The Girl in the Red Apron

[girlintheredapron]

Mashed cauliflower made from scratch and meatloaf

If you use Chef Shamy’s garlic butter the mashed cauliflower tastes amazing. Still had some lumps despite using a hand blender instead of the food processor but this time around the flavor is better

Hopefully I can keep my numbers under control this time since this morning was high (I didn’t realize the London fog concentrate had 22g of carbs per 8 oz. Luckily I used fairlife milk so half the carbs. Still, blood doesn’t lie)

[girlintheredapron]

Chicken smash tacos seasoned buffalo style. I don’t have any hot sauce but I do have ranch and cheddar cheese

On a keto tortilla

9.5/10

[girlintheredapron]

Not so fun fact. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes about 4 weeks ago and will have to go on insulin starting next Tuesday

Which naturally mean I’m going to make this part of my personality including on this blog since this is a food blog.

These are keto coconut flour pancakes and I just checked my blood and can confirm this is a diabetic friendly recipe.

I got it from Detoxinista: [link]

¼ cup coconut flour (use a level measurement)

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup (or sugar-free syrup for keto)

1 teaspoon baking powder (see note)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt

In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, eggs, oil, maple syrup, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Use a whisk to stir it all together, breaking up any clumps. (If you use coconut oil as a swap, the batter will be much thicker and harder to work with.)

In a greased skillet over medium-low heat, add 2 tablespoons of the pancake batter and allow it to cook until bubbles start to form in the middle of the pancake, about 4 minutes. Flip the pancake and let it cook on the other side, about 4 more minutes, or until both sides are golden. Don't be tempted to increase the heat to speed up the cooking time, or the outsides of the pancake might burn before the inside is cooked through and fluffy.

Repeat with the remaining batter, making roughly 5 small pancakes (about 4 to 5 inches in diameter). Serve warm with your favorite toppings. Leftover pancakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

[girlintheredapron]

Made shrimp chow mein for dinner tonight because I had all the ingredients and needed to cook up something’s before they went bad

But I made one big change for my health. I was diagnosed last week with gestational diabetes so I have to meal plan for three meals and three snacks to keep my sugars down low. That’s a big challenge for me because I’d bought things before I got the diagnosis.

Like the chow mein noodles. So what i did instead was, in the stir fry sauce I used monkfruit sweetener instead of regular sugar

Did my sugar spike? Yes. Because of the noodles and the oyster sauce. But it didn’t spike as hard as it could have if I’d used regular sugar instead.

[girlintheredapron]

Bistec Encebollado. Puerto Rican Steak and Onions

Recipe from Analida’s Ethnic Spoon

[girlintheredapron]

My first attempt at gumbo

I forgot it takes TIME to make gumbo. The roux alone is a minimum 45 minutes and when it’s simmering that’s another hour minimum

But it turned out okay, the first time I had gumbo I ended up developing allergies that same day (sprained my neck even) so I can’t recall how that one tasted

Husband liked it and I’m taking some for tomorrow

[girlintheredapron]

Made chicken fried rice for dinner last night. It wasn’t bad, I just didn’t pay attention during the egg scramble step so I slightly burned them. Otherwise it’s really good

I did in fact make a pot of white rice on Sunday to be able to make this on Monday. Next time I’ll try to with shrimp

[girlintheredapron]

Might have found a new comfort meal??? Shrimp lo mein

[girlintheredapron]

Join me for dinner

Teriyaki chicken and garlic green beans

[girlintheredapron]

Your taco man needs to step it up

At a cousins kid’s birthday party. They are making the tacos from scratch real time

[uboat53]

If you want to know why there's a generational disconnect when you talk about pay, here you go. In 1982, the average starting salary for a college graduate was reported to be $22,449/year. [1]

In 2023, the median salary (not even just starting) for a college graduate aged 25-34 was $59,600. [2]

Now that sounds good, right? More than double? Well, let's take a closer look.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator [3], $22,449 in 1982 had the same purchasing power as $71,617.79 in 2023. In other words, that "more than double" in nominal terms is actually almost a 17% DECREASE in real value.

If anyone is wondering what those dang Millennials and GenZ kids are complaining about, this is it.

[1], [2], [3]

[girlintheredapron]

First bite for you

[girlintheredapron]

😩

I failed you guys

I made a crockpot roast with mashed potatoes and didn’t take a pic of it!!

Get your meat. Husband picked out a London broil for us on sale.

Stick it in your crockpot

Add in ONE can of cream of mushroom soup, NO ADDITIONAL WATER. Add in ONE packet of onion soup mix. Both of those go on top.

Root vegetables optional. Carrots and/or potatoes. It doesn’t need more onion. Turnips are a maybe. Nothing that grows above ground for this. Those can be a separate side dish though.

Cover and cook on high four hours or low 6-8 hours. The soup melts and the meat relaxes juices and together with the onion soup mix makes the best gravy.

I used the instant mashed potatoes, don’t come at me. Husband likes them and I figure if the roast was too tough for him he could eat more of the mashed potatoes.

[girlintheredapron]

Join me for dinner: Menu

Hello friends! Tomorrow is the start of a new work week which means I sat down at my table to decide what to eat. And because Husband is getting dental work done tomorrow, I’m planning for me alone.

Monday: leftover ribs with green beans

Tuesday: breaded pork chops perch mashed potatoes

Wednesday: breaded pork chops with mashed potatoes (I bought a pack of four)

Thursday: pork and shrimp soup dumplings

Friday: chicken sandwich

Trying to clear out my freezer a little