I don’t typically crave meatloaf often (it’s not a dish my husband enjoys) but for some reason I had to have some this week. Why? I want a leftover, cold meatloaf “sandwich”. I want the mayonnaise and mustard, mostly. So, I am slapping a slice of this onto a leaf of iceberg lettuce and BAM! I have my cravings met! I let this cool in the refrigerator, sliced it, placed each slice between parchment paper, and threw those into the freezer.
This recipe is totally adaptable. You can add diced bell peppers, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, jalapenos, etc. As you can see in the video above, I added caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use either a baking sheet with baking racks or a broiler pan, to allow as much of the fat to drain away while baking. Line the bottom with aluminum foil for easier clean-up.
Place all of your ingredients in a large bowl. With your hands (gloves help), squish all of the ingredients together. You want to make sure the seasonings and onion are well incorporated.
Pour out your meat mixture onto a platter and shape it into a loaf. Place the platter into the refrigerator to let it solidify (about 15 minutes).
Now, take your meatloaf out of the refrigerator and transfer it to your baking tray. Place it in the oven and bake for roughly 1 1/4 hours (or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees F). You can serve immediately or let cool for easier, less crumbly slices.
Nutrition Per Serving (includes sugared ketchup): 193 Cal; 19 g Protein; 10 g Tot Fat; 4 g Sat Fat; 4 g Mono Fat; 0 g Trans Fat; 7 g Carb; 0 g Fiber; 5 g Sugar
One dark and stormy night (a relief in Central California) we really didn’t want to barbecue in the rain (and we were low on charcoal). So, my husband made a tri tip roast in the oven. If you aren’t accustomed to this cut, here’s the Wiki about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-tip.
How we (my husband as I watched and took pictures) made it:
Oven Roasted Tri-tip Roast Ingredients:
1 beef tri tip roast
Your choice of seasonings
Season your roast (we have been using McCormick Montreal Steak seasoning lately). Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place a heavy skillet (we love our cast iron) on the stove and heat on high. Once the skillet is hot, add about a teaspoon of oil to the pan (or spray with Pam). Place the roast in the pan and sear it for about 4 minutes (as you can see from the photos, it wasn’t that brown this time and turned out better than ever). Flip it over and sear the other side. Now, place the skillet in the oven (do not cover) and let cook until you are happy with the doneness.
The basic rule of thumb is 10 minutes per pound. We baked ours for almost 20 minutes and removed the tri tip from the oven when the thermometer read 135 degree F.
While resting (we let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting) it reached 140 degrees F.
That’s it! To serve, either slice it thick (against the grain) like a steak or thin (think roast beef). My favorite way to eat it is with some cheese and avocado (OH! Maybe some horseradish sauce, too!). Tri tip is great leftover, too! Either dice it and add to scrambled eggs, pan-fry and serve with fried eggs, or just grab a piece and munch away! Here’s some pictures (unless you do not like this setup, I think I will post any recipes I/we create before any pictures because I HATE having to scroll a mile just to read a recipe).
Browning in cast iron skilletOur meat thermometer from Home DepotRestingMedium Rare (almost medium) 140 degree internal temperature
Well, a link to this cookbook was posted today and, since I’m a nut for old cookbooks, I had to check it out. What surprised me is the fact that this cookbook seems to support a low carbohydrate lifestyle!
It supports the use of “diabetic flours” (one of which is almond flour) in bread making and it lists free foods (those you can eat to your heart’s content) as mostly meats and low carbohydrate veggies.
Unfortunately, some of the items needed may not be available any longer. Aleurnat Flour: Made from aleurone, a protein found in protein granules of maturing seeds and tubers. If there is someone smarter than me who can figure out if this is available for purchase anywhere, please share!
January of 2010, as I have noted before, I was rushed to the E.R. I had developed an allergy to scallops, which branched out to all fish/seafood, then to latex, then to certain chemicals, etc. Two months later, I was diagnosed with not only type-2 diabetes but my Vitamin D levels were in the single digits. I worked on the diabetes and started taking Vitamin D supplements but I read that many adult-onset allergies can be “outgrown”. I told hubby that I would test myself in 5 years.
Fast forward to Monday of last week. I was sitting here, thinking, and then a realization hit. I hadn’t had to wear a face mask in public in about 4 months. I also hadn’t had to wear one when working outside in the yard. So, I decided to test myself. See, in 2010, when we were scouring the house of all fish-related products, we tested Worcestershire sauce. I put a little on my finger, touched my tongue, and was immediately hit with an itching wave that shot down my tongue, into my throat. I performed this test on Monday of this past week and nothing happened. So, I decided to try some actual fish.
