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Archive for the category “baked”

16 Sep 2014

Baked Crispy Chicken

oven fried chicken

I have seen the use of crushed pork rinds as a ‘breading’ in a lot of different places lately. I was originally going to use our approach to breading we rely on for Scotch Eggs, using golden flaxseed meal, but wanted to try the pork rind approach first. We are usually dark chicken meat people, but our young house guest Skinny D likes white meat, so we caved in and made it too. Adding the variety gave us an opportunity to try three different chicken conditions – dark meat, white meat and skinless ‘tenders’. oven fried chicken panThe results were awesome – the pork rind breading worked on everything! Leftovers were a little soggy when microwaved instead of toasted/baked, but straight out of the oven worked for me as a fried chicken replacement. Big D found it to be a bit lacking in his pursuit of more crunch, but we have ideas to change that. Stay tuned!

Baked Crispy Chicken

8 chicken thighs, with bone and skin
2 chicken breasts, with bone and skin
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large bags pork rinds
1 cup grated parmesean cheese
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp dried oregano leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line shallow baking sheets with aluminum foil. Using a blender or food processor cut the pork rinds into small crumbs. Place crumbs in large mixing bowl. Add cheese and spices to the crumbs and stir until combined. Remove bones from chicken breasts while leaving the skin attached, removing separately the long tenderloin pieces along the bone for ‘chicken strips’. Slice chicken breasts in half, making four evenly sized pieces. Season all pieces of chicken with sea salt. One at a time coat each piece of chicken with butter, then thoroughly coat all surfaces of each one wit the crumb mixture. Place each piece, skin side up, on the baking sheets, leaving about an inch of space around each piece. Bake for about one hour, until juices run clear. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Oven Fried Chicken at Buttoni’s Low Carb Recipes.

Posted in baked, cheese, chicken, Douglas Kitchen, garlic, parsley, wheat free | Leave a Comment
29 Aug 2014

Fire Pit Vegetables

fire pit cooking

fire pit carrotsfire pit zucchini

Sometimes when we cook over fire pits we are lazy – impaling sausages and hot dogs on sharpened stick and holding them over the flames until they sizzle. It is pleasant, relaxing, and an easy prep – open sausage package, remove sausages, impale. Other times we get a bit more elaborate. Pretty much any meat can be cooked over a pit fire. Same for vegetables, but some veggies are more cooperative than others. I would not try this with greens or other stuff that shrinks substantially, but most vegetables cook up great, anywhere from root vegetables to asparagus and squash. I have also done corn, tomatoes and cabbage. Little B is usually on the side of sausage impaling, because she can be more involved – we are not yet ready to have her reaching in and fiddling with foil packets an inch from hot coals, or leaning over the fire itself to manipulate stuff on a grill grate. Her turn will come in time, but now is not the time. I typically start baking the vegetables an hour or more in advance of cooking meats, so they are ready to serve on time and out of the way. We are sitting around the fire long before eating anyway, so why not let the fire do some work for us? Also, it does not hurt to let the cooked vegetables rest and allow flavors to settle together. Seasoning is simple, because the wood smoke adds an element that does not need much help.

Fire Pit Vegetables

2 cups mini carrots, 2 – 4 turnips or 3 – 4 zucchini/yellow squash
1/4 cup butter
Fresh yarrow or parsley
Salt to taste
Aluminum foil

Tear aluminum foil into sheets, ensuring they are of a length that will wrap around the vegetables – ideally not to exceed 8×8 inch pouches. Some larger vegetables can be individually or group wrapped, like turnips and corn on the cob. Prepare vegetables in bite-sized pieces, or halved/quartered in equal sized pieces. Place vegetables in the middle of foil sheets in a single layer. Spread butter on vegetables, sprinkle them with salt and place yarrow or parsley on top of the pieces. Wrap foil around vegetables, making sure it wraps around twice and roll the foil at seams to prevent leaking. Follow one of these methods: 1) Place packets around the edges of a pit fire. Rotate pouches every 15-20 minutes, changing the side closest to the heat. After 40 – 60 minutes cooking time remove from pit, open pouches and check for doneness. Return to heat if not done. 2) Place pouches on grill grate suspended above fire, flip packets upside down after about 20 minutes, to help even cooking. Check doneness after about 45 minutes, depending on fire size and heat. When cooked to desired doneness, reseal and set aside until time to serve.

