Saturday, February 1, 2014

Comfort food

Marty and I have a joke in the kitchen. When I cook I make a mess. No matter what I am making by the time I am done the kitchen is a complete disaster. My main focus is keeping my eye on the dish I am creating. We have been married for 26 years and every time I am prepping something, Marty is close behind cleaning up after me. When we lived in the States our kitchen was so spacious. I loved it. We had this dance in the kitchen and one night he said, "You know what? We need to have a live cooking show with you doing your cooking thing in the kitchen and I will be the guy in the background cleaning the counter, throwing away your discarded ingredients, wiping down the stove and washing the dishes." I cracked up and said, "That would be a hoot!" We still talk about it time to time. Maybe someday we can do a little cooking session on film. LOL!

I appreciate his help in the kitchen. Most of all his patience. He is my #1 taster and has been an amazing support. He is the best breakfast and dessert creator. His famous frittata is awesome! I will post that soon. It's kind of our special weekend morning breakfast.

Yesterday I wasn't feeling the best. Remember, my previous post. Bad headache and felt kind of punky. So the stir fry I was planning on making didn't happen. I was in bed at 8:00pm on a Friday night. Whoo hoo! I got up at 7:00am. That was a solid nights sleep and headache free. YAY! We hit the fresh market, did a little grocery shopping and stopped in at our favorite French butcher and deli. Now when we get home from this adventure, usually I will clean my veggies and fruit. Today, I wasn't in the mood so I took a break from that and worked on my blog. I will get those veggies prepped tomorrow and also get my pork roast in the crock pot for dinner.

Anyway, yesterday's dinner became today's dinner! In our house this is one of our comfort foods and is a great end-of-the-week meal; using most of the leftover veggies in the fridge from the previous week's trip to the fresh market. Let's get started!



Turkey and Veggie Stir Fry

3 thinly sliced turkey breasts (you can use chicken, pork, or beef)
Juice from 1 squeezed lemon
1-2 Tbls fish sauce (yes, this stuff stinks but it adds great flavor. Just plug your nose)
1/2 Tbls ginger (in the jar or peeled and grated fresh ginger)
1-2 Tbls rice vinegar
1 Tbls chili garlic (or use chili pepper flakes)
2 cloves garlic (minced)

1-2 Tbls coconut oil
3 carrots (peeled and sliced)
1/4 of a fennel bulb (chopped)
1/2 zucchini (quartered and sliced)
6-8 mushrooms (sliced)
1 cup shredded green cabbage
1-2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 can coconut milk
pepper flakes
salt and pepper

In a bowl place the turkey breasts. Add to the bowl the next 6 ingredients. Mix around the meat so it is completely swimming in the liquid mixture. Cover and place in the fridge to party for about 2-3 hours. This is not necessary but really helps tenderize the meat.



After it has marinated heat the coconut oil in a skillet, wok or large fry pan.



Pour the liquid and chicken into the pan and cook. Let it hang out for a bit and then flip the meat. Cook meat until no longer pink.



Remove meat from pan and place on a plate to rest.



In the pan the liquid should be really bubbling and ready for more friends.
Add the carrots first. Let them dance for about 2 min then add the fennel, zucchini a couple minutes apart from each other.




While that is happening, slice the meat in thin strips.



Add the mushrooms and sliced meat to the pan and mix them together with the veggies. The next steps go really fast. Add the cabbage and mix in. Layer the spinach on top of the mixture then turn into the mixture. When the spinach starts to wilt a bit add the coconut milk. Turn burner on low and gently stir. Give the sauce a little taste and add salt and pepper if needed.







Serve in a bowl and top with red pepper flakes. Enjoy!




P.S. If you have leftovers, put them in a container to heat and eat for breakfast or lunch the next day. Save the remaining coconut milk in a glass jar with lid. Use it in your coffee in the morning or use it in another recipe later in the week.



Gluten free and Paleo friendly meal

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