Tag: side

Honey Mustard Slaw

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Cole Slaw is not something I grew up liking.  It’s healthy and fresh and crunchy, but every time I tried it as a kid, it really just didn’t appeal to me.  As a result, I think of this more as an adult side.  My mom would always get it as a side to her fish and chips or fried chicken plate.  I think it’s something about that vinegary taste that turns kids off.  But… You know what kids like?  Honey Mustard.  I have yet to meet a kid who doesn’t like honey mustard.  So, I thought for something a little different, lets see how the two marry.

I was making a hot pastrami sandwich and needed something to top it, but I didn’t want straight yellow mustard and I don’t feel like straight mayo goes with pastrami either.  Hence, the Honey Mustard Slaw was born.  My kids tried it and liked it!  I’ll admit, they aren’t too hot on the Hot Pastrami Sandwich, so they got grilled cheese, but the slaw was a hit!

And the recipe couldn’t be easier, more affordable or more manageable as it lasts for several days covered in the fridge!

Start with a fresh head of cabbage. The fresher the better.

Slice off a couple inches from one side and wrap the rest in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for your next project.

Now Julianne the cabbage which basically just means to thinly and as uniformly as possible slice into strips.

Set the shredded cabbage aside.

Add 2-3 heaping tablespoons of mayo to a medium size bowl with a lid if possible.

Add in a heaping teaspoon of stone ground Dijon mustard.

Add in a good splash of apple cider vinegar.

Stack up about 4-5 slices of pickle or one small pickle would be fine here too, this is what I had on hand.

Slice them up.

MIx.

Add in some honey.  Try and invest in some good local honey, if you can, it’s really worth it!

Stir in honey and pickles.

Add in a touch of hot sauce, I am using Sriracha sauce here and only put in a little squirt. Depending on what you are using the slaw for and your heat tolerance, should determine how much you put in and if you don’t care for hot sauce, you can totally leave it out.

Add a good amount of fresh cracked black pepper and a small pinch of kosher salt.

The last thing I like to add in is a dollop of sour cream mostly for the tang and the creaminess.

My method of stirring is to add in the cabbage half first, coat with sauce and then add in the remaining shredded cabbage for the final stir.

Once the cabbage is completely coated with the sauce, you will want to let it rest.

Cover and place in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. It will keep this way for several days.

Honey Mustard Slaw

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cabbage

3 heaping Tbs. mayonnaise

2 Tbs. sour cream

1 heaping tsp. stone ground Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp. local honey

1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

4-5 sliced pickles, sliced into strips

1/4 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Hot sauce to taste (optional)

Directions:

Make the sauce by adding mayonnaise, sour cream, Dijon mustard, honey, vinegar, pickles, cracked pepper, salt and host sauce into a bowl (with a lid if possible).  Stir.  Add in 1/2 cabbage and coat with sauce.  Add remaining cabbage and continue to stir until all cabbage is coated with sauce.  Cover and let sit in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Enjoy!

Quick Mexican Black Beans

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I love Portuguese food, after all I am 100% Portuguese born and raised.  But, I would have to say a close second to my love of Portuguese food is Mexican.  I love the combinations of flavors and their savory smokey aspects.  Having Portuguese cooking as a good solid background makes it not so difficult to switch into the kitchens of our neighbors to the south.

This recipe is a bit of a short cut from soaking and boiling beans that is usually a good 24 hour process for me.  I don’t always have time for all that when I am looking to put dinner on the table.  A well stocked pantry should always contain a few cans of beans and I love to have black beans in there ready to go.

In this recipe, you will need a couple of fresh ingredients, but mostly you will be looking to your pantry!  It’s a great last-minute side or it can even be made into a great main dish, just double the recipe and add in some steak, shredded chicken or pork and serve over rice!

Chop 1/2 an onion.

These are sweet peppers, the come in a big bag at my grocery store. If you can’t find these, you can always use a red, orange or yellow bell pepper.

Treat them just like any other pepper, start with chopping off the top and removing the seeds.

Then dice.

Use two garlic cloves.

With my Pampered Chef garlic press, I don’t even have to peel them.

