Korean Beef Bowls or Fusion Soft Tacos

 

This is one of our favorite quick and easy ways to use burger.  It is a really versatile dish you can serve in many ways.  We usually use venison burger and combine it with an Asian slaw in a low carb tortilla (I know, not paleo - we are leaning more keto these days), but you could also add sauteed veggies of your choice and serve it over cauliflower rice, or even go with spinach, bean sprouts, fried egg, etc. for a bibimbap flair!  If you thicken it enough, it could work as a lettuce wrap as well. 

Ingredients:

½ onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

Oil of choice for sauteing 

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 ts freshly grated ginger

1 pound ground beef or other burger of your choice

salt and pepper to taste

NOTE: I always season veggies while sauteing, and my standard for a pound of burger is 1/2 ts salt and 1/4 ts pepper, but the sauce is already salty from the soy sauce, so you want to season very lightly while cooking.

Sauce:

⅓ cup soy sauce or coconut aminos

2 TB brown sugar substitute - I use Swerve

2 TB rice wine or sherry

2 - 3 TB Gochujang

2 ts sesame oil

¼ ts black pepper

Xanthan gum as needed

Optional for serving:

Green Onions

Sesame seeds

Chili Flakes

Cauliflower rice

Low carb tortillas

Asian Slaw

Pickled veggies

Bean Sprouts

Spinach sauteed in sesame oil

Fried egg

Instructions:

Start by sauteing the onions and peppers in a large skillet over medium heat.  When veggies are done to your liking, add the garlic and ginger, and cook about a minute more.  Add the burger, salt and pepper, and cook until all the pink is gone. 

While the veggies and meat are cooking, make the sauce.  In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the xanthan gum.  When the meat is done cooking, pour the sauce over it and stir to combine.  Start sprinkling the xanthan gum very gradually while stirring.  Give it a bit after each addition to see how much it thickens up.  Continue to your liking.  

Serve in any of the ways mentioned above!

Keto Chili

Ingredients:

Olive oil for frying
1 onion,  diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced 
2 lbs of burger
2 15 oz cans chopped fire roasted tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 4 oz can green chiles 
3 TB chili powder
2 TB cumin powder
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 TB cocoa powder
2 ts oregano
2 ts chipotle
1 1/2 ts salt
1/2 ts pepper 

Instructions:

In a lightly oiled skillet, over medium-high heat, cook the onion and pepper until tender. Add the garlic and saute for about a minute. Add the burger and cook, breaking up until browned. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Simmer or 30 minutes to meld flavors. It can simmer for even longer if you prefer.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

A paleo stuffing?  How can it be?  Simple - make your own homemade loaf of almond flour based bread as the base!  I have been making this for years, and it has been a hit with a variety of people.  Read on! 

Notes:  I like to make the bread a couple days ahead of time so it can get nice and dry.  I usually cut it into when it is cool and put it on a cookie sheet to dry out.  If it is still moist on Thanksgiving, sometimes I toast it a bit in the oven before finishing the dish.

Ingredients

Bread:

2 1/2 cups almond meal
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon poultry seasoning, such as Bell's Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
3 eggs
1/3 cup water
2 ts sugar substitute

Stuffing:

1 TB butter
1 large onion, chopped
6-7 cups chopped celery - about 2 small bunches
1 green Bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch parsley, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 ts salt
1 cup broth, plus more according to moisture needed
2 eggs if baking stuffing  - can use 1 - 3 depending on how melded you like it

Instructions:

Bread:

Heat oven to 350 F.

Butter the bottom of a large loaf pan .  Mix dry ingredients together (a whisk works well).  Whisk together wet ingredients, then add to dry mix and stir well.  Pour into loaf pan.  Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until top is lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean.  When cool enough to handle, remove from pan and let cool completely.  Cut into desired size cubes for stuffing.

Stuffing :

Saute onion, celery, and pepper in butter until soft.   Add parsley and cook for a minute or so, until wilted. Add seasonings and stir to blend.  Whisk the eggs.  Gently mix together the vegetables, bread, broth and egg.  Adjust seasoning and moisture. If you're going to stuff poultry with it, leave it on the dry side because it will absorb a lot of juices during cooking.  Transfer to a casserole dish and bake at 350 F. for about half an hour, or until browned on top.

Mole Mole Mole

I love mole so much I have to say it three times! Is this the best mole recipe ever? Not even close, but I am a mole snob. It is, however, pretty darn good, especially when you want to make an easy version. Also, as much as I love throwing things into the crockpot in the morning and being mostly done with dinner, I think this recipe would be better made differently because the chicken releases more liquid as it cooks and dilutes the sauce. So I will give directions for a couple ways. One day I will try my hand at a paleo version of my traditional mole recipe that takes 3 days to make, but that is not this day. In the above picture, I served it over cauliflower "rice" (sauteed with ghee, garlic, salt and a bit of paprika, oregano and cumin) and zucchini sauteed with ghee, garlic, salt and chili powder - my favorite way to eat zuke!) Now all I need to do is figure out how to make a wrap and turn these into enchiladas.... hmmm.

