Italian Style Chicken Burgers

Friday night after a fun date night on the golf course we came home starving and ready to eat.  In a hurry I whipped up a delicious Italian style dinner that left SO begging for me to make it again...every night.  I was in such a hurry I didn't get pictures while making the dinner, but at least I remembered the finished product!

Keep in mind for me to do this as a quick dinner, I have 3 burners on the stove going, the music blaring and SO doing dishes behind me...so I don't always measure. Ain't nobody got time for that!  Just follow along as best as you can and YOU know your tastes...don't be afraid to adjust. If you are in a rush and need to do all 3 at one time, start with the sauce, boil the broccoli water and then heat up the skillet for the chicken.  It gets all 3 done at the same time.  This meal is Whole30 compliant and got the boyfriend seal of "killer." Success!

I saute the burgers, steam the broccoli with a large sauce pan and metal strainer, and simmer the sauce (first blending in a Magic Bullet.)

Ingredients:

Italian Chicken Burgers

• 1 lb ground chicken
• Italian seasoning blend - I keep a container pre-made of Oregano, Basil and Thyme
• Minced garlic
• Sea Salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• Red pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Broccoli Side:

• 2 heads broccoli
• 1/2 lemon
• Fresh ground pepper
• Sea salt

Marinara Sauce:

• 1 16oz can organic diced tomatoes
• Italian seasoning blend 
• Minced garlic
• Sea Salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• Red pepper

Italian Style Chicken Burgers:

Mix ground chicken with spices; Tablespoon of Italian seasoning blend, and a couple pinches of each of the rest.  Form the ground mix into 4 patties.  Heat up a non-stick skillet  to medium with 1Tbspn of EVOO and a teaspoon of minced garlic.  Cook each one until golden brown on the outside and cooked thoroughly on the inside (about 6 minutes on each side.)  **IMPORTANT do not "press" your burgers down with the back of your spatula, no matter how much faster you want them to cook.  This does nothing but lose the great flavor inside!

Broccoli:

Cut each head into florets, toss with the juice of 1/2 a fresh squeezed lemon, pepper and sea salt.  

I steam by broccoli and most veggies, I don't have a steamer and I don't like using the microwave so  this is my measure to perfectly steam.  Boil 4 cups water in the bottom of a large sauce pan, set a metal strainer in the pan so that water come just short of touching the bottom., throw in broccoli, top with lemon slices and cover with a lid just small enough to fit INSIDE the strainer (if it hangs over the edge of the strainer you get water on the stove top.) This takes me 8-12 minutes depending on the veggies

Tomato sauce:

The simplest of all, combine 1/2  the canned organic tomatoes and 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning blend, and a very heavy teaspoon of each; garlic, sea salt, fresh ground pepper and red pepper into a magic bullet or food processor.  This should only take a moment, you don't want to puree the tomatoes but break them down into a thick liquid.  Add this mix and the remainder of the canned tomato to a saucepan and simmer on the stove.  Easiest homemade sauce possible!  

*Feel free to add in fresh tomatoes, mushroom, onions or peppers to this sauce for a veggie marinara!

Fresh Chicken Salad - All Natural - Whole30 - Paleo

I'm back in the saddle again...the Whole30 saddle, that is.  I've reigned in our household and eliminated all booze, sugars, grains...ahhhh the fun stuff.  I did not think quick enough to take a picture of my Day 1 creation but from here on out I'm going to make an effort to try and be a good blogger!  You might be wondering what this Whole30 thing is about and what can and cannot be consumed...for those of you fearful a quick list:

It's just beginning to turn warm in Indiana and so I wanted to make something light and cool to take a few days for lunch this week.  I didn't have to think too hard to come up with chicken salad so with some help from a few other blogs, I forged on for a Whole30 friendly fix.

