Saint Patrick’s Day & Guinness Stew

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Once a year I celebrate part of my heritage by making Guinness Stew. My mom always made corned beef and cabbage for this day, but I never liked it growing up. I do now, but by the time I found a taste for it, I already started making this stew. What made this even better is that it is usually still cool outside, so eating stew is comforting and warm. 

 

I always try to be healthy in everything I cook. Adding an entire Guinness beer may not be the best ingredient, but I am okay with it once a year. I do not purchase pre-cut stew meat. I find that I get more for my money when I cut up a roast myself, there's less fat that I have to waste, and all of the pieces are uniform in size, which is important when cooking a soup or stew. I like to buy grass-fed beef. It has less fat, and has omega 3 fatty acids. I also utilized bone broth for the extra collagen. I do make my own on occasion, and will make a post about how I do it soon, but in a pinch, there are many good options at the grocery store. 

Next tip, use the flavors from the meat that you have browned! Once you are done browning the meat, there will be all kinds of dark bits on the bottom of the pot. Do not clean that out. Add your veggies right into that and scrape them up as they veggies cook. It will add more flavor to your stew. 

Guinness Stew

3 pounds of beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 large onion, chopped

6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 TBS of olive oil

2 TBS of butter

1 small can of tomato paste

2 TBS of flour (I used gluten free, even though I added a beer lol)

1 bottle of Guinness (do not make the mistake I made today and use the draught...just use the regular one. The draught added a slight bitterness. I didn't mind it, but I prefer it with the regular)

32 oz. of beef bone broth

1 tsp each of sea salt and pepper

1/2 tsp of thyme

1 bay leaf

1 TBS of honey

Mashed Potatoes (you will serve the stew over the mashed potatoes if you're wondering why a stew doesn't contain taters)

6 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut up

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp salt, divided

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 stick of butter

1/4 cup of real sour cream (look at the ingredients and make sure it is cultured. A lot of brands add thickeners)

3/4 cup of milk

1/4 of a small head of green cabbage, finely shredded

1/2 cup of shredded white cheddar (I use a raw milk cheddar)

For the Stew:

1. Heat a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, and begin to brown your stew meat in batches.

2. Once the meet has been browned, set it aside. Add your veggies to the dutch oven and saute until the onions are translucent; scraping the browned bits from the meat up while you cook the veggies. 

3. When the onions are translucent, add the butter and stir around until it's melted. Now add your flour and stir to combine with the veggies and butter.

4. Add your can of tomato paste and stir to combine. 

5. Add in the bottle of Guinness, the beef broth, and all of your seasonings.

6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and slow cook, stirring occasionally for 2 hours. Then serve over mashed potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes

1. Place your cut up potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Add 1 tsp of salt to the water, cover and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes, and check to see if they will fall off of a fork. You may have to cook them a few minutes longer depending on your stove.

2. When the potatoes will slide off of a fork, remove from heat and drain the water. 

3. Add the butter, sour cream, remaining 1/2 tsp of sea salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and garlic powder. Mash everything together with a potato masher, and then add the milk and mash some more until a smooth consistency. 

4. Fold the shredded cabbage and cheese into the mashed potatoes. 

Plate your stew by putting a couple scoops of mashed potatoes in a bowl, and then topping with the stew. We had ours with freshly baked Soda Bread, and homemade butter. Yep your girl made homemade butter today and it is the best butter I have ever tasted! That's a whole other blog post! But, I foresee a lot more of those cool things coming on the blog soon later this year. I hope you had an awesome day. I am so looking forward to showing y'all how to make Cajun Alfredo tomorrow. 

 

Broccoli Salad

 It's been a minute since I have given this blog the attention it deserves. Over the past few years since my divorce, I felt a little lost, not really feeling it. Maybe not so much lost as tired. Really tired...but accomplished. In the past 6 years...holy moly it's been SIX YEARS! I finished my degree, I went back to work full-time, I moved to a new town, I got into a healthy relationship, I got my teaching certification, and I have been working with the most amazing kiddos. But, that did not leave much time for me to do things like create recipes and keep up with a blog. The mental impact of prior life events probably took the most out of me to be honest, but I am very happily on the other side. 

Enter breathing new life into this forgotten piece of web space. Let's try to forget when I made the attempt at doing so a few years back, changing the name of my blog to appease someone who did not like my original name. I had to go through each of the old posts, unpublish them and republish them so that they can be found with this blog. Soooo, let's get started, and get this Lady back in the Kitchen. BTW, Sarah J...this one is for you, as you have always been my biggest blog supporter. Love you girl. Now let's make some Broccoli Salad!

