IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN!

I’m talking about summer time. Woohoo!! 

If it’s summer time, you know what that means, BBQ TIME!!! I love a good bbq. 

Here is a great chicken & cilantro recipe that Victoria and I love to have during the summer time. 

Enjoy!

Simply Slow

I think one of the top 5 best inventions in the world is the slow cooker. 

Ok, I might be exaggerating a little bit, but if you don’t have time to cook or if you want to prep your meal the night before and still have it steaming hot to eat, the slow cooker is your best friend. 

Here is a yummy chicken slow cooker recipe that Victoria and I had last night. 

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of Ketchup
• 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce or Bragg Liquid Amino's (soy sauce replacement)
• 1/4 cup of Olive Oil

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 Medium sized Sweet Potatoes (Chopped)
• 1 cup of Baby Carrots or Large Carrots (whichever you prefer)
• 1lb of Chicken Breast
• 2 servings of Celery
• 1 Tablespoon of Onion Powder
• 1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning
• 1 Teaspoon of Parsley Flakes
• 2 minced Garlic Cloves

Step 1: In a measuring cup mix the ketchup, soy sauce, olive oil, & all of the spices together until well blended and set aside.

Step 2: Put the chicken in the slow cooker with the carrots, sweet potatoes, and celery. 

Step 3: Pour the olive oil mixture into the slow cooker and make sure all of the dry ingredients are covered. 

Step 4: Cover the slow cooker with the lid and set it on low for about 8 hours (or you could also put it on high for about 3-4 hours).

Step 5: Take the lid off and enjoy all of the juicy greatness of the slow cooker.

BUNS OF STEEL!

Now that I have your attention obviously these buns are not made out of steel. That would not be tasty. 

Instead they are made out of cauliflower. 

The other day Victoria and I were making burgers but we didn’t have any bread or buns. The only thing we had was cauliflower.

So what does one do when there is only cauliflower? They make cauliflower buns of course!

They do taste pretty darn good and you get to have at least two servings of veggies per burger. BOOMSHAKALAKA!!

Here is my cauliflower bun recipe: 

Ingredients:

-   3/4 of Cauliflower

• 4-6 Tbsp of coconut flower
• 2 Tbsp of garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp of salt
• 4-6 Eggs

Tools: 

• Food processor

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Take out a baking sheet and line it up with parchment paper (if you don’t have that, you can use aluminum foil).

Step 2: Put all the cauliflower in the food processor and pulse until finely shredded. 

Step 3: Crack all of the eggs in a large bowl with the dry ingredients and slowly add in the cauliflower and mix it all together. 

Step 4: Take a small portion of the cauliflower mixture and put it on the baking sheet. Press down on the small portion with your hands until it becomes flat. Continue to do this until all of the mixture is on the baking sheet. I personally made 6 buns with this mixture, but you probably could make smaller buns and make more. 

Step 5: Stick it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. 

Step 6: Take them out of the oven and let them sit for about 2 minutes. After that, enjoy a bite into those awesome buns of cauliflower. Haha!

Not Your Normal Mashed Potatoes

We're going to keep the mash a little lighter and use cauliflower. You heard that right everyone. Mashed Cauliflower!

Not just any mashed cauliflower, I’m about to give you my mashed cauliflower gratin.

If your kids aren't big veggie fans, this is a great trick (Shhhhh!! Don’t tell them). They won’t be able to tell the difference.

Here we go people, my mashed cauliflower gratin recipe:

Ingredients:

Cauliflower

Parmesan cheese

Panko

Almond milk

Olive oil

Salt

Tools:

Food Pressor (If you don’t have one, you can use a potato masher or fork)

Deep dish pan

Step 1: Cut the cauliflower into florets and toss them into a pot of boiling water for roughly around for 15 minutes or until fork tender. Set some florets to the side and finely chop them for the topping.

Step 2: Time to make the topping while the cauliflower is cooking. On a baking sheet or a large surface, combine the raw florets (finely chopped), about 1/2 cup of panko, 1/4 of parmesan cheese, salt, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Mix it around and admire your topping.

