Steele (the Day)

Functional Foodie Friday: Cilantro and Lime Chili

// January 29th, 2012 // No Comments » // Functional Foodie, My Fabulous Life

Editors note: this was scheduled to autopost on Friday. Um, yeah. I guess I need to tell it that, or it will sit in the post hopper forever!

The chili at my house is awesome. Ron Burgundy always said my chili was even better than his dad’s, and that’s going some. So why change a good thing? One reason.

Cilantro.

It’s like crack to me. I swear if there was such thing as cilantro brownies, I just might start liking chocolate.

I stole this recipe from Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour, switched it up just a bit because I thought it could use some heat. (But of course). It’s starting to get cold here these days. I was thinking that I’d leave the ground beef out next time, but I mentioned that as I was typing this and I got a solid “NO” from across the room, so maybe not, unless I want to eat the whole pot myself. (I do. I could). I really love the way the broth and beans come together for the soup base, and the lime and cilantro add a freshness that just makes your palate dance.

That’s like jazz hands to a foodie.

Cilantro Lime Chili

1 lb 96% ground beef
2 large onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
32 oz low sodium beef broth
3 15oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained (or 5+ cups if you’re cooking from dry)
1 15oz can refried pinto beans
2  15 oz cans  fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 jalapeño pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (cut this in half if heat frightens you)
4 tbsp. chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
shredded cheese for topping

Brown ground beef and onion in a large dutch oven until beef is brown and onion is transparent.

In large bowl, whisk refried beans with beef broth until well blended. (Seriously, this is a genius idea). Pour into dutch oven with meat and onions. Add beans, tomatoes, jalapeno, red pepper, cayenne, chili powder, and cumin. Simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

Stir in lime juice and cilantro and cook for another 30 min. Season with salt and pepper, top with shredded cheese.

Eat. Enjoy. Repeat. Hide a bowl so you have some for lunch the next day.

Tea today: Genmaicha

Functional Foodie Friday: Spicy Tomato Soup

// January 20th, 2012 // 1 Comment » // Functional Foodie, My Fabulous Life

This soup was stolen from Giada, but there’s a back story. Isn’t there always?

Apparently my cooking has been a bit too healthy earthy for Ron Burgundy. What with my many Ball jars of grains and rice and pasta, he was obviously craving some good old fashioned (what he calls) food. I got home late from the gym and he had stopped at the local grocery and bought canned soup – tomato and chicken noodle. Yes, those were always comfort foods to me growing up, too, until I read the labels. Apparently he wanted to live in the past. No big deal. At least he was cooking!!

Open can! Add water! Heat! He COOKS!

But I shuddered when I saw the big box of salty white poison saltines. I don’t think we’ve had them in the house since the kids left – a long, long time ago, and he uses about a half a sleeve in his soup. Surely I could come up with something a little more healthy for my aging maturing husband, who so nobly gave up pop this year. And if you know him, that’s BIG. We’re talking 6-8 cans of Mountain Dew or Sundrop a day, but it was rarely consumed in my presence.

(He dislikes the eyeroll).

The next night I took some healthy cans from my pantry, armed myself with the Google, and set to work looking for something that would mimic that disgusting soup that rhymes with Rambles, but would still be healthy. Can you pronounce the things on the label? I didn’t think so. They were hard enough for me to memorize in chemistry class. Replacing the crackers with sneaky protein and whole grain pasta was brilliant, and quite obviously not my idea.

Win! He loved this. Ate two big bowls, and didn’t even mind the kick of the red pepper.

But I did see him throw a few crackers in it. He thinks I don’t notice things like that.

Spicy Tomato Soup (adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (28-ounce) can Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce (read the ingredients! Real food!)
24 ounces unsalted chicken stock (Kitchen Basics is the BEST)
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup small pasta (I used brown rice elbows; next time I’ll use a smaller one like anellini)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
a few fat shaves of pecorino romano cheese

Directions

Tea tonight: Mystic Dragon

Functional Foodie Friday: Hoppin’ John

// January 6th, 2012 // No Comments » // Functional Foodie, My Fabulous Life

Black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day – we ate them twice and I can’t wait to see what kind of luck that brings us for 2012.

