Category Archives: Dining

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Slow Cooker Jalapeno Chili

This slow cooked chili ambushed many at a workplace potluck lunch with its heat. The secret is leaving the seeds intact on 1 or 2 jalapeno peppers. Cumin powder lends a distinctive aroma to the chili. Additional heat furnished by chili powder, red pepper and a dash ghost pepper chili added to meat while browning in a pan.

  • 8 oz, Angus Ground Beef Chuck 80%/ 20%
  • 8 oz., Ground Lamb
  • 8 oz, Ground Pork – Fixed
  • 9 oz(s), Onions, raw
  • 56.00 g, Garlic, raw
  • 4.50 oz(s), Peppers, jalapeno, raw
  • 6oz can (10 tbsp ea.), Tomato Paste
  • 14.5oz can (1 4/5 cups ea.), Fire Roasted Diced Garlic Tomato
  • 6 fluid ounce, Water – Municipal
  • 1 tbsp, Spices, chili powder
  • 2 tbsp, Spices, cumin seed
  • 2 tbsp, Spices, paprika
  • 1 tbsp, Spices, cinnamon, ground
  • 0.50 tbsp, Spices, pepper, black
  • 1 tsp, Spices, pepper, red or cayenne
  • 8 oz, Fresh Lean Ground Turkey With Rosemary Extract
  • dash of ghost pepper chili

Over medium heat, lightly brown the meats in a skillet, season with spices to taste. Add to a preheated slow cooker. Using the fat/grease left over from the cooked meats, saute garlic and onions until aromatic, about 2-3 minutes, then add to the slow cooker. Toss in the remaining ingredients, then cook low and slow for 4 hours. Or cook on high for 2 hours.

Serving suggestion: serve warm over hard boiled eggs or egg bake. For my potluck lunch, it made for a spicy, meaty topping on burgers and hot dogs.

IMG_20160707_JalapenoChilionEgg

Yields about 78oz of chili.

MPF calculation per 2oz serving:
71 calories
Total Fat 4g
Total Carbohydrate 3 g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugars 1 g
Protein 5 g

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Spicy Primal Mayo Egg Salad

I decided to make this recipe after picking up a jar of Primal Kitchen Mayo over at Thrive Market. I’ve been meaning to whip up some deviled eggs, based on the smoky version at Lockhart Smokehouse. But this egg salad gives you more bang for buck–minus the smokiness. The ghost pepper chili flakes that I got from Trader Joe’s really gives this egg salad bite.  Despite that it’s paleo/primal, the egg salad passed the taste test at home.

  • 4 Extra Large Grade A Eggs, hard boiled
  • 8 Jumbo Grade A Eggs, hard boiled
  • 1 oz., Greek Yogurt
  • 5 Tablespoon, Primal Kitchen Mayonnaise Made W/avocado Oil
  • 1 tbsp, Spices, garlic powder
  • 2 tsp(s), Spices, chili powder
  • 2 tsp, ground, Spices, pepper, black
  • dash of sea salt
  • dash of ghost pepper chili pepper flakes

After hard boiling eggs and letting it cool, peel from shell and add to bowl. Use a spatula to break the eggs for a chunky texture. Fold in yogurt and mayo and continue to turn over gently. Season with garlic powder, chili powder, cracked pepper, sea salt, and ghost chili pepper.

IMG_20160710_PrimalEggSalad

If I were to add more protein to this egg salad, it would be ham or bacon. Or better yet, smoked brisket.

Yields about 30oz total, 2oz per serving.

MFP Recipe Calculator estimate per serving:
108 Calories
Fat 9g
Carbohydrate 1g
Protein 6g

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Gluten Free Garlicky Anchovy Penne Pasta

Anchovies. It’s a fish that doesn’t garner much affection. I suspect most people just can’t handle the strong flavor and/or odors that arise from preserving and curing the fish. It’s the basis of fish sauce found in most Asian markets–which depending on your tastes, will either be fantastically savory or revoltingly pungent. It’s also used widely in other condiments such as Worcestershire sauce and Caesar dressing. In Filipino cuisine, it is used for some bagoong (shrimp or fish paste) recipes as well as prepared fried or dried. The saltier the better!

In Western preparations, I’ve mostly encountered anchovies used very sparingly as pizza topping or salad dressing. But I’ve found anchovies most irresistible in a Sicilian pasta recipe.

I was all set to boil some mozzarella gnocchi last night when I realized that the gooey cheese paste that resulted just wasn’t easily workable. So much for a low/no carb attempt! My fallback plan was a box of gluten free penne sitting in my pantry for such an emergency. Warning: lots of garlic ahead!

