I love this, I mean I really love this blogging thing. Staying up late writing about recipes and food and family.
I’m constantly rummaging stores, tuning in to interesting food shows, researching spice blends, or trying to learn how to grow my own collard and mustard green garden.
More than I love eating, the joy I have from watching my loved ones enjoy my preparations is even better.
I love to hear hmmm how did you make this, or wow this broccoli is good. Or what did you put in that chili?
Nothing is better than watching others enjoy your food.
That’s why I blog. Not for any other reason but to share my passion for food with you.
Thank you for cyber kickin’ it with me.
Thank you for letting me indulge in my passions with you.
Now let me show you how I you can make our families favorite soup. Trust me, you should make this one.
Starting with a pound of ground pork.
Brown pork in pot.
Not just to cooked through but until it gets a nice little caramelized and brown crusty’s.
Add some salt.
Pour and reserve the rendered fat, they call it Lard, I call it heaven.
I use it to scramble eggs or season my cast iron skillet.
It’s good fat long as it’s from a good pig.
No antibiotics, no hormones, free range, humanely raised piggies is what I use.
Lets move on to the herbs and spices.
Sage. Because sausage likes sage.
Tarragon. It adds a sweet aromatic note to this salty soup.
Mushrooms for more body.
If you know me you know I’ll do anything with a sweet potato.
So of course I choose it over a russet.
They’re prettier.
They have more flavor.
They have more nutrition.
Beta-carotene, and vitamin A any one. I like a bit of spice. So, Crushed Red pepper.
Mix it all together and what do you get? A nice base for this hearty soup!
Add some more salt and mix it with pepper at this point.
Start with a few teaspoons and add more later as your palette sees fit.
2 Tablespoons of butter. Melt. Sorry my Lactose -intolerant queens. Min in 1 Tablespoon of arrowroot flour.
This is where you can or cannot follow the pictures. Totally up to you.
In the picture I added the sweet potatoes first but after a few trial and error runs I find the potatoes end up with a better texture if you add the liquid first.
Bring it to a boil.
Then add your sweet potatoes.
Bring back to a boil turn heat to low and recover the pot for 15 minutes.
That’s cream. And again apologies my Lacto-intolerant peeps.
Pot covered. Ready for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, mix in Kale and cover pot again.
Cook on low five more minutes and turn off.
Because I like my Kale to retain it’s texture, I make sure to turn pot off after 5 minutes and let it sit for at least ten minutes before serving.
To finish it off, sprinkle with Parmesan and enjoy.
Sweet potatoes.
Sausage.
Kale.
That’s it.
Here’s a great recipe that will rework your Thanksgiving recipes into something new.
We usually eat our Thanksgiving leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but by the third day, I’m sick of it all.
Don’t get me wrong leftovers are good but I like some variety in my life and eating the same plate day after day meal after meal can get boring.
This recipe is perfect if you have some leftover turkey and potatoes, it’s dairy free, grain free, and a delicious and healthy way to enjoy those leftovers.
If you don’t have any leftover turkey or potatoes no fret, this recipe uses only a few simple ingredients and I wrote it for leftovers/or no leftovers.
Chop or shred chicken/ leftover turkey, carrots, and celery.
Heat olive oil in pan and brown chicken. (or simply heat up your shredded turkey).
When chicken is browned (or turkey warmed) add carrots and celery.
Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.
Whisk in tapioca flour and slowly pour coconut milk into pan.
Bring to a simmer and turn heat off.
Let mixture sit on stove for another 5 minutes while preparing your potatoes.
For potatoes, mix in nutritional yeast, remaining coconut milk and season with salt to taste. Taste it to make sure you have enough seasoning.
You can also add in a little garlic powder or onion powder.
I mixed in parsley as well but most and any herbs and spices will work. Make it like you want it.
Pour chicken/turkey mixture into baking dishes. Spread mixed potatoes on top of chicken mixture. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Serve!
When it comes to food, I’m a girl who’ll try anything.
Since I was a kid food has been a major theme in my life. I enjoy all types of food and rarely anything edible makes me flinch. I grew up eating pig feet, chitterlings’, turkey necks, chicken feet, and a whole bunch more things you can only get from the international store these days.
I love foods and cuisine from all around the world, but my heart will always belong to soul food.
