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Smoked Salmon and Blue Cheese Ball

This smoked salmon and blue cheese ball is full of bold flavors and pairs perfectly with the 2013 Cultivar Oak Knoll Chardonnay that I received as part of their Cultivar Wine Bloggers.

Smoked Salmon and Blue Cheese Ball

 

During the holidays when I was a kid, one of the things that I looked forward to the most was the cheese ball and salmon ball that my mom made as part of the holiday table.  We only had it once a year and it was glorious.  I liked the cheese ball a lot but the salmon ball was my jam.  It was the only time I enjoyed eating salmon (I’m a grown adult now so things have clearly changed) and I lived for that salmon ball.

My mom was a proper 1960s-70s housewife so of course we had cheese ball when entertaining.  Sometimes jello molds as well but we don’t talk about those.

The cheese ball has died away and I’m not sure why.  Oh sure you may see some store bought concoction with it’s bright orange color and dotted with almonds sitting all alone on a table at a random gathering, but a cheese ball that someone made that’s actually delicious is no where to be found.

I decided to change that this year and created a dressed up version of the salmon ball my mom used to make.  This makes a lot which is perfect if you’re hosting a party or bringing a dish to one.  You can easily cut this recipe in half to create a smaller ball for smaller gatherings.

I used smoked salmon and blue cheese and paired this with 2013 Cultivar Wine Oak Knoll Chardonnay.  The butteriness of this wine balances out the sharp smoke of the salmon and brings out it’s briny bite.  The crisp citrus notes help tone down the blue cheese and helps cut through the creaminess of the spread.

This dish is great for entertaining or just to have as a snack while you binge some Netflix. No judgment here.

Andrea’s Smoked Salmon and Blue Cheese Ball

  • 8 oz Cream Cheese
  • 1/2 C Blue Cheese Crumbles
  • 6 oz Smoked Salmon* (see note at bottom)
  • 2 Green Onions, chopped, both white and green parts
  • 1 TBSP Prepared Horseradish
  • 2 tsp Lemon Juice
  • 1 TBSP Dried Dill
  • Sliced almonds for garnish
  • Dried cranberries for garnish

Add all ingredients except salmon and green onions, to a food processor and process until smooth.  Remove mixture from processor and add to a bowl.  Add in the salmon and green onion, mix till everything is combined.

Place mixture on some plastic wrap and shape into a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge.  Allow to set up for at least 4 hours before serving.  Best if made the day before.

Carefully remove from wrap and place on a plate.  Stud with sliced almonds and dried cranberries.  Serve with crackers and veggies.  Keeps for 4 days.

*The smoked salmon I used is from the Honey Smoked Fish Company so it’s not the typical thinly sliced looks almost raw smoked salmon that you’re probably used to seeing.  I personally love this kind of smoked salmon and eat it all the time.  If you can’t find this style of smoked salmon you can certainly try using the other version.  You’ll want to chop that up before adding it to the mixture.  I can’t guarantee the outcome though since I haven’t tested that out.

Dried cranberries are a great addition to this recipe so I recommended being generous when adding them at the end.  That punch of sweetness is a lovely pairing with the blue cheese.

If you’re interested in trying out Cultivar Wine, as a reader of Food Embrace, you will be given 10% off your order.  Use the code, FoodEmbrace at checkout.

Disclaimer: I’m required to disclose a sponsored partnership between our site, Food Embrace, and Cultivar Wine. I have been compensated in exchange for this post in the form of product or experience. All opinions and recipes presented are my own.

 

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Mussels with Pesto and White Wine

 

Mussels with 2014 Cultivar Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc

I went to the 2014 Cultivar Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc  immediately because I will admit up front, I’m not a huge sauvignon blanc fan so I was curious about what this wine was going to be like.  Sauv Blancs that I’ve had in the past have been really tart with some strong grapefruit flavors, which are off-putting flavors for me.

The 2014 Rutherford is not even close to tasting that way. In fact, this wine blew me away and has made me rethink Sauv Blancs, willing to give them more of a chance.  This wine has some deep and complex characteristics to it.  The oak shines through but doesn’t over power.  There is some light citrus notes but they are mellow and smooth. This is a great wine for sipping and savoring.

To balance out the oak I thought this wine would be great paired with some steamed mussels. I added some pesto and sun dried tomatoes for some added depth.  The slight salty nuttiness of the pesto enhanced the richness of the wine.

This meal looks fancy but comes together in about 15 minutes.  Quick and delicious!

