December 2017 – Buen provecho…2022

Steamed Mussels in a Coconut Curry Broth

Its not too late to do your Nw Years Eve shopping is it? Your guests would love these coconut curry mussels with fresh baguettes for dipping into the sauce. If you need a veggie dish, go for the steamed broccoli…

STEAMED MUSSELS IN A COCONUT CURRY BROTH

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 pounds mussels (I prefer Prince Edward Island mussels)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk (lite version is fine too – just won’t be as rich)
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken (or seafood) stock
2 green onions, sliced

baguettes or bread for serving (or fries!)

DIRECTIONS:

Keep the mussels refrigerated until you’re ready to use. Once ready, place them in a large bowl of ice cold water. Scrub the outsides of the mussels and remove the string (or “beard”) by using a towel or paper towel to pull it out. Discard any mussels that have opened already. Keep the mussels in the ice water.

Better still, buy the frozen ones which are already cleaned..just add them in where required in the recipe.

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat and add the butter and olive oil. Once it’s melted, stir in the onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, until slightly softened. Stir in the curry paste and continue to stir until it’s distributed throughout the entire pan of onions. Cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and stock, stirring until it’s smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring continuously. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the mussels and toss. Cover the skillet and cook just until the mussels open, about 5 to 6 minutes. Garnish with the sliced green onions. Stir the mussels well so the broth makes it into the shells. Serve immediately with baguettes or thin fries.

Easy Deviled Ham Salad

Leftover ham from Christmas dinner? No ham? Buy some… this recipe really was good on crackers, etc. Try it Mikey…you’ll like it! (Who remembers that phrase?) Ignore the Keto reference, it really tastes good!

EASY DEVILED HAM SALAD – LOW CARB & KETO

Author: Mellissa Sevigny Yield: 5 servings

INGREDIENTS

For the salad:

2 cups chopped cooked ham

1/4 cup chopped dill pickles

3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbsp chopped onion

1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic

For the dressing:

1/2 cup sugar free mayonnaise (you decide, I used Hellamns Organic…)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp Sriracha (or other chili sauce)

1 tsp fresh lime juice

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the salad:

Combine the salad ingredients into a food processor or magic bullet and pulse until a coarse, crumbly mixture is formed – don’t over blend into mush.

To make the dressing:

Combine the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.

Spoon the ham mixture into the dressing mixture and mix until the dressing is fully incorporated into the salad.

Serve chilled on low carb crackers, celery, romaine, or another low carb base of your choice! It was great with bacon rinds!

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1/2 cup Calories: 268 Fat: 24g Carbohydrates: 2g Protein: 13g

Turmeric and Ginger Chicken Soup

Ok…its a little chilly out there, depending on where you live. Actually it’s chilly in Mexico where the temperature last night dropped to 13 C. Forget Christmas…LOL. It’s chicken soup time! Dig in (to the soup, NOT the snowbanks).

Turmeric and ginger are excellent additions healthwise BTW.

INGREDIENTS

8 bone-in chicken thighs , skin removed
12 cups cold water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro stems or fresh parsley stems
2 shallots , quartered
2 carrots , coarsely chopped
2 large cloves garlic , smashed
1 piece (1 inch) fresh turmeric (unpeeled), thinly sliced
1 piece (1/2 inch) fresh ginger (unpeeled), thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt (approx.)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves or fresh parsley leaves
OPTIONAL – 1 liter of Campbell’s Chicken Broth

METHOD

In Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine chicken, water and vinegar; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; simmer for 30 minutes, skimming and discarding froth.

Stir in cilantro stems, shallots, carrots, garlic, turmeric and ginger; partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 40 minutes.

Remove from heat; using tongs, transfer chicken to cutting board.

Using 2 forks, shred into bite-size pieces; sprinkle with salt.

Strain broth through fine-mesh sieve into separate large saucepan; discard solids.

I prefer my soups chunky, so I used my immersion blender to chop up some of the veggies before I added the chicken back to the pot. At this point I also added the liter of chicken broth.

Return chicken to broth; stir in cilantro leaves. Season with salt to taste.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

NUTRITIONAL FACTS

Per each of 6 servings:

Sodium 493 mg

Sugars 0 g

Protein 30 g

Calories 171

Total fat 5 g

Potassium 611 mg

Cholesterol 155 mg

Saturated fat 1 g

Total carbohydrate 0.0

Easy Cranberry Chutney

No photo for this one as it is all blended together in a jar and then refrigerated. Great for using during the upcoming holidays…

Easy Cranberry Chutney

From inthekitchenwithkath.com

(Adapted from a recipe in Yumana’s Table by Yumana Devi)

Makes about 3 cups, and doubles easily if you’re serving a crowd.

1 (12-ounce) bag of cranberries

2 large apples

2 large oranges or limes

1 cup pure maple syrup (I used ½ cup)

Zest the oranges.
Wash and drain the cranberries and put them in a pot. (My 3 quart pot is the perfect size.)
Peel, core, and chop the apples, and add them to the pot.
Juice the oranges. Add the juice and the orange zest to the pot.
Add the maple syrup.
Bring the chutney to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat to medium. Cook, uncovered, for about 30 – 45 minutes, until the cranberries have popped, the apples have cooked down, and the chutney has thickened a bit. Stir it occasionally while it’s cooking.

Cool and transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve OR put it in an airtight jar, ready for use. Would be great over cream cheese as an appetizer or with roast beef…not just turkey!

Creamy Leek and Salmon Soup

If you like leeks and also salmon, this recipe is for you. It is pretty straightforward to make. In place of the fresh salmon, I chose to use smoked salmon pieces. The flavour was great…

Creamy Leek & Salmon Soup

Author: Rachael Bryant / Meatified

Prep time 5 mins Cook time 25 mins Total time30 mins

Serves: 4 large servings

Ingredients

2 tbsp. avocado oil
2 leeks, washed, trimmed and sliced into crescents
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups seafood OR chicken broth
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 lb. salmon, in bite size pieces (thawed frozen salmon works really well here) OR smoked pieces
1¾ cup coconut milk
Salt & pepper to taste (omit pepper for AIP)

Instructions

Heat the avocado oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven at a low-medium heat.
Add the chopped leeks and garlic and cook until slightly softened.
Pour in the stock and add the thyme. Simmer for about 15 minutes and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the salmon and the coconut milk to the pan. Bring back up to a gentle simmer and cook until the fish is opaque and tender.

Nutrition for 1 serving – Calories 241, Carbs 33 g., Fat 12.8 g., Protein 29.1 g