Candida Diet Taco Salad

April 6, 2013 at 12:01 AM (Ferments, Homemade Seasoning Mixes, Recipes, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Cook, cooking, easy, Easy Recipes, Frugal Recipes, homemade, kitchen, Nutrition, real food, recipe, Salad, Venison

Taco Salad for the Candida Free Kitchen

2/3 Cup Quinoa

1 Cup homemade Bone Broth

1 lb ground turkey/chicken/beef/venison etc

2-4 Tbsp homemade Taco Seasoning

Romaine or iceberg Lettuce

Olives

Diced Onions

Green Chilies

Grape or Cherry Tomatoes

Sliced avocado

homemade Salsa Verde or ‘green sauce” as Rob likes to call it.

Bring bone broth to a boil, add quinoa and simmer until tender
Brown ground meat
Add cooked quinoa, and homemade taco seasoning. Adding more broth if mixture is too dry
Allow mixture to cool slightly
Toss mixture with all remaining ingredients to make salad.
Top with homemade yogurt if desired.

We love this meal. Something about the still slightly warm meat mixture and the crunchy cold lettuce. Yum! Plus it is “Phase One” safe, if you are following a Candida free way of life, or just plain trying to eat more vegetables!

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

May 30, 2012 at 1:01 AM (Recipes, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: bacon, brussels sprouts, Cook, cooking, Easy Recipes, food, Frugal Recipes, Health, Home, homemade, kitchen, Nutrition, real food, Recipes, Salad, Simple

This recipe is very simple, but full of flavor. I love the saltiness of the bacon, the sweetness of the raisins and the bitter brussels sprouts all mixed together. A fabulous side dish!

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

3 slices thick bacon

4 cups brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

1/4 cup golden raisins

1 medium shallot, minced

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup homemade chicken stock

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

sea salt and fresh pepper to taste

In a heavy skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside to crisp up.
Add Brussels sprouts to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until well browned and almost soft. About 7 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add raisins, shallot and butter. Cook 3 minutes
Add broth and bring to a boil, being sure to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Reduce heat and simmer broth 1-2 minutes.
Mix in vinegar and crumbled bacon. Taste and season as needed. Serve warm.

I only had a tiny amount of golden raisins on hand, so I added 1/4 cup of dried cranberries also. It turned out delicious!

I mix mine with lettuce or spinach and eat it like a salad. Yum!

5 Comments

Tender Grilled Brisket

May 29, 2012 at 1:01 AM (Grilling, Homemade Condiments, Homemade Seasoning Mixes, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: barbeque, brisket, Coconut oil, Cook, food, grilling, Health, Nutrition, paleo, real food, spicy

I love recipes that can be placed on the grill and left alone for hours. This recipe is one of my favorites. Resulting in a sweet and spicey, very tender and juicy brisket. Sliced thin, it is barbeque at it’s finest! If you have a freezer full of venison or other wild game, this works great with a big thick backstrap or steak as well.

Tender Grilled Brisket

6 cups mesquite wood chips

1 4-5 lb beef brisket

1 Tbsp coconut oil

Paprika

Coarse sea salt

Black pepper

Red pepper flakes

Thyme

Before grilling, soak wood chips in a bucket of water.
Brush brisket with oil and sprinkle with all spices. I never measure. Rub spices into meat.
Drain wood chips and light charcoal in grill. Place 1 large handful of wood chips over charcoal.
Place brisket on grill. Cook 3 to 4 hours, adding another handful of wood chips every 30 minutes or so.
Remember for extra tender meat, never pierce the meat with a fork. Use tongs!
After meat is cooked, brush with homemade barbeque sauce and serve hot.

Mesquite Wood Chips

For a spicy Barbeque Sauce you can try my usual or this new one I’ve been playing with:

Hot and Sweet BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup onion, chopped

6 fresh jalepeno chile peppers, seeded and chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar)

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup orange juice

3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (make your own here)

1 tsp dry mustard

In saucepan heat oil and saute onion, pepper and garlic. Stir in all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Makes 3 cups.