If I believed in luck….which I don’t.

This recipe is adapted from the infamous Pioneer Woman (of course, why wouldn’t I pick someone famous?) and even if you don’t think you like some of the ingredients, I guarantee this finished product has a blend of flavors and textures you’ll adore. Add bacon, if you must, but it really doesn’t need it. I loved the pork in here, and the entire dish was extremely inexpensive because I had a small chunk of pork in the freezer and the only thing I needed to buy that I didn’t have in my pantry/frig was the kale.

Lunch and dinner for 3 days? $1.29 out of pocket. (cheep cheep) And loaded with healthy protein.

Our appetizer-turned-lunch was P-Dub’s Zannie’s Black-Eyed Pea Dip. I had to make it, because I’d soaked more black-eyed peas than I needed for the main intent. Who wastes thirty cents worth of dried beans? (I am my mother’s daughter). NO! Divine intervention! Add cheese and proceed! This was also delicious, and the two of us may or may not have eaten the entire batch in one sitting. So it makes a good lunch as well as an appetizer, and thus the Hoppin’ John cooked a little longer because we were stuffed for hours.

Starting out New Year’s on the wrong foot – too much of a good thing, but all for the sake of luck.

If you believe in that sort of thing.

Hoppin’ John

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 lb pork butt, trimmed of fat, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1-2 jalapeños, diced (I guessed, because they’re diced & frozen in bags from last summer)
2 stalks celery, diced
4 1/2 cups soaked black-eyed peas
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
3 cups chopped kale
salt and pepper

Directions

Soak black-eyed peas overnight then rinse thoroughly. Mix paprika, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, salt and pepper together. Toss with pork and allow to sit for at least 30 min in refrigerator. (I let mine sit overnight).

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Brown pork pieces on all sides quickly; remove to plate.

Add onion, garlic, green pepper, jalapeño, and celery and stir. Cook for 5 minutes. Add pork back in pot, stir in black-eyed peas. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and cayenne. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover the pot for an hour.

Stir in vinegar, then taste for seasonings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in kale until just wilted.

Serve over chewy brown rice with a nice chunk of skillet cheddar-jalapeno corn bread (which I also had in the freezer).

Tea today: Organic China Green

#OneWord365: Alive

// January 4th, 2012 // 8 Comments » // Faith, Family, My Fabulous Life

Lamenting to a(n) (imaginary) friend that I’d miserably failed my 2011 word (Seek), I went back and read that post. Failed? No. Still in seek mode? Yep. Just because the year’s over doesn’t mean I stop focusing on that word, and I feel like I’ve come a long way. I just haven’t blogged about it; about much of anything, really.

I’m OK with that. It’s not like blog was my focus word.

My word this year?

Sara was one of the reasons I chose this word, because she truly was one of the most joyful, alive people I’ve ever known, even as she edged toward Heaven’s gate. She died with grace, dignity, and humility. But she remains alive in spirit as I frequent her words that continue to lift me.

I have also been inspired and moved by the lovely Shauna Ahern, as I sought out cooking/baking ideas when gluten reared its ugly head within my body. In that seeking process, I fell in love with her zesty passion for life, love, and community as written so eloquently in this post. I’ve dog-eared her cookbook, which reads like a novel, but is her true story of love and sacrifice.

Today I sit on the edge of the unknown, waiting for a diagnosis of a loved one with a potentially life-stealing disease. I think of all He gave to the world through Sara who embraced her own disease by giving glory to God. Her one word last year? Praise. My prayer is that our remaining days, months, or years (only God knows – only God decides) we all choose to be alive, keeping our spirits and attitudes awake,  animated, sensitive. Each of us has numbered days. Let us not be the walking dead.

Just like the visual thesaurus that guided me to Seek last year, I look there again for direction: “mentally perceptive and responsive,” “capable of erupting,” (nailed that one!), and “full of life and spirit.”

Alive.

Whatever my circumstances.

Tea today: Marrakesh Mint