BIG flavors and a pinch of attitude!
By now you should know how much I love all things cilantro, especially cilantro chimichurri. And then I heard about this sauce called zhug from one of my Instgram followers who knows how cilantro-obsessed I am. Zhug is really similar to chimichurri, and heck spicy, so I knew I had to try to recreate it. Here’s my spicy cilantro sauce….
Vietnamese Pork Meatballs
Enjoy these little Vietnamese inspired pork meatballs as an appetizer as pictured below, in a soup, in a salad pictured above, or even on a sandwich! I wanted to create a meatball and I knew flavors like fresh ginger, garlic, cilantro and lemongrass would pair nicely with pork. So here’s my take Vietnamese meatballs that are light and full of fresh flavors!
Tip: I used a small ice cream scoop to keep the meatballs uniform in size. Then gently rolled into round balls and placed on a lined baking sheet with all the sides touching. This method ensures the meatballs stay very juicy while cooking and don’t dry out.
vietnamese-pork-meatballs
Here they are wrapped in raw zucchini slices as a fun way to present the meatballs for an appetizer/finger food dish. Great for parties.
Equipment You’ll Need:
Vietnamese Pork Meatballs
Recipe Type
:
Main
Author:
Natasha Gildea
Serves:
16-20 balls
Ingredients
Instructions
3.2.2885
Vietnamese Pork Meatballs
Enjoy these little Vietnamese inspired pork meatballs as an appetizer as pictured below, in a soup, in a salad pictured above, or even on a sandwich! I wanted to create a meatball and I knew flavors like fresh ginger, garlic, cilantro and lemongrass would pair nicely with pork. So here’s my take Vietnamese meatballs that are light and full of fresh flavors!…
Spicy Whole Roasted Cauliflower
This whole roasted cauliflower will surely impress your guests at a dinner party! I have always liked cauliflower. Lately I’ve added it to some of my meals as “cauli mash” to replace mashed potatoes. I’ve also tried it out as “cauli rice” for a low carb rice option. And of course roasting or steaming the florets is a go to option most of the time. But sometimes, the simplicity of having something in it’s original state is, well, elegant and even dramatic. Don’t be intimidated to roast this beautiful vegetable whole.
I had just received my bottles of MinaHarissa and knew I wanted to create something beautiful with the amazing color of the red pepper sauce. And the contrast of the red with the white cauliflower was sure to give me the elegant and dramatic look I had imagined. I knew I had to roast at a high temperature to bring out the natural sweetness in the vegetable, so I decided on 450 degrees fahrenheit. But I also knew that the core of the cauliflower inside would be harder to cook through and get soft. I had seen other recipes that called for blanching or steaming the cauliflower before roasting it to insure the core got done. But, I decided to try something different.
First thing I did was to line a baking sheet or roasting pan with foil to ensure an easy clean up at the end. Next, I chose my cooking fat to coat the cauliflower. I having been using ghee pretty exclusively in my cooking lately as it tastes amazing, has a high smoke point, and is good for you! Next, I added a smoky element using Flavor God Chipotle seasoning, then I brushed on the MinaHarissa and made sure to coat evenly. In the oven for approximately 30 minutes.
Okay, next step is to ensure the cauliflower core gets tender. To the baking dish, add about 1/2 cup of water or about 1/4 inch of water in dish, season top with more Flavor God or just sea salt, and cover with ovenproof lid or foil. Roast another 20 minutes and then check with a wooden skewer in the middle. It’s done when the skewer slides through easily. Make sure to let it cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting through as it will be very hot! Enjoy as a side dish to any meal. This one is sure to impress your friends!
Spicy Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Recipe Type
:
Side
Author:
Natasha Gildea
Prep time:
5 mins
Cook time:
50 mins
Total time:
55 mins
Serves:
4
Ingredients
Instructions
3.2.2885
Spicy Whole Roasted Cauliflower
This whole roasted cauliflower will surely impress your guests at a dinner party! I have always liked cauliflower. Lately I’ve added it to some of my meals as “cauli mash” to replace mashed potatoes. I’ve also tried it out as “cauli rice” for a low carb rice option. And of course roasting or steaming the florets is a go to option most of the time. But sometimes, the simplicity of having something in it’s original state is, well, elegant and even dramatic. Don’t be intimidated to roast this beautiful vegetable whole. …
Meatballs
Best Meatballs Ever.
