Paleo snack attack: Salami & Avocado

If I were to pretty these up, I might leave the salami flat and sprinkle some minced red onion or chives on top of the avocado, but this plate was born of desperation! Two hours to dinner and I'm starting to get low-blood-sugar-stupid. So I rummaged around in the fridge, and this is what I came up with: a bit of creamy avocado spread over some organic salami and folded over into a mini "taco". Yeah, it's a bit of a cultural mish-mash, but if the salami is sugar-free, you've got a Whole30 compliant, Paleo-friendly, super-quick snack!

Foolproof, easy, 4-ingredient homemade mayonnaise

I've been meaning to try to make my own mayonnaise for ages, because it seems impossible to find a mayo that's both sugar-free and not made with canola. Most, if not all, canola is genetically modified. And sugar in mayonnaise?! Yeah, you'd be surprised. Read labels next time you go to the store.

But I thought homemade mayo surely had to be tricky. Perfect temperatures and/or timing, danger of the emulsion breaking, that sort of thing.

Turns out... nope! I tried this recipe and method from The Healthy Foodie, and it's so easy it's ridiculous! Worked the first time, and the second. (That's all I've made so far.) All that's necessary is a stick blender, and a jar that's the right size. It might also be just as doable in a normal blender, but I haven't tested that.

And, yes, for those who care: this is Paleo, and Whole30 compliant.

Perfect for my gluten-free, grain-free "BLT's without bread"! A super-easy, low-carb Paleo snack or meal. Quick, too, if you have already-cooked bacon on hand -- and you should!

I go crazy for these when good tomatoes are in season! But they're still pretty tasty when the only decent tomatoes available around here (<sarcasm> yay, winter in Kansas! </sarcasm>) are grape tomatoes.

Easy homemade mayo recipe

1 large egg, taken straight out of the fridge (no need to bring to room temp)

1 cup very-light-tasting olive oil (NOT virgin), or other flavorless oil of your choice
2 - 3 teaspoons lemon juice, rice vinegar, or other pale vinegar of your choice
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon salt (start small; mix; taste; adjust if necessary)

Here's the original mayo recipe, with detailed instructions. The size of the jar matters, so I recommend looking that up.

Note: when freshly made, it tastes kinda oily. If you're going to immediately blend it into a salad dressing or slaw mix, that won't be a problem. But if it's going to be a star player, a chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight will be a good thing.

P.S. My old Braun stick blender (also called an immersion blender or hand blender) went kaput this week, so I just ordered a new one from Amazon - Cuisinart this time. I consider it an absolute essential in the kitchen! The price goes up and down on Amazon, so if you want one and it's currently over $45 -- and you're not in a hurry -- put it in your cart and leave it there. They'll send you an email if the price goes down!

Mealprep: 40 recipes to stock your freezer and free your mind!

One of the best ways to eat healthy is to eat at home more. But for any busy person, this becomes a real challenge when it's 4:30 and you have no idea what to make for dinner. Prepping some ingredients and/or dishes ahead of time to stash in the freezer can save the day. Not only does it save you cooking time, it also saves you brain effort at the very time of day your brain is most overtaxed!

Sure, these mean a little more work on the weekend -- but you can do it at a leisurely pace, when you're rested and not rushed. Which I've found makes cooking so much more enjoyable! 

A week of dinners in the freezer, from The Kitchn. Recipes for: Baked Manicotti - Freezer Taco Kits - Twice-Baked Potatoes - Chile & Sausage Oven Frittata - Cranberry Pork Chops - Chicken and Wild Rice Bake. (Also includes side dishes, not listed here.) You can also find this same list of recipes with additional notes on how to turn prep day into a Freezer Meals Party.

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Here are tips for stocking your freezer with precooked and seasoned meats, which gives you more versatility than already-assembled dishes. Includes instructions (but not exact recipes) for twice-baked potatoes, two different ground beef mixes, a teriyaki marinade that you can use on any meat, poultry or seafood (lots of sugar in it, though), and shredded chicken plus broth. Also has a few nifty tricks for neater packaging.

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Here's Pioneer Woman's freezer cooking post. Not a lot of healthy stuff on the list, but I do love her tip for grilling whole chicken breasts and freezing them to have on hand for dozens of uses. I count about 11 main-dish recipes on her list, skipping the carb-laden ones.

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I also like this method for an easy way to cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts, from Small Home Big Start. 

