Thursday, October 30, 2014

Thursday: Fall Vegetable Stew with Beef

This morning I took the butternut squash out of the crockpot and let it cool off. 


I had a bunch of vegetables left over from previous recipes and some carrots and kale from the farmers market. So last night I prepped all the vegetables and stuck them in the fridge. This morning I mixed all the ingredients and set the crockpot for 6 hours on low.

Ingredients:

Cooked beef from making beef stock
2 zucchini, sliced in rounds
1 bunch of carrots from the farmer's market, sliced in rounds
1/2 head broccoli, chopped
2 red potatoes, quartered
1 bunch elephant kale from farmer's market, chopped
1 bunch fresh sage, parsley, and thyme
1 16 oz can unsalted diced tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen corn
4 cups beef broth 

Remove the herbs, and serve with parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.


Voila! Beef stew.
For dessert we had the butternut squash with butter, sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt. Yum!


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Wednesday: Mixed Greens Salad with Chicken, Olives, and Pumpkin Seeds

One of the puzzles I've been having fun trying to solve is what to do with all the chicken meat created when I make my weekly whole chicken stock. It's completely unseasoned, and thus very versatile. Tonight we went super quick with a mixed greens, chicken, and kalamata olive salad, topped with pumpkin seeds, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and croutons (optional; skip if you're low-FODMAP.) The result was super fast, easy, nutritious, and light but filling. We'll be making variations on this a lot in the future.


FACTS AND FIGURES 

  
Prep time: 5 min. Assembly.
Servings: 2 
Agony rating: 1/10. 
Taste and stuff: 7/10. 

*COSTS OF STUFF I HAD TO BUY SPECIAL*

This one is basically made from odds and ends and leftovers, so let's just say mixed greens: $3.99.


Tonight, I'm cooking this giant butternut squash in the slow cooker with a few tablespoons of beef broth for good measure. I set it for six hours on low, since it's been in the fridge. Here it is:



Yeah, I thought it looked pretty funny, too. 

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Tuesday: Low-FODMAP Thai Chicken Noodle Soup with Fresh Carrot, Cilantro, and Lime

Today I went all high culture and made a low FODMAP variation of this recipe which I found on the back of a Thai Kitchen box of rice noodles. It took virtually no prep time--because I already had the chicken stock made, thawed, and chicken meat cooked.





Ingredients:



1/2 package (4 oz) rice noodles
1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken meat
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup water
4 cups chicken stock 
1 carrot (peeled or julienned)
2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen fish sauce (ingredients: anchovy, sugar, salt)
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt to taste

1. Boil 8 cups of water; remove from heat. Add rice noodles and let sit for 3 minutes. Strain and rinse with cold water; set aside.

2. In your serving bowls add chicken and cilantro; add noodles. Set aside.

3. Bring water, chicken stock, carrot peelings, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and salt to a boil. Stir well and remove from heat. Pour over chicken, cilantro, and noodle mix and serve hot.

FACTS AND FIGURES 

  
Prep time: 10 min. Boil water, chop cilantro, squeeze limes, peel carrot. 
Servings: 2 (makes 4-6 with more noodles and doubling measurements)
Agony rating: 3/10. 
Taste and stuff: 7/10. Very light and could use a little hot sauce.

*COSTS OF STUFF I HAD TO BUY SPECIAL*

Rice noodles: $4 per box, and I used half a box, so $2
Organic carrot: $0.75
Cilantro: $0.99 bunch, used about a handful so $0.25
Limes: 5 for $1, so $0.20
Cooked chicken: left over from weekend, but probably around $5 worth
Chicken stock: left over from weekend

Total cost of stuff I had to buy special: $8.20
Cost per serving: $4.10

VERDICT: SUCCESS. 

Monday, October 27, 2014

Monday: Crockpot Beef Stock

On Sunday I bought $9.44 worth of beef ribs because they were the only bones I could find. That night I tried my hand at making my first beef stock. Here's what I did:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roast beef ribs in shallow pan for 30 min. Remove and cool.

2. Add ribs to crockpot with frozen leftover celery, carrots, and parsley unused in last week's chicken stock brew; add a teaspoon of whole peppercorns, a tablespoon of rice vinegar, fresh sage and thyme and a bay leaf.

