Simple Supper Friday: Mexican Breakfast Burritos
Coconut flour wraps with seasoned egg and veggie filling.
Well, it’s officially three weeks (tomorrow) until our wedding ceremony. Jesse and I went and signed our marriage license yesterday and got all the official paperwork in order. Coming up now, I need to go to the flower shop (I’m going to Geranium Lake Flowers) and pick out my bridal bouquet (I’m just getting a bridesmaid size one). I have a trial run of my hair and makeup a week before the wedding with my friend and makeup artist, Brooke Morse. Brooke and I also used to work together at Lululemon Athletica. As a treat, I also arranged for her to do my mom, sister and soon-to-be mother in-law’s makeup on the day of our ceremony. What else? Oh, Jesse and I need to go up to Council Crest Park, where we’re having our ceremony and figure out where exactly, we want everything to happen. As for Jesse, specifically, he needs to find a pair of shoes and learn how to tie his bow-tie. He has not been practicing! There’s also the vows situation too…still haven’t started and I don’t know that Jesse has either. I’m not sure I will be able to pull it off with everything else I have going on. We’ll see, I suppose. I want to, but right now, it’s a little overwhelming because I have a lot of other things with deadlines to manage.
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As for this recipe, it rocks! The tortillas cook up easily (I only tore my first one…premature flipping) and hold together surprisingly well. I will definitely be making them again, but will probably try a different flavor combination. The egg filling is tasty and slightly spicy, and works well inside the wrap. These wraps would also be great for meat-based fillings — chicken breast with bacon, taco-seasoned ground beef, Greek-seasoned ground lamb, deli meat, sausages or grass-fed beef hot dogs, etc. There’s lots of possibilities.
For the filling:
- 4 slices US Wellness Meats sugar-free grass-fed beef bacon, chopped
- 1/2 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 4 pastured eggs, beaten
- 1 8-oz can diced green chiles
- 1-2 Tbsp organic taco seasoning (make sure there’s no sugar or other junk ingredients)
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Dab of grass-fed butter or tallow, if needed
- Avocado slices
- Chopped romaine or greens
- Black lava course sea salt for garnishing, optional
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the chopped bacon. Cook for a couple minutes and then add the sliced mushrooms.
- Meanwhile, add the taco seasoning, sea salt and pepper to the beaten eggs in a medium bowl. Then, once the bacon is crisp and the mushrooms have softened, add the egg mixture to the pan. Add a bit of butter or tallow to re-grease the pan first, if needed.
- Turn heat down to medium-low and continue to cook. Add the sliced tomatoes and green chiles.
- Once the eggs are cooked through, adjust seasoning as needed.
- Spoon mixture into a tortilla and top with lettuce/greens and avocado.
Yields: enough to fill 4-5 tortillas
For the tortillas, adapted slightly from this recipe:
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 cup egg whites
- 1/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 clove garlic
- Pinch of cayenne
- US Wellness Meats grass-fed beef tallow, for cooking
- Combine all the ingredients, except the tallow in a blender. Blend for about 30 seconds or until mixed through and smooth. Let sit for 10 minutes to thicken.
- Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat and add a little tallow. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan and shake around a bit to form about an 8-inch circle.
- Let tortilla cook for a few minutes, until edges start to peel up and it’s no longer shiny on top — that’s when you know it’s ready to flip. Flip carefully using a large spatula. Once flipped, cook for roughly one more minute.
- Stack tortillas on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb the moisture.
Yields: 6 tortillas
Simple Supper Friday: Indian-Style Turkey Stew
Indian-style turkey stew, served over steamed kale.
I don’t know about all of you, but it’s been one heck of a week for me. I honestly felt like I didn’t have enough time in the day to get everything done, and was tempted to give life a call and say that I wasn’t going to show up. It’s funny, because my yoga teacher said this exact same thing yesterday morning, and mentioned that she was tempted to call in and find a sub, because she wanted a break from life. But, she didn’t…she showed up anyway and shared her honesty. She remembered the bigger picture, and the notion that when we show up on the days we feel like throwing in the towel, we often have the richest experiences.
