Cauliflower crust pizza

I wish I had some great excuse for my lack of recent blogging, or a profound recipe to share with you as an apology. Unfortunately I have neither. What I do have to share though is another low-carb cliche recipe: Cauliflower Crust Pizza. Quite possibly the best pizza topping combination: pepperoni, shredded linguica, onions, pepperoncini's and pineapple. Plus olives for the husband's portion. If you've been eating this lifestyle for a while you've either tried it (and probably loved it) or avoided it out of fear. Honestly, I avoided it out of fear for over a year. I tried various options, including low-carb but overly processed flatbreads...

Spatchcock Pastured Chicken

One of the drawbacks of getting our own chickens, if you could call it that, is being able to see how happy chickens are when they get to be real chickens. Grazing in the yard, eating bugs, flying around and chasing each other. We've spent countless hours just sitting out back watching the chickens do their thing. Needless to say, it didn't take long before we decided there was no way we could ever eat another factory farmed chicken. We needed to find chickens that lived a natural chicken life, not stuck in a square foot cage never seeing the light of day. Enter Noah Patridge and Emily French of New Roots Farms. We found them through craigslist...

Chicken update

Much like all living things, our cute, fuzzy baby chicks are almost all grown up. When I first mentioned our chickens, they were only a few weeks old and just experiencing what it was like to go outside for the first time. They’ve experienced even more big changes since then. Around five weeks they got to spend their first night outside in the coop. It was difficult for everybody. They acted like they wanted to go back to the safety of the brooder and our living room, but we tried that the night before and it just wasn’t going to happen a second night. I’m also a sap so tough love isn’t really my thing. Thankfully we all got through the...

Sloppy Bobs

Now that we've been eating on our half a cow for six months, some of the usual meals are becoming a bit tiresome, particularly in the ground beef department. While perusing the internet for recipe ideas I was reminded of the classic Sloppy Joe. Except there's no can of Manwich involved, and most importantly it's not over a bun. To avoid confusion, we've affectionately renamed this dish Sloppy Bob. It's common for us to adapt recipes, but rarely do they come out perfect on the first try. Usually it takes a few tweaks to get it just right. This time we got it dead on. It has the perfect amount of spice, sweetness and tanginess.  If...

Peanut Sauce Stir Fry

Back when we ate fairly unhealthy, stir fry was a great way to ensure we got our vegetables in for the day. Of course it was the standard soy-based sauce, but it still made for a tasty, veggie-filled meal. Thanks to our current eating habits, we don't exactly need to force the veggies down. However, stir fry has remained a popular item on the weekly menu rotation. One day to change things up, we experimented with a peanut sauce. Both of us had eaten it at least once before, but it wasn't anything special. But oh man. We both love it now. In fact, I couldn't even tell you the last time we had a soy-based stir fry. If you avoid peanuts for...

Mexican Casserole

Thanks to the 100-plus pounds of ground beef from "Bessie" we're always looking for new recipes. While this Mexican Casserole isn't drastically different than just eating a taco, it's just different enough that it has earned a spot in our meal plan on a couple of occasions now. It may not look particularly appetizing, but it's definitely tasty. Mexican Casserole An All Meat and No Potatoes Original Serves 6 Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 1 medium onion, diced 1 large jalapeno, diced 2 gloves garlic, minced Taco seasoning of your choice 1 pint crushed tomatoes 1 (7.75 ounce) can of El Pato Jalapeno Salsa 3/4 cup sour cream 3...

Noodleless Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce

Back in the days when I gorged myself on carbs, Fettuccine Alfredo was one of my favorite dishes. Thankfully we've managed to come up with a great recipe that cures my pasta cravings without having to actually eat wheat-filled noodles. This recipe is actually a combination of two recipes we've enjoyed. One uses cream rather than skim milk, while the other adds cream cheese which helps keep it together for leftovers. The biggest problem with standard Fettuccine Alfredo is that it all the oil separates when it's reheated the next day, making for a subpar lunch. This recipe doesn't have that problem. While the sauce could be used over anything,...

Weekly menu for May 18-24

Here's the menu for this week: Friday, May 18: Chili Saturday, May 19: Crockpot Shredded Pork with Red Slaw Sunday, May 20: Out Monday, May 21: Leftovers Tuesday, May 22: Peanut Sauce Stir Fry Wednesday, May 23: Tacos Thursday, May 24: Pork Chops and Aspara...

