Chili con carne

It been along time since I've eaten chili. Oh boy, it's GOOD!

Here's what we had tonight:

About noon, I unwrapped about 2.5 lbs of  frozen, grass-fed, non-aged, stew cut beef. I placed it in a coconut oil lined 4 quart crock pot, along with 3/4 cup of beef gelatin and a can of diced green chilis and tomatoes. As a fun twist, I added some sliced mushrooms and ACV as well.  I tossed in some salt and sugar/cream of tartar mix and set it on high for about 5 hours, stirring once to break up the beef chunks.  A little cumin, garlic and/or chili powder would be optional. Diced onions and cheese are nice on top as a garnish.

Possible sides, if any,  would be rice, potatoes, cornbread with homemade baking powder or quesadillas.

Hunk of Meat Monday
Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits
See Ya In The Gumbo 
Made from Scratch Tuesday
Hearth and Soul Hop

"Mulled" Coffee

Out of curiosity, instead of tossing the mulling spices strained out of the hot cider, I decided to experiment with some leftover coffee. It worked well, reminiscent of pumpkin pie, kinda sorta.  I might try adding the spice directly to the grounds when I make a fresh pot.

Mulled Coffee
Leftover Coffee
Pinch of Salt (if not already in the coffee)
Beef Gelatin (approx. 1 TBS per serving)
Mulling Spice
Cane Sugar to taste

Fresh Milk or Cream

1. Add ingredients in order to cold coffee and let sit for a minute or so while the gelatin absorbs the liquid. Save the milk for later.
2. When the gelatin is ready, heat on medium low for about 15 minutes. stirring occasionally.
3. Prepare the serving cups or mugs with some hot water in each.  Let sit until the coffee is hot. (If your kitchen is a cool as mine right now, this is mandatory to prevent tepid coffee.)
4. Fill the mugs halfway with milk or a quarter full of cream and add strained coffee.

Spiced Apple Cider "Custard" (non dairy, GF)

Q. What happens to a hot drink with gelatin in it when it cools down?

A. It wiggles and jiggles!

Yesterday's Hot Cider became a wonderful, creamy textured jello that leaned to the custard or pudding mouth feel.  The spice was a little strong when cool, but it was still a wonderful surprise.  I think the solids in the juices make the difference.

Simply Delish

Hot Spiced Apple Cider

Nothing says fall to me, like apple cider...and nothing warms the bones on a crisp day like Hot Spiced Apple Cider.

Here's my version:

3 parts Apple Cider
1 part Mango Juice (Cranberry, Grape, Orange work too)
1 TBS gelatin per serving
Mulling Spice-cinnamon chips, orange rind, whole allspice, whole cloves, cinnamon oil, orange oil
Large pinch of Salt
Sugar/Cream of tartar to taste
Dash of vanilla
A small dollop of coconut oil

This maybe heated in a glass or stainless steel pot on the stove, wood stove or in a slow cooker.

1. Add the ingredients in order
2. When the gelatin is completely soaked, turn on heat.
3. Use low heat with a lid and forget about it for awhile OR
4. Use high heat and stir slowly, but consistently.
5. Gelatin is dissolved when coconut oil is completely melted.
6. Simmer for at least 15 minutes, strain and serve.

Friday Food

Deep Fried Cheese Rolls GF

I recently came across this recipe: Cats and Casseroles: Baked Mozzarella Sticks  I thought making a cover  for the cheese sticks was a marvelous idea and I wanted to try it.  I had some spring roll "skins" or wrappers (tapioca starch, rice starch, salt and water),  in the cup board already.

I have made these twice now.  The firsts ones were a little gummy, kind of pale and bland...but tasty enough to try again.  The second ones were crisp, mostly golden and much tastier.  The secret is being patient enough to let the oil get HOT ( too cool and the cheese melts before the skin is done) and soaking the skins in SALT water when softening.  It's possible using an already saltier cheese would solve that problem as well.