I like my meatballs to be full of flavors not just blah balls of meat. And I like big flavors. So, I made sure to add some big flavors to these. I must say they taste pretty darn good. Hubby agreed and ventured to say these were by far the best ones I’ve made yet. That’s all I needed to know to label them Best Meatballs Ever! He’s a very honest food critic and I value his opinion as my number one taste-tester! I originally called these “Greekish 50/50 Meatballs” due to the fact that they have some Greek flavors with the addition of the green olives, and I used 50% grass-fed beef and 50% pastured raised ground pork. I had on hand some Double Stuffed Green Olives (with jalapeños and garlic cloves) made locally in Corning, CA, known as the “Olive City,” at the Olive Pit. You can definitely use any olives you have on hand. In fact, that’s generally how I come up with many of my recipes. I look in the pantry and refrigerator and pull out things I think will pair well together and go from there. I highly recommend the “free style” cooking method in the kitchen!
This recipe also highlights the amazing protein from 5280meat! I know I already mentioned this before, but I buy all my grass fed beef and pasture raised pork products from them. Their customer service is amazing and I know these animals are raised humanely and Rachel and Ty give them a great life while here on the earth. Plus they aren’t pumped full of antibiotics or hormones, so that is huge to me and has definitely made a difference in helping me heal my Hashimoto’s thyroid condition.
I am currently doing a Whole30, and I never eat regular pasta anymore since the gluten doesn’t like me, so I came up with something new. The cabboodle. I have try zoodles many times and they are ok. But you have to have a zoodler, or a fancy peeler, or a some cool kitchen gadget that I probably don’t have. I love shredded brussels sprouts and cabbage is pretty much just humungous brussels, so that works for me. My brother actually made my meatball recipe the other night and told me he added shredded cabbage to the cast iron skillet after cooking the meatballs and he loved it. So, cabboodles it is! Oh, and I did declare on my Instagram the other day that according to me, zoodles are so 2014, and cabboodles are now in! Everyone can thank me later, so go to the store and grab some cabbage! You’ll only need a knife and a cutting board to slice them up and throw them in your skillet with some ghee. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Best Meatballs Ever
Recipe Type
:
Dinner
Author:
Natasha Gildea
Prep time:
10 mins
Cook time:
30 mins
Total time:
40 mins
Serves:
14 med meatballs
Ingredients
Instructions
3.2.2885
Best Meatballs Ever.
I like my meatballs to be full of flavors not just blah balls of meat. And I like big flavors. So, I made sure to add some big flavors to these. I must say they taste pretty darn good. Hubby agreed and ventured to say these were by far the best ones I’ve made yet. That’s all I needed to know to label them Best Meatballs Ever! …
I love burgers. No seriously, I mean I could probably eat one every day! I was making so many burgers over the summer that I was nicknamed “The Burger Queen” by my Instagram followers! It is only fitting that my first official blog post be a burger. So here’s one of my favorite burgers I made over a few months ago. Burgers are a year round thing for me so this can be made any time you are craving tons of flavor!
I tend to make the majority of my burgers with grass fed beef from my friends Rachel and Ty at 5280 Meat in Colorado. But you are welcome to change it up and experiment with bison, ground turkey or chicken, or maybe even salmon! The more I post my burger pics, the more you’ll notice that I don’t use buns. I tend to eat them “low-carb” style with some type of lettuce. Oh, and before you ask… My burgers are generally the kind you’ll need a knife and fork for! I love getting creative with my toppings and I view creating food as an art project.
I love making it look pretty and colorful with some BIG flavors. This one is topped with a simple guacamole and one of my favorite brands of raw kraut from Farmhouse Culture , Smoked Jalapeño flavor! Muey Caliente! And last but not least, you’ll also notice that ALL of my burgers are seasoned with one or more of Flavor God seasonings. In my opinion, these are the best seasonings on the market!
Chipotle Guacamole Burger
Recipe Type
:
Burger
Prep time:
10 mins
Cook time:
10 mins
Total time:
20 mins
Serves:
4 burgers
Ingredients
Instructions
3.2.2885
I love burgers. No seriously, I mean I could probably eat one every day! I was making so many burgers over the summer that I was nicknamed “The Burger Queen” by my Instagram followers! It is only fitting that my first official blog post be a burger. So here’s one of my favorite burgers I made over a few months ago. Burgers are a year round thing for me so this can be made any time you are craving tons of flavor!
I tend to make the majority of my burgers with grass fed beef from my friends Rachel and Ty at 5280 Meat in Colorado. But you are welcome to change it up and experiment with bison, ground turkey or chicken, or maybe even salmon! The more I post my burger pics, the more you’ll notice that I don’t use buns. I tend to eat them “low-carb” style with some type of lettuce. Oh, and before you ask… My burgers are generally the kind you’ll need a knife and fork for! I love getting creative with my toppings and I view creating food as an art project. …