Andrea’s Mussels with Pesto and White Wine

  • I used this recipe for pesto. You can sub in spinach for kale if you like.
  • 2lbs of Fresh PEI Mussels, cleaned
  • 1/4C Chicken Stock
  • 1/4C White Wine
  • 1/4C Pesto
  • 1/2C Chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes
  • 2TBSP Olive Oil for cooking

In a large high sided sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add in the pesto, stock, wine, and tomatoes. Gently stir then add in the mussels.  Cover and allow the mussels to steam until they open and are cooked.  About 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve with crusty bread.  Garnish with parsley and additional parmesan if desired.

I also sliced up a baguette and spread some of the pesto on the slices.  Baked at 400 for about 10 minutes until the slices of bread were crispy and the pesto had become bubbly.

The wine worked beautifully with this dish!  The slight sweet brininess of the mussels combined with the rich and oaky wine made for a fantastic date night dinner.

If you’re interested in trying out Cultivar Wine, as a reader of Food Embrace, you will be given 10% off your order.  Use the code, FoodEmbrace at checkout.

I am part of the Cultivar Wine Bloggers Club and receive some bottles of wine quarterly to sample and pair with recipes and foods.  This time I decided to pair the 2014 Cultivar Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc with fresh PEI mussels.

 

Disclaimer: I’m required to disclose a sponsored partnership between our site, Food Embrace, and Cultivar Wine. I have been compensated in exchange for this post in the form of product or experience. All opinions and recipes presented are my own.

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Review: Safe Catch Tuna

Safe Catch Tuna Salad

I was contacted by the people at Safe Catch to review their new tuna.  Since we eat a good bit of seafood I was up for tasting the newest tuna on the market.

The idea behind Safe Catch is that every tuna is tested for mercury levels before purchasing.  Since mercury is such an issue right now with fish, this is a new line of tuna that provides a safe product with 100% of it’s tuna tested for mercury levels.

From the press release: Safe Catch is also the only canned tuna to be able to surpass the purity and Omega 3 criteria for “best seafood” as set by the Environmental Working Group.

Their tuna also comes in BPA free cans and they raw pack their tuna.  There’s no additives or water added, the tuna is cooked right in the can so all juices in the can are from the fish.  Making it extra tasty and still full of nutrients.

Pretty interesting, right?

I was sent a can of tuna to test out.  I made some basic tuna salad with it, nothing fancy.  I wanted to get a taste for the tuna to see what it was like.

It flaked nicely and wasn’t overly strong in aroma.  It had a pleasing fish smell, nothing overpowering.  Both Scott and I enjoyed this tuna.  Plus we felt good knowing that it was low in mercury, packed well, and canned in a BPA free can.

The tuna is currently available at our local Sprouts and runs between $3-$4 per can with the albacore tuna in the $4-$5 range. That’s actually not a bad price considering everything you’re getting with this tuna; tested for mercury levels, raw packed so all the nutrients remain, and a BPA free can.  Pretty good deal!

I don’t shop at Sprouts all that often but when I do stop in, I will most likely pick up a few cans of tuna.  It would be great to see this tuna expand to other markets as well making it more accessible to people.

 

Disclaimer: I was sent a can of Safe Catch Tuna in exchange for a review article.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated further for this post.

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Typical Day of Eats

I’m going to start posting more of my eats on the blog this year and I wanted to start off with what a typical day looks like.  This way if I say, “Standard breakfast and lunch”, you know what that means and won’t get bored seeing those same things over and over again.

Dinners are more varied, more fun (for me anyway), and our biggest meal of the day.

Breakfast:

greek yogurt, granola, banana

2% Greek yogurt with homemade granola and sliced banana with a little sprinkle of unsweetened coconut chips. Coffee with almond milk on the side.  Not a huge breakfast but the fat in the yogurt helps keep me full and satisfied.  I also add eggs to the granola mix when I make for added protein.  Right now the granola is just toasted and spiced oatmeal.  If you like, you can always add nuts, dried fruit, and heck even chocolate chips if you want.

Lunch:

Salad and smoothie

Salad with small amount of protein (2-3oz) and a smoothie.  The protein in the salads vary from hard boiled eggs, to salmon, to leftover chicken.  Sometimes even beans. Depends on what I feel like that day and what I have on hand that is the easiest to grab.

The protein helps me feel way more satisfied and it also means that I don’t need a salad the size of my head to be full.

