The Cook & The Coach Blog

Bacon Apple Butter

4/30/2018

One of the big things that separates a good meal from a great meal is a sauce! If you like to eat out at nice restaurants like we do, that is something that they all have in common, a fantastic sauce pairing that goes along with the main course.

It can provide a balance of flavors, it can tie a dish together, and it can provide a needed level of moisture/fat with a leaner cut of meat. After years of watching cooking shows and a little experimentation myself I've learned some basics in sauce making and how to combine flavors. If you are novice learning some basic skills in this world will certainly help.

Here is a link to an article talking about the 5 French Mother Sauces. Might sound a little fancy but most sauces that exist in the world are a spinoff of these base sauces. From this you can play with flavors that pair with your main dish. Another thing I would recommend is a book that I pull out on occasion, The Flavor Bible.

This book is fantastic in that it allows you to look up a food, say pork, then it gives you a list of other foods, veggies, and spices that pair well with it. So combine that with the basics of how to make a sauce and you are pretty much set!

The cool thing about The Flavor Bible is that it highlights the ingredients that work best. For this Bacon Apple Butter, I knew we were making pork so take a look at pairings above...

Apples; in ALL CAPS means it is great
Bacon; highligthed
Butter; also highlighted
Cinnamon; also highlighted
Lemon; ALL CAPS
Onions; can't see it here but ALL CAPS

You could call me a good cook/chef but I'm just a rule follower! Pick things that pair well together and it is a lot harder to screw up flavors.

Ingredients

4 strips thick cut bacon, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 apple, skinned and diced
1 cup applesauce
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper

Directions

Add the bacon to a medium saucepan, and render out the fat.
Remove bacon bits and most of the bacon grease, leaving behind about 1 tbsp.
Add onion and apple and cook for 6-8 minutes until onion is softened. Add the remaining ingredients, including 1/2 the bacon bits, cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes or up to 45 minutes.
Use the remaining bacon bits as a garnish on top of your finished dish.

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Creamy Butternut Squash Soup with Sausage with Maple Crema

11/8/2017

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Simple. Delicious. Sweet. Spicy. Hearty.

If you've made soup before you've probably tried version of this soup. I see it on menus all the time especially this time of year. I've made it a handful of times and this version is by far my favorite. Call me a sucker for some good sausage. Or maybe just the simplicity and letting the fresh veggies and quality stock.

This recipe only has a few ingredients but it is built on a solid chicken stock. We have our recipe over here on how you can make your own. I think some of the keys to a good stock is getting a good pressure cooker, because who has time to cook stock for 48 hours. Also chicken feet! Yup I said it, chicken feet. The collagen from all the connective tissue in chicken feet add a richness that nearly impossible to get any other way. Just try and thank me later. You can find chicken feet at most groceries. I've seen them at every Asian market that I've ever been to also.

To make this soup even better and because we like pretty pictures, we added a maple crema. Sound fancy but it basically is just a dairy product mixed with something else that is liquid. Calling it that is just my inner chef coming out. Or maybe it is from watching too many episodes of Top Chef! Either way it is delicious and makes this dish well rounded. Sweet from the apple and maple, slightly smokey from the sausage, and a hint of spice from the cayenne. So good!

We would love to hear from you if and when you try this and what you think.

Ingredients

Soup Ingredients

1/2 pound pork sausage
1 small onion, diced
Medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 apples, seeded and chopped
6 cups of chicken broth or enough to cover soup ingredients
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Maple Crema Ingredients

3 tbsp greek yogurt
1 tbsp almond milk
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

In a large dutch oven add your sausage and cook over medium heat. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through and a lot of the fat has rendered out.
Remove the sausage from pot, add the onion and cook until transucent, roughly 6-8 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients other than the cayenne pepper to the pot and bring to boil. Once it is boiling reduce heat to medium and simmer for 25 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, mix the Maple Crema ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend to remove all chunks from the soup. Make sure you remove the top plastic piece of your blender when you are blending hot items to ensure you don't have an explosion of soup. Our Vitamix is naturally vented.
If you are eating right away go ahead and pour directly into bowls. If not go ahead and return to the pot and simmer as long as needed, stirring occasionally.
Add 1/4 cup of sausage to each bowl then drizzle with Maple Crema and if you like a little spice add a dash of cayenne pepper.

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Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes

11/1/2017

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It wouldn't be fall if we didn't throw a pumpkin recipe at you. Since we love pancakes here you go! We've been making a variation of these pancakes for the longest time. However the texture on those other ones just wasn't quite where I would like it when it comes to a pancake. So just a couple little tweaks and we have this new one which I think will be our go to pancake recipe for a quite some time.

If you are wondering what the hell the broccoli is doing in the picture, I thought this was a pancake recipe, you aren't the first one to think that is a weird combo. This combo is a great a solution for a number of people that we work with on a regular basis. Two staples that people usually fall short of on a daily basis is protein and veggies. Why not start your day with a healthy dose of both?

