Crazy Cactus Breakfast Scramble...Day 22,23 and 24

Day 22

breakfast  delicious chorizo, egg, onion, cactus scramble
                 coffee

lunch        apple with almond butter

dinner       hamburger patty with mushrooms and onions
                 tossed salad
                 green beans
                 tangerine
                 water/coffee
                         
                                                 Crazy Cactus Breakfast Scramble

1 serving paleo chorizo
1 small onion sliced in rings
1/2 jar brine packed cactus (nopales)
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste (taste prior to adding salt though)

Brown the chorizo in a small nonstick pan.  Add the onion slices and cook through.  In a colander drain the cactus well.  Add it to the pan and heat until it is bubbling.  Push everything to one side and add the egg.  Stir to scramble then mix it in with the sausage, cactus and onions.  Cover and let it heat for about a minute.  Serve immediately.  This makes a huge  very different yet tasty ( no delicious) breakfast.

I have Sonya Ann @ Mom, Money and More to thank for this.  Looks like you are becoming my cooking Muse. I loved the way this tasted and I loved the different flavor. I also loved the heat that the cactus has ( compliments of being pickled with a hot pepper)  This was a tad salty for my taste so next time I will rinse a bit of the brine off while it is draining in the colander.  This was also a very fast breakfast from start to finish.  I can see doing this well after this food challenge is over.

Paleo Chorizo

1 pound ground pork
1 3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoons chipotle chili powder
1 heaping tablespoon paprika
dash cayenne
1 pinch allspice
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 quick shake red pepper flakes

Put all ingredients in a gallon size zip lock bag and squish it around until everything is mixed well. ( leave a small opening when zipping the bag so air can  get out and you can mix it well. Close the zip completely and leave in the bag in the refrigerator overnight.  The next day portion as desired.  Use some immediately and freeze the rest, or use it all.  Your choice.

I found this recipe @Meatified and used it as a starting point.  I mainly changed it to use what I had rather than go buy anything additional.  If you read the ingredients on a chorizo package you will probably never buy it again.  This is a fantastic alternative!


Day 23

breakfast  orange juice
                hamburger patty with paleo ketchup and mustard

lunch       salad
                apple
               1 tablespoon almond butter

dinner    pork tenderloin
              carrots
              roasted potato (half)
              broccoli
              salad with 1 tablespoon paleo mayonnaise
              unsweetened tea

later       1 clementine

Day 24

breakfast  scrambled eggs and bacon
                 clementine
                 coffee

lunch       leftover hamburger patty w/ paleo ketchup
               leftover tossed salad with oil and lemon juice
                apple
                water

dinner     Chipotle's carnitas salad with pico and guacamole
               water

later         clementine

What Happens When I Clean the Fridge

Recently Aldi had a super sale on eggs and I bought 4 dozen, but we don't eat breakfast and I don't bake much anymore. I am not sure what I was thinking when I bought that many. I was going to make something from my menu plan but when cleaning the fridge I found a half jar of chunky salad, eggs, part of an onion, and about 1/2 pound chorizo (more or less) I make my own from this recipe, https://newhappeningsatthetable.blogspot.com/search?q=chorizo, and just about always have some either in the fridge or cooked  and frozen. The stuff in the fridge needed to be cooked and used that day, so my dinner  mostly planned itself.

Mexicanish frittata

8 eggs beaten
1/2 pound  browned chorizo
1/2 jar leftover chunky salsa, drained
1/2 onion chopped
1 can chopped green chilis, drained
1 cup monterey or pepper jack cheese, grated
1 cup pork skins crushed*

Spray the bottom of a deep dish pie plate with cooking spray.  Sprinkle the pork skins over the cooking spray.*

Mix the rest of the ingredients together and make sure everything is incorporated well. Pour it on top of the pork skin "crust", pop it in a 350 degree oven and cook until the eggs are set and there is no jiggling when the center is touched. (About 30 minutes) Let set for about 5 minutes before serving.