Step 3: Set your oven at 400 degrees for the upcoming step. Then put the cooked cauliflower into the food processor. Add salt, 1/8 cup of parmesan cheese, and about 1/4 of almond milk. Pulse it until all of the cauliflower is mashed and it looks like mashed potatoes. 

Step 4: Transfer the mashed cauliflower to a deep dish pan. Add the topping to the mashed cauliflower and spread it around until it is even. Toss it in the oven for about 20 min (if you are really short on time, put the oven on broil and leave the gratin in until the top is golden brown).

Step 5: Take it out of the oven and let it sit for about 2mins to cool down. Serve when ready! BOOM!!!

Got Almonds?!

Almond milk that is….

Victoria and I usually have at least 96 ounces of almond milk ready to go. Not kidding. We love the stuff! This is a great option for those that are lactose intolerant and it’s low in fat. 

Fun fact: it also contains minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and zinc. Woohoo!

Ingredients:

Almonds

Water

Dates (Optional) 

Vanilla extract (Optional)

Salt

Tools:

Blender

Strainer

Cheese Cloth (If you don’t have one, paper towels work perfectly) 

Large bowl

Step 1: Soak a cup of almonds in a bowl of water for 8-48 hours. Make sure the almonds are completely covered by the water.

Step 2: Pour the almonds into the strainer and get rid of all the water. You may notice that the almonds look bigger. 

Step 3: Put the almonds in the blender. Measure out 4 cups of water and pour in (for every cup of almonds, you would use 4 cups of water).

Step 4: Technically, those are the only ingredients you need but I like to sweeten it up a little. If you do too, add two dates and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract with a pinch of salt (Don’t forget to remove the pits from the dates).

Step 5: Blend on low for 1 minute. As that is blending, grab your large bowl, strainer, and cheese cloth (or paper towels). Put the strainer on top of the large bowl (this will catch any almonds that might slip out of the cheese cloth) and lay the cheese cloth on top of the strainer. 

Step 6: Once the almonds are all blended, take the blender over to your station and slowly pour the almond milk onto the cheese cloth (the cloth or paper towel should catch all of the chopped almonds). Pick up the corners of the cloth and squeeze out the milk and throw away the almonds. You might have to do this a few times to get all the almond milk out.

Step 7: My favorite step! Enjoy the frothy almondy goodness. Maybe, even with a puppy. Haha! Just kidding! I promise we really don’t give him almond milk.

Why Did They Let the Turkey Join the Band?

….Because he had the drumsticks. HAHA!! I crack myself up.

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, a time for family & friends, and LOTS of food!!! I’m kind of excited because I love to eat. 

Who doesn’t?!

The best part about all the food (for me at least) is definitely the sides. I’m here to give you my turkey bacon brussels sprouts recipe. This one might turn some heads at thanksgiving. 

Normally there’s so much rich, calorically-dense food on the table, that it’s a great idea to have something more fibrous and green, but also appealing.

Ingredients:

2 and half pounds of Brussel sprouts

1 large Onion (chopped)

4-6 Slices of turkey bacon

Olive oil

Thyme (optional)

Salt & Pepper (For Taste)

Lemon Juice (Optional)

Step 1: Bring a large pot of water to boil and cut the brussels sprouts in half.

Step 2: Once the water boils, toss in the brussels sprouts for about 3-5min or until slightly tender.

Step 3: While the brussels sprouts are boiling, cook the turkey bacon until slightly brown in a large pan on medium heat.

Step 4: Take the bacon out and set aside. In the same pan, toss in a teaspoon of olive oil and chopped onion, stirring often.

Step 5: Once the onions are slightly soft, lower the heat and toss in the brussels sprouts. Add salt, pepper, and thyme. Mix all together and taste.

Step 6: Once the brussels sprouts are tender, mix in the turkey bacon and lemon juice. 