Ingredients:
Cheese sticks or any white cheese cut into chunks
Spring Roll Skins
Salt to taste
Water for soaking
Coconut Oil for frying

Dipping Sauce:
Savory Neufchatel Dip
Or
Favorite Pizza Sauce
Or
1 can crushed tomatoes
handful of basil flakes
red wine vinegar to taste
salt to taste
onion powder
thyme
beef gelatin

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil in a deep pot and bring the temperature to 375* or so. This can take up to 45 minutes depending on the size of pot, BTU capacity of the burner and how cold the kitchen is at the time.  In the mean time, get out ingredients and 3 dinner plates; one for soaking (mine have a decent rim for holding water), one for rolling, and one for placing finished rolls while the oil heats up.
2. Mix ingredients for sauce in a separate pan, set on medium low.  Keep covered, stir once or twice and forget about it until rolls are done.
3. Carefully fill one dinner plate with salted water.  When salt is dissolved, add spring roll skin. (Skins are too brittle otherwise.) Do one at a time to prevent them sticking to each other.
4. Unwrap cheese sticks or cut cheese into chunks.  Think roughly index finger dimensions as a guideline.
5. Remove spring roll skin from soaking water when pliable. Hold up briefly over soaking plate to let drips fall off.
6. Starting on edge of skin, roll cheese up, folding the sides towards the middle after one full rotation of the cheese.  Continue rolling and tucking the sides, as needed.
7. Place finished roll on third plate, seam side down.
8. When oil is hot, add a single roll at a time, at least initially.  Adding two at the same time can cause them to glue themselves together.  Trying to separate will cause the skins to tear and allow for the cheese to bubble out.
9. They are done when floating and are the desired color (and/or the cheese is exploding from somewhere on the roll.)  Remove from oil with an appropriate, long handled tool; such as tongs or a slotted spoon.
10. Let cool for a few minutes at least...burning the mouth on too hot cheese doesn't make it taste better.
11. Serve warm with a generous portion of warm sauce.

These are yummy and fun to make...and eat.   I can see making it with Mexican themed seasonings (with corn tortillas even) or with apple pie type fillings with a custard sauce for dessert.

Gluten-Free Wednesday
Tasty Traditions

Decadent Triple Cream Potato Soup

A friend of mine gave up eating grains and won't eat her specialty cheeses without crackers....so guess what I get to play with?  I have no such food rules, so put the remainder of the Brillat Savarin Affine in the coconut oil lined crock pot with some potatoes, milk, egg, gelatin, salt and a little cayenne and onion powder.

Oh, yeah!

The richness and boldness of flavor of the triple cream cheese balanced by the mildness of the milk, the lightness of the egg curds, the heartiness of the potatoes, the gentle heat of the cayenne, the savory of the onion all work together for this wonderful treat.


Ingredients: (fits a 4 quart Slow Cooker)
Coconut oil (prevents sticking )
1-2 eggs
1-4 TBS beef gelatin
4 cups milk
1/2-1 lb of Triple Cream Cheese
8-10 potatoes (peeled and cut into bite sized pieces)
Salt to taste
Cayenne Powder (optional)
Onion Powder (optional)

 Directions:

1. slather the coconut oil generously along the bottom and sides.  I used a butter knife with a long blade.
2. whip the egg in the bottom of the pot (saves dirtying and extra dish)
3. add milk and chunks of cheese
4. add salt and spices to taste. The cheese has very little salt, so make it slightly saltier than desired as the potatoes will absorb a lot.
5. fill to desired level with potatoes and stir to cover potatoes
6. Heat on high for about 2 hours until bubbling, then set low for another hour or so or set it on low and forget about it for the day or overnight if starting in the evening and serving for breakfast.