Since TheHub , DIl2, and Son 2 can eat bread they had toast, frittata and coleslaw. I just had the egg pie, grilled keto "bread" and slaw. (I may or may not have pouted since the toasted sour dough bread smelled fantastic.)

This was a truly delicious way to use random ingredients, and something I will make with intention next time, instead of simply trying to have no wasted food.  Try it, you might like it!

* If you are not doing keto and grains are not your sworn enemy, just sprinkle some bread crumbs over the non stick spray in the bottom of the pan. Because I am doing keto, pig powder is something I use on a regular basis. Ask me about fried catfish coated in pork skin crumbs!

Eggsactly What We Wanted For Dinner

For the past two weeks I have been slowly feeling my way into the world of cooking for two.  Fortunately The Hub is not picky about what I cook, and if we want delicious food we just go out to eat.  This week we decided to eat in for the entire week.  Oh no!  So far I have opened cans of soup or thrown a chicken breast on the grill  and tossed a quick salad and called it a meal.  Tonight we both wanted something tasty but did not want tons of leftover food.  Here leftovers spend some quality time in a plastic container as they get shoved deeper and deeper into cold air.  They reappear much later in some unrecognizable form to be  tossed down the disposal.  I am seriously trying to limit edible waste so the plan is to cook what we will eat with something left for my lunch the next day.  Well that was supposed to be the plan and I came close to succeeding.

I mentioned in a previous post that we are starting to eat "real food".  We are using food that is as close to its' natural state as possible.  That means no more pre-shredded cheese or mixes or all of the wonderful convenience products that I have used forever.  The internet is a great and valuable tool but it has opened doors to information I had never thought about before.  I am about to rant gently so feel free to skip the next paragraph.

 I am not sure who  the brains behind our genetically modified foods are but I wish they had left our food supply alone.  Corn and soybeans are planted and used in almost every packaged product we consume in some form or another.  Both of these are planted commercially with an altered gene which creates a natural pesticide to keep the corn and soy critters at bay.  It seems like a good idea in theory, but every time we ingest those products we get a little of the natural pesticide in every bite.  At least when they sprayed the  pesticides on the food  we had a fighting chance of washing it off.  Now it is part of what we eat on a molecular level.  So we have sworn off all corn and soy products unless they are certified organic.  It's a shame because that also means I have to bid most chocolate goodbye.  Almost all of them contain high fructose corn syrup, all of which is made from GMO corn.  Its tragic for me, the chocolate lover.  I have become a label reader, so farewell Hersheys and most other commercial candies.  Hello imported Belgian chocolates!  There is an upside to everything!  Rant over.

Tonight we were both craving something spicy.  Something spicy didn't narrow our options down very much so I started thumbing through recipes torn from old magazines.  I have no idea how old this is or what the original publication was.

Mexican Egg Casserole

3 oz. uncooked chorizo (Yes I admit I bought chorizo at a regular store)
6 oz. uncooked ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 red  bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup baby spinach
4 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
4 eggs
2/3 cup skim milk ( Must be a pretty old recipe if the milk is skim and not fat free)
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup swiss cheese, grated
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with Pam.  Place the bread cubes in a single layer covering the bottom of the pan.  Whisk the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and mustard and set aside.
Brown the meats in a large skillet until they are cooked through.  Add the onion and peppers and cook until they are crisp tender.  Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add the spinach and cook quickly until it wilts.  layer half or the meat and veggie mixture over the bread, then pour half of the egg mix over the meats.  Add 1/2 of the cheeses over the egg mixture then repeat with the remainder of the meat/veggie mix, eggs and top with the rest of the cheese.  Cover the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.

For just the two of us, I cut the recipe in half (mostly) and we had enough for supper tonight and I will  have it for breakfast tomorrow and the next day.  I can't tell you how delicious this was and I am NOT an egg person.   I used the full amounts of the chopped vegetables the recipe called for.  Since it was the evening meal I wanted it vegetable dense.  I also used 2 cups of spinach rather than one for the same reason.  There was more cheese than we like.  We both like the cheese to only compliment the casserole, not overwhelm it, so I used only about 1/2 cup total. I also just used cheddar and threw a few pieces of pickled jalapenos in  skillet when I was cooking the peppers.  It worked just fine.

