Tag: pepper

Portuguese Style Stuffed Peppers

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Stuffed peppers are a meal all in themselves.  They have protein, grain and vegetable all in one perfect package.  Adding in the chouriço, portuguese ground pepper (pimenta moida) and Portuguese Allspice really bring it into “Portuguese Style” territory!

These are great for a weeknight meal, to bring in to work for lunch or make some of the stuffing, freeze in an airtight bag and stuff fresh peppers whenever you get the inkling!

 

I like the red, orange and yellow peppers myself because they are sweeter, but if you prefer green, go ahead and use green!

Cut each pepper in half lengthwise. This will later lead to a more crispy top on your stuffing.

Seed the peppers removing as much of the white pith as you can.

Dice up a medium onion.

Fresh parsley is important here.

Chop it up.

Use one large can of plain tomato sauce. reserving about 1/3 of it for topping the peppers before they go into the oven.

The meat for this stuffing is made up of half ground beef and half chouriço.

Add in the onion.

Brown everything together in the skillet.

Once browned, add in 2/3 of the can of sauce.

Now add in a couple of cups of cooked white rice. If you prefer brown rice here, that’s fine, just be sure it is thoroughly cooked, this is not the time for aldente anything.

Add in some salt and pepper to taste and your stuffing is ready!

Select a baking dish that will comfortably fit the number of peppers you are looking to bake without being too tight.

Grease the baking dish with some oil.

Place your peppers with the cut side up on your baking dish ready for stuffing.

Stuff each pepper 1 and a half times its size so that it has a nice rounded top of stuffing.

Cover with some plain sauce just to keep the stuffing moist.

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Portuguese Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2-3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeded

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground chouriço

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups cooked rice

1 can tomato sauce

2 Tbs. parsley, chopped

1 Tbs. Pimenta Moida (ground pepper)

1/2 tsp. Portuguese Allspice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Brown ground beef, ground chouriço and onion in a skillet over medium heat.  Drain if there is an excess of fat (a little fat is ok).  Add in Pimenta Moida, parsley and a little salt and pepper (don’t over do it here) and 2/3 can of tomato sauce.  Stir.  Add in cooked rice.  Stir.

Stuff filling into peppers and place in an oiled baking dish.  Top stuffed peppers with remaining 1/3 can of tomato sauce.  Bake for 30 minutes until pepper has cooked through. Serve hot.

***Gluten-free

Pablano & Cheese Stuffed Chicken

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Eating healthy can be tough if you don’t have an arsenal of yummy recipes to fall back on.  A low carb recipe is always great to have in your back pocket.  This may look crazy, but really it’s just baked stuffed chicken with a latin flare.  Shhhh… don’t tell.

To make this recipe you need some basic ingredients, boneless skinless chicken breast, fresh pablano peppers and a melting cheese of your choice.

Place your pepper directly on your flame or under your broiler if you have an electric range. The goal here is to get those char marks.

Cut your pepper in half length wise. Remove the seeds and stem.

Place your chicken breasts on a clean cutting board. If you have plastic wrap, grab a piece and place it over the chicken (I usually do this, but I was out of plastic wrap).

Pound out the chicken until it thins out without breaking through the flesh.

This is what you should get when you are through.

Sprinkle with some kosher salt.

Then crack some black pepper onto it.

This is a block of Monterey Jack cheese. Any good melting cheese would work here… Use a pepper jack if you want a little kick.

Normally I always shred my cheese, but for this recipe, I like to slice it up because I find it holds up better with both the chicken and the pepper.

Season the pepper with some salt.

Now stack it all up on the chicken.

And roll.

At this point if you have tooth picks, you could secure your wrapped chicken.

This is intended to be a low carb recipe, so I am just sprinkling with some panko bread crumbs.

Place them in a baking dish lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

Place a pad of butter on each. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until cooked through.

Place under the broiler for about a minute or two until you get some good color.