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Eight healthy freezer crockpot meals in 75 minutes, from New Leaf Wellness. Well, really four different meals, double batch of each. Beef Roast and Carrots - Chicken Fajitas - Mexican Chicken Soup - Garden Veggie Soup with Ground Beef.

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10 meals in 1 hour - super organized and detailed; even includes shopping list! Really just five recipes; double batch of each. Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken -  London Broil - Quick Taco Soup - Orange Glazed Pork Chops - Creamy Italian Chicken

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10 meals in 1 hour, take 2; the no-bake version; includes five warm weather recipes that are cooked either on the grill or in the crockpot—no oven required!

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A planned/non-planned approach. No recipes here, but some pointers for stocking your freezer with ready-to-go meat and cheese portions, then how to plan meals the weekend or night before, taking into account your schedule, the weather, and what's in your fridge that needs to be used up.

And here are a few ingredients to have pre-cooked and ready in the freezer:

• Carmelized onions
• Roasted garlic
• Perfect brown rice, in the oven

And a few things to know about food safety and quality:

• Learn about safe food storage
• How to avoid freezer burn
• Tips on organizing your freezer

Eggs on avocado toast - easy, clean-eating breakfast or lunch!

The moment I saw the photo on Pinterest of Simple Poached Egg and Avocado Toast at Pinch of Yum, I was hungry for this combo! But I thought it would be even better with a sprinkling of crispy bacon on top. Especially since I had some already-cooked bacon in the fridge. (Because of this: the best and easiest way to cook bacon.)

Better with bacon? Yep: I was right! The contrast of crispy whole-wheat toast, creamy mashed avocado, warm/runny egg yolk and crunchy bacon = heaven!

Poached eggs are a little challenging; her method makes them a bit simpler, but you could also just fry your eggs. My avocado was a bit too firm, so I added a bit of mayo to it. And then a dash of garlic salt, just cuz. Sprinkled on some fresh ground black pepper and a wee bit of thyme -- totally optional, but pretty!

Now I wish I were going to be home for lunch tomorrow, because I am already hungry for it again!

Diet-friendly? Almost paleo (full-on paleo if you skip the bread); gluten free if you use gluten free bread for the toast; clean eating if the bacon passes muster; South Beach / low carb for maintenance level.

12 Easy Glaze Recipes for Roasted Chicken

One of the easiest meals possible is to get a plain store-roasted chicken, then add your own simple sauces or glazes. Of course, you can start with a chicken you've roasted yourself, too.

Why not just buy a pre-glazed one? Making your own glaze ensures that there's no corn syrup - high-fructose or otherwise - in the glaze, or other unwanted ingredients, be they soy, gluten, white sugar, high sodium, or MSG.

Most of these have a high level of sugar, usually in the form of honey or maple syrup. So to keep them from burning, you'll want to add the glaze right before serving or give it just a few minutes in the oven. If you're on a sugar-restricted diet, you can cut back the sugar part of the equation.

One suggestion: since a lot of these are sticky, you may want to cut the chicken up into serving pieces before glazing. But that's optional.

Here are a few simple recipes that you can whip up quickly and easily -- or make the night before and have ready to go right when you get home! Many of them have just three ingredients.

Chutney-glazed chicken -- Chutney, lime juice, and curry powder.

Maple black pepper glaze -- Maple syrup, butter, and black pepper. Pretty simple!

Honey-spiced glaze -- Honey, olive oil, cinnamon, and paprika. Rated 5 stars.

photo by Taste of Home

A fruit-and-wine glaze from Taste of Home -- White wine or chicken broth, apricot preserves or quince jelly, and a bit of mustard. Rated 4 stars.

Orange-rosemary glazed chicken -- Orange marmalade, rosemary, and your choice of vinegar.

Honey-lemon-soy glaze -- The ingredients are -- surprise! -- honey, lemon juice, and soy.

photo by Eating Well

Pomegranate glaze -- Uses pomegranate molasses (with instructions to make your own, if you wish), honey and black pepper.

Barbeque, honey and soy -- Another easy, 4-star recipe, from Taste of Home.

Red-hot honey glaze -- A buffalo chicken style sauce from Bobby Flay. Includes a recipe for a blue cheese dipping sauce.

photo by The Sriracha Cookbook website

Honey sriracha lime glaze -- Although this recipe is for wings, you can use on any chicken pieces. Experiment to find the right level of heat/sriracha for you. Also, I think the added salt is unnecessary.

