Buttered Leeks

The first time I heard about leeks as a side dish, I thought how could that possibly be good? Leeks are part of the onion family after all. But the leeks come bundled together in bunches of three and the Potato Leek soup I made the other day only need half a leek. I didn't want the rest to go to waste. I decided to try out this easy side dish and discovered I really, really like it! Then again it uses a lot of butter so what isn't to like! But don't worry, Butter is actually good for you, despite the reputation it has gotten  in the past couple of decades. Real butter from grass fed cows is high in vitamins A, D and E. And despite what our culture tells us, you don't get fat off fat. Well, real fat that is. People gain weight from margarine, canola oil and other industrial oils. Real fat is used as energy and doesn't get stored in your body as fat. Gotta hand it to those marketers at Crisco for misleading the public about Real Fat! So make this yummy dish, and use a high quality real butter and enjoy every delicious bite. By the way the darker yellow your butter the healthier it is. By the way... Land O'Lakes may make "real" butter, but it isn't a grass fed butter.
-Amanda

Buttered Leeks

1-2 leeks (I used 1 and the half one I had left over)
6 tbsp of butter
1/2 tsp thyme
sea salt and pepper

Cut your leeks up, I cut mine in half lengthwise and then cut them in half again. We decided that the pieces were too big, so cutting them smaller would probably be better. However you cut them, after cutting you need to put them in a big bowl or sink of water and swish them around. Leeks grow up through dirt and dirt gets trapped in their tight leaves. Shake, pat or salad spin them dry.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Place leeks in and stir until they start to get wilty on medium heat. Add thyme, salt and pepper and cover. Cook on low for about 10 minutes until they are soft. Serve!

Homemade Dog Biscuits

I like having the girls in the kitchen with me cooking when I'm not in a hurry trying to get dinner on the table. Making dog biscuits is just like making cookies (actually these are completely edible for humans.) But making them for your dog, the dog gets to eat them instead of having a ton of cookies for your kids to eat (or you!) And believe me, the thought of making a special treat for their puppy and giving it to him was enough of a treat for the girls they weren't even thinking of cookies for themselves! For more pictures of the girls making the cookies check out Ditt & Dott.
-Amanda

Homemade Doggie Treat Biscuits

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
lemon zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Mix flour, brown sugar, and lemon zest together in a large bowl. If you are using coconut oil, melt it in a small bowl. Pour into the flour. Then melt the peanut butter in that small bowl. The oil will help the peanut butter slide right out into the flour bowl. Add vanilla and 1/4 cup of the water. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add a bit more water if needed until a ball of dough forms. Roll out and cut into cookie shapes. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes.

Thank You to my Followers!

I can't believe my cooking blog has 39 followers. It is so exciting to see that number grow. Every time I get a comment and every time I get a new follower I get excited. I started this blog mostly as a documentation of the foods I eat and the recipes I made. The joke in my marriage is that I can't cook the same meal twice. And it is true! Everytime I make something I'm always tweaking it or subbing some ingredient or other. A few times my husband would tell me, "This is GREAT just the way it is! Please write it down so you can make it this way again!"

Well I never would take the time to write it down and the next time I'd make that dish hubby would sigh and say this is good, but man, last time it was so great! (Of course sometimes the new version really was better!) So I decided one day to finally start writing things down. Then I got a few followers and that was fun. Next I had friends and family tell me that they loved getting recipe ideas from me. I started this blog almost exactly 2 years ago and it is fun to look back at all the fun I've had and how much I've learned with cooking over the past two years. It's neat to see the phases I have been through too. From following a low-calorie/high fiber diet (read here why I no longer believe that is healthy) to being lost about health and just cooking whatever I wanted, from learning how to make homemade breads (here was my first bread!) and now following the principles of the Real Food movement set forth by the Weston A. Price Foundation.

