Sausage, Squash & Collard Wraps

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Katherine

I saw the idea of using collard greens as wraps on Pinterest. Where else? Except I think it was for some vegan wrap. Schmeh. I want some meat. I was home one day and sorting through the fridge looking at things that needed to be cooked. Sausage? Squash? Collard Greens? Yes.

Sausage, Squash and Collard Wraps – Serves 6

Ingredients

6 large collard green leaves
6 sausages, any type
2 acorn squash, cut into wedges
Oil for rubbing on the squash
Seasoning of your choice (make sure it goes well with the sausage!)

I grilled the acorn squash slices on the BBQ. You could also roast them. I left the skin on, as it is easy to pull off once your squash is cooked. I tossed the wedges in some melted coconut oil and sprinkled with an organic dried veggie seasoning from Costco.

Grill or bake your sausages. Mine were red wine and garlic flavoured.

Lay down a collard green leaf (break the thick steam off), throw on a few squash wedges and roll them up like a burrito! You may find it easier to cut your sausages in half and make mini-wraps. It will all depend on the size of your leaves and your sausages.

This would probably transport really well for a packed lunch. I ate mine hot, but they would be good cold as well.

Paleo Sushi Rolls

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Katherine

I love me some sushi. There is a wicked sushi place across the street from my office but I haven’t been in months. This whole not eating grains thing, kinda puts a crimp in my sushi habit. I’m not a fan of sashimi. I like maki rolls. It’s the combination of the flavours and textures wrapped up into a neat little package that turn my crank.

When I was very very pregnant I practically lived on sushi (yes, I know, judge away… raw fish will KILL YOU AND YOUR BABY. Bite me. We’re fine). You see, I had excruciating gallbladder problems and I by the end I had found out by trial and very-painful-error what I could and couldn’t eat. A croissant? Hospitalized for three days. Over Christmas, no less!! Baked Lays and Philadelphia Onion dip? A-OK. Sushi? Even better. My sushi joint does dessert sushi which is rice, cream cheese, strawberry and mango wrapped in a rice paper. Oh my gawd. That stuff is crack. Anyway.

I took a stab at making some rice-less sushi rolls. I couldn’t be bothered to make a rice substitute like cauliflower or jicama or egg whites, I just took the ingredients and wrapped em up!

Paleo Sushi Rolls -makes enough for a very hungry girl to eat for lunch. Quantities will vary, because it depends on how much you can stuff into your rolls! Talented sushi chefs could roll a lot more than me.

nori sheets
spicy mayo (homemade mayo + chili garlic sauce or sriracha
cooked shrimp, tails removed
sliced avocado, cucumber, mango – in matchstick type cuts
microgreens or finely chopped lettuce. Boston works well.

Mix your mayo with the shrimp

Layer your ingredients on the nori. I couldn’t find my sushi mat, so I used a bamboo placemat. It worked well enough. Cover your mat with plastic wrap. It will be easier to clean up.

Roll roll roll, starting at the end with the filling on it, working your way around. You may find the nori more pliable if you use wet fingers to just rub the edges a bit. Pull the ingredients in as you roll. You want it as tight as possible.

Three rolls! Look at me go!

Use a VERY sharp knife to cut. Or you will smush them. Some of mine got smushed. There we many out takes. Or sad rolls that I shoveled into my mouth before they fell apart. Also, I tried to be artsy and make the ends of the avocado stick out all pretty like my fave sushi joint does, but it just looked stupid. Sorry.

Serve with wasabi and coconut aminos!

Egg, bacon and avocado salad

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Katherine

I probably saw this on Pinterest or something. But the idea popped into my head to make this. I love egg salad. But I am extremely picky about it and have to make it myself. Nothing is more repulsive than pre-made slimy egg salad sandwiches.

Even more importantly, nothing is more disappointing than when you send your husband to the fridge in the birthing unit’s patient kitchen to find you something to eat in the middle of the night because you are starving, exhausted, in pain, fiddling around in the dark attempting to breastfeed your one day old baby… and he comes back to report there is nothing there except a few lonely egg salad sandwiches. No thanks. I’ll starve. Thank goodness there was a grocery store nearby and for kind friends who delivered all my favourite foods to me from the other end of the city. Hospital food sucks. Especially sketchy egg salad on wonder bread. Anyhow…

The pic is kinda crappy, and no progress photos because posting this was an after thought, but make it anyway. Ok?

Avocado, egg and bacon salad – this made three servings, served on lettuce as pictured

5 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 small avocados, chopped
a few slices of bacon, chopped and cooked
1/4c of homemade mayo
Salt and pepper
a squirt of lime juice and chopped cilantro (optional)

Mix it all up and enjoy! If you want to save it or pack it in your lunch, put it in a sealed container and press plastic wrap right up against it. This will help reduce the browning from the avocado. Yummy.

Kale, mushroom, pancetta and white cheddar frittata

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Katherine

The incredible, edible egg. I love eggs! They are a fast, cheap and easy way to get protein and good fats into you. I could eat them at every meal and I love them prepared almost any way. One of my favourite quick meals is an omelette or a frittata. I threw together this frittata with the random ingredients I found in my fridge and freezer. It was absolutely delicious! I often make them in individual silicone muffin liners and pack them in my breakfast/lunch to take to work.

Pancetta, kale, mushroom and white cheddar frittata

Makes one pretty big pan. You could half this recipe and be good. Or make it all because it is tasty.

