IBIH's Snack Cake

I made this cake to have a sugar-free cake at Moma's birthday this weekend. I used erythritol because I got a bag of it a while back. I'm really not into it though. I'm going to start trying monk fruit and stevia again in my keto desserts.

Salami Feta Frittata

4 oz chopped Dry Salami
4 oz crumbled Feta
24 eggs
1/2 cup half and half
salt and pepper
1 cup halved grape tomatoes

Turn the oven on to 350. Place the feta and salami on the bottom of the pan. Use a low speed on the blender to mix the eggs, half and half, salt, and pepper. Pour the eggs into the pan. I pour it slowly onto a spoon over the pan. The spoon overflows into the pan but my meat and cheese don't get pushed all around. Float the tomatoes on top of the egg mixture. Some of them will sink despite your best efforts. Bake for 30-45 minutes.

It turned out good but not mind blowing. Maybe a few kalamata olives would have added that last bit it needed to be great. Maybe mushrooms? Hmmm.

Sausage and Peppers Meatballs

This week's meatballs were chosen because I had some Italian sausage in the freezer.

1 lb sweet (or hot) Italian sausage
2 lb ground pork
1 egg
2/3 cup almond flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 minced garlic cloves
2 Tbs chopped parsley

Mix together the ingredients. Roll into balls. Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes.

Tomato sauce:
1 thinly sliced onion
2 cups sliced peppers
3 minced garlic
28 oz crushed tomatoes

Toss the onions and pepper slices in the meatball pan after the meatballs are out or just saute them in a skillet. Add the garlic and tomatoes once the onions and peppers are lightly charred. Bake for 30 minutes.

Usually these meatball recipes are good to eat sauce-less. This one definitely needs some tweaks to make it a sauce-less meatball. I could probably add some minced onion and peppers along with a bit of tomato paste to the meatballs for a sauce-less meatball. I'd toss some parmesan cheese in too.

Chili Dog Soup

Husband seemed pretty interested in the recipe so it's our "soup" for the week. I didn't have enough room in my InstaPot to triple the broth amount. The soup turned out more like a chili.

4lbs ground beef

3 minced garlic cloves
1 chopped onion
1 cup salsa
4 cups broth
1-2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbs smoked paprika powder
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbs ground mustard powder
16 good quality hot dogs, sliced
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbs red wine vinegar

Stir together all the ingredients and cook for an hour or so. You're just waiting for the ground meat to finish cooking. You're supposed to top the soup like you would a chili dog.

I was supposed to wait to add the ketchup, mustard. and red wine vinegar but I didn't notice that until later. Oh well.

Bacon Gouda Cauliflower

4lbs chopped and cooked cauliflower
3 Tbsp half and half (milk would probably work fine too)
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 minced garlic cloves
4 slices of cooked, and chopped bacon
1 cup shredded Smoked Gouda cheese

Once the cauliflower and bacon are cooked, this dish is very quick. Toss everything in a food processor and puree it. I did it in two batches but it probably would have worked in one batch. Once it's pureed taste it for salt and pepper. Makes 8 cups of cauliflower deliciousness. 

Pulled Pork

We've been eating chicken thighs but are changing it up for pulled pork this week. Little did I realize that I was going to have to make homemade ketchup for this recipe. Sigh.

7.5lb boneless pork shoulder (aka. Boston Butt)
1 chopped onion
6 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp mustard powder
1 cup water

Mix the spices up and toss all of it into a giant slow cooker. Slow cook on high for 8 hours.

I tossed mine in around 1 pm on high and checked it around 7pm. I flipped it then pressured it for 5 minutes to make sure it got cooked since it's pork. I let it  slow cook on low until morning since I didn't want to deal with it at 8pm.

When it's done, you set aside the pork. Strain the broth add the following seasonings then set it to boil for a bit. Maybe 10 minutes. I got pretty distracted throughout the whole process. I'm really not sure how long it simmered.

For the sauce:
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
1 tsp chipolte powder
1 Tbs smoked paprika
3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
3 Tbs ketchup

1 Tbs sweetener

When the pork is done, set it aside. Strain the broth add the seasonings. Set it to boil for a bit. Maybe 10 minutes. I got pretty distracted throughout the whole process. I'm really not sure how long it bubbled along. Stir the sauce into the "pulled" pork. It's better the second day. The flavors have time to mellow.

Finally the ketchup! The linked recipe calls for dried onions which I don't have.

1/2 c white vinegar
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 inch piece cinnamon stick, broken

14oz can tomato sauce

6oz tomato paste

Boil the vinegar with the spices in it. Strain the vinegar. Stir in the tomatoes. Simmer the ketchup until the tomatoes don't taste "raw." Five minutes, maybe?

Thankfully, that's it for the multi-recipe pulled pork.