Things I've Made Lately

Lest you think I've only been making things with sourdough, I wanted to share a few really good things I've made recently, and share links to the original posts!

1. Chili Crisp Salmon - I was listening to an episode of The Sporkful Podcast and heard a description of chili crisp, and decided it was worth a try. So we bought some, and I've been putting it on just about everything, from eggs, to ramen, leftover spaghetti marinara, and this glazed salmon from LittleSpiceJar.

2. Crispy Shawarma Wings from Peal with Zeal - I was cleaning out the spice rack and remembered I had gotten some shawarma seasoning from our local market (and promptly forgot about it).  The Hubs was craving wings, so we tried this recipe.  This was the first time I'd done a dry rub with baking powder and it made the skin extra crispy.

2. Beef Tallow Roasted Potatoes - The Hubs was smoking a brisket and we had several pounds of fat trimmings, so I decided to attempt to melt it down. I'm pretty sure I didn't do it quite right, but it still made these potatoes taste AMAZING.

4. Alton Brown's Coconut Balls - I have often joked that Alton Brown's recipes all have too many steps, which is a deterrent from trying them.  But then this one...had only 2 steps!  Must be super easy!  Not true.  It seems simple at the surface, but the coconut filling is SUPER sticky and makes these really messy to make, and then they kept trying to fall apart as I was coating them in chocolate.  It was an ordeal, but the final result was very tasty, and made for good gifts to my coworkers.

5. Oven Roasted Marinara - Our neighbors shared this recipe from The Wooden Skillet with us last fall, so I had to bust it out again this fall when we found ourselves with a surplus of end-of-season tomatoes and basil.  So easy, SO GOOD. We served it with Italian sausage & cascatelli.

21-Day Keto: Day 16

Energy level is a little better today, even though I had to get up early for my weekly Thursday department meeting.  Busy day, between work and class and such.

In a better mood as well, but I think that's because...I'm hosting trivia at my office tonight!  We try to coordinate quarterly teambuilding events, and since I love trivia, I set this shebang up. 

Breakfast: Raspberry coconut muffin, 3 sausage links, coffee (too much coffee, I had the jitters around lunch time.)

Lunch: Leftover shrimp alfredo and assorted veggies.

Dinner:  The benefit of coordinating an event is that YOU get to pick the food that's served. Since I know I can have wings, I went with a Party Pack from Buffalo Wild Wings. Had about 5 wings (medium sauce and the Chipotle dry rub, both low carb), salad w/ranch, and 2 Michelob Ultras.

Totals: 1660 kcal, 111g fat, 30g net carbs, 84g protein

My Thoughts: I'm pooped.  :)  But otherwise had a great day.  

DK's Thoughts:  Physically tired all day, and had a headache in the evening.  But my brain is still working--set 3 new high scores on Peak today.

21 Day Keto - Day 5

Happy Sunday All!  After church, we met up with our Life Group at Buffalo Wild Wings--a place we all love, and that is easy to eat on keto (traditional wings with a lower-carb sauce, or dry rub)--and bonus--kids eat free at BWW on Sundays.  

Breakfast: 2-egg ham & cheese omelets (w/ onion, red pepper, mushrooms, kale, cheddar, & pepperjack)  

Also, I made some homemade keto friendly creamer to use in my coffee this week:

1 cup heavy cream, 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 4-5 drops coconut extract. 1 net carb per 2 Tbsp serving.

Lunch: DK & I shared a small traditional order of wings, half with Chipotle dry rub and half with Thai Curry sauce, which has 3 net carbs.  Ranch & celery on the side.

Dinner: Leftover Egg Roll in a Bowl-- Even the kiddo likes this.  When I was cutting up all the cabbage, he walked in and told me "I don't like salad". But at mealtime, he asked for a bite...and then ended up eating about half of mine.  He announced "I like dat salad, cuz it got meat in it."

Totals: 1414 kcal, 20g net carb, 106g fat, 89g protein

Thoughts: Another good day, no complaints....well, aside from an attempt to make muffins with coconut flour. But we'll save that for tomorrow.