Smoothie is pretty typical:

  • 2.5 C water
  • Big bunch of greens (Either spinach, kale, or chard)
  • 1.5 Frozen bananas
  • 1/2-1C Frozen fruit (blueberries, mango, peaches)
  • 1tsp Coconut Oil

Sometimes I sub in 1C almond milk but not very often.  I don’t count calories really but I try to be mindful of them. Since I have almond milk in my morning coffee, I don’t really need it in the smoothie.

The coconut oil helps provide much needed fat.  Most vitamins and minerals in fruits and veggies are fat soluble, which means our bodies can’t break them down and absorb them properly unless they are paired with a fat.  Coconut oil does the trick!

This amount makes two smoothies, one me and one for Scott.

Dinner:

Mahi mahi tacos

(Horrible picture I know, but until I figure out a solution to take night pictures, this is the best it gets.)

Mahi Mahi tacos, rice, and some green beans.  I would have had some avocado for the mahi mahi but I was out! Darn it!  I made extra portions of fish so there would be enough for leftovers the following day.

Some dinners are a little bigger but most times it’s a protein with some veggies and occasionally starch.  Dinner is my favorite meal of the day because I like spending the time in the evenings to prepare it.  It’s my relaxing down time.

There’s a saying that goes, you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.

That doesn’t really work for me.   A smaller breakfast and lunch followed by a larger dinner is what makes me feel the best.  Occasionally I’ll have an egg and some fruit for breakfast if I’m feeling a little more hungry in the morning or if I really don’t feel like yogurt.  I still keep the portions small, one egg with fruit and maybe an English muffin, this way I will still be hungry for lunch.

A larger breakfast, say eggs with bacon, toast, and potatoes keeps me full for a very long time so I typically keep that style of breakfast to the weekend.  Since it keeps me full for a while it usually results in me skipping lunch altogether and going right into dinner.  This is OK sometimes but not all the time. I really enjoy eating lunch and having that afternoon salad.

I’m also not much of a snacker.  Three full meals a day suits me just fine.  I don’t need snacks to help me get from one meal to the next.  As much as I enjoy food and eating, I don’t like eating all time and snacks make me feel that way. Like I’m just constantly eating.

Routine works for me and I don’t get bored with my breakfasts or lunch.  Plus it makes meal prep during the week a heck of a lot easier!  If I’m always having the same thing for 2 out of 3 meals, then I can focus more on dinner and planning that for the week.

Again, I’m in no way suggesting that everyone try this because what works for one person probably isn’t going to work for someone else.  We all have different tastes and different needs.

The goal is to pay attention to the meals we eat and how they make us feel.  Do we feel energized and satisfied or do we feel sleepy and blah?  Do we have energy the next day for work and working out or are we dragging our butts?  Once we figure out what makes us feel amazing it’s a lot easier to keep doing that!

 

 

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Going Reduced Grain

Hey all!  How is everyone’s week going so far?  Our meals have been a little off schedule but so far everything is running smoothly.  I feel much more centered than last week.  I don’t feel like I’m constantly behind trying to catch up!

Meal planning unfortunately did not happen as I would have liked but we’ve still been on track with our eats!

BREAKFAST

Steak and peppers on grain free waffles

Grain free waffles using Brittany Angell’s recipe.  I heated up some peppers and onions in a skillet and added in some leftover steak, sliced thin.   Placed on top of a waffle with a slice of swiss, which then was put in the toaster over so the cheese could melt.  Perfect breakfast sandwich and a great way to use up leftover steak!

scrambled eggs and toast

Scrambled eggs seasoned with Flavor God’s Garlic Lovers and two slices of Dave’s Killer Bread with lots of grassfed butter.

Grains! Yikes!  I’ll get to that in a minute, be patient.

DINNER

Pork taco and a side salad

Pork tacos and a simple side salad.  Ground pork cooked in a skillet with some peppers and onions.  Seasoned with a little salt, pepper, and chili powder (however much you like but easy on the salt).  Then I added in a few heaping spoonfuls of salsa and let the whole mixture simmer until the salsa reduced and thickened up.  Topped with chopped tomato and sour cream.

Salad was mixed greens with cucumber and carrot.  Very easy! I love having salads with meals because it’s quick to assemble and a great way to get in some raw veggie action.

Salmon and green beans

Sockeye salmon with red peppers and capers with a side of green beans with prosciutto and almonds.

For the salmon, in a sautee pan I heated up the peppers and capers in some ghee until the peppers softened a bit.  Then I added in the salmon and sprinkled that with some Flavor God’s lemon garlic seasoning.  I added in a touch of chicken stock, brought to a simmer and covered.  All of that simmering until the salmon was cooked through.  Remove and top with the peppers and capers.

