Prosciutto Bowls!

I had been meaning to make this for breakfast for quite some time now.  It is such a delicious and quick breakfast option, I decided to make it this morning.

Ingredients:

6 thin slices prosciutto

Olive Oil

6 eggs

Ground Basil

Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Start with the good stuff... Nest Fresh Eggs and Applegate Prosciutto (both found at my favorite place... Whole Foods)

Preheat the oven at 400°...

Coat 6 cups of muffin tin with olive oil (I use a pump spray rather than using PAM or any of that other cooking oil that isn't really good for you)

 

Then fit one slice of prosciutto in each cup (they were quite easy to set up)

Crack one egg inside each slice of prociutto and add a little ground pepper and basil on top for taste. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes at 400°.  

After the 12 minutes in the oven, take them out and let them set for 5 minutes.  Sounds silly but this is the most important part of this entire process.  If you attempt to take them out of the cups too soon, it can be a disaterous mess!

They were so delicious and protein packed!

This is the under side of the Prosciotto Bowl...

 
Try this Recipe and let me know how you like it!!

Enjoy your weekend...

Cauliflower Fried Rice!

I am so excited to share this with all of you... I had found this recipe last week on my favorite blog to stalk, Nom Nom Paleo. 

I started with the following ingredients:

1 small head of cauliflower, florets separated and pulsed in a food processor until “rice-like”

1 large carrot, cut into small dice

1 small onion, minced

4 ounces of sliced mushrooms (I used wild mushrooms)

1-inch knob of ginger, grated with a microplane

1 diced red pepper

2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro leaves

Thinly sliced egg omelet made from 2 eggs, salt, and pepper

1-2 tablespoons of coconut aminos (amazing replacement for soy sauce)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1-2 olive oil

I then chopped all of my ingredients and put them in different sized dishes.  Having OCD helps in this process... I need to have everything in order and ready before I start actually cooking.

Let's get cooking!... Combine chopped onions, red peppers, carrots, a dash of salt and pepper in a non-stick pan.  (A wok is definitely on my wishlist after this asian inspired dish!)  Once the onions were softened, I tossed in the wild mushrooms and stir fried everything until the mushrooms were browned.

In a seperate pan, I start cooking the shrimp seasoned with salt and pepper over medium-high heat.  I added a tsp of coconut aminos once the shrimp were almost completely cooked through.

I then added the remaining ingedients: cauliflower, sweet onion, eggs, bacon, cilantro and shrimp to the pan.  I made sure that all of the ingredients we mixed together and tasted it to make sure it was not in need of more S&P.

I plated in a clear bowl so I can see all of the colors in the dish.  You can replace the shrimp with the protein of your choice.

This recipe was so delicious and you don't even miss the rice... Another fun fact is that this recipe is only 192 calories per serving and 100% paleo.  It is a great way to get kids to eat their vegetables and they won't even know they are doing it!

Let me know what you think!!   I love reading your comments... =)

Paleo Porn!

So last night I made this amazing dish with inspiration from a blog I follow Modern Paleo Warfare. I decided to add a some additional protein because as my boyfriend would say, "I have protein requirements!"...

 With my iPad at the ready, I followed the Recipe and began to chop sweet potatoes, parsnips, onions and sweet onions.  I like to get all of the chopping done first, that is if I haven't already followed my own advice and pre-chopped. 

When we aren't able to make it to Whole Foods during the week, we usually have the back up grass fed protein option from Publix. 

To cook the grass fed beef I first add 2 tbs. of coconut oil, 1/2 cup of diced onions, and 3 cloves of garlic to a non-stick pan over med-high heat and let the onions sweat (like my culinary term?) for about 5-7 minutes... While that is happening I open the grass fed packaging and cut the beef so it breaks up easier when cooking.  I season with a little salt and pepper and let that cook until it is nice and brown.