There are a couple of things I will do differently next time and it was so good there will be a lot of next times.  I will separate the eggs and beat the whites until they are really foamy. The yolks and milk and seasonings  will be whisked in a different bowl  and then the foamy whites will be gently folded in.  I think it would have been a little nicer if the egg mix had air in it.  As you can tell by the photo, it was so vegetable dense it flattened the egg mix out a little.  The added air should compensate for the additional vegetable weight.  Still it was fantastic and hopefully no waste!

Besides cooking for two I am having to get used to a quiet house.  When 4 o'clock rolls around something is supposed to happen, and it doesn't.  I am adapting, but I do miss Son3 coming home from school and having a bowl of ice cream while we talked.  Anyone have a cure for 4 pm silence?

p.s. If you notice the two perfect biscuits in the photo you might recognize them as a heated frozen product.  Though I am on the real food track I am also a pragmatist and  we are going to eat what I  already have in the freezer.  Plus who wants to make real biscuits?

pp.ss.  Was just looking at Pinterest.  No wonder this recipe looked good when I saw it.  I pinned  a lightened version of this same recipe just a few days ago!  I wonder how many other old magazines recipes are making the Pinterest rounds right now

Weird Yet Very Delicious Recipe Week 12

This week I was getting all my ducks in a row to start back on round 2 of Whole 30. I do best when I begin if my fake ketchup, permitted mayo, salad dressings and a few things for breakfast are made and in the freezer. This diet is a protein/veggie based diet with some fruits and some fats but little else. For someone like me who is not a big fan of eggs, unless we have leftovers from the night before, I have a difficult time with breakfast. I do not like to eat in the morning anyway, but trying to concoct something from scratch is just about beyond my capabilities unless I drink 4 cups of coffee and wait until nearly 11 to eat. When I do that it screws up the timeline of every other meal, and I don't want to eat dinner every night at 9.

With my lack of egg fandom, I have been relying on other meats for breakfast and have made paleo chorizo, turkey-blueberry sausage and this new breakfast sausage I tweaked from several online paleo blogs. I am not trying to avoid crediting any of them but I truly combine ideas from 3 or 4 of them and make what I think will suit my tastes best.  This one at Heartbeet Kitchen comes closest to what I finally made.

3/4 lb. ground chicken (I actually weighed the chicken so I could give an accurate amount)
1 small red onion, minced
1 small mango, minced
1 pinch powdered garlic
1 small jalapeno, seeded, ribs removed, and minced
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 pinches chili powder
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped finely
dash of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste (I used a pinch of each)
1 small egg, beaten
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted in a frying pan.

If you want to,  buy the chicken pre-ground.  At 4 bucks a pound I just was not going to do it. I had  boneless skinless chicken breasts (purchased for 1.77 per pound) in the freezer so I thawed them and tossed them in the food processor using the blade. It took a few quick pulses and it was ground fine enough for my needs. Transfer to a glass mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients except for the coconut oil.

Mix well. According to everything I read I should have put on gloves to mix the ingredients with my hands. I figured since I wash my hands prior to cooking and wash them several times during the prep time I would live life on the edge, mix with my bare hands and wash them thoroughly once  everything was together.  Pat the chicken mix into patties (I went a little larger rather than smaller, 2 1/2-3 inches in diameter) and cook in the coconut oiled frying pan on the stovetop using a medium high setting. I cooked them for about 3 minutes, flipped them and cooked until the chicken lost its pink color. Then I lined a baking sheet with parchment and popped them in the freezer until they were frozen.After that they were transferred to a zip lock freezer bag. I did slightly undercook them so that I can serve them nice and hot without becoming overcooked during the warming process.

To cook from frozen, I simply put them on a plate and nuked them in the microwave until they were piping hot and cooked through. (about 1 1/2 minutes for 2.)

