouse cucumber will work too), 1 1/2 c. kefir cheese, 1/2 c. sour cream, 1/4 c. (or less) of water, 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped dill, 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped mint, 1 clove garlic, 2 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste), 1 tsp. white pepper, and the juice of one lemon.

2. Prep the cucumbers by washing and slicing them very thinly on a mandolin or slicer. I peeled mine, but you don’t have to. Set aside.

3. In a bowl combine the kefir cheese, sour cream, garlic (use a garlic press of chop very finely) , dill, mint, salt, white pepper and the lemon juice and mix together. If it’s very thick add a splash of water to thin it out a little. But not too much because you will be adding the cucumbers and they will add their own water.

4. Add in the cucumbers and stir until the cucumbers are completely coated with the mixture. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. As it sits the cucumbers will lose their water and the tzatziki will loosen up a bit. Also the flavors will meld.

For the Lula Kabob

In case you’re not familiar with Lula Kabob or a kabob it’s really just spiced ground meat on a stick. Different cultures make different versions of it using their preferred spices but it’s basically meat on a stick. I prefer the Lebanese version myself. Traditionally ground lamb is used (which I love) or even sirloin but for my recipe I just used ground chicken because it’s what I had. Any ground meat will work though.

1. You’ll need about 2lbs of ground chicken, 3/4 c. finely chopped yellow onion, 2 Tbsp. of chopped flat leaf (Italian) parsley, 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint, 1 egg, 2 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 2 tsp. kosher salt, 2 tsp. fresh cracked pepper, the juice of 1/2 a lemon and enough bamboo/metal skewers for skewering. As always these measurements are approximations. Just spice according to your taste. Fry up a little piece of meat in a pan to test out the flavor. Oh, and if you’re really feeling cheeky and you have them on hand, you can really spice things up by adding a dash of allspice, nutmeg, fenugreek, cinnamon, clove and/or ginger. Those are the traditional Lebanese spices. But they’ll taste delicious either way.

2. Mix everything in a big bowl careful not to over mix. Over mixing toughens the meat. Always keep that in mind whenever you’re mixing any form of ground meat.

3. Gently form the meat around the skewer leaving enough space at one end to hold the stick. I usually use 6″ skewers because they are easier to handle for kids, but 9″ is also a good size. Form the meat about half way down the stick.

4. Place on a baking sheet at 425 degrees F for about 7-10 minutes depending on how big you made them. Just take one out and test it.

When the Lula Kabob are ready plate them up and serve with the chilled tzatziki sauce and some sliced tomatoes on the side.

This meal is definitely… kid Kryptonite.

Happy Eating!