LIVE BY THE SWORD

Well, this Cleanse & Detox (word on the street is its called the SHEtox.  Get it?) I wrote is WORKING!  It is everywhere I look right now and I am so grateful it's helping me earn an honest living, and I'm happy it is helping people be healthier all at the same time.  So I was going through some of my foodie-photos to post and came across this swordfish steak.  I remember I made it in May because in my world of obsessive compulsivité (just looks fancier that way), May is pink month for me.  So I made it with a pink puree made from cauliflower and a little beet juice and seared up some gorgeous fish to set on top.  The beets and artichoke hearts were definitely a bonus but not the star of the show!  This is SHEtox Week Two-friendly, easier than you could possibly imagine, and oh-my-GRAND-PUBA-delicious!

SEARED SWORDFISH

4 swordfish steaks, rinsed and patted dry

2 tbs coconut oil

1 tbs sea salt

1 tbs pepper

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tbs cumin

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs Italian seasoning

juice of one lemon

Heat the coconut oil in a heavy pan (I use my cast-iron skillet, of course!) on medium heat.  Meanwhile while the oil is heating, mix all seasonings in a bowl and rub into both sides of the fish.  Lay each steak into the heated oil carefully, making sure not to crowd your pan with more than two at a time (see notes).  Cook for about five minutes on each side, squeeze a little lemon over the top of each one just before removing from the pan to serve.  Yes.  It is THAT EASY!

NOTES: If you crowd your pan with too many steaks at once, you will end up steaming your fish and will miss out on a beautiful sear on each side.

NO TEARS HERE!

SHE2016©

I mostly make onion soup in the fall and winter, with plops of brie, and drops of toasted home-made bread.  But with the “She-tox Detox” everywhere I look right now, and Spring moving to Summer, it was time to lighten it up and make it inside-out Cleanse-Friendly.  So I made it with vodka instead of Winter-rich brandy (you can use veggie broth instead, Cleansers!), used a bright seasoning, and made the onions translucent instead of deeply caramelized.  It was unbelievably delicious and ridiculously EASY!!  Paired with a simple salad of Romaine and cucs with home-made lemon-poppy-seed (heavy on the poppy-seed for me, if you please!) dressing, there were no tears involved from THESE onions!

SPRING-TO-SUMMER ONION SOUP       

4 medium purple onion, cut in half and sliced thinly

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

1 tbs sea salt

1 tbs pepper

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tbs herbes de provence

½ cup vodka

1 ½ boxes vegetable broth

Sprinkle enough evoo in a heavy soup pot to cover the bottom.  Heat on medium for about a minute or so and then add onion.  Cook on medium heat for about two minutes and add all seasoning.  Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until onions are translucent, about five more minutes.  Add the vodka a little at a time, letting it evaporate into the onion each time before adding more until vodka is gone and onion has absorbed all of it.  Add vegetable broth and turn heat to low.  Let simmer fifteen minutes and EAT!!

NOTES:  This is Meatless Monday friendly, too!  If you are on Week One or Two of the “She-tox” Detox, omit vodka and simply use a shot of the veggie broth instead.  The flavor profile changes a bit, but worth it while you cleanse.  This recipe is perfect for Week Three!  Interested in this Cleanse & Detox?  Message me!  Want to help the Texas Flood Victims but not sure how?  Message me!  Want to make some variation suggestions for the recipe?  Message me!!  I love all feedback, and love you She-Peeps!!

SHE2016©

YES, PEAS!

SHE2016

I LOVE the part of the Life As She Does It quadrant that allows me to cook for people.  It truly is a joy for me.  This catering job was for my home church and was a lot of fun to set up for, too.  The May menus to choose from included Kentucky Derby (of course!) and that is what they chose!  The menu was made up of Kentucky Bourbon Chicken, Muddy Mash,  Southern Greens, a Mint Julep Pea Salad, Honey Biscuits, and Pecan Pie for dessert.  WOW!  Well, believe it or not, everyone went WILD for the pea salad (said no one ever!!).  They really loved it and asked me about it for days afterwards.  And even if you don't typically care for peas, trust me when I say you should VERY MUCH still try this at home!  It's also perfect for the Spring-time warmer weather!

