Marinara Sauce

Here's a quick and easy, single serving marinara sauce, that is also hCG Diet friendly.  For those not on the hCG protocol, it's still a great single serving marinara sauce, that could easily be modified to your tastes -- start by browning a little ground beef or sausage, toss in some extra veggies, or however you like your sauce.

Recipe:
1 tomato, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
Water or chicken broth
Basil (I also used some Italian Herb Mix)
Sea salt, pepper

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add tomatoes and garlic.  Cook for 1-2 minutes and add about 1/4 cup water or chicken broth.  Add basil and other seasonings to taste.  Simmer 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add more liquid if necessary.  Serve.

Quick and easy!  And very tasty.  I had mine over sliced baked chicken breast for a diet friendly chicken marinara.

Just as a reminder, you can now follow Uncanned Foods on Facebook!

Chicken Chili

One of the things I miss, being on the hCG diet, is big cooking projects.  Things that take at least a few hours to get really good, and fill the house with amazing cooking smells.  Cooking small quantities of things doesn't take much time at all, and there's not always time to develop the big, bold flavors that you find in things like chili or pot roast or stew.  But that's one of the things I've been working on, and here's my latest: a diet friendly chicken chili with plenty of heat and rich flavor.

Recipe:
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons chili or taco seasoning (I used chicken taco from Penzey's)
1 teaspoon regular chili powder (I like chili 9000 from Penzey's)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3 oz. chicken, chopped

Heat a skillet or shallow pan over medium heat.  Chop tomato and add to pan.  Stir in jalapeno and garlic, cook for about 3 minutes.  Stir in chicken broth, vinegar, and seasoning and cook for 5 minutes.

Add chicken.  Simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.  Serve.

I used leftover pulled chicken in this batch, which added some nice barbecue smokiness to the chili.

This came out really well - it has a rich flavor, a fair amount of heat, and it really felt like a hearty chili.

Strawberry Sorbet

Here's an hCG diet friendly dessert that I recently tried using one of my daily fruit servings.

Recipe:
6 fresh strawberries
6-8 drops vanilla stevia

Puree strawberries in a blender.  Stir in vanilla stevia.  Place in a small lidded container and freeze for about 2 hours, stirring about every 30 minutes.  Serve.

Very refreshing!  And it tastes very indulgent, but it just fresh fruit and stevia.

This would also be good with a little lemon juice and a sprinkle of ginger.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy

I'm fairly new to bok choy.  I've had it before, certainly, but I haven't cooked it myself very often.  The other day I picked up a few baby bok choy because a) I wanted to try something new-ish, b) there's just one of me, so the baby bok choy seemed more manageable than a full-size bok choy, and c) they're super cute.

Looking around online, it was hard to find a way of cooking them that would be diet friendly, so I improvised.

Recipe:
1 baby bok choy
1-2 teaspoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos (a versatile and delicious natural alternative to soy sauce)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sea salt

Cut the baby bok choy in half lengthwise.  Fill a bowl with cold water and place both halves in the water, soak for about 5 minutes.  Remove from water and pat dry.
Meanwhile, pre-heat an electric countertop grill or sandwich press.
Squeeze lemon juice over both sides of the bok choy halves.  Sprinkle liquid aminos over the cut side (so it goes in between the leaves).
Place on the grill, cut side down.  Cook for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom.  Sprinkle with a little sea salt and serve.

These still had good crunchiness, but were nicely warmed through. I paired this with a piece of steamed haddock, and the wilted leaves were very tasty with the fish.

The bok choy itself has a nice flavor, so it was really good with just the lemon juice and liquid aminos.

Beef and Onion Soup

I'm a big soup fan.  I could eat soup everyday, even in the summer.  It's been cold and grey, which always puts me in the mood for nice, warming comfort food.  Like soup.

Recipe:

1 cup beef broth (Pacific makes an organic beef broth that has no fat)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 oz. onions, sliced thin
3 oz. beef, cut into small cubes (use a good cut, like sirloin)
Sea salt, pepper, thyme

Place a saucepan over medium heat, when the pan is hot, add sliced onion and 2 tablespoons of water.  Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add garlic and beef broth.  Bring to a boil, add seasoning, then simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add beef.  Simmer 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mmm...nice and comfort food-y.

I've started another round of the hCG Diet, so coming up with good wintery comfort food takes a little creativity, but this really did the trick.  It has a good meaty flavor and really felt like a hearty soup.

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

So, as promised here's the second recipe for roasted almonds (the first being cocoa roasted almonds).

These are more traditional cinnamon roasted almonds, like the delicious smelling ones they make at the mall around Christmas.