As of this moment, July 25, 2014 at 3:40 pm, it has been an hour since I ate a grilled tuna steak and having NO REACTION WHATSOEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG! I just realized I can now start posting fish recipes! 🙂
Next test (next pay day) … shrimp. That’s what I miss the most. AND I may be able to handle it. My allergy to fish had gotten so bad that just walking near the aquariums in Bass Pro Shops made be unable to breathe last year and today I shoved my nose (not literally) into a bag of fresh mussels and had no reaction. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am! I’ll go measure myself and post my number on my stats page (I bought my first new pair of shorts and they are a comfortably loose 32 inch waist) and am 2 pounds down from last week (164 pounds).
Yeah, that’s what I thought. Only old people get sciatica. Then, one day a few years ago, I got this shooting pain that started at my rear end and ran down my thigh. By the time it had gotten unbearable, I looked to Google. When I discovered what it was, I told my mom and she giggled, “You are getting old”. Well, I fought back. I found some stretches on my own that, a few weeks into them, relieved the pain. After about 6 weeks, the pain was gone completely and I never had an issue with it again. That is, until two weeks ago.
Just after I started exercising again, I noticed that if I sat too long, my lower legs would almost fall asleep (I didn’t realize that’s what it was … I was just not able to fully walk properly. Then, I felt my calf, and it was numb). I thought, maybe it’s just lack of circulation, so I started rotating my ankles, getting up more often, bouncing my legs up and down like I was nervous, hoping that keeping the blood flowing would rid me of this annoyance. Well, yesterday was a banner day. Instead of numbness, both legs were tingling, like they had been asleep but were waking back up.
So, back to Google.
It turns out THIS is sciatica, too! I had thought sciatica was just the pain but no. There’s a muscle in your rear end called a piriformis (to read more about this check out this article: http://www.spine-health.com/wellness/exercise/stretches-and-exercise-sciatic-pain-piriformis-syndrome). It runs from your tailbone across to your hip and if it gets tight, it can pinch the sciatic nerve and cause numbness. What the heck? So, I get to add another set of stretches to my ever-growing arsenal of stretches.
One that I used to do before … I don’t know if I came up with it on my own or saw it somewhere but I stand in front of a wall. I keep one leg straight, lift the other foot off the ground, then, using the wall, I turn my body, stretching my straight leg at the hip. Then I repeat for the other side. The other one was standing with both feet on the ground, legs straight, then slowly push my hip out to the side just to the point where I feel tightness up the side of my hip, hold, then repeat on the other side. All these stretches must be very gentle and you must ease yourself into them. So, my conclusion from all of this? I’m either really working my glutes deeply or I’m not positioning my feet correctly when performing my cable exercises. Either way, if I ever want to be able to sit for longer than 5 minutes stretches of time, I will be stretching every day. I need to finish reading the book, “Becoming A Supple Leopard“. My brain is so disjointed it’s like I don’t have enough time in the day for everything.
I’ve seen many variations of this recipe but the first time I saw this (and made it) I got it from “Cooking Light” magazine. Oh, boy, is it heavenly. If you have ever had roasted garlic, imagine that infused with chicken. Serve with toasted French bread for spreading the roasted garlic love.
I got it from “Cooking Light” magazine. Oh, boy, is it heavenly. If you have ever had roasted garlic, imagine that infused with chicken. Serve with toasted French bread for spreading the roasted garlic love.
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat a deep sauté pan on medium heat and add the oil and butter.
Dry the chicken pieces, season them with salt and pepper and brown in the oil/butter.
Once the chicken pieces are all browned evenly, remove them from the pan and keep aside.
Throw in the garlic cloves and let them barely brown. You do not want to burn them or they turn bitter and ruin the dish.
Once the garlic cloves are browned, add the chicken back to the pan, add the thyme, chicken broth, and wine.
Cover and place in the oven for about 40-45 minutes.
Once the chicken is done, place the chicken and garlic onto your serving platter. Heat your pan on medium high and reduce the liquid to barely a cup. Add some parsley, a squeeze of lemon and serve.
Combine all of the dry seasonings into a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Start by trimming off any excess fat and then dice into about 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes.
Preheat a large stock pot to high heat. Add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil to your pot and wait until it just starts to smoke.
Add 1/2 of the meat and 1/2 of the seasonings and sear on all sides. This will take about 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer the cooked beef to a large bowl and set aside for now.
Repeat with the rest of the meat, seasonings and oil.
Note: The reason for two batches is so that the meat will get a good sear. Adding all of the meat at once will “steam” it. In order to get a good sear there needs to be at least some space to stir and rotate to sear all sides.
When the second batch has seared pour the first batch back in and add enough water to almost cover.
Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat until you have a slow boil when covered.
Keep it covered and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. You should have about the same amount of water at the end of this hour, if you notice the water evaporating just add a little more when needed.
We’ll finish simmering the meat in this beautiful sauce. You should have enough time to make the sauce while the meat is cooking.
