Paleo Andouille Sausage & LSU Baseball

Going on the paleo way of eating hasn't been too bad on Jesse and I so far. We've found great recipes to help ease the change. Granted we finally had a kitchen fail last night with chili verde out of Everyday Paleo cookbook, way off the mark of delicious. But I found a great recipe to alter to help with lunches and dinner: Andouille Sausage.... the Stephen way ;-)

Most store-bought sausage has sugar in them, which as everyone knows, is not allowed on the paleo diet. This also is a great way for me to get Jesse to eat sausage. She claims that if she can see what goes into the sausage she is more likely to eat it, knowing there isn't a lot of extra fats or leftover random meats thrown in to make it. So I made my own twist, instead of using pork for this sausage, I used Buffalo and lean ground beef from Whole Foods. I will say that the sausage is delicious and has great flavor, but some might think its a little dry since the fats aren't there to make them juicy. But I'd rather kinda dry and delicious and being able to eat it on paleo. By the way, one major need for this, a meat grinder. So my twist is listed below:

Stephen's Homemade Buffalo & Beef Andouille Sausage

Makes 16 links

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

185g Calories, 4g Fat, 35mg Cholesterol, 911mg Sodium, 5g Potassium, 1g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 

0g Sugars, 32g Protein, 2% Vitamin A, 0.1% Vitamin C, 0.1% Calcium, 8% Iron

                                                                      Ingredients:

                                                                      2.5 lbs Buffalo Stew Meat

2 lbs 95/5 Lean Ground Beef

3 Tbsp Minced Garlic

2 Tbsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp Chili Pepper

1/8 tsp Mace

1/8 tsp Allspice

1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

1 Tbsp Paprika

1/4 tsp Ground Bay Leaf (roughly 1.5)

1/4 tsp Sage

3 Tbsp Liquid Smoke

1 Sutter Home Merlot Individual Serve (roughly 6 oz)

2 hog casings

As you can see, we sautéed up some red & yellow bell peppers as well as some onions. It makes a great and quick lunch or dinner.

Since Jesse had to attend graduation at her college, per requirements for being faculty, I decided to head out to the LSU vs. UNO game with my buddy Ben. I got a little bored during the third inning when LSU was already leading 8-0. So I pulled out my handy, dandy iPhone with the Panorama app and got a great view of Alex Box Stadium. I'll probably take this again during Friday's game since there will be an addition above the press box and on the scoreboard with the additional naming of the field after legendary LSU baseball coach, Skip Bertman. Skip by far led the resurgence of LSU baseball and turned the program into the powerhouse it is today. They've won 6 NCAA National Championships since the 1991 season. Only 3 teams have 6 or more championships; LSU, USC, and Texas. Not only did Skip have a hand in the baseball program and the building of the new Alex Box Stadium, but he was also the athletic director when LSU won it's 2nd and 3rd National Championships in football, and the men's and women's basketball teams were making it to the the Final Four round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Anyways, good days are ahead in both sports and in life. Jesse and I will keep you up to date on any new adventures we might have. Until next time, take it easy and find a good pattern to enjoy life by eating healthy, exercising regularly, and traveling a little to relax.

Paleo Food Blog: Day 1

Stephen and I have decided to begin eating Paleo. I'm sure most of you know this, but Paleo basically eliminates food from our modern diets that cavemen wouldn't have eaten, namely dairy, grains, and soy. The diet focuses instead on eating meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds.

I've decided to complete food blogs for the first 30 days of the "diet": The 30-Day Reset.

Breakfast: 6:30 AM
Two hard-boiled eggs
Cara Cara orange

Lunch: 12:00 PM
Mashed tuna & avocado with lemon juice & lemon pepper served over chopped tomato
Hard-boiled egg
Trail Mix (made by Stephen: raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, and raisins)

Dinner: 9:30 PM (yes, way too late)
Paleo Shepherd's Pie

All in all, day one was a success! I was hungry before meals, but I was never ravenous or tempted to grab something between meals (though snacking on Paleo-approved foods certainly wouldn't have been a bad thing!). Meals were delicious--the Paleo Shepherd's Pie is definitely worth repeating!