While that's cooking... I drain the mixture, add the sweet onion, some salt, pepper and one egg.  Then M*A*S*H... (bad joke, I know).  Once that is all mixed and mashed, let it sit for a bit because there is no time for a hospital visit for burns.  Once cooled, mold the cakes and add some gluten-free flour on both sides.  I cooked these in avocado oil for about 4-5 minutes on each side...

Then my favorite part.... To The Plate & Photo department! I first put the ground beef as the base, topped with the sweet potato pancake, and finished off with the fried egg.   

 

Here is the 360° view of the finished product.... 

 

I was so pleased with how it came out!!... It tasted delicious and photographed like a dream...

I think he liked it...

Since I only made 2 pancakes, I had left over sweet potato and parsnip mixture.  I combined that with some organic chicken broth in the blender and made a soup to store.  Waste Not, Want Not!

Thanks for stopping by....

The Accidental Chef,

Marylin

Wild Caught Hogfish Recipe

When deciding on what to make for dinner tonight I only knew of 1 main ingredient... The Fish!  In typical fashion I turned to my friend google for guidance.  I found this recipe for yellowtail on epicurious and decided to give it a try.  Chopping the fruits and veggies for the salsa was a breeze and then came the fun part... the egg wash.  I made an assembly line with the gluten-free flour, the eggs, and the macadamia nuts.  I then placed the fish in avocado oil in a non stick pan over high heat and browned each side for 2 minutes.  I then put them in the oven for 7 minutes.  After the timer went off, I let them rest outside of the oven for a few minutes before plating.

 The beautiful colors were not to be out done by the amazing flavors... I know it seems silly or like too much to plate your food on a Tuesday but I think it should always look as good or better than it tastes.  I am often guilty of being overly obsessed in how the photo will come out. 

Macadamia Nut Crusted Hogfish with a Mango-Papaya Salsa

 I have included the recipe below if you want to give it a try yourself. On a scale of difficulty from 1 to 5 I'd say it was about a 2... 

ingredients

• 2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 papaya, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 cup all purpose gluten-free flour
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups macadamia nuts
• 6 6-ounce yellowtail or red snapper fillets (in my case, hogfish)
• 4 tablespoons avocado oil

preparation

Combine first 10 ingredients in large bowl and stir to blend. Season salsa to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place flour in shallow bowl. Whisk eggs in small bowl to blend. Finely grind nuts in processor. (I chopped them by hand because the food processor made them into a paste) Transfer nuts to another bowl. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Coat fish with flour. Dip fish into eggs, then macadamia nuts, coating completely. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in each of 2 heavy large skillets over medium heat. Place 3 fillets in each skillet; cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer fillets to large baking sheet.

Bake fish until just opaque in center, about 7 minutes. Divide salsa among 6 plates. Top with salsa and serve.

If you like what you're seeing, please leave a comment so that I know you were here.... 

Goodnight!

The Accidental Chef,

Marylin

My First Chutney!

I am so excited to share my latest creation with you! This is literally hot off the press…

Earlier this week I had been researching what produce is currently in season on my Locavore App (Yes, there's an app for that). I saw that peaches were in season. Coincidently last week I had seen a recipe in the Fall 2011 edition of the Fine Cooking Magazine so of course I had to try to make it myself.

This is my version of

Pork Chops with Peach-Ginger Chutney & a Shot of Tomatillo Gazpacho

Click Here for the Recipe for the Pork Chops and Chutney

I had also learned that tomatilos are in season as well.  Luckily for me there was another recipe in that same magazine for Tomatillo Gazpacho.  I am not a big fan of cold soups but this one was delicious, light, and refreshing.

I made a lot of improvisations with both of these recipes.  For example, in place of fresh ginger and thyme for the chutney I use ground ginger and thyme because it is what I had on the spice rack.  I am sure that the fresh spice is always better but I made due.  I cooked the pork chops in avocado oil instead of olive oil because it is much better for you and has a high smoke point.  (Great for frying and sautéing) Coconut oil is also another great alternative.  As for the gazpacho, in place of the red peppers I used organic grape tomatoes.  I left out the avocado because it was not ripe and I replaced the red onion with a sweet onion (which is delicious raw).   I don't get too worried if I do not have every single ingredient in the recipe, I try and find a comparable substitute or simply leave it out.  Keep it fun!!