Why are protein and veggies important? Particularly for people trying to lose weight these two things will likely be your biggest help in seeing measurable progress in a short period of time. By getting adequate protein, 20-40 grams, per meal you will fill yourself with bulk but with lower calories. Same goes for the veggies, due the high fiber in veggies you are adding bulk without adding calories. It's because of this that you are able to eat to the point of being full all while staying in a calorie deficit.

If you are curious how much protein and fiber you should specifically be eating head over to our Calorie Calculator page and submit some information and I will get you a customized plan to let you how much of each you should be eating. This will be based on your size, activity level, and your goals.

Otherwise enjoy the heck out of these pancakes, we sure did!

Macronutrient Information

Calories: 95
Protein: 10.9 g
Fat: 4.4 g
Carbs: 3.5 g
Sugars: 0.9 g
Fiber: 1.6 g

Ingredients

1/2 can of pumpkin pie filling, roughly 3/4 of a cup plus a little bit
3 eggs
3/4 cup of unflavored whey isolate protein powder
1 tsp vanilla extract (omit if using a vanilla protein powder)
3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash of ground clove
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt

Directions

Add the wet ingredients, pumpkin, eggs, almond milk, vanilla to a bowl or blender and mix to combine. We like to use our Vitamix to mix these in.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. I've found different flax and almond meals tend to absorb liquid at different rates. You may need to a little more water or almond milk to an appropriate consistency. What you are looking for is something that easily pours and spreads out on a griddle.
Heat a griddle to medium heat or 300 degrees if you have an electric one like us. Spray with a nonstick spary, we use a coconut oil variety.
Pour batter onto griddle making about 4" pancakes. With this recipe you should get about 10 pancakes out of 1 batch.
Enjoy!

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Ham, Lentil and Pea Soup

11/15/2016

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Cooler temps equal soup season! Although we are staying in warmer climates this winter we have still seen temps dip into the 40's at night and not get much past 60 during the day. I know, I know it could be so much worse. This year I guess it is all about perspective and it is cold to us!
We are also in a season of trying to save some money and our food budget is one area where we can save some money. Soups are a great way to stretch your dollar, get loads of nutrition, all without starving yourself.

Just in case you aren't convinced on soups yet, they are also super easy to make. This one could easily be a crockpot meal where you just throw everything in and forget about it. Also when we make soup, we always have leftovers, which means even easier, healthy meals for days.

Ingredients

3/4 pound ham, cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 large carrots, peeled and diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup dry lentils
1 cup dry split peas
1 tbsp dry thyme
2 bay leaves
8 cups water or chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

You can cook this a number of ways. We used our pressure cooker but you could use a large pot on the stove top or a slow cooker. If you are using a slow cooker, just throw everything in for 8 hours on low and you should be good.
If you are using a pressure cooker or stove top start by adding your olive oil and sautee the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic for 6-8 minutes until everything begins to soften.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook as directed. Your lentils will likely be the thing that takes the longest, roughly 30 minutes on the stove top or 18 minutes in a pressure cooker.
Serve and enjoy!

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

10/10/2016

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I don't know why I don't always have a batch of this soup in our fridge. So good!!! Five years ago I would have laughed at you if you would tell me that soup can be an entire meal. I guess I was used to terrible canned soups or the tiny cup of soup that you get at restaurants. Oh how the times of changed.

Now my view of soup is basically it is liquid salad! Seriously though if you make a good soup it should resemble a salad. So if you don't like to eat salad, I suggest you try soup instead. This version of chicken tortilla soup is loaded up with veggies, quality protein, and of course some amazing chicken stock.

When I make soup I love to make a huge batch because it tastes better the next day! Feel free to scale this recipe up or down but it makes about 6 large bowls of soup. Also as a little bonus here is a how I like to make my chicken stock at home which is super simple.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ingredients

5-6 pound whole chicken
1/2 pound chicken feet (optional but not really but this is where you get all that amazing gelatenous goodness!)
2 large carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
2 tsp dry thyme
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Water

Directions

We use our pressure cooker if you don't have one you could do this in a stock pot or even in a slow cooker. It will just take longer.
Put your chicken and all your vegetables in your cooking vessel along with 2 cups of water. If you using a pressure cooker you will need to cook for approximately 45-60 minutes depending on how big your chicken is. Similar on a stove top and multiple hours in a slow cooker.
After the chicken is cooked, remove it from your pot. You can let it cool or if you are tough feel free to dig right in and start removing the meat from all the bones. Add the bones back into the pot that still has the vegetables in it.
Set your meat aside for later and discard the skin and gristle.
Add the remaining seasonings and ingredients and fill up your pot with water. We have a 6 quart stockpot and this amount of vegetables and spices works well with that amount of liquid.
Pressure cook for 2-3 hours depending on how much time you have. If you are using a stovetop or slow cooker you are looking at more like 24-48 hours.
After cooking, strain it so you are just left with the liquid, store in the fridge for up to a week.

Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb of shredded cooked chicken meat
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
0-3 jalepenos, seeds removed
2 tbsp of minced garlic
4 cups of pureed tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes/Toppings

Green Onion
Cilantro
Corn Tortilla Chips
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
Hot sauce

Directions

In a large pot add the oil, then add the onion, peppers and garlic and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes or until softened.
Add tomatoes and stock to the pot along with spices and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a low, add the chicken and simmer for minimum of 15 minutes or up to an hour.
Your done, add with some of your favorite toppings and enjoy!

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#Hashtags#, We Love Them

3/12/2015

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If you've followed us for a little bit you've seen us use some fun hashtags to connect some of our posts. I wish I could say that we did it for you guys but the truth is, doing #weirdvegwednesday or #weirdpushwednesday kept us accountable to go out and try some new veggies and it made us think of new ways to do push ups. If it helps you great. So often we can get stuck doing the same things over and over and our decisions become mindless. I think a lot of people that eat unhealthy foods don't do it necessarily because they enjoy those foods incredibly, but because it is a habit and it is easy.

So with that we have a new hashtag and we hope it will help bring some creativity to your meals.

#MakeANewMealMonday

Why Monday??? Well because we like alliterations when it comes to our hashtags, that's it. For the next 52 weeks my goal is to come up with a new, fun, healthy recipe that we will try out and we will share with you. We would love it if you used the same hashtag to tag your posts. You don't have to type up full recipes unless you want to, but use the hashtag as motivation to try some new meal ideas. It will also be a great resource for everyone to use to go find inspiration to try some new things.

We will post these recipes on our Facebook Page, The Cook & The Coach on Mondays so feel free to follow us over there. If you want to make sure you get all of these recipes delivered to your inbox just plug your email address into the section below and we will email you once a week with our recipe from that week along with any other blog posts we put out.

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Chicken Roulade with Maple, Brown Butter and Apple Sauce

10/25/2013

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Just in case you pick up on the different writing style I will just be up front…this is Laura’s husband, Dan. I thought about trying to trick you all and write this as if I’m Laura but I’m not good at being that cute and bubbly. Love you Laura!

Last night we tried making a Roulade, which is just a piece of meat flattened out, stuffed with something and then rolled up. Pretty simple, right? So often people call us out for eating fancy food. I appreciate the compliments that come along with making "fancy" food but let me tell you now, I don’t have any formal training, I just like to experiment and have a general knowledge of what flavors tend to go together. A book that I refer to quite often is "The Flavor Bible", it has great info on how certain ingredients go together.

ingredients

Chicken Roulade
Two Chicken Breasts – bigger the better
Two strips of bacon
Two big handfuls of spinach
1/3 – 1/2 cup parmesan cheese or pick your favorite (I wanted to use blue cheese but my brother was coming over and he is a picky eater)
Salt and Pepper

Sauce
3 Tbsp of Kerrygold butter or regular butter
1 apple diced
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup – could use more if you like it sweeter
2 tsp Worcestershire
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup water

directions

1) Pound out the chicken breast as thing as you can without tearing it. I was able to get mine about 1/2″ thick with my rolling pin. I usually cover the breast with a piece of plastic wrap before pounding. Keeps it a little less messy.
2) Dice bacon and cook over medium heat until cooked through. Remove from pan along with a majority of the grease.
3) Using the same pan I add tiny bit of olive oil to the bacon grease then sautee the spinach in the same pan. Season with a little salt. Stir quickly as this will cook fast. Remove and set aside.
4) Assembling the Roulade, lay out the chicken breast skin side down. Spread out half of the spinach, bacon, and parmesan cheese on each of the chicken breasts. Starting from the smaller side of the breast, begin to roll the chicken up trying to keep it as tight as possible and trying the keep as much of the good stuff inside.
5) Using cooking string, wrap the hunk of chicken securing it so that it won’t come undone as it cooks. No easy way to do this and you will get messy but just make sure you wrap it up tight. Looks don’t matter as you can see by my picture.
6) Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, I checked once at 30 minutes using a meat thermometer and it needed a little more time.
7) While the chicken is baking, begin to make the sauce. To start add the butter to a small saucepan and let it simmer over medium heat for roughly 10 minutes until the butter turns brown and give off a nutty aroma.
8) Add the remaining ingredients, apples, Worcestershire sauce, water and cinnamon. Simmer over medium low heat until sauce is reduced by half.
9) Once chicken is cooked through remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting. I usually remove the chicken when it is between 165-170 degrees as it will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven.
10) After letting it sit for 5 minutes slice the chicken into ¼” pieces and cover with the sauce.
11) Our side dish with this meal was roasted brussel sprouts, we just trim off the bottom of the brussel sprout then cut in half, toss with olive oil and salt and bake for 25-30 minutes to get a nice carmelization.

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Bacon Apple Butter

Ingredients

Directions

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup with Sausage with Maple Crema

Ingredients

Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes

Macronutrient Information

Ingredients

Directions

Ham, Lentil and Pea Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ingredients

Directions

Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Ingredients

Directions

#Hashtags#, We Love Them

#MakeANewMealMonday

Chicken Roulade with Maple, Brown Butter and Apple Sauce

ingredients

directions

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