Recipe: Steamed Korean Sweet Squash Stuffed w/ Smoked Duck Breast

You may have read in a previous post that I love duck. My husband loves duck. Our children love duck. It’s like the bacon of poultry. Only better. This recipe is inspired by a dish we tried out at an amazing duck shabu-shabu restaurant here in Seoul–we couldn’t eat enough of it. We don’t often eat Korean sweet squash, or kabocha, because, well, it’s a bit too sweet for our tastes, but as the oh-so-delicious and savory duck fat soaks into the squash, it cuts some of the sweetness and turns it into perfection! Yes, I know I’m being dramatic, but really… It’s that good!

This dish would be appropriate as an appetizer or as a dish served at a cocktail party. Korean sweet squash is relatively small, so (sadly) you can only stuff a limited amount of duck breast into the squash.

Also, smoked duck is very easily found in most grocery stores and marts in Korea, so this recipe is simple to prepare if you live in Korea. However, acquiring smoked duck breast is more challenging in the States. You would either need a smoker to prepare your own duck, or smoked duck can be purchased from online retailers like Nueske’s or D’Artagnan.

Steamed Korean Sweet Squash Stuffed with Smoked Duck

Paleo / Whole30

approx. 1/4 lb of smoked duck breast, sliced
one small onion, sliced
3-4 green onions, diced
one Korean sweet squash

1. Combine the duck breast, onion and green onions in a mixing bowl and set aside.

2. With a sharp knife, very carefully cut into the top of the squash to create a removable lid. Removing the top can be a bit challenging since the seeds and fibers in the center of the squash hold onto the “lid.” This takes a bit of strength–I usually call my husband in to give me a hand!

3. Scoop out all the seeds and fibers from the center of the squash with a spoon.

4. Turn the squash over and cut 3-4 slits into the bottom of the squash to allow liquid to drain out as it cooks.

5. Stuff the squash with the duck/onion mixture.

6. Replace the lid and steam for 45 minutes or until squash is tender.

7. Very carefully remove the squash from the steamer–it will be VERY HOT! Place on a plate or serving dish and slice into 12 pieces.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Recipe: The Sausage and Spinach Anti-Omelette

I love everything about omelets, unless I have to cook them myself for my hungry horde/family. By the time I finish making the last omelette (mine), my kids have either finished scarfing their breakfast down or they’re close to tears and blame me for making them stare at their delicious omelets without being allowed to eat them. It’s pretty much a lose-lose situation for me. So when I my husband requested a more hearty breakfast during his Whole30, I wanted an easy way to pack some vegetables into our weekend breakfast without slaving away in the kitchen making 5 separate omelets.

It’s not just a throw everything in a baking dish and throw it in the oven recipe, but it’s a whole lot easier than making individual omelets. And if you love runny yolk (mmmm…), then this is a great way to eat eggs and sausage while packing in some delicious and nutritious greens and veggies. This recipe makes 6 servings.

The Sausage and Spinach Anti-Omelette

(Paleo/Whole30)

12 eggs
1 lb homemade breakfast sausage (I set aside 1/3 of this recipe when I make it for just this reason)
1 small onion (diced)
1 bell pepper (diced) *I used a yellow bell pepper just because that’s what I had on hand, but a red pepper would look lovely–I like pretty food!
1 lb bag of spinach (not baby spinach)
6 medium/large mushrooms (sliced)

1. In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium high heat until cooked through. Stir often. You do not need to add oil.

2. Once sausage is cooked, add onions and combine. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add bell peppers. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, then add spinach gradually while combining the ingredients. Once all of the spinach has cooked down, remove from heat and set aside.

3. Fry eggs in your choice of oil. We love duck fat in this house! And we also love runny yolk. I tend to cook 6 eggs at a time in a large skillet rather than cooking 2 at a time, but that’s just a matter of preference. If I had the time, I would definitely cook each serving separately, but my kids down really care what their eggs look like–just as long as they can eat them!

4. Serve sausage and spinach mix on top of the fried eggs. My kids love their eggs, sausage and spinach served on top of toasted English muffins.

Recipe: Baked Curry Chicken

UPDATE (4/1/2014): I made this tonight with bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh because I forgot to specify and that’s what my husband brought home from the store. It was A-MAZ-ING! The skin was crispy and flavorful–his “mistake” was sooooo worth it!

Whipped this up for dinner last night, and it came out perfectly! Juicy and flavorful. It was easy to make, my children loved it, and we had enough leftover to eat with salad this afternoon for lunch.

It’s Paleo and Whole30 compliant, so get cooking!

Baked Curry Chicken

In normal circumstances, this recipe would probably feed 8 people. However, my hungry horde eats a lot. And we love leftovers.

