Month: March 2020

Whole30 Fried Pork Chops

Food, GF, Whole30
Fried pork chops, roasted red potatoes, and green beans

Okay y’all, these pork chops DO NOT taste gluten free/grain free/healthyish. I promise you won’t miss traditional flour in this dish. Holy yum! I tested the final batch while my parents were eating dinner with us and my mom, who typically eats little to no meat, ate her whole pork chop! If you know my mom that is a BIG compliment. *Brushes dirt off shoulders*

Seriously though, I modeled these pork chops off of my husband’s legendary fried pork chops. He said last night these were “easily the best fried pork chops I’ve ever had.” Going to pretend for a brief moment my mother-in-law totally isn’t reading this. Shhhh. No one tell her!

Okay, I’ll stop talking these up and get to the nitty gritty. You’ve seriously GOT to try this recipe out ASAP! Pair it with some red potatoes and your favorite green veggie and you’re set! It would seem like the breading would make these so that they aren’t good leftovers…but that assumption is wrong. They reheat very well so those bulk packages of pork chops are your friend here! To keep that perfect crispiness, just reheat in a cast iron skillet.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup arrowroot starch/flour (you’ll see it marked both ways)
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 pounds of pork chops

Procedure:

  1. Prepare a dredging station with two medium prep bowls – I like mine to be near my stove so I can just pop the prepared chop right into the pan.
  2. In the first prep bowl, stir two eggs until even in yellowish color and yolks are completely broken up.
  3. In the second prep bowl, add arrowroot flour, almond flour, salt, and pepper. Mix well until the mixture is even.
  4. If your pork chops are slimy or wet, use a paper towel to try them off – this will help the breading to stick better!
  5. Dip the chops in egg, allowing the excess egg to drip off.
  6. Dip the chops in flour mixture, being sure to coat the pork chop evenly.
  7. Drop that baby right into the skillet and let it sizzle! Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes for thin pork chops or 3-5 minutes for thicker chops. (When in doubt, use a thermometer and be sure it reaches at least 145 degrees fahrenheit.)
  8. Continue cooking until all chops are cooked, letting the completed pork chops land on a plate with a paper towel covering it or a cooling rack.

I truly hope you’ll give this recipe to try. It’s a really good one!! Pork chops are so great for weeknights because they cook up quickly, saving you precious weeknight time. They’re also great for entertaining because it’s an economical cut of meat!

No matter why you decide to try it, just do it! Be sure to share the recipe and let everyone know how you like it. Especially helpful if you share with someone who is Gluten/Grain Free!

As always, share your creations using #biteswithbeth and tagging me @bethannsbites on instagram.

Whole30 Stuffed Peppers

Uncategorized

One of the best things about completing our January Whole30 this year was learning to be creative with healthy food again! These Whole30 stuffed peppers will spice up your meal prep and help you kick boring routine meals to the curb!

John isn’t much of a green pepper fan so I know firsthand that these stuffed peppers meal prep well! They’re one of my favorite foods so I find it easiest to enjoy them as my lunch prep. The cauliflower rice keeps them both Whole30 compliant and light enough that I’m not sleepy all afternoon!

Here’s what you need to do:

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp avocado oil
  • 1 lb lean ground beef (I use 93/7 ratio)
  • 1/3 of a large yellow onion
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 10 oz riced cauliflour
  • 1 6 oz can of tomato paste — be sure there is no sugar added for Whole30 compliance!
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Optional: Siete Foods Cashew Queso

Procedure:

  1. Cut and core the green bell peppers. You can chop the tops off like I have, or you could slice them down the middle so they are halved if you prefer a smaller portion. Set aside in a glass baking dish.
  2. In a large skillet, heat avocado oil.
  3. Add onions and cook until translucent.
  4. Add ground beef and cook until all beef is browned.
  5. Add chili powder and stir until all beef is coated in chili powder.
  6. Stir in tomato paste, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and cauli rice. Allow flavors to combine for 10 minutes or so.
  7. Using a spoon, fill the cored green peppers with the beef and cauli rice mixture.
  8. Bake in a glass baking dish at 375 for 30 minutes.
  9. Top with siete cashew queso

Note: if you’re not completing a Whole30 and have no issues with a little dairy cheese, I highly suggest topping these babies with a little shredded mozzarella. Simply add the mozzarella the last 5-10 minutes the peppers are baking and enjoy that cheesy goodness!

Be sure to make this simple meal prep ASAP! Share it with your friends and tag me or use #biteswithbeth so I can see your re-creation!! I LOVE when my readers share their versions of my recipes. Even better if you share it for all of your friends!