Everyone in my inner circle has tried them and loved them, from my 87 year old mother to GF2. TheHub thought they were great and not one person had any clue they were paleo and whole 30 compliant. (They think anything whole 30 must lack flavor. Silly people!)

I promise these are delicious. In fact, my first trial batch disappeared before I even got them to the freezer,  so I had to make more. I am lucky my freezer is stocked so I could defrost anther chicken breast, and I had  extra mangos just to nosh on this week.

I know some of you don't like hot stuff, so I cooked one patty before adding the peppers and chili powder.  It was still delicious and now Mom wants me to make her some (sans heat)  for her freezer. Since she rarely eats anymore I will be more than happy to make something she will enjoy.

Though I have only been eating these for breakfast, they would be delicious on a bun for a lunch or dinner sandwich. They would also be tasty made as small meat balls and served with a chili mango dipping sauce (maybe, but I would have to experiment with the sauce)

Do yourself a favor and give this a try. It is seriously delicious!

p.s. And yes, I do eat leftover tossed salad for breakfast.

What's Happening After Midnight

 

I don't know about the rest of you, but the lack of sunshine and the time change really affects my body, mood, outlook, and sleep patterns. Normally I stay up until dark thirty. My creative juices seem to go crazy after midnight and fortunately I have enough room in the house that I can do my thing without bothering TheHub's sleep. But for a couple of weeks after switching from daylight savings time to standard time, I fall asleep on the loveseat before 9, then wake about midnight and of course I can't get back to sleep. So now I am in the transition period and just woke from an uncomfortable, unintended nap raring to go. 

I decided midnight plus is a great time to process some ground chuck I bought. To get the really good sale price you have to purchase the family pack and because there is just the two of us eating, I get a minimum of four meals out of each pack. And since I bought 3 of them I had some serious processing. 

For most of it I just pack about 3/4 of a pound in freezer bags, flatten them out to remove any air and stick them in the freezer. But I like to have some prepared things on hand all the time. So I decided to go ahead and make beef chorizo. It needs to be refrigerated so all the flavors will marry before I put it in pint size bags for the freezer. Since I am making it anyway I might as well share the making part with you. I am not sharing pictures today tonight because it is nothing but spiced and seasoned raw beef right now and that is just not very exciting. The excitement part comes from eating something delicious later. It might not be pretty but it is delicious. 

You might ask why I make it rather than just buy it since I can find it at any store. It is made the same way whole hog sausage is made and I don't buy that either. I prefer to know the cuts I am eating. I am sure hog cheeks and salivary glands are perfectly edible, I just don't want to eat them. And because I am an ingredient checker I see things that I can't unsee. So I make my own, buy butcher made sausage, and only buy kosher hot dogs. Additionally I had rather use beef than pork for this mainly because I can buy really good ground chuck but I have to grind my own pork. Yeah, I admit it is the path of least resistance that drives my choice here.

2 pounds 80/20 ground chuck

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper (I use the already ground stuff)

5 tablespoons ancho chili powder (sometimes I use 2 tablespoons chipotle chili powder instead)

6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (you need the acid but you won't taste the vinegar)

The best way to mix this is wearing food safe gloves and just mix and mix in a large bowl until everything is incorporated. Stuff it into a food safe bag and let it rest about 24 hours.  After that I cook it crumbled, let it cool then pack it into freezer bags for future use. It is delicious and adds so much flavor to so many dishes. Next week I plan on making a chili relleno soufflé  and will use some of it! 

Since I now have to clean the kitchen again anyway, I might as well make meatballs for Italian wedding soup. I will be so glad when my body adjusts to the new time! 

Frugal and Whole 30 Do Not Go Hand in Hand

I had decided I would try to stick to a 300 dollar budget for the month, with the exception of a preplanned event that had its own budget.  Things were rocking along pretty well until I decided to do Whole 30 instead of just paleo. I am just not terribly organized in the kitchen right now and started the plan with zero prep.  Zero prep plus shopping while hungry (zero prep rears its' ugly head) equals a lot of things I probably would never have bought.  Did I mention I shopped while I was really hungry? You know how full the cashiers at Trader Joe's stuff those brown paper bags?  I had 3 of those double bagged and spilling over the top. (Who can resist frozen artichoke hearts, and bags of super greens, not to mention salsa verde and chili lime chicken burgers?)