Cooking the Sauce
Stem and seed the dry chilis and add them to a large bowl. Cover with 3 1/2 cups hot water to reconstitute. Soak for about 20 minutes or until soft.
Chop onions. Cut, seed and stem the fresh Anaheim chili, green pepper and jalapenos (seeds are optional) into large chunks for easy blending.
Add the reconstituted chilis, fresh veggies and “chili water” to a blender and blend until smooth. (You may have to do this in batches)
Pour the mixture into a medium to large sauce pan.
Add the seasonings and place on a burner over high heat to bring it to a boil.
Reduce the heat to about medium to medium low and simmer covered for about 30 to 40 minutes stirring occasionally.
Your Colorado sauce is ready.
Note: This is a “concentrate”, it makes about 1/2 gallon so you’ll have some left over. It freezes well for up to 3 months. Dilute with water or broth and it can be used as an enchilada sauce or for a Mexican style rice and even as a taco sauce. It can also be used to slow simmer chicken or pork.
Completing the Dish
Now that your beef has been simmering for an hour or so it should be getting soft and tender.
Add 2 to 3 cups of your sauce and stir it in.
Cover and simmer for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
It’s now ready.
Note: The longer you cook it the more tender it will get.
Usually, when I say the word water, I make a face and say the word like a little kid agreeing to do something they don’t want to do. I am not naturally a water drinker. As a matter of fact, I typically have to force myself to drink any.
Well, I wanted to tell you how I force (yes, force, especially now that the weather has cooled) myself to get in any water during the day.
First: There has to be ice in the water. No matter how cold it is coming out of the tap, it just doesn’t taste right.
Second: In the beginning, I added a little salt and the squeeze of about 1/8 lime. It was still quite warm when I came back full bore and this was very refreshing. That is, until my teeth started hurting. It seems they couldn’t handle the added acid.
Third: I drink my water with a straw. When we had that awful day driving to Fry’s electronics with nothing to drink, on the way home we picked up some 44 ounce sodas (mmmmm …. diet Mountain Dew). I liked the cups, so that’s what I started using for my water. I managed to drink three of those every day without thinking about it too much. Well, even though I was hand washing, the Styrofoam didn’t hold up so I went back to my 32-ounce thermos mug. I could barely finish 2 of those. Then, I came across a posting on Reddit where many said they drank more with a straw. So, in that little hole on the top went a straw and I was up to 3 of those a day (I need a bigger mug … I actually get lazy when I’m in the middle of doing something and don’t want to get up just to fill up my water).
Fourth: I bribe myself. No matter what else I’m drinking, I have my mug-o-water next to it. If I want another swig of coffee,tea or soda, I need to drink some water first.
That’s it. Now, to practice what I preach and fill up my water mug. Happy Drinking!
I have always loved chili (Hormel’s No Bean chili). About a month into my low carb journey, I had chili dogs (2 hot dogs, in a bowl, with chili, cheese, sour cream and a little onion). Now, granted, I had about 1/2 cup of chili poured over these hot dogs but I was shocked at my blood sugar response! That morning was 104 and after my meal it was 137! That was when I read the label. That chili not only contains corn flour (which was a huge “Duh!” but also, oatmeal). I have since been on a mission to find a substitute. I have yet to find one but this … this looks promising! Just do away with the corn meal and I’ll be good to go! I’ll scrounge through the freezer and hopefully be able to try this recipe out tonight!
You NEED to click on the link below. This is, really, the best chili recipe.
UPDATE: Well, I didn’t have any bulk meat so I threw in what I could and ended up with chili soup. That being said, the flavor is spot on! I love it!
1/4 lb Fat [I use clarified bacon fat but beef suet would be more traditional]
5 lbs Beef Tips [Chuck Roast cut into cubes is best but you may use the product labeled beef tips in the market]
1/2 Cup Chili Powder [Gebhardt is king in Texas but if you can’t find it use common sense and buy a good brand. Preferably from a market that sells a fair amount of it so it’s fresh. If you have access to a genuine Mexican market then you can find the really good stuff and get a pure chile powder like Guajillo]
2 T. Cumin [I like to buy the seeds, toast them on a comal, then grind them in a spice grinder but powdered cumin will work just fine
2 T. Ground Oregano aka Mexican Oregano [Not the Italian kind, this Oregano is sold as a powder and is essential in this dish]
1 T. Salt or to taste
1 T. Cayenne [obviously if you’d like to ratchet up the heat just add more]
1 bulb Garlic [Freshly minced garlic,not the stuff that sits in a jar of oil in your fridge]
2 quarts Stock [I use chicken which is not traditional, beef is recommended here for purists. If you don’t have time to make stock the brand Better Than Bouillon is surprisingly good]
1/2 Cup Masa Harina [If you can’t find masa mix in your part of the country, corn meal will do just fine-the finer grind the better]
I may not be the most “natural” eater (I do use supplements and Whey protein, after all) but I don’t understand some of the ingredients that are “must haves”. I’ve been reading (yes, mostly reading since I’m so out of shape) about health and fitness for most of my life (We recently started watching “The Shield” from the beginning of the series and right there in the 3rd or 4th season was Cory Everson and I just about died. I looked at my husband and exclaimed, “Wait until I show you who that is!”. Then I dragged him to the computer and showed him her Ms. Olympia-era pictures.) So, that proves how long I’ve been reading! Anyway, it seems like every two to three years, a magical, miracle food shows up with claims that it will revolutionize your fat loss, your muscle gains, your health and wellness, or some other claim. Most of them I either wanted desperately (who wouldn’t want an easy, no exercise needed fat loss supplement?) or totally discounted because the claims were just too outlandish.