I won't lie; Stephen and I are sitting on the couch watching Dance Moms (yeah, he's definitely a keeper for that one!), and I would like something a little sweet for "dessert." Maybe I'll go grab a few raisins :)

Paleo Shepherd's Pie
*Original recipe can be found here, but I've written my modified version below

Ingredients
1 pound ground meat (we used extra lean ground turkey)
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Button mushrooms, chopped (for me, not Stephen!)
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 egg
1/2 cup + splash chicken stock
Fresh Rosemary
Dried Herbs de Provence
Dried Italian Seasoning (I used these two dried herb blends because I didn't have fresh thyme and sage as the original recipe called for)
S&P

Directions
Saute carrots, onion, garlic, and mushroom in EVOO until veggies begin to soften. Add ground meat and cook thoroughly. Turn off heat and add 1/2 cup chicken broth to deglaze the pan. Add salt, pepper, half of fresh rosemary and small amount of dried herb blends. Place into casserole dish, ramekins, etc.

Meanwhile, boil cauliflower florets until soft. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg and splash of chicken stock. Add cauliflower, rest of rosemary, and small amount of dried italian seasoning. Mash to desired consistency--ideally like mashed potatoes. Spread over meat mixture in casserole dish.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, then broil for 10 minutes.

Wednesday: Enchiladas & LSU Baseball

Tell me this little guy isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen. He can have a good time with anything. Jesse was getting up this morning and put the rest of the bottled waters into the refrigerator and threw the empty plastic and cardboard container on the floor. Two minutes later, she finds Marco nice and cozy inside the plastic cover and ready for a little cat nap. How at 7:45 am, does this not cheer anyone up for a good morning? I know when Jesse texted me good morning with this picture, and it pepped me up.

I already knew Jesse was a good cook, but she decided she wanted me to be experimental and try enchiladas for the first time. So she cooked up some slow cooker salsa chicken enchiladas. Now little did I know that Jesse had some salsa in the freezer from a kitchen fail earlier in the year, but she used it in the slow cooker to help flavor the chicken which turned out to be a good idea. I admit that my first taste of enchiladas was a good one and as Jesse and I say, it'll be added to the repeat list.

Jesse's Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Enchiladas

Makes 6 servings

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

220g Calories, 11g Fat, 44mg Cholesterol, 622mg Sodium, 0mg Potassium, 20g Carbs, 11g Fiber,

0g Sugar, 21g Protein, 4% Vitamin A, 0% Vitamin C, 21.3% Calcium, 6% Iron

Ingredients:

12 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

1 package Enchilada Sauce

1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

6 flour tortillas

2 cups Salsa

Steps:

1. Place chicken and salsa in a crockpot and cook on low for 3 hours.

2. Take the chicken out of the crockpot and shred with two forks.

3. Roll chicken in 6 flour tortillas.

4. Place tortillas in a baking pan and cover with enchilada sauce and cheese.

5. Cover and cook on 400 degrees for 20 min.

6. Serve and enjoy.

We decided that we weren't going to over do it on the workouts this week since we had our 5K on Saturday and I was getting over feeling sick. So instead of hitting the gym for Jesse to do Zumba and hitting the weights and cardio for myself, we headed over to Alex Box Stadium for the LSU baseball game versus Grambling. We had a good time cheering on the Tigers and visiting with long time friends of my family.

Good ole Marco can find comfort any place he looks, so he climbed on top of the laundry and snuggled up between a pillow and my arm, using my arm as a "paw rest." I have to say, he's the sweetest and cutest cat, too bad we can't keep him, but someone will get a great cat once they take a chance on him.