The source of my inspiration came from Our Paleo Life which contains an AMAZING recipe for Paleo Lime Mayo.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breast, skinned and trimmed
• 1 Cup grapes, halved and quartered
• 1/2 Cup pecans, I press mine with the side of my butcher's knife to break into 1/4" size pieces
• 2 small apples
• 3 stalks of celery, halved and cut into 1/4" thick pieces
• 1 Tbsp of spice mix made equal parts: red pepper, salt, white pepper, garlic powder, cumin and sage (heavier on your favorite spices, lighter on your least if you prefer, just round out to 1 heaping tablespoon)
• 1/2 Cup Paleo Lime Mayo
• 1 Tbsp Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
• Romaine lettuce for shells

Directions:

• Make Paleo Lime Mayo and let sit for the time you prepare your chicken salad.
• Boil water on stove with the lime rinds from your Paleo Lime Mayo and 1 Tblspn Sea Salt add Chicken and boil 10-15 minutes or until done via thermometer. (You can't really over-boil chicken so I usually let mine go 15 minutes.)
• Drain and set aside to cool. (I take this time to chop my produce and nuts.)
• Hand shred chicken and toss with spice mix, add grapes, pecans, apples and celery.  Mix well and add 1/2 cup mayo.  
• Let sit in fridge for 20 minutes prior to serving.
• Serve in boats of romaine lettuce with a side of carrots for a fulfilling and yummy lunch!

Sticking with the plan

Friday after work I went to the grocery store and although it wasn't exactly when I wanted to go, I still made it work for me and got what I needed, within my budget and got home in time to cook dinner.  Shopping for one person is pretty easy and low cost, but getting the right amount is the hard part.  I decided to write a list for once and try to stick to it.

I purchased all of the above except the berries, the selection at my grocer didn't look great so I opted for grapes and pineapple.  Also I knew I still had spaghetti squash, lettuce, sweet potatoes, ginger and fresh mint at the house... basically, I'm stacked on great food for the week...all 21 meals.

I grabbed everything on my list and picked up some ghee and coconut milk from the natural market.  If you're going to invest time into cooking this way, I suggest you get coconut oil, coconut milk and ghee.  I'll probably come across other necessities along my journey but for right now, I find them essential for cooking.  Also to the right is a list of my pantry, it is a compilation of the items I always have in my pantry for cooking, baking and creating.  Spices are essential in my style of cooking, it's how to really change a dish from one night to the other.  So for one week, it's me and this list.  Under $60.00 worth of groceries for one person for a week. Easy.  I hope!

Pacific Pork Roast

A major benefit in my life is that I was raised in a beef cattle family, odd to you maybe, but beneficial to me.  I was raised with a family with a freezer full of meat.  Still, whenever I go visit my grandparents I always come home with a roast, some hamburger or even pork from time to time.  This week when I was browsing my Food Network app I came across a Hawaiian pork roast from Bobby Flay and using that as a general guide with the key flavors and a pork shoulder I had in my freezer, I made a killer pork roast yesterday.  The below is my recipe as I recall I did it, a lot of my cooking is off the cuff and so remembering the exact recipe is always hard for me...I attribute that to old age.

Pacific Pork Roast

2 - 1lb Pork shoulders
1 1/2 cup - Coconut Milk (or enough to cover your meat in the slow cooker)
1 thumb size piece of Ginger, sliced thin
1 Orange
1 Lemon
1 cup - Pineapple (or 1 can if you have that already, like I did)
2-3 servings Carrots
1Tbsp -Fresh Minced Garlic
1/2 Tbsp - Cumin
1/2 Tbsp - House Seasoning
(I make this once every few months in a large batch and season EVERYTHING with it.  If you follow my recipes you will see this repeatedly.)
Heavy Dash of Curry
1/2 Tbsp - Chili Powder
Roasted Red Pepper flakes to taste/preference
Dried Chile Picantes to taste
(This is a regional thing, my sister in Texas brought them home straight off the ranch. So yummy and adds a firey spice flavor.  Not for the weak of heart and can be ommited or substituted with your favorite hot spice.)

Combine the milk, ginger, garlic, spices and juice of the lemon and orange in a slow cooker on high, place the carrots on the bottom of the crockpot.  I use a potato peeler to peel off 3-4 large pieces of lemon and orange rind to throw in for ultimate flavor.  Lay in your pork so it is covered by the liquid.  If the liquid does not cover the pork, add more coconut milk.  Pour the pineapple on top of the meat and cook for 8 hours on high.

*About 3 hours into my cooking I threw in some onions, not a necessity, but if you like onions, I would throw those in the pot from the start.

This roast will come out with a sweet and spicy taste reminiscent of an Asian/Hawaiian BBQ.  Sorry I don't have a picture...This post was an afterthought.

Going "Whole" by participating in whole30 my adventure begins...

