Hmmm...and mmm!

I'm not sure if it's stress-related due to my next exam being on Thursday evening, but for several days in a row now I've been fighting off headaches. Maybe it's the change in weather...hmmm.

Last night a few co-workers and I went out for dinner to celebrate the completion of a pain-in-the-ass client...I mean, project, and I tried bison meatloaf! It was incredibly tasty, likely due to the bacon wrapped around it, the rich gravy, and whatever spices and unmentionables added, but I would absolutely order it again! I'm not supposed to touch any sugar, flour or alcohol during the YeastBusters program, but I had a chocolate martini anyway. I'm not experiencing any "yeast die-off" symptoms (unless that's what the gassy ass is all about! haha!!), so I figure I don't have a severe-enough case of yeast overgrowth to worry about one drink.

Hunnybun made dinner tonight while I did some studying:


Salmon is on special this week so we stocked up. The rest of the dish consists of onion, celery, red/yellow/orange bell peppers, garlic, and shredded coconut (!). It really turned out delicious and he kept the celery crunchy so it was a nice light, refreshing dinner. Two thumbs up! :)

Today's Meal - Chicken Stew with Pumpkin "Pie" for Dessert

This afternoon was spent prepping a crapload of various vegetables for the chicken stew. Hunnybun did the grocery run (thank you again, Sweetie!) while I chop-chop-chopped in the kitchen. Here's the pot of stew after we already doled out our first portions:


Then came the dessert (perfectly primal, thankyouverymuch! :)):


To make the crust, combine the following in the food processor:

- Freshly-ground almond meal
- Melted butter
- Various yummy spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice

Press it into baking dish of choice.

For the filling:

- 1 can of pure pumpkin puree
- About a cup of coconut milk
- More of the above-mentioned spices

Pre-bake the crust in the dish. I only did mine for 10 mins at 350F but realized later it needed a bit longer.

Pour in the filling, spread it around, and bake at 350F until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. (For me, using a gas convection oven, it was around 40 mins.) Let it cool a bit before slicing.


I didn't realize that when you slice the root end off a bunch of celery that you end up with a pretty rose! That made me smile. :D

2-Ingredient "Cake"...First Attempt

I went down to the kitchen tonight with the intention of opening a can of tuna and eating it, but then I remembered we bought eggs last night so I got sidetracked!

Here's where I got the idea from.

When I first saw that thread, I bought a package of un-sweetened baker's chocolate to use for the recipe. That was about a month ago. Tonight, I finally got around to trying this out.

I took 100g (5 pieces) of the chocolate:


I then put the bowl into the microwave for 20 seconds at a time until the chocolate was melted enough to stir:


Next, I learned a lesson; that I should have let the chocolate cool down a bit before adding the egg to it. The egg started to cook a little as I stirred it in:


Once the egg was mixed in as best I could, back into the microwave the bowl went, for about 40 more seconds (my microwave is pretty powerful!). Here was the result!


Beauty! It was perfectly moist and spongy. However, unless you like a bitter chocolate "cake", don't use un-sweetened baker's chocolate. I'm getting minor tummy cramps now. Next time I'll use 85% cocoa, but there WILL be a next time! :D

Curry Pork Stew

Curry pork stew...a dinner I pulled outta my butt tonight (not literally!). :)
It has cubed boneless pork, onions, pigeon peas, and apple pieces. Next time I'll make this in the crock pot and add a second apple. It was tasty!

Tonight's Dinner...Leftover Chicken on Cabbage and Bell Pepper

We bought a new pan!! So far so good (though I can't stand Rachel Ray her pan is nice lol). We glopped a few blobs of bacon fat in there, tossed in the chopped peppers and cabbage for awhile...


Then we added some seasoning and the leftover chicken that was in the fridge to warm it up. Et voila! Tasty!

What to do with boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Rinse and salt them with sea salt. Coat them in a mixture of yogurt, lemon (or orange juice), garlic, and parsley. Then coat them in ground/finely chopped almonds and put them in a buttered baking pan. Slap a pat of butter on top of each one before baking, covered in foil, at 350F for an hour. Remove the foil at about the 45-minute point. (You may need to put the broiler on to brown them nicely.)

In another pan (or two), put sliced sweet peppers and wedged onions coated with EVOO, low-sodium soya sauce and sprinkle with steak spice. Bake everything at the same time (best if you have a convection oven) for the hour at 350F.

For a second side, I made swiss chard on the stove, using my favourite recipe here, except I used bacon fat instead of EVOO.

So good, it didn't last long enough to get pics. :)

Mmm, Salmon

These delicious morsels were cooked up in butter, then seasoning and coconut milk was added to make the sauce. YUM!

*drool*

These lil' darlin's will soon be marinaded in evoo, low-sodium soya sauce and steak spice, then BBQ'd. YUM!!

Hamburger Soup

Ahh, one of my faves, especially when there's yam to be added to it. Mmm, sweet goodness.

This contains:
- 2lbs medium ground beef, browned with Worcestershire sauce
- sliced carrots, celery, onion
- diced yam
- Italian seasoning, garlic, Montreal steak spice, and seasoned salt

Slow cooked on high for maybe 4 hours.

Tonight's Dinner...

Farm-fresh honey garlic sausages, steamed broccoli and roasted fennel.

On the fennel is a very light coating of olive oil (EVOO) and balsamic vinegar. Roasted uncovered at 400F for approx. 20 mins. Very interesting flavour, and the house smells divine!

WIN! Red (Swiss) Chard Recipe

Made this tonight and we inhaled it! I still have the BEST aftertaste in my mouth. Mmmmmmmm.

Recipe - Simply Recipes

(My substitutes were to use Montreal steak spice instead of crushed red peppers, and thus I didn't need to add any more salt.)

Today's food intake started out good enough, with farm-fresh bacon and eggs, but then I got into the apple crisp and birthday cake from last night. I am powerless when this sort of stuff is in the house! If I see it, I have to eat it! I just love the taste so much. :(

Anyway, that was early today and I'm back on track now. I had some of the chard after finishing off the sardines I had cracked open a few days ago (canned), and then because my tummy was still craving cake and possibly the lasagne in the fridge, I had a cheese stick (mozza and cheddar) and a small apple. If I feel the need to have anything else I might have a square or two of dark chocolate and/or some almonds. Yeah.

Accidental Halloween Bat (Chicken) Goulash

In using up some produce, I accidentally made what could be a great family dinner for halloween:


Sodium-free chicken broth (or water)
Two sweet potatoes, cubed
Head of purple cabbage, chopped
Carrots, sliced
Chicken (I used 10 thighs, skin on, bone in)
Mushrooms (the darker and ickier the better!)
Onions
Garlic
Seasonings of your choice (I used seasoned salt, sea salt, dry Italian seasoning mixture)

Bring all ingredients to a boil in your cauldron, then turn down to low and simmer for at least an hour.