2 cups of chopped kale – fresh or frozen. (I used frozen because it’s what I had on hand, and to be honest I probably only used about one cup. I just dumped the rest of the bag in)
200g (1/2 a pound-ish) pancetta (You could use bacon, but my Costco sells this lovely pancetta that is pre-chopped. I am a big fan of the easy)
16 eggs (Yep. this is a big recipe!)
1 pound of chopped mushrooms (I used pre-sliced baby portobellos, but any type would work)
1 cup (or more!) of a robust cheddar cheese cut into large chunks
Fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Put pancetta in a pan to brown over low heat. (Yes, you’ll notice remnants of kale in there because I started to cook the veg before I had the brilliant idea to add BACON. You can’t go wrong with BACON.

Once the bacon is almost cooked, add kale and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are reduced. Add fresh ground pepper. No salt – the salt from the pancetta and cheese makes this a very salty dish already.

Spread your cooked mixture into a non-stick or well-greased pan. You’ll notice that I used one larger pan and one smaller pan. The reason for this is that I want to test out how this recipe freezes. Grad school classes begin again for me in a week so I’m busy stocking my freezer.

Chop your cheese and lay on top. Use a very robust flavoured cheese. I used Cabot white cheddar that I picked up on my recent Vermont foodcation. Parmesan would work lovely here. So would goat cheese! If you’re not into dairy, you could omit the cheese.

Mix your eggs (add some cream if you’d like – I didn’t) and pour on top of the pan(s). This recipe would likely fill two 8×8 pans. Normally I would use a silicone 9×9 pan for my fritattas but I couldn’t find it.

Place pans on middle oven rack and bake for 30-45 minutes. The time will depend on the size of your pans. My small pan was done in about 30 minutes and the bigger one was closer to 45. Let rest for 5 minutes or so, and cut in! This was equally delicious fresh from the oven as it was cold the next day for breakfast

Italian Sausage Stew

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Katherine

I love sausage. A lot. Italian, bratwurst, Polish, chorizo, garlic, fresh, cured, pepperoni, pepperettes… links, patties blablabla. I loooove sausage. Now, get your minds out of the gutter. I’m talking about the delicious, flavorful meat! My professed and unabashed love for sausage has been the butt of many jokes and many awkward moments.

Looking in my fridge the other day I had half a pound of ground beef, and half a pound of ground pork. I needed a recipe to use it up. Because I’m obsessed with Well Fed, I flipped through it in hopes of inspiration. Bingo. Italian Sausage Seasoning. Well Fed has this uncanny knack for making the simplest ingredients (lonely abandoned ground meat) into a flavour party. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Go buy it or at least read the 30 page free sampler.

Using these delicious sausage flavours, I created a thick stew, almost like a chili. Now, given that we got a dump of snow last night (ugh), it feels like this is an appropriate dish for today! Warm, spicy and stick to your ribs goodness.

Italian Sausage Seasoning from Well Fed

4 teaspoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons coarse (granulated) garlic powder
2 teaspoons paprika
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed (listed as optional, but in my humble opinion this ingredient is crucial in an Italian sausage! )

Mix these ingredients together and add a few spoons to your meat. I doubled the recipe and it filled a mason jar so I could use it again. Delish. You’ll want to mix it up well, of course.

Italian Sausage Stew

1/2 lb of ground beef
1/2lb of ground pork (you could use all beef or all pork if you wanted)
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
1 c of frozen chopped spinach or kale
one can of diced tomatoes (the large-ish ones)
one small can of tomato paste
vegetable broth, as needed

Add a few big spoons of the seasoning to your pan with the meat. Cook over medium heat until browned.

Add the tomatoes, paste, your frozen spinach (I used kale) and a bit of vegetable broth as needed to get your desired consistency. Simmer until reduced slightly and thickened. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese. [I assume] this freezes really well. I ate this with a spoon, but you could also add some plain tomato sauce and use it as a sauce to top some zucchini noodles, butternut squash, or any other type of pasta.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Katherine

Have you ever made a blended soup? No? Why not? So easy. One of my favourite ways to get vegetables into me, freezer friendly, portable and delicious! I tend to just make up the recipe as I go, just as I did today.

Carrot Ginger Soup. Makes one large-ish pot. How many bowls? Depends on how big your bowls are. Ha!

3lb bag of carrots
a large onion
a large chunk of ginger
a big spoon of ground coriander
8c (or so) of broth – chicken or vegetable; homemade or from a box – doesn’t really matter.
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Peel your carrots, ginger and onion.

Toss onion and ginger into the food processor to chop.

Put onion and ginger mixture in a pan with olive oil over medium heat to soften.

Grate your carrot with the food processor

Add the carrots and your broth to the pot. Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until it’s all soft

Puree with an immersion blender. (or you could dump it all into the food processor or a real blender, but why?). Add a bit of water or broth to thin the consistency, if required.

And eat. You can top with chopped cilantro, a drizzle of sour cream, some salt and pepper. This soup has a real zing to it because of the enormous amount of ginger. It’s simple and delicious flavours at their best. Good food does not need to be complicated and difficult. I froze most of this soup for busy weeknight dinners once my next semester begins (I work full time and go to grad school full time….)

I also packaged a few servings of soup into mason jars for lunches to take to work. Mason jars make awesome packed lunch containers. Take off the lid, drape a paper towel or napkin over it to prevent splatter, and microwave. Glass won’t leach crap into your food, nor will it break down from the heat.

Daily Foodie Eats: 20/04/12

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Katherine

Breakfast: Coffee and a stuffed mushroom cap

Lunch: Gyros meatballs on a salad of tomato, red onion and spinach with some chopped veggies on the side

Snack: a mason jar of carrot-ginger soup (recipe coming!).. then I ate a nice big chunk of brie cheese when I arrived home. I was having a bad day. I needed to eat my feelings, ok?

Dinner: Now this is what I call “Paleo junk food”… A giant chicken shawarma salad. Man, it was good. Crispy charred chicken bits, salad, garlic sauce. Sure it’s probably full of nasty canola oils, but a better choice than pizza, no?