Monday Maniac's: Exercise & Cooking up a Storm

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Quesadillas were on the menu for our Monday night dinner date with my parents. Jesse and I typically pick one night of the week when we are out at the gym near my house to share a dinner together with my parents. They are just as adventurous as Jesse when it comes to food, so they are always up to try a new recipe with us. I ended up changing the recipe a little with the types of cheese and going on the healthier side of things.

So before I left to head to campus, I combined the ingredients into the slow cooker and set it on low. When we got back from the gym, it was time to shred the chicken and make the quesadillas. After standing over the stove for all of ten minutes, we all gathered around the table for a delicious dinner. 

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

430g Calories, 19g Fat, 68mg Cholesterol, 934mg Sodium, 0mg Potassium, 44g Carbs, 22g Fiber,

7g Sugars, 42g Protein, 8% Vitamin A, 0% Vitamin C, 40% Calcium, 0% Iron

Ingredients:
10 oz boneless skinless chicken breast (Market Pantry)
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce (Jack Daniels No. 7 Original)
1/4 cup Chicken Broth
1/2 cup shredded cheese (Cheddar Cheese - Market Pantry)
8 flour tortillas (80 calorie - Market Pantry)

Steps:

1. Place chicken, 1/4 cup BBQ sauce, and 1/4 cup chicken broth in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

2. When the 5-6 hours is finished, take out the chicken and shred with two forks.

3. Mix shredded chicken with 2 Tbsp of BBQ sauce in a bowl.

4. Place 1 flour tortilla in a skillet with 1/4 cup of cheese on it. Let the cheese start to melt.

5. Add 2 1/2 oz of shredded chicken on top of the melted cheese, also add any other toppings, such as: pineapples, caramelized onions, peppers, etc.

6. Add 1/4 cup of cheese and a second flour tortilla and flip over. Let cook for about 2 minutes roughly.

7. Remove and repeat process for others eating with you.

8. Serve and enjoy.

I mentioned earlier that Jesse and I hit the gym as part of our being Monday Maniac's. Typically on Monday and Wednesday, Jesse and I head out to Snap Fitness for Jesse to go to Zumba while I do cardio and free weights.

Usually everything goes smooth and normal, we both get a great workout and feel refreshed when we leave. Of course that is typically, not this Monday though. I wanted to push myself on the treadmill since Jesse and I are running our first 5K on Saturday, The Color Run. So I knew that the 5K is 3.1 miles roughly. I started with a nice pace of 13:04 for my first mile, which I was excited about since I haven't pushed myself for time in about 2 weeks. My second mile was 13:19 which impressed myself. But for some odd reason I started feeling really horrible, like stomach in knots, overheated, wanted to throw up, etc. So I walked about 4 minutes until I reached the 30 minute mark. I got off the treadmill and grabbed some water, which I thought would help.

So I jumped on the elliptical since its easier on my knees, is less intense for me (odd I know!), and would still get a workout while trying to feel better. After spending 30 minutes on the elliptical, I was toast, done, stick a fork in me and roast me over a fire. I don't know how or by what means but in 65 minutes I burned just over 840 calories. I can honestly say that it was the first night that Jesse left the gym feeling better than me after getting her butt kicked in Zumba.

Hopefully I'll get over whatever had me feeling bad, so that I can keep getting in shape and ready for our 5K on Saturday morning.

Cinco De Mayo? Nope, Just Taco Meatloaf Night

Slow Cooker Taco Meatloaf (50% Beef & 50% Turkey)

Makes 8 servings of meatloaf

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

311g Calories, 12g Fat, 129mg Cholesterol, 1042mg Sodium, 16mg Potassium, 17g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 10g Sugars, 31g Protein, 12.8% Vitamin A, 5.5% Vitamin C, 12.5% Calcium, 12.8% Iron

Ingredients:

1 lb. Lean Ground Beef 93/7

1 lb. Lean Ground Turkey Breast

1 cup Salsa

2 Eggs

1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 envelope Taco Seasoning

1 cup Partially Crushed Tortilla Chips

1 cup Ketchup (Reduced Sugar)

3 Tsp. Hot Sauce

4 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

Steps to cook:

1. Mix together ground beef, ground turkey, salsa, eggs, shredded cheese, taco seasoning, partially crushed tortilla chips.

