Eggroll Bowl

Easy and satisfying, this mixture is low carb and very healthy.  I used ground turkey (7% fat), but have also made this with lean ground pork too. Be sure to customize the recipe to use up veggies you might have on hand.  Don't like mushrooms? Substitute broccoli florets, celery or even diagonal cut pieces of asparagus instead. You don't have to buy the pre-shredded cabbage mixture (usually I would not), but in this case, it was just easy.  You could also add shredded napa cabbage too.  Mung bean sprouts would be delicious too.

We happily ate this when it was snowing outside, the perfect cozy, and healthy, meal!

This meal reminds me a bit of Mo Shu Pork, so it would be great with Hoisin sauce on a thin Chinese pancake.  Just something to think about...

Serves 3-4
Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork (or Turkey or beef)
2 tsp fresh ground ginger
2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 green onions
1 cup fresh mushrooms, diced
2 eggs
1 14oz bag of shredded cabbage
Salt and red pepper flakes,  if desired

First, in a well oiled sauce pan (use veg il and a couple drops of ssesame oil) over medium heat, add some well beaten eggs and swirl it about so it covers the large fry pan in a thin layer.  Cook until almost set and turn off heat.

Excuse the yucky looking cutting board below... I had chopped all the mushrooms on it before this egg "roll".

Roll the egg out of the pan into a roll shape, and cut into thin strips. 

In a dutch oven or a bigger saucepan, add the sesame oil and the turkey and cook over medium high heat.  Using a spatula chop up the turkey so that it cooks into small chunks as you cook it.  Add in the chopped ginger and the garlic, cook until the pink in the meat disappears.  Add in the chopped mushrooms and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Add in the soy sauce, cabbage mix and the green onions.  Stir well, finally added the chopped cooked egg. Season with salt (or MSG- hey some people like it!).

Serve with sriracha and more soy sauce, as desired.

If you're not watching carbs, you could serve this over steamed rice.

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Cauliflower Fried Rice

A simple and healthy side dish, or even a main dish, if you like.

I start with raw cauliflower that is grated in the food processor, or by hand. Use the big grater attachment, you want some bigger pieces and not tiny bits.

First, get all your ingredients ready to go ahead of time, do not assemble as you go as you will end up with over cooked fried rice!

Serves about 4

Ingredients

• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup celery, small dice
• 1/2 cup carrots, small dic1/2 cup white onion, diced
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 4 cups fresh cauliflower, grated
• 1/2 cup Ham, small dice (optional)
• 1/2 cup Bacon, diced (optional)
• 1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
• 2-3 Tbsp soy sauce

Other optional items/substitutions

• 1/2 cup broccoli, very small florets
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced small

Over medium high heat in a large non-stick skillet, add the sesame oil, vegetable oil and bacon (if using), use it to saute the celery, carrots and carrots until they start to soften a bit and the bacon is cooked, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and heat until just soft, about another 2-3 minutes. I add the well beaten eggs to the veggies and mix to 'scramble'.  You can make the scrambled eggs big or small by stirring more, it's up to you.  Add the raw cauli rice, the ham (if using) then the green onions and peas.  Stir to "fry" the mixture, and adjust seasoning with soy sauce.  You can add salt and pepper, if desired.

Try not to over cook the cauliflower rice, as it will start to lose moisture and make your fried rice soggy.

You can serve along side some grilled meat or fish, or even a Chinese stir fry.

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Mahi Mahi with Feta Cream Sauce

Easiest dinner ever.

Feta is one of my favorite cheese, along with goat cheese!   This is a great easy way to fancy up some fish for a quick week night dinner.  We often have frozen fish in the freezer (thanks to Costco), and Mahi Mahi is one of our favorites.  This would also work for halibut, tilapia and even salmon.  It's quite possible that this would be great on chicken breasts too, but I haven't tried that yet.

Ingredients

Makes 2

• 2- 6 oz mahi mahi fillets
• 3 Tbsp mayonnaise (like Best Foods)
• 3 Tbsp of crumbled feta
• 1/4 tsp of dried dill
• 1/4 tsp of garlic powder
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Fresh black pepper
• 1 tsp minced parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

On a foil lined pan, coat with oil and place fish fillets on top.