This is great with a basket of grilled fresh veggies, corn on the cob or green salad. The leftovers are excellent as a sandwhich, and I also love it served hot over cornbread.

The Worlds Best BBQ Sauce

Baked Beans

Perfect Cornbread

Sweet & Spicy Glazed Tuna Steaks

Spiced Ribs

Cajun Smothered Pork Chops

Venison Backstrap with Coffee Spice Rub

Pacific Lime Chicken

How to Cook the Perfect Steak

Homemade Worcestershire Sauce

8 Comments

Lake Trout with Morels

May 28, 2012 at 1:01 AM (Recipes, Simple, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Bake, baking, casserole, Cook, cooking, Easy Recipes, fish, food, Frugal Recipes, Health, Home, homemade, kitchen, morel, Nutrition, real food, sea food, trout

Any fish will work for this recipe. Just pick your favorite fillet and go with it. We just happened to have a huge lake trout in the freezer, so this is what I used. It is finally mushroom season, and morels are my favorite. Time to stock up!

Lake Trout with Morels

1 lb fish fillets 1/2 to 3/4 thick

2 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/3 cup green onion, sliced

Sea salt

1 tsp fresh thyme, or 1/4 tsp dry thyme

Thaw fish if frozen. Pat dry and place in baking dish. Sprinkle with sea salt.
In a saucepan melt butter and add mushrooms, onions and thyme. Cook until tender.
Pour over fish and bake in 450 degree oven for 12-18 minutes. Fish should flake easily with a fork when done.

If you are lucky enough to have a surplus of morels this year there are many ways to preserve them. I have tried just about everything, and several methods work.

1. I thoroughly rinse the mushrooms in cold water. Then sauté in butter for no longer than 3 minutes. Let cool and place in a zip lock baggie with juices from pan. When you are ready to eat, cut off the plastic bag and place the whole frozen block in a skillet. Cover and cook on low. Tastes just like fresh, with a slight difference in firmness and texture.

2. I have dried them on a string in the attic for a month, I have laid them on the oven rack and dried them at 160 degrees for about an hour. I have laid them on window screens out in the back yard until dry. I have never owned a dehydrator, so that’s the only method I haven’t used. Of everything I’ve tried, threading them onto a string (like a little mini-clothes line) was by far the best. When rehydrated the taste and texture was exactly the same as fresh out of the ground. Maybe because no heat is used?

3. I have washed and drained the mushrooms so they are almost dry. Then laid them on a cookie sheet and placed them in the freezer until solid. Pack into bags and vacuüm seal. This method changed the texture a bit, but the flavor was the same.

4. My least favorite method was packing a mason jar (or other freezer container) with mushrooms, covering that with cold water and freezing. They would be ok for soup, but the texture was too mushy for my tastes. And a lot of the flavor gets dumped out with the water after thawing.

Happy mushroom hunting!

2 Comments

Ham and Asparagus Strata

May 27, 2012 at 1:01 AM (Baking, Recipes, Whats for Breakfast?, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Asparagus, Bake, baking, casserole, Cook, Easy Recipes, food, Frugal Recipes, Health, Home, homemade, kitchen, Nutrition, real food, Recipes

This is an easy make-ahead breakfast. You can mix it up the night before and then bake it the next morning. It also makes a fast and easy dinner.

Ham & Asparagus Strata

4 English muffins, torn into pieces

2 cups cooked ham

2 cups fresh asparagus, cut up

4-6 oz Gruyère cheese, cubed

5 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups milk

2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp fresh black pepper

Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Spread half of the english muffin pieces on the bottom.
Top with ham, asparagus and cheese cubes
Top with remaining english muffin pieces
In a bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, milk, onion, mustard and pepper
Pour this mixture over casserole dish, coating everything evenly
Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours
Bake, uncovered at 325 degrees for 60-65 minutes

There are a zillion variations on this recipe. I have replaced the ham with chicken before. I have used broccoli instead of asparagus. I have used swiss instead of Gruyère. Let your imagination go wild!