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Sometimes the simplest things to make are also the tastiest. Such is the case with Buffalo Chicken Wings. Pretty much all you have to do is bake some chicken wings, pour sauce over them, and devour them until your lips are on fire from the spicy sauce. You don't even need cooking skills to enjoy this meal. We prefer the Original Frank's over the Buffalo Wing Sauce based only on the ingredient list. If you don't mind the few extra ingredients in the Buffalo Wing Sauce, this recipe is even easier. Simply open the bottle and pour over the cooked wings. Buffalo Chicken Wings Slightly adapted from Frank's Red Hot Ingredients: Chicken...

Weekly menu for May 11-17

I realize this is coming way late in the week, but here's what we've been eating the past few days. Friday, May 11: Bunless burgers (these got pushed back a day from last week) Saturday, May 12: Noodless Alfredo Sunday, May 13: Red snapper with mango salsa, salad and couscous (Mother's Day meal) Monday, May 14: Chicken wings Tuesday, May 15: Beef curry Wednesday, May 16: Cauliflower pizza Thursday, May 17: Chicken thi...

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

As I mentioned last week, there's really only two meals I'm semi-responsible for putting on the table. The first being Spaghetti Sauce, and the other are these Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas. We served these with fresh tomatoes and cilantro. And a Corona Light because it was Cinco de Mayo and we're cliche like that. I've been eating them for years, as this is another recipe that's been passed down to me from my mom. I again have no idea where they came from, although for some reason I feel like I've seen it in one of my cookbooks. Taste of Oregon rings a bell. Regardless of where it originated, these enchiladas are delicious. In fact, because...

Weekly Menu for May 4 – 10

This week's dinner plan is full of delicious standbys in our household. Stay tuned later this week for a post on the Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas. Friday, May 4: Salmon with homestyle sweet potatoes Saturday, May 5: Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas Sunday, May 6: Pot roast with mashed potatoes Monday, May 7: Barbecue Chicken thighs with cottage cheese Tuesday, May 8: Ground Beef Tacos Wednesday, May 9: Steak with mushroom fish sauce Thursday, May 10: Bunless Burg...

Spaghetti Sauce

I should probably come clean about something. Despite the fact that I have this food blog, I don't actually do much cooking. I help out, and take care of the dishes, but the real chef in the family is my husband. He's really the one making all of these delicious meals I keep talking about. There are about two exceptions to this: Spaghetti Sauce and Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas (which I'll post about next week). These were really the only two good recipes I brought into this marriage, so I'm more likely to be in charge of these over anything else we eat. The spaghetti sauce recipe comes from my mom. She's been making it for as long as I can...

Weekly menu for April 28 - May 3

Here's what we've got cookin' this week! Saturday, April 28 - Cauliflower crust pizza Sunday, April 29 - Out Monday, April 30 - Orange chicken Tuesday, May 1 - Spaghetti Wednesday, May 2 - Pork chops Thursday, May 3 - Shepherd's ...

Chicks, man.

Just before Easter we decided to take the plunge and become parents...to chickens that is. We've talked about it for some time, but we finally have the space and our backyard is starting to come together enough that the timing was right. After doing some research we felt prepared enough to go to our local urban farm store and pick out some girls. The first trip outside, around three weeks old. From left to right: Tina, Butters, Whitney (in back), and Sara. Legally we can have up to six chickens, assuming none are a rooster. We figured three is a good starting number, but purchased four in case one turned out to be a rooster or something...

Weekly menu for April 21-27

Here's what's on the menu this week! Saturday, April 21: Family BBQ. We had salmon, ling cod, crab, shrimp, salad and grilled veggies.Sunday, April 22: Hamburgers (despite being on the menu for weeks, this is the first time we actually ate them). Monday, April 23: Chicken CurryTuesday, April 24: Steaks. No side dish planned at this point. Wednesday, April 25: Chicken wings!Thursday, April 26: Big salad Friday, April 27: Strogan...

Weekly menu for April 15 - April 20, 2012

Here's what's for dinner in our house this week. Saturday, April 14: Cauliflower crust pizza Sunday, April 15: Noodless fettuccine alfredo Monday, April 16: Kielbasa and fried jicama Tuesday, April 17: Ground beef tacos Wednesday, April 18: Chicken thighs Thursday, April 19: Burgers (we ended up not making these last week) Friday, April 20: Cu...

