Beef Pot Roast

Ingredients

• 1 cup port wine, or thick sweet red wine
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon thyme (fresh or dried)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 3-5 pound trimmed beef roast
• 4 stalks chopped celery
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
• 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• Fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Preparation
Combine first 7 ingredients & pour over beef. Marinate 4-8 hours, turning once. Remove beef from marinade. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Brown roast on all sides, about 7 mins. Place beef, marinade and vegetables in large baking pan, cover and bake for 1- 1 1/2 hours. If desired, remove vegetables and beef from pan, leaving liquid. Put pan back on stove and boil. Mix a heaping tablespoon of corn starch mixed with a little COLD water. Pour into boiling liquid and boil about 1 min. stirring to make gravy.

Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

Notes & Tips:
This is my sweet mother's recipe for beef tenderloin that I have adapted for pot roast. I did not let this marinate for nearly as long as I should have, (like 2 hours instead of 4-8), so the meat didn't get as tender as it could be. The meat that I used, I trimmed off almost all of the fat to save calories, I think that also effect the tenderness of it. I may stick to this recipe for marinating tenderloin instead of roast. I will say the gravy was amazing. Gravy is something that I've been struggling with for a long time, I think I'm coming very close to mastering it! YAY! So as a tip, if the meat is tough, slather it in gravy haha.

Rating:
Pretty good, the gravy was the best!

Nutrition Facts:
10 servings (serving size: 3 ounces roast, about 3/4 cup vegetables, and about 3 tablespoons cooking liquid)

Calories:307 (31% from fat)
Fat:10.4g (sat 3.5g,mono 4.8g,poly 0.5g)
Protein:28.6g
Carbohydrate:23.7g
Fiber:2.8g
Cholesterol:85mg
Iron:3.9mg
Sodium:340mg
Calcium:34mg

Photo Credit:
www.cookinglight.com

Spicy Pork Posole

Recipe taken from:
Self Magazine, Feb. 2010

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 oz pork tenderloin, halved lengthwise
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 3 cups canned hominy (about 3 cans, 15 oz each), drained
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small head green cabbage, cut into ribbons
• 8 radishes, sliced
• 1/2 medium avocado, sliced
• 1 jalapeño chile, sliced

PREPARATION:
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle tenderloin with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper and cook until meat no longer sticks to pot, about 2 minutes. Turn and repeat on other side, then remove and slice into 1/4-inch strips.

Add onion and garlic to pot; reduce heat to medium-low. Add remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is transparent, 15 to 20 minutes; reduce heat as needed to keep from burning. During last minute of cooking, stir chili powder into onion mixture.

Return meat to pot, along with hominy, broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.

Add cabbage, cover and cook another 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Divide stew among 4 bowls; serve garnished with radishes, avocado and jalapeño.

Notes & Tips:
First, this is not that spicy, unless you the fresh jalapeño. I didn't use any in my bowl, I used almost a whole one in Mat's, he said it might have been a bit much for him. I did use a little bit of crushed red pepper in the broth though. Also, the recipe says it serves 4, they would be 4 VERY large bowls...so it's probably more like serves 6. I was a little skeptacle at first because of how much hominy this recipe calls for, but I really liked it in the soup. It made the soup really filling. One last thing, I couldn't find the bay leaves so...I guess we ate them, oh well. I served this with wheat crackers.

Rating:
Very Good

Nutrition Facts:
Serves 4 (VERY BIG BOWLS)
285 calories per serving, 10.2 g fat (1.9 g saturated), 35 g carbs, 9 g fiber, 14 g protein

Photo Credit:
www.self.com

Quinoa Stir-Fry With Vegetables and Chicken

Recipe taken from:
Self Magazine, February 2010

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 1 small red chile, chopped (optional)
• 2 cups snow peas, trimmed
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 oz grilled chicken breast, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

PREPARATION:
Place quinoa in a small saucepan with 3/4 cup water and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook, undisturbed, until quinoa absorbs water, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and leave uncovered.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook carrot, stirring occasionally, until it softens, about 1 minute. Add bell pepper, ginger, garlic and chile, if desired; cook, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Add peas, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute.

Remove vegetables and return skillet to heat; add quinoa, along with egg. Cook, stirring constantly, until egg is evenly distributed, about 2 minutes. Add vegetables, chicken, scallions, cilantro and soy sauce; cook 1 minute more. Divide stir-fry among 4 bowls; serve warm.

Notes & Tips:

I couldn't find snow peas that looked good in the grocery store so I used broccoli florets. Also, I used sesame oil instead of olive oil. I loved how the quinoa tasted with the egg mixed in.

Rating:

Between Awesome and Pretty Good!