The green beans were prepped ahead of time.  They were blanched and just waiting in the fridge to be used.  I sauteed them up in a skillet with some ghee.  Seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Right before serving I tossed them with some almonds, crispy prosciutto (heated and prepped before heating the beans), and sprinkled on some parm.

Looks fancy but it’s really simple to put together and no fussy ingredients!

SNACK

Banana ice cream with pecans

A little bit indulgent but much needed!  This was banana ice cream with bourbon butter pecans on top.

Banana ice cream is one of the easiest things to make.  All you do is put frozen bananas in a food processor with a little liquid (cream or almond milk for example) and blend until smooth and creamy.  That’s the basic concept and then you can flavor it or sweeten it a bit more.

For this version I added in some bourbon, vanilla almond milk, and vanilla extract.  Blended until smooth.

For the pecans, I sautéed them in a skillet with lots of butter.  After about 4 minutes I added in a small splash of bourbon.  Once done, I tossed the pecans with some cinnamon and coconut sugar.  I let them cool and sprinkled on top of the ice cream.

Delicious!

We have been on the clean eating and grain free train for several months at this point.  We have learned a lot during just these few months and one of the things we realized is that grain-free and gluten-free items do not work for us.  In fact, those types of things, like the grain free waffles above, do not sit well with our digestive system.

Every time we eat something like that, both of us are running for the bathroom immediately after eating.  Tummies rumbling, bloating, and hitting the bathroom multiple times for hours afterwards.

Not fun.

Clearly those kinds of items are not working for us.  So with that, instead of being grain-free we are reducing grains. Most grains don’t give us any kind of digestive distress, not like the grain-free items do.  So while we won’t be seeking out sandwiches daily or big bowls of pasta, if we feel like a pancake we’re going to eat it.

Don’t be surprised when you see some whole grain items pop back up in our eats!

Monday Meals: Good Week

This will be the last “Monday Meals” but don’t worry, I’ll still be sharing all of our eats with you!  Monday through Thursday will be a recap of meals and exercise for that day.  Those posts will go up at the end of the day. Fridays will be rotating topics that include recipes and the weekend will be time off for play!

I really want to get this blog back to it’s roots, which is about living a healthy and active lifestyle by focusing on real whole foods and doing things we love.

Plus these Monday posts were just getting way too long and can’t contain all of the deliciousness!

New schedule starts tomorrow so look for that post at the end of the day.

Alright so let’s recap last week!

BREAKFAST:

Peaches and granola

PEACHES!  They have finally started showing up at the farmer’s markets and I am stoked!  Colorado peaches are amazing and their season is very short.  If you see them, grab them while you can!

Peaches with a little sprinkle of grain free granola.  This breakfast rocked, it was sweet from the peaches and the granola helped keep me full for several hours.

Scrambled eggs and sausage

This was a second breakfast.  I had a big bowl of peaches one morning (with no granola) but once we got back from our big walk with the dogs, I was starving!  So I made a potato-less hash.  Scrambled eggs, sliced up chicken sausage, and peppers and onions.  Totally hit the spot!

Kale and sausage

A huge bowl of sauteed kale with kielbasa and shredded carrots.  Cooked up in some ghee and seasoned with Flavor God’s Spicy Everything blend.

Protein + greens are a favorite next to soup!

Kale rice bowl

Leftover rice that I cooked up in some lard with a little tomato paste and seasoned with chili powder.  Then I added in some kale and cooked everything until the kale wilted down and cooked through.

Not as hardy as sausage but still very satisfying and would make a great post workout breakfast.

Granola and bacon

Poor man’s breakfast this past weekend.  We ran out of eggs!  It was tragic.  So this was some bacon, sliced cantaloupe, and granola.  Some almond milk got splashed on the granola as well.  It was good but would have been better with eggs!

Bacon and scone

More bacon and cantaloupe!  The bacon was from a local butcher that they cure and smoke in-house.  Grain free scones topped with cherry jelly.  I pitted the cherries and added them to a blender with cup of water.  I blended for a minute until the cherries broke down a little.  A little bit of sugar was added to the mixture.  In a sauce pan the mixture simmered until it reduced by half.  Once it cools it thickens up a little bit and now you’ve got a quick jelly.

And a fauxmosa to wash everything down.  OJ + Seltzer = fauxmosa  Tasty!  Plus you can add fresh lime juice or mango juice to give it a little extra kick.

