Broccoli Slaw

Last month I did almost no cooking. Aside from a few slow cooker experiments, I lived on sandwiches, salads and take out. I wish I could say it was because I was out saving the world or something noble like that, but the truth is I just didn’t feel like cooking so I didn’t. It happens to me from time to time. I usually just need a break to recharge the mental and creative batteries I come out the other side of the break more creative and ready to cook again.

For the month of May, I am concentrating I using thing I already have in my fridge, freezer, pantry. I am going to start with a simple salad, that was inspired by a broccoli slaw salad I bought at a neighborhood deli. I really liked the salad but didn’t want the mayo based dressing everyday. I wanted a broccoli slaw salad that used a vinegar based dressing to make it a little less heavy.

The pantry ingredients I used in this recipe were the apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, dried cranberries and almonds.

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted from Hungry, Healthy, Happy

1 bag broccoli slaw

1 celery rib, sliced

2 TBS canola oil

2 TBS Apple cider vinegar

1 TBS honey

pinch salt and pepper

dried cranberries and almond, optional

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli slaw, celery and dried cranberries. In a small jar, combine the canola oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Cover and shake well to combine. Pour the dressing over the broccoli slaw mixture. Combine well. If you are using the almonds, add them to each individual serving so they stay crunchy.

Broccoli Salad (Whole 30)

“Something magical happens when food is cooking — the rest of the world melts away, and nothing exists except what’s in the skillet in front of you–and it talks, it breathes, and lives. The sounds, aromas, textures, flavors and the heat of the kitchen–even the occasional searing burn– feel good.” David Link

People ask me all the time why I like cooking. I never really had a good answer. Its just something I really enjoy doing. This quote from David Link comes as close to explaining it as I can get.

Broccoli Salad

• Difficulty: Easy
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From The Frugal Paleo Cookbook

1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets

1/2 cup craisins

1/4 cup almonds, slivered or chopped

1/4 cup finely minced red onion

1/4 cup sunflower seeds, or more almonds slivered or chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup red wine vinegar.

5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, mix together the broccoli, craisins, sunflower seeds, onions and almonds.

In a seperate small bowl, combine mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar.

Pour the dressing over the broccoli and mix in the bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Beef With Broccoli (Whole 30)

Hey Guys, I am back. Did you miss me? I always miss you when I take my blogging vactions but I need those vacations to recharge my creative culinary batteries.

I didn’t get nearly as far in my blog redesign as I hoped because somehow, while was redoing my index , I managed to delete my index entirely. Now I have to organize, type and link 536 recipes. Thats going to take a while to fix. Sigh.

While on my blogging vacation, I did a lot of experimenting with a bunch of small batch spice blends I found in a cookbook called the Frugal Paleo Cookbook. Each blend makes 1 tablespoon of spice blend which is enough to season 8-12 oz of meat and a bunch of vegetables. I am creating as many recipes as I can come up with using these spice blends.

The best thing I did over my blogging vacation was cook a lot out of ChiYu Smith’s amazing Asian Paleo cookbook. This recipe is so good, I ate the majority of it with my fingers while standing standing in front of the fridge. You know thats some seriously good stuff.

Beef With Broccoli

• Difficulty: Easy
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From the Asian Paleo Cookbook

Beef:

1 lb skirt steak

2 TBS coconut aminos

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 to 3 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp arrowroot

1/2 tsp baking soda

Stir Fry Sauce:

2 TBS coconut aminos

1 TBS fish sauce

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Additional Ingredients:

1 to 2 heads broccoli, broken into florets

1 1/2 ghee

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 TBS finely minced ginger

Thinly slice the beef about 1/4 inch thick. Place on a bowl and add the rest of the beef ingredients and mix well. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Combine the the coconut aminos, fish sauce, toasted sesame oil and black pepper in a small bowl; set aside.

Melt the ghee in a saute pan over medium-high heat then lower the heat to medium. Add the ginger, garlic and a small pinch of salt. Stir- fry 8 to 10 seconds. Be careful not to burn the garlic and ginger.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Spread the beef over the bottom of the skillet in a single layer and cook until the edges of the beef are slightly crispy. Flip and do the same thing for the other side, cooking the meat until its 3/4 done.

Add the sauce and the broccoli. Cook until the broccoli reaches the desired doneness and the beef is cooked through.