Pablano & Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin

1 Pablano pepper, charred and seeded

6 oz. jack cheese (Colby, Monterey or Pepper), sliced

2 tsp. Panko bread crumbs (or gluten-free bread crumbs)

2 tsp. salted butter

kosher salt

fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

After chicken is pounded out thinly, season with salt and pepper, place 1/2 Pablano pepper on top, season with salt and pepper.  Then place sliced cheese on the pepper. Gently and tightly roll.  Secure with toothpicks if needed.  Transfer to a greased baking dish.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs.  Place one pad of butter on each.  Bake 25-30 minutes until cooked through.  Remove from oven and start broiler.  Place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until bread crumbs become browned.

Let rest a few minutes, enjoy!

***note, use gluten-free bread crumbs if needed.

Chris’ No-bean Chili

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We had a great time getting together with some friends over the weekend as we headed over to their house for some fun family time.  There was good football, great company and some yummy food.  The Patriots have secured their spot in the AFC Championship game and it’s always fun spending time with some of our favorite people, but there is nothing like planning “football food” for dinner!

A couple weeks ago my girlfriend Michelle and I decided it was time for a get together.  It is always hard managing our two schedules, but we found a date and there happened to be a Patriot’s playoff game the same night. So we decided “football food” would make up our dinner menu!  Michelle made some amazing BBQ Chicken Nachos (recipe soon to come!) and I decided to make Chili.  But, her husband Chris is not a big fan of beans so my standard 5-Bean Crockpot Chili just wasn’t going to cut it this time.  So time to invent an all new No-bean Chili recipe.  Hense, “Chris’ No-Bean Chili” was born.

This Chili can easily be adjusted to be made gluten-free by swapping out the beef base I use for a gluten-free beef stock and eliminating the water.  You could also add beans in if you like.  But, for the purposes of this get together, it was beanless.  Which actually is the only way many people will even consider it to be real chili, not so much up north, but in the south that is very much true.  The point is, take this and make it your own.  In addition to just serving up the bowl of chili, we also served it over hot dogs with mustard, cheese and onions for a Chili Cheese Dog with the works!  But, that will come later.  Stay tuned!

Now onto the recipe!  Take a look!

Start with 2 1/2 lbs. ground beef. Salt with kosher salt at this point seasoning the beef.

Brown and set aside.

Dice a large onion into a small dice.

Saute in olive oil over medium heat. Add in a pinch of kosher salt. This will take between 8-10 minutes.

De-stem and wash a jalapeno pepper.

Remove the seeds and pith., then dice and add to the onions.

Crush some garlic with the flat of your knife.

Then mince.

Continue to saute with the jalepeno and garlic for 3-4 minutes over medium heat.

Add in a heaping tablespoon of beef base. If you are making this gluten-free, you will need to use a gluten-free beef stock in place of the water that will be added later. This Minors brand is not gluten-free.

Add beef base to sauteed vegetables.

Add in a can of fire roasted dice tomatoes and a can of Ro-tel tomatoes. Ro-tel are great because they include chilis in with the tomatoes.

Add two cans of water.

Add in spices.

Stir. Add in some fresh cracked black pepper.

Add in two tablespoons of tomato paste.

Add in one small can of tomato sauce.

Simmer on low for about an hour reducing the liquid by about half.

Stir every once in a while to check in it taste for salt and serve.

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Chris’ No-Bean Chili

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. ground beef, browned

1 large onion, finely diced

1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 can Ro-tel tomatoes with chilis

1 6 oz. can tomato sauce

2 Tbs. tomato paste

1 heaping Tbs. beef base

3 tsp. kosher salt, divided

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper

1 dried whole Ancho chili

1 Tbs. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

24 oz. water

Additional optional fixin’s:

sour cream

shredded cheddar

soaked minced onions

tortilla chips

Directions:

Brown ground beef adding about 1 tsp kosher salt, drain and set aside.  In the same pot add 2 Tbs. olive oil. Saute onions, adding a pinch of salt, 8-10 minutes over medium heat until soft.  Add in jalapeno and garlic, continue to saute an additional 3-4 minutes.  Add in beef base and cook for about 30 seconds.  Add beef back into the pot, stir.  Add in tomatoes.  Add in 2 cans (Ro-tel cans) of water, stir.  Add in spices, stir.  Add in tomato sauce, black pepper and tomato paste, stir.  Simmer over low heat for about an hour until liquid is reduced by about half.  Serve with fixings of your choosing and enjoy!