Recipe:
2-3 pounds raw almonds
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp.) butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar

Spread almonds in shallow baking pans or rimmed cookie sheets.  Place in the oven, then turn heat to 350° (don't pre-heat) and bake 5 minutes.  Stir almonds and bake an additional 8 minutes.  Remove from oven.

Melt butter, stir in vanilla and 2 teaspoons sugar.  Pour over almonds and stir until coated.

Mix together cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and 1/4 cup sugar.  Sprinkle over the almonds 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition.

Spread almonds on parchment paper or foil and cool 1 hour.

These are nice and spicy, I used mostly Penzey's Vietnamese Extra Fancy Cinnamon, which is a very bold and spicy cinnamon.  The ginger and nutmeg help round out the flavor, giving these a very warm, comforting spiciness, like pumpkin pie or ginger snaps.




And, again, I'm packing these up into decorative gift bags:

So festive, and a fairly easy homemade gift.  I figure that each of these cost under $4 to make, counting the almonds, other ingredients, bags, decorative paper, et cetera.  So really, these are great gifts - homemade, festive, economical, and edible!

Cocoa Roasted Almonds

I love roasted almonds.  You know around Christmas when they put that almond roasting booth up in the mall?  I can't get enough of that.  It just seems so festive and I'm not entirely sure why.  There's absolutely no reason to only have roasted almonds around Christmas.

A few years ago I came across a recipe for roasted almond and it was great, but these days I don't feel inclined to boiling almonds in honey and then coating them in sugar.  I've been experimenting in small batches and here is the first of two recipes for roasted almonds.

Recipe:
2-3 pounds raw almonds
1 stick (1/4 pound) butter
2 ounces dark chocolate
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar

Spread almonds in shallow baking pans or rimmed cookie sheets.  Put them in the oven, then turn heat to 350° (don't pre-heat) and bake for 5 minutes.  Stir and return them to the oven and bake for an additional 8 minutes.  Remove from oven.

Melt butter and chocolate.  Pour over almonds and stir to coat.

Stir cocoa powder and sugar together and sprinkle it over the almonds 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Spread almonds out on foil or parchment paper and cool for 1 hour.

Pour the almonds into a large bowl, sprinkle with 1 additional tablespoon each of cocoa powder and sugar, and stir to coat.

Mmmm...toasty chocolatey almonds!

The combination of dark chocolate and cocoa powder gives them a nice chocolate truffle sort of flavor.  You could easily modify this to suit your own tastes, for example using milk chocolate instead of dark, adding cinnamon or other spices, or adding more or less sugar.

And of course homemade treats like this make lovely gifts:

All you need is a quantity of coffee tin tie bags (which is what they're called, you're welcome), decorative scrap booking paper, an attractive paper punch, a glue stick, and labels with an ingredient list.

And of course the time to punch out decorative shapes, glue them on bags, roast the almonds, and fill the bags.

Voila!  Thoughtful, attractive homemade gifts!

Baked Apple Custard

For Thanksgiving I wanted to make something special, that would still be in keeping with my diet.  I've been enjoying baked apples as sweet treats, and thought something along those lines would be perfect.

Recipe:

3 apples
1 tablespoon butter
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar (or 2 tablespoons stevia)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3-4 teaspoons spices (apple pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger)
2 tablespoons ground almonds

Preheat oven to 350°.
Butter a 2 quart baking dish, sprinkle with ground almonds and shake to coat.
Core apples and cut into thin slices.
Melt butter and pour over apple slices.  Stir to coat.  Arrange apple slices in baking dish.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs.  Add milk and sugar or stevia and mix well.  Add vanilla and spices.
Pour custard over apples.  Place the baking dish in a 9x13 inch pan and fill with hot water. The hot water should come at least 1 inch up the side of the baking dish.
Bake for 1.5 to 2 hours or until a sharp knife inserted into the custard comes out clean.

Lovely!  It may not be entirely diet friendly, but it's not completely diet unfriendly, especially since I used stevia instead of sugar.

The ground almonds on the outside add a nice texture and nutty flavor, but they're totally optional.

It went together very easily, and I think it's quite tasty.

Quick and Dirty Chicken Paprikas

I've been in the mood for comfort food lately.  I think it's the weather - it's chilly out and that makes me want to curl up with a cup of tea and a plate of something familiar and delicious.  Chicken Paprikas (Paprikas Csirke) is an old Hungarian family favorite, so I improvised a single-serving version that's quick and diet friendly.

Recipe:

1 chicken breast
3-4 cloves garlic
3-4 teaspoons paprika (I like Penzey's smoked paprika)
1-2 ounces yogurt
Sea salt

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a skillet, add 1 teaspoon of paprika to water.  Pierce chicken breast in several places and insert garlic cloves into the chicken.  Rub chicken with paprika.
Simmer chicken breast for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally.  When chicken is done, remove from heat, and take the chicken out of the pan.  There should be 1/2 - 1 cup of liquid left in the skillet, if not, add a little water or chicken broth.  Add yogurt to cooking liquid and stir until smooth, add more paprika if desired, and salt to taste.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Delicious!