2. Form a loaf-type block of the mixture.

3. Place foil in the bottom of a slow cooker with foil folding over the edges of the pot. Place the meat mixture loaf in the middle of the foil.

4. Cover the pot and cook on high for 3 hours.

5. Mix together ketchup, hot sauce, and brown sugar.

6. Spread the mixture over the top of the meatloaf and cover.

7. Cook for 1 hour on high.

8. Let stand and serve.

Hooked on Mexican? Apparently!

I think that we are hooked on tacos, yet we haven't eaten actual tacos in about a month. Over the course of our relationship, we've created Sweet Potato Tacos as well as Slow Cooker Taco Meatloaf and now we've made Texas Chicken Burgers, which have the flavor of tacos.

Texas Chicken Burgers

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

201 Calories, 8.4g Fat, 70mg Cholesterol, 665mg Sodium, 115mg Potassium, 4.3g Carbs, 1.4g Fiber, 1.9g Sugars, 24.6g Protein, 42.6% Vitamin A, 12.8% Vitamin C, 2.0% Calcium, 8.2% Iron

Ingredients:
1 lb. Lean Ground Chicken Breast
12 Baby Carrots
1 small Zucchini
1 tsp. Cumin
1 Tbsp. Chili pepper
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Cajun Seasoning

Steps to create:

1. Dice up the baby carrots and zucchini. 

2. Once diced, blend them finely in a food processor with the ground chicken breast.

3. Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts and form patties. Try and make the patties thin, with the thinnest area in the middle for equal cooking time.

4. Cook on a griddle, in a skillet, or on a grill.

5. Cook on each side for roughly 3-4 min. Do not smash down the patty while on the grill or it will lose any juiciness and become dry.

6. After flipping a second time, if you want to add cheese, feel free to do it 1 min before removing and use the below listed tip to melt it.

7. Let stand for 2 min., serve and enjoy.

Tip:  So I've been dying to try this trick I saw Bobby Flay use on a cooking show to melt the cheese on a burger, rather than the typical slice of cold cheese or microwaving it. So when the opportunity presented itself, I took it. Right before the burgers were ready tonight, I grabbed out some shredded cheddar cheese and covered the top of my burger. I pulled out a small metal mixing bowl to use to capture the steam. Unlike Bobby, I didn't have a squirt bottle to quickly circle the burger patty so I improvised. I grabbed a glass, filled it with about 1/4 cup of water. I slowly circled the burger and then as the steam started to kick up, I covered the burger. After about a minute or two, I grabbed the bowl to remove it (yea dumb move on my part) and about burned off my hands it was so hot. But below is the pleasant result I got from my first attempt at melting the cheese on a burger by steaming it.

Let's play a quick game. If you keep up with our blog, you probably already know I'm a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy and Jesse is the veggie lover. So with that in mind, how hard is it to figure out who's meal is which?

Obviously, mine was on the left and Jesse's was on the right. I had a Texas Chicken Cheeseburger with chipotle roasted potatoes and baked beans. Jesse topped her burger with tomato, mayonnaise, and slaw. She also enjoyed some slaw on the side as well as baked beans. Jesse will have to write up the slaw recipe; she used a bag of shredded cabbage but created a vinaigrette type mixture to combine with the cabbage rather than using mayonnaise.

Don't fear, even with Jesse's famous "coma nap" she takes every Friday for two to four hours, we still got our cooking in and made it to the gym for a nice hour and fifteen minute workout. Sometimes I think she thinks I'm a little overboard when we head to the gym at 10 pm for an hour.