I have always had allergies, and I found out when I was 35 that I had a whole slew of food allergies. I went from eating whatever I wanted (and feeling like crap) to having a doctor scratch his head and tell me he has no idea how I never ended up in the hospital while he put in a prescription for an Epi-pen for me. Talk about a depressing realization. Misery loves company I guess, and I am so fortunate to have found my soulmate when it comes to not only life but also allergies! Justin has horrible allergies and food intolerances, and I have found myself once again navigating my way through the kitchen to make good for us food taste like normal food...Like Broccoli Salad. 

Broccoli Salad

2 crowns of broccoli, chopped into little florets

1/4 of a small red onion, diced

4 slices of uncured bacon, cooked crispy and chopped

4 Medjool dates, pitted, and chopped

1/3 cup of slivered almonds, toasted

1/3 cup of shredded cheddar (I used raw cheddar, shredded off the block)

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1 1/2 TBS apple cider vinegar

1 TBS of honey

1/2 tsp of poppy seeds

salt & pepper to taste

1. Blanch the chopped broccoli in salted, boiling water until it turns bright green. This should not take more than a couple of minutes. Immediately drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. 

2. In a bowl, combine the cooled broccoli, red onion, dates, bacon, and almonds. 

3. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, and poppy seeds, and whisk to combine. 

4. Pour the mayonnaise mixture (Dressing) over the broccoli salad, and toss to combine. Add  the shredded cheddar, season with salt and pepper, and toss. 

5. Plate up and eat. We ate ours with grilled chicken. 

This salad screams backyard BBQ in the summer. Depending on how salty your bacon is, you may not have to add much salt. It's slightly smoky, a little sweet, a little salty, and just so full of different flavors and textures. It's soooo good. You're welcome.

Lemon & Herb Tilapia

New year, new me, new name for my blog. I have been absent from the bloggosphere for a loooooong time, and I wasn't quite sure if I could come back. I had written a post going over the events of the last few years, but in the end, I decided to not post it. What I have decided to do at the advice of my better half (Better Half is named Troy) is revamp my blog, and breathe new life into it, which may in turn breathe new life back into myself as I have been kind of lost for the last couple of years, floating around, existing. 

I needed to do something, I needed to rediscover parts of myself that I have let fall along the wayside, and go back to doing the things that make me happy, because if you never listen to another word I say, you must listen to this. If you are not happy in the world you live in, you will just exist. You will lose yourself, and then you will slowly begin to fall apart. You won't be any good to those who love you and depend on you. 

Soooo, back into the gym....and back into the kitchen I have gone. I have gone, dragging with me a few extra pounds. HA! That's from all of the eating my feelings of despair and anxiety. That kids is NOT healthy. Having said that, this recipe is, so now that I've drugged through the dark corners of my mind, much like my mindset on any given day, we shall move on to something fun...and delicious. 

By the way, I started to tell you that I changed the name of my blog. I felt like this was a more meaningful name. Because the last couple of years have forced me to strip down my life, to simplify it in so many ways, so I think this was a much more fitting name (in more ways than one). I am very excited to share all of this with you.  

Now back to the food! So, in the realm of fish, I am very much a salmon girl, and with that I am very specific with the salmon I like, Sockeye is my favorite. I also like red snapper, and cod. I had never cooked or eaten tilapia. When we talked about starting to eat right again, the first thing I default to is fish. It's quick, easy and super healthy, but not always cheap. Enter in tilapia. I know it is not one of the healthier, greener, wild caught fish, but when trying to eat healthy on a budget, price can be more important. Friends, don't let others make you feel guilty for trying to eat better on a budget. Do what you can afford, because at the end of the day, your tilapia that may not be wild caught sockeye salmon from the Copper River, but it is 1000% better than fast food, or something prepackaged. 

Oh, and I also work full time, and have kids in sports that I have to attend, so this is not only money budget friendly, but time budget friendly too. You have to budget time for yourself to do things that are good for you...Self care is incredibly important. I feel that is important to point out as we made this meal, and still had time to go to the gym, and be home to say goodnight to my boys. So, here goes...

Lemon & Herb Tilapia

This was super simple, super quick, and super tasty! 