3. Cook on high for 2 hours; then low for 6, then I opened it to check on it and the beef was still pretty stuck onto the bone - so back it goes on until morning. Let's call it 14 hours total. It smells SUPER MEATY.

4. Remove meat from bones; return bones to broth, and store meat in fridge.

5. Strain; let cool; refrigerate; scoop out fat once solidified. Freeze for long term use. Go to work. Happy Monday!

The jury is still out; I'm making crockpot beef stew later this week with a motley crew of leftover vegetables, so we'll see.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Sunday: Grocery shop and meal plan

Grocery shop this week: I made a couple of trips to get various things.

This haul from the farmer's market: organic butternut squash, fresh sage and fresh thyme, a bunch of carrots and kale for $15.50.



At the grocery:

Hefty onezip freezer 18ct 3.49
Maxwell house original coffee 11.5 oz 3.99
Udis Whole grain GF bread 5.99
Turkey (deli) 4.85
Swiss cheese (deli) 2.08
Thai fish sauce 7 oz 3.49
Beef ribs w/ bone 9.44
Planters unsalted dry peanuts 4.99
Whole organic young chicken 15.30 about 4.25 lbs
Smithfield low sodium bacon 5.69

Plan for the week:

Saturday breakfast: eggs and bacon
Saturday lunch: leftover beef stew and chicken tortilla soup
Saturday evening: out!
Saturday cooking: chocolate zucchini bread for the week, chicken stock and cooked chicken for the week; frozen carrot, parsley, and celery in freezer plus beef ribs for beef stock.
Sunday: Out! Make beef stock overnight.

Meals for week:

  • Thai chicken and noodle salad with peanut and cilantro
  • Chicken and spinach salad with pumpkin seeds and olives
  • Beef stew with zucchini, kale, broccoli, and carrots
  • On-the-fly solo dinner: smoked salmon and scrambled eggs
  • Baked butternut squash (??) Gotta figure out what to do with this guy. 




Saturday, October 25, 2014

Low FODMAP Chocolate Banana Zucchini Bread



Inspired by this recipe from Rachel Ray.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 1/2 small)
1 overripe banana
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (I used quinoa flour)
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
(Optional: add walnuts, chocolate chips, etc)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and flour an 8″ x 4″ x 2 1/2″  loaf pan and set aside. Use a paper towel to squeeze the water out of the shredded zucchini. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Stir in the zucchini and mashed banana, then fold in the chocolate chips or walnuts if you're adding them. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes (probably closer to 70) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and serve. 

This was a little crumbly, and not very sweet, but still pretty good. I like that it's healthy. Should have been cooked a little more, and maybe brown sugar is the way to go (?)

Friday, October 24, 2014

Low FODMAP Chicken Tortilla Soup with Cilantro and Lime

This week worked out well in terms of all the food prep I did Sunday. On Monday we had chicken broccoli bake leftovers. Tuesday was beef stew leftovers. Wednesday was spinach salad with cooked chicken (from the stock-making Sunday,) olives, and pumpkin seeds. Thursday was the least successful - I made quinoa pasta and covered it with the faux celery pesto, olives, more cooked chicken, olive oil and parmesan. That was kind of meh. Celery leaves and parsley are VERY overwhelming-tasting, it turns out. 




So tonight I wanted to use some of that rich chicken stock as well as the rest of the cooked chicken.

I got my inspiration from this post on The Kitchn which features six easy ways to turn chicken stock into dinner. They all sound great, especially the rice and egg soup. But since I had all this cooked chicken already I decided to give this one a try. It's low-FODMAP and low sodium if you decide to keep it that way (if you have a light hand with the tortilla chips, that is.) This turned out great and I can't wait to try all the other chicken stock recipes.

Ingredients:

Chicken stock
Shredded chicken
16 oz can unsalted diced tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen sweet corn
Shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese
Chopped cilantro
Crumbled tortilla chips
Fresh lime juice
Salt, pepper, cayenne to taste

Heat chicken broth until simmering. Add shredded cooked chicken, corn, and can of diced tomatoes. Heat until hot. Pour into bowls and top with crumbled tortilla chipsshredded cheese, lime juice, and cilantro.

FACTS AND FIGURES 
  
Prep time: 10 min. Open can of tomatoes, chop cilantro, and slice and squeeze limes. 
Servings: 4.
Agony rating: 1/10. Super easy if you have the cooked chicken already.
Taste and stuff: 8/10. Delish.

