Chorizo and Beef Meatloaf

The inspiration for this experiment

1 lb ground beef
10 oz bulk chorizo
about 1 cup grated Asiago cheese
3 (small) stalks of celery, diced
about 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped until it was closer to 1 cup
5 double-stuffed olives (with garlic and jalepeno), chopped
3 tablespoons coconut flour
1 egg

Mix up all the ingredients with your hands.
Form it into a log shape on a foil-covered sheet pan.
Bake at 325 for 45 minutes.

Serve with caramelized onions.

Kohlrabi Curry

I was looking for something to do with the kohlrabi I had bought a couple of weeks ago.
I used this as a starting point.

3 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and cubed
3 cloves of garlic, minced

about a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil
1 t mustard seeds
1 t cumin seeds
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 t curry powder
1 t salt
1/4 t powdered ginger
1 t chili powder
a can of diced tomatoes
about a tablespoon of lemon juice

Heat the oven to 400.  Cover a sheet pan with foil, spray it with olive oil spray.  Spread the kohlrabi and garlic evenly on the sheet.  Spray them with olive oil, mix them around, and roast for 15-20 minutes.

Put some oil in a pretty big skillet.  Add the mustard and cumin seeds, and heat until the seeds start to sizzle and pop.  Add the garlic, and stir around for a few seconds.  Add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to soften.  Add the spices and tomatoes and roasted kohlrabi.  Continue to cook (covered if you want), stirring occasionally, and adding water as needed, until everything is done (at least 10 minutes, but more if the kohlrabi wasn't soft from roasting).

Quinoa Salad

(a big batch)

2 c quinoa
4 c water

3 T olive juice (from the jar of olives)
6 T olive oil
4 T lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper

8 c spinach
3 red bell peppers
1 English cucumber
20 olives (jumbo green double-stuffed with garlic and jalepeno, or kalamata)
1/4-1/2 c green onion
3 avocados

Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a sieve.  Drain it.  Bring water to a boil in a pan.  Add the quinoa.  Bring back to a boil.  Cover and simmer about 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed.
Combine the olive juice, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Set aside.
Chop the spinach, peppers, cucumber, olives, and green onion.  Put them in a big bowl.  Stir them to combine.  Add the quinoa and stir it in.  Cut the avocados into chunks and add to the bowl.  Pour the vinaigrette over, and toss gently.

Also good with chopped or shredded chicken, and/or feta cheese.

Tuna and Spinach Bake

adapted from The Low-Carb Gourmet by Karen Barnaby

2 T butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (I used a whole onion)
the last few stalks from the core of a celery, chopped, with the leaves (my addition)
2 10-oz bags ready-to-use spinach (I had most of a 16 oz box left, so I just used that much)
2 6-oz cans chunk light (or solid albicore) tuna, drained and flaked
3/4 cup whipping cream
3 eggs
1/4-1/2 t salt
4 oz cheese, shredded (originally aged cheddar.  I used about 6 oz--part anejo and part cheddar, because they needed to get used up.)

Preheat oven to 350.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.  (I don't have a frying pan that big, so I used a wok.)  Add the onion and celery and saute until soft, about 2 minutes.  Add the spinach and cook until wilted.  (This is where you want the biggest frying pan/wok available.  I had to add the spinach in stages as it started to wilt.)
Spread the spinach mixture in an 8x8" baking dish.  Top with the tuna.
Beat the cream, eggs, and salt together with a fork.  Pour over the tuna.
Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until set and the top is lightly browned.

"Sophia Loren" Chicken

adapted from "500 More Low-Carb Recipes" by Dana Carpender

3/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese (the kind in a can)
2-3 T dry oregano
1-2 T dry parsley
2-3 T dry basil
1 T paprika
3 big chicken breasts

Mince the garlic.  Put it in a bowl with the oil.  Set aside.
Combine the cheese and the spices in another bowl.  Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350-400.
Cover a big baking sheet (or a couple of pans) with foil.  (This is VERY IMPORTANT.)
Cut the chicken into "fingers."  (I cut mine a bit too small.)
Dip each piece in the oil, then the cheese mixture, and put it on the foil-lined pan.
Bake 20-45 minutes, depending on how big the pieces are.

Note: I had two pans.  The first was cut really small, and baked in a pyrex 9x13" pan at 350 for 20 minutes.  Some of the pieces gave off quite a bit of oil. They didn't come out as crispy, but they didn't stick as badly to the foil.
The second pan was a rimmed cookie sheet and baked at 400 for 30 minutes.  I liked how they were crispier, but a lot of coating stuck to the foil.

Marinara Dipping Sauce

1 can Italian style stewed tomatoes
1/2 onion, chopped small
a couple cloves of garlic, minced
about 2 teaspoons each basil and oregano
a generous pinch of cayenne pepper
salt

Put everything (except the salt) in a small saucepan, and simmer for as long as you have time for (at least half an hour).  Add water if it starts looking too thick, or sputtering too much, or sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add salt to taste.
Remove from the heat, and blend with an immersion blender.

Soup

This was a plain, old, nothing special soup. (Not bad, but not very exciting.)

a tablespoon or two of olive oil
1 onion
a few cloves of garlic
3 carrots
3 ribs of celery
about a quart of stock from smoked turkey
a kielbasa
salt (because my stock wasn't previously salted)

Chop the onion.
Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan.
Start sauteing the onion.
Mince the garlic, and add it to the pan.
Chop the carrots, and add them.
Chop the celery and add them.
Continue to saute until the onion is starting to look translucent.
Add the stock.  Let it boil/simmer for quite a while, until the vegetables are getting soft.
Chop the kielbasa, and add it.  Simmer until it's hot through.
Taste the broth, and add salt to taste.