Just pop it in and squeeze!

Now you will need a can of black beans, do not drain! I know, it sounds odd, but you need all that liquid.

Use one cap full of apple cider vinegar.

Saute the onions in a small sauce pan.

Add in the peppers.

Once onions and peppers have started to soften, you can add in garlic. You don’t want to do this too soon to avoid burning the garlic.

Use about a half a teaspoon of oregano

And about 1/8 teaspoon of Portuguese Allspice… if you don’t have this, use a good sweet paprika.

Add in water.

Stir in everything, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes until peppers are cooked through.

Your liquid should be reduced a bit at this point.

Add salt and black pepper to taste.

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Quick Mexican Black Beans

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, undrained

1/2 medium onion, chopped

5-6 small sweet peppers, seeded and chopped (or half a bell pepper)

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

2 garlic cloves, run through a press

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp Portuguese allspice

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil to saute vegetables

chopped scallions (optional)

Instructions:

Saute onions and peppers in a small sauce pan in olive oil over medium heat. When tender, add in garlic, saute another minute and add in oregano and allspice.  Saute another minute to bloom the spices.  Add in beans, water and vinegar.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until peppers are cooked through and some of the liquid has dissipated.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over rice and garnish with fresh chopped scallions if desired.  Enjoy!

*This recipe is gluten-free.

Portuguese Corn Flour Flatbread (Bolo de Sertão)

done2I made this quick bread last night to go with my fried fish dinner and I must say, it was super easy.  It’s got a very plain simple flavor, which to me, is perfect to go with my salty vinegary topped fish!  And with three ingredients I already have on hand, it was perfect for my busy week night.  It was also pretty special to me because it brought me back to my Vavó’s kitchen.

When I asked my mother for the recipe that my Vavó would make anytime she would make fish, she explained that growing up in Portugal, this was the bread people would make when they ran out of baked corn bread.  She explained that corn bread was the standard and that wheat bread was saved on special occasions for those who could afford it.  She told me that she remembers her mother always making Bolo de Sertão on her clay flat pan.  She said she would put a little flour in the pan and cook it really slowly.  Then she would wrap it in a kitchen towel to keep it warm.  If for nothing else hearing these stories of my mother’s youth and my Vavó were worth learning this lovely little bread recipe.

Start with two cups of corn flour.  I used white corn flour.

Add in kosher salt.

Add in kosher salt.

Sift the two together using a wisk.

Now, make a well in the flour and pour in boiling hot water.

Now, make a well in the flour and pour in boiling hot water.

I mix with a wooden spoon just to cool the water a bit and then when it is ready to handle, start kneading by hand.

You want it to come together. This doesn’t take long.

It should resemble a play-doh when ready. If it’s crumbly add a tsp of boiling water at a time until incorporated and your dough looks like this. If your dough is too loose… do the same with flour.

Flour your pan... you want to use a heavy bottom skillet, clay pan, or cast iron are great... but I used my big, non-stick and it did great.

Flour your pan… you want to use a heavy bottom skillet, clay pan, or cast iron are great… but I used my big, non-stick and it did great.

Form your dough into a disk… I did mine by hand, but you could use a rolling pin if you prefer. Either way, it should be about 1/2″ thick.

Cook on medium/low heat for about 20 minutes.

Flip and cook an additional 20 minutes.

Remove from pan and serve warm… wrap in a kitchen towel until dinner if your fish isn’t ready quite yet.

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Recipe for Corn Flour Flatbread (Bolo de Sertão):

(Serves 4-8)

2 cups corn flour

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 cups boiling water

Directions:

Sift flour and salt together. Form a well in the center of the flour.  Add in boiling water.  Let sit for a minute.  Mix together and when cool enough to touch, knead with hands until it comes together like clay.  (If too dry add in one teaspoon of boiling water at a time, if too loose, add in one teaspoon of flour at a time)

Form into a disk and flour heavy bottom skillet.  Cook over medium low heat for about 20 minutes until some color is achieved on each side.  Cut into 8 pieces and serve with your favorite fired fish.

Enjoy!

*note: this is a gluten-free bread 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