Back in the Swing of Living and Eating Healthy!

I must admit that returning to a healthy lifestyle is a good thing, but it definitely takes more effort to get me in the mood to workout right now. I guess that's a downfall of Jesse and I having our birthdays exactly two weeks apart as well as having Easter the following week this year.

Fortunately for Jesse and I, I'm tired of looking in the mirror in disgust and want to do something about it. Granted I have lost a nice chunk of weight, but I know I won't be satisfied until I'm near my goal weight from my earlier years. So with that in mind, I think Jesse is about ready to strangle me at night when I want to work out at 10 pm, if we hadn't worked out earlier. We both agree that it's a good habit to have and we both feel better after we get the workout over.

I can happily say that since Easter Sunday, we've run on the Mississippi River levee, Jesse has gone to Zumba while I was working out at Snap Fitness, and we've been to the gym together with plans for a workout for Friday afternoon and Saturday morning before getting ready to go to an evening wedding.

On Monday night, Jesse and I cooked up some salmon burgers we bought on our trip to Trader Joe's in Houston. Sadly, at the age of 28, it was the first time I had tasted salmon. I actually enjoyed the salmon and didn't find it too fishy. I tend to like fish either thinly sliced and/or fried to cover the fishy taste that some can have. I'm one of those picky eaters that finds thick cuts of fish ruin the flavor. I also cooked up some turkey sausage and hot dogs for an easy grab-on-the-go breakfast.

We recently tried a recipe I found for Taco Meatloaf. Growing up, I loved tacos and liked meatloaf, but when I saw this recipe, I loved the concept. However I was unsure of how the flavors would mix together. Boy, let me tell you, this was delicious!! The flavors from the beef, taco seasoning, salsa, and ketchup all coming together just blended perfectly. It might seem like a stretch when you read those ingredients, but I'll just say to try it and you'll be adding it to your favorites when you finish.

Slow Cooker Taco Meatloaf (100% Beef)
Makes 8 servings of meatloaf

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

348g Calories, 16g Fat, 126mg Cholesterol, 861mg Sodium, 16mg Potassium, 23g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 16g Sugars, 29g Protein, 6.2% Vitamin A, 1.5% Vitamin C, 10.5% Calcium, 11% Iron

Ingredients:

2 lb. Lean Ground Beef 93/7

1 cup Salsa

2 Eggs

1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 envelope Taco Seasoning

1 cup Partially Crushed Tortilla Chips

1 cup Ketchup

3 Tsp. Hot Sauce

4 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

Steps to cook:

1. Mix together ground beef, salsa, eggs, shredded cheese, taco seasoning, partially crushed tortilla chips.

2. Form a loaf-type block of the mixture.

3. Place foil in the bottom of a slow cooker with foil folding over the edges of the pot. Place the meat mixture loaf in the middle of the foil.

4. Cover the pot and cook on high for 3 hours.

5. Mix together ketchup, hot sauce, and brown sugar.

6. Spread the mixture over the top of the meatloaf and cover.

7. Cook for 1 hour on high.

8. Let stand and serve.

Chef Creations: Sweet Potato Boats, never heard of them but they were delicious!

We decided to try recreating a recipe Stephen saw on Instagram from someone he follows. We saw a great looking dish which combined meat, sweet potato, and salsa. We made them in two different formats to see how they would work out.

Since Stephen had just made some boudin balls and remoulade sauce, he decided to scoop out some of the sweet potato, break apart a boudin ball, and top it with remoulade sauce. I decided to try ground buffalo spread over a sweet potato, and covered with salsa. Both were delicious, I just think Stephen added too much remoulade sauce and might need to back down the amount next time not to overpower it.