What can I say except super fail. Well, I guess I can say I am well stocked for the next 25 days. Now I have to do some serious meal planning/cooking.  So I am off to make paleo ketchup, date paste, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, and barbecue sauce, and then I get to begin on the real food. I think I will start with egg muffins, then turkey blueberry sausage, and chorizo.  I should never have started this without a little prior planning, and I am definitely old enough to know better. Bad Anne!

                                                            My Nemesis !

Egg Cupcakes

I know when you hear the term cupcakes you most often think of something delicious with a mound of sugary icing (Yes, it's icing not frosting!  I am truly Southern.) and maybe even a few sprinkles. If that is what you think of then quit reading because these are breakfast cupcakes.  Nice savory egg cupcakes.

Once again rather than a recipe, I am just going to tell you the amounts.  Whatever you choose to put in them is totally up to you using whatever is available. 

                                                            Egg Cupcakes

These were made with green peppers, onions, broccoli, and mushrooms for the 3 cups of vegetables.

I had a little leftover smoked sausage (about 1/3 cup chopped) and used it for the meat

Preheat oven to 375 degrees 

8 large eggs

3 cups  diced vegetables (onions, mushrooms, broccoli, green peppers, tomatoes, spinach, kale, zucchini, asparagus__really whatever combination you like)

1/2 cup diced cooked meat (sausage, bacon, ham, beef, chicken, chorizo, pork, fish*__whatever you want)

salt and pepper to taste

whatever other spices or herbs you want to add (like red pepper flakes!)

In a large bowl beat the eggs with a fork until they are a little foamy. Add the diced vegetables and the meat. Stir to blend.  Stir in the seasonings.  Spray the top of a regular size muffin tin with non-stick spray. (Don't worry about spraying the wells.) Place cupcake liners in each well then spray them with a non-stick spray and fill to the top with the egg mixture.  It should be enough to fill all 12 completely full with none remaining.

Pop them into the oven and bake about 15 minutes.  Enjoy piping hot for breakfast.  This make enough for 4 servings.  Who hasn't wanted to eat 3 cupcakes at one sitting?  If you are not sharing them with friends and family simply place the cupcakes on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer until they are nearly frozen.  Remove the cupcake liners and place in a ziploc freezer bag.  When you are ready to eat them remove and let them come to room temp before zapping them in the microwave to warm them. If I think about it far enough ahead of time I take them out the night before and put them (covered) in the refrigerator to thaw overnight. Then I zap them the next morning.  I can't tell you how long they will keep in the freezer because mine have never lasted beyond a month.  It is a quick grab and go breakfast and has a really good taste and a great mouth feel. (Though I personally think some cheese would be a splendid addition in place of some of the vegetables. Blasted paleo and its no dairy stance!)

*Before you come chasing me with pitchforks for including fish as a possibility let me explain. When he was a young boy TheHubs family ate no meat on Fridays and would often eat tuna and eggs.  He swears it was delicious so I am including it for anyone brave enough to try it.

Saving the Best for Last, Sweet Potato Hash Browns with Bacon

Day 28

Ah the blessed 3 day countdown begins.  I am really glad because I am almost cooked out. Actually I am not tired of cooking as much as I am tired of planning meals and thinking ahead.  I have never had any trouble throwing a meal together at the last minute until this food challenge.  With this I am always wondering "Did I make the paleo mayonnaise?'  Do I have enough cauliflower cooked?"  Oh no, did I remember to thaw the whatever?"   There is just so much food prep with this.  I am pretty sure I will stick with a paleo diet at least for a while, but doing a regular paleo will seem like a walk in the park after doing this.