Soul food is a mix of flavors spices and cooking techniques that are derived from African cuisine across the diaspora. I find it amazing how although most cultural identities and habits of African-American slaves were strategically erased, banned ,or diminished, food is one that has stood the test of time. African-American Soul food is a combination of cooking techniques and recipes (or lack there of) that were developed out of a scarcity, and memory.
I mean out of nothing comes these delicious flavorful and perfectly executed meals, without the availability of measuring cups, cooking books, or even a decent cut of meat.
Then comes the lack of time. With busy work schedules there was no time to cook 4 course meals for their own families so instead, they stewed pots of meats, wild grown greens, and herbs and spices from their own gardens.
I can go to my grandmother’s house today and there will probably be a pot going with some slow cooked, beans, or greens, or even a pot of chicken feet and noodles.
This slow one pot method of cooking ends up producing the most flavorful and tender meats, vegetables, and beans.
Everyone loves food and however dim your day may be you can bring a family together over a good meal. We can all rejoice in a pot of delicious flavors. That’s what soul food means to me.
Today I’m bringing you one of those scrap meat meals. However if you make this dish you will be begin to see that when executed appropriately those scrap meats can be just as delicious as the “good” cuts.
Neck bones are dirt cheap, they’re flavorful, but they don’t have a great amount of actual meat on the bone. So they are perfect for adding flavor to a pot of greens, or beans.
Today however I want to show you how to make them for your main course. The tenderness and flavor of the meat will certainly make you want more but for as cheap as they cost you can buy a few more packs and go to town.
I find this technique to produce the juiciest and most tender meat, that will render a fall off the bone delicious dinner.
Wash and Season generously with Salt and Pepper.
Add one chopped onion and 1 chopped celery stalk for two pounds of neck bones.
Add other seasonings desired. I used dried parsley, rubbed sage, and garlic salt.
Pour in a 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar for 2 Lbs of neck bones.
Tightly wrap in aluminum foil and bake on 325° for 2 1/2 hours.
Take aluminum foil off of baking dish.
Baste meat with juices from the dish.
Turn oven up to 375° and bake uncovered for 30 more minutes.
This recipe goes great with this delicious southern style kale recipe and some soulful black-eyed peas.
I love my skillet and I love my thighs….chicken thighs I mean, my thighs are OK. I wouldn’t say I love them. I don’t hate them either. I mean some days I look in the mirror and I’m like Yaaaaas, those squats are really paying off! Then other days I’m not really understanding how they seem to collect every one of my bad eating habits. :/
But about these chicken thighs, let me just give you a few reasons why I love them!
Ok, so you get it, we have a big family and chicken thighs are priced right. When it comes to cage free, organic meat it can get quite expensive feeding a family of six.
Although the price is a big reason, it’s not the only reason I’m in love with those succulent thighs.
I mean they are the most flavorful part of the chicken and with just a few simple ingredients and you can have a pretty amazing yet effortless dish.
This recipe includes pears which lend nice sweet notes, chili which kicks up the spice, plus I included a bit of apple cider vinegar which gave the meal some balance and acidity.
Pair this with a side such like parsnip fries, or oven roasted green beans, maybe even some garlic mashed potatoes, and you’ll have an easy weekday meal.
Preheat oven to 375
Season chicken thigh with salt generously.
Place in cold skillet and turn stove on medium high heat.
Cook on each side until browned. 10 minutes for the first side and 6 for the second.
Remove chicken from skillet and place on plate.
Remove chicken from skillet and place on plate. Add chopped pears, celery and onions to hot skillet.
Saute while tossing until browned, and squeeze in lemon juice. Continue to toss.
Return Chicken to skillet sprinkle with chili powder and as much salt to your taste.
Pour water and vinegar over chicken.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 F
What’s your go-to dish on a busy night?
I’ve jumped on the pumpkin bandwagon, reluctantly I will say. I’m all about the sweet potato and growing up there was no pumpkin pie in sight at Thanksgiving. We stuck with the sweet potato pies, that just our tradition. Last year I wanted to switch it up a bit and since I was in charge of the deserts I decided to make some pumpkin pies. When I revealed that my desert of choice was a pumpkin pie instead of a sweet potato, I was met with some poignant protest from my daddy and a screwed up face from my mama.
Mom even decided last-minute to make a sweet potato pie so that Thanksgiving wouldn’t be completely ruined. Little did we all know that pumpkin pie was going to give Ms. Sweet potato a run for her money. The pumpkin pie made a disappearing act to everyone’s belly in record time!