2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thigh
2 tsp curry
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground white pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Rinse chicken and pat dry.

3. Mix all of the dry ingredients.

4. Place chicken in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle dry ingredients on and combine thoroughly, making sure that each piece of chicken in thoroughly coated.

5. Boneless, skinless chicken thigh pieces typically come in large, flat pieces. Either fold the pieces in half or roll them so that you’re not placing them in the baking dish flat. Arrange in a baking dish so that the chicken pieces are not touching each other.

6. Bake for 30 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through). I served this with a cauliflower mash (that my 5 year old boys thought was mashed potatoes–woohoo!) and fresh tomatoes and avocado slices. Yum!

Recipe: Orange and Ginger Glazed Cornish Game Hens

It’s sweet and tangy and goes perfectly with Asian stir-fry veggies and rice. However, we did steamed veggies since my kids like their vegetables with absolutely nothing on them. Weirdos.

4 Cornish Game Hens
Orange juice and zest from one orange (or as my kitchen would have it: two really old, dried-up oranges)
2 TBL sesame oil
4 TBL soy sauce
4 TBL rice wine vinegar (regular white vinegar is fine as well–just add some sugar to taste after combining all the ingredients)
4 TBL honey
1 TBL minced ginger
1 TBL minced garlic
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients (minus the Cornish game hens, obviously) in a bowl. Taste the sauce to see if it suits your taste buds. If it’s too salty, add a bit more honey or sugar. If it’s too sweet, add a bit more soy sauce. Coat the hens with the sauce and let it sit for 30 minutes on the rack of the roasting pan. Coat once more.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cover the roasting pan with foil and place in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove, baste, then return to oven uncovered for another 20 minutes. Hens are fully cooked when juices run clear when pierced between breast and legs or an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh reads 165 degrees. If necessary, cook in 7-10 minute increments until the hens are fully cooked. Transfer hens to a cutting board and let them rest for 10 minutes. Serve with rice and vegetables.

It’s delicious. Plus, it makes your whole house smell like oranges. 🙂

Because I Love Good Food

It’s not just me though. My whole family loves to eat.

At the beginning of 2014, my husband and I committed to making healthier food choices. It wasn’t really a New Year’s Resolution, but an overall we-need-to-pay-more-attention-to-what-we-eat. As a family, we don’t eat a lot of processed foods, and aside from our weekly dinner out, we don’t eat out much. However, as a busy mom of 3 small children, I often fall into the quick, microwave meal and grab a few kid’s meal in the drive-through on our way home trap. None of us really enjoy pre-packaged/fast food, and I usually have to beg my kids to eat their BK cheeseburgers… But when the day’s getting the best of me, at least I fed them something, right??? 😉

One of my friends suggested I start meal-planning as a way to help take the pressure off and avoid those quick meals. The first couple weeks, it was a real chore. I would spend my entire Friday night searching for healthy dinner options, googling recipes, making grocery lists… But it got easier. Way easier! Barely 2 months in, and it takes about 15-20 minutes to plan the menu and prep the grocery list for the week, and it definitely alleviates the stress of trying to figure out what to cook for dinner every night.

I also experimented with Paleo recipes and found that my family really enjoyed them. However, we eat a lot of rice–sticky, white rice–and although we’ve definitely reduced the amount of rice we eat, I can’t get rid of it. It’s honestly been the center of my diet for 34 years, and I love it. It loves me. We love each other. We will remain friends. Despite still eating delicious white rice (on occasion), and never feeling deprived, in the first two weeks, I LOST 2 LBS! Weight loss certainly wasn’t my goal when we started this, but it’s definitely an added bonus. I gained 8 lbs in the few months following my farewell to breastfeeding, and less than 2 months into our clean eating, I’ve lost 5 of those pounds. I should add that I took a 2 week hiatus from our healthy meal planning because my husband was out of town for work, and my boys celebrated their 5th birthday, and well… There was a lot of scrumptious cake to be eaten. 😉

So anyway, all this leads me to a fun addition to the website–FOOD. Before kids, I loved to cook. I loved experimenting with new recipes and whipping up new stuff. I spent hours prepping and cooking delicious dinners for my husband. We had friends over to eat on a regular basis. Planning dinner parties was honestly one of my favorite pastimes. But those of you with children understand… Once kids come along, you eat what you can, when you can! However, this whole meal planning thing has helped reunite me with food. Good, home-cooked, non-processed food. Which means I have recipes to share! Delicious, healthy recipes that the whole family will love.

Here’s a preview of recipes to come:

Delicious Pad Thai Recipe

Orange and Ginger Glazed Cornish Game Hen Recipe

Easy Tilapia Recipe