Everything she said was so reminiscent of my week. I was drowning in assignments, studying, writing, work and projects, and wanted so badly to stop everything. I wanted a reprieve. Instead, I moved forward and did the best that I could, knowing that giving up was not an option. What good w0uld it do, and how would it benefit me? I have goals and aspirations, but challenges and struggles are always going to present themselves. It’s part of the process, and how I face these challenges is reminiscent of my character. This journey is not meant to be easy, and this week especially, I needed that reminder from my teacher to embrace it.
What do you do when you are burnt out, under a lot of pressure and feel like giving life a timeout (that worked on Saved by the Bell, but doesn’t work in real life, unfortunately)?
Meanwhile, here’s a quick and tasty recipe for your Friday. It features garam masala, a warm spice blend that I sadly forget about more often than not. Thankfully, my dear friend, Macala has reminded me about it’s loveliness on numerous recent occasions. It’s one of her favorites to add to ground meat, and I can definitely understand why. I even thought of her when using it in this recipe. Miss Macala, I appreciate you, in more ways than one!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground turkey thighs
- 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1 14.5 oz can no salt added diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1-2 Tbsp grass-fed ghee or butter
- Steamed greens of choice for serving (I used kale)
- Cilantro for garnish, optional
Directions:
- Melt the coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and saute for a couple minutes. Next, add the ground turkey and break up the meat with a spatula.
- Season to taste with sea salt and pepper, and allow meat to brown for several minutes.
- Next, add the spices, diced tomatoes and coconut milk, and mix well. Continue to cook for a few minutes over medium-low heat, until mixture thickens up a bit. Then, mix in the ghee.
- Serve over steamed greens of choice (I recommend kale) and garnish with cilantro, if using.
Yields: 3-4 servings
Yes, that is bright, vibrant green grass in my backyard. You’d almost think it was spring.
Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder
Shredded pork shoulder, served atop of sauteed cabbage.
Some of you already know this by now, but I don’t care for pork. I’m just not fond of the taste, unless it’s bacon. You may recall though, that on New Year’s Eve, I ordered a shredded pork dish for dinner. I mainly ordered it because it was the least complicated thing for me to paleoize, but also thought I might like it since I love shredded meat, specifically chicken and beef. Well, I did like it … a lot! Since then, I’ve been thinking about trying out a shredded pork recipe myself. This past weekend, it finally happened.
It was a spur of the moment decision and completely unplanned. I really value moments like that. Anyway, I was in Food Front Co-op in NW Portland after work on Sunday, and spotted one small and lonely pork shoulder roast. At that moment, I decided it was time, and threw it in my basket. For the recipe, I flew by the seat of my pants and used what I had on hand.
The recipe turned out phenomenal. It tasted so good, that I didn’t want the last bite to come. To compensate, I very slowly savored every last morsel. I usually do well with eating slowly, but I especially did well this time.
If you’re not much of a pork person, like me, this recipe may surprise you. I can’t wait to make it again.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lb pork shoulder roast
- 2 tsp grass-fed ghee
- 3/4 tsp cumin
- 3/4 tsp chili powder
- 3/4 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 stalks of celery, chopped
- 4 large carrots, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 head cabbage, chopped (use more if serving more than 2 people)
- Avocado slices, optional
Directions:
- Combine spices, sea salt and pepper, and coat all sides of the roast. If you have extra spice mixture leftover, set it aside. You will use it later. If you use it all, that’s fine too.
- Melt 1 tsp of ghee (or fat of choice) in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork shoulder, and brown a couple minutes on each side. Once all sides are browned, remove from pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, melt the remaining 1 tsp of ghee (add more if needed) over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes, until softened. Once done, pour the mixture into the slow cooker.
- Add carrots to the slow cooker and place the roast on top of the veggies. Add the chicken broth, lime juice and any remaining spice mixture.
- Place lid on slow cooker and cook on high for 6-7 hours or low for 8-10.