I want to let out a big thank you to all of my followers. You all mean a lot to me. Like I said, I love reading your comments and hearing if you've made some version of one of my meals. If I've inspired you to try something new, I love hearing about that too. Even if you tried something and it failed (I've had plenty of failed experiments too!) please take a moment to share with me! If you enjoy reading The Frickin Chicken, I'd love for you to share it with your family and friends. And I did start a Facebook page a bit ago. Please join me on Facebook where the conversation is picking up! If you haven't ever read about how The Frickin Chicken got its name, it's a funny short story and you can read it here.
-Amanda

Lacto-Fermented Hot Sauce

Ever since learning about Lacto-Fermented foods and the nutritional benefits that fermented foods provide, I've been so excited to learn new recipes. Creating lacto-fermented foods is so incredibly easy, the hardest part is to get over the fact that most of us were raised to fear bacteria. For some reason we all know that yogurt is good for us because it has "live-active cultures." Well, I'm learning how to put those "live-active cultures" in ketchup, hot sauce, mayonnaise, pickles, pickled vegetables and more. Those live-active cultures are also known as probiotics and they help keep the flora in our guts in balance. They aide in digestion and they help fight off common colds.

I got this recipe from The Nourished Kitchen, where she made her sauce with scotch bonnets. Her hot sauce is just that HOT! I used jalepenos so mine should be called more of a "mild" sauce. I also passed my sauce through a very fine sieve so it is more liquidy than hers. All of this is to your preferences and it is fun to experiment. You are left over with chili paste, that would be great to use in marinades, stir-frys and such. Remember heating anything that you lacto-ferment over 110 degrees kills the good bacterias and enzymes, but sometimes lacto-fermenting is just used as a way of preservation. The chili paste, once fermented will last months in your fridge.
-Amanda

Lacto-Fermented Hot Sauce

3 lbs of chilis (I think I only used two, but these types of recipes are very forgiving!)
3-6 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of sugar
2 tsp of sea salt
1/4 cup of whey

Cut off the stems of your chilis and place them in a food processor. Throw in your garlic cloves and pulse until you get a pasty texture. Add the salt, sugar and whey and process a few more times to mix. Transfer to a glass jar and let sit on the counter for 4-5 days until you see some bubble action. Strain using a mesh strainer and you have hot sauce and chili paste!

10 minute Creamy Chicken Soup

This was a fast soup to throw together. I did already have a grilled chicken breast in the refridgerator so that is what made it so fast. When I make homemade stock, I like to store a lot of it in ice cube trays (after they freeze I tranfer to a freezer safe bag.) This way I have small portions of stock to add to sauces and gravies easily! I only made one portion of this soup, but feel free to double as necessary!
-Amanda

10 minute Creamy Chicken Soup

1-2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp butter
4-5 button or cremini mushrooms
handful of frozen peas
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup (or a few ice cubes) of homemade chicken stock
1/2 chicken breast, cooked and diced
freshly grated parmesan
1 tbsp fresh parsley
salt and lots of pepper (I actually added more pepper after the photo was taken, I liked the kick it gave the broth.)

Quickly mince some garlic and throw it in a small pot with the butter on medium heat, you don't want to burn the garlic. Chop mushrooms and add to the garlic. Turn up heat a bit and saute until mushrooms are nice and brown on the edges. Add handful of peas. Pour in your cream and chicken stock. If you are using stock in ice cube format, go ahead and throw them in frozen and just cook until they blend. Add cooked chicken and continue to cook until chicken is warmed through. Salt & Pepper and garnish with parmesan and parsley.

Garlic Snapper

I've got fish on the brain since it's lent. Last Sunday I was shopping at Sprouts and I saw this fresh snapper on Managers Special and I grabbed it up. I wasn't thinking it all the way through. One being there was only two fillets in the package and my girls LOVE fish so they'll eat an entire fillet between the two of them. Second it was fresh fish, and Friday is a long way off from Sunday. So I cooked it up tonight, I gave it to the girls and my hubby and I made a smoothie for myself, which I was kinda craving anyway. I'm sure this would taste great with catfish and tilapia too!
-Amanda

Garlic Snapper

2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
1/4 tsp cajun seasoning
salt and pepper

Melt butter in a skillet. I use cast iron which is pretty much non-stick. Add garlic, worcestershire sauce and cajun seasoning. Salt and pepper the fish fillets and add them to the skillet. Cook about 8 minutes per side on med-low. Covering the pan to help it cook through. Serve when fish flakes easily apart with a fork.