breakfast  leftover collard and mustard greens
                2 Whole 30 sausage patties
                coffee

lunch       apple with 1 tablespoon almond butter
                coffee/ water

supper     paleo chili over baked sweet potato
                cole slaw with paleo mayo
                unsweetened tea, water



Day 29

breakfast  paleo chorizo, nopales and egg scramble
                coffee
                clementine

lunch     sliced apple with almond butter

dinner    Chipotle's carnitas salad with pico and guacamole, again

Day 30

breakfast  sweet potato, onion, bacon hash browns
                coffee

lunch     apple and 1 tablespoon almond butter

dinner    leftover pork tenderloin
              cooked carrots
              cabbage slaw with paleo mayo


                             Sweet Potato and Onion with Bacon Hash Browns

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut in a very small dice ( mine was just larger than a jumbo egg)
1/4 small onion cut in match stick pieces
2 slices cooked bacon
salt and pepper to taste
2 pinches chili powder

In a non stick pan heat the oil to a mid high heat.  Add the sweet potato and onion and cook until fairly crisp.  Add the cooked bacon, salt, pepper and chili powder and heat through, allowing the bacon to crisp.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel covered plate.  After a quick blot of the excess coconut oil, serve immediately.

I had read about this during the first few days I was doing this program and decided I needed to wait toward the end before I tried it.  It was probably the best decision I have ever made, because I think I would have eaten this nearly every morning. The sweet potatoes were a perfect blend of soft and crunchy bits, the onions provided a nice sweet yet soft dynamic and the bacon, well it's bacon so enough said!   Paleo diet or not, these were outstanding.

Round up

I am writing this on day 31.  Yes that is correct, I am continuing with the plan.  I have decided to maintain a strict paleo diet 6 days a week. On the other day, well I guess there are no rules for it.

I learned a ton by reading labels.  Sugar is is just about everything, including that box of iodized salt nearly everyone has in their pantry.  MSG rears its ugly head a lot too, and soybean oil is the oil of choice in prepared foods.  I also learned really good for you oils are EXPENSIVE.

Without trying to lose weight I did lose enough that I see the value of eating this way.  I feel better and have not reached for a Tums once, even after eating highly seasoned foods.  So I guess I will continue to make my own sausages and mayonnaise and ketchup.  As an aside, it does not take me long to shop in a grocery store now.  I zip up and down the produce section then by the meats.  After grabbing a few frozen vegetables I am out the door.

I am adding stevia back to my everyday diet.  I am from the south and have really missed sweet tea. I will also make an occasional paleo muffin recipe and might even venture into paleo "bread" making. (Well, I will venture once, if it takes too much time I won't venture a second time)

If you want to get back to basics the Whole 30 plan is a good start.  My only recommendation would be to have a few things like ketchup and mayo prepared before you begin!    

And This Is Why Ziploc Bags Have Labels

This morning I woke and did my usual Monday morning things, like gather laundry, tackle a few easy chores and sip coffee while I am doing them.  I am not a big breakfast fan the the thought of having to actually chew before 10:30 or 11 almost causes a gag reflex for me. So usually by my third cup of coffee, I am ready for a bite to eat.  The down side of doing this paleo diet is my belly is ready to eat way before my mouth is, so the moment my mouth says food is tolerable I am starving. Today was no exception!

Though I was spot on with my advance prep of condiments and such, I neglected to prep some of the basic foods I did the last time I was doing Whole30. I have no sausage nor chorizo made, I have not cooked my paleo acceptable bacon and frozen it in strips for easy grab and go breakfasts.  In fact I have done little if any advance food prep, so while starving I looked in the freezer to see what I had cooked that could be thawed and eaten quickly.  I found a small package with about a cup of food in it and it looked like ground beef with vegetables.  It was not exactly what I wanted but I figured I could put it in a saute' pan with a little water and have my meal hot and ready to go in about 5 minutes.  It worked like a charm and poured it, liquid and all into a bowl, took a bite and then realized it was food I had cooked and packaged for the dog.  From the taste of it I would guess It was a combo of ground beef, minced chicken hearts, and livers and some other mystery meat, combined with minced carrots, spinach and green beans.  And the moral to this tale...