Ingredient Spotlight

Apple Beef Stew - GF

Ingredients: (Fits a 4 quart crock pot)
Coconut oil
2 lbs frozen grass fed beef, homegrown and cubed
Salt
8 TBS-16 TBS Unflavored beef gelatin (I just eyeballed a cups worth)
RIPE Apples, peeled, cored and sliced (enough to fill pot)
Dash of allspice or cinnamon (Optional)
ACV

Fill the crock pot in order (leave out the vinegar) and cook on high for a few hours, then turn down when it starts bubbling, if you are home. If you are gone for the day, turn in low and forget about it.  This took about 4 hours of cooking on high plus 1 hour at low while we finished processing wood.  The vinegar was added to the individual bowls and added a nice balance of flavor.
Serve over rice or mashed potatoes, if desired.

Pennywise Platter Thursday 
Simply Delish

Cranberry Coconut Stew with Beef

Cranberry Coconut Stew with Beef  (8+ servings)
(fits a 4 quart slow cooker)

2 lbs Homegrown, grass fed beef, cubed 
1 package OG frozen Cranberries 
1 can Pineapple with juice
1 can Golden Star Coconut milk (no stabilizers or fillers)
8-10 TBS Beef Gelatin
8-10 TBS Cane sugar with Cream of tartar
Salt to taste 
1-2 TBS Green Thai Curry paste (optional)
1 Onion, sliced (optional)

I had asked for some GOAT stew meat to be brought up from the freezer...I guess the lighting was poor or something.  I prefer to use organic cranberries because the non organic I can get locally have all had an unpleasant bitterness I don't care for.  The price isn't much different because I buy them AFTER season and hoard.

I layered the beef on the bottom of the slow cooker, with the cranberries filling in around the still frozen blocks.  I mixed the dry ingredients together first, then sprinkled over the top.  The canned items were added next, with the curry paste and onion being an after thought.  I like the balance of sweet and tart and found that the salt counter balanced the sour as well.

There's enough acid in the broth that the gelatin stays fairly liquid even in the fridge.  Leftovers pour out of the jar instead of having to be carved out.

Food and Health Carnival 
Alimentary Tuesdays Carnival

Brats with Fried Apples GF

A friend of mine and I went Orchard hopping the other day.  I picked up some Jonathan's, Golden Delicious and fresh cider at one place, some wonderful Suncrisps at another and really liked the Braeburns at another, but forgot to actually buy some.

Brats and Fried Apples
Brats (defrosted in a bowl of cool water)
Suncrisp Apples
Coconut Oil
Gelatin
Sugar/Cream of tartar mix
Salt
Apple Cider

The apples were peeled, cored and sliced on the apple peeler, then cut in half to make them bit sized.  They were cooked in some coconut oil until tender, then I mixed the dry ingredient together and sprinkled over cooked apples.  The apples weren't very juicy, so I added some apple cider to thin.  When the gelatin mix was thoroughly blended, I turned the burner off and started on the brats.

In a separate pan with a generous portion of coconut oil for frying, I cooked the brats until golden brown on both sides...about 15 minutes.

See ya in the Gumbo!
Hunk of Meat Monday
Simply Delish
Your Recipe, My Kitchen
Barn Hop
Grain Free Real Food Carnival 
Heart and Soul Hop
Made from Scratch Tuesday

Cheap Emergency Water Storage

We use a lot of vinegar for cooking, cleaning, etc.  Hence, we generate a lot of empty 1 gallon plastic vinegar bottles.  As they are emptied, they are refilled with drinking water and put in almost always dark corner of the basement.  The containers are already sanitary and the dark keeps the sun from reacting with the plastic.

We had to dip in a few months ago when the power went out for a day during a prolonged heatwave.

I like being prepared.


Frugal Friday
Preparedness Challenge

Sauted Brats and Peach Stew

The problem:

SOMEONE picked all the meat and most of the peaches out of the Goat and Coconut Peach Stew so went I went to reheat some, it was basically rice and broth. 

The solution:

I grabbed a package of brats out of the freezer and soaked them in a large bowl of cold water in the sink.  Meanwhile, I started to heat some coconut oil in a large fry pan and sliced some onion in for sautéing.  Adding salt and stirring occasionally, I got the soup reheating with some extra peaches, coconut milk and gelatin.  I added the brats, cut up into bites sized pieces.  When the brats were cooked, the "broth"  was done too and the brats and onions went in with the broth and Brats and Peach stew was born.