Breakfast Blueberry Crepes

I made the girls breakfast crepes this morning. Although they are so good they could be dessert crepes too! For two crepes I took about an two ounces of cream cheese, a big dollop of cottage cheese, a tbsp of honey and a tablespoon or two of heavy cream. I put all of that in a mini food processor (I love my magic bullet!) with a splash of vanilla and a few sprinkles of cinnamon. After blending it, I added a couple handfuls of blueberries and stirred gently. Divide the filling between the two crepes and fold. Serve cold or warm in microwave for 30-45 seconds.

-Amanda

Homemade Hamburger Buns

This is not a soaked wheat recipe, I haven't gotten too great at soaked wheat breads yet. I've managed pancakes and the crepes I did the other night were awesome. Even still, making your own bread is usually better than store bought because you know what the ingredients are and they won't include high fructose corn syrup. I based this off of the homemade hotdog bun recipe I made last summer, but I updated the oils to be healthy oils (vegetable oil is NOT a real food, it is a highly processed oil that is not good for you.) I also used whole wheat instead of white flour which means these buns are a bit more dense than the hot dog buns, but you can either half it or use white-wheat.
-Amanda

Hamburger Buns

1 tbsp honey
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet or 1/4 ounce)
1/4 cup warm water (105-110F)
1 cup warm milk (105-110F)
2 tsp coconut oil/non-homogenized lard
2 tsp sea salt
3-3 1/2 cups whole wheat
1 egg white (for egg wash)
sesame seeds (optional)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar, yeast and warm water. Stir to dissolve and let set until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Add in milk, vegetable oil and salt. With the mixer on a low speed with the dough hook attached, gradually add the flour. Once 3 cups have been incorporated, add the remaining flour a tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 2-4 minutes, until smooth and supple. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, 1-1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough and make a log. Cut the log into four pieces. Cut each piece into two more pieces. Using your hands, form each piece of dough into a little ball, pinching the dough to the bottom so that the top is very smooth. Let the buns rise for 30-40 minutes covered with a towel. Brush the dough with egg whites. Sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds, if desired. And bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

 I made little sliders for the girls. I took their dough pieces and divided again so it was half the size of a regular bun.

Sausage Stuffed Pablano Peppers

This isn't a very glamorous looking dish I'm afraid. I'm made shrimp stuffed pablano's a while back that were very delicious, but tonight I wanted to try sausage. They came out great too! I wish I had taken a photo of my girls dish, but I forgot. I used a cookie cutter to cut out a heart shape sausage patty and heart shaped bell pepper. I cooked the sausage and bell pepper and stacked them with a bit of cream cheese smeared to hold them together. They ate the sausage and took one tiny bitty bite of the bell pepper... obviously a vegetable that we need to work on around here.
-Amanda

Sausage Stuffed Pablano Pepper with Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

2 pablano peppers
1/2 cup freshly grated cobly jack cheese
4 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp heavy cream
4-6 oz breakfast sausage
1/2 small onion

Blacken the outside of the pablano peppers. You can do this either by sitting them over the open flame of your stove or under the broiler turning every few minutes. When they are completely blackened remove to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let them steam until they are cool enough to touch. Remove skin (which peels right off) and cut a slit into each pepper. Remove seeds carefully and set aside.

Saute breakfast sausage and onion in a small skillet until onion is carmalized and sausage is cooked through. In a medium size bowl, mix grated cheese, cream cheese and heavy cream with a fork. Mash it up to combine, the heavy cream helps mix it together. When the sausage and onions have cooled a bit, add them to the cheese mixture. Stuff each pepper with half of the mixture. Place in a baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350. You can wrap them in foil to help keep them together or use toothpicks. I didn't bother this time around.

Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

1 can of Fire Roasted Tomaotes (I use Organic because the non-organic kind had some ingredient that I don't want to eat... MSG or some chemical, I don't remember)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp fresh oregnao or 1 tsp dried
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbsp olive oil

Combine everything in a pot and simmer until tomatoes break down and make a nice sauce.

Soaked Wheat Crepes

I've talked before about why soaking grains, legumes and nuts is good for you. So I wanted to learn how to make soaked wheat crepes. Crepes are excellent recipe for soaking since most recipes tell you to "rest" the batter for awhile anyway. This time you are just "resting" it overnight! These crepes are so tasty and light. I am doing a (mostly) low-carb diet right now, so I actually made this for the girls and my hubby. I did taste a few bites though! I stuffed them with a mixture of grated cheddar cheese, cream cheese, a splash of heavy cream (to help mush the cheeses together) and shredded chicken. They got a thumbs up from the family!
-Amanda

Soaked Whole Wheat Crepes

2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup of raw milk (you can use yogurt instead of milk too.)
1 cup of water
4 tbsp of yogurt or milk kefir
3 eggs
1/2 stick of butter
1 tsp salt

Stir the whole wheat, milk, water and yogurt together in a large bowl. Make sure that there is no dry flour left. You can add more liquid if need be, you want a loose batter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and sit out at room temperature overnight (or approx. 8 hours.)

Add eggs, salt and melted butter. Stir until well incorporated. I used a crepe pan to make my crepes, but a small non-stick skillet would work also. Very lightly grease your pan with butter and pre-heat it to medium heat. I think the first crepe has to be a throw away, I've never made a pretty first crepe. Using a ladle, scoop out 1/4 cup of batter in the center of your pan. Pick it up off the heat and make a large swirling motion with your wrist. You are trying to make the batter into a large, very thin circle in your pan. When the edges start to curl up a bit, flip it over and cook the other side. It takes about one minute per side for each crepe. I got 16 crepes out of my batter.

 Loose batter

 Swirling the batter around the pan.

 Ready to flip!

Done!

Shrimp in a Cream Cheese Sauce

This dish tasted good, but I learned a lesson today. Cooked spaghetti squash does not freeze well. I had this meal planned out in my head for tonight dinner and the flavors came together except for the squash which didn't taste bad, but it disintegrated into mush. So if you make this dinner, either serve it over noodles, freshly cooked spaghetti squash or even brown rice. And if you make too much spaghetti squash in the future, well... don't freeze it.
-Amanda

Shrimp in a Cream Cheese Sauce

2 cloves of garlic, minced
8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
1 lb shrimp
8 stalks of asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
10 tablepsoons of butter, divided
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup of water
1 tsp arrowroot powder
1 tsp of dried basil or a few leaves of fresh

Saute garlic in a tbsp of butter in a large skillet. Remove to a large bowl before it browns. Add mushrooms and a bit more butter, and them until they are almost browned. Put in your cut asparagus and saute them with the mushrooms. Add salt and pepper. Remove mushrooms and asparagus to the bowl with the garlic. Put your shrimp and more of the butter in the skillet and cook almost all the way through. Again, remove it to the bowl with the vegetables. Put the rest of your butter and cream cheese into the skillet on medium and stir it to help it melt. It will look like a curdled mess. Once it is all mostly melted whisk the arrowroot into 1/2 cup of water. When it has dissolved pour it into the cream cheese and it will magically come together. Add some fresh or dried basil. Pour vegetables and shrimp back into the sauce and simmer until shrimp is all the way cooked through. Serve over noodles, rice or freshly cooked spaghetti squash! Serves about 4.

What's For Dinner at My House: Spaghetti with Liver (?!??!)

Why in the world would I make spaghetti with liver? Well, liver is a super nutrient dense food.