 

Posted in baked, Cabin Outdoor Kitchen, side dish, squash, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
18 Aug 2014

Creamy Baked Asparagus

cremy asparagus

The other day Big D brought home some slim, tender asparagus. They looked wonderful, but were not the best candidates for making our favorite bacon wrapped version. I grabbed some of our pantry staples and created this easy side dish. It ended up very rich, and almost overpowered the smokes salmon we served it with. Not quite, but I will seriously consider serving it with roast pork or beef next time. This would probably work just as well with green beans. Let’s see if Big D comes home with some soon…

Creamy Baked Asparagus

1 bunch slender asparagus
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 egg
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop rough ends off of asparagus spears. Chop the asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces, leaving the tip pieces a little bit longer – makes about three cups of chopped pieces. In a small bowl whisk the egg. Add the cream, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Whisk until egg is fully incorporated. Place asparagus in 9×11 or 9×9 baking dish. Pour cream mixture over the top and stir slightly to make sure all pieces are coated. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes, until cheese is gold and bubbly. Remove from oven and let sit for about ten minutes, until cream mixture is set.

 

Posted in baked, cheese, Douglas Kitchen, eggs, garlic, side dish, Uncategorized, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
10 Aug 2014

Jalapeno Cheddar Muffins

jalapeno bread

Holy guacamole these things are good! They also go well with guacamole. Or just butter. Or split and used for a sandwich. Or sliced thinly and toasted and used for tea sandwiches…. You probably get that they are very versatile. They are also savory and flavorful. They remind us a lot of the garlic cheddar biscuits a soon-to-be-defunct restaurant chain serves. I don’t actually like their seafood, but love their salads and (used to) adore eating the biscuits. When reheating them just brush on some melted garlic butter and you will see what I mean.

Jalapeno Cheddar Muffins

2/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup butter
8 large eggs
1/2 – 3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp fresh jalapeno, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together the coconut flour, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Whisk in the melted butter. Add the coconut flour mixture to the egg/butter mixture and stir to combine until it forms a wet dough mixture. Add jalapenos and 1 cup of shredded cheese. Stir until cheese is well distributed. Divide the batter among 12 greased muffin tins or eight mini loaf tins. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the muffins/loaves. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until cheese turns golden brown. Let cool slightly before removing from pan.

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01 Aug 2014

Spicy Poblano Meatloaf

spicy poblano meatloaf

I know it is only August, but temperatures up here in Alaska continue to be cool during summer and my thoughts already turn to warm, fall dinners. Some of you are walking around in swimsuits trying to survive three digit temperatures and staying in the swimming pool as long as possible. We never put away our jackets and fleece, still needing them regularly, and daylight is down to a paltry 17 hours each day. We actually get to see sunset colors before bedtime! You are allowed to laugh, but regardless of the inspiration, I came up with this meatloaf. I remember when I was a kid I would make fun of the meatloaf my mom would make. Not because it did not taste good, it was awesome. It was just a thing. I was not alone in this form of entertainment – my dad and brother joined in too. They liked the loaf just like me and always had seconds. I am still not sure why we decided to make fun of it, but one day mom had a little too much of the kidding and declared she would not make meatloaf again. She was serious. I don’t remember ever having it again after that night.  Regardless of the edge over which we pushed mom, I still consider meatloaf a childhood comfort food. An important thing to not forget is the smushing of ingredients with hands. There is no way to properly combine ingredients without using hands. Don’t even consider excluding the step. I will probably make a summer salad tomorrow when the temperature gets up to a sweltering sunny 70 degrees, but today I cuddle under a warm blanket with my plate of loafy food watching the fog and rain.