Equipment needed:

1 large seasoned cast iron or non-stick pan

Tongs and/or metal spatula

Ingredients:

6 tilapia fillets

Sea salt & pepper

1TBS extra virgin olive oil

4TBS of grass-fed butter or ghee, melted in a bowl

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

2 tsp of dried parsley

1/2 tsp of dried basil

1/8 tsp of red pepper flakes

1 lemon, zest

Juice from half of the zested lemon

Directions:

Heat olive oil over med-high heat until you see it kind of ripple in the skillet. Meanwhile season your fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Place in the hot pan, and let it sear for about 3 minutes and then flip. 

Meanwhile, add to your melted butter, the salt, pepper, spices & herbs, zest and juice. Reduce heat, flip fish back over and pour the butter mixture evenly over the fillets. That's it. Super easy, full of flavor, and it looks pretty. You really should try it. I served it with roasted cauliflower, and a quinoa-brown rice blend. Of course, tomorrow starts a round of Whole 30 for us, so I won't be having the quinoa-rice (sad face). At any rate, you need to make this tomorrow. Thank you for listening to my ramble!

 

Back to School Gear Up

                              

Today has been a very productive day I must say. Much like most parents in the country, I am gearing up to send my children off to school tomorrow morning (YES!!...not really, I will miss them.) Today I have made homemade tomato sauce (lovingly simmered all day as if made by a little Italian grandmother), I have made mini meatballs for lunches later this week, chicken salad (again for lunches), a slow-roasted chicken which will be on the blog tomorrow, and I have two loaves of banana bread in the oven, and have cooked the bacon for the Urban Poser's Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies! 

I'd say that school prep is coming along swimmingly for my 4 kiddos (2 high schoolers and 2 elementary). And of course God has a sense of humor, so they all have to be out the door for school at the same time. This does make getting them fed easier since they are all on the same schedule. But, it also means that I don't have a ton of time to be cranking out pancakes either (although, I'm sure they wish that I did!) What works best for us to have breakfast basics pre-made and ready to go. In another life, my kids loved cereal--Captain Crunch, Cheerios, if it was full of "whole grains" and full of sugar, you can bet they loved it. The problem was that even before I changed the way we eat, I was fed up with buying it because a serving wasn't enough to fill them up, and they would go through a box each morning. I was tired of buying it. Fast forward to now, and with the modern miracle of Pinterest, I have found a few great paleo cereal recipes that are grain free, and low sugar. They best part is that they are filling, and my kids love them. Here are the two favorites: Cinnamon Pecan Crunch-Cavegirl Cuisine and Fruit & Chocolate Cereal With Honey Almond Clusters-Fast Paleo. Both of these are awesome, our favorite is the Cinnamon Pecan Crunch, and she has a few more recipes that I am going to make to add to the rotation. 

Another breakfast staple in the Polizzotti home are Mini Quiche. They are super easy to make, and my kids love them paired with fresh fruit salad. I will make these on a Sunday, and since I am feeding an army, I double the recipe, and make a ton so they can just grab them out of the fridge for breakfast throughout the week. This started out as a recipe that I got from my Mom, and over time it has morphed into something that we all love. So, without further adieu, I give you, Mini Quiche.

Equipment needed: Mini muffin pan. Mine makes 24.

Mini Quiche

1 pound of breakfast sausage OR 1 pound of uncured bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

1 bunch of green onions, cleaned and chopped

1 clove of garlic, through garlic press, or finely minced

1 1/2 cups of baby spinach, finally chopped OR 1 cup of finely chopped broccoli

1 cup of cheddar cheese (I use an organic, cheese from pasture raised, grass fed cows)

12 eggs

1 cup of milk (again, organic, and grass-fed cows)

1/2 tsp of sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

olive oil for brushing the insides of the muffin pan.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush olive oil inside the muffin tins and set aside. In a large skillet over med-high heat, brown your sausage, using a spoon to break it up into small pieces. While the sausage is cooking, in a large bowl, combine your veggies and cheese and set aside. 

When the sausage is cooked, remove from heat, and allow to cool down for about 5 minutes. While the sausage is cooling, in another bowl whisk together your eggs, milk, and S&P. 

After the sausage has cooled for 5 minutes, combine with the veggies and cheese (or combine your bacon with the veggies and cheese.) Spoon a scant tablespoon of the meat-veggie-cheese mixture into each cup of the muffin tin. 

Carefully pour the egg-milk mixture over the meat-veggies-cheese so that there is maybe 1/4-1/8" of room from the top.

                          

Place the pan in your preheated oven, and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until they have puffed up and are golden brown, or until the centers are set. Remove from oven, and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing. 

After they are completely cooled, I place them in Ziploc bags and place into the refrigerator for breakfasts for the week. I have not personally froze these before, but my mom has tried to freeze hers and they were watery when she reheated them, so I do not recommend freezing. They should last a week in the fridge, but not really, because they will be gone before then! 

