Refried black soybeans

A great substitute for regular refried beans. Here they are just coming to a boil.

Refried black soybeans


1 pound black soybeans soaked overnight and drained
water
salt
butter
cream
1 or 2 dried chile de arbol

You can cook the soybeans without soaking but they taste better if you do. Put beans in a large pot with fresh water, bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer for 4 to 5 hours add salt the last half hour of cooking. Drain off the water, blend half at a time in the blender with butter, cream and chilies to taste. Soybeans don't get as soft as other beans that's why I use a blender.

Serve with my Chili verde. These beans work really well for a layered bean dip too.

Chile verde

Chile verde takes a bit of time to make, but oh so worth it! I made a big pot of this so we can reheat it all weekend. If you don't do pork or don't like it, chicken or turkey are delicious too.

Chili verde

3 pounds pork shoulder cut in cubes
2 tablespoons lard
1 large onion diced
6 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 cups water
2 large chicken bullion cubes
6 fresh poblano chiles
4 Anaheim chiles
1 yellow bell pepper
1-1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos
2 fresh jalapeno peppers diced
cilantro if you like it

Char all chilies except jalapenos under the broiler, set aside to steam in a bowl with foil till slightly cooled then remove skin, seeds, and veins then chop it should look like this. Cover tomatillos with water and simmer till soft.

Then brown pork in a dutch oven with lard, this step takes some time if you have three pounds of meat, I do it all at the same time cooking till light brown the add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno continue cooking till softened, add in the cumin stir then add water and bullion cubes simmer for half an hour

Add chopped chilies and tomatillos simmer for another half hour to 40 minutes. I served it with sour cream, avocado, cilantro too but I forgot it from the grocery this time, and a side of refried black soybeans.

I'll post that recipe tomorrow.

Peanut butter cookies sugarfree glutenfree

I had a craving for peanut butter cookies and I remembered this easy recipe idea. I'm not sure where it came from.

Peanut butter cookies

1 cup peanut butter creamy or crunchy
1 egg
1/4 cup splenda granular
1/4 cup xylitol
1/4 cup erythritol powdered in a coffee grinder
1 teaspoon of vanilla

 Mix everything till well combined. Shape in walnut sized balls and put them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. I got about 18,  criss cross with a fork to look like traditional peanut butter cookies.

Bake 12 minutes on 350 till lightly browned on the bottom, cool and enjoy!

Fresh spaghetti sauce

This has been an incredibly busy week!!!

My oldest daughter is my guest chef for today. One of her clients had given her many tomatoes and she was pondering what to do with them, she asked me and I thought spaghetti sauce would be wonderful!!! It's easy to make and so delicious! Here is her pot just started. These photos she sent from her Iphone.

Spaghetti sauce

1 1/2 pound ground beef or sausage or a mix
1 onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
garlic to taste I use a handful crushed
2 pounds or more fresh tomatoes ( canned would work too)
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 teaspoons brown sugar (I use a teaspoon of molasses and erythritol)
1 1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 or 2 bay leaves
2 cups water
1 cup wine white or red

Saute meat, onion, pepper, and garlic add the rest and cook on low all day. My mouth is watering, I'm going to have to make some too! I used to add about 6 raw chicken wings to cook in the sauce, they add a great flavor, that's my little touch. Adjust seasonings if needed. Be sure to have lots of parmesan to serve with it. You won't want to eat jarred sauce again.

She serves it with glutenfree pasta. I would serve it with zucchini noodles like these here or once in a great while I might use shirataki noodles or dream fields pasta. It's also wonderful in lasagna with thin sliced roasted eggplant and zucchini for the noodles or anywhere you would use spagetti sauce.

Pulled pork

Pork roasts are economical as well as delecious, this is so easy! All I did is cover the roast with pappys 50% less salt seasoning, then stick it in the oven in a baking dish covered with foil on 375 till it's tender this one took 4 and a half hours. Sometimes I roast it overnight (about 7 hours) at 275 but I forgot to put it in before I went to bed.

I use 2 forks to make it into pulled pork with a bit of bbq sauce. I like this brand in the picture Stubb's spicy it's low in carbs and tasty. I just ate it plain it would be good in lettuce cups or low carb buns like oopsie rolls.

Low carb chicken strips

Simply I cut boneless skinless chicken breasts in strips, sprinkle with pappys 50% less salt seasoning then dip in beaten egg, and in almond flour, arranging on a parchment lined cookie sheet, brush with melted butter and bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Great with the zucchini alfredo recipe or a low carb dipping sauce. These chicken strips are my youngest daughters favorite!

Zucchini alfredo

I was so happy how this turned out, it's the best meal that I've had in a while...well since yesterday anyway!

I took long strips off a zucchini with a vegetable peeler, then wrap it up in a lint free kitchen towel to take out some of the moisture and stuck it in the fridge for a bit.

In skillet on medium with bit of clarified butter I sauteed the noodles, they're done almost instantly.

Then I made the alfredo sauce. I sauteed the zucchini cores from making the noodles in clarified butter as in this previous recipe idea here until very soft and pureed them with some cream, parmesan, salt and pepper. I topped the zucchini noodles with the afredo sauce and chicken strips.

I'll post the chicken strips recipe idea tomorrow.