Soy-Free Korean-Not-Bulgogi Chicken

Food, Uncategorized
Korean Style Chicken Stir Fry

This recipe is comin’ atcha…late, like super late on a day that I wasn’t even scheduled to release a post. Life has pulled me in so many directions over the past couple weeks and I’ve gotten a bit behind. It’s a stage of adulthood that feels like a constant juggling act. Not like a GOOD juggling act, though, like the one where it’s just a middle-schooler who’s learning to juggle. They’re embarrassed at the number of balls they can juggle so they keep adding 1-2 more than they can actually successfully keep in the air. So the balls drop and the juggler dodges and dives and before long, all of the balls are on the floor. Shew. Yep, that’s pretty much how life has felt for me the past few weeks.

I mention all of this to say: thank you for coming back after my absence! Thank you for hanging around! (I promise this recipe is worth it!)

Several weeks ago, I set out to make “Chicken Bulgogi” as I’ve had it several times and it’s amazing! Unfortunately, I’m allergic to soy so traditional “Chicken Bulgogi” comes with hefty side effects for my brief enjoyment. So as any good aspiring recipe creator would, I researched and practiced my own bulgogi sauce to create a better-for-you Korean-style Chicken Recipe.

A little background: I sought out to create “Chicken Bulgogi.” My husband, who has been deployed to South Korea a couple times during his Army career, and I were discussing how in Korea near the Army base all types of meat are labeled “Bulgogi.” Everything is labeled “bulgogi” to the extent that he assumed bulgogi was more the method than the dish. Street food, barbecue joints, and random houses that little old grandmas cook in the back and call a restaurant in the front, all have many forms of “bulgogi.” We tried to figure out what the word “bulgogi” meant but didn’t have much luck so I decided I’d ask my coworker who is Korean.

The next day at lunch, I mentioned to him that I was working on a chicken bulgogi recipe and we were curious what bulgogi actually meant. He sort of chuckled and said, “you’re making chicken bulgogi?”

“Yes, well sort of, it’s my own rendition but we were wondering what bulgogi meant.” He chuckled again before explaining that “bul” = beef, so it’s not possible to make chicken bulgogi. Apparently, it’s another example of things being oversimplified for tourists/visiting soldiers!

In any case, this Korean-style Chicken stir-fry dish is wholesome, healthy, and meal preps wonderfully! I will admit, this one is far from a “quick, one-pan” dinner but it is SO worth it. You won’t regret this fresh and tasty Korean Inspired dish!

Korean Inspired Lunch prep

Ingredients:

For the pickled carrots:

  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp avocado oil
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 2 cups shredded carrots

For the chicken:

  • 1/2 cup coconut aminos
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp garlic powder (or 4 fresh cloves, minced)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • pinch of black pepper
  • 4-6 chicken thighs (about 1-1.5 pounds), cut into small bite-sized pieces

For the cilantro-lime drizzle:

  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 1/2 cup avocado oil

For serving:

  • julienned cucumbers
  • cooked rice

Procedure:

  1. Whisk together 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of honey, salt, and 2 tablespoons each of avocado oil and water before pouring the mixture over the shredded carrots in a jar.
  2. Refrigerate for at least an hour. (This step works really well if you do it the night before.) If you enjoy pickled carrots to top other things as well, make a larger batch – they’ll keep for several weeks due to the acidity!
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut aminos, honey, rice vinegar, garlic powder, ginger, and black pepper. Add chicken thighs and marinate for one hour or overnight in the refrigerator. Note: make sure the chicken is well-coated in the sauce. I recommend using a large stasher bag or a shallow dish to allow as much of the chicken to touch the sauce as possible.
  4. Add cilantro, garlic, lime juice and avocado oil to a blender or food processor. Run until well blended into a drizzly sauce.
  5. Wait for your stuff to marinate. The hardest part, to be honest. 😦
  6. Heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a large skillet.
  7. Cook marinated chicken thighs until completely cooked (165 degrees fahrenheit if you’re using a thermometer) about 10 minutes, depending on the size of your pieces!
  8. Assemble your masterpiece: layer rice, chicken, cucumbers, pickled carrots, and cilantro lime drizzle

Not the quickest meal I’ve shared on Bites With Beth but definitely a flavor bomb you’ve got to try!! This is definitely a crowd-pleaser for anyone who likes Asian food. You can make this to impress your friends at dinner, buuut if I’m being honest, you might want to be selfish with your hard work and enjoy it all work-week long as your meal prep!

Either way, you won’t regret giving this recipe a try!