Sweet Potato Spinach Turkey Burgers.

we just discovered these from here, and they are pretty sensational. here’s sort of where we’re at with it:

3 slices bacon, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 green onions, diced
2 cups spinach, diced (i think i used about 1/3 to 1/2 of a bunch)
1 med. sweet potato, shredded in your food processor
1 lb. ground turkey or chicken
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp dried rosemary
1-2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp almond flour (plus whatever else you might need to add)

1) fry the diced bacon in a big saucepan, then remove with slotted spoon.

2) saute the onion in the fat until transparent. then add the shredded sweet potato and cook, stirring regularly, for about 20 minutes or so.

3) while that happens, chop the spinach finely.

4) when the potatoes have cooked enough, mix all the ingredients together. i used an extra egg when i made it, because i felt the mixture didn’t hold together enough. i also probably added some almond flour too.

5) cook dem burgers. i baked in the oven on silpats, probably 8 minutes per side at 400 or so. carla is frying them on the stove with some oil, which also works. then eat and they are delicious.

Herb-Crusted Pork Loin

A few weeks ago, I was the one with a few minutes of free time, so I made dinner for David and I. I picked out this dish and I think it turned out really well. I got this one from The Paleo Mom. 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs pork center loin or sirloin
• 2 large sprigs fresh rosemary (about 2 Tbsp chopped)
• 10-12 sprigs fresh thyme (about 2 Tbsp chopped)
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp cracked Pepper
• 8-9 cloves Fresh Garlic
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• ½ tsp Paprika

1.    Preheat oven to 350F.
2.    Blend spices in the small cup of your Magic Bullet or a small Food Processor. If you are using entirely dry spices, you could blend in a Spice Grinder.  Alternatively, you could chop extremely fine and then grind in a mortar and pestel.  (I used the mortar and pt
3.    Rub spices evenly over entire roast (if you don’t quite have enough for an even coat over the whole roast, focus on the top of the roast, which should be the side with the fat cap).
4.    Optionally, you can wrap the roast in plastic wrap, place in your fridge, and let “marinate” for a few hours or even overnight.
5.    Place roast fat side up on a roasting pan.  Cook for 20 minutes per pound, until internal temperature reaches 160F.
6.    Remove roast from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Chipotle Meatballs.

one last meat-tastic recipe, these are a rick bayless recipe.

3 slices bacon, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs (could shift to some amount almond flour for paleo)
1 1/4 lbs gr. pork (again, meat could vary here)
1 28 oz. can of diced tomato, mostly drained (1/4 cup juice left)
2-3 chipotles in adobo
1 med. onion, diced
1 tsp oregano, dried
1.5 tsp chili powder
1.5 cups broth (beef or chicken)
bonus: 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint (didn’t use)

preheat oven to 400.

in a bowl, combine bacon, 2 cloves garlic, eggs, bread crumbs, pork, mint, chili powder, and 1.5 tsp salt. make into small meatballs – we used out minimuffin tin and it was a good decision, i think. bake about 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

while they bake, saute your onions well, until in they brown a touch. add remaining 3 cloves garlic for a minute, then add tomatoes, broth, chipotles, and oregano. mix well, add salt to taste. when meatballs are ready, mix well and you can serve.

we’ve served this with cauliflower rice, and it’s a nice pairing. it’s also fine by itself, as a sort of appetizer.

Meatloaf.

our eating has shifted towards a more paleo-oriented diet. this meatloaf is a blend of ina garten’s recipe and one from the paleomg cookbook.

2.5 lbs ground meat (i’ve been doing 1 lb gr. pork, 1.5 lb ground beef)
1-2 chopped onions
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
3 tbsp worcestershire sauce (considering this as a more strictly paleo version)
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup almond flour/meal (i didn’t measure last time i made this, but i def. needed a bit more than i cup to get the right consistency)

NOTE: the paleomg recipe uses 1 shredded sweet potato in here. i’d like to try this out.

preheat oven to 325. mix everything into a loaf, then put into a greased meatloaf pan. cook for 60-75 minutes. ina says a pan of water on the lower rack will prevent the top from cracking, though i don’t pour ketchup on this like she does.

anyways, it has been a solid start to meatloafing. we’ll see where it takes us.

 

Mushroom Stout Pie.

a comfort-food extravaganza from the amazing post punk kitchen, this recipe wasn’t too insane to make, and it made me wanting to keep re-filling my bowl. you can find the original right here.