Ingredients:

About 4 chicken breasts or 6 thighs (I like to use a bag of boneless, skinless thighs from Trader Joe's)

2 TB ghee

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups tomatoes, chopped (or you can use a 15oz can if that is how you roll)

2 TB raisins, optional (I leave these out when we are low carbing, and I still think it is great)

1 - 2 cups chicken broth (I want to try just 1 next time, whether crockpot or not)

3 TB sunflower seed butter

3 TB chili powder

2 TB cocoa powder

1 ts cinnamon

1 ts cumin

1/2 ts coriander seed

1/2 ts anise seed

1/8 ts ground cloves

1 ts salt

1 ts pepper

Instructions: 

Start cooking your chicken by your desired method. I usually just bake mine in the oven,but you can also saute it if you cut it in small pieces ahead of time. In the meantime, melt the ghee in a good sized pot, and saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and raisins, if using, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the broth sunflower seed butter, chili powder, cocoa, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, anise, cloves, salt and pepper. Stir until the the sunbutter is melted and all is well combined.

For the next step, if you have an immersion blender, you are a happy camper as you can just blend it up right in the pot. If not, transfer it all to a blender and whir it up, then pour it back in the pan. Cook on low for about another 10 minutes just to get the flavors nice and melded. Are you in heaven yet just from the smell? Can I haz for soup now pleez? :D

When your chicken is done, drain off the fat and add it to the mole pot. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so on low, just to get the flavor nicely mixed up with the chicken. Longer would be fine too, but you don't want it to go too long or your chicken could get overcooked.

Crockpot option: Don't cook your chicken ahead of time, but instead put it in a crockpot, then pour the sauce over it when it is done. Cook on high for about 4-5 hours or low about 6-7.

NOTES: I would really like to try this with an equivalent amount of unsweetened baking chocolate. If you do, let me know how it is!

Amazing Breakfast!

I tried a couple new things this morning and loved them both. Sorry no pictures as I couldn't wait to dive into it lol! The key to this was having radishes I had cooked in the bottom of my crockpot with a chicken. You could try this with just preboiling them, but I don't think the flavor would be nearly as good. Here is what I did:

Saute some onions and garlic in ghee until well done, add precooked, sliced radishes and continue cooking until they brown up.

In another pan, I fried up some prosciutto (my favorite genius moment so far!) with a bit of smoked salt. Actually too much smoked salt. It is really too much for the prosciutto. It would probably be fine fried up on its own, but I just love smoke flavor! The point is, prosciutto will crisp up if fried, and has no nitrates or sugar in it! Who needs bacon?!

Then I fried up a couple eggs in the same pan I made the prosciutto in. Sigh, what a classic looking breakfast this was! Now I wish I had taken a picture. This won't be an everyday thing as it was rather time consuming, but I am glad for the knowledge of this awesomeness.

Warmed Arugula Salad

Anybody else a fan of spinach salad with a warm dressing? Mmmm, one of my favorites. But since I am cutting my spinach intake waaaay down, as I have talked about elsewhere on this blog, and I like to have recipes my low oxalate friends can eat, I wanted to work on an alternative recipe which would also be sugar free. And so this recipe was born! I have been making it for lunch when I have time. A bit of work, but really worth it! If you are newly sugar free, this might not taste as sweet as the "real thing", but if you are used to appreciating the natural sweetness of things, this will knock your socks off. Or at least it did for me. :) The following is what I do for one main dish serving.

Warmed Arugula Salad

Whatcha Need

3 slices bacon
1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
2 TB balsamic vinegar
1 ts tarragon
1/2 ts dijon mustard
3 generous handfuls of arugula, or however much you feel like eating - it will diminish a good amount even from just wilting
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 avocado for garnish (optional)

Whatcha Do

In a deep skillet, fry up the bacon. Give it a good shake when you pull it out to leave as much grease as possible, then lay it on paper towels to cool. Add the onion and saute it until very well cooked. Carmelize it if you have the time - this is part of where your sweet flavor will come from. Crumble your bacon while the onions cook. At this point I usually turn the heat off for about 5 minutes, because if you add the vinegar now, it really sizzles and partly evaporates. Grind your tarragon a bit if you have a mortar and pestle, or rub it between your fingers later as you add it to the pan. This will help it release more flavor. After your oil and onions have cooled a bit, stir in the vinegar, tarragon and mustard. Turn the heat back on low, and throw in your arugula. Stir it around until it is coated with the dressing and beginning to wilt. I like mine fairly wilty because it helps mellow out the characteristic arugula flavor so it is more like spinach, but you don't want to actually cook it! Put it on a plate, and then top with fresh pepper, hardboiled eggs and crumbled bacon. Sometimes I add sliced avocado too! Yum!

Salsa Chicken

This recipe is so embarrassingly easy, it can hardly be called a recipe! But all the more reason to include it here I guess! You need a bunch of chicken and a jar of salsa. That's it. I use a bag of Trader Joe's boneless, skinless thighs and one of their chipotle salsas. Put the chicken in a crockpot, pour the salsa over it, and 7 hours later, you have dinner. Again, that's it. You can shred the chicken a bit at the end if you want. We serve this over lettuce and topped with guacamole. Sometimes I add sauteed peppers or zucchini if I have the time to make them.