MINT JULEP PEA SALAD

1 bag frozen peas, thawed and drained

1 small pkg Spring mix greens, chopped fine

3 hard boiled eggs, diced

1 cup sharp white cheddar, shredded

4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped roughly

1/2 cup mint, diced fine

1 cup sour cream

2 tbs milk

1 tbs sea salt

1 tbs pepper

The ease of these peas is CRAZY!!  Watch this: Mix all ingredients.  Serve.  BOOM

NOTES:  I use organic ingredients, but I think as far as flavor for this recipe it is not absolutely necessary.  I do notice the texture of organic sour cream is different from that of the regular.  I also notice an empty bowl every single time I make this!!

MEAL TRAIN MEAT LOAF

SHE2016©

Ohhhhh, MAN!!  This meal was made TWICE in one night at my house!  Well, yes it was that good, but specifically, I was invited to take part in a meal train for a community member.  If you don't know, a meal train is when someone is sick, or has a new baby, or needs help in some way for some reason and the community gathers together to take meals to them for a few weeks.  It's brilliant.  I've been on both ends of a meal train, and let me just tell you, it is nothing short of amazing to watch people team up to help in any way they can.

This one was so good and pretty easy that I decided that's what we were having, too!  Besides, doesn't that make it easier on you?  Just doubling up and feeding the masses?  This particular family's special request was lean meats and veggies and mostly low-carb!  Ah!  A family after my own heart!  So I made low-carb home-style turkey meatloaf with pan gravy, cheesy cauliflower "mac", seasoned wilted spinach, broiled tomatoes, and a simple salad.  Just threw in some organic juice and chocolate crackers for the kiddos, and some vino for mommy and daddy, and created a meal train marveloso!!

Home-style turkey meatloaf recipe below - you know the kind: crumbly, savory goodness that melts in your mouth?  Use for a meal train to bless someone, or for yourself to bless yer belly!!

SHE2016©

HOME-STYLE TURKEY MEATLOAF

1 large carrot, diced fine

1/2 onion, diced fine

2 garlic cloves, diced fine

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

sea salt pepper

1/4 cup red wine

1 family pack ground turkey blend (not just breast meat)

1 egg

1/2 cup oats

1 tbs sea salt

1 tbs pepper

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs cumin

1 tbs your favorite steak seasoning

1 can rotel

Worcestershire sauce

Over medium heat, sprinkle about 2-to-3 tablespoons of evoo and let heat through for about a minute.  Add your diced carrots, onions, and garlic and stir.  Sprinkle with a tiny bit of sea salt and pepper and stir again.  Let cook for about 5 minutes, until just-soft, and then hit the pan with the wine. Using a wooden spoon or one safe for your pan, scrape the bottom and stir the veggies for one more minute. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, combine ground turkey, eggs, oats, seasonings, and rotel.  Add vegetable mixture from the pan.  Mix until just blended.  Pour meat mixture into a prepared baking pan and sprinkle the top with Worcestershire sauce.  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.  Slice up and plate, and then use those gorgeous juices left in the baking pan for gravy!!

NOTES: I use any regular red wine - it does not have to be labeled for cooking.  Mix the meat well, but do not over-mix.  Turkey can tend to get tough if you over-mix.  Sprinkle enough Worcestershire sauce to just cover the top, not too much!  You are now the hit of the meal train peeps!!

WELCOME TO TEXAS, Y'ALL!

SHE2016©

The latest catering gig was for a meeting where some of the participants were flying into Texas from Indiana.  So providing lunch for this group was FUN because I wanted to welcome them TEXAS-STYLE!  I literally named the menu "Welcome to Texas, Y'all!".  Of course that meant stuffed barbecue chicken thighs, home-made baked beans, mini cornbread muffins, bacon-wrapped green bean stacks, cabbage salad with slaw dressing, and Texas tornado bars for dessert!  It was a huge hit and the chicken was delicious!!  So I have given you the gift of the easy recipe below!  Y'all.