So, there you have it. Back to school gear up made easy. Good luck to everyone who has little ones, and not so little ones returning to school this year!

**I used sausage and spinach in these quiches. My kids hands down prefer the bacon though. In regard to the broccoli, be forewarned the broccoli will be pungent. My kids do not like the broccoli quiche, so if you are making these for picky eaters, definitely use the spinach! 

Also, due to the cheese and milk, these are not strict paleo, but still grain free. I would not omit the cheese, because that is what kind of constitutes quiche. Just be sure to use good quality ingredients. Good luck, and eat well. 

What to make the evening before you absolutely must go grocery shopping...

This was a quick meal that I pulled together with what I had on hand right before I absolutely needed to go grocery shopping. I love these kinds of meals because I almost feel as if I am on "Chopped," having to prepare an edible, tasty meal out of random ingredients, and these kinds of meals are usually the best meals too. I still am not sure what to call this, so I will just call it Red Chili Beef. I paired it with these awesome flat breads which happen to have a resemblance to flour tortillas. The recipe for them is here: 3 Ingredient Paleo Naan (Indian Bread) - My Heart Beets 

Red Chili Beef

2 pounds of grass fed ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced

2 carrots, peeled and grated

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 TBS coconut oil

1 1/2 cups Red Enchilada Sauce (I used El Pato)

1/2 tsp sea salt

This is super easy. Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add ground beef, and begin to brown. Use a large spoon to break up the meat as it browns. After two minutes, add the onion, garlic, carrots, red bell pepper, and sea salt. Continue to cook, stirring to make sure the meat browns evenly until the meat is fully cooked. Add the enchilada sauce and give a good stir to combine, reduce heat to low, and continue to cook until the sauce is completely heated through. Serve with the flatbread or tortilla of your choice, and chopped tomatoes, green onions, and whatever other favorite taco toppings you have on hand (salsa, guac, etc.) I gave mine a squeeze of lime before serving.

This meal received an overwhelming thumbs up from all four of my kiddos. It was super quick to throw together (30 minutes or less), and I was able to make it while taking an important phone call, so it is almost impossible to screw up. What I like most is the fact that it is filled with veggies. It paired really well with the flat bread, and trust me, you must try that recipe because they were so delicious, and you won't even miss regular tortillas! Eat well, and be well...

Wild Alaskan Salmon with Lemon & Garlic Pan Potatoes

As of late I have been really missing living in Washington State. I miss the weather (seriously), I miss the Sound, I miss the mountains, and I miss the trees along with the beautiful trails on which one could run. And, let's face it, for a foodie, it doesn't get much better than living in the PACNW. Within 30 minutes of my home I had a butcher who sold grass fed beef and sugar free jerky, sausage, and bacon;  I had a health/natural foods market, and Trader Joe's. In the summer we had glorious farmer's markets with gorgeous local produce, meats, and wild caught fish, and in the fall we had apple orchards, and pumpkin patches. Getting wild-caught, Alaskan Salmon was easy, and not a drain on the pocket book.  I love cold water fish. Salmon, trout, steelhead...they are the best. I have even caught them myself (with the exception of salmon), gutted, cleaned, and cooked them up, because this girl can fish. It was the ability to go fishing in mountain lakes and streams, and the ability to be able to obtain wild salmon that perhaps made me not want to leave the most. 

So you can imagine my joy when I happened upon some wild caught Alaskan Salmon (from the Copper River of all places) in the freezer section of my local grocery...here in Texas. I was practically doing summersaults in the aisle! So, of course I bought some. 

I had initially hoped to pair it with roasted sweet potatoes, but I forgot that I had already used them. Since potatoes seem to be caveman acceptable these days, I peeled some up, and pan cooked them in bacon grease, and added some green beans with toasted almonds on the side. This meal was simple, but seriously, out of the park..and it truly helped that it was a rainy day, so I truly felt like I was transported out west.

                          

Roasted Wild Alaskan Salmon

24 oz Sockeye Salmon Filet *this recipe makes 6 servings or some serious leftovers

1 TBS Coconut Aminos or wheat free Tamari

2 tsp Texas Pete's hot sauce

1/4 tsp granulated garlic

pinch of sea salt

8 grinds of freshly cracked pepper

The juice of half of a lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Combine all ingredients except the salmon in a small bowl, and stir to combine. Place salmon skin side down on the prepared baking sheet, and carefully pour the marinade over the top of the fish making sure to coat evenly (use a pastry brush if you need to to cover the entire surface of the meat). Place into oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily.

