Italian Sausages with Peperonata

For a simple dinner the other night, we had sausages, an Italian pepper stew called Peperonata, and a green salad. A local grocery store has a wonderful in-house meat counter that makes many delicious sausages by hand, many of which are GAPS-compliant. Since beginning the diet, my kids, ages 5 and 7, have begun to really enjoy sausages so they make an easy meal. These ones are chicken sausages with basil so I felt inspired to find an Italian side dish to accompany them.

Peperonata

Ingredients:
4 large bell peppers, I prefer two red and two yellow
2 large onions
4-5 T of butter or ghee
2-3 fresh ripe tomatoes
salt to taste
3 T vinegar, I used apple cider vinegar
A handful of green olives

Cut the bell peppers into strips, chop the tomatoes, and set aside in a bowl. Slice the onions into thin strips, and saute in the butter or ghee until soft but not browned, then add in the tomatoes and peppers. Sprinkle with salt and cook on medium heat until the peppers are soft but not mushy. Stir in the vinegar and olives, and cook just a little longer. Some recipes suggest adding chopped parsley as a garnish.

Carrot Soup

I have to confess that I haven't eaten soup in at least a couple of weeks. My excuse? A broken immersion blender. I really like pureed soups with my homemade chicken broth. Well, a trip to Goodwill yesterday yielded a "new" immersion blender, so I decided to make my favorite carrot soup tonight.







Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter (or ghee)
1 1/2 large onions, chopped
2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 quarts (or more) homemade chicken broth
2 tsp. ground coriander
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro or parsley for garnish

Method

Sautee the onions, ginger and carrots in the fat until onions are translucent. Add coriander, salt and pepper. Stir for about a minute. Add chicken broth and cook until vegetables are very soft. Puree. Add more liquid, if necessary. This is good with coconut milk too, but I don't have any that's suitable on hand at the moment.

You can leave out the coriander for the intro diet, if you are avoiding spices. You can also substitute the fat without worrying.

Fajita Salad with Cucumber Mango Salsa

My family loves steak, so we have been looking for some more ways to enjoy it that are both delicious and able to make a little go a long way, since steak is an expensive habit:)

To make the fajitas I simply cooked sliced steak, onions, and red peppers in ghee with cumin, oregano, garlic, and salt. We served this on a very simple green salad with a vinaigrette dressing, and topped with the salsa.

To make the salsa, mix together cubed cucumbers (peeled and seeded), cubed mango, diced red onion and chopped cilantro. Dress with olive oil, lemon or lime juice, salt and crushed garlic.

Surf n Turf

We found these Langostino tails at Trader Joe's, a specialty grocery store, at a low price and thought we'd have some fun. They came pre-cooked so I just reheated them in ghee and garlic, cooked up a small steak to go with it, and made cauliflower "mashed potatoes" and peas to go on the side. When trying something new with my kids, such as the langostino tails, I do like to have an old standby ready in case the new item doesn't go over well. This meal let us do that in "kitschy" style!

Lettuce Wrap Sesame Chicken with Fried "Rice"

This is a simple, delicious, and inexpensive meal that needs very little adapting for GAPS. I've had variations of this recipe at restaurants and decided to experiment at home one day. There are endless ways to be creative and inventive with this one so have fun!

INGREDIENTS:

2 T coconut oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1-2 T ginger root, grated
1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
1/4 cup of meat broth
1 tsp salt
2 lbs of ground chicken
1 tsp sesame oil
4-5 green onions, sliced
lettuce leaves for the "wraps" (iceberg works well)

METHOD:

Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet.  Add the onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and ginger and stir, then add the five spice powder and salt.  Saute anther few minutes.  Add small amounts of the meat broth as needed to keep the vegetables from burning.

Add the meat and stir to break it up.  Cook it uncovered, on medium heat, until the meat is done.  Continue to add meat broth as needed to keep the meat moist.

When the meat is cooked, remove from heat, and stir in the sesame oil and the green onions. 

To make the wraps, simply hold a lettuce leaf in you hand and spoon in some of the meat filling.   Wrap the lead around it and enjoy!



To go along with this, my husband used some leftover cauliflower "rice" to make fried rice. He made this exactly as he would have with regular rice, adding in some egg, diced red pepper, slivered almonds, lots of sesame oil and garlic, and some jalapenos on top.

Here is a blog post from the GAPS Guide blog that discusses how to make the rice substitute and gives credit to the people who came up with this fabulous idea.

Hollandaise Sauce

Every time I make hollandaise sauce, I am reminded of how easy it is, and I ask myself why I don't make it every day! Most people have tried something called hollandaise, but many people have not had the "real thing". I was given the packaged stuff as a kid and decided that I hated hollandaise. Of course, once I tried the good stuff, I couldn't get enough of it!

Hollandaise makes practically anything taste better, but it is especially popular on fish, chicken, assorted cooked veggies, and the ever-popular poached egg (with or without ham).

This recipe can easily be adapted for intro by using ghee in place of the butter. I could hardly taste the difference myself. I promise you, boiled veggies and meat taste a lot better with hollandaise!

Ingredients

3 egg yolks

Between 1 and 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (I like it with 1 1/2. The classic is 1).

1/2 cup cold butter (or ghee), divided

Sea salt, to taste

Method

Mix egg yolks and lemon juice in medium saucepan (cold). Add half of the butter and whisk constantly over low heat.* When butter has melted, add second half, and continue whisking until it is completely melted and sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and add salt to taste. Serve immediately.

Any remaining sauce may be refrigerated and "refreshed" by whisking in a very small amount of hot water before serving. You can also use this technique, if your sauce is too thick. If your eggs have curdled, you can strain the sauce through a fine sieve, and you should be good to go.

*You have to be a little patient here, as the slow melting of the butter allows the sauce to become creamy without curdling. I kind of wedge my whisk into the block of butter and rub it around on the bottom of the pan to melt it.

Chinese Lemon Chicken with Broccoli

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Ingredients:

1 lb chicken 
3 T coconut oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tsp freshly grated ginger
4 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 c chopped green onion
1/2 tsp Chinese 5 Spice Powder
1/2 cup of chicken broth
1 T honey
3-4 c broccoli florets
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Method:
-Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, set aside.
-In a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, green onion, honey, and 5 Spice Powder.  Add the chicken, stir to coat, and let it stand for 10 minutes.
-In a wok or large skillet, melt the coconut oil and saute the onions for a couple minutes, then add the garlic and ginger and saute several minutes more.
Pour in the chicken mixture. Cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes, then add the chicken broth and reduce heat.  Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.  
Add the broccoli florets, cover again, and simmer another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and the broccoli is tender.
-Serve garnished with additional lemon slices.  Or, if you prefer, the lemon slices can be added to the dish when there are about 1-2 minutes left to cook.

A wonderful side dish for this meal is to cook veggies, such as broccoli and snow peas, and serve with sesame sauce for dipping.