- Once done, turn the slow cooker off or to warm. Then, remove the pork roast and cut off the twine. Shred meat with two forks and add back to the slow cooker. Give everything a stir.
- In a pan over medium heat, melt a little fat of choice. Add the chopped cabbage and season with sea salt and pepper. Saute about 5 minutes, or until softened.
- Serve the shredded pork mixture over the cabbage and serve with avocado slices, if desired.
Yields: 3-4 servings
Curried Chicken Soup
Curried chicken soup.
This is a recipe that I previously made as a vegetarian and really enjoyed. Surprisingly though, I think I only made it a total of one time. I feel like I have a lot of recipes like that, actually — I make something, am totally into it, and then forget about it somehow. Regardless, I’m glad I remembered it because it has fantastic flavors and a nice little kick. It’s no longer vegetarian because I added chicken to it to beef it up, but if you are a veggie and read my blog, just omit the chicken. Side note here, but this soup warms me up so much that I have to turn the heat off when I eat it (no exaggeration). It’s either that or shed layers, and I prefer to eat with my clothes on.
- 1 lb cooked chicken breasts, shredded
- 1 Tbsp grass-fed butter or other fat of choice
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1-inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups of chopped cauliflower florets
- 2 cups of chopped bok choy
- 2 cups homemade bone broth (or decent store-bought chicken broth)
- 2/3 cup unsweetened almond butter
- 1-1/2 cups full-fat coconut milk
- 1-1/2 Tbsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp cayenne (or more if you want it spicier)
- Cilantro for garnishing, optional
Directions:
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and sauté a few minutes, until onion is translucent.
- Mix in the curry, allspice, sea salt, cumin, cauliflower and bok choy, and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
- In a separate small saucepan, mix the almond butter and 3/4 cup of broth together over medium heat. Once the mixture is smooth, add it to the vegetables and stir for a couple minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken, remaining broth, coconut milk and cayenne. Heat for about 5 minutes, or until heated through.
- Serve with cilantro garnished on top, if using.
Mmm…creamy and nutty, not to mention filling.
Up close and personal.
Simple Supper Friday: Cincinnati-Style Chili
Cincinnati-style chili.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about Cincinnati chili. I’m not really sure why or how it popped into my head, but it did. I recall really liking it in my younger years, and remember first trying it when I was in elementary school — probably third or fourth grade. My mom went through a phase of making it for a while, but then it kind of fizzled out and we stuck with standard spaghetti and standard chili. I think part of why I liked it as a kid was because it involved two certain foods (that kids often love): 1. spaghetti noodles and 2. cheddar cheese. As you can guess, this version doesn’t include either of those things, though traditionally, both foods are involved in Cincinnati-style chili. Instead, I use spaghetti squash strands as noodles and garnish with chopped kale instead of cheddar cheese. In this regard, it’s not traditional midwestern-style at all, but I like to think it’s way better!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
- 1 tsp grass-fed tallow (or fat of choice)
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1-1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne
- 1-1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup bone broth (or decent store bought)
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp raw honey, optional
- 1-15 oz can of no salt added tomato sauce (I like Muir Glen Organic brand)
- 1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
- Raw, stemmed kale leaves, chopped for garnish, optional
The chili mixture.
Directions:
- Melt the tallow in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, onion and garlic. Break up the meat with a spatula or wooden spoon and cook until the most of the meat is browned, about 7 minutes.
- Stir in the sea salt, spices and cocoa powder, and cook about 1-2 minutes.
- Next, add the apple cider vinegar, tomato sauce, bone broth and raw honey, if using (I recommend it). Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
- While chili is simmering, bake the spaghetti squash. Add about 1/4-inch of water to a pan and place squash halves skin side up in the pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees F. If the squash cooks any longer than this, it often makes the strands mushy (unless you have a really big squash).
- Once the squash is done, scrape out strands for noodles and serve with the chili mixture on top. I like to mix a little dab of grass-fed butter and sea salt into my squash before scooping the chili on top, but that’s totally optional. Garnish with chopped kale, if using.
