Oh the Injustice! (Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Kale with Bacon)

Tonight we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes and sauteed kale with bacon. Ben, our nephew Aaron and I all thought it was delicious. Tommy loved the meatloaf but didn't care for the rest. He picked the bacon out of the kale. Then came the mashed potatoes. Full on toddler/mommy stand-off. He refused to take his required one bite. I told him he could have a cookie if he had one bite of mashed potatoes. Many big tears later he finally agreed. Oh the injustice of having to eat mashed potatoes! Seriously, what kid doesn't like mashed potatoes?! 

For the meatloaf I used some store bought ketchup. I love the Annie's Natural ketchup since they list all the ingredients. It's such a relief to know that there are no hidden mystery spices (which might be mustard). And it's organic too. Apparently I'm out of coconut flour. So tonight I used potato flour in the meatloaf. It worked well, but coconut flour binds a bit better.

I didn't measure anything when I made the mashed potatoes. I made a lot since we had three hungry adults for dinner and I love leftover mashed potatoes. So just season it to taste and keep adding milk and butter until it's the texture you like. When in doubt add more butter. 

The kale shrunk down much more than I expected. Next time I'll use even more. Mmmm, kale. Our nephew is visiting us for a couple weeks. He's been a great sport about eating everything I've made, like eggplant for breakfast, kale for dinner and cabbage in a breakfast burrito. I love cooking for people who aren't afraid to try anything.

Meatloaf

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup dried minced onions
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup ketchup, divided
1 Tbsp coconut flour or potato flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil.
2. In a small bowl, combine the minced onion and coconut milk. Let sit for 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except for the ketchup. Add in the onion mixture and 1/3 cup ketchup. Mix thoroughly with your hands.
4. Form the meat into a loaf on the lined baking sheet.
5. Spread the remaining ketchup over the top of the meatloaf.
6. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the internal temperature is at least 160°F.
7. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Mashed Potatoes

I didn't measure anything, since I wasn't even sure how many potatoes I used. I peeled the russet potatoes, boiled them until tender, drained and returned them to the pot. I mashed them with Earth's Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, canned coconut milk, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion and a little smoked paprika. They turned out delicious. The coconut flavor isn't overwhelming as long as you have a good amount of the spices.

Sauteed Kale with Bacon

1 bunch kale
3 strips bacon
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp salt

1. Devain the kale and break into smallish pieces. Wash throughly, drain, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside.
3. Add the kale and seasonings to the pan. Saute over medium heat until the kale is tender. Stir in the crumbled bacon.

Pork and Tofu Pillows

Friday I made Martin Yan's (of Yan Can Cook) Pork and Tofu Pillows. They are basically like pork and tofu meatballs, except a lot softer in texture and they're cooked in a delicious sauce. Pretty easy to make and a nice change from regular stir fry.

I served that with his Simply Gai Lan from his cookbook Quick & Easy by Martin Yan. That recipe is Chinese broccoli (although I just used regular broccoli) blanched and then sauteed with some sherry, ginger and soy sauce. The flavor was good, but it was pretty much overpowered by the Pork and Tofu Pillows sauce. 

Ben and I liked the dinner a lot, but Tommy didn't really care for it. Oh well, he tried a bite. The next day I took the leftover rice, broccoli and sauce and made it into fried rice for Ben and I with the pork and tofu pillows on top. That was almost better than the original dinner. But since rice was a major part, Tommy didn't get to try that version.

Carnitas Tacos (And Tips for Making Tortillas)

If you're looking for a quick way to change your mood from happy to super frustrated, make some gluten, corn and rice free tortillas. I made Brittany Angell's Quinoa Flour Tortillas, except I used sorghum flour for the quinoa flour. This is the second time I have made them. The dough comes together well, rolls out pretty easily with some starch on top and bottom, but is almost impossible to transfer to the pan. It's so frustrating to see a nice round tortilla all rolled out and pretty, and then watch it disintegrate as you attempt to get it in the pan.

I was about to throw in the towel, but then I had one last idea. I decided to roll out the tortillas on small pieces of parchment paper. Then put the tortilla in the pan tortilla side down with the parchment paper still attached. As the tortilla begins to cook you can pull off the paper easily and the tortillas stay intact. I still need practice on rolling them thinner, but at least these look like tortillas and they can be folded! 

I'm glad I didn't give up, but I sure won't be making these again soon. I was planning on having burritos for dinner, but I couldn't seem to roll the tortillas thin enough or big enough, so we had tacos instead. 