*** Gluten-free adjustment – In place of beef base, use a gluten-free beef stock and eliminate water.

Portuguese Ground Red Pepper (Pimenta Moida)

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An early fall tradition in Portuguese homes the world over is the making of Pimenta Moida (Pee-men-tah Mo-ee-dah).  A staple in any good Portuguese cooking, this one ingredient can at times single handedly determine if a dish can be considered “Portuguese”.  If you follow my blog, you have seen me use this ingredient time and time again in such dishes as Shrimp Mozambique, Portuguese Beef Stew and Portuguese Baked Beans.  And like most Portuguese cooking, each family seems to have a slight variation on just how they make, preserve and store this amazing little ingredient.

In my family, the making of Pimenta Moida is left to my Dad. I’m not sure how this happened, but I suspect it has to do with his non-porous and almost leathery hands that don’t get so affected by the burning hot peppers… Anyone else would most definitely need to wear good gloves and double up on the gloves if you know what’s good for you!  I have done it in the past and my hands and arms were red hot for days, I certainly learned my lesson. This year my Dad put 4 bushels of peppers through the manual pepper grinder! (I think even he used gloves for at least some of it!)

There is a process to making and preserving Portuguese Style Ground Red Peppers.  I will take you through the process again in the tutorial, but to sum it up you only need three ingredients.  We use, hot red peppers (although not the hottest of the hot), salt and preserving powder. We use the preserving powder so that we can store it outside the refrigerator.  Some families use olive oil, some add in garlic and some will incorporate lots of seeds.  We don’t. We wash and allow peppers to dry.  Then cut them, clean them by removing the stem and seeds.  Grind them using an old-fashioned grinder and add a whole lot of salt. Then allow to “boil” or ferment.  Once the fermentation process is coming to an end, we add in preserving powder.  We allow that to cure a little longer and jar them.  They will keep for well over a year with this process.  Let me show you how we do it…

Here are the peppers… I actually don’t know the name of these peppers… Around here they are just called hot peppers. Although these are a milder fatter variety of the hot peppers. Still hot, but not top hot status. You can call them chili peppers or Portuguese Hot Peppers. You have a 6 week window this time of year in which to get them. Each batch starts with a bushel.

Here is the grinder... In years past, this is how people would grind their meat. Today, I supose you could still use it for that, although in my family, this has always been it's only use.

Here is the grinder… In years past, this is how people would grind their meat. Today, I suppose you could still use it for that, although in my family, this has always been it’s only use.

It comes apart for thorough washing before and after each and every use. My dad installs it on a work bench here.

After the peppers are washed and have had some time to dry, they are ready for preparation. My Dad cuts them down the center like so.

He will then remove the stem and seeds. If you like a hotter pepper you can leave in some seeds. In my family, we use the pepper for the flavor not so much the heat. So we clean all of it out.

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Once the peppers are clean, it’s time to stuff them in the grinder.

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My Dad pushes the peppers in careful not to catch his fingers in the grinder and at the same time he rotates the grinder arm turning the grinder wheel inside the contraption.

The pepper then comes out of the grinder and falls into a waiting bowl.

As all the pepper is ground from one bushel, it’s collected in a large pot or bowl.

To each bushel of peppers we add about one heaping cup of salt and stir it in. Pretty much right away, the peppers start to “boil” or ferment on their own. We cover and allow that process to take place over the next 24-72 hours. How long depends entirely on the peppers. When they stop boiling is when you are ready to move on to the next stage.

You can see some of the “boiling” here with these bubbles, it’s something to see, how it actively boils, bubbles just keep rising to the surface.

