Recipes

Ultimate Meat Marinade

I use this marinade for everything from chicken to steak to pork ribs. You could even marinade veggies in this delicious sauce before grilling them. A big problem with barbecuing at other people's houses is that you can't control what is going on the meat, and it is usually loaded with sugar and over-processed ingredients. If it's a home-prepared marinade from a packet, it's probably made with vegetable oil since that is the packet suggestion. Whip this quick marinade up, add the meat and refrigerate up to 24 hours before your home barbecue or party. Who says you can't bring your own meat?

Recipe for the perfect marinade:

Prep Time: 5 minutes plus refrigeration time   Serves: 4 - 6

(For every two and a half to three pounds of the meat of your choice) 

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tbsp roughly chopped cilantro

1 orange, juiced

1 lime, juiced

1 lemon, juiced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Bon Appétit and Happy Grilling!

Maple Nut Crunch

This is just a (very) quick snack or an easy and delectable dessert. I did bootcamp for the first time today and am feeling kind of wiped. I knew I needed some sugar to give me some energy and I've already had a lot of fruit today; thus the Maple Nut Crunch was born.

A go-to snack for me, especially near dinner time when the hunger pangs start but it's too late to really snack, are nuts. I buy raw cashews, almonds, pecans and Brazil nuts from Trader Joe's. Nuts are expensive, there's no way around that. If you like nuts and require them as a staple, as I do, the best deal is to buy what you like individually in smaller quantities and mix them in a big tub of your own. There is a cheaper, unsalted mixed nut tub available at Costco, but beware the peanut oil that lurks there. 

All you need is a handful of whatever your favorite nut combination may be, and a little (and I mean a little) 100% pure maple syrup. Put the nuts in a small bowl or ramekin, add enough maple syrup to just coat them and voilà! The easiest. snack. ever. You could also chop and toast the nuts for a deeper flavor...or add coconut flakes...the possibilites are endless! I also recommend this as a dessert; the sweetness of the syrup with the savory crunchiness of the nuts is not only delicious, but satisfying!

Bon Appétit!

Fruity Pancakes

Last week, blueberries were on sale at Whole Foods ($6.99)...only the 2-lb. container of course! So for the past few days I've been trying to come up with ways to use them without eating too many and making myself sick. One of my favorite breakfasts is blueberry pancakes, so I thought I would try a Paleo pancake recipe I found here. I was only cooking for myself so I halved it and still have leftovers. I guess tomorrow's breakfast is taken care of, too!

What makes these pancakes special is what I added to the skeleton of the recipe. I felt like I was eating dessert but still got a few servings of fruit and the decadent creaminess of coconut cream without feeling bloated afterward and dealing with a sugar crash this afternoon.

Recipe for Fruity Pancakes:
Prep Time: 5 minutes    Cook Time: 10 minutes   Serves: 2 adults and 1 child

1/3 cup light coconut milk (Trader Joe's)

1/2 banana chunked into one-inch pieces

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

In a food processor, mix the wet ingredients until the bananas are smooth, then add the dry:

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

pinch salt

1 cup blanched almond flour (you can order bulk from Honeyville, which is cheaper per pound and it's only $4.49 for shipping)

To the finished batter, add 3/4 cup of fresh, rinsed blueberries. Heat a skillet to 275° and melt coconut oil in a thin layer over the top to prevent the pancakes from sticking. Ladle the batter onto the skillet and let each side cook for about five minutes. The blueberries cause the batter to spread more than usual, so keep this in mind or you may end up with gigantic pancakes. The berries also make the cook time longer; you don't want raw dough around each berry in your pancake...yuck!

I topped each pancake with about a 1/2 tbsp of 100% pure maple syrup I bought at Trader Joe's. I don't use it very often, and even then sparingly, so a 8oz. bottle for $5.99 has lasted the month and I haven't even used half. After the syrup I added fresh strawberry jam (Paleo of course) and a few dollops of coconut cream. Coconut cream is a perfect, dare I say, better substitute for whipped cream. I also bought the Trader Joe's brand and not only is it cheap, but my sensitive palate didn't detect a funky aluminum taste, even though it comes in a can.

Personally I like to pair pancakes with bacon; well, I like to pair a lot of things with bacon, but the contrast of the salty meat to the sweet pancakes is the perfect combination!

Bon Appétit!

Pork-Fried Chicken

This was my second attempt at making fried chicken during the 30-day challenge. What can I say, I like fried chicken. The first time I used almond meal as the coating and it didn't crisp, was kind of gummy and tasted sweeter than I would have liked. For another recipe I had bought pork rinds. I have to say that the smell of them makes me sick, but they taste amazing when mixed in recipes. In fact, I bought them to use in a pancake (what?!) recipe. They were better than any pancake I have ever had. So, I had half a bag of pork rinds and nary a weekend morning free anytime soon to use them for breakfast. I have bought pork rinds at a few different stores so far. They cost around $2.00 and can be found either in the Hispanic food section or with the chips (usually on the bottom shelf). The important thing is that the only two ingredients are pork (or pork fat) and salt.

 Pork Rinds - the star of this show!

As I was contemplating my first round of chicken gone wrong, the pork rinds popped into my mind. Not only were they mouth-wateringly salty, they had a great crunchy, light and airy texture. Instead of using almond meal, which is thicker than flour, I would use blanched almond powder that I just got (Fred Meyer carries Bob's Red Mill brand and it is much cheaper than their other gluten-alternative flours). This would ensure that my crust would be just that and not a gummy mess. By mixing the flour and the pork rinds I would get a nice, even, crunchy, salty coating....mmmm...

Since chicken is a lean meat, it is important to cook it in a way that imparts fat into it. What better way than fried chicken? I like to use olive oil, though coconut oil would also be great since it stands up well to high heat. I was cooking for four adults and my husband and I wanted leftovers for lunch the next day, so I made plenty!

Recipe for Pork-Fried Chicken:

Prep time: 15 minutes   Cook time: 15 minutes (max)    Serves: 4 - 6

6 boneless chicken breasts, cut in half

3 eggs

1/2 bag of pork rinds

2 cups of blanched almond flour

salt

pepper

garlic powder

cayenne pepper

extra-virgin olive oil

It is important to season the chicken before you dip it in the egg wash. I like to season the chicken lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder and then get the eggs beaten and the flour mixture combined so it can sit and soak up the flavor.

Flour mixture:

First, put the pork rinds in a baggy and make flour out of them using a rolling pin. In a bowl, mix blanched almond flour, crushed pork rinds, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Mix well. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg mixture and then dredge them in the flour mixture. Put them on a platter. Preheat a large saucepan over medium-medium high heat with about 1/4 inch of olive oil in the bottom. Fry the chicken pieces four or five at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan. Each piece should have a golden brown crust and be cooked all the way through, about six minutes on each side (depending on the thickness of the breast).

I like to put the finished chicken on a sheet pan covered in foil (for easy clean-up). Good sides for this are: a salad, sweet potato fries, mashed sweet potatoes with goat cheese and ghee, sautéed spinach and bacon, or any of your favorite veggies, roasted or raw.

Bon Appétit!