This dinner has several components, so it's not the fastest dinner around. The good part is many of the steps can be done in advance, like the pork, tomato salsa, and sauteed peppers and onions. 

I served these burritos with Wholly Guacamole. Recently I've had a bad string of luck trying to buy ripe but not spoiled avocados. So this time I saved a step and went with store bought guacamole. Not as good as homemade, but it was tasty on the tacos. I mixed a couple tablespoons of the guacamole with some apple cider vinegar to make a salad dressing. Nice and tangy and creamy. 

I used "garlic pepper" in the peppers and onions. It's a seasoning blend in the bulk aisle of Winco. It looks to just be maybe 3/4 dry minced garlic and 1/4 red pepper flakes. It's really tasty for how simple the combination is. I use it a lot when I make kale chips.

Overall this dinner was delicious, but it sure had some frustration along the way. Hopefully I learned my lesson that this is not a dinner I should attempt after I just got home from the gym. Maybe this would be a better Sunday night dinner instead.

Carnitas

3.5 lb Country Style Ribs (with or without bones)
1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
1/2 Tbsp ground black pepper
1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

1. Optional: Line Crock Pot with liner.
2. Combine all ingredients and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.
3. Shred pork, discarding any bones (if applicable) and big chunks of fat.
4. Using a gravy separator, separate out the fat and add the juices back to the pork.

Refried Black Beans

1/2 Tbsp oil
1/4 of a medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 can black beans, undrained

1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened.
2. Turn the heat to medium low. Mash the beans and liquid in the pot.
3. Heat until warmed. They will thicken a lot when cooled.

Tomato Salsa

5 small tomatoes (I used roma since they were on sale)
1/4 small onion
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lime juice concentrate

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until the consistency you want.

Sauteed Peppers and Onions

1 1/2 medium onion, sliced into thin strips
2 poblano peppers, sliced into thin strips
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp garlic pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add remaining ingredients and saute until the peppers and onions are tender.

Apple Pie Pork Chops

This was one of our family crock pot recipes a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of our cousin Courtney. It was so good that we made it again tonight. The pork and apples turn into a delicious sweet sauce. It's great over rice or cooked millet. With this much pork, I would use 1.5 cups of hulled millet and 6 cups of water in the Cooked Millet Recipe. 

Tommy was literally licking his bowl clean when he was done. 

Apple Pie Pork Chops

2 lbs boneless pork loin chops
12 small or 8 medium gala apples, cored and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp potato starch
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt

1. Optional: Line crock pot with crock pot liner
2. Place pork chops at bottom of crock pot.
3. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.
4. Pour apple mixture over pork.
5. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. 

Bison Meatloaf and Squashed Potatoes

Meatloaf is one of my favorite comfort foods. I had been making my meatloaf pretty much the same way for years (1 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb hot Italian sausage), but with Tommy's allergies we usually stay clear of prepared sausages and their mystery spices. So last night's meatloaf was a combination of ground bison and pork. I made a pork and turkey meatloaf a while back, and while it tasted good, the color was way too light for my preference. It just didn't seem right to me. To me, it's not meatloaf unless there's some red meat in there.

My secret to a gluten, egg and dairy free meatloaf is to use dry minced onions in place of the breadcrumbs. I like having onion in there anyway, and this way I don't have to sacrifice homemade bread to make breadcrumbs. And the tablespoon of coconut flour really helps with the binding too. Trust me, you won't end up with coconut flavored meat. This was our favorite Tommy safe meatloaf so far.

I guess I should be glad that my toddler hasn't become addicted to french fries, but at the same time, it's a little annoying sometimes that he won't eat white potatoes. He only likes orange sweet potatoes. It's great for the nutritional value, but I do miss making a big pot of traditional mashed potatoes to go with meatloaf. Last night I made Squashed Potatoes. It's a mixture of boiled russet potatoes and roasted acorn squash. That was a good blend of squash and white potatoes. The mixture was colorful enough for Tommy but still had some of that regular mashed potato flavor. Win-win! 