*COSTS OF STUFF I HAD TO BUY SPECIAL*

Organic diced tomatoes, salt-free: $1.99
Garden of Eatin' Yellow Tortilla Chips: $2.99
Kraft shredded Mexican cheese: $2.50; about half a bag so $1.25
Frozen organic sweet corn: $2.99/10oz, so about $0.50 worth
Cilantro: $0.99 bunch, used about a handful so $0.25
Limes: 5 for $1, so $0.20
Cooked chicken: left over from last weekend, but probably around $14
Chicken stock: left over from last weekend

Total cost of stuff I had to buy special: $7.18 without the chicken; $21.18 with
Cost per serving: $1.80/$5.30

VERDICT: SUCCESS. 

Sunday, October 19, 2014

FODMAP Free Sunday

This weekend I got busy in the kitchen making FODMAP-free foods for the fam.

#1: Whole Chicken Chicken Stock (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

Organic whole chicken including giblets
Handful fresh parsley from farmers market
3 stalks sad little celery from farmers market
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 carrot from the farmers market

Put it all in the crockpot with a buncha water and set to 20 hours on low. Results TBD. I'll take the cooked chicken out tomorrow and use for salads/sandwiches.

#2: Chicken Broccoli Cheese Bake (adapted from here)


Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice
Organic chicken cutlets
Olive oil
1/2 head broccoli
Parmesan cheese
Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Cook rice, cook chicken in dutch oven. Steam broccoli. Mix it all together and bake for 15 min. Went over well. But will it reheat? Probably four servings.

#3 FODMAP Friendly Pumpkin Bread (adapted from here)


Ingredients:

1 cup canola oil
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups quinoa flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and water; add flour, bp, bs, salt, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla; stir a little. Preheat oven to 350. For muffins, bake for 35 min. For bread, 50 min. These were DELICIOUS. Half the muffins are already gone. Probably all that sugar + oil! {NOTE: The bread was a little squishy near the middle. Might need to bake it longer at a lower temperature.}

#4 Fall Beef Stew (adapted from here)


Ingredients:

1 lb organic beef chunks
1/2 cup or so of quinoa flour
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 16 oz can salt-free diced tomatoes
2 carrots from the farmers market
5 turnips from the farmers market
5 red potatoes from the farmers market
1 tiny celery stalk chopped up real small
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 2/3 cups water
1/3 cup dry red wine
1 tsp thyme

Coat beef chunks in flour, salt and pepper; brown. Add liquids and stir in the rest of the flour; add veggies and spices; bring to a boil and pop in the oven for an hour and a half at 350 degrees.

The beef was really tough, there were too many turnips, and while the carrots and potatoes were perfect consistency the turnips were very soft. But the flavor of the sauce was great. Wish I had beef stock and more wine on hand. Makes roughly four to six servings.

#5 Poor Woman's Pesto-like Power Spread



Is there such thing as a FODMAP-free garlic/pesto substitute? I made this one up. It's pungent and thrifty, but who knows if it will actually get eaten.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups turnip greens, celery leaves, parsley, broccoli
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese
Balsamic vinegar

Boil water. Dip greens into the water for 30 seconds. Blend in blender. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper,  splash of balsamic vinegar, and parmesan cheese to taste/consistency. Apparently this is very nutritious, if somewhat overpowering, and I probably should have cooked the turnip greens. Will try on pasta or crackers (?) Maybe a sandwich spread? Next time add kale, spinach, basil. Call it Soylent...

FACTS AND FIGURES
 
Prep time: I spent about four hours preparing everything, but that includes chatting with a friend and doing all the dishes.
Servings: Hard to tell; probably 4 each of the entrees.
Agony rating: 7/10. Peeling and chopping; browning meat; measuring ingredients for pumpkin bread; ay ay ay.
Taste and stuff: So far, so good!

*COSTS OF STUFF I HAD TO BUY SPECIAL*

I tossed the receipt, and bought many other things at the grocery, but the cost of all this food probably came in around $70-$80. That includes the fancy organic meat and the organic farmer's market vegetables and eggs. So overall this will probably come in around $6-$8 a serving once I use all the chicken in the slow cooker, which while not stupendous is certainly doable.

VERDICT: A day well spent. We will have breakfast and dinner for almost a full workweek. SUCCESS.