Italian Stuffed Peppers

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From Stuffed Peppers

Looks good, right? Here's what you need:

From Stuffed Peppers

• 3 Bell Peppers cut in half
• 1 lb of grass fed beef
• 6 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 8 oz of baby bella mushrooms
• paprika
• Italian seasoning
• Red pepper flakes
• Mozzarella cheese
• 4 slices of slightly overdone bacon (for crumbling at least that's what I told myself after burning it)

When buying your bell peppers, look for peppers with large flat sides. This will keep them from rolling around and spilling out their contents. Cut the peppers in half and pull the seeds out. Try and keep the stem intact. It isn't edible, but it helps to keep the juices from the filling from spilling. You'll want to rinse them and let them dry over a towel for a few minutes.

Think of the filling as a really chunky spaghetti sauce. Start by browning the beef and sauteeing the mushrooms. Use whatever fat you want for sauteeing. I just used the bacon grease and some of the fat that rendered off of the beef.

From Stuffed Peppers

The beef should brown just about the same time that the mushrooms are done. Add the tomatoes, garlic, crumbled bacon, and spices into a large pan or wok and stir. I rarely measure in the kitchen, so here is how much of each spice I used.

From Stuffed Peppers

From Stuffed Peppers

From Stuffed Peppers

Let that simmer for about 2 minutes. After that, I drained some of the liquid off to avoid making a stew. Finally, fill the peppers with the beef mixture, cover them with cheese, and throw them in the broiler for about 2-3 minutes.

From Stuffed Peppers

From Stuffed Peppers

Keep a close eye on the broiler. You don't want these guys to burn after all your hard work! I rotated my peppers halfway through since my broiler doesn't broil very evenly. I really enjoy the taste of a nearly raw pepper with that delicious, juicy filling inside. The crunch of the peppers is a nice addition to a pretty crunchless primal cuisine.

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Fried Zucchini

From Fried Parmesan Zucchini

Hello all! With all the planning, running around, and spending money of wedding preparation, I haven't had a whole lot of time to put up any new posts.

I'll go ahead and admit that this recipe was 100% inspired by this Joyful Abode version of fried zucchini. If you don't read that site, start now. It's the best recipe site run by a lady that is 9 months pregnant. She's also fun to follow on Twitter as well. I'll admit that although I haven't tried the Joyful Abode version, I can imagine it has much more complex flavors while my version is more than likely much simpler on the tongue.

Now I can, with a clear conscience, tell you my version of her recipe. I apologize for not following my usual format. This was an impulse fry-job and this post reflects that.

You'll need almond flour, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and zucchini.

Seeing how I didn't have coconut flower on hand to make the baked version of the recipe, I impulsively decided to bread some zucchini with almond flour, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. I honestly thought it would end up a complete failure, but it actually worked! I'm only guessing here, but I used about 1 1/2 cups of almond flour, 2 tbs of Italian seasoning, 3 tbs of granulated garlic, a few pinches of salt, and 2-3 tbs of fresh ground pepper.

I cut a zucchini in half length wise then made cuts to form half moons. I sliced them as thinly as possible. I did this because almond flour tends to burn quickly and nobody likes burned nuts. This allows the zucchini to cook in the short amount of time you have before having to pull the veggies out of the oil.

For breading, I like to use an egg wash that is mostly egg. I'm not sure what the normal ratio is, but I used one egg and maybe 2 tbs of water. Scramble the egg and the water in a dish. Toss in your zucchini and make sure it's completely covered in egg. Now put the zucchini and all your breading into a tupperware container, and shake away. Most of the pieces should be coated pretty well. You'll have to use your hands to get a few of them coated with the leftover breading.

Finally, fry them up in the oil of your choice, but be ready to flip. I use chopsticks for frying and by the time I get 10 pieces laid out, it is time to start flipping in the same order I put them in. After flipping, I start removing them in the same order. Remember, almond flour burns really quickly!

As soon as you remove the zucchini, grate some fresh parmesan over each piece to make sure the cheese will melt and adhere to the breading. That's it!

From Fried Parmesan Zucchini

From Fried Parmesan Zucchini

As a caveat, I really don't advise getting into the habit of frying almond flour regularly. This is just my view on the issue, but the frying tends to oxidize a lot of fats. As a once in a while treat, it's great, but it shouldn't be a dietary staple. OK, now I have a totally clear conscience (Lutheran guilt).

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Nopalitos Salad

From Nepalitos Salad

Ok, guys, it's been a couple weeks, but I'm back with a new quick and easy recipe to try. It's another chop 'n' mix type of side dish. I made fajitas again tonight, but wanted something exciting to put on top.

Nopales is the name of a cactus and when you chop them up into tiny pieces, you call them by their cuter name, nopalitos. It has a slimy texture that some might find off-putting, but a quick rinse in a strainer takes care of that. Check the Mexican food aisle at your grocer and I bet you'll find nopalitos in a jar or can.

Here are the ingredients:

From Nepalitos Salad

1 jar of RINSED nopalitos (2.99), 2-3 avocados (1.50), 3 tomatoes , 1 small red onion (0.25), 2 cloves of garlic(0.04), 1 jalapeño (0.05), a cup of cilantro (0.50), and the juice of 1-2 limes (0.16). That's $5.49 for enough salad to put on a few pounds of steak fajitas. Play with the proportions to your taste.

There isn't really much to tell you other than to rinse the nopalitos before you chop all of the ingredients and mix them together. It's like a chunky guacamole with pickled cactus.

From Nepalitos Salad