This is preservative powder… you can find it at any Portuguese store this time of year, or any place that sells a good variety of canning supplies.

Pour in the preservative powder.

I know this post would be a lot prettier if I went out and bought some beautiful canning jars. But, the reality is most Portuguese people will use what they have on hand to jar their peppers. I’ve used recycled peanut butter jars, tomato sauce jars and a variety of different recycled containers. What I did this year, because I like to have my pepper available to me in smaller containers, is I stopped by the dollar store and picked up three containers. I then washed with scalding hot water and dried.

After 24 hours, this is what the peppers will look like… a lot of the preservative pops up on top. You will need to mix it in again before adding into jars. note: you might also see this when you ope the jars for use, just mix it back in.

Notice how I am leaving some room at the top of the jar, that is to allow for additional gas formed by further fermentation.

Pour more salt on top of each batch.

Just let the salt settle on top. At this point some people form a hermetic seal with olive oil. We don’t do that.

You now place the lid on loosely, wait an additional 3 days before you tighten the lid in case the peppers continue to ferment. You don’t want to have an explosion on your hands… that being said, after the three days, don’t take the lid off, you want to trap that fermentation gas in there, that helps to remove the oxygen further aiding in the preservation process.

When you open a large jar of pepper, you will need to keep it in the fridge as it will no longer last outside of the fridge, some people choose to divide up into smaller jars at that point in order to better fit their refrigerator.

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Portuguese Style Ground Red Pepper (Pimenta Moida)

Ingredients:

1 Bushel hot red peppers

1 heaping cup kosher salt, plus more for topping

1/2 cup preserving powder

Directions:

  1. Wash and allow peppers to dry.
  2. Cut them down the center, clean them by removing the stem and seeds.
  3. Grind them using an old-fashioned grinder or an electric grinder attachment to your stand mixer.
  4. Add salt. Stir. Cover. (Do not refrigerate)
  5. Allow to “boil” or ferment for 24-72 hours.
  6. Once the fermentation process is coming to an end (this is determined by the notice of a reduction in “boiling”, add in preserving powder.
  7. Allow mixture to sit covered for an additional 24 hours.
  8. Stir again and add into sanitized containers.  Place lid on loosely.  Allow to sit for an additional 72 hours.
  9. After 72 hours, do not remove lid, but tighten.

Ratatouille with Shrimp & Buttered Egg Noodles

 

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I truly love to garden. My father and my grandfathers always kept beautiful gardens.  More than the gardening itself though, I love the produce that comes out of the garden… But, I must confess since I have had my two little cherubs, I haven’t really found the time needed to keep up a good garden… I used to produce beautiful tomatoes, hearty cucumber plants, shiny purple egg plants, and squash that would last right through to Thanksgiving! That was pre-kids though…  I have had a couple of half-hearted attempts since then, but there is something about being 7,8 and 9 months pregnant in the summer heat that does not really endorse the sweat that goes into maintaining a good garden.  And so that started it off… I will do little project with my kids, like planting peas or digging up potatoes, clipping fresh mint… but next year I am determined to have my full fledged garden once again!

Luckily, I live in an area where there is no shortage of farm stands or Farmer’s Markets! Yay me!  So, although it’s not quite as satisfying as growing something yourself and turning it into a delicious life-sustaining meal… it’s still pretty great and I get to support the local farming community along the way.  This meal is a prime example of how to turn gorgeous in season produce into something really quite amazing.  If you have never tried Ratatouille, I suggest you do!  Chock full of 5 different veggies that are all in season right now, Ratatouille is great way to either put those home grown goodies to good use or to support your local economy and eat a healthy and nutritious meal at the same time!

A traditional dish developed in the French country side, Ratatouille is meant to use up whatever vegetables a farmer might have on hand.  I prefer to limit that to these 5… eggplant, zucchini, pepper (bell), onions and tomatoes (EZ-POT).   It is great as a side dish or a main dish if you are a vegetarian, but my most favorite way to enjoy this dish is over a bed of buttered egg noodles and topped with some beautifully grilled shrimp.  Let me show you how I do it…

Start off by preparing your vegetables. I am chopping these onions pretty large, about the size of a half dollar... so you will either need one large onion as I have here or two medium.