20160517_GF Garlic Anchovy Penne

  • 6oz (168g), dry weight penne rigate (Ronzoni Gluten Free brand)
  • 3.50 oz, Marinated Anchovy fillets In Garlic (FruitsdeMer brand)
  • 3 oz(s), Garlic, raw, minced or pressed
  • 6 Tbsp, Salted Butter
  • 2 tbsp, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 tbsp, Spices, garlic powder
  • 1 dash, Spices, pepper, black
  • 0.25 tsp, Spices, pepper, red or cayenne

Melt butter slowly over low heat in a chef pan or wok, taking care not burn the solids. Meanwhile, mince or press garlic and add to the melted butter, reserving some fresh garlic for topping. Add olive oil to mix, slowly cook the garlic for about 20 minutes until aromatic. Again, take care not to burn the garlic.

Add anchovies to garlic butter sauce and mash the fillets until it becomes a puree. Season with garlic powder, cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Continue to stir, taking care not to burn the sauce.

Meanwhile, cook penne pasta according to package instructions, in salted boiling water, about 9 minutes for al dente. Drain pasta and toss with anchovy sauce. Best garnished with fresh garlic, grated parmesan, chopped basil, and/or chopped parsley.

Yields about 17.5 oz of pasta, serves 2, but it’s soooo good you might not want to share!

MFP Recipe Calculator estimate per 8.75oz serving:
873 Calories
83g Carbs
54g Fat
14g Protein
1g Sugar
4g Fiber

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Bacon Broc Cheese Egg Bake

I really needed to do something with a bag of frozen broccoli cuts (not the tasty florets kind) stashed away in my freezer. Here’s a protein-packed and Primal-friendly breakfast and snack that I made with those cuts, courtesy of SkinnyTaste by way of MyFitnessPal’s blog.

I originally projected 8 whole eggs for this recipe, but realized I didn’t have enough egg mix to fill all 12 cups to the brim. (This was before I realized that the mix would rise as it cooked.) I didn’t whip the mix enough to let air in so I anticipated that there would be very little rise.

Egg Bakes Pour egg mix into non-stick pan

Hint: the horseradish cheddar that I used in this modified recipe really gives the egg muffins some bite! Were I to change anything to this current recipe, I would probably add more bacon!

  • 9 egg, Jumbo Eggs Grade A*
  • 4 pan fried slice, Thick Cut Bacon – Naturally Hickory Smoked
  • 4 oz, Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
  • 1.50 oz, Horseradish Cheddar Cheese
  • 1.50 oz, Cheese, gruyere
  • 1 container (348 gs ea.), Broccoli Cuts Frozen
  • 1 tbsp (9.7g), Spices, Garlic Powder
  • 0.25 tsp, Sea Salt
  • 0.50 tsp, ground, Spices, pepper, black
  • stick of butter for greasing pan

Broil or bake the bacon slices in a pre-heated oven at 350F.  (Or you can pan-fry the bacon.) Drain/blot grease and crumble bacon after cooking. Set aside.

Meanwhile, cook frozen broccoli per package instructions. Drain excess moisture, season with salt and pepper, and set aside to cool.

Prep a non-stick 12-muffin or cupcake tin by greasing each cup with butter.

Crack eggs into a mixing bowl. Shred the cheese and add to egg mixture. Slowly add broccoli cuts (make sure the broccoli is cooled so it doesn’t cook the egg mix), season with garlic powder and gently mix all ingredients until thoroughly incorporated. Ladle egg mix into muffin tin. Garnish the tops with crumbled bacon.

Bake @ 350F for 20-25 minutes. Best eaten when warm and gooey-cheesy in the middle. Dress with a little sriracha or salsa.

Some of my muffins overflowed their cups during baking, but it was an easy task to scoop them back into each mold. I likely didn’t need to grease the tin due to the non-stick surface; the eggs all popped out of their molds with very little effort.

Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container.

MFP Recipe Calculator estimate per serving:
175 Calories
2g Carbs
12g Fat
12g Protein
1g Sugar
1g Fiber

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Creamy Apple Cider Vinaigrette

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a recipe, and I have a backlog of them to post. Last week, I needed to do something with some overripe apples that have been sitting in the fridge for a long while (DH’s forgotten snack pile). I really liked the apple cider vinaigrette I’ve tried at Saladworks (paired with my fave Farmhouse salad), so I decided to make my own homemade dressing. Were I to retry this recipe in the future, I would probably omit the cinnamon and increase the ground ginger to give the dressing more bite.

20160411_Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Ingredients (adapted from the Stem Blog):

  • 4oz apple (I peeled and cored a Braeburn apple)
  • 1.5oz extra virgin olive oil
  • 2oz apple cider vinegar
  • 2tsp Trader Joe’s 100% natural stevia extract
  • 1tsp onion powder
  • .25tsp sea salt
  • .25 tsp ground ginger
  • .25tsp ground cinnamon

Toss all ingredients into a blender and process until creamy smooth. Yields 6.5oz or 12.5 servings of .5oz each.