Bunless burgers

There's a lot of burger lovers out there, and a large number feel that the bun should be carefully considered. Plain white? Wheat? Potato? Well, I feel pretty strongly about my bun choice as well...except by preference is non at all. While I resisted the idea of a bunless burger at first, it didn't take me long to realize that was the way to go. Turns out the bun is just a limitation! It keeps you from being able to put on large quantities of toppings, or a variety of sauces that just get soaked up into the bread.  Without the bun, you are only limited by your imagination. This particular burger had lettuce, spinach, onion, pickles,...

Weekly Menu for April 7-13

I realize this post is coming a little bit late in the week, but we got baby chicks on Saturday afternoon so needless to say I've been a little distracted by the cuteness. I'll be sure to do a full post on the girls later. Here's what we've been eating/have planned for the remainder of the week: Week of April 7-13, 2012 Saturday: Hamburger Parmesan Sunday: Ham, creamed potatoes, salad Monday: Steak and roasted asparagus Tusday: Chicken Tikka Masala Wednesday: Big ass salad Thursday: Leftover Tikka Masala Friday: Hamburg...

Weekly menu for March 30-April 5, 2012

We have found that the biggest key to successfully eating healthy is planning. We never used to plan our meals in advance, and found ourselves eating fast food or junk like Hamburger Helper way too often. Now that we plan our meals up to a week in advance we save money, eat much healthier, and have nearly eliminated all waste from un-used food. With that in mind, I'll be updating this blog weekly with our meal plan for dinners. It won't always be Sunday-Saturday since we don't make our list on the same day. You'll find we've got a host of standbys but also like to try new recipes. Over time I'll provide recipes for our favorite meals, and perhaps...

Sweet Potato Fries

There are certain foods that most folks eating a paleo diet indulge on – sweet potato fries being one of them. Having never eaten a sweet potato in my life, I didn’t understand how these could replace the craving for my standard, salty, starchy fries. There are a lot of foods I miss that I can find suitable replacements for, but most aren’t as good as whatever I’m trying to replicate. Do sweet potato fries taste just like regular fries? No, of course not. But they do taste super good and have nearly eliminated my desire for the fries I used to like so much. Since discovering these tasty fries a few months ago I’ve been consuming them largely...

Short Ribs with Wine and Cream

A few months ago I was looking for a special recipe for Travis and I to make together. I don’t remember what the occasion was, but whatever it was, Pioneer Woman’s Short Ribs with Wine and Cream fit the bill. Ironically I dislike fatty cuts of meat and I’m still in denial about my newfound love of mushrooms, so what possessed me to choose this recipe I’m not quite sure. It was indeed a bit too fatty for my tastes, but Travis was in love with this meal. In fact, as soon as we brought home our 1/2 cow, he requested we remake the meal. We were hungry, and didn't cook these as long as we should have. If we'd gone the full three hours, more of...

Bringing Home Bessie

Both my husband and I are in agreement that there is more to healthy eating than just eating healthy fats and vegetables and omitting grains and sugar; eating local food is also part of the equation as well. In general we do a pretty good job of this on our own. We have our own garden during the summer months and regularly have a freezer full of freshly caught steelhead, bass and trout. We also hunt deer and elk, but after a disappointing and unsuccessful season we were interested in purchasing half a cow (who we've since named Bessie). On one of his recent hunting trips to eastern Oregon, my husband was listening to a radio station when an...

Almond Thins

One of the hardest parts of eating a low carb, paleo diet is the lack of convenience foods available. I’m often running behind in the morning so I need to be able to grab something for lunch quickly, and pre-packaged foods used to be a common solution. I could just grab a box of crackers or a bag of chips, throw some food in a zip lock and be on my way. My new eating habits definitely require a bit more planning and preparation. I can still have my grab-and-go lunch foods, I just need to prepare them in advance. One of my favorite options are the Almond Thins from Linda’s Low Carb. They are very easy to make and are way more nutritious than...

Brasato al Barolo

After a whirlwind Christmas weekend, my husband and I were looking forward to a quiet New Year’s Eve at home. Making a special meal together sounded like the perfect way to celebrate. We took a trip down to the local butcher and found a nice looking bone-in chuck roast. With the help of the internet, it didn’t take long to figure out what to do with it. The recipe I found was almost a year old but had just shown up in my Google Reader as one of The Beantown Baker’s top recipes of 2011, and it’s clear why it made the list. One sentence of the description stood out: “Cooking some beef in red wine for four hours couldn't possibly have bad results.”...