Fish Soup

So this is a retry of this subpar fish soup and it is, of course, vastly better.  The recipe is mostly the same, but I used really good fish, and I'm now of phase 3 of the hCG Diet, which means I can mix vegetables and eat a small amount of good fat (cheese, avocado, olive oil, etc.)


Recipe:
1 Tomato, peeled and seeded (or 1 can of diced tomatoes)
2 cups Water
6-8 oz. Halibut
3 oz. Cabbage, shredded
Sea salt and seasoning


In a medium saucepan, bring water and tomato to a boil.  Using a blender (immersion or otherwise) puree the tomato and water.  Return to heat and season to taste.

Place the fish in the broth and simmer for a few minutes.  Remove fish from soup and flake it apart.  Return fish to broth, add cabbage, simmer 8-10 minutes and serve.

I used leftover fish from a night or two ago, so for seasoning I used what I initially used on the fish (which was Greek).  I also added a little pepper and smoked paprika.


This totally looks like food from the Old Country.  It's delicious and comfort food-y.

Coleslaw

So here's another hCG Diet friendly version of a classic side dish.  This is a great refreshing salad and pairs very well with hot and spicy things.

Recipe:
6-8 oz. Cabbage
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
Salt, pepper, and seasoning

Slice or shred the cabbage.  Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.  Toss to coat.  Add any desired seasonings (I like to add a little of Penzey's Mural of Flavor or Fox Point seasoning).  I also like to add a little stevia.

Yum!  This makes a nice change from lettuce salad, and it pairs very well with spicier things since it's cooler and a little bit sweet.

Pulled Chicken Soup

So I made last night's pulled chicken into soup tonight.  It's almost a chicken chili, but with more of a smoky barbecue flavor.

Recipe:
1 cup Chicken Broth
1 Tomato, peeled and seeded
1 teaspoon Barbecue Seasoning (same as used on the chicken)
2-3 teaspoons Cilantro or Parsley
3 oz. Pulled Chicken

Heat the chicken broth over medium heat.  Chop the peeled tomato and add it to the chicken broth.  Add seasoning.  Cook 5-7 minutes.  Puree with immersion blender.

Add chicken and simmer for 8-10 minutes.  Serve.

Like I said, it's kind of a chicken barbecue chili.  Very flavorful and spicy, perfect on a cold and rainy day like today.

Pulled Chicken

Here's another dish that I recently modified to be hCG diet friendly.

Recipe:
2 Chicken Breasts
2 tablespoons Barbecue seasoning (I use Penzey's BBQ 3000)
1 tablespoon Chili or Taco seasoning (I use Penzey's Chili 9000)
1 cup Water
3/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
Sea Salt

Season chicken breasts liberally, and grill or pan fry until done (I use a little electric grill).
Transfer chicken to a cutting board.  Using two forks, shred the chicken into small pieces.
In a shallow pan, bring water and apple cider vinegar to a boil.  Add shredded chicken.  Add more barbecue seasoning if desired.  Salt to taste, if necessary.  Simmer for 8-10 minutes and serve.

Delicious!  I eat mine in a lettuce wrap, but it would also be good in a sandwich or taco.  It's very flavorful and juicy, you'd never guess that it has no sugar and no added fat!

Beef Stroganoff Soup

This is my first attempt at making something like the amazing beef stroganoff soup at Uncle Cheetah's Soup Shop.  It's not perfect, but it's still pretty tasty.  And soon I'll be on my own again and I won't be able to just pop down to the soup shop and get delicious foodies.

Recipe:
Olive Oil, Water
1/2 pound Stew Beef or Ground Beef
3-4 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 cup Guinness or other dark beer
1/2 pound Crimini or Portobella Mushrooms, chopped
Salt, Pepper, Seasoning
1/2 cup Half & Half
Noodles

Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add garlic and cook about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add beef, add salt and pepper to taste, and cook until brown.  Add beer and desired herbs or seasonings (I used fresh sage, basil, and a Bavarian herb blend from Penzey's).  Add enough water to just cover the meat, bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook another 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles of your choice.  Something a little heavier such as egg noodles or bow ties are better.
Reduce heat to low and slowly add about 1/2 cup of half and half.  Simmer until soup is somewhat thickened.
Serve over noodles.

I'm pretty happy with how this came out, I think it's be better with a little sour cream stirred in, but I didn't have that on hand.  But it's still delicious!  Nice and earthy and herby.  Very comfort food-y.