Step 7: Enjoy the deliciouso-in-your-bellyoso!

Cauliflower Steak Anyone?

Let’s be realistic, there is actually no steak in cauliflower steak. Sorry to let you down so soon, but let’s just get that out of the way. Cauliflower is a great substitution for high carb ingredients like dough, cous cous, or mashed potatoes. 

Technically you could get cauliflower all year long, but the best season for it is in the spring. It falls into the cabbage family and it is more difficult to plant than most of the cabbages just due to the fact that it can’t handle climates that are too hot or cold. So, if you were thinking of planting any cauliflower, start planning to plant the seeds in the spring and keep the temperature around 60 degrees. If not, it will bloom too fast. 

Without further a-do here is the recipe for my cauliflower steak.

So here are the ingredients you need:

-Head of cauliflower

-Lime

-Lemon

-Olive oil

-Garlic clove

-Paprika

-Salt

Step 1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Step 2. In a bowl pour in some olive oil, lime juice, lemon juice, and crushed garlic (you can use garlic powder if you don’t have fresh garlic). Mix it and leave it to the side. 

Step 3. Wash your cauliflower and take off the leaves at the stem.

Step 4. Put a skillet on the stove at medium heat.

Step 5. Cut the cauliflower in half and then cut 1” slices all the way through the stem (the stem will keep the cauliflower together. Without it, it will crumble). 

Step 6. Wipe one side of the cauliflower with the olive oil mixture and season with paprika and salt. 

Step 7. Put a little bit of olive oil in the skillet and slowly put the seasoned side of the cauliflower face down. Cook each side for 6 minutes. 

Step 8. Season the unseasoned side of the cauliflower in the skillet the same way you did before. 

Step 9.  Flip cauliflower and let it sit for another 6 minutes.

Step 10. Take out a baking sheet and spray the pain with non-stick spray (we use Trader Joe’s coconut oil spray but you can use whatever is available). 

Step 11. Take the cauliflower off the skillet and place it on the baking sheet. Cover it with aluminum foil and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 12. Remove the cauliflower steaks from the oven. Uncover it and let it sit for 2 minutes to cool down.

Step 13. Enjoy the GREATNESS!!!

My Secret Chicken Recipe

Some people love to bake their chicken. Some like to put it into the slow cooker. I’m the kind of guy that likes to make his chicken as juicy as possible, in whatever method works. I found this recipe on youtube but then added my own twist to it. I’m not kidding, it’s like butter when it comes out. HALLELUJAH! So without further ado, here is my secret chicken recipe that is not so secret. Enjoy!

1) Lay out all of your spices and chicken (of course). Normally I use my favorite spice from Trader Joe's, BBQ coffee spice rub. But unfortunately, I ran out :( so today I used a different poultry rub.

Laying it all out

2) Put two oven safe pans on the stove on low heat and pre heat your oven to low broil.

Low Broil and low heat on pans

3) Place all of the chicken into a large mixing bowl, use whatever spices your heart desires, and mix away.

Chicken time!

Spicing it up

Happy times

4) Put two teaspoons of coconut oil to coat each pan and swirl it around to make sure you don’t miss any spots. 

Here comes the coconut oil

Swirl!

5) Now it’s time to put the chicken on the pans folks. As you put the chicken on the pans, make sure the smooth part is facing down and you roll the chicken away from you. This will prevent any splatter from the oil. Once all of the chicken is on the pans, turn the heat up to medium heat.

Rolling the chicken away from me

6) Make sure the chicken has a golden brown color and then flip it. To flip it, use a fork, tongs, or whatever you have available.

Golden!

7) Wait until the other side is golden brown as well, then put it in the oven for about 5-10min.

8) Take it out and cut into the chicken or push down onto the chicken to see if it is cooked. When you push down onto the chicken, it should feel like the bottom part of your palm (closer to your thumb).

Woohoo! It's done!

Juicy!

9) My favorite part, enjoy all the juiciness from the AWESOMENESS!

End result.