Peppers & Cream Cheese-Stuffed Barbecue Chicken Thighs

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

1 green bell pepper, diced finely

1 red bell pepper, diced finely

1 yellow bell pepper, diced finely

1/2 red onion, diced finely

1 tbs sea salt

1 tbs pepper

1 tbs cumin

1 tbs paprika

2 pkgs cream cheese, softened

2 pkgs chicken thighs

sea salt

pepper

garlic powder

1 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup mustard

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

In a heavy pan (I use my cast-iron skillet, of course!), sprinkle enough evoo to cover the bottom and heat for one minute on medium flame.  Add all peppers and onion, and cook for two minutes.  Add sea salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic, and then stir and cook another two minutes.  Remove from heat and add to the cream cheese in a bowl.  Stir until creamy smooth.  Pound each chicken thigh out to make sure it is not uneven.  Add a teaspoon of the cream cheese and bell pepper mix to the middle and roll, laying each one on a prepared baking sheet, fold-side down.  Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour.

Remove from freezer and sprinkle the tops with evoo, and then sprinkle a little sea salt and a little pepper and garlic powder as well.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, mix barbecue sauce, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl.  Once fifteen minutes is up, baste the chicken thighs liberally with barbecue sauce mixture.  Bake another fifteen minutes.  Cowboy up!!

NOTES:  The longer you keep the thighs in the freezer, the less the cheese mixture will run out as the chicken cooks.  This is low-carb, too!

ONE A PENNY, TWO A PENNY...

SHE2016©

Hot cross buns!!  Do you remember that nursery rhyme?  It really stands out to me every Easter because I make the savory version to serve with our traditional ham, decadent potatoes, peas and carrots, salami pie, with carrot cake for dessert.  I even served a Cottontail Cocktail with it this year and it brought out the flavor of the raisins and currants in the buns.  If you've never tried them or had them, try this recipe!!  Share them with your family!  And "If you have no daughters, feed them to your sons.  One a penny, two a penny, HOT CROSS BUNS!!"

SAVORY HOT CROSS BUNS

1/2 cup apple juice

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 dried currants

1 1/4 cups milk

2 large eggs, plus one egg yolk (save the white for later)

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 pkg fast rising yeast

1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tbs ground cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp sea salt

1 tbs baking powder

4 1/2 cups flour

for the baste: 

1 large egg white

2 tbs milk

for after they are baked:

4 tbs melted butter

Combine the raisins, currants, and apple juice in a small sauce pan, and bring to a small boil, just till the fruit and liquid are very warm, and then remove from heat. Set aside to cool to room temperature. When the fruit mixture is cool, mix together all of the remaining ingredients except the milk and fruit. Heat the milk to just warm - don't boil it - and add to the dough mixture.  Fold in the fruit and apple juice mixture.  Let the dough rise for an hour, covered. 
Using a greased ice cream scoop, form about 12 to 14 buns, and arrange them into a greased 9x13 pan.  Cover the pan, and let the buns rise for another hour, or until they've puffed up and are touching each another.  Whisk together the reserved egg white and milk, and brush it liberally over the buns.  Bake the buns at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove from the oven, baste with the melted butter, and transfer to a rack to cool.

NOTES: These are usually served with less savory spices, and with different types of dried fruits.  It usually has a sweet cream cheese frosting drizzled ver it in the shape of a cross; hence the name!  In this instance, I made them much more savory and skipped the sweet frosting and I.  Am. Telling.  YOU.  They were insanely good - like, RIDICULOUS good.  