Write the contents of the bag on the space provided!

ARF!!!

Restaurant Redoux

Tonight The Hub is in Chicago and that means 2 things, the remote is mine and popcorn for supper!  Even better someplace near his hotel is noted for their pizza and they prepare "ready to travel" pizzas, so he is bringing one home for supper tomorrow.  The only down side to this is the fact that I was going to try and replicate something we had eaten at a restaurant every Monday night, so I cheated and made it for supper last night.

10 or so years ago we took a spring break trip to Whistler in British Columbia for some skiing and then flew down to Phoenix for a little spring baseball.  We are smart like that and like to travel with clothing for 2 climate extremes in the same suitcase.  As fate would have it there was a little stroke of serendipity
the day we arrived in Arizona.  Alabama's basketball team was in the March quarter finals  and would be playing there.  A couple of phone calls and a quick change of clothing ( from sweaters to something appropriate for 90 degrees) and we had scored tickets to the game and were headed downtown.  Now remember we were in the process of traveling and I don't think we had eaten anything but plane peanuts by this time.  We had to meet someone well before the game to pick up the tickets and were going to have a couple of hours to kill prior to going into the arena.  We decided we would just find something close by and whatever they had we would eat.

The only restaurant we found open was a pretty decent size Mexican restaurant which was fine with me. My Beloved Sister and I had  already completed a cheesecake and hotdog tour of Birmingham and I had just begun a Chile Relleno tour.  ( For those of you who have never done a tour, it requires eating from places all over town to determine the "best")  Bingo!  A new touring venue!

I have no idea what the name of the restaurant was nor what The Hub and Son3 ate.  When I ordered  the waitress said they were a little different from traditional rellenos.  The dish arrived at the table like a huge cloud in a  casserole dish  It could only be described as a cheese stuffed chile souffle.  I have tried the dish at every Mexican restaurant we have been to since  nothing has come close to the puffy deliciousness I ate that day.

My experiment was a slight deviation from a traditional cheese souffle recipe I have used for years.  Also since there were only 2 of us I cut the recipe in half.  If you choose to double it add 1 additional egg white to the recipe.


So this is my take on the dish and it was very close.  In fact since 10 years has passed I can't say whether this was better or worse,  just that it was very, very tasty

Cheese Chili Relleno Souffle
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter (melted)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 large egg yolks
2 large egg whites
2 cans whole chiles (those small cans)
4 ounces pepper jack cheese (  I used less but more would taste a little better I think. Uou could use other cheese, that is just what I had on hand)

Drain the chiles, cut small slices of cheese  and stuff inside each pepper.  Each can has 6 peppers so you will need a total of 6 slices.  I cut mine slightly less than 1/4 inch thick.  Arrange them in the bottom of a greased casserole dish.  They will overlap if you use a small dish like I did.

In a large glass bowl beat egg whites until very stiff and set aside.

Whisk the egg yolks and add the milk to them.  Slowly whisk in the flour, salt and chili powder.  Stir on the melted butter and mix well.  Slowly fold into the stiff egg whites, making sure to fold rather than stir keeping as much air in the mixture as possible.  Pour over the chiles and bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove from the oven and cut almost immediately.  Serve piping hot with salsa*

This was really good and will be a part of our regular food rotation.  It was good, quick and a different type meal than we usually have.  It would have been perfect with a big salad, but we had none.  I guess that is what a grocery moratorium does for the salad stock.

This was so easy that I would do it again next week, except I have to remember something new and memorable I have eaten out.  Good thing it is just Monday and I still have 4 or 5 restaurant possibilities this week.

If you are in Phoenix and near the Diamondback Stadium or the Arena just walk around and look for the little Mexican joint with the freaky rellenos.  You will be glad you did!

p.s.  This would be really good for a brunch with some chorizo on the side.

Cauliflower Muffins...What?