Korean barbecue sauce -- This is one you might want to make ahead; it has several ingredients, and benefits from some time simmering. I've made this; if you cook it low and slow long enough, you can skip the corn syrup and water part. But don't cook it too high; it burns easily. (Voice of experience!)

Honey-mustard glaze -- You could skip the curry if you don't like curry or don't have any.

Cornmeal-flaxseed pancakes with maple berry sauce

Quick to whip up, wheat-free, gluten-free, sugar-free -- and still delicious! I've been making these for months, but just now got around to posting them. I'm trying life wheat-free for a while, and these are a great substitute for traditional wheat flour pancakes.

This recipe came about when I tried this recipe for Blueberry Flax Microwave Muffines via Spark People, I loved the ease, nutrition, and flavor of the original recipe, but the grainy texture just didn't seem right for a muffin.

So that actually became my inspiration. It reminded me of the texture of cornbread, and I LOVE cornbread! It's one of the things I missed the most when I went low-carb. When my kids were little (before I went low-carb), we would sometimes have cornmeal pancakes for dinner. Just swap out cornmeal for half the flour, and you've got a pancake with a texture somewhere between pancakes and cornbread. Soaked in melted butter and maple syrup; mmm...! Replacing some of the maple syrup with berries adds vitamins and fiber; a small nudge toward healthier fare.

But back to these wheat-free pancakes... Another drawback was that putting frozen blueberries in the muffins made them pretty ugly. Trust me: they looked NOTHING like the picture! Also, egg in the microwave has a super-fine line between undercooked and rubbery.

So to solve all these shortcomings but keep them quick and easy, I...

• Replaced half the flaxmeal with corn meal
• Turned them into pancakes, made stove-top
• Took the blueberries out of the mix and served them on top as a sauce/syrup (I use whatever berries I have on hand: raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or a mix.)

Result? Quick, easy, tasty breakfast!

IMPORTANT NOTE: The dry ingredient amounts below make a batch of dry mix, which you then use a little at a time to make 1 or 2 servings. The mix is enough to make four single batches.

Cornmeal-flax pancakes with maple berry sauce

Dry mix:
1/2 c. flaxseed, freshly ground
1/4 c. + 2 T. cornmeal (gluten-free, if necessary)
2 tsp. baking soda
4 pinches salt
Combine and store in airtight container, at room temp or in fridge. Makes four single batches.

Single batch:
1 egg
1 T. coconut milk (or other milk of your choice)
3.5 T.  dry mix (recipe above)
1-2 T. butter

Whisk the egg and the coconut milk, then whisk in the dry mixture. Stir till well combined.

Cook as you would pancakes. Heat a non-stick frying pan. (You know it's the right temp when splattered droplets of water immediately skittle across the surface.) Melt the butter in the pan; pour the excess into a small bowl and set aside for later.

Pour batter into the pan to make one large, two medium, or three small pancakes. It starts out pretty runny; you may need to nudge the edges in a little with your spatula, especially on the smaller cakes.

When the edges look puffy and dry-ish, and bubbles coming to the surface slow down in frequency, flip them over and cook a little less time on the second side. They should be just slightly golden-brown on both sides.

Use the leftover melted butter and brush or spread it on both sides of the finished pancakes, then plate them and pour on the berry syrup. Syrup recipe below.

Makes three mini pancakes, two medium, or one large.

Maple-berry syrup 

4 single-batch servings

1-1/3  c. fresh or frozen berries
2-1/2  to  3 T. real maple syrup

Combine and heat briefly in microwave or on stovetop.
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Nutrition info, via myfitnesspal. Serving equals one whole single batch:

Nutrition Facts
Servings 1.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 397
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 28 g	43 %
Saturated Fat 15 g	73 %
Monounsaturated Fat 6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 6 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 240 mg	80 %
Sodium 730 mg	30 %
Potassium 221 mg	6 %
Total Carbohydrate 31 g	10 %
Dietary Fiber 8 g	31 %
Sugars 10 g
Protein 8 g	16 %
Vitamin A	13 %
Vitamin C	18 %
Calcium	9 %
Iron	17 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Quick, easy buffalo chicken quesadillas with avocado

image and recipe inspiration from halfhourmeals.com

This is one of my go-to recipes when I realize too late in the day that I haven't planned dinner. (AND it's one my husband calls restaurant-worthy!) I love it because it's a few simple things you can throw together and have dinner on the table in 20 minutes or less. Also, there's very little measuring involved.