Make mixture of the mayo, feta, dill, garlic, lemon juice, pepper and parsley.  Make sure to mix well and get most of the lumps out.

Cover the entire top of the fish with the mixture, put on the top rack of the oven and cook 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish. Mine took 14 minutes but they were very thick filets.

Here they are after baking, some of the sauce fell off, but it still plated up nicely.

Here's another recipe that is something a bit similar, Baked Parmesan Salmon. Try that too!

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Egg Bites- like Starbucks

 I love these little egg bites. I first had them at Starbucks, like so many of you.  The secret to making these is blending cottage cheese with the eggs!  Who knew?! Also, the cottage cheese somehow makes the egg bites more tender than normal baked eggs.

The cottage cheese has a lot of flavor (and salt), so you don't even need to season these, isn't that crazy?

You can make many variations, depending on what you like and what you have on hand.  For these, I used those mini pepperoni, minced jalapenos and mixed Mexican blend cheese.

Here's some other ideas you could create:

• Feta, green onion and bacon
• Mozzarella, tomatoes and basil
• Taco meat, cheese and onion
• Cheddar and chives
• Ham, bacon and jack cheese
• Cream cheese and smoked salmon

Ingredients:

• 8 large eggs
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• add-ins of your choice... (see above)

Add one cup of cottage cheese to your blender, add in 8 large eggs and blend until not chunks of cottage cheese are noticeable.

Back at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Note- I recommend a silicon muffin tin for this... it makes it much easier to get out. I use some spray Pam before adding the 'add ins" and then pour in the egg mixture. I fill about 7/8 full and bake.

Let cool and remove from the pan.

These egg bites last in the fridge about 4-5 days, I take two in my lunch almost every day. 

Easy to eat, taste good and lots of protein.

Here's some pictures of the steps:

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Ground Pork Lettuce Wraps

What's a simple easy dinner to make with ingredients that you just may have on hand? I like to use this recipe for either ground pork or ground turkey or chicken.  I usually have the veggies on hand (lettuce, green onions, cilantro, onions and garlic). If you don't have Hoisin sauce and sesame oil, I highly recommend that invest in those! 

Serves 4-6 as a generous appetizer, or about 3 for a dinner

Ingredients

1/2 onion, minced

3 garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, small dice

3-4 green onions, sliced

1 lb. ground pork

1 tbsp ginger, grated

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup hoisin sauce (or oyster sauce)- could also substitute 1/4 cup soy sauce with 1-2 Tbsp white sugar

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

1-2 tsp Sriracha (optional) plus more for serving

Toasted sesame seeds

Chopped peanuts (optional)

Small Romaine lettuce, but butter lettuce or even cabbage leaves would work

Brown pork over medium high heat, when mostly cooked, drain off the fat.  Add the sesame oil, onions, garlic and ginger and cook until the onions start to wilt.  Add in chopped celery (you want this to be more crunchy when its done). Add in the hoisin or oyster sauce and taste. If you want it spicy, you may need to add in the Sriracha and/or the red pepper flakes. Add in cilantro (optional) and spoon into a serving bowl. Allow the mixture to cool a bit before serving into the lettuce.

Prep the mini romaine leaves into 'cups' or use cabbage leaf, or butter lettuce.  

Put soy sauce, sesame seeds, Sriracha and chopped peanuts on the table for each diner to customize their wrap.

I just brought the pork mixture to the table in a bowl and served the lettuce on a plate so that everyone could just make their own at the table.  Served with a little sriracha and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.  My hubby liked it with a drizzle of soy sauce.

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Greek Coleslaw with Feta and Pepperoncini

I like just about everything Greek! I know that using Greek "tag" on this coleslaw is a bit of a stretch, but as it involves feta and pepperoncini, so I'm using it.

This salad is simple to pull together and only needs a short time to marinate. I would recommend that you toss it about 10-15 minutes before your serve it, or it could get to be a bit limp and not so yummy and crunchy. I have enjoyed leftovers the next day, but the texture does change. I made it two ways, once without tomatoes and cucumbers, and once without. Use what you have...