Start off by preparing your vegetables. I am chopping these onions pretty large, about the size of a half-dollar… so you will either need one large onion as I have here or two medium.

One sweet bell pepper will do it and be sure to keep the size relatively the same as you did the onions.

Keeping the veggies all around the same size, chop your zucchini.

Aren’t these mini egg plants just beautiful? I found these at a local Farmer’s Market and I knew I needed to figure out some way to use them!

They are so small that most of them, I simply cut in half, but the larger ones, I quarter.

Grabbed these beautiful Roma tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market too.

That’s it for prepping your veggies, now let’s move on to the cooking… You will need one medium heavy bottom pot, I am using a enamel coated cast iron pot. You will also need a bowl used to keep the sautéed veggies as you go through each step.

Start with some olive oil in a nice heavy bottomed pot… You will continue to add in just a tablespoon or so of olive oil before each sauteing each vegetable.

Saute vegetables one at a time and remove from pot when through with each one, reserving them for the end. I start with my onions.

Next I move on to my zucchini. I have removed the perfectly cooked onions so they don’t get over cooked.

After removing my zucchini, I add in a bit more olive oil and saute my mini egg plants. I continue this process next with the peppers and the tomatoes.

Once the tomatoes have been sautéed, add in all the reserved veggies… Then add in the fresh herbs and taste for salt and pepper… add if needed. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve hot. (at this point you could also add 1 clove of garlic, minced)

Add in a couple sprigs of thyme. Mine is young thyme from a little plant I have in my kitchen, so no need to remove the leaves, if you have a heartier plant, just remove the leaves and chop a bit.

My Rosemary is also from a plant in my kitchen, but is a bit more hearty, so I removed the leaves from about half a sprig and chopped them before adding into my pot.

After simmering for 10 minutes, this should be your end result.

Now to get some quick shrimp going…

Simply sprinkle some Hungarian Paprika (if you don’t have the Hungarian variety, just add about a 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper to 1 Tbs. of plain paprika). Add on a sprinkle of kosher salt and your prep is done. These are easy peel, deveined shrimp.

Lay them out on a hot grill pan that has been drizzled with a bit of olive oil.

When they start to get pink, after about a minute, flip each one and cook another minute or so.

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Recipe for Ratatouille with Shrimp & Buttered Egg Noodles:

(serves 6-8)

For the Ratatouille:

1 large onion, large diced

1 medium zucchini, sliced and halved

1 small eggplant (or 8 mini eggplants), large diced

2-3 Roma tomatoes, sliced and halved

1 sweet bell pepper, large diced

2 sprigs fresh Thyme, chopped

1/2 sprig Rosemary, chopped

kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

10 Tbs. olive oil

For the Shrimp:

1 dozen large shrimp, deveined and easy peel

2 tsp. Hungarian paprika

kosher salt to taste

1 Tbs. olive oil

For the Egg Noodles:

1/2 package broad egg noodles

6 cups salted water

1/4 stick butter

Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

Directions:

In a medium heavy bottomed pot set over medium heat, saute each vegetable in 2 Tbs. of olive oil separately keeping the tomatoes for last.  After each vegetable is sautéed, set aside and reserve.  After the last vegetable is sautéed, the tomatoes, add in all the reserved vegetables.  Add in herbs and salt and pepper and simmer for ten minutes.

Add Hungarian Paprika and salt to shrimp in a small bowl.  Then, in a hot grill pan drizzled with 1 Tbs. olive oil, grill shrimp on both sides until pink throughout.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add in noodles.  Cook to package specifications.  Drain… Add in butter salt and pepper.

On a platter… Lay out egg noodles first, then layer on the Ratatouille and then top with shrimp.  Serve, enjoy!