I pick up some grilled chicken from the grocery store deli, grab an avocado and some appropriate cheese if I don't already have some at home. Tortillas and hot sauce are usually in my fridge. Butter: always!

For the chicken, you can use any already-cooked chicken you have on hand or can easily obtain. Grilled, roasted, whatever! Tear it apart with your hands; this lets you find and dispose of any parts that are overdone and chewy. It also creates a nice, uneven surface for the sauce to cling to. Or you can use already shredded chicken, if that's what you have on hand.

Quick easy buffalo chicken quesadillas

two small chicken breasts and one thigh, already cooked
1 T. butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
3-4 T. hot sauce (I like Cholula Chipotle)
1/2 avocado
4 flour tortillas, fajita size (6 to 7")
4-5 oz. queso fresco or Monterrey Jack, shredded

Put the 1 T. butter and the hot sauce in a small skillet over medium-low heat. While it melts, tear the chicken apart and slice the half avocado thinly. Once the butter is melted, stir it around to mix in the hot sauce, then add the chicken to the pan and toss lightly to coat. If you still need to finish your prep, turn the heat under the chicken mixture a little lower.

Put a large skillet on another burner, and turn the heat to just-under-medium. Let this heat up while you assemble the quesadilla.

Lay one tortilla on a cutting board or edgeless cookie sheet. Sprinkle about one fourth of the cheese on it; top with half of the avocado slices (1/4 of the avocado), then scatter half of the chicken on top of that. Sprinkle over this another fourth of the cheese, and top with a second tortilla. Press it down lightly, and if any chicken bits fall out, tuck them back in.

Lightly coat the large skillet with butter -- just enough for the size tortilla you're using. Carefully slide the quesadilla onto the hot skillet, and cook for a few minutes, till the color on the underside is GBD. (Golden brown and delicious!) Turn it over and heat the second side likewise.

Remove to a cutting board, and repeat the process for the other half of the ingredients.

When both quesadillas are done, slice them into sixths. (A rolling pizza cutter works nicely.) Serve with sour cream (and/or plain yogurt) and salsa on the side.

Serves 3 to 4.

Here are the nutrition facts, based on 3 servings per recipe, via myfitnesspal.com:

Nutrition Facts
Servings 3.0
Amount Per Serving
Calories 455
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 23 g	35 %
Saturated Fat 11 g	56 %
Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 89 mg	30 %
Sodium 871 mg	36 %
Potassium 294 mg	8 %
Total Carbohydrate 27 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 19 g	75 %
Sugars 0 g
Protein 36 g	71 %

Based on this recipe from HalfHourMeals.

5-minute frozen yogurt -- no ice cream maker needed!

image and recipe from justataste.com

Made this tonight for a li'l somethin' sweet after dinner. It's SO easy, and pretty guilt-free! I used sweet cherries because they were half off at Fresh Market today. (The original used strawberries.) And so I changed some of the other ingredients, too.

Here is the original recipe.

Here is my variation (half recipe, compared to the original, because my food processor is 7 qts.):

Recipe: quick cherry-almond frozen yogurt

2 cups frozen sweet cherries (pitted)
1.5 Tablespoons honey (was a little weird; might try maple syrup instead)
1/4 cup plain Greek non-fat yogurt (If you use full-fat, leave out the cream.)
1 Tablespoon cream
1/8 teaspoon almond extract (amaretto or Disaronna would probably be lovely, too!)

UPDATED: I just made it a second time and much prefer this version...

2 cups frozen sweet cherries (pitted)
2 Tablespoons Disaronna or Amaretto
1/2 cup plain Greek non-fat yogurt (If you use full-fat, leave out the cream.)
2 Tablespoons cream
optional: additional sugar or sweetener, to taste

I put just the cherries in the processor first, and let them just get a little chopped up, till most pieces are halves or smaller. Then I added everything else and let it run. It clumped up on one side for a while, but eventually it all smoothed out. Taste and see if you want additional sweetness. I added less than half a packet of Splenda.

You might have to scrape the sides down once. But it only needed a minute or two to get smooth -- nowhere near the five minutes listed in the original recipe.

And this half recipe makes 4-5 servings, in my house. Your mileage may vary. Even if you double up, a serving of Version 1 is still under 100 calories, and less than 20 g of carbs! (The alcohol in Version 2 adds quite a few calories and carbs.)