It can help boost energy, libido, muscle growth, brain power and general health. Liver is an abundant source of nutrients difficult to obtain elsewhere such as vitamin A, arachidonic acid, DHA and the B vitamins. (from Chris Masterjohn)

Sign me up! So right now, I've been trying to include a bit of liver in any dish that I make with ground beef. I've used it in chili, spaghetti meat sauce and in meatballs. Liver is a strong flavor that takes getting used to. To me it is sort of an earthy kind of flavor. So for dinner in my house tonight we had a typical meal of Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.... the only difference from a lot of spaghetti's being served up was the addition of liver!
-Amanda

What's For Dinner at My House: Chicken Cheddar Hoagies

It's been another busy week so far, and it's only Tuesday! I guess spring is that time of the year where things get crazy. Today I had a St. Patrick's day party planned for my twins' playgroup and I was trying to think of what to serve the moms for lunch. We typically do a "mom" lunch and a kids "lunch" even though I really think that the kids should be eating what we eat. Most days that's what my girls do. I decided to make these Chicken Cheddar Hoagies, a dish I made the first time almost two years ago. I think I've only made them once or twice since then even though they are really quick and super tasty!

Back then I was on Weight Watchers so I put a scant amount of low-fat cheddar cheese on each one and I sprayed my pan with a tiny amount of cooking spray. Now I follow the Real Food movement and I've learned that fats such as lard, coconut oil, olive oil, butter and other traditional fats are actually good for you. So this dish went through a bit of a revision. (Which is so funny since I used to take full fat meals and make them low-fat for Weight Watchers!) These days recipes still go through revisions. I don't cook with fake fats like margarine, canola or vegetable oils. I don't buy products that have MSG or any "natural flavors" listed. I've learned that "natural flavors" is not the same thing as REAL food, and that "natural" usually means some derivative of MSG.

So I sauted my onions and bell peppers in MSG, Nitrate free bacon grease and I grated a bunch of Real, raw-milk cheddar cheese on top. Ideally I would have used a bread that had been made with soaked or sprouted wheat, but I'm not perfect, and since I wasn't at the health food store when I shopped I did buy "regular" rolls. I haven't found sprouted rolls yet, and I haven't gotten adventurous enough to start sprouting and grinding my own wheat (yet!)

The Chicken Cheddar Hoagies seemed to be a hit with my friends and they were a hit with my girls too. I've never seen them down onions and bell peppers without inspecting them and whining a bunch. If you are looking for a good fast meal to put together, give this recipe a try!

This post was linked at Kelly the Kitchen Kops website.
-Amanda

Cheddar Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Here was an easy dish to throw together. I served it with a modified version of THIS broccoli salad. I used homemade mayo. And for this time around I used half the amount of mayo and the rest pure bacon drippings. I also switched out the refined white sugar for backstrap molasses. I served a homemade ranch dressing on top of the chicken.
-Amanda

Cheddar Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped Chicken

1 chicken breast per person
2 slices of (nitrate and msg free) bacon per person
few slices of cheddar cheese per person
salt & pepper

Cut chicken breast almost in half and stuff with the cheddar cheese. Pat dry and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Wrap two slices of bacon around each chicken breast. Bake on a rack at 375 until chicken is all the way cooked through. You may need to broil the bacon a bit at the very end to crisp it up further.

What's For Dinner at My House: Chicken Nuggets

I think for the first several years of our marriage I rarely cooked the same meal twice. I was always fiddling and adding or coming up with something completely new. Well now, I've finally come to a point where I do recycle meal ideas (I mean, we have been married 8 years!) But I still tweak away. I figured occasionally I'll do a post called "What's for Dinner at My House." That way I can show you some of the tweaks I may make to recipes. For instance tonight I served homemade chicken nuggets, homemade fermented ketchup (full of probiotics!), sweet potatoes, and asparagus; bacon. I thought it was funny when I kept encouraging my kids to "eat their ketchup!"

Dinner around here isn't always fancy, sometimes it's just whatever happens to be in the fridge; but eating Real Food doesn't have to be fancy or complicated. Usually simple is better, the flavor of real, fresh ingredients shines through.

