This Month in Food! ~ January 2012

For those of you who know me, you may have noticed that I have been a cooking machine these last 31 days.  We challenged ourselves to have every meal come from our kitchen.  We succeeded with the exception of 3 days... Not too bad!  Especially considering it was a birthday packed month, including my Love's Birthday!  We made sure to have our traditional "January Birthdays" meal where we celebrate everyone at one time so it doesn't become a 4 weekend eating out extravaganza... With that said, we kept it pretty paleo.  We went to Graziano's (an Argentinian Steak House) here in Miami and had amazing steaks and veggies, although we did sneak in a little dessert...

So let's get this Photo Blog Post Started...

Slow-Cooked Brisket and Mixed Green Salad

Garlic Chicken and Roasted Brussel Sprouts

My Dad's Birthday Celebration... I cooked my famous CauliFried Rice!

Catch Your Own Dinner Day!

The Result!... A Fish Bake with a medley of veggies!

Brock Pot Bottom Roast with Greenbeans & Mushrooms

Pork with a Cucumber Salad, Veggies, and Avocado

Lettuce Carnita Tacos

Flank Steak with Sauteed Spinach and a Sweet Potato

 January Birthday Dinner!!

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Assorted Bell Peppers

Leftovers ALWAYS become lunch, so cook extra! ;-)

Heriloom Tomato Salad courtesy of our CSA Box...

Plan, Prep, Cook, Store, Repeat... (Story of My Life!)... =)

Citrus and Garlic Marinated Porkchops with Grilled Balsamic Eggplant

Crockpot Bottom Round Beef made in Jalapeños!  Assorted Veggies on the side. 

Leg of Lamb with Radishes and Avocado. Also made Sweet potato and veggie soup...

Avocado Stuffed Spicy Buffalo with Heriloom Tomato Pico de Gallo

Steak & The Most Amazing Braised Cabbage! (Got from NomNomPaleo)

Delicious Heriloom Tomato Salad with a Cilantro Lime Dressing. All ingredients came from our #csa

Spinach and Tomato Omlette with Strawberries

Our Trip to the Butcher Shop for Grassfed Meats and Wild Caught Fish

Mis en Place for my Chicken Soup... We make this Weekly!  It's just that good... ;-)

Finished Product.. Added some good fats with the 1/2 Avocado...

Fried Eggs with Fruits

Mixed Veggies for a BBQ we had with Friends... Made some marintated pork chops like the ones from a few pictures up... Deeeeelish!

Sunday Night (1/29/12- I sat down and planned my upcoming week)...

January 30, 2012... Check out this recipe for Brussel Sprout Chips!... AMAZING! Yes, NomNom again! Check out that delicious Grassfed Ribeye...

January 31, 2012... Protein, Carb, & Fat... That's the name of the game!... I even made some Paleo Spicy Mayo (Chipolte Peppers in Adobo and Cilantro to make it Spicy) from my Paleo Comfort Foods Cookbook.  For lunch I had leftover Chicken & Veggies and back by popular demand... Avocado Stuffed Spicy Buffalo for dinner...

That was a long post!... I'm tired just writing it all.  It was hard work cooking mostly all of our food this month but well worth it!  I have lost 10lbs with mild sporatic workouts.  (Did I mention we started a burpee challenge amongst a group of friends?) This upcoming month (meaning tomorrow)... I am challenging myself to start incorporating workouts 3 times per week minimum!  Wish me luck!...

I want to post all of the recipes of the dishes I showed you today, but I want to start with the ones you liked the most.  Leave a comment with your favorite looking dish and I will post them this weekend!!!...

Thanks for Reading and please like my Facebook Page, and Follow me on Instagram & Twitter @MarylinPina... It is where I post pics daily!...

Happy Cooking Friends!!

The Accidental Chef,

Marylin Pina

1/1/12- New Year's Day Cure All Cooking

SO the new year has arrived and so have the resolutions.  The need to be better, more self aware and make less excuses are at the top of my list.  Also on my high priority list is to blog more... At a minimum once a week!  So please help keep me accountable... ;-)
Now on to the FOOD!  

I have had a low key January 1, 2012, my other half woke up very sick this morning and I have been playing nurse all day.  I tried to make the most of the day and ventured into the kitchen to see what I could whip up for him to make him feel better.  I saw that we had some malanga (a root vegetable similar to potatoes or yams).  I remember that this was the Cuban go to remedy growing up if we were ever sick or had an upset stomach.

Ingredients:
2 malangas
1.5 cup of organic chicken broth

Directions:
Peel the malanga's rough skin until you have a clean white vegetable that resembles a potato.  Cube and drop into a small to medium pot.  Add the 1.5 cup of chicken broth and boil over medium high heat for 30 minutes.  Make sure you keep an eye on the pot so that it doesn't over flow and make a mess.

Once the malanga is soft enough to mash with a fork, grab the immersion blender and blend into a creamy consistency with no lumps. 

Here's what it looked like:

As you can see I added some bacon for garnish and let's get serious... Bacon makes everything taste better!... =)

Later on the day I made the cure all chicken soup...

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken (Publix Greenwise Hormone and Antibiotic Free)

6 Organic Carrots

1 Head of Celery

2 White Onions

2 Tbsp of Oregano

Salt and Pepper to Taste

2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

1 Lime

Directions:

In a large pot, place the whole chicken and cover with water. Add a some salt and the olive oil. Bring to a boil.  While the chicken is cooking, chop the onions, carrots, and the celery. Add all of the vegetables to the boiling water and let them cook in the pot for 45 minutes to an hour until the chicken cooks completely.  Then take the chicken out and remove the bones adding the chicken meat back to the pot of stock and vegetables.  Add the oregano as well as the salt and pepper to your liking.  Let the flavors blend in the pot for another 10-15 minutes. 

When you are ready to serve, squeeze 1/4 lemon into your individual serving and ENJOY!

This recipe works for when you feel sick and when you are hungover... =) 

Stay tuned... I am committing our kitchen to a Whole 30 challenge... Strictly Paleo!... Wish us Luck!

Happy Cooking!

The Accidental Chef,