LUNCH:

Kale salad, smoked salmon

Kale salad with cucumbers and carrot.  A quick balsamic dressing on top.  Allow the dressing to mix with the kale a few minutes before serving.  Helps to break down the kale and pull out some of the bitterness.  Smoked salmon on the side!

Egg, carrots, beans, guacamole

Really random lunch.  A fried egg, leftover baked beans, sliced carrot, and guacamole for dipping.

DINNER:

Cheeseburger and fries

Cheeseburger on a gluten-free bun, coleslaw, and oven fries.  I nixed the bun, I didn’t like it. It had a weird texture to it and was spongy.  Ew.  So I ate my burger bunless which I prefer!

burger, slaw, beans

Burgers take two! Leftovers with the addition of baked beans.  Both Scott and I can handle beans without it causing any distress on our digestive system (to be blunt, beans don’t give us gas) so we eat them from time to time.

pork tacos and veggie casserole

A really monotone and unappealing picture, I know!  Pulled pork tacos with a cauliflower veggie mix.  The pork butt was cooked in a slow cooker with a can of diced tomatoes, 1/2C water, with sliced green pepper and onion.  Once the pork was done, I pulled it out and shredded the meat.  I blended all of the liquid and veggies together to create the sauce. Everything was seasoned with salt and chili powder.

Served on a white flour tortilla that I ended up not eating.  It was making me feel too full too quickly, so I tossed it and ate the pork with some guacamole.

The veggie casserole was a head of cauliflower pulsed in a food processor until it resembled rice.  I sauteed that in a huge skillet with onions, peppers, carrot and corn.  Once everything was cooked, I added two eggs to the mixture and some shredded cheddar.  Everything was seasoned with chili powder and then I cooked it all again in a casserole dish till it was bubbly.

It looked like a mess but it was tasty!  We had this two nights in a row.

Mussels

Second favorite meal of the week, mussels!  I purchased these at my local Whole Foods.  With a ton of butter (seriously, like 6 tablespoons), I sauteed up some onion, jalapeno, and lots of garlic.  That all got seasoned with Lemon Garlic Lovers Flavor God seasoning.  Then I added the mussels and a bottle of wheat beer.  Put a lid on it and let that simmer until the mussels opened.  Maybe 5 minutes tops.  I sprinkled on some chopped cherry tomatoes and we dug in!

This was a lot of mussels and was plenty for both Scott and I to share.  There’s a misconception that seafood and things like mussels are expensive but they are not.

A pound of mussels (which was way over 2 dozen mussels) cost me $6.99 and that fed two people as a main meal.  That’s pretty budget friendly!

Ribeye and twice baked potato

Favorite meal of the week, ribeye steak with a twice baked potato.  So good!  And gigantic!  I did not eat the entire steak, there’s plenty of leftovers.  The steaks were seasoned with Flavor God’s Garlic Lover’s and I seared each side of the steaks and placed them on a baking sheet.  The steaks finished cooking in the oven.  It only took a couple of minutes since ribeyes are best at medium.

The potatoes were super simple, no fuss twice baked potatoes. Baked potatoes with the insides scooped out.  To that was added sour cream, cheddar, horseradish, and some green onion.  Stuffed and baked again until cooked through and bubbling.

Great eats this week plus utilizing leftovers as much as possible.  Minimal meal planning for this week because Scott and I have some big plans for the weekend!

Supplies:

Flavor God seasonings

Bacon and steaks from The Boar and Bull

Mussels from Whole Foods

Pork and eggs from Jodar Farms

Monday Meals: Too Much Take Out

We had a lot of takeout this week and it was a little disappointing.  Both the food and the fact that we ordered out so much.  By Sunday I told Scott that I was done with eating out unless it’s really special and we make it count.

Meaning it’s got to be a restaurant that we know serves quality food and it’s worth the effort and the money to eat there.

Why spend money on crappy food?  This is what I was asking myself by the end of the week.

Most of us probably need to ask ourselves that more often.  Crappy food does nothing for us.  It doesn’t nourish us, it causes havoc on our digestion, and we pay money for that.

That’s just silliness.

This past week also made me realize that my body is over crap food.  When I eat it, my body reacts right away, like, “Ugh why are you doing this to me? We were eating so well and it was soooo good!  This is horrible.”

I usually end up eating an apple or something to try and make my body feel better.

This week the goal is to only eat out once or twice.  Most likely that will be on Sunday because we are traveling down to Boulder for the day. Boulder has more variety of options for food and I’m excited to see what all is available to us!

On to eats!