Pan Roasted Potatoes with Lemon & Garlic

6 large potatoes (pick your poison, yukon gold, red, or russet), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1 inch slices.

2 TBS bacon grease

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 cloves of garlic, peeled, and smashed into pieces

The juice of half of a lemon

1 TBS of fresh, flat leaf parsley chopped

Heat bacon grease in a large, cast iron skillet over med-high heat. Add the potatoes, and fry stirring every few minutes. Once they begin to brown, reduce heat to medium, and add the garlic and S&P. Continue cooking for about 25 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender (cooking time may vary depending on the type of potato you use). Squeeze lemon juice over the potatoes, and stir in parsley. Serve warm with your choice of protein. 

Omelets for Dummies

          

Omelets are one of my favorite breakfast foods. My Dad used to make them sometimes when I was a kid. He took his omelet making very seriously--he even had a special pan that he kept seasoned so the eggs would slide right out. That pan was, and STILL is a point of contention between my Dad and my Mom because he will season the pan, and without fail, she will use it, and put it in the dishwasher, so that he will have to season it all over again. 

At any rate,  omelets are not as daunting as they look. Of course I kind of cheat, and use a non-stick pan, because I am not brave enough to try making them in a regular pan like my Dad. Once you master making the eggs for your omelet, the sky is the limit as to the fillings you can add to it. So, I am going to break it down for you step by step.

I always make my filling before I make my eggs. This way, it is done, and my eggs won't be waiting. My favorite, filling is a mix of onion, garlic, red bell pepper, mushrooms, uncured ham, spinach, and tomato, and then top it with salsa and avocado. Sadly, I did not have any avocado. 

For 1 omelet I use:

2 tsp ghee

2 oz uncured, sugar free, minimally processed ham (I use Applegate), chopped

1/4 cup of chopped red onion

1 small clove of garlic, minced

1/3 cup of chopped red/yellow bell pepper

1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped

1/2 roma tomato, diced

1 large handful of baby spinach, chiffonade (roll it up like a cigar and run a knife through it so it is cut into tiny "ribbons")

sea salt and pepper to taste

Heat ghee in skillet over med-high heat. Add ham, and sauté. When it starts to brown up, then add your onions, and garlic. Sauté until the onion is translucent, then add your mushrooms, and season with sea salt and pepper. Once your mushrooms begin to brown up a little add your bell pepper, and sauté for about a minute. (Please do not over cook your bell pepper, that's nasty.) Turn off your heat, and add the spinach and tomato, and toss together well. 

                              

Now onto the important part...The Eggs!

You will need:

10 inch non-stick skillet (unless you have a stainless steel omelet pan that is cured and ready to go.)

3 tsp of ghee

2 eggs

1 egg white

a pinch of sea salt

4 grinds of pepper

A small bowl

A whisk

A heat resistant spatula

1. Begin by preheating your broiler in your oven with the rack in the middle. (You don't want it too close to the element!)

2. Heat the ghee in your skillet over medium heat. While that is heating, whisk together your 2 whole eggs, 1 egg white, and sea salt and pepper.

3. Lift your pan and move it around to make sure the ghee coats the pan. Then set back on burner and pour in your eggs. 

This is where it gets tricky, and my photography gets blurry...

4. Now that the eggs are in the pan, you will want to use your spatula to drag some of the eggs into the middle of the pan. As soon as you do this, you want to move the pan so that egg replaces the egg you moved away.

Continue to do this until the eggs begin to set. It makes for a thicker, fluffier omelet. At this point, your eggs should look like this...

It is at this point when the bottom is set, and the top is wet that you turn off your burner, and move your pan to under the broiler. (Please make sure that your pan is all metal...not plastic or wooden handles!

                                  

Close the oven door, and literally it will only take a minute, so stay there and watch it. See how it fluffs up?!

5. With a dish towel or pot holder, remove the pan from your oven. Take your spatula and run it around the edges of your eggs to loosen them up. They should slide around fairly easily in the pan.

6. Take your filling and place on 1/2 of the eggs, then very gingerly slide your spatula under the opposite side and fold the eggs over.

7. Carefully shake the pan to make sure the omelet will slide around, and then carefully slide it onto your plate. I then top mine with salsa.

That's it. Truly, it only takes a few minutes to make, but it looks and tastes like a special breakfast. Go forth and try your new skill. Your family will thank you!

**Should you decide to add cheese to your omelet, you can do this as you pull it out of the broiler. It will melt, and give a grip to your filling.