Spicy Poblano Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 Tbsp avocado oil
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp chili powder (adjust amount to preferred spiciness)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
2 cups grated cheese (suggest cheddar or colby/monterrey jack mixture)
Sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add avocado oil to medium frying pan over medium high heat. When oil is hot add pepper, onion, celery, cumin seeds and garlic. Sprinkle generously with salt. Stir and cook until soft and browning begins. Add the chili powder, cumin, cilantro and parsley and stir. Continue cooking until liquid is reduced and some browning begins. Set aside mixture and let cool slightly. In large bowl add ground beef, eggs and cheese. With your hands mix together the three ingredients until well combined. Add cooked mixture and combine well. Load the meat into and press firmly in a 9 x 9 square baking dish. Place in oven and bake for one hour, until loaf separates from edges of pan and cheese bubbles up and begins to brown. Remove pan from oven and let cool for about ten minutes, letting the liquid settle. Serve with a vegetable side, like a creamy cabbage collard mix.

Posted in baked, beef, cheese, cilantro, Douglas Kitchen, eggs, garlic, onion, parsley, Uncategorized, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
22 Jul 2014

Stuffed Bell Peppers

stuffed pepper plated

We had some lovely visitors from Texas recently. While they were here we had big plans to cook a lot of stuff for them, but we ran out of meals and time. These bell peppers were still hanging out in the refrigerator after they left, so I needed to do somstuffed peppers panething wonderful and amazing with them. It was not their fault they were usurped by a brunch buffet, grilled ribeye, bacon wrapped asparagus and pizza. I used to never like stuffed peppers. They were often overcooked, filled with flavorless rice and left me hungry. When I first made stuffed peppers for myself I decided they needed to eliminate the unsavory elements. Heh. Get it? Unsavory? Okay, I will stop. I first tried stuffing poblano peppers, which turned out great. This time I worked with the previously spurned colorful bell peppers. Bottom line, I added flavor and subtracted rice. The peppers turned out to be a lively, satisfying meal on a rainy day after much errand running. Next time the peppers will not be second or third fiddle, but instead the first choice. Yummy!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

5-6 bell peppers, any color
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground sausage
1 egg
1 cup Colby/Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
1 tsp ground cumin
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp red chile flakes
1 cup beer (recommend an IPA)
5-6 slices Monterrey Jack cheese
Salt to taste
1 batch chimichurri (optional)

Remove top of each pepper, also removing pulp and seeds from inside. Rinse, shake out excess water and place in 8 x 11 inch baking dish. Divide onions equally among the peppers by dropping them into the bottom of each. Sprinkle onions with salt. In a large bowl combine beef, sausage, egg, grated cheese, cumin, garlic, salt, black pepper and chile flakes. Squishing it all together with your hands is the best method. Firmly press the meat mixture into each pepper until it is level with the top. Bake for 45 minutes. Place a slice of cheese on top of each pepper. Return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until peppers are soft and cheese begins to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for about ten minutes. Suggest serving drizzled with chimichurri.

Posted in baked, beef, cheese, Douglas Kitchen, garlic, onion, sausage, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
14 Jul 2014

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

protein pb choco cookies

These cookies look ready for a picnic, don’t they?! First impressions may give the appearance of being just a regular cookie, tempting you to abandon your diet or require an additional 20 minutes on the treadmill. Not so! Look closely and you will see they are full of protein, and only have sugar if you choose for them to. We love our sugar free chocolate bars all chopped up and performing the role of topping. Our cookie treats have evolved from the wheaty, to the sugary but not wheaty, to this finale of non-wheaty and non-sugary. We are pretty impressed with ourselves, especially Big D who has become quite the consummate baker! I even changed the name per his request to put the protein after the peanut butter and chocolate chip – I am so proud! Enjoy these cookies on a Sunday picnic, or a Tuesday night – what a treat!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