Bison and Pork Meatloaf

1.25 lb ground bison
1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup dry minced onion
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup apple juice
3 oz tomato paste
1 Tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dry rosemary

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. In a small bowl, combine the minced onion and coconut milk. Let sit for 5 minutes.
3. In another small bowl, combine the tomato paste and apple juice
4. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add in the onion mixture and 2/3rds of the tomato mixture. Mix thoroughly with your hands. 
5. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat or foil. Form the meat into a loaf. 
6. Spread the remaining tomato mixture over the top of the meatloaf.
7. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the internal temperature is at least 160°F.
8. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Squashed Potatoes

2 acorn squash
2 russet potatoes
1 Tbsp refined coconut oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Slice the squash in half and scrape out the seeds. 
3. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place the squash cut side down on the baking sheet.
4. Bake for 45 minutes until the squash are soft. Let cool.
5. Remove the squash flesh from the skins and set aside. Note: The squash can be prepared up to this point earlier in the day.
6. Peel and cut the potatoes into big chunks. Place the potatoes in a dutch oven pot with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium high and boil until the potatoes can be broken apart by a fork.
7. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. 
8. Mash the potatoes and add in the squash and remaining ingredients. 
9. Heat mixture over medium low until warmed. 

Asian Style Pork Lettuce Wraps

This week our family crock pot dinner is Asian Style Pork Lettuce Wraps. I found a recipe online that looks good, but I had to make a few modifications to fit in Tommy's diet. So my version is below. This meat is delicious. It would be fantastic on top of rice or millet too. It was sweet with a little spice. And it created a great sauce. Plus the house smelled wonderful all day while it cooked. 

Asian Style Pork Lettuce Wraps

2 lbs boneless country style pork ribs
4 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce
2 Tbsp soynut butter
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 Tbsp honey
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Lettuce leaves
Red bell pepper, sliced (Optional)
Broccoli slaw (Optional)
Radishes, slices (Optional)

1. Optional: Place crock pot liner in crock pot.
2. Place pork at bottom of crock pot.
3. Whisk together the soy sauce through cayenne in a small bowl. Pour over pork.
4. Cook on low 4-6 hours.
5. Shred pork and serve on lettuce leaves with the toppings of your choice, like broccoli slaw and sliced red bell peppers

Good Old Spaghetti (Squash) and Meatballs

It's been a tough few days. Last week we converted Tommy's crib into a toddler bed. For the first week, he did awesome! He seemed really excited about his bed and would happily climb into bed at night and nap time. This week has been awful. He now screams before nap and bedtime and refuses to sleep in his bed. Several times he's finally cried himself to sleep right behind his bedroom door. I don't know what caused this shift, but I sure hope it's a short phase.

So tonight we're making some comfort food. It's definitely time to have a glass of wine and make some good old Spaghetti (Squash) and Meatballs. Be sure to thoroughly cook your meatballs before you add them to the sauce. There's nothing more disappointing than biting into a half cooked meatball. 

Spaghetti (Squash) and Meatballs

1 spaghetti squash
1 lb ground pork
1/4 cup dried minced onions
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp dried basil
15 oz can tomato sauce
Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Pierce spaghetti squash with a knife in several places.
3. Bake on a cookie sheet for 45 minutes or until the skin can be easily pierced with a fork.
4. Let the squash sit and cool.
5. Lower oven temperature to 375°F.
6. Mix the minced onions and milk in a small bowl. Let sit for 5 min.
7. In a large bowl, combine the pork, coconut flour, seasonings and onion mixture. Combine well with hands.
8. Form meat mixture into 1 in balls and place on a baking sheet.
9. Bake the meatballs for 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 160°F.
10. Heat the tomato sauce in a dutch oven sized pot over medium heat.
11. Cut spaghetti squash in half. Scoop out and discard the seeds.
12. Shred the spaghetti squash with a fork into the pot.
13. Add the meatballs to the pot and heat until the mixture is warm.
14. Optional, serve with Parmesan cheese.

Crock Pot Liners (Pork Pot Roast)

One of my favorite products is the Reynolds Crock Pot Liners. They’re heat safe plastic bags that you put in your crock pot before you add all your ingredients. It makes cleanup super easy. And according to the Reynolds website they’re BPA free.

I love cooking roasts in the crock pot, but I used to dread the cleanup. The watery/fatty liquid leftover after cooking a roast was too watery to go in the trash and too fatty to go down the drain. Sometimes in the winter I would leave the crock pot outside so the fat would harden. But then you have one or two day old nasty crock pot mess. 

But now with the crock pot liners, I just tie them up and put them in the trash. It’s a sad day when I forget to use a liner. The liners do sort of leave a white stain on the black crock pot, but it's a small price to pay for the easy cleanup.

Before the Cooking

Throw the Yucky Baked on Grease Away

After. It's Almost Clean Enough to Not Need Washing. Almost.