TV DINNER

SHE2016©

It was a cold winter night and we had shows to binge.  I knew we would be spending that particular night in front of the Tube so I wanted to make some comfort food for warmth, and something that would go with the theme of the night.  It made me think back to the old-fashioned TV Dinners.  I remember them having a disk or puck of some sort they called "Salisbury steak", and it was usually accompanied by dry mashed potatoes or bland macaroni and cheese and a side of watery spinach or unseasoned green beans.  Well, I was just not feeling that, go figure.  So I put my own flavorful spin on it, added a healthy twist, and made a pretty simple She Gar-C TV Dinner instead!  Venison Salisbury steak with sour cream sauce, cauliflower "mac"-n-cheese, and apple cider turnip greens.......The Hubster could NOT get enough!  So we had a nice stay-at-home Date Night with reality TV, a cozy fire, and full bellies!

SHE2016©

SALISBURY STEAK

2 pnds ground meat (I used the ground venison my friend gifted me!)

1 can rotel, drained

1 egg

1 tbs winter-type seasoning, like Penzey's North Woods

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tbs paprika

sea salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

safflower or canola oil

Mix all ingredients down to the oil.  Sprinkle enough oil to barely cover the bottom of a heavy pan (I use my cast-iron skillet, of course!), and heat on medium.  While oil is heating, shape the meat into steak-like patties.  No need to worry about uniform shaping!  These are beautiful and rustic when they are all different shapes!  Place two-at-a-time into heated oil, cook for five minutes on each side and place on paper towel when they come out of the pan.  Make a small one for you to taste as you cook the rest for quality control. ;-)

SHE2016©

APPLE CIDER TURNIP GREENS

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

1 onion, sliced

1 pnd turnip greens, ribs removed, chopped coarsely

sea salt

pepper

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Heat about 3 tbs evoo in a pot (I use my cast-iron Dutch oven) on medium for about a minute.  Add your greens, and seasonings and cook down until just-wilted, stirring from time-to-time.  Once just-wilted, add apple cider vinegar to the pot and cook another minute or two.  Serve with ANYTHING as a side dish, and take your leftovers (if there ARE any!) to lunch the next day!!

WINTER WONDERLAND

We've had a few Winter Wonderland menus in the last couple of years, and this one did not disappoint!  I absolutely love the idea of trying to come up with foods that not only deliver flavor that resounds comfort for chilly winter nights, but that reflect same in appearance as well.  After all, we eat with our eyes first, right?  Well, to be completely honest, I eat with my eyes first for about ten seconds.  THEN I eat with muh mouth!!  This particular night, we had some friends and partners of Life As She Does It, talking give-aways for the blog.  So I had no choice but to get them food-drunk so they would feel more "giving"! for You, Dear Readers, to have wonderful give-aways.  We dined on a most-gorgeous cheese tray and artichoke-spinach crostini,  a hearty salad of cranberries, candied nuts, and Gorgonzola cheese, slow-cooked clam chowder with fresh clams, Cornish game hens with decadent potatoes and zucchini-squash ratatouille, and a GORGEOUS white cake (pronounced whhhhhhhhat-cake, emphasis on the ha-part of the h).  

The recipe below is for the clam chowder, with all it's snow-white glory and ocean-goodness. It was not only creamy and wonderland-wonderful (sorry, I HAD to go there), it is LOW-CARB.  It was BEYOND...... Or, as The Daughts says: "I. Can't. EVEN."  Wanna make someone special in your life food-drunk and made to feel warm and fuzzy for chilly nights?  DO THIS.

WINTER CLAM CHOWDER

6 strips bacon, cooked and chopped fine

1 onion, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 large turnips, peeled and chopped into chunks

3 sprigs rosemary, chopped fine

2 bunches thyme, tied with butcher's twine

4 cans diced or chopped clams

2 jars clam juice

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 can cannellini or navy beans, blended

2 bay leaves

2 tbs butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tsp sea salt

2 tbs white pepper

1 tbs garlic powder

Throw all ingredients into a crock-pot and let cook on low all day.  Remove thyme twigs and bay leaves.  Serve.  THAT'S IT!!

NOTES: Remember that slow cooking can mute flavors, so be certain to add more of your spices to taste at the end and stir.  I simmered fresh clams in white wine and butter in a pan on the stove, and then added them to everyone's bowls just before serving. We simply ladled the soup over them for a more authentic look and flavor.  It was authentically AWESOME!!