*Note: Ratatouille itself along with the shrimp are gluten-free… use rice noodles in keeping with the set up of the dish or serve without noodles.

Portuguese Style Pepper Stuffed Potatoes (Batatas com Pimenta)

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Sometimes the simplest foods are the most delicious.  That is certainly the case for this Portuguese classic.  Growing up, there were always a big platter of these at any given family gathering.  Just a simple red bliss potato boiled till tender and stuffed with some wet crushed pepper or pimenta moida.

In this recipe, I have taken this simple recipe to the next level.  Although still simple, I have added one more step… cooking down the pepper with a bit of olive oil and garlic.  Give them a try, you’ll be glad you did.

Start off by carefully cutting into your uncooked potato... Go in about 2/3 of the way through and stop. You will want to make sure the flat side of the potato is facing down so that when they are placed on the platter later, they don't roll too much.

Start off by carefully cutting into your uncooked potato… Go in about 2/3 of the way through and stop. You will want to make sure the flat side of the potato is facing down so that when they are placed on the platter later, they don’t roll too much.

Cover your potatoes in a cold water in a pan just large enough to accomodate your potatoes. For purposes of this recipe, lets say 8 medium sized red bliss potatoes.

Cover your potatoes in a cold water in a pan just large enough to accommodate your potatoes. For purposes of this recipe, lets say 8 medium-sized red bliss potatoes.

Add in a generous pinch of salt. The goal here is to flavor the potato itself.

Add in a generous pinch of salt. The goal here is to flavor the potato itself.

Grab one clove of garlic.

Grab one clove of garlic.

Crush the garlic and remove the peel.

Add garlic into the potatos and salted water. Then turn on the burner to bring potatoes to a boil.

Add garlic into the potatoes and salted water. Then turn on the burner to bring potatoes to a boil.

When you see the splits in the potatoes start to come apart a bit, its a good hint to check to see if they are fork tender. Then allow to cool a little while in the water and then drain to continue cooling. You will need to handle these with your hands.

When you see the splits in the potatoes start to come apart a bit, its a good hint to check to see if they are fork tender. Then allow to cool a little while in the water and then drain to continue cooling. You will need to handle these with your hands.

While this is going on, you can begin preparations for the stuffing:

Run two cloves of garlic through a press, or mince garlic by hand. Add to cold olive oil in a small skillet. Then turn burner on to medium. You want to saute the garlic without burning or turning garlic brown. The goal is to not only cook the garlic, but to infuse the oil with that garlic flavor.

Next add in a good quality wet crushed red pepper. My family makes our own each fall and we remove most of the seeds so it isn't too spicy. You can find a good quality wet crushed red pepper in any portuguese market and in some super markets. If you don't have either option... gather a few medium spice peppers, seed and grind, soak with salt in its own juices over night to achieve a similar affect. Or order from a portuguese grocer on line.

Next add in a good quality wet crushed red pepper. My family makes our own each fall and we remove most of the seeds so it isn’t too spicy. You can find a good quality wet crushed red pepper in any portuguese market and in some super markets. If you don’t have either option… gather a few medium spice peppers, seed and grind, soak with salt in its own juices over night to achieve a similar effect. Or order from a portuguese grocer on-line.

Simmer on low for about 5 minutes in the garlic infused oil. Allow to cool slightly.

Your potatoes should be cool enough to touch for this next step. Gently open the slit you made in the potato just enough to allow a spoon full of pepper in there... There is almost always a casualty or two that split wide open into two pieces... just put those on the bottom of your platter!

Your potatoes should be cool enough to touch for this next step. Gently open the slit you made in the potato just enough to allow a spoon full of pepper in there… There is almost always a casualty or two that split wide open into two pieces… just put those on the bottom of your platter!

Go about the stuffing of the potatoes until you have filled your platter.

Yum!

Yum!