Yesterday I was getting really hungry.  This is day 3 of my strict paleo eating plan. (I refuse to call it a diet because diets mean counting all the things you consume and limiting amounts of everything but stuff like celery and cabbage.) With paleo I am completely eliminating several food groups.  There are no grains, beans, sugar, or dairy but I can eat all I want of everything else. (Which sometimes feels like little more than unlimited cabbage and celery unless I plan and cook ahead.)

Day 3 is always the hardest day for me, I guess because I am not eating sugars and my body is used to being fed junk.  Sugar hides in nearly everything we consume so I have made my own versions of Worcestershire sauce, bbq sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise and a few other condiments, (Ever looked at the sugar content in a tablespoon of ketchup?).  Since I am leaving sugar behind Cold Turkey, my body is really craving it and starts to revolt by handing me a searing headache for a few days unless I feed it with plenty of "real" food. This morning I had lots of paleo condiments available but nothing pre-made to just heat and eat.  Plus I wanted cookies bread, or cereal, or even a crappy bowl of oatmeal (and I really don't care for oatmeal).

I looked through the refrigerator and found not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 heads of cauliflower, (You eat a lot of cauliflower in various forms on this eating plan and Sprouts had it for 89 cents per head) so I guessed I might as well use some of it for whatever I was going to make. I had seen a recipe posted on facebook but I couldn't remember who posted it and I just don't have the patience to scroll through more than few posts, so I did what every impatient person does; I googled it.   I have no idea if this was the recipe posted, but I had everything on hand needed to make it and I just wanted something to eat other than cabbage or celery.

I actually made it just as the recipe stated since I have never in my life made cauliflower biscuits and really had no idea how/if it would really work.  You can find the link to the site here at Delighted Momma if you want to see prettier pictures than mine.

Cauliflower Biscuits

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1 head of cauliflower, washed, patted dry and grated (Use the food processor)
2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 cup almond flour (Grind your own in the blender. The almond skins are fine in this recipe*)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 eggs



Using the shredder blade of the food processor grate all the cauliflower.  Pour the oil into a pan and wilt the shredded cauliflower.  It takes about 7 minutes, stirring constantly (I didn't and it got a little brown on the bottom.  Mix the almond flour, nutritional yeast and the garlic salt with the hot cauliflower in a ceramic or glass bowl.  Stir well and allow it to cool enough so that eggs added to the mix will blend rather than cook. (I suggest slightly above room temperature).

Grease muffin cups well (error on my part: use only non-stick tins and grease them anyway.) and fill them almost to the top of the pan. Using my ancient wedding present muffin tin, I wound up with 9 muffins but they are slightly smaller than current tins.  Bake these puppies for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the pan and enjoy!

Pros and Cons:  Though this tasted nothing like a biscuit it was a delicious way to eat more vegetables in a manner that did not feel like a veggie at all.  It was more like a muffin and held together like one after I finally got them out of the pan.  I only had the 2 in the picture that came out of the pan intact.  The rest broke halfway through and I had to soak the pan to get the bottom half of 7 of them out of it. Bummer! Lesson learned and pan ordered! I bought this one  because it got great reviews, was under 10 bucks, and ships with Prime.  (For the record, I have no affiliation with Amazon or anyone.) I will be making these again so I might as well go ahead and have what is necessary to bake a better product.

I have a couple of issues with the recipe.  I had a rather large cauliflower and would rather the recipe list an amount of grated vegetable than just 1 head.  I think I probably had more than was optimal for the recipe.  When I make it again I will be sure to measure the amount and will update it here.  If I were to do it again using the large cauliflower, I would add a little more almond flour, nutritional yeast and perhaps an additional small egg.

The flavor was fine, but only fine.  I think some dill would be a nice addition and I can see making this during the fall when I make paleo chili, adding some cumin and chili powder to the seasonings.
I will also try it with some crumbled cooked paleo chorizo, sautéed onions, and a little more nutritional yeast for a cheesier flavor. Who knows what is next, but it is a starting point for some experimental cooking.

BTW, even though this is a paleo recipe, it would be a dang fine way to "hide" a serving of vegetables from picky eaters in the family.