FYI, this is not a paid endorsement. I just really love this product.

Tonight we had pork pot roast. It was easy, delicious and made the house smell good all day. I served it with some Tommy safe rolls and we all gobbled it up. I love the crock pot.

Pork Pot Roast

2 lbs. boneless, lean pork roast

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp dried rosemary

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks

2 medium onions, diced

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1. Place pork roast in slow cooker.

2. Sprinkle with garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary.

3. Add remaining ingredients.

4. Cover. Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 7-8 hours.

The Vodka Tonic that Saved Dinner (Millet Flour Pork Tostadas)

I had so much success making the flaxmeal tortillas that the next time we had tostadas, I decided to experiment with my own tortillas.

Ben was working in the garage and Tommy was happily playing in the living room. I thought, ok, I already have cooked shredded pork, so I’ll just whip up some tortillas and we’ll have an easy and delicious dinner. Well, it wasn't quite that simple or pain free.

Our tortilla press came with an instruction booklet that contained a recipe for corn tortillas. It was a simple combination of masa and water. I thought, ok, millet flour has a corn-like flavor and masa is pretty dry and crumbly, so figured I could do a combination of millet flour with some flaxmeal goop and presto, we’d have corn-like tortillas! I combined ¼ cup flaxmeal with 6 tablespoons of hot water and let that sit to form a gel. Then I added ½ tsp salt, 1 ¾ cups of millet flour and 1 cup of water. The batter was really runny. Obviously the millet flour didn't absorb as much water as the masa would have. So I added another 1 ¼ cups of millet flour.

The dough looked pretty good and I was ready to press out my first tortilla. I thought I had developed a pretty good technique when I made the flaxmeal tortillas, so I went about the same method this time. I lined the tortilla press with parchment paper and placed a 1 inch ball of dough in the middle. I pressed down the lever, and voila! It looked like a beautiful round corn tortilla. However, the tortilla dough had fused with the parchment paper and I could not get the tortilla off. 

So then I tried spraying the parchment paper with canola oil spray and pressed out another tortilla. This one stuck too. So then I decided to use the silicone pan liners I have and sprayed those with the canola oil spray. The tortillas even stuck to that! At this point my frustration was getting pretty bad. The tortillas looked so perfect, but I just could not get them to come off the liners.

So then I added 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch. Finally, I had a dough that would actually separate and make it to the pan! I cooked up the first tortilla and it was super dry and flavorless.

At this point, I was almost ready to cry. I was tired and hungry and defeated. I felt like I had wasted a lot of ingredients and time and I still wasn’t close to having anything for dinner. Right then Ben came in from the garage and provided some much needed emotional support. I wasn’t looking for any help with my hopeless tortilla situation; I just needed a hug and reassurance that not every recipe we make will be an instant success and that’s ok.

I decided then that I really wanted a vodka tonic. Ben made us cocktails and that gave me the time I needed to take a step back and reassess our situation.

I really didn't want to waste all the ingredients. I figured if I couldn't get the tortillas to come off of the tortilla press, maybe I could make the dough more like a pancake batter and just pour the batter into the pan. So I added another 2 tablespoons of canola oil and somewhere around ½ cup of coconut milk. 

I poured the batter into the pan, and it worked!

They were moist, flavorful and super delicious! Dinner was saved!

Sometimes you just need a little moral support. And a vodka tonic.

Millet Tortilla Pancakes

¼ cup ground flaxmeal

6 Tbsp hot water

3 cups millet flour

1 cup water

3 Tbsp canola oil

½ cup coconut milk

2 Tbsp tapioca starch

½ tsp salt

Combine ground flaxmeal and hot water in a large bowl. Let sit for five minutes to gel. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Add more coconut milk if needed to make the batter into the consistency of a pancake batter.  Heat a large nonstick skillet to medium heat and spray with nonstick spray. Use a ¼ cup measure to pour the batter into the skillet. Cook each pancake for a couple minutes until the bottom browns and then flip. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Pork Tostada Filling

3 cups cooked, shredded pork

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 Tbsp canola oil

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper and sauté until soft. Add the shredded pork and stir to combine.

Simple Guacamole

1 avocado

¼ of an onion, finely diced

1 tsp lemon juice

¼ tsp salt

Mash the avocado with a fork and stir in the onion, lemon juice and salt.

Millet Flour Pork Tostadas

To assemble the tostadas, top a millet pancake tortilla with the simple guacamole, pork tostada filling, shredded lettuce and salsa. Enjoy!