Cooking day!

Earlier this week I realized that if I wanted to get a freezer cooking day in before the end of the year, with the Hobbit coming up and then the holidays, :), I should do it this week.

My friend and I made six dishes today, with three more prepped and ready to put together tomorrow. We made a huge batch of granola, applesauce-kefir pancakes, ginger-apple oatmeal, frozen burritos, pineapple-ginger fried rice, and lower-oxalate pumpkin black-eyed pea chili. I thought I’d share a few of the recipes I chose here.

The granola was pretty simple, so I suggest you start with online recipes and customize. I used coconut sugar and maple syrup, coconut oil, and of course oats, fruits, and spice. For the pancakes I took an applesauce pancake recipe and put kefir and soured cream that was sitting in the back of my fridge, instead of the milk. (Note: I should have added a 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to counter the acid, but I forgot and they seem fine). The oatmeal was regular oats made with  a mix of water and milk (1:1:1 ratio) with whatever fruits etc I had on hand; in this case I put in shredded coconut, raisins, minced candied ginger, and almost as much chopped fresh apple as I put in oats. It came out wonderfully. The burritos also were pretty basic: ground beef with spices, rice, black olives, and shredded cheese. You can add salsa but it makes them a bit moist, so I suggest cooking it into the beef and draining well if you do.

The following two recipes, based loosely on ones I found around the ‘net, were fantastic enough to share in their entirety. The chili especially is a great new addition to my repertoire, as it’s subtly different than other chilis; sweet and a bit smokey.  For the pineapple rice, you might add ham, chicken, or shrimp. I didn’t, because a couple of weeks ago I bought a huge ham and divided it into steaks, so I’ll serve it with that.

(sorry about the formatting, I don’t have time to make it work right now).

Pineapple Fried Rice

Servings: 12
4 medium eggs, whisked
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 tablespoons coconut oil
4 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups cabbage, finely chopped
6 cups cooked short-grain rice, must be cold
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 cups coarsely chopped pineapple
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
4 cups peas and carrots, frozen
Optional: add 1-2 cups tofu, chicken, or shrimp
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet or stir-fry pan over medium-high heat. Add eggs, and cook 8 lightly. Sprinkle
with salt. Remove from pan.
2. Heat coconut oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic; stir-fry 2 minutes or until lightly browned.
Add cabbage, cook until slightly transparent. Add rice, and cook several minutes before adding remaining ingredients
except frozen vegies (if re-freezing).
3. To freeze, cool before adding frozen vegies.
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Low Oxalate Pumpkin Chili
2 pounds ground beef
2 pounds ground turkey
1 pound bacon, cooked and drained
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups onion, roughly chopped
2 cups red bell pepper, roughly chopped
12 cloves garlic (6-8)
2 cups tomato juice
1 cup tomato sauce
3 cups cooked black-eyed peas
3 cups sweet corn
2 cans pumpkin
2-3 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2-3 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons fennel seed
2 teaspoons coriander
salt to taste
Brown the beef and turkey in a dutch oven or stew pot over medium heat. Pour off the grease (optional) and return to the stove [I used a crockpot]. Meanwhile, put the broth, onion, red pepper and garlic in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until the peppers and onions are soft. If desired, use a soup wand (stick blender) to puree the vegetables or put them into a blender or food processor and blend until  well pureed. Add the pureed vegetables and tomato juice/sauce to the beef and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. Add the beans and corn and spices (no need to drain the beans and corn unless you want to) and continue to simmer until the flavors have melded and the chili has cooked down to your desired thickness (drain the corn before adding for a thicker chili). Serve with chopped cilantro, shredded cheese or a dollop of yogurt if desired.

One Comment

  1. Neil Slater:

    The recipes look quite tastey! We’ve also enjoyed Viking porridge, which uses several different gains, plus nuts, dried fruits, and needs to simmer for over an hour. Oh, but it’s worth the wait!! There are recipes online for that as well.

    Cheers,
    Neil
    waiting imaptiently for the end of the Mayan baktun, so I can run outside on Saturday and scream, “He’s done it! The Doctor’s saved us all!!”

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