2 Comments

The Worlds Best Barbeque Sauce (sugar free)

May 16, 2012 at 1:01 AM (Homemade Condiments, Make It Yourself, Recipes, Sugar Free, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Bake, baking, Barbecue sauce, casserole, chicken, Coconut oil, Cook, cooking, DIY, easy, Easy Recipes, food, frugal, Frugal Recipes, Health, Home, homemade, homemade condiments, kitchen, low carb, no carb, Nutrition, paleo, Pork, real food, recipe, Recipes, Simple, sugar free

It is grilling season, so it’s time to whip up my secret weapon. I have been adapting and changing this recipe for so many years that I don’t remember what I originally started with. All I remember is that I had a half used can of tomato paste in the fridge I was trying to get rid of, and this recipe was somehow born. I love that it has no sugar, but still tastes sweet and has this great spicy kick that goes well with just about any meat. I also really love the base of nourishing bone broth, which you can never have too much of. Tonight we’re grilling bone-in pork ribs from our local farmer with some cornbread. Mmmm, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

The Worlds Best Barbeque Sauce

makes 2 cups

1 Tbsp grass-fed butter or coconut oil

1 cup sweet onion, diced small

1 Tbsp soy sauce

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dry mustard powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 tsp chipotle chili powder

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

1 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock (or beef or vegetable)

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2-1 tsp stevia powder (or sweetener of choice)

Heat butter/oil in sauce pan and sauté onion for 3-4 minutes until translucent. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. You can serve it just like this, but I like to boil it down to thicken it a while. I turn down the heat, cover the pan and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so. I also find the longer cooking time melds the flavors, and it turns out even more delicious.

I have used this sauce on every cut of pork, beef and chicken that I can think of. It is a great marinade, basting sauce, oven baking glaze and dipping sauce. If you are feeding young kids or someone who doesn’t like spicy food you may want to add the chili powder a little bit at a time and taste as you go.

If you want to make this even healthier, you could let it cool and add 2 tbsp of whey and leave it on the counter over night. Then you would have a sugar-free probiotic condiment.

This keeps for 3 weeks in the fridge, and also freezes very well. If you eat as much meat as we do, it won’t last you that long

Baked Beans in the Crock Pot

May 12, 2012 at 1:01 AM (Buying in Bulk, Recipes, Simple, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Bake, Baked beans, baking, casserole, Cook, cooking, crock pot, easy, Easy Recipes, food, frugal, Frugal Recipes, Health, Home, homemade, kitchen, Nutrition, Oven, real food, recipe, Recipes, Simple, Slow cooker

Baked Beans in the Crock Pot

This makes 1 quart of beans

1 cup dry kidney, navy or pinto beans soaked (see below)

2 sweet, yellow onions, chopped fine

1/2 cup raw maple syrup (or brown sugar)

1/4 cup molasses

1/3 cup organic or homemade ketchup

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 lb bacon (from pasture raised pigs)

To soak the beans: Place beans in large bowl or pot, cover with 1 quart of very warm water (110-130 degrees). Soak for 8-24 hours. I put mine in the oven with the pilot light and oven light on, to keep them toasty. They next day, drain the beans and rinse.

Place beans and all other ingredients EXCEPT SALT in the crockpot, laying the bacon across the top. Adding salt to dry beans, keeps them from getting soft. Always add salt to beans after cooking. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

These are very good and very filling. I serve them with fresh cornbread right out of the oven and we usually eat way too much. This recipe freezes and reheats very well. I have made a quadruple batch before and froze it in individual containers (back when I had a chest freezer, geez I miss that!).