BREAKFAST:

Sauteed fresh corn and cabbage

Veggie bowl!  I cut the corn kernels off of the cob and sauteed that in ghee with some chopped purple cabbage, shredded carrot, and some chopped onion.  Seasoned with salt, pepper, and chili powder.  Very yummy and colorful breakfast!

Sweet potato and chicken sausage

I prepped some sweet potatoes for the week.  I peeled and chopped two very large sweet potatoes, tossed them in a little olive oil and roasted them at 400 until they were just shy from being tender.  Then I used them for breakfasts for the rest of the week.

This sweet potato bowl has roasted red pepper chicken sausage.  Everything was heated up in a skillet in a little lard and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Having the pre-roasted sweet potatoes on hand makes things so much faster and easier to create breakfast during the week.

Scrambled eggs, sweet potato, bacon

Lots of scrambled eggs, more sweet potatoes, and a few slices of bacon.  Easy and filling!

Fried chicken and nectarine slices

Probably the saddest breakfast!  A large piece of fried chicken and some nectarine slices.  I had some leftover fried chicken in the freezer that needed used up.  I didn’t eat the coating, it’s tasty but a little too heavy.   This was the end of the week and I was running out of foods!

Plantain griddle cakes

I had some plantains that needed used up as they were getting a little too ripe.  I tried my hand at making some pancakes with them.  I’m on the right track with the batter, I just need to tweak it a little bit more.

Having these for breakfast, while delicious, my body needs a little bit more in the mornings.  Protein and fiber from veggies or fruit.  This didn’t fill me up for long and by noon I wanted to gnaw my arm off.

grain free ham and cheese handpie

Ham and swiss hand pies with grain free crust.  I need to work on this a bit more to get the crust right so that it isn’t quite so dense and can be rolled out.

There is a French bakery here that makes the most amazing ham and cheese croissants.  I tried to make clean eats version but it still needs a lot of work!  Also, I’m not at all saying that this compares to French pastries in anyway because it doesn’t.  I wanted to experiment and see if I could make a hand pie turnover thing.  Close but not quite there!

DINNER:

Takeout Pho

Last week I mentioned that we were going to have pho for dinner and we did.  It was so yummy!  I get the chicken pho with chicken broth.  The chicken is a little on the sketchy side so I try to avoid it and load up with onions and bean sprouts instead.  It was delicous!

I had the leftovers for breakfast the next morning and that wasn’t so delicious. It turned sweet and a little strange. I’m going to stick with a smaller portion next time we order out.

takeout fried rice

I also got some fried rice which was actually amazing.  It was full of flavor and not in the slightest way greasy. Now I know they used a less desirable oil to cook this in but for a treat I was pleased with it.

grain free pizza

 

This was my big kitchen fail of the week. I attempted to make a quick grain-free pizza.  I’m not sure what happened but the crust turned out awful.  It smelled and tasted like cooked shrimp.  EW  I added baking soda and vinegar to this dough hoping to get a little more rise but I think that might have been the issue.  Those two things didn’t react well with the other ingredients and so we had a very horrible tasting pizza.  Ugh.

takeout pizza

We tried to remedy that with takeout pizza which also wasn’t the best.  We tried a new pizza joint in town that was rumored to have great gluten-free crusts.  After researching, I learned that it’s a pre-made crust (from a company in Loveland but still, not house made) and is frozen.  It’s smaller in size and costs $3 more.

For my money I would be getting a frozen pizza crust that isn’t even the same size as a regular pizza AND it costs more than the regular pizza.

Sorry but I’m not that dedicated to the cause.

Gluten doesn’t give me digestion distress, it only causes me to be a little bloaty and feel sluggish.  These are things I actually can live with if the pizza is worth it.

This pizza is not worth it.  We got the regular crust and just were not impressed with the pizza overall.

Chicken and mashed potatoes

Roast chicken (sort of) and mashed potatoes and turnips.  I learned a lot from this meal.

1. You can cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker and it won’t take nearly as long as you think.  This chicken was ready in about 5 hours.  Sure the skin won’t be crispy but the chicken is tender and has a more intense chicken flavor to it.

2. My body hates turnips.  As soon as I ate them my stomach bloated up like an inflated balloon, and I was gassy the rest of the night.  TMI? You’ll live.

I haven’t had a reaction like that to a vegetable before so that was definitely an interesting experience!  But no more turnips, ugh.

Lemon pepper shrimp zoodles

Ham and cheese hand pies were not enough so I made us something else for lunch. I had a craving for seafood so I busted out the shrimp.