It's great side dish for grilled chicken or pork. Maybe serve with some pita bread and some tzatziki.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4-5 cups of Cabbage, chopped (green, purple or combo)

2-3 Green onions, minced

1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)

1 persian cucumber, diced small (optional)

1/2 cup crumbled Feta

1/2 cup sliced Pepperoncini, drained

2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice (or use pepperoncini brine from jar)

Mix everything into a big bowl and stir to combine. If making ahead, then don't add the oil, lemon juice or pepperoncini brine (if using) until ready to serve.

Spicy Indian Turkey Meatballs

I've been making this recipe for about 6 months, and we are in love.  It's funny because the the inspiration recipe was this one.  The original was a chickpea "meatball" in the sauce, not meat at all. We were at our cabin, and I had limited ingredients, so I made it like this below.

I've made this with combinations of ground turkey, pork or beef and frankly each is very yummy! The sauce is the part that is so flipping delicious.  You could serve it over rice, or cauliflower rice, or even as an appetizer meatball.  You might need some Naan bread to help wipe up every last drop of the sauce. Yum!

A couple of EDITS- 1) Feel free to increase the seasoning if you like it spicier!  2) We ate the leftovers for a late breakfast with a sunnyside up fried egg with a runny yolk. Exceedingly yummy!

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

Meatballs:

20 oz ground turkey (or mixture of pork, turkey or beef)

1 egg

1/4 cup minced cilantro

1 Tbsp minced fresh jalapeno

1 cup chopped spinach (optional)

1/2 Tbsp fresh ground ginger

1 Tbsp minced garlic 

1 tsp salt

Sauce:

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp minced shallots, or onions

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 Tbsp fresh ground ginger

1 Tbsp minced fresh jalapeno

1 can petite minced diced tomatoes

1 can 15 oz tomato sauce

1 cup chopped spinach (optional)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala, or curry powder

Salt to taste

Yogurt or sour cream for serving (optional)

Mince up the spinach, cilantro, jalapeno, ginger and the garlic, divide into half (1/2 for meatballs, half for sauce).

Mix ground meat well with beaten egg, spinach, cilantro, jalapeno, ginger, garlic and salt.  Set aside.

In a large low saute pan, add olive oil, onions, garlic and jalapeno. Saute until they start to soften, add ginger, cumin, turmeric and garam masala (or curry powder).  Stir to "warm" the spices, then add the tomato sauce, and petite diced tomatoes.  Bring to a soft boil, and taste to check seasoning.  Add more spices if you like it spicier, or just salt to taste.  Reduce to medium heat. Roll meat mixture into balls and drop in the simmering mixture (or even use a small cookie/ice cream scoop to drop the meat mixture into the simmering sauce.  Using a spoon, gently nudge each meatball into the sauce.  Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Right before serving, add the fresh chopped spinach. Serve over rice, over cauliflower rice, or even on it's own.  

You can top with a dollop of yogurt and cilantro, if desired.

Add the egg, the spinach and the seasonings (turmeric, garam masala, salt....XXX)

Mix well. 

Mix half of the ginger, garlic and jalapenos in a saute pan with a bit of olive oil over medium heat until they start to wilt a bit.

Avocado Dressing/Dip

This is my made up recipe for an avocado "green goddess style" dressing.  We were having spicy grilled steaks (using my Cajun spice rub recipe here) and wanted to use up an avocado that I feared was nearing to be over ripe (it wasn't luckily). I thought the dressing would be great to have the spicy grilled steak on a green salad, and it was!  

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

1 large avocado, or 2 small (peeled and pitted)

1/2 bunch  of cilantro, washed and bottom 1/3 of stems removed

Juice of 1 large lime, or 2 small

1/4 cup of mayo

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1 clove fresh garlic

1 tsp salt

Add all ingredients into a blender, and puree until the dressing is smooth. Store covered tightly in the fridge. The avocado dressing remains bright green for about a week.  

We also used this for a sauce on tacos later in the week. Yum!

Easy Weeknight Meaty Chili

I got this recipe from a friend who sells Pampered Chef, and immediately thought, YEP, I need to try that. I didn't have their awesome RockCrok to use for their recipe (link here) but I thought I would try it on the stove top and it worked beautifully. I had both ground pork and ground beef, so I decided to use a combination, but you definitely try all beef if you preferred!  