3 Comments

10 Minute Dinner: Shrimp and Garlic Pasta

April 28, 2012 at 1:11 AM (Fast, Recipes, Simple, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Cook, cooking, Easy Recipes, Fish and Seafood, food, Health, kitchen, Pasta, real food, recipe, Shrimp

Rob is a big fan of shrimp. He once ate an entire bag of cocktail shrimp by himself (and groaned for the rest of the night about it). I love them too, and shrimp are a fast easy way to pack in the nutrition. 4 ounces of shrimp contain 23.7 grams of protein. They are also high in selenium, magnesium, Vitamins B12 and B3, choline, iron, phosphorus, omega 3 fatty acids, zinc and copper. So eat as many as you like We like this dish heavy on the shrimp, and light on the pasta, but you can adjust according to your tastes.

Shrimp & Garlic Pasta

1/2 pkg fettucine style brown rice noodles (or other pasta of choice)

3-4 Tbsp raw grass-fed butter

2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed (I’m a freak and put 5 in)

1 bag (16 oz) frozen cocktail shrimp (with tails removed)

1 tsp homemade Italian Seasoning (sometimes I’m too lazy and just throw in some parsley for color)

Pour shrimp into a large bowl and fill with cold water, to thaw. Boil water and cook pasta. Drain pasta and stir in garlic and butter and spices. Drain shrimp thoroughly and mix into pasta. Eat and enjoy.

Great with a green salad with homemade salad dressing or just in a pretty bowl with a large side of raw milk

Sometimes you need dinner in 10 minutes. Lately I have been trying to work out more often, so I need quick meals a few times a week. It’s either the trusty crock pot, a grilled hunk of meat and a salad, or this yummy pasta dish. If you are eliminating grains, I have made this with spaghetti squash and it is very good. This is the simple, basic version of this recipe to save time. You could add any vegetable or spice combination that you wish to change it up.

8 Comments

Orange and Ginger Carrots

April 25, 2012 at 1:55 AM (Fast, Recipes, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Carrot, Cook, cooking, easy, Easy Recipes, food, Frugal Recipes, Ginger, Juicer, kitchen, real food, recipe, Recipes, Simple

I recently purchased a juicer. Anyone with a juicer knows that you have A LOT of carrots around the house all of a sudden. I decided to actually cook and eat these carrots, rather than squeeze the life out of them and throw the pulp out to the chickens.

Orange and Ginger Carrots

1 lbs carrots

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger

1/3 cup orange juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

dry basil, dill or mint to garnish (very pretty, but optional)

Oh ginger, you ugly little root

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Turn down to low and cover tightly with a lid. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Remove the lid and boil off any remaining liquid.

Garnish and serve hot (with butter if you’re smart).

10 Comments

Sweet and Spicy Glazed Tuna Steaks

April 19, 2012 at 1:50 AM (Fast, Recipes, Simple, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Bake, Cook, Home, homemade, Nutrition, paleo, real food, recipe, Salad, Teriyaki, tuna

Sweet and Spicy Glazed Tuna Steaks

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp ginger, minced

1/4 cup homemade teriyaki sauce

1/4 cup toasted sesame oil OR olive oil

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 wild-caught tuna steaks 1 1/2″ thick

Place Tuna steaks in a shallow baking dish or cast iron skillet. Mix all remaining ingredients and pour over the tuna. I usually reserve about 2 Tbsp of the sauce, and pour it on right before serving, or save it for dipping.

Bake uncovered at 400 degrees. 10 minutes for rare. 20 minutes for medium. 30 minutes for well done. We usually do about 17 ourselves….

The flavor of the sauce really penetrates the meat, so there is no marinating required. You could marinate it if you like, but I never have felt the need. This goes very well with a fresh green salad or steamed vegetables.

3 Comments

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A Real Food Lover

Candida Diet Taco Salad

Taco Salad for the Candida Free Kitchen