Long time no share!  My last post said I was doing paleo and I was failing miserably, and in fact that's when it ended.  I couldn't do it for some reason and I just gave up.  Well I started it again, I started my Whole30 journey and I'm doing pretty great at it all things considered!

Eating "Whole30" is based upon a principal by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig you can learn all the ins and outs here, but in short it's eating what our bodies are meant to eat.  Another form is paleo, the two forms of eating are very similar and have common strengths. I'm not doing a diet, I'm not starving myself, I'm not having to purchase 3rd party products to boost energy...I'm eating real food. I'm eating pulled pork, chicken jalapeno sausage, sweet potatoes, banana pancakes, BACON, lots of BACON and tons of other delicious treats Everything I eat is from the rawest form possible and actually cooking this food is a treat in itself.

Things I am staying away from for 30 days:

Grains

Legumes

Dairy

Sugars

Processed/Packaged Food

BOOZE!

Here are a few things I can eat

To break down my new eating habits:  I eat from the list of things above...in fact I eat more than that.  If it's fresh and not on my list of foods to avoid, I will try it. I am not supposed to weight myself for 30 days, but I did and I am pretty pumped to admit that 7 days in I was down 7 lbs  That's just by changing what I am eating.  I didn't make it to the gym once and I even cheated...I had a gluten free beer and you know what, I didn't feel guilty about it.  Today is day 9 and I feel better than I did yesterday...everyday I feel better than I did the day before.  I am sleeping better.  I am waking up better.  I have more energy. I'm happier...so much happier.  I credit it all to the major change in my diet.  I've always been a great cook, but I've been one never to shy from a cupcake or using real butter in an entree.  Even though I have had decent eating and cooking habits, I was eating the hell out of sweets and I was going out and drinking away a gazillion empty calories at the bars.  Now, the way I am feeling not doing that... it is just enlightening!  I want to share it, I want everyone to try it, I want to shout from the top of a peak...eating "whole" is great. 

I'm gonna start sharing my shopping lists, my recipes and my daily struggles and triumphs to prove anyone can do this. Jump on my journey!

Paleo Egg Cups

Paleo Egg Cups

Okay, so I'm trying this new Whole30 thing and I'm already extremely unsuccessful at it, (No, you cannot see me eating a bag of Teddy Grahams right now) and as it goes I'm experimenting with some new recipes. This is basic and straight up the easiest way to start.

6 strips turkey bacon
5 eggs
1 roma tomato- diced
1/2 avocado- diced
Salt, Black pepper, Red pepper, Sage, Cinnamon spices

Lightly spray the bottom of a 6 set muffin tin with 100% natural cannola oil.

Season your bacon while flat (I used fresh ground pepper and my house mix of spices.)

Wrap each piece of bacon in a circle, creating a cup in each muffin spot.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk eggs and desired spices, lastly adding tomatoes and avocados.

Using a ladle or in my case an icecream scoop, pour into the bacon cups.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until the eggs are no longer wobbly.

Throw all in your personal etched pyrex dish and store in the work fridge so you don't forget breakfast!

Spicy Ensalada Salad

There is a local salad shop here in Indy, When Eddie Met Salad, and in no way could I ever mimick all of their amazing salads but one had me itching for more and my wallet itching for less, their Ensalada!!! So I decided to make my own copycat recipe of the ensalada and see how it would turn out.  Much to my surprise, my dressing is kick ass (and of course much, MUCH healthier!)

I bought all the following from Wal-Mart:
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 can Red Gold rotel style tomatoes and green chilis
1 can black beans
1 can whole kernel sweet corn
1 bag pre-cooked fajita chicken 16oz
1 bag taco cheese
1 container FAGE 0% Greek Yogurt
Valentia hot sauce (had at home)
Hidden Valley Dry Ranch (I keep a large shaker from Sam's Club on hand at all times)
2 Tbsp Milk 
*Optional - Tortilla Strips ( I choose to omit these for less sodium)

I pre-made my salad for the week and stored the produce separately combining only the corn and beans into one container.

Dressing:
1/2 cup of Greek Yogurt
2 Tbspns Dry Ranch Seasoning
2 Tbspns Skim or 1% Milk
2 Tbspns Valentina

Mix together and sit overnight (use more milk if you like it a bit more runny!)  This makes enough for all salads for the WEEK!!!

Every morning I throw my ingredients into my handy Pyrex customized dish and take my container of dressing to work, yes, it says my name!  I made it myself!