1 cup natural peanut butter
1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp butter
3 eggs
1 cup almond flour
2 Tbsp whey or hemp protein powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp Stevita
¼ tsp sea salt
1 cup chocolate chips (or sugar free chocolate bar, chopped)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine peanut butter, butter, eggs and vinegar in medium bowl. In a separate bowl combine remaining dry ingredients except chips. Add dry mix to wet ingredients and stir until well blended. The dough will be stiff. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper – paper is optional if sheets are nonstick. For each cookie take 1 – 2 tablespoons in hand and shape a cookie, about  ¼ inch thick and place on cookie sheet. Leave approximately ½ inch between cookies. Gently press three to four chocolate chips into the top of each cookie. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until cookies begin to brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before removing cookies from parchment paper.

Posted in baked, chocolate, cookies, Douglas Kitchen, eggs, nuts, snack, wheat free | Leave a Comment
02 Jul 2014

Baked Portobellos

stuffed portabello
I have mentioned in the past my long relationship with portobello mushrooms, their meatiness without being meat, and how well they work as a base for pizza and all things baked. This recipe relies on the mushrooms to utilize leftover chopped onions and sausage. Easy to put together and slide in the oven, I set them up then piddled while they were busy cooking. I was able to to shower, we made ice cream for dessert and even cleaned up the house a bit. Don’t worry. The flavor combination was nice a balanced, with the dressing flavoring the mushroom and the sausage and onion dancing well together. After dinner there was not much left to do but cuddle and read and chat with my family on our big green couch. That is the way I like spending weekday evenings after a busy day – a full stomach from a satisfying meal, and do nothing time, which dones more than nothing for us. That, or the beach, but the beach was for another day.

Baked Portabellos

4 large portabello mushrooms
1/2 – 3/4 cup ranch dressing
1/2 pound ground hot Italian sausage
3/4 cup white onion, chopped
8 slices cheese
1 batch guacamole (optional)

Gently cook sausage in a frying pan over medium heat, breaking it up into bite-sized pieces, but not too small. It can be left slightly pink (it will finish cooking on the mushrooms). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place mushrooms cap side down on work surface, leaving the stems attached. With the back of a spoon spread dressing on the gills of the mushrooms. Place sausage pieces on the gills, surrounding the stem. Sprinkle onion on top of the sausage. Place two pieces of cheese on top of each mushroom, lining them up unevenly so most of the sausage and onion is covered. Place mushrooms on baking sheet. Place sheet in oven and bake for 45 minutes to one hour. The cheese should be melted and starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes. Serve plain or with guacamole.

Posted in baked, Douglas Kitchen, onion, sausage, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
28 Jun 2014

Jalapeno Poppers

stuffed jalapenos_edited-1

During the first year of my blog I made some addictive jalapeno popper dip. It had the stuffed jalapeno taste and we spread it bumpily on almost everything until the last spoonful was gone. After finding jalapenos on sale at the store the other day I decided it was time to again delve into the jalapeno popper world, with the intent of creating a more original result. We have experimented with finding a coating that bakes up crisp during our foray into making Scotch Eggs. Confident in our knowledge  from many egg batches, we applied the same idea to these poppers. Instead of making it easy on ourselves by cutting the peppers in half and stuffing them, we wanted them whole, but also breaded! Why keep it simple and wrap them in bacon? Hmmm….bacon. Not this time. Much too easy and predictable. We wanted to taste the peppers, which would be harder if the bacon was involved. It is a very domineering ingredient, although it goes with almost anything. Now I want some bacon…..but on to the bacon-less poppers! The filling stayed in the poppers and kept them filled, the breading stayed stuck, and boy did we taste the peppers! We expected a varying level of hot among the peppers, as is typical, but Big D got quite a surprise. He must have bit into a seed cluster juuuuust right, for he went running for a drink, then dove for a piece of bread, where he finally found relief. It is rare when he gets over heated by spice, much less have tears well in his eyes because of them. I had no such biting surprise, but really enjoyed noshing on the poppers and relished their return to our growing list of things-we-gave-up-and-missed-but-now-have-back-again. Yay!