Spiralized three yellow squash.  Roasted some chopped tomatoes at 400 degrees.  Coated some shrimp with olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning and roasted those at 400 until done.  About 10 minutes.  Caramelized some onions in some ghee, added the squash noodles, more ghee and lemon pepper seasoning.  At the end I added the tomatoes and topped everything with the roasted shrimp.

Delicious and totally what my body needed!

Chicken soup

I used the leftover chicken and broth from the earlier in the week to make soup.  Broth chicken, shredded carrots, chopped onions, celery, and potatoes all went into the slow cooker and cooked all day long.

It was comforting and tasty way to end the week!

 

Despite all the take out, this was a great week!  I experimented in the kitchen, sure there was a huge fail, but shit happens.  I learned that I can cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker which is perfect for when I don’t want to heat up the whole kitchen.  I discovered that turnips hate me and not to ever make shrimp pizza again.

This week I’m busting out the meal plan and making sure everything is ready to go!

 

 

Monday Meals: Seafood Season

This week I felt like I was running a little behind since I didn’t have even the slightest outline for a meal plan.  We still ate really well (whew!) but I definitely felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants.

Because I do better with calendars and lists that are actual pieces of paper (I like to make notes and I’m still old school about some things), I have decided to print off a meal plan for each week.  I got the template from Real Food Liz, and you can get one too.  Click HERE.

Just a side note, tangent, I bought a huge Paleo bundle of ebooks a little while back and it included a lifetime membership to Good Food For Bad Cooks.  It has recipes, you can make shopping lists, there are food guides.  It’s a pretty neat little site with lots of info so if you are looking for something to help you meal plan and for more recipes, definitely check it out. (That is not an affiliate link and it’s not a plug. I just like the site.)

Ok on to meals!

BREAKFAST:

Chicken and spinach

Chicken with spinach that I added a little homemade tomato sauce too and sprinkled with parm.  It was delicious!  I always forget how much I like chicken for breakfast.

Fruit, coconut cream, almonds

Blueberries and nectarines with coconut cream, crushed almonds, and coconut flakes.

Scrambled eggs with blackbean sauce

Scrambled eggs with a black bean sauce.  The sauce was really simple.  In a blender, I added:

  • Black Beans (about 1.5 cups)
  • Salsa
  • Chicken Stock
  • Salt
  • Chili Powder

Blended till it was smooth, and heated it in a medium sized pot over medium heat.  Brought it to a simmer and let it reduce just a bit so the sauce thickened up.

Easy and quick sauce.  I froze the rest to save for enchiladas at some point.

Blueberries, coconut cream

Blueberries, grain-free scone, and drizzled with coconut cream.  Please note that if you refer to blueberries as “bluebs”, we can no longer be friends.  Sorry, but that’s life sometimes.

Veggie fritatta

Veggie fritatta!  I sauteed up some baby kale, red pepper, and half an onion in some ghee and let that mixture cool.  In a bowl I whisked 5 eggs, a splash of whole milk, and some dijon mustard.  Added in the veggies and then added that mixture to a greased skillet (I used ghee) that was heating up on the stove.  Heated it for about two minutes then put the pan in a 425 degree oven for about 40 minutes.  Topped with diced tomato and a sprinkle of parm.

fritatta, ham, potatoes

We had that with some ham slices and some roasted sweet potatoes.

Eggs, potatoes, sausage

Another big breakfast of scrambled eggs (look how yellow they are! The yolks in these farm fresh eggs were gorgeous.), roasted potatoes, and sausage.

smoothie, apple, almond butter

Random picture of a smoothie, sliced apple with almond butter.  Sometimes if  I have a large breakfast then I have smallish snack as lunch.  I don’t normally show these pictures because they aren’t exciting and I’m not sure if you are interested in seeing them.  If you are, just let me know and I’ll share what goes in the smoothies.  Spoiler alert, it’s usually always the same.

DINNER:

Sausage and kraut

Leftovers, sausage, kraut, and coleslaw.  I had spinach and feta sausage from Whole Foods and Scott finished the other sausages.  I have to say that I’m not super impressed with our local Whole Foods sausages.  I probably won’t get them again unless something really catches my eye.

Copper River Salmon

Glorious salmon!  Copper River salmon was in season so I stocked up and purchased a couple of sides.  Please note that if you are local, our Whole Foods does not remove the bones from the fish so either you have to do it or you can ask for it to be done.  If you ask, the workers tend to get really pissed off, at least they did for me.  And they still didn’t remove many bones, Scott and I were picking them out as we were eating.  Good times.

