My Roast Post!... Best Roast Ever!

One of our favorite cuts of meat is the Roast.  I find that it is easy to prepare and can be slow cooked in either the crockpot or the oven.

Ingredients:

1 (2.5 lb) rump roast

3 garlic cloves 

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1 onion 

1 cup water 

**Very Important!... Do not use a pyrex... Instead use a roasting pan like this one.

Directions:

1. You might use more salt and pepper.
2. Pre-Heat the oven to 500 degrees.
3. Prep the roast by making 4-5 slits in the roast and filling the holes with salt, pepper and 1/2 of a clove of Garlic.
4. Now Salt and Pepper the rest of the roast.
5. Put the Roast in the oven and sear for 20 minutes.
6. Then add the water, the chopped onion and reduce the temperature to 275 degrees.
7. Cook for 35 minutes per lb. I like mine medium so that is what you will get if you cook for this period of time.

This is what it will look like when it comes out of the oven....

 

Since it is just 2 of us we always have lots of leftovers... So always package, store and you'll have emergency protein in the fridge.

                                                    Thanks for reading.... Leave comments so I know you stopped by!... Also, if there are any recipes you want me to post from my photos on istagram, twitter, or facebook, please let me know and I'll be sure to post those first!...

Happy Saturday,

Marylin

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,

Crockpot Love!

Just a quick post to share my love for my crockpot. It is one of the most useful tools in the kitchen. If you don't have one, you should.

It took me 10 minutes to prepare dinner at 9am. I cut my onions into rings, made a simple dry rub for my pork bottom roast, and pressed COOK for 6 hours!!! It was that easy.

My dry rub consisted of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Just enough to lightly coat all sides of the meat.

I sprayed the the inside of the crockpot with olive oil so that nothing sticks to the bottom.

I then added the onions and the pork bottom roast and set the cook time for 6 hours. While I'm at work, dinner is already underway. I love multi-tasking!!

Here are the before and after pics.

Enjoy!


The Accidental Chef

Build Your Own Burger Night!!

On Saturday, we had a Build-Your-Own-Burger Night... (BYOB)... It was great!!  Everyone got to make their own version of their ideal burger... From the traditional cheeseburger to a salad burger.

Franco had the Traditional Cheeseburger.

 Romy made a Burger Salad with Sauteed Onions, Mushrooms and Blue Cheese with Mixed Greens.

 

 Sammy made the Ultimate Tripple Decker... Beef, a Fried Egg, and Crumbled Goat Cheese.

I opted for a Greek Burger.  Sauteed Spinach and Crumbled Feta Cheese.  It was delicious!!!

No Burger night is complete without some fries... I pulled a Sweet Potato Wedges recipe out of my new cook book Make it Paleo ... This was definitely a side dish that everyone can enjoy regardless of their eating preferences. 

Our dinner table set-up...

 I highly recommend BYOB Night as an alternative to ordering out... Everyone was in the kitchen and we made a rainy night into a burger night!

Post pictures of your favorite "gourmet" burgers on my FB page!!!

The Accidental Chef,

Ground Lamb & Cauli Mash!

Dinner made easy this evening... I went for some Ground Lamb & CauliMash!  It literally took me 30 minutes.

I bought some organic ground lamb BOGO (buy one get one free) at Publix on Sunday and was excited to taste it!  Now what to make with it? I was flipping through the pages of my amazing new cookbook, Paleo Comfort Foods and found a Mashed Cauliflower recipe. 

Check out this PCF video:

Wasn't that EASY!!! 

For the ground lamb, combine olive oil, onions, and garlic in a non-stick pan over medium high heat.  Let it sautee for about 5 minutes then add the ground lamb.  Add salt and pepper to taste. I then added the olives to have another dimension of flavor and to get some good fats in as well...

So it's that simple... Protein, Carbs, & Fat!

Thanks for stopping by.... I'd love to here your comments!

The Accidental Chef,

Steak, Spinach, & Soups, Oh My!

Just a quick post to keep my blog current....

Whenever we decide to grill on the BBQ, we make sure that we make multiple meals.  On this ccoking adventure I made Grilled Steak, Sauteed Spinach & Onions, Home made Mashed Potatoes, and a Roasted Corn Soup.

On a recent trip to LA, I went to have lunch at the Capital Grille in the Beverly Center and was inspired! I told myself as soon as I got home I need to attempt this soup...

What I used...

Kernels from 5 ears fresh corn, or 3 cups frozen corn, defrosted

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 red onion, chopped

Salt and black pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Thyme sprigs, to garnish

How I made it...

Prepare the Corn for the Soup
Combine the oil and the garlic in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and corn. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the vegetables are soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to the blender and puree until smooth. (You may need to pulse or stir the corn mixture in order to achieve a smooth consistency, but do not add any more liquid.)

Simmer the Soup
Pour the corn puree into the soup pot and place over medium heat. Stir constantly for a few minutes, until the soup begins to thicken. Slowly whisk or stir in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, decrease the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

The Mashed Potatoes were easy!!  I cut the potatoes in medium cubes with the skin on and boiled them in a pot with some salt for 20 minutes.  I then drained the water out and mashed...

Sauteed Spinach & Onions were made in a non-stick pan with some olive oil... Cooked for about 10 minutes in medium high heat.

Let me know what you think!!!

Thanks,

...The Accidental Chef M...