Portuguese Style Pepper Stuffed Potatoes (Batatas com Pimenta)

Serves 8

Ingredients:

8 medium red bliss potatoes

1/2 cup Portuguese wet red crushed pepper

3 garlic cloves, divided

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:

Prepare potatoes by washing and cutting into each potato about 2/3 way through and stopping. Add into a pot and cover with cold water.  Add in salt and 1 clove of garlic crushed.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  When split in potatoes start to separate, check they are fork tender.  When fork tender, shut off flame and allow liquid to cool a bit.  Drain and continue to allow to cool.

Prepare the stuffing by sauteing two cloves of garlic that have been run through a garlic press to a small skillet with cold olive oil.  Turn burner on to medium heat and gently saute the garlic in the oil for a couple of minutes.  Add in about 1/2 cup of red pepper.  Saute for about 5 minutes over low heat.  Allow to cool slightly.

Stuff potatoes with pepper mixture.  Serve.  Enjoy!

*note: this is a gluten-free recipe.

 

Low-Carb Grilled Veggies

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Summer time is a great time for vegetables and grilling!  I love taking advantage of all that summer has to offer, the fresh air, the sunshine and the fresh produce!  Low-carb veggies are a delicious way to replace the old winter stand-by of canned corn or peas.  I would so much rather have a healthy ear of corn which has 15-net carbs next my protein and fill the rest of my plate with delicious freshly grilled veggies and I especially love it when my veggies are being grilled over charcoal!

Today’s tutorial is super simple and you can tailor it to your families tastes and preferences like with most recipes.  If you love summer squash, but hate zucchini, then swap it.  If you love onions, but don’t care for tomatoes, then by all means add more onions! If you want to get your kids to eat more veggies, then take them to the store and let them pick which they like and add that! This recipe is more about being a guide on the method of cooking your vegetables.

I have a bunch of low-carb veggies on hand these days and am always trying new things with them to keep things interesting… This, however, is an old stand-by.  The weather has been so beautiful lately that I have decided to do all my cooking outside today, including prep, it’s a great way to let the kids play while getting dinner on the table.

Start with placing some grape tomatoes in a medium sized metal bowl. I like grape tomatoes because they are small, so no cutting required, and they are sweet.

Start with placing some grape tomatoes in a medium sized metal bowl. I like grape tomatoes because they are small, so no cutting required, and they are sweet.

Cut one medium onion into 1/8 chuncks. The goal here will be to cut things about the same size. You don't want tiny onions and big giant peppers etc.

Cut one medium onion into 1/8 chuncks. The goal here will be to cut things about the same size. You don’t want tiny onions and big giant peppers etc.

pepper

Cut your bell pepper in half, remove the seeds. I like the orange, yellow and red as I find them to be sweeter than the green. If you prefer green or that’s all you have on hand, use the green.

Cut it up to about the same size as your onions. (I am keeping my zucchini in sliced discs, so the zucchini is really driving how large to cut all the other veggies)

Slice up a zucchini. Since this is being grilled, you will want to cut them pretty thickly as you don’t want the fire to break them down too much. You want them to hold their body.

Mix all your cut veggies together in your bowl.

Mix all your cut veggies together in your bowl.

Add a couple tsp. of olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt.

I got this little pan at the dollar store of all places. So, I thought I would give it a try, and I love it!

Spray your pan with cooking spray before placing in veggies.

Pour your veggies in the pan.

Pour your veggies in the pan.

Place pan on over medium heat. You want the vegetables to char up a bit, but you don't want to burn.

Place pan on over medium heat. You want the vegetables to char up a bit, but you don’t want to burn.  You will want to tend to them every few minutes.

See the char they are getting? That's nice. Let it cook another 5-10 minutes once the reach this point.

See the char they are getting? That’s nice. Let it cook another 5-10 minutes once the reach this point.

Serve with your favorite low-carb dish. Here they are accompanying my Portuguese Grilled Chicken and an ear of corn.

Serve with your favorite low-carb dish. Here they are accompanying my Portuguese Grilled Chicken and an ear of corn.