For the stew:
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
3 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced medium
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 lb carrots, peeled, sliced into thin half moons
1 1/4 cups stout beer
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Fresh black pepper (a lot!)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups cooked kidney beans – 2 15 oz cans rinsed & drained [see note for tofu version]

For the biscuits:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup leftover mashed potatoes [see note on leftover mashed potatoes]
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cold water

You’ll want to cover the dried mushrooms in boiling broth to start, and let them get all good and hydrated.

In the dutch oven, you then saute the onions, then add in the garlic.

Follow by adding the chopped cremini mushrooms, the celery, and the thyme and rosemary. This is the part where it starts to smell pretty great.

Then, add the tomato paste, the beer, the carrots, and salt and pepper. Depending on the stock, you might want to be generous on the salt here. Let the stout bubble and reduce some.

Finally, add the porcinis and the broth. Again, let it boil to really cook the mushrooms.

Mix the flour with some cold water well, then slowly add it the pot. Let it cook and thicken, then add the kidney beans and cover to keep warm.

The potato biscuits, which had a dumpling-like quality when I made them tonight, will get placed on top of this stew, and put into the oven at 425 for about 20-25 minutes.

To make the biscuits, mix your mashed potatoes with the oil and water, then add them to the sifted combination of flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. My mixture needed a bit more flour than the recipe above calls for.

Turned out to be very enjoyable, will certainly make it again.

Herb Roasted Chicken (or Turkey).

We found this one for our first Thanksgiving in Denver, which was a while back, and it worked masterfully. Since then, we’ve come back to it whenever we are roasting a chicken or turkey for any purpose. The recipe comes from Ina Garten, over here. Our version doesn’t vary too far.

In a bowl, mix up the following:

3 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp mustard (the brown kind, not the yellow)
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp sage
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice

Get that mixture all up in your bird of choice, especially between the meat and the skin. There is usually a bit left over, and I just toss it right on top. It’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.

Set that oven for 325, and put the turkey or chicken in a rack in the roasting pan with about a cup of white cooking wine on the bottom, and let it cook. Smaller chicken breasts are usually done in 60-75 minutes, where larger turkey breasts might take closer to 2 hours – keep an eye on it.

When it’s done, it’s delicious warm right away, or cold in sandwiches later.

Ancho Lentil Soup.

so…we’re back from the gluttony-filled holidays and vacations, and trying to settle back into eating habits that are a bit more moderate. and to me, nothing says moderation like lentils.

Ancho lentil soup, from theppk

Ingredients
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 dried ancho chilies, seeds removed and ripped into bite sized pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Seranno pepper, seeded and chopped (we omitted this, but I would add it next time)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt

2 cups green lentils, washed
7 to 8 cups broth

3 tablespoons of lime juice (we used juice from one half a lime)
6 to 8 pineapple rings

slices of lime to serve
hot sauce to serve

Directions

Preheat a small frying pan over low-medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and ancho chili pieces and toast, stirring often, until fragrant and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes.

Transfer to a spice grinder (I use a clean coffee grinder) or small food processor and grind to a coarse powder. Some bigger pieces of chili are okay. Add the coriander seeds to the cumin and anchos and pulse a few times to crush them.

Preheat a big stock pot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the olive oil until transparent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the serrano and garlic and cook for another minute. Add the spices and stir. Add the bay leaves, salt, lentils and 7 cups of broth. Mix well. Bring up the heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling lower heat to low-medium and let simmer for 1/2 an hour, stirring every now and again.

Meanwhile, preheat a broiler. Cook on one side for 3 minutes and the other for about 2, until pineapple begins to brown and slightly carmelize.

Once the lentils are tender, add an extra cup of water/stock if you think it needs thinning. Add the lime juice and stir.

Remove the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to puree about half the soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a potato masher to mash it up a bit, until desired thickness is achieved. Taste for salt.

To serve: ladle into bowls and top with a pineapple ring, a slice of lime and dot with hot sauce.

This turned out pretty nicely for us. I did a couple things askew of the recipe – I didn’t mash the lentils up much, leaving the soup brothy. Also, the pineapple garnish, while fine, didn’t really blow me away. Still, a rather simple soup that was pretty enjoyable.

Pork and Poblano Stew.

this most recent one came from simply recipes; carla picked it out, and it looked fine to me. we made it last night, and i was pretty happy – lots of great flavor. i think it helped that i got a particularly nice bit of pork shoulder from our butcher.