Tuna Steak

I love tuna steak.  It's like a magical combination of fish and red meat -- two things I love.  It has an amazing texture, and it's very easy to do well.  I threw this dish together in under 15 minutes, and it came out fantastically, if I do say so myself.

Recipe:

Tuna Steak (The one used here is about 4 ounces)
8-10 Crimini (Baby Portobella) Mushrooms
2-3 tablespoons Malt Vinegar
1 cup Red Wine
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
Olive Oil

Stir together malt vinegar, wine, and seasoning.  Slice mushrooms and add to wine mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet, and add mushrooms and all of the wine mixture.  Bring to a boil, and simmer 5-7 minutes until the wine is reduced.  Remove the mushrooms and reduction to a separate bowl.  Set aside.
Return the skillet to heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add tuna steak and cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.  Flip the tuna steak, turn the burner off after 1 minute, and remove steak from pan after 2 more minutes.
Serve tuna steak and mushrooms.

I had this over udon noodles that I tossed with basil infused olive oil and sea salt.  The earthiness of the mushrooms and the meatiness of the fish worked very well with the sour tang of the malt vinegar and red wine, and the noodles with basil olive oil provided some needed sweetness.

If you don't like rare meat or fish, cook the steak a little longer.  I like mine rare to medium rare, and the time I used in this recipe will get you this:

Mmmmmm...perfect.

Burrito Soup

This started with a recipe that I found online, but then when I actually started cooking I totally ignored that recipe.  This is really a versatile soup now, basically whatever you like in or on Mexican food can go in or on this.

Recipe:
Olive oil
1 Onion, chopped
Garlic (to taste)
2-3 stalks Celery, chopped
2 cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
Broth (vegetable or chicken)
1-2 cups Salsa
Chili powder

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add onions, garlic and celery and cook until onions are transparent.  Add black beans, salsa, and enough broth to cover them, bring to boil.  Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender (or regular blender). Return to heat, add more salsa and season to taste.

You can also add browned ground beef to the soup (after it's pureed). It's good topped with sour cream or cheese, and I love it with Fritos.  And Guinness.

Crackers

Crackers probably seem like a weird thing to make at home, but I love these!  They're easy, if a little time consuming, and so delicious.

Recipe:

2 cups of plain flour

¼ teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons softened butter

3/4 cup of water

2 tablespoons Saco buttermilk powder (optional)

2 tablespoons spices or seasoning blend (optional)

Preheat oven to 325'F.

Add the salt and buttermilk powder to the flour, and in a mixing bowl or food processor, cut the butter in until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.  Slowly mix in enough water to form a soft, but not sticky, dough.

Divide the dough into two portions, knead seasoning into dough, and roll out one at a time, until paper thin. You can do this on a lightly floured surface, or you can roll it out onto a large, ungreased cookie sheet. This recipe makes enough for two 10" x 15" trays.

Prick the surface of the dough with a fork.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and cut into crackers.  Reduce heat to 300, and bake on top rack until crisp, 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool on the tray, then store in an airtight container.

I cut mine with scissors, for a couple of reasons -- first, it doesn't scratch up my one and only cookie sheet, and second, my kitchen scissors are very sharp, and washable.  However you choose to get your crackers into cracker shape, it's important to bake them for awhile first.  If you cut the freshly rolled out dough into squares, the sides will pull up, and the crackers won't be thin and crispy, they'll be thick and tough.

And here they are!  I added Greek seasoning and sesame seeds to this batch, and they're delicious with hummus and feta cheese.

I've tried a lot of different spices and seasoning blends in crackers, I've also added sesame seeds, flax seeds, and parmesan cheese, and these are all really good.  I add them with the seasoning (if it's sprinkled on top it just kind of falls off after baking).

Here are some successful cracker flavors:

Sage and parmesan cheese

Italian herb

Rosemary and flax seed

Oregano

Krakow Nights (Polish style seasoning)

Tandoori

Paprika and sesame seed

Artichoke Tapenade

I was making bread this morning (from this awesome book) and decided I'd really like something to eat on it (other than butter).  And after looking online and through my cookbooks, I didn't really find anything that struck my fancy, so I made something up.  It's essentially a tapenade, but with marinated artichokes instead of olives, capers, and anchovies.

Recipe:
8 - 10 ounces Marinated Artichokes
4 - 5 tablespoons of the oil and marinade from the artichokes
1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
Salt to taste

In a food processor, pulse artichokes, marinade, and sesame seeds to a spreadable consistency.  Salt to taste.  I also put some Greek seasoning and oregano in mine.

The tapenade on it's own

This was great on the bread!  It's tangy and delicious.  Plus, I wasn't really in the mood for a regular artichoke dip, with all the mayonnaise and cheese and everything.  This is much lighter.