I brushed the salmon with some coconut oil and sprinkled with:

  • Lemon Pepper Mix (by Simply Organic)
  • Garlic Powder
  • Dill

I also laid it on some lemon slice while it roasted in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Salmon, asparagus, rice

We had the salmon with roasted asparagus and rice.  Fish + rice is one of my favorite combinations.  We used to eat this all the time on “Fish Tuesdays” and I think I need to bring that back.

This provided us with leftovers and I was so hungry and excited when we had leftovers that I forgot to take a picture!  It was salmon with a side salad.  Nothing fancy but delicious!

Crispy shrimp and eggplant

 

And lastly, crispy shrimp with roasted eggplant.  I whisked together 2 eggs, a splash of milk, and some hot sauce.  The coating was a mix of coconut flour and tapioca starch seasoned with chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.  The shrimp went in the egg bath first then to the coating. I cooked the shrimp in a cast iron skillet in some lard.

This was the first time I used coconut flour and tapioca as a coating and I really liked the way it turned out.  The tapioca provides a nice thin coating on the shrimp that really crisped up and turned a lovely golden brown color.

The eggplant was sliced, seasoned with soy sauce, salt, garlic powder and roasted in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

For The Locals:

All chicken and eggs from Jodar Farms.

Sausage, ham, and seafood from Whole Foods.

Milk from Morning Fresh Dairy.

This Week:

I have  my meal plan all printed out and I’m ready to get started on this week!  I already have some chicken and pork chops thawing in the fridge so we will be having that this week.  The chicken will last at least two days, so that is three days covered already.  Now to figure out the rest of the week.

How did you do last week and what are your plans this week?

Spring Clean Eats: Day 18, Salmon Experiment

Turkey and collard greensNot nearly as exciting as the previous day.  There was some experimenting but only one dish.  Spoiler alert, it worked!

As I was digging around in our freezer that’s attached to the fridge (it’s a drawer freezer and I hate the ever lovin’ crap out of it.  Whoever thought that was a good design clearly didn’t cook actual food) and found some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.

Uh, yeah that needs to get used up.

I cubed some up added in collards (that I prepped the previous day!), sauteed it all in some ghee.  Sprinkled with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Some hot sauce too for some kick!

Oh man, I love greens but collards are my absolute favorite.

It was a pretty crappy over cast and windy day yesterday but we still managed to get the pups to the park and on the trail for a walk.

Another two meal day with a really late lunch that I counted as dinner.

Salmon mousse and veggiesI made a salmon mousse and paired that with some veggies.  The purple and yellow veggies are carrots.  I was in love with this dip!  Recipe will be posted once the challenge is over.  It’s challenge and Paleo friendly!

I’m very ready for my house to look like this again:

New HouseGreen grass surrounding it and trees that actually have leaves!  Some things are starting to bud which makes me extremely giddy and I know that spring and summer are fully on the way.  I’m itching for more sun, warmer days, and grilling!

Winter is going out kicking and screaming this year it seems.

Spring Clean Eats: Day 13, Shoot Em

Scramble with smoked salmonWhile out running errands earlier this week, I picked up some locally smoked salmon.  This smoked salmon isn’t like the thinly sliced style.  This is a fillet of salmon that has been smoked and it flakes apart.

I love the texture of this more than the very thin kind.

I knew that I wanted the smoked salmon for breakfast so I decided to add it to a scramble.  The scrambled eggs had horseradish and dijon mustard added.  Once they were almost finished cooking, I seasoned with a little salt and pepper and then added in the salmon and some green onion.

Delicious and very filling breakfast!  Some fresh fruit on the side as well.

We took the dogs to their Saturday morning playgroup so they could see all their friends and socialize.  On the way home we stopped for provisions.

You know Saturday means it’s  Odell Day!  We got some growlers and some food from Commonlink.

Sausage, fries, and fruit

Andouille sausage with kraut, cajun fries and some fresh blackberries on the side.  We also had a kombucha with lunch.

The dogs were sacked out for the rest of the day and since the sun kept hiding behind the clouds, we stayed inside and played video games.

Salad with chicken

Dinner was quick and easy, mixed greens with chicken on top.  The dressing was a super simple honey dijon dressing with balsamic.

Definitely could have used more veggies yesterday.  Next Odell day, I’ll probably make a smoothie and have a salad with lunch.

I have an event to attend today so Saturday ended up being the perfect relaxing day!