DK's Day 5 (Last day of out of town for work)
Note: from this point forward, The Hubs & I will be eating mostly the same things, so I'll shift back to just listing one set of meals, but still share both of our thoughts.

Breakfast at the Hotel: 9 pieces of bacon, hard boiled egg, 1/4 cup sausage gravy (for dipping the bacon), black coffee, 1/2 packet of Splenda
Lunch: Powerade, 2 deli roll ups, 3 oz ham
Dinner: Sesame Chicken Salad, 5 almonds, 1 Michelob Ultra

Total: 1106 kcal, 17g net carbs

Thoughts: This is the best day I've had so far.

The Marginator’s CrockPot Wings

When I worked at Martin’s Wine Cellar down in Metairie, my manager’s name was Margie.  Actually, it still IS Margie, since she still works there & hasn’t changed her name.  Our loving nickname for her was The Marginator… Of course, this is coming from a gaggle of gals who have a song dedicated to rare roast beef, which comes in a 20 lb package, vaccum-sealed in it's own “juices” (aka, blood), and makes a HUGE mess when you have to open it, and was thusly named “The Big Nasty”. 

ANYWAY.  Margie hired me with no real experience in gourmet foods, wines, or cheeses, with the exception of an addiction to Food Network.  And by the time I left a year later, I knew WAY too much about 200 different kinds of cheeses, 8 types of pate (all gross), about 20 gourmet deli meats & sausages, 6-7 types of olives, and was our resident expert in crafting entirely kosher holiday baskets.

I have tasted 89% of these things.

Margie also passed along several recipes to me, which incorporated food items we sold in the store.  This bestowal of knowledge was partially for recommending to customers, and partially just because they were delicious and we got a pretty sweet employee discount.  I sincerely miss that discount these days.

This is my favorite Marginator recipe by far.  It’s extremely easy and has tons of flavor.  And I figured I’d share since Football Season is here and wings are a pretty popular football food.  The Hubs & I don’t do much tailgating, but now that I get free admission to Missouri State games with my new fancy schmancy student ID, we might have to attend a couple. :D

Another thing I really like about this recipe: A lot of wing recipes are either fried or breaded, which adds a ton of unnecessary fat.  But you can use your broiler to get your chicken all crispy on the outside with NO added fat.

Ingredients:

NOTE: I do this recipe in “parts”, rather than specific measurements, because it’s entirely dependent upon how many wings you’re making.  Just use equal amounts of each of the sauce ingredients.  For example: if we’re making about 4 servings worth, I use 1/2- 1 cup of each. 

1 part your favorite BBQ sauce (we love KC Masterpiece Smoky)

1 part honey (as always, I recommend Acadiana Honey, or, if you don’t have that available, buy local.  I guarantee there’s a honey producer at your local farmer’s market.)

1 part Pickapeppa Sauce

Fresh or thawed chicken wings & drummies (4-6 pieces make a serving)

 

Directions:

Turn your oven’s broiler on, and spread your wings out on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the oven, with the shelf a couple notches below the broiler.  Broil on both sides for about 10 minutes each—this gets the skin really nice & crispy, and seals in a ton of flavor.

In your CrockPot, mix together the sauce ingredients (Note: I occasionally add a few splashes of Cajun Power garlic sauce if I have it in the house), and then toss your chicken into the pot.  Mix so that the chicken is coated.

Cover, and let cook for 5-6 hours on Low, or 2-3 hours on High, or until the chicken is no longer pink.  Stir once about halfway through cooking to recoat the chicken.

Serve with some ranch & veggies on the side! 

 

NutriFacts (per serving):

Calories 641.5

  Total Fat 22.0 g

  Saturated Fat 5.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.9 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 1.0 g

  Cholesterol 244.6 mg

  Sodium 923.4 mg

  Potassium 241.7 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 38.9 g

  Dietary Fiber 0.1 g

  Sugars 34.8 g

  Protein 67.0 g