Nutrition Facts:
254 calories per serving, 7.8 g fat (1.1 g saturated), 30 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 17 g protein

Photo Credit: www.self.com

Super Bowl Deer Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb ground deer meat
1 yellow onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can whole tomatoes
1/2 can green enchilada sauce
1 can chopped green chilies
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can navy beans, drained
2 tablespoons cumin powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons rib rub
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 or 2 splashes of Liquid Smoke

Preparation:
Brown the meat with the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper while browning. When meat is no longer pink add both cans of tomatoes, enchilada sauce, green chilies and all spices. Let simmer for 20 mins. Add both drained cans of beans turn heat down to low and simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, chips etc.

Notes & Tips:

Chili is such a personal thing, everyone likes it different. This is mine and Mat's favorite way to have chili. I have been saving my last pound of deer meat just for this occasion. You can adapt this to anything you'd like, really the mark of good chili (in my opinion anyway) is letting it simmer for over an hour.

Rating:
Awesome!

Nutrition Facts:
Servings: 6
Calories 134
Total Fat 1.69g
Total Carbohydrate 21.09g
Dietary Fiber 4.49g

Steak and a Mixed Greens Salad with Raspberry Vingerette

Recipe for Salad from:
Better Homes & Gardens
8 grams or less low carb recipes

Ingredients:
2 steaks, cut of your choice
1 cup "Whoop Ass Jalapeno Steak Sauce"

3 cups mixed greens lettuce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons cilantro
walnuts
Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Marinate the steak in steak sauce for 30 mins room temperature or 3 hours in refrigerator. Grill over charcoal 7 minutes on each side for medium rare. Serve with salad.

Place salad greens in large salad bowl; set aside. For dressing, in a screw-top jar combine oil, vinegar and cilantro. Cover and shake well; drizzle over greens. Sprinkle with walnuts. If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Notes & Tips:
We used KC Strip steak, as you can see from the picture they were huge! I cut mine down to half so that I could have half of the leftover stuffed peppers from last night. You can marinate the steak in anything you'd like. We bought this sauce at a farmer's market in Arizona.

Rating:
Pretty good, the salad dressing is a little intense.

Nutrition Facts:
Steak serving size: 9oz
500 calories, 19g fat, 2 carbs, 4g fiber

Quinoa-Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

Recipe taken from:
Shape Magazine October 2009

Ingredients:
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
6 red bell peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup diced carrots
1/2 red onion, diced
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup grated part-skim mozzarella

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Boil 1 1/3 cups water in a saucepan; add quinoa. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Keep covered; set aside. Remove pepper tops, stems, and seeds. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add peppers, boil for 5 minutes, and drain. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add carrots; cook for 3 minutes. Add onion; cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in spinach and beans. Remove from heat and mix in quinoa and chili powder. Fill peppers with quinoa mixture and place upright in a baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Add just enough water to form a very thin layer in the bottom of the dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Notes & Tips:
This is the second time I've tried this recipe. The first time I couldn't find quinoa in our grocery store, but I ended up finding it in the section with the gluten free brownie/cake mix and oatmeal...I don't know why since it's a grain/pasta thing. The first time I made this, I used couscous, I think if I was to make it again I'd use couscous. I think it tasted better. This time was good too, just drier. I also added magi seasoning to this, but you could use anything like soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce (or as I like to call it, worchhhh sauce).

Also, I've decided to change the rating, since it's hard to put a letter "grade" on something when Mat is eating it, so now I'll just write what he comments on it.

I served this with a salad.

Rating:
Pretty Good, I liked the other version better though.

Nutrition Facts:
(1 pepper): 237 calories, 6 g fat (23% of calories), 2 g saturated fat, 35 g carbs, 12 g protein, 10 g fiber, 171 mg calcium, 3 mg iron, 260 mg sodium

Photo Credit:
www.shape.com

Honey-Soy Glazed Salmon with Spinach and Peppers

Recipe taken from:
Real Simple, February 2010

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon honey
3 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 skinless salmon fillet (1 1/4-pound piece), cut into 4 pieces
kosher salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
3 bunches spinach, thick stems removed (about 12 cups)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Preperation:
1.Heat broiler. In a small bowl, combine the honey and 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce.
2.Place the salmon on a foil-lined broiler-proof baking sheet and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Broil for 5 minutes. Spoon the honey mixture over the salmon and broil until the salmon is opaque throughout, 2 to 5 minutes more.
3.Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes; stir in the ginger.
4.Add the spinach and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, tossing, until just wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of soy sauce. Serve with the salmon and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Notes & Tips:
I accidently forgot to broil the first first then put the glaze on it, I put the glaze on before I put it into broil. About halfway through the time, I pulled the fish out and spooned the glaze that had pooled around the bottom back on the top. We really loved the spinach and peppers, the salmon was good but nothing special.

Rating:
B

Nutrition Facts:
Calories 321, Protein 36g, Carbohydrate 10g, Sugar 6g, Fiber 3g, Fat 15g, Sat Fat 2g, Calcium 119mg, Iron 4mg, Sodium 725mg, Cholesterol 90mg

Photo Credit:
www.realsimple.com