They loved it!
With my highly successful first attempt at pumpkin, I’m excited to take it a step further using pumpkin this season.
This pumpkin Salmon is exactly what I was hoping for with experimenting. The recipe is flawless.
I could not stop eating the Salmon, and by the time it reached the table it was picked and mangled to just enough pieces for the family to get a taste. :/ Sorry family.
I’m sure you and your family will love this one as well. Oh and did I say bacon?
What you need…..
1 Lb Salmon
3-4 slices Bacon (uncured)
1/2 cup cooked pumpkin
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoons coconut aminos
Spice mix (roasted ginger, chili powder, crushed peppers)
Sea Salt
Mix coconut aminos and spices into a paste consistency.
On medium high heat brown chopped bacon and render its fat.
Season Salmon fillets with sea salt.
Place salmon fillets face down in skillet.
Cook for about 4 minutes on each side.
After Salmon is browned on both sides, remove from skillet and place on plate.
In the same skillet add the cooked pumpkin.
Let pumpkin fry in bacon fat for about 5 minutes stirring constantly. The aromas at this point are unbearably delicious!
Add coconut milk to pan and continue to stir and mix everything together.
Add spice paste to skillet and mix into sauce.
Add Salmon back to pan place top on skillet, and turn heat to low.
Let simmer for 5 more minutes.
As of recent I’ve been concocting all sorts of pumpkin recipes, so I’m kind of pumpkin pro. Well sort of…no, not really, I just figured a few things out about pumpkins through trial and error and I’d like to share that with you.
I found that the smaller pumpkins are sweeter which work great for my baked goods and smoothie recipes , and the larger pumpkins have a perfect taste profile for my savory ones.
For this savory recipe I actually used a smaller pumpkin which gave these wings a nice sweet flavor. This simple pumpkin recipe is perfect to serve your family on those long game days that are (and I’m not happy about) happening this season.
I’ve noticed football season is getting much more intense as years go by and even you ladies are getting in on the football madness. I guess if you can’t beat’em join’em.
I totally get it. As for me I’m dropping off the snacks and going on about my business watching some real life murder drama or working on some new paleo recipes.
Hope you enjoy this one…I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one!
Picture steps below with the recipe to follow.
Of course I’m a country girl at heart, and just because I’ve transitioned to a paleo/primal diet does not mean I’m giving up on my favorite country meals.
Since going paleo Turkey wings have been a go-to and I enjoy then in some form or fashion at least once a week.
Turkey wings are a perfect primal dish, they have tons of fatty, and fibrous tendons, which has been a major component of my healed gut and in turn eczema.
Turkey wings because of its fatty and fibrous properties makes awesome broth, I also enjoy them smoked and smothered in gravy.
This recipe will give you the most tender and delicious turkey wings in just a few steps. These have me feeling like I’m right back in grandma kitchen as a kid.
What you’ll need…..
Turkey Wings
Lard or Ghee
Season Salt Mix (I make my own with garlic powder, onion powder, pink sea salt, black pepper, smoked paprika)
Rubbed Dalmatian Sage
Chopped onions
Chopped Celery (optional)
1/2 cup water
Aluminum Foil
I like to brine my wings first. Salt sugar and water, is all you need for your brine.
Preheat oven to 325°
Pat wings dry and season generously with season salt mix.
Brown on each side for about 5 minutes.
In baking dish add chopped onions and celery.
Add browned wings and sprinkle sage and pour the remainder Lard or ghee on top on the wings. Add the 1/2 cups of water.
Cover tightly with two layers of aluminum foil.
Place and oven and bake for 3 hours.
I’ve always eaten turkey wings with rice, they kind of go hand in hand. It’s the one dish that makes me miss rice the most since going completely grain free. A great alternative would be cauliflower rice or even quinoa, which is as close to the real deal as you can get. Quinoa is often thought of as a grain but it’s actually more relative to spinach. It is also a complete protein which is awesome.
I have read that some with gut issues have trouble digesting Quinoa much like wheat. It has no effect on my eczema and skin issues but if you do have wheat intolerance just make sure you are alert for any reaction to Quinoa.
Full Recipe
Turkey Wings
Lard or Ghee
Season Salt Mix (I make my own with garlic powder, onion powder, pink sea salt, black pepper, smoked paprika)
Rubbed Dalmatian Sage
Chopped onions
Chopped Celery (optional)
1/2 cup water
Aluminum foil
I like to brine my wings first. Salt sugar and water, is all you need for your brine.