Stir-Fried Chicken With Broccoli

This weekend I was just clicking my way through You Tube when I came across a video about how to get the most from an all you can eat Chinese buffet.  The basic premise is most of us are doing it all wrong.  We fill up our plates and our bellies with the food that is cheap to make, like fried rice, lo mein and sweet and sour pork.  We then neglect the most expensive stuff, like crab legs.   In order to get the most of an all you can eat Chinese buffet, we should be concentrating more on eating the expensive stuff.

I guess I am doomed to never get the most out of all you can eat Chinese buffet because my favorites are all things that, according to the video, are the cheapest to make.  I love fried rice, lo mein, sweet and sour pork and stir-fried chicken and broccoli the best.  The rest is nice but if I don’t get to it I haven’t missed anything.  Well,  I don’t think I miss anything.  The gentlemen in the video might disagree.  Maybe, if I make more of the Chinese food I like at home, I’ll get more out of the next Chinese buffet I go to.

• Difficulty: Easy
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From How To Cook Everything The Basics

1 lb broccoli

2 TBS minced garlic

1 TBS minced ginger

1 medium onion, halved and sliced

1/2 cup water

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

2 TBS soy sauce,  sub coconut aminos and adjust salt for Whole 30

Prepare all your ingredients before you start cooking.  Once you start cooking things progress quickly.  Trim your broccoli and cut into 1 -2 inch pieces; set aside.   Mince your ginger and your garlic; set aside.  Peel and slice your onion; set aside.  Place your salt, pepper, water and soy sauce to the side with your vegetables.

Add 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-heat.  When hot, add the chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Stir it once, and then let it sit for at least one minute, until it begins to brown and sizzle before stirring again.  Add the garlic, ginger and onion to the chicken.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink and the vegetables are soft, 3 -5 minutes.  Remove the chicken mixture from the pan and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan.  Add the broccoli right away and raise the heat to high.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the broccoli starts to char in some spots and turns bright green, 1- 2 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup of water and stir to scrape the bottom of the pan to remove the brown bits. Taste the broccoli, it should be tender but not mushy.  If it isn’t tender, cook for 1-2 more minutes.  Return the chicken mixture to the pan and toss to combine.  Add the soy sauce, and the remaining 1/4 cup water, if the mixture looks dry.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. 

Chicken Broccoli “Cheese” Skillet (Whole 30)

I finally did it!!!  This  morning I  ordered an Insta Pot Lux 3 quart mini. It should be here Sunday.  I am so excited  I already know what the first thing I am going to make in it.  I have a whole meal including dessert planned. I am such a geek when it comes to cooking and food.

I am not usually brand conscious but since I broke my 2 quart  Aroma pressure cooker I  decided to give Instapot a try.  I am a little nervous.  I belong to a couple of pressure cooking face book pages and it seems Instapot users have a lot of problems with figuring out how to get the darn things to  work.   However,  I am not new to pressure cooking.  I have over two-year experience in pressure cooking so hopefully, I will be able to figure things out quickly.   I will let you know how it goes.

This is not a pressure cooking recipe.  It is the last recipe I am going to post this week from Physical Kitchness.   Doing a Whole 30 can be really intimidating because we “give up” so many things and we have to spend so much time in the kitchen.  The thing I like about Physical Kitchness is she gives us really good food in a reasonable amount of time in the kitchen.  Many of Physical Kitchness’ recipes could be considered comfort food.

Adapted From Physical Kitchness

1 1/2 cup broccoli florets

1/4 cup water

11/2 lbs chicken thighs

“Cheese”  Sauce

1/4 cups raw cashews, soaked in water over night

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 TBS nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Place a 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over medium-high  heat. Add the broccoli, cover, and cook for 5-6 minutes or untill barely crisp tender.  Turn the heat off and set the broccoli aside.  Dry the skillet.  Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil.  Heat over medium  heat.  Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts.  When the oil is hot,  add the chicken breasts to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes.  Flip the breasts and cook 4-5 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Meanwhile  drain the soaked cashews and put them in a blender.  Add the broth salt, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard.  Blend until creamy, scraping the sides down as needed.  When the chicken is done cooking, turn the heat down to medium low and add the broccoli and “Cheese” sauce back to the pan.  Heat through.

** If you forget to soak  the cashews overnight, bring 1 cup water to a  boil and add the cashews.  Boil for 1-2 minutes or until the  cashews soften.  Drain and follow the directions for the cheese sauce.