Ironman Cacciatore

Recipes posted one year ago:

• Roasted Turkey Breast with Herbs
• Paprika Pork Chops with Warmed Mango Chutney

My friend Neil and I have recently reconnected.  We have known each other since middle school, but haven’t talked much until our 20-year-reunion and of course, Facebook.  He has completed two Ironman triathlons and many other triathlons and marathons; too many to count!  I have recently decided to learn how to swim properly so that I can compete in a sprint triathlon and Neil has been teaching me to swim and I in turn help him make healthier food choices.  It is a win-win for both us.

He recently shared a couple of things with me.  The first was showing me this beautiful quilt that his mom made for him from all of his event t-shirts.  For those of you who know me, you know I love love love homemade/handmade things.  What a gift to know someone spent a lot and time and effort to make something for you.  My favorite quote on this quilt is, “Some people dream of great accomplishments, while others actually stay awake and do them.” {Pic is a bit blurry.. taken with my phone.. 🙂 }

The second thing he shared with me with me is this delicious recipe that he made up himself.  I tweaked it a bit based on what I had.  This is a wonderful Crockpot recipe although I didn’t do it this way due to unforeseen delay in my day.   It goes together quick either way, but I do recommend using the Crockpot to give the flavors even more time to come together.

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Winter Squash Chowder

Recipes posted a year ago:

• Fast Fajitas

One of the best things about this time of year is the huge selection of different winter squash that are available.  Acorn, butternut, delicata, pumpkin, and any number of heirloom varieties.  And while roasted and grilled are favorite ways to use these fall fruits as a side dish, we’ve added some dry-cured ham and made them into a hearty one-pot meal.  This is definitely one of my favorite new recipes, and I look forward to making again and again.

Pot Roast with Sweet Potatoes

We were blessed with a rare (at least so far this year) sunny day this past Saturday, giving us a chance to get some outside chores done finally.  On days like that, when you’re out raking and picking up fallen branches and cleaning up the tangles of brush that have cluttered the yard throughout the soggy (and snowy) winter, you never know how long you’ll be outside before you decide to quit.  Time just seems to fly by, until suddenly you realize it’s evening and you’ve not eaten since breakfast.  Then, all of a sudden, you’re not just hungry but famished, and you don’t want to have to wait another 30 to 90 minutes to prepare something to eat.

It’s just those sort of days where slow-cooker meals are perfect.  You don’t really have to spend much time preparing anything, and when that time in the evening comes when you decide you need to eat now, you’ve got hot food ready and waiting.  Perhaps the only drawback (if you must look for one) is that you need to get started early.  Of course, most days that we’ve got a lot planned start early anyway, so it’s not much more effort to toss some goodies into the crock pot and set them on low before heading out the door.

Sweet Potato Hashbrown Breakfast Stacks

These actually started out inspired by an eggs benedict recipe we had seen and saved.  Except that we were actually running a little short on ingredients (it was the day before our usual weekly trip to the market) and the thought of using up half a pound of grass-fed butter for hollandaise sauce just seemed like a bit of an excess.  So instead, we skipped the hollandaise altogether and used some shredded sweet potatoes in place of the traditional english muffin to make up a simple “poor man’s benedict” that is more of an open-face hashbrown sandwich.

Sunday Morning Frittata

Sunday – the end of the week and, unfortunately, the end of the weekend as well.  Do what you can to stretch the most out of it, but there always seems to be that impending feeling that the grind is going to start again in only a few short hours.  In a busy household with a busy family, it is the day we’ve got to get all the plans made and laid out for the week – menus prepared, grocery shopping done, homework and school projects worked on, write up a couple of blog posts, laundry, housework…  Whoever said it was a day of rest was crazy.

All that end-of-the-week (or start-of-the-week, depending on how you look at it) shuffle takes some energy, and that starts with a good hearty breakfast.  So Sunday also tends to be the day we spend a little extra time on breakfast before diving into the day’s activities.  Big scrambles or omelettes, fresh sausage, bacon or ham, fresh berries or fruit – all of them are great ways to start out a hectic morning.  Another choice is a frittata – sort of like an omelette pie, or a crustless quiche – which can have a whole host of goodies thrown in.

Brussels Sprouts Sweet Potato Hash

We served this one up the other night along side the Balsamic Round Steaks, and it was excellent.  The combination of caramelized red onions, sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts is a perfect side dish, and leaves plenty of leftovers for a couple of additional meals.

Orange Coriander Chicken Thighs

Coriander and orange are two flavors that have been blended in wide variety of foods over the years.  Probably one of the most well known (to me at least) is traditional Belgian Wit Bier (Hoegaarden being the original), but a search for “coriander and orange” will produce a huge selection of recipes for soups, poultry, stews, beers, and even ice cream.  The two flavors just work well together.  So it was no surprise when we found the original of this recipe in a spice advertisement that we were on the right track…after a few modifications to make it primal and add a few extra goodies as well, of course.  So let’s get started.