Sweet Potato Boat with Buffalo & Salsa

Makes 2 servings

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

155 Calories, 2g Fat, 35mg Cholesterol, 433mg Sodium, 601mg Potassium, 23g Carbs, 5g Fiber, 

8g Sugars, 14g Protein, 325% Vitamin A, 28% Vitamin C, 4% Calcium, 12% Iron

Ingredients:
1 large Sweet Potato
3 oz. Ground Buffalo
2 Tbsp. Salsa

Steps:

1. Cut a large sweet potato in half.

2. Bake the two halves in the oven to soften the potato.

3. Remove from oven and scoop out some of the middle.

4. Heat up 6 oz. of ground buffalo. Cover each half with 3 oz. of ground buffalo.

5. Top each half of boudin with one tablespoon of salsa.

Sweet Potato Boat with Boudin & Remoulade Sauce

Makes 2 servings

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

214 Calories, 15g Fat, 14mg Cholesterol, 145mg Sodium, 318mg Potassium, 15g Carbs, 3g Fiber,

5g Sugars, 7g Protein, 245% Vitamin A, 32% Vitamin C, 4% Calcium, 4% Iron

Ingredients:
1 large Sweet Potato
2 2 oz. Boudin Ball
1 Tbsp. Remoulade Sauce

Steps:

1. Cut a large sweet potato in half.

2. Bake the two halves in the oven to soften the potato.

3. Remove from oven and scoop out some of the middle.

4. Heat up two boudin balls. Break apart two boudin balls and spread across each half.

5. Top each half of boudin with one tablespoon of remoulade sauce.

Chef Masterpiece: Remoulade Sauce made from scratch

A few weeks ago I promised to share my recipe for making my special Remoulade Sauce and today I have the step by step process to help you create this great sauce. This sauce is not only great for boudin balls, but also for alligator, some fried fish, and it also serves as a great salad dressing.

Stephen's Homemade Remoulade Sauce

Nutritional Facts per serving (Serving size 1 Tablespoon):
43.6 calories, 3.2g Fat, 3.2g Cholesterol, 250.2g Sodium, 1.8g Potassium, 2.4g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 
0.1g Sugars, 0g Protein, 1.1% Vitamin A, 0.6% Vitamin C, 0% Calcium, 0.1% Iron

Ingredients: 

1 Tbsp of finely minced bell pepper

1/4 cup of finely diced onion

1/2 cup Ketchup

2 Tsp  Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Capers, strained and diced
1/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp Mayonnaise
3 Tbsp Horseradish

1/2 Tsp Cajun Seasoning
2 Tsp Hot Sauce
                  

Healthy Chef creations: Under 100 calorie Buffalo/Turkey Burgers!!

So the other day was a food prep day for me. I made a simple dish, yet very delicious and healthy. Try it out if you'd love something easy to make, low cal, and high protein. It's also great to grab on the way out the door.

Stephen's Buffalo/Turkey Burgers with Jalapeños and Bacon

Nutritional Facts per 1 Burger:

Calories: 95, Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 48g, Sodium: 63.4g, Carbs: 1g, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugars: 0.7g, Protein: 15g, Vitamin A: 0.2%, Vitamin C: 1.2%, Calcium: 2.2%, Iron: 8.8%

Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 lb. Ground Buffalo
1 lb. Lean Ground Turkey Breast
1 Jalapeño, diced
1 Medium Yellow Onion, diced
1.5 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning
2 links Jennie-O Turkey Bacon

Steps:
1) Diced the onion, turkey bacon, and jalapeño.

2) Place the buffalo, turkey, and diced ingredients into a mixing bowl.

3) Add the Cajun seasoning into the mixture and mix together the ingredients fully.

4) Using a food scale, roll 3 oz. balls of the mixture.

5) Use either a George Forman grill or a BBQ pit. Place the amount of balls into the grill. Space about 2 inches apart. Smash the ball down while on the grill into a patty about 2 inches thick.

6) Flip when necessary, let them flip twice and should turn a light grey color, not fully brown like a traditional beef burger. Cook time on the grill is roughly 5-9 minutes depending on temperature of the grill.

8) Serve and enjoy.