Jalapeno Poppers

8 – 10 medium/large jalapenos (as straight as you can find)
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2 egg whites
1 cup golden flaxseed meal
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
Ranch Dressing (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay jalapenos on a flat surface and figure out which side they rest on most stably. On the side opposite of the resting side cut a narrow opening that stops short of both ends lengthwise – narrow enough to keep the stuffing in, but wide enough to clean out the seeds and pulp from inside the pepper. Leave the stem attached. With a small spoon or narrow knife gently scrape out some seeds and pulp, making room for the stuffing. Set aside the jalapenos. In a medium bowl place the cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Heat in microwave on 50% power for one minute, until softened. Add 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp sea salt and stir until ingredients are combined. Using a small spoon gently push cheese mixture into the jalapenos until they are full, or the filling is used up. Place the egg whites in a medium bowl and whisk until slightly foamy. In another bowl combine the flaxseed meal, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp salt. Dip each stuffed jalapeno in egg whites, then roll in flaxseed mixture until well coated, pressing some of the meal against the pepper where it does not instantly cling. Gently place coated jalapenosin a small baking dish, with a little space between. Bake for about 50 minutes, until coating browns and peppers are soft. Remove and let cool for five minutes. Serve with ranch dressing or other dipping sauce.

Posted in baked, cheese, Douglas Kitchen, eggs, flaxseed, wheat free | Leave a Comment
16 Jun 2014

Beef and Cheese Enchiladas

lc beef enchiladasThis pan of melted cheese may not look like much, but it represents an exciting success for us. It is another one of those comfort foods we abandoned a while back when we focused on low carb eating. Except for those silly little carby tortillas needed to roll up an enchilada, the traditional ingredients are friendly to our diet. Now, I am sure you already think us crazy for following a restrictive diet. Remember when eggs were bad for you, then red wine were good for you, then maybe not, then….you get the idea. The pros and cons of all kinds of diets in American society fluctuates constantly, so I no longer worry too much about what other people think is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for us. We feel good, are losing excess weight, and trying to be good examples for our daughter, who we hope can avoid the overweight challenges we currently face. To make us even more crazy we added to a new element to our eating habits. Big D addresses it here very well, so I won’t go into details about intermittent fasting. One side effect of the fasting is that we very much appreciate and value what we eat and look forward to our food-making sessions even more. Some of our sessions resulted in Big D figuring out tortillas recently. We almost immediately decided that a good use of them was experimenting with enchiladas, using the thinnest ones he made. This recipe was enough to fill us up and sate our longing for that South Texas comfort food. Served up with some guacamole and some roasted vegetables, they are so very very good, especially right before a fasting period. I still have not figured out a substitute for refried beans, but give me some time.

Beef and Cheese Enchiladas

4 large tortillas
2 cups taco meat or leftover shredded roast
4 cups shredded colby jack cheese
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes and chiles, drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay out tortillas on a flat surface. Place 1/2 cup of taco meat and 1/2 cup of cheese on each. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Make ready a deep, rectangular loaf pan. Roll a filled tortilla until the opposite edges overlap. Place it snugly in the pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and fit them closely in the pan, ensuring they don’t unravel when the pan is full. Spread tomatoes and chiles over the top of the enchiladas. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 35 – 45 minutes, until cheese is melted and edges are browning and crispy. Remove from oven and let sit for five minutes before serving.

Posted in baked, beef, cheese, Douglas Kitchen, tomato, wheat free | Leave a Comment

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