Wice A Woni

Fantastic side that tastes very close to Rice A Roni, but is done with cauliflower instead. The topping of Butter-Browned Almonds makes it even better.

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower
2 tbsp lard
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp seasoning salt, divided
2 tsp chicken bullion granules
1 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/8 tsp paprika

Directions:
1. Cut cauliflower into small chunks to fit into a food processor. Pulse until it is the consistency of rice. You can also use a hand grater to accomplish the same thing.
2. Melt lard and coconut oil over medium heat in large frying pan and add in the onion, garlic, and 1/2 of the seasoning salt. Cook until the onion and garlic are lightly browned.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and stir well to fully mix everything together.
4. Cook  uncovered for another 5 minutes or so until the cauliflower is browned or heated through, being sure to stir frequently.
5. Serve with Butter-Browned Almonds as a garnish.

This is a very good side dish and the kids loved it and so did we.  We will probably cut down the thyme in it next time as we don't like it that flavor very much, but it was still very good.

Butter-Browned Almonds

Just a simple recipe to get some wonderful Butter-Browned Almonds for topping veggies. Goes great on asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and spinach.

Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup almonds, sliced or slivered
1/4 tsp seasoning salt

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients into a small pan and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently until the almonds are golden brown. Takes about 8 minutes.
2. Immediately after they are done, remove from the pan so they don't continue to cook and put in a bowl for serving.

This recipe is from the Extreme LC Meals on the Go cookbook.

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

This recipe is a bit of work, but still pretty quick. About 45 minutes start to finish and it is very good. Our whole family likes these.

Ingredients:
1 Egg
1 tbsp water
3/4 cup almonds, finely ground
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 6 breasts cut in half
1/4 pound Swiss cheese, cut into 12 slices ( we used provolone and cheddar)
1/3 pound deli-style ham, cut into 12 slices
cooking oil spray

Directions.
1. Combine egg and water in a bowl large enough to dip the chicken in.
2. Combine almonds, seasoning salt, and parsley in another bowl about the same size.
3. Divide cheese and ham into 12 portions.
4. Place chicken thigh or breast on a plate cut side up and place a piece of cheese in the middle of the chicken.
5. Roll up ham and place on top of the cheese and roll up the chicken around the ham and cheese.
6. If needed, use toothpicks to hold the chicken together.
7. Dip chicken into egg mixture, then into almond mixture and place on a baking sheet that has been pre-sprayed with the cooking oil spray.
8. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

That's all there is to it. You can play around with the cheese and ham insides or the almond coating to your liking. We like cheddar or provolone instead of Swiss. I like Parmesan cheese in my coating to give a bit more flavor.

This recipe is from the Extreme LC Meals on the Go cookbook.

Easy Beef and Green Beans

Very quick and easy all-in-one meal. Have made it a few times and we love it.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups celery, chopped
1 (16 oz) bag of frozen green beans (fresh could be used as well)
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp seasoning salt (This home-made seasoned salt is great)
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
2 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp hot chili oil (or more if you like it spicy)

Directions.
1. Brown the ground beef and garlic over medium heat.
2. Add in the celery, beans, and mushrooms and cook until they are tender. Usually between 15 and 20 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients to the pan, mix together and serve while warm.

There are also lots of options you can do to finish it off if you want. I add Paremsan cheese on top of mine and my wife likes Ranch dressing on hers.

This recipe is from the Extreme LC Meals on the Go cookbook.

Greek Roasted Chicken

This is a very simple chicken recipe/marinade that makes the chicken taste like the stuff you get at a small town fair or at a small carnival/festival put on by local groups like the Lions Club or Snowmobile Club (for you northerners). Not sure why, but it really reminds me of that. Note that it needs up to a day for marinading.

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds of chicken (cut-up, split, whole, whatever you want)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:
1. Wash chicken and pat dry.
2. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and stir in together.
3. For a whole chicken, rub all over the chicken, including in the cavity. For chicken parts, put in a zip lock bag and pour in marinade.
4. Let sit in a fridge for at least an hour, up to a day. The longer it sits, the better the flavor.
5. One hour before cooking, take chicken out of the bag and let sit.
6. Grill, bake, or broil the chicken as you desire. I prefer to slow grill it.

To slow grill chicken:
1. Heat 1/2 the grill (with charcoals on one side or 1/2 the gas burners turned off).
2. Sear the chicken for 3-5 minutes per side directly over the high heat.
3. Move the chicken to the indirect side, turn heat down a bit, and let sit for about 20 minutes per side, flipping once.
4. After about 10 minutes of high heat and 40 minutes of low heat it will be about done.
5. If you want to crisp up the skin, turn up to high again and put directly over the heat for a minute or two per side.

Overall it was a very easy meal, yet very tasty.

This recipe was based on one from Dana Carpenders 500 LC Recipes

Homemade Seasoned Salt

We recently ran out of seasoned salt at home and so instead of going to buy more, we decided to make our own without sugar in it. Here's the basic starter information.

Ingredients:
6 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp celery salt.

Direction:
1. Mix all ingredients together. You can use a food processor on low or anything to mix it up.

It's really quite simple and you can change it to whatever you like. It was a bit salty for us (probably because I used larger chunk Kosher salt), so I may cut back on the salt or else increase the other ingredients. I may also add things like ginger, Cayenne pepper, a bit of citrus flavor, and other things like that to round out the taste a bit more.