One of my favorite pieces in Muscle and Fitness magazine (I truly hated “Muscle and Fitness Hers”) was just inside the back cover when they would bash themselves for the stories published in the past about everything from exercise, food/supplements, and clothing fads. Who doesn’t still giggle at the brightly colored spandex, headbands, and mullets?
Well, now that so many people are either going low carbohydrate in one way or another (or gluten free), I’ve been seeing a lot of recipes with the latest miracle foods: flax, quinoa and chia seeds. I typically just bypass those recipes just because they include the “it” foods of the day (yeah, I’m such a rebel).
While I have done my best to include flax in my diet (I can’t pass up the Omega fatty acids since I am unable to eat any seafood). I hate it. I tolerate it as long as I can’t really taste it. The first full-blown recipes I tried were MIMs – Muffin In a Minute. The first one was a cinnamon muffin. It was awful! I hated the flavor and boy, did it bound me up! The next one I tried was a chocolate muffin. That one tasted great and, since I had that intestinal issue with the first one, I sliced it and didn’t scarf the entire muffin in one sitting. My mouth’s initial reaction: What flax meal? BUT if you are on a low carbohydrate diet, have you looked at the nutritional breakdown of the basic muffin? Whether you do net carbs or not, one muffin contains 12.7 grams (9.3 grams fiber). If you are limiting your carbohydrate intake to 20 grams per day, you just blew most of them on one muffin! I think I’ll stick with adding it to my protein powder shake. Plus, with it adding only 3 grams carbohydrates (3 grams fiber) and 3 grams of protein in two tablespoons per day, that’s not bad!
Next is quinoa. I have not tried it and probably will not (no, I take that back. I tried an ancient grain tortilla with quinoa, amaranth, flax and other grains I can’t remember. It was alright but the carbohydrate count was still too high for me). Quinoa is the magical Andean grain that will give you everything you need to stay healthy, right? Well, yes, as long as that’s pretty much all you eat. If you look into the diet of those who have been eating it the longest, you will see this is a staple of their diet (little meat, whatever vegetables they can get, and quinoa). Well, it was until it was more expensive for them to eat it than to sell it. Now, their health is beginning to suffer because this miracle grain is a “must-have” for those who are in with the in-crowd. Another thing to consider is the nutritional content of quinoa. Yes, it has 8 grams of protein per cup of cooked quinoa but in that cup of quinoa is also 39 grams of carbohydrates.
The next is chia seeds. Every single time I see this in a recipe, the song from the Chia Pet commercial goes through my head. I had never considered this a food because of those dang commercials. I thought it was interesting, but that was it. That is, until I began reading about it. I’m intrigued, especially since this (and the flax) I can grow here (which is always a bonus for me). I tried growing maca but I guess everything about my region is wrong (I’m in Central California). I really like plants that have more than one purpose (more edible/medicinal parts) and all I’ve been able to find on leaf usage is as a medicinal tea. If anyone has any more information, I would love to see it. From what I read, it’s suggested that you only consume 2 to 3 Tablespoons per day but it gives a powerful nutritional punch! In two Tablespoons, there are 12 grams carbohydrate (10 grams fiber) and 4.7 grams of protein. It seems hefty on the carbohydrates but with all the other nutritional benefits, this one just may be worth it! Here’s a great article on the health benefits: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/super-seed-the-case-for-chia.html. I haven’t quite jumped on the band wagon but it can’t hurt to buy a chia pet if it’s majorly on sale! 🙂
After writing all of this (and second guessing myself on chia seeds) I really think it’s important to get as much of our macros (protein, carbohydrate, fat) from as much whole food as possible and make the wisest choices for ourselves. If I could eat seafood, you can bet your bottom dollar I would rather have salmon over this stuff any day of the week!
“. My brain is so disjointed it’s like I don’t have enough time in the day for everything.