Goat and Coconut Peach Stew

Layer in a crock pot: (recipe fits a 4 quart size)

Goat "stew" meat (approx 1 lb, mine was still frozen)
A can of sliced peaches (use commercial or home canned, avoid HFCS)
2 cans coconut milk (Golden Star has NO stabilizers or added gums.)
4-6 TBS unflavored gelatin
A few TBS Cane Sugar and Cream of tartar mix
A few TBS of vinegar ( I used rice)
Salt to taste
A dash of cinnamon
A dash of red pepper flakes
Sweet Potatoes (Cubed, optional) ****

Set crock pot to low and cook for hours on end....about 12 hours.

I set if before going to bed and enjoyed a nice, hot and hearty meal for breakfast.  I would have had a pot of rice already made too, but I couldn't find the rice cooker.




****I found a bag of frozen sweet potatoes in the bottom of the freezer drawer. I don't really recommend them, they are a bit of a disappointment compared to ones you cook yourself.  They almost totally dissolved in the broth, making for a nice color, but I don't think I would even know they were in there if I hadn't put them in myself.

Friday Potluck

Breakfast "loaf" and Soup

I was so pleased with the casserole I made yesterday, I wanted to make it again.  I was out of cottage cheese, so I improvised.  This is probably the "standard" recipe for some "officially named" dish already, but I made this for breakfast and used my meatloaf pan, hence I call it my breakfast loaf. ;)

Ingredients:
3 potatoes, peeled and shredded
A few chunks of white cheese (sliced off a 5 lb brick, amount unknown...I just threw it in.)
1 egg
Milk (mine is raw and grass fed but starting to overflow the fridge again)
Salt (I used WAY too much this time, don't use as much as I did.  I think cutting back on the potatoes to cheese ratio messed me up.****)
A dash of thyme
A few shakes of red pepper flakes
Extra cheese for the top

Scramble an egg in a mixing bowl and add shredded cheese and potatoes.  Add some milk enough to coat potatoes ( a cup?) and mix.  Add some salt ( use 1/2 the amount or less) and spices and mix well.  Slather sides and bottom of baking dish in coconut oil and add potato mix. Top with extra cheese.

Bake at 400* for 45 minutes or so.  Let cool and serve.

Chilled slices can be refried in a pan with coconut oil for about 10 minutes for an easy snack later on.

*****I finally figured out what went wrong....the salt level in the Colby cheese was much higher than in the cottage cheese.  We were able to enjoy this later that day re-purposed as soup by adding milk...... a lot of milk and NO extra salt.

Re-purposed Breakfast Loaf Soup

Breakfast Loaf Soup
Leftover Breakfast Loaf, chopped (most of it....)
Milk to desired thickness (approximately 2 cups)



Bring to temperature in a pan and serve.


Grain Free Real Food Carnival

Angel Food Soup

Angel Food Soup 

1. Heat broth (packaged or homemade)
2. Add extra salt as needed (make it slightly saltier initially, the egg will absorb some.)
3. Scramble some eggs (1-2 per person)
4. When broth is hot, stir in a circular motion and add eggs.  (Slower speed will give you longer, thicker threads....faster will give you smaller, thinner threads.)
5. Remove from heat and serve.

I have FOND memories of this soup. So simple and yummy and FAST.   It was a special treat in our house, but I imagine the origins were more along the lines of "empty pantry" or "what to fix?" syndrome.  It's practically free if the eggs come from your yard and the broth from the bones saved up from previous meals. You can, of course, spruce it up some.  Add some gelatin and coconut oil or a little sugar and cream of tartar.  Toss in some some leftover  potato or rice, noodles or serve with a chunk of cornbread slathered with butter.  Spice it up with a little Tabasco or basil or nutmeg or ?????

Pennywise Platter Thursday