Recipe for Low-carb Grilled Veggies:

(serves 4)

8-10 grape tomatoes

1 medium onion, chopped into 1/8 th chucks

1 orange bell pepper, chopped into similar sized chuncks as the onion

1 zucchini, thickly sliced

2 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  In an outdoor grill veggie pan, add in the veggies coated in oil.  Tend to the veggies every few minutes as they cook so they may cook evenly.

Enjoy!

note: this recipe is gluten-free

Portuguese Style Grilled Chicken (Frango Grelhado)

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done1

Summer time is here and the grill is my main source of cooking all summer long!  Throughout the summer in Southcoastal MA as well as, I’m sure, in many other Portuguese dense communities across the country, it is feast season.  Feasts encompass so much of Portuguese culture not minimally the food.  It seems whenever we head to St. Michael, there is one feast or another going on and undoubtably there as well as in feasts across my region here in Massachusetts you will find men grilling chicken over an open pit filled with charcoal.

“Portuguese Style” Chicken depends largely on it’s marinade, but it also is greatly enhanced by it’s method of cooking.  This can of course be done with a gas grill, but if you have the time, charcoal is the best way to enjoy it.  This chicken does not need an sauce helping it to keep it’s low-carb status.

In this recipe tutorial I will take you through the marinade and show you how I place my coals, but a more extensive tutorial on working with a charcoal grill will come soon.  So, keep an eye out!

This marinade is best done 6-8 hours or better yet 24 hours ahead.  It’s an intense brine more than just a marinade really.  Take a look.

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Start by placing a gallon sized zip bag into a large bowl.

Pour a can of beer into the bag.

To that, add two heaping soup spoons worth of ground red pepper. If you don’t have ground red pepper available, finely dice a medium heat pepper such as a red Pablano pepper and add in.

To this add in about 4 cloves of fresh garlic, sliced.

Now, add two large soup spoons full of kosher salt.

Add in about 1/4 of a soup spoon (or 1 teaspoon) of Portuguese Allspice.

This is what your consentrated marinade should look like.

Add your chicken into your concentrated marinade.

Add enough luke warm water into the bag so that most of your chicken is covered in liquid.

Now, a trick to this is to try to remove as much air from your bag as you can. The less air in the bag, the more contact your chicken has with the spices.

Close up your bag and place in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Be sure your coals are hot and white and you burn off any actual fire as shown here.  Also, be sure you have a “hot” side of your grill and a “not so hot” side.  To achieve this just place your coals with the majority to one side.

Now, keep your chicken on your medium to not so hot side of your grill and don’t walk away. Chicken cooked over coals needs to be tended to.  This doesn’t mean constantly fuss with it, just watch that it doesn’t burn.

Some of your chicken skin will blacken and char… this is part of the flavor, it’s ok. Just be sure that when this starts to happen you move it to the not so hot side of the grill… you want the chicken to cook too… if it chars too quickly you may think it is ready before it really is. This process should take a good 45 minutes, but if you have concerns, just get a meat thermometer and when the fleshy part of your chicken registers 160°F, it is all set to be taken off the grill.

For a delicious low-carb meal, plate with some yummy grilled vegis and a grilled ear of corn.

For a delicious low-carb meal, plate with some yummy grilled veggies and a grilled ear of corn.

Recipe for Portuguese Style Grilled Chicken (Frango Grelhado):

(serves 4)

4 chicken leg quarters

For marinade:

1 8 oz. can beer

4 Tbls. ground red pepper

4 Tbls. kosher salt

1 tsp. Portuguese Allspice

4 cloves of fresh garlic, sliced

1 cup luke warm water.

Directions:

Place a zipper bag in a large bowl and combine all marinade ingredients.  Add chicken.  Marinate (brine) over night if possible, but at least 6-8 hrs.

Grill over charcoal if possible for about 45 minutes while tending.  If using a gas grill, grill on low for about 45 minutes.  Meat should register 160°F on a meat thermometer.

Enjoy!

note: to make this recipe gluten-free, just use a gluten-free beer, I would not suggest wine.  You could also use chicken stock, but add in 1 tsp of white vinegar if doing so.