I hope you have enjoyed this food porn as much as I enjoyed making it!

Let me know what you think via comments.... !

The Accidental Chef,

Marylin  

A Healthier Alternative

On our weekly visit to Whole Foods, Sammy found a better alternative to regular bread crumbs.  It is gluten free and tastes delicious!





We made an egg wash and coated all of the wild caught mackerel (caught by Sammy) and some chicken we had in this new Panko Style breadding.

We fried the fish outside in coconut oil and baked the chicken in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

The fish looked and tasted AMAZING!

Of course we needed to make something to accompany all that great protein... I made pico de gallo and guacamole to make it a Mexican affair!

On another note... I have been blog surfing up a storm and have found a couple amazing blogs you can check out as well... Nom Nom Paleo & Balanced Bites for starters.  I am learning so much from them and can't wait to share more of my findings with you soon.


Please leave a comment!

The Accidental Chef,

Marylin

Small Tip, Big Help!

Small Tip, Big Help!

One of the most time consuming steps when cooking is the food prep. Chopping onions, carrots, celery etc can really deter you from cooking on any given night. What I do to alleviate this is that I pick one day of the week that I have the least going on and prep for the whole week. Even if I don't know what I will be cooking that week, I try and get all of the basics chopped up to shorten the time on a daily basis.

Another helpful tip is to research online and in cooking magazines for quick recipes and plan for the week. I know what you're thinking, "I don't have time for this" but I promise once you make it a habit, it's quick and easy.


At the end of the week I take whatever is left over in the fridge and make a soup.
  



Just a quick post... More to come later!!!

M

Mini Cooking Vacation

Hello Blog World... This being my first post, let me start off by introducing myself.  I am Marylin and I love to cook.  I find myself constantly researching different recipes, watching cooking shows, and experimenting in my own kitchen.  I started this blog to have a platform in which to share my culinary creations with all of you!  Please let me know what you think...

The title of my blog "The Accidental Chef" was created by my amazing boyfriend for 2 reasons.  The first one being that I can be a little clumsy, or as he puts it "accident prone".  I am constantly tripping, bumping into things, dropping things and as he would say, putting myself in harms way.  I can literally guarantee you that I will drop one piece of whatever I am cutting or prepping on the floor... (I then throw it away of course!)  I guess you figured out the first meaning of the title in this lovely description of my special coordination.  The second meaning of the title is that I didn't even know that I liked to cook.  My mom is a take-out professional and only has one recipe that she has mastered... Spaghetti! Bless her heart she tries but she much rather do the entertaining and hosting and leave the cooking to restaurants.  The odds were not in my favor to catch on to this cooking thing.  

About 2 years ago, I met my soulmate and he was very dedicated to his health and fitness.  I started to learn the importance of analyzing the foods I was taking in.  We try and stick to the Paleo Lifestyle. Of course nothing is perfect but we are very committed to eating as clean as possible. Since the best way to control what you eat is to cook it yourself...well you can figure out the rest.

So on to the blogging! 2 weeks ago we took a mini vacation to the west coast of Florida with some great friends.  I remember when I started packing I was more concerned with what I would be taking for my kitchen supplies than anything else.  I was the official cook of the trip and I took on the task with a huge smile.

Our friend's 5 year old son was very good at eating whatever was served. This kid loves fruits, vegetables, and is a great eater... What more could you ask for.  I made him scrambled Nest Fresh eggs with an organic clementine.

For the adults, I opted to be a little more fancy... I made it a point to set the table for every meal and make it a dish worth photographing (even though we were on vacation).  I made a 3 egg spinach and feta cheese omelette with rosemary roasted potatoes, and an organic orange cut in quarters.

I always take my time when plating my meals because even though it is just for us, it is important that it looks as good as it tastes.  

Please feel free to comment!  

The Accidental Chef,

Marylin