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Hen & Brussels Sprouts

July 25, 2014 by Kristin

There was something appealing about a mini bird at the grocery store tonight. I didn’t want to fuss with carving up and packaging leftovers from a regularly sized bird. I didn’t feel much like navigating through my cabinets to dig out the roasting pan. And I had a new dish that was just begging to be stuffed with sautéed brussels sprouts and topped with a roasted cornish game hen. So mini bird, it was.

I followed the same chicken roasting basics that I’m accustomed to: dry off, place fat {coconut oil or ghee} above and beneath skin, place chopped herbs {thyme, rosemary, or both} beneath skin, stuff cavity with lemon and some more herbs, and roast at 375 degrees until the meat thermometer reads 165 degrees {about 45 minutes}. Tonight roasting happened with a cast iron grill pan rather than the deeply buried roasting pan.

While the hen was doing its thing in the oven, I whipped up some super simple brussels sprouts with shallots that were… okay. I focused on the flawless hen and made a mental note to be better at brussels sprouts the next time around.

Sirloin & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

July 22, 2014 by Kristin

This past weekend, I spent a lot of time getting cozy with nature and this book. And even though there was a seemingly quotable line on every page, there was one quote in particular that resonated with me – “The right constraints can lead you to your very best work”.

I haven’t yet addressed why the past 50 days have been filled with gluten-free and dairy-free recipes, because I had {still have} hopes that it was irrelevant. My intention isn’t to deliver good gluten/dairy free recipes, it is to deliver delicious recipes. Period.

And to circle back around to the above referenced quote, I can’t help but believe that these constraints are creating a better FoodFash.

So today I bring you another delicious recipe: orange peppers {turned yellow in the oven} stuffed with cubed sirloin, quinoa, and some staple stuffed-pepper veggies.

Using cubed sirloin and quinoa gave this dish texture and prevented the mush that is so commonly associated with traditional stuffed peppers. The onions, tomatoes, and garlic provided the bulk of the flavor. And the bell pepper, well the bell pepper provided the most photogenic bowl ever {and some additional flavor as well}.

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Coconut Lemongrass Mussels

July 11, 2014 by Kristin

Most of us are in agreement that the best thing about eating mussels is really the crusty loaf of bread sopped in mussel broth. So what do you do when you still crave mussels but bread is no longer a thing in your kitchen? You get creative with veggies, of course.

I modified this NY Times recipe left and right until I came up with a soupy broth that could take on the addition of sliced shiitake mushrooms and baby bok choy. Afterward, I came to the conclusion that adding two-ish cups of veggie broth and additional seasoning {extra fish sauce in this instance} to a mussels recipe is the way to go.

But the critical part, the part that lets your mind forget about bread, is the shiitake shroom. Because they contain less water than other mushroom varieties, they soak up the broth and keep their chew, which gives the dish more sustenance. And let me tell ya, a spoonful of mussel, shiitake, shallot, coconut, and lemongrass is quite the bite!

Polenta Sliders

July 8, 2014 by Kristin

Do you ever have one of those days that you feel like you squished multiple days into a single day? And you look back on your very first thing you knocked off your list and it seems like ages ago? Today was one of those days. It started with waking up in Florida, returning a rental car, and heading to the airport and ended with cleaning out cabinets in Austin, a mini trip to Fresh Plus, a 4-mile Shoal Creek trek with Skylar, and a fancy little dinner. The stuff that happened in between went something like work, work, work, wondering how I could be so homesick after 5 days at home, work.

When I was cleaning out the cabinets {homesick therapy}, I found a tube of polenta that served as inspiration for dinner. And then the thought progression continued like so: burgers -> arugula & spinach -> mushrooms & onions.

I put my oven to work by simultaneously sautéing, grill-panning, and broiling. And when everything was cooked to perfection, I assembled the mini towers of goodness and served to Skylar and Max.

I liked changing up a plain old meat/veggie combo with the texture of polenta. And I totally dug the addition of greens and sautéed veggies, but a classic topping of lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion would be equally as delicious.

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