Recipes:
Chicken Nugget Recipe (tweak: instead of bread crumbs I rolled them in ground up almonds to make it low carb)
Ketchup (I made this about a week or so ago, but tonight was the first time I served it.)

I added this post to the Healthy Home Economist Monday Mania Blog Carnival.

Braised Country Style Pork Ribs with a Balsamic Gravy

This dish was relatively easy to make, even though it took a long time to cook. Most of the cooking time was low and slow in the oven. The gravy is complex; with layers of flavor. The pork was fall apart tender, juicy and scrumptious. I served it with bright green peas and potato pancakes. And for those who are fairly new at cuts of meat, country style pork ribs is the cut of meat, not a "style" of cooking the meat. This recipe would be equally good with a brisket, a pork shoulder or other big cut of meat that needs a long slow cooking method.
-Amanda

Braised Country Style Pork Ribs with a Balsamic Gravy

2 lbs of country style pork ribs
3 pieces of bacon
1 onions
2 stalks of celery
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
6-8 large mushrooms
2 cups of balsamic vinegar
2 cups of beef stock

Cut bacon strips into thin pieces and brown them in a very large skillet.

Chop onion, celery and garlic and add it to the skillet. Stir until tender. Add mushrooms and continue cooking. Add some olive oil if mushrooms absorb too much of the bacon drippings and start to stick.

Season with salt and pepper and add a bay leaf. Add beef stock and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, while vegetables are cooking, brown pork in a separate skillet. When the meat is nice and brown, move it over to the vegetable skillet. Cover and bake for 1 hour hrs at 350. Uncover and cook an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour, flipping meat half way through.

Potato Pancakes

Tonight for dinner I made a wonderful braised pork dish and when I was thinking of side dishes these potato pancakes came to mind. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. And while these don't exactly fit into my low-carb diet right now, my family enjoyed them. And they are fried in (non-homogenized) lard, which contrary to popular belief is actually good for you!

-Amanda

Potato Pancakes

1 Idaho potato, peeled
1 small sweet potato, peeled
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 eggs
2 tbsp flour or arrowroot
1/2 cup lard for frying

Cube Idaho potato and place it in a small pot. Just barely cover with water and bring to a boil. When it is very fork tender, drain all the water away.Meanwhile, grate sweet potato in a large bowl. Sprinkle apple cider vinegar over top to prevent browning. When Idaho potato is done, either use a ricer, a food mill or a mesh colander to push the potato through for a very fine mashed potato. Add it to the sweet potato and mix thoroughly. Crack two eggs in the bowl and sprinkle with flour or arrowroot powder. Mix everything together. Bring lard up to a frying temperature and form small 3 inch pancakes in a skillet. Drain on a paper towel.

Chirizo Chicken

This is a very intensely flavored dish. I tried to make cauliflower and cheese pancakes to serve along side but they didn't turn out that great.
-Amanda

Chirizo Chicken

2 large chicken breasts
2 tbsp coconut oil 
2 links of chirizo sausage
1 bell pepper
1/2 pablano pepper (spicier pepper if you wish!)
2 stalks of celery
1 rounded tsp of arrowroot
1 cup homemade beef stock made from bones
1 cup homemade chicken stock made from bones
1 can of organic fire roasted tomatoes

In a large heavy bottom skillet, melt the coconut oil. Brown two chicken breasts on both sides and remove from skillet. Remove the casings off chirizo sausage and brown in the skillet, breaking up the sausage as it cooks. Dice bell pepper into small squares and put it in the skillet with the cooking chirizo. Next add diced pablano pepper and celery. Cook a few minutes until vegetables start to get tender. Sprinkle over the arrowroot and then add chicken and beef broth. Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Add the roasted tomatoes. The skillet will be very liquid-y. Turn your burner on high and let it come to a hard boil. Stir every five minutes or so to make sure it isn't sticking. Cook until it has thickened and reduced by half. About 20 minutes. Bring back down to a simmer and add chicken. Cook an additional 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Serve with avocado slices or sour cream.