Preheat oven to 325°
Pat wings dry and generously season with season salt mix.
Brown on each side for about 5 minutes.
In baking dish add chopped onions and celery.
Add browned wings and sprinkle sage and pour the remainder Lard or ghee on top on the wings.
Pour 1/2 cup water into baking dish.
Cover tightly with two layers of aluminum foil.
Place in oven and bake for 3 hours.
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This lasagna was birthed out of my desire to cure some eczema that has plagued me throughout my life. I ended up having a string of allergy tests which proved I had a wheat allergy. These results pushed me to reduce my intake of the grain in my diet.
I was making all sorts of wheat free meals and I have to admit most of them were major fails. However this wheat free lasagna was a major victory!!!
Everyone who’s tried this dish has loved it! I mean everyone including my zucchini (referred to as squish squash in my home) haters enjoyed the zucchini laden lasagna recipe.
When I first started preparing this I would make one lasagna the traditional way with pasta and then make a small dish of my zucchini lasagna from whatever cheese and tomato sauce was leftover.
One day when all the lasagna leftovers left were some slices of my zucchini lasagna I decided to serve it. I didn’t hear a peep and I watched as they scarfed down a plate of pasta free lasagna.
From that day forward I’ve made big baking dishes of the Zucchini lasagna, and it’s a definite crowd pleaser.
As you can see I’m trying this words over picture thing again and unlike the last one it’s not a total fail, not at all perfect or exactly as I want it but for a techno challenged girl like myself, it’s some decent progress.
Now on to discuss this recipe!
Fun Fact: I was born in Germany.
My parents spent the beginning years of their marriage and my older brothers life in Germany, I on the other hand spent very little time in the country and moved back to the states right before my 1st birthday.
However I have some Germany cuisine tendencies which include my meat & potato cravings, plus the insistent need for gummy bears (original and best from Germany)!
Mama was a new wife and getting the hang of cooking and preparing meals so she picked up a lot of her technique and habits from her surroundings which were German culture, some of those things being passed down to me, I wanted to share one of my favorite takes on the bratwurst!
This recipe is packed with fruits and veggies which makes it guilt free (for me), eat it on a whole wheat bun and you have a well-rounded meal…I think… (disclaimer: I only pretend to be a nutritionist)
Plus its super simple and not at all time-consuming, which makes it perfect for those busy work-weeks!
This recipe is just a piece of all the delicious and hearty foods Germany has to offer, plus I just love Bratwurst
Earlier this week I scored a major deal at the grocery store, I paid 9 bucks for an original $16 piece of meat!!! Yippee!!!
I ended up getting a huge bag of honey coated pecans, enough to last me the rest of the week which is quite expensive, but I didn’t care because 7 of those dollars were saved on this pork shoulder ( I guess the cats out the bag that I’m extremely cheap. Oops)
I know my enthusiasm over a piece of meat may be a bit much, seems these days I’m getting more excited about a score at the grocer than the department store, honestly speaking, if you see me on a daily basis, you would think all I owned were an assortment of tired cargo pants, a pair of raggedy Tom shoes and a vest a really bad-looking and distressed vest! :/
Yeah so I just got all off topic, and I’m not sure how, but don’t judge me off my recent decline collapse in style, what’s more important are my culinary inhibitions which have been greatly appreciated around these part and I’m sure you will appreciate this one too!
Now I’m not into dethroning anyone but this recipe may give the current BBQ Pulled Pork King (my dad) a run for his money! This was juicy, tender and beautifully seasoned.
The one I’m giving to you today is the Jerk Pulled Pork BBQ Tacos, ump hmm and they were perfect.
The Jerk Pulled Pork Tacos paired with traditional red beans and rice makes a perfect meal with classic Jamaican flavors.
I personally like the strong taste of aged white cheddar on a taco with the sweet and tangy pulled pork. Plus a quality Pico de Gallo is awesome.
I use 1 tomato, one small onion, cilantro, lime juice, a drop of honey and sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
Plus avocado never hurt a thing, so of course I included them on my tacos.
There’s so much meat, you can put out a bunch of random ingredients and have a taco party.
One more thing, always pick quality tortillas (homemade are the BEST) they really can be the deciding factor in whether a taco is OK or GREAT!
Get red beans and rice recipe here!