Don't be worried about the unsweetened coca powder in this recipe, it really gives a complexity and smoothness to the chili.  If you're worried, you could cut the qty in half, but honestly, I think you'll like it.  My hubby wants me to make it again using less cocoa powder and more chili powder, which I promised to do next time. 

We're eating more low carb, so i elected to make this without the canned beans, but it would be good either waya. 

Makes enough for 6-8

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1  medium onion, chopped

1 lb lean ground beef

1 lb ground pork 

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

4 Tbsp chili powder

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tsp cumin

½  can (3 oz/ tomato paste

2- 10oz cans of Rotel diced tomatoes with chilies, undrained

1 1/4 cup water

2 Knorr Chipotle bouillon cubes, or one minced canned chipotle chili (optional)

1-2 cans (16 oz  each) mild chili beans in sauce, undrained (optional, I did not use)

Salt, to taste

Saute the onions in olive oil until they start to soften, add the minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Add the ground beef and pork, and cook over medium high heat while stirring. Make sure to leave some big chunks that will add to the texture of your chili. Add in the spices, the canned tomatoes and tomato paste, adding the water at the end.  Give it a stir to combine, and turn the heat to medium low heat. 

Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.  

Add the canned beans (optional) and bring back to a boil. You can serve it over rice, if desired, or just a big bowl of rich chili!

Serve with Sliced green onion, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, jalapeno slices 

(optional)

Pork Kimchi Burger

I get that kimchi might not be everybody's favorite thing, but I always, always have been a fan, even back before it was cool! Thanks Mom for being different from every other suburban housewife in the 1970's! 

The inspiration for this came out of necessity, we were staying somewhere in a cabin far from home, and I had packed limited ingredients to use for the weekend to put dinner together for the two of us. I always love a challenge!  I had a package of ground pork that I had brought with us, but only had limited other things to work with (I should have planned better- LOL). In full disclosure, we did travel to the Safeway to pick up some kimchi after I shared my idea with my hubby (who insisted we go get it ASAP), but I used what I already had brought with me (hence the simple ingredients!) for the rest.

About two years ago, we were lucky enough to go to Korea, and boy oh boy, did we have a foodie's paradise adventure.  My hubby likes kimchi just as much as I do.  If you are interested, here's a couple travel posts that I wrote to remember the trip!
Korean Adventure, Part 1

Korean Adventure, Part 2- coming soon!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Burgers:

20 oz ground pork
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup kimchi, drained (save juice) and chopped fine
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

Kimchi Coleslaw:
4 cups green cabbage, shredded (about 1/2 small head)
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup kimchi, drained and chopped coarsely (or more, if desired- I used 1/2 cup)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2-3 Tbsp kimchi juice 
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp red pepper garlic paste (optional)

4 Buns

Mayo, if desired

Get two bowls out, one for meat mixture and one for your salad.

Chop your green onions finely, add 1/4 cup to each bowl.  Next, chop your kimchi, adding 1/4 cup to each bowl. Shred your cabbage (or use pre-packaged slaw cabbage mixture), add to the salad bowl. Add the vinegar, sesame oil and a bit of salt. Mix the slaw, let it sit and marinate for 30 minutes before serving.

In the meat bowl, add the ground pork to the bowl with green onions and kimchi that you put in there previously. Add in the pork, red pepper flakes, sesame oil and soy sauce. Make mixture of meat (I use latex gloves and mix by hand), shape into patties and grill for about 10 minutes until done.

Assemble the burgers by putting mayo on the buns, add the patty and a generous amount of slaw. Enjoy right away.

Buns, mayo, patties and slaw= Yum

Note- these are just as good served with a side of coleslaw and not on a bun. We found some Franz low carb buns that are delish, so it was great to have a burger!  

Here's the kimchi, ready for chopping.

Chop it pretty finely

Here it is ready for mixing with the cabbage.

I use latex gloves to mix the meat mixture, and shape the patties.

This is the chili garlic sauce I like

Here's my salad, all ready to go. Let it sit for at least 10-15 minutes before serving so the cabbage softens up a little bit.

Patties are all shaped and ready to go on the grill. I put them on wax paper, as it makes it easier to easily over turn onto the grill without deforming the patties by using a metal spatula.  Just my little trick.

Cook over medium high heat for about 10 minutes.  Try not to over cook, you want these to be juicy!