The REAL FOOD recipe thread

[freemotion]

I just read that Alfredo recipe and I think a pound tried to settle on my hips. It still sounds so good. Might have to pick up some cream cheese.

Well, you need to read "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, then you won't be afraid-o of that Alfredo!

 

[Lady Henevere]

Great thread! This is how I cook almost all of the time. I will add some recipes when I have time.

 

[Wifezilla]

Good recommendation freemotion. Another favorite of mine is "Natural Health and Weight Loss" by Barry Groves.

Of course if you can't get those books, just keep a wooden spoon handy to beat the pounds off

I went to the garden and picked some brussel sprouts just in case the temps dip too low and the covering doesn't protect them enough. I am looking through my "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and will see if Julia Child has any good ideas on what I should do with all these tasty little sprouts. I will report back tomorrow

 

[BarkerChickens]

First, my disclaimer, I don't measure anything so my recipes are just ingredients..no measurements.

unnamed squash recipe... I made it up and it didn't name it. :/
summer squash (zucchini, crookneck, etc), sliced up
cream cheese (8 oz or less usually)
fresh basil, chopped (or dried if necessary)
butter
directions: sautee squash in butter until it is slightly browned. Toss in a few tablespoons of cream cheese at a time until it covers the squash when melted. Add basil. mix together and enjoy! Sounds weird, but I have a several compliments so far!


Mango-Chipotle Pulled Pork (one of my FEW measured out recipes)
4 mangos
4 lbs lean pork (shoulder roast, tenderloin, etc)
2 Tbl ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 Tbl chile powder
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 of a 12 oz. bottle of beer
1 cup water (adjust as needed depending on size of crock pot)

Sauce:
1 Tbl chile powder
2 tsp honey
1.5 oz. bourbon whiskey
24 oz BBQ sauce (we use homemade BBQ sauce)
2-5 chipotle peppers (or canned chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce if necessary)

Directions:
1) Peel and coarsely chop the mangos. Place the pits into the slow cooker and set aside the chopped mango. Place pork to the slow cooker and add black pepper, salt, and chile powder. Pour in beer, balsamic vinegar and water.

2) Cover and cook on low for 8 hrs. or until the meat is tender and easily shredded. When done, drain pork and discard the liquid and mango pits. Shred the pork with two forks.

3) For the sauce: puree the chopped mangos and chipotle peppers until smooth. Add the mango-pepper puree, honey, chile powder, and whiskey into a saucepan. Simmer while stirring frequently until the mango has slightly darkened and thickened (~10 mins). Stir in BBQ sauce and remove from heat.

4) Return the pulled pork to the slow cooker and stir in Mango-Chipotle BBQ sauce (as prepared above). Cover and cook for 1-2 hours to allow the pork to absorb the BBQ sauce.

Spaghetti Sauce
tomatoes
bell pepper
red onion
garlic
sun-dried tomatoes
fresh basil
fresh thyme
fresh oregano

blend in blender or food processor. Add salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and chile powder as desired.

I used to leave the veggies chunky, but I can it, so out of laziness I now blend it all together for the big batches. Still tasty!

ETA: Cooking with alcohol doesn't counts as processed, right?

 

[dragonlaurel]

I just read that Alfredo recipe and I think a pound tried to settle on my hips. It still sounds so good. Might have to pick up some cream cheese.

Well, you need to read "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, then you won't be afraid-o of that Alfredo!

I eat too much with pasta alfredo. Still fattening when you get carried away. So I don't have it often.

 

[farmerlor]

Can I ask a question about a recipe? I'm wanting to make red beans and rice. Have an "authentic" LA recipe and it just seems wrong. You put all the ingredients in a pan, cover them with water and boil until you throw it over the rice. Seems like it will be pretty soupy to me and it feels like there should be some tomatoes in there though the recipe doesn't call for them. So the question is, do I need to thicken this stuff? Should I mash up some of the beans? Should I add tomatoes?

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I brussels sprouts, yum!
Braised Brussels Sprouts My changes to original recipe are in italics

1 pound Brussels sprouts (look for small, firm, & bright green sprouts)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chicken broth or water I use homemade chicken broth
Flavors (lime juice & zest, or paprika or whatever you see fit) I like garlic, onion & a splash of vinegar, not much
2 tablespoon butter (optional, but tasty) I say this is NOT optional & doubled the amount

Rinse the sprouts and remove any remaining stems and discolored leaves.
Cut all sprouts in half from tip to stem. Baby ones do not need to be cut.
Melt butter in pan, saute garlic & onions til transluscent & maybe a little browned
Add all ingredients to saucepan or frying pan, with a lid. Bring to a boil in over a medium-high heat.
Once it reaches a boil, cover and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for ~6 minutes.
Remove cover add vinegar and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all of the remaining liquid cooks off.

 

[sylvie]

Can I ask a question about a recipe? I'm wanting to make red beans and rice. Have an "authentic" LA recipe and it just seems wrong. You put all the ingredients in a pan, cover them with water and boil until you throw it over the rice. Seems like it will be pretty soupy to me and it feels like there should be some tomatoes in there though the recipe doesn't call for them. So the question is, do I need to thicken this stuff? Should I mash up some of the beans? Should I add tomatoes?

I was under the impression that red beans and rice was essentially a red bean gravy over rice, that the beans make their own gravy and thicken. I've seen Andouille sausage in the beans as flavoring, but not tomatoes. I'm just a northerner so maybe someone else has better info.

 

[Wifezilla]

Good question. I found this recipe...
http://gumbopages.com/food/red-beans.html
It doesn't have tomato either and says you may have to mash the beans.

The most important step for the beans is to soak them overnight before you cook them. If you have some whey or lemon juice, add that to the soak water. This makes the proteins and nutrients in the beans more bioavailable.

http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/cooking-legumes.html


That brussel sprout recipe sounds yummm!!!

Cooking with alcohol doesn't counts as processed, right?

Particularly in the case of beer, alcohol is just the result of a natural fermentation process that releases many nutrients in the grains (particularly B vitamins) while neutralizing harmful phytic acids. (Cool how I made drinking beer sound all healthy and sciencey - aint it?? )

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Red beans & rice doesn't have tomatoes in it typically. Here's a good one:
1 lb dry small red beans
1 1/2 to 2 lbs meaty ham shanks
4 cups water
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce I usually leave this out
2 teaspoons of Cajun or Creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's or Zatarains) or to taste I use 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/4-1 tsp cayenne, depending if we have company, a bay leaf, dash paprika, garlic powder, onion powder
Tabasco sauce** I use my dad's pepper sauce, it's way better
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked white or brown rice (from about 3 cups raw rice) white is more authentic, but I don't like it


Method
1 Place dried beans in a large bowl and cover them with cold water by a couple of inches. Let soak for 8 hours or overnight. I add a glug of whey to my dry beans now, and always soak them overnight
Drain.

2 Place beans, ham shanks, garlic, chopped onion, and water in a large (8-quart) pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover, simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Crockpot!

3 Remove ham shanks from the pot to a dish. Let cool slightly then shred the meat away from the bones. Return the meat back to the pot. Add the celery, bell peppers, Worcestershire and seasonings. Cover and cook for another hour or until the mixture gets thick. Season to taste with hot sauce, salt and pepper.

Serve over rice.

Serves 8.