Nutrition Facts Per Serving (version 1)
Calories 49
Total Fat 2 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Total Carbohydrate 9 g
Sugars 7 g

Protein 1 g
(Nutrition facts via myfitnesspal.com)

Monte Cristo Sandwich - a twist on the usual turkey-and-cranberry-sauce sandwich

Looking for something to do with leftover turkey, ham, or cranberry sauce? Here's one of my favorite sandwiches, known as a Monte Cristo: turkey, ham, and Swiss (provolone or mozzarella would work, too), fixed grilled-cheese-style, but with a twist. You briefly dip the outside of the sandwich in an egg and milk mixture, like you would for French toast. Or if you happen to have leftover French toast, you could just assemble everything and heat it up in the over or microwave. Add a little bacon? Not traditional, but that would be good, too. (Duh! Everything's better with bacon!)

Traditionally served with a side of blackberry or raspberry jam, but I like it with cranberry sauce or orange marmalade!
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Several Monte Cristo recipes:

• A simple version on AllRecipes (The image above is from this site.)
• A more high-maintenance version on Food Network
• This version from Tasty Kitchen has you make the French toast first, then grill everything together
• A high-falutin' version from Family Fresh Cooking, involving gluten-free bread, rosemary and roasted sweet potatoes!

Super-simple creamy Italian dressing

Creamy Italian is one of my husband's favorite salad dressings. It's getting harder to find in the grocery store, and the ones that we had tried tasted so fake and sugary -- the side effect of making pretty much all your salad dressings from scratch.

Then I found this one! The original recipe is on AllRecipes, but I've tweaked it to make it my own; I reduced the sugar and made a few other minor tweaks.

Tried it; loved it; it's a keeper!

I made it as a spread/dip for homemade submarine sandwiches a couple nights ago. My husband still misses a sub that Pizza Hut used to have on the menu, which had a similar spread on it, and this recipe is a good fit. Then the next day for lunch, I had a sub-sandwich-inspired salad (shown in the photo above). Romaine lettuce with diced ham, pepperoni, and salami; mozzarella cheese, and diced tomatoes. And pickled onions -- which are also a great sandwich topper (recipe coming soon).

It's really quick and easy to make. Tastes best if you make it a few hours or a day ahead, but I've made some notes in the recipe about how to adapt it if you need to serve it right away.

Yay! No more store-bought creamy Italian dressing!

Creamy Italian Dressing (low or no sugar)

 1 clove garlic, minced
 1 T. olive oil
3/4 cup mayonnaise
 1 T. red wine vinegar
 1 T. water
 1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. granulated onion
 1/4 t. white sugar*
 1/4 t. Worcestershire sauce (optional??)

Place the minced garlic and olive oil in a small dish and microwave for 30 seconds.

Combine this and all the other ingredients in a 12 - 16 oz. jar and shake well.

Refrigerate for a few hours; better overnight.

*If you will be storing it 24 hours before use, you might skip the sugar. If you are living sugar-free, you can leave it out or replace it with your favorite sweetener. If you will be serving it right away, you might want to reduce the vinegar slightly and increase the sugar to taste.

How to quickly thaw meat without a microwave

This simple trick defrosts steaks, chops, chicken breasts and other small cuts of meat in 10 to 12 minutes, without the microwave. And it's approved both by the FDA and America's Test Kitchen. (But it shouldn't be used on larger items like roasts or whole chickens.)

Place each individual cut of meat in a zip-sealed plastic bag. Heat a large pot of water on the stove till the water measures 140 F. If you don't have a thermometer,* the water will be steaming, with just a few small bubbles on the bottom.

Remove the pan from the burner, and place the meat in the water. According to the Test Kitchen, chicken breasts should take about 10 minutes, and cuts of pork or steak about 12. They recommend not leaving any cut it the water more than 45 minutes (I'd recommend even less).

*P.S. If you don't have a cooking thermometer, you really should get one. Learning the proper temperature for different cuts of meat will improve your cooking like nothing else! It can also be used for making sure water is the right temp for meat, green tea, or yeast doughs, or even to make sure a loaf of bread is done in the middle. This is the cooking thermometer we use. It's handy because it has a remote, so you can put your food in the oven or on the grill, then go do whatever you need to do elsewhere, but still keep an eye on the food's temp. Love it!

Meat image and info from America's Test Kitchen.