• 4 to 5 poblano chile peppers (about 3/4 pound)
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed, cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
• Salt
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo, minced
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 quart chicken stock (use gluten-free stock for gluten-free option)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn (no need to defrost if frozen)
• 1 large (about 1/2 pound) sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes)
• Sour cream for garnish
• Cilantro for garnish
• Toasted shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for garnish

1) Char / broil the chiles; skin, stem, and seed them, then chop into 1-2 inch pieces. One main switch – neither of the two grocers I visited had poblanos! So I made an audible and toasted and rehydrated some anchos instead. I chopped them much more finely, as they are a bit less pleasant to eat big pieces of.

2) Heat oil in a dutch oven, then brown the pork, salting liberally.

3) Remove the pork – add onion and cumin to the dutch oven, cooking until translucent (~5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook another minute.

4) Add the chopped chipotle (I used 2 rather than 1, and was very happy with the spicyness level), along with the pork and the poblanos. Then add the stock and oregano, and simmer covered for about an hour.

5) Add the sweet potato and corn, then cook for 45 more minutes, until sweet potato is cooked through.

You can garnish with sour cream, cilantro, and or pepitos, though we did none of those last night. I thought this was a very savory, delicious stew. It took a chunk of time for sure, but the end result made me pretty happy.

Mexican Quinoa Salad.

this one was a quick lunch that was found on the nourishing gourmet. it turned out really nice and easy, but next time we make it, it needs black beans.

1/2 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin
2-3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sea salt
half a bunch of cilantro
5 cups of cooked quinoa (about 2-2.5 cups dry)
2 corn on the cobs (2 small cans)
1 bunch of spinach

Mix the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, cumin, garlic and salt together in a small jar. Toss most of it with the quinoa and corn in a bowl. Serve with spinach; you can leave some dressing behind to add as you eat if you eat some later, as we did.

The recipe calls for cooked (wilted) spinach, but we tossed it in raw as we ate it during the week. No big thing. The recipe also says to lightly cook the corn in some oil on the stove – I don’t recall if we did this either. Nothing fancy going on here, but it was a pleasant lunch.

Roast Loin of Pork with Apple Sauce

Another Gordon Ramsay recipe. I have wanted to make something with “pork medallions” for so long and I had a feeling that Ramsay would be a good place to start.

Serves 6-8

3-pound boneless pork loin roast, skin on if possible (we went with no skin).
few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion sliced
olive oil for drizzling.

Apple Sauce:
1 pound tart cooking apples (we used Granny Smith)
1 1/2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. lemon juice
4-5 Tbs. sugar

Preheat the over to its highest setting, about 500F. Remove the butcher’s stings if the loin is tied. Pat the skin of the pork dry with paper towels, then score in a crisscross pattern, spacing the cuts 3/4-in apart (we skipped this, be cause we didn’t have skin). Cut a slit along the thick sides of the loin, without cutting all the way through, to open out like a book.

Mix the chopped rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, olive oil, and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir well, then spread the mixture over the pork loin. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Roll up the loin and secure tightly with kitchen string at 1 1/2-in intervals. Rube the scored skin with a large pinch of salt.

Scatter the onion over the bottom of the roasting pan. Set the pork on top, skin side up. Drizzle olive oil generously over the skin and sprinkle with another large pinch of salt. Place in the oven and roast until the skin is golden and starting to crisp, about 20 minutes.

Turn down the oven to 350F and roast the pork until it is just cooked through, 30-40 minutes longer (we did 35 minutes). To test, insert a metal skewer into the thickest part of the loin and press gently; the juices that run out should be clear. (Ramsay prefers to serve pork just slightly pink to retain the succulence and moisture). Let rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.

Make the apple sauce while the pork is roasting: Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Roughly chop the quarters. Put them in a medium sauce pan with the butter, lemon juice, 4 tbs. of sugar and a splash of water. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes. Lift the lid and give the apples a stir every not and then, adding a little more water if the pan looks too dry. When the apples have broken down into a purée, taste for sweetness and add a little more sugar to taste. Adjust the consistency with a little more hot water, as necessary. Serve warm with the roast pork.

David: I though it turned out really well. It was a touch overcooked (maybe less time, in the future). Overall a big success. A-

Carla: I really like it. I really liked having the pork medallions and the apple sauce was great. It was surprisingly easy to put together. A