Barbacoa with Greens

Working late doesn't mean I don't want something filling and tasty when I get home.  The difference is I really don't have the desire to cook at 9pm, enter, the slow cooker.  The slow cooker, also known by many as a Crock Pot, is a great tool for those who don't have a lot of time, but still don't want to rely on fast food, or frozen diners.  A favorite of mine is Barbacoa, you may have had something called Barbacoa at Chipotle, well I can tell you, their dried out stringy meat is so far from the real deal. The real stuff is juicy, fall apart tender, and full of spice and heat. This will be a shorter blog, as it is a simple dish.

Ingredients

2lb Chuck Roast
1/2 a medium bell pepper
1 stalk of celery
1/2 bay leave
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup water or enough to come half way up the meat.

 S&P to taste

This big hunk of chuck roast is excellent, stands up to the long low cooking time, and is one of the flavorful cuts of meat when cooked properly. 

Rough chop the bell pepper and celery, I used the stem end of a stalk, but 1-2 good siz stalks would work also. I coated the meat with the spices, then added a bit more cayenne to give it an extra kick, but I like it hot! pour the liquids in, put the lid on, and set your slow cooker to low for 12 hours, or high for 6-8 depending on how hot it gets.

Fast forward 8 hours, and its time to fix some sides.  I was going to originally serve this with some Cauliflower mash but upon inspection of my cauliflower, it had gone bad.  have no fear, when life gives you bad cauliflower, use Leafy greens instead.

When you can get Bokeh in the photo off of the shine of the fat, you are doing it right. after 8 hours in the slow cooker this hunk of cow was fall apart tender, and not dry at all. 

I put the sauteed greens on the bottom, then served it with sour cream, Cotija cheese, and a few dashes of hot sauce, I used Tapitio, Cholula would have been exellent, or even the Chipotle flavoed Tabasco, if you want a little smokeyness.

<1 net carb, and packed with protein, fat and minerals.

This recipe is great for all sorts of different things, I love to chill it overnight, then mix it with some eggs and bacon and make a meat lovers scramble in the morning.

Southwestern Egg Bake

Finished Product

Breakfast Edition...

My schedule, just like everyone else's is constantly changing, on days like today when I work until 8:30, the last thing I want to do is cook dinner.  That said, working late means giving me an excuse to make a decent breakfast!.  These "Crustless Quiches" are fantastic, easy to make, and are packed with what every Ketonian needs to start the day...FAT.


Makes 3 Servings of 2 Mini Quiches

Ingredients:

2 slices of Bacon, chopped
3 eggs
3 Tbsp Heavy cream
2  Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
1/2 medium bell pepper diced
1 cup of frozen chopped spinach
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
S&P to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F

I keep my bacon in the freezer, it stores well, and is a cinch to chop when frozen.  Take your bacon strips and cut them into 1/4 in strips.  In a skillet, I like to use nonstick for bacon, start rendering out the fat.

PROTIP: To render out as much bacon fat as you can, add 1/4 c of water to the pan along with the bacon.  as the bacon starts to simmer in the water, it will release a lot more fat, the water will evaporate, and the bacon will then fry in the fat that is left in the pan.  kind of like potstickers, but tastier.

Once the bacon is about half way done, add the bell pepper and sweat until the pepper is tender, but not mushy.

While the bacon and bell peppers continue to cook, in a mixing bowl add the eggs, cream, cheese and seasonings and whisk vigorously until they are well incorporated

 

I scream, You scream, we all scream for eggs & cream!

Add the Spinach to the bacon and bell peppers and saute for 1-2 mins.

I fly solo on most meals, so I portion meals out accordingly.  At the same time I also am a visual eater, and if my food looks good, it tends to taste better as well,  call me neurotic.  So I use a muffin pan to make mini "Quiches", but you can use a small baking dish or multiply the recipe to make a larger batch in a pan.

Grease the muffin cups and divide the vegetable mixture and scoop it into the bottom of each cup, then pour the egg mixture in evenly.

This pan has some milage on it, but it is a staple in my culinary toolbox.

Bake at 375° until the Quiches are puffy and slightly browned on the top.

This is the point where you would add cheese on top, I didn't have any on hand.

Serve with your favorite hot sauce, I used Sambal, which is a staple of mine, its a Indonesian/Malaysian chili paste, by the same company that makes Sriracha, but it blows Sriracha out of the water in my opinion.

Herb Crusted Chicken with Creamy Lacinato Kale

Ingredients:

1 Chicken Leg Quarter Bone in.
4 stocks of Lacinato Kale
1/3 c Heavy Cream
2 Tbsp Parmesan Che
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1/4 tsp dried Rosemary
1/4 tsp dried Oregano
1/4 tsp dried Parsley
1/4 tsp dried Thyme
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Red Pepper flakes
S&P to taste

Let me first explain Lacinato Kale.  You might see it as Dinosaur Kale or Tuscan Kale, and if you cannot find it, normal Kale, or any hearty leafy green will work just fine.  I prefer Lacinato to normal Curly Kale because it is a bit less bitter.  either way, you want to end up with about a cup of the final product.

Prep:

Preheat your oven to 350°F 

Combine dried herbs, garlic, and onion powder in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. if you don't have one, a mortar and pestle, or even in you hands will work just fine, you will just need to use a little more elbow grease.

Once ground, liberally coat the chicken on both sides, with the rub and S&P.

Like this.

In a cast iron or stainless steel pan, add 1 Tbsp of Butter and 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil, and bring to just a slight smoke, add the chicken skin side down and sear 4-5 min, or until the skin is crispy. at this point you want to flip it over, and sear the other side for another 4-5 min. once nicely seared, put the chicken into your preheated oven and roast until the internal temp is 155°F.(68°C). Carryover cooking will continue to raise the internal temp to 165°F(74°C) that is the safe temp for poultry.

Place on the middle rack for even circulation of heat.

 
While the chicken is roasting, take your kale and remove the leaves from the stems.  Some greens you want to keep the ribs on, but with kale they are too fibrous to eat.  Once you have them removed, chiffonade the kale and set aside.

Make sure to put a damp cloth under your board to prevent slipping.

In a saute pan add the 1Tbsp of butter, and once melted add your kale, Salt, and Red Pepper flakes.  I like it spicy so I use more than 1/4 tsp, you can also omit them all together if you do not like spicy food.  Once the greens are sweated down, add the heavy cream and continue to cook until the kale is tender.  To speed the process up a bit you can blanch your kale ahead of time, but shredded this fine it shouldn't be necessary. Once the cream is reduced add the parm and continue to stir, the parm should thicken the cream up nicely, and turn it from a sauce to a side dish, either way you can reduce the cream to your desired thickness, I like mine thick.

Mac and cheese?? Ha please

Remove the chicken from the oven once it reaches the safe temp, and let it rest for 5 min. Optional (and delicious) take a pat of butter and place it on the chicken as its resting.  When the butter melts it will infuse with the herbs and chicken fat to give a great sheen to the crispy skin.

G.B.A.D. as Alton Brown would say.

 Once plated pour the now melted butter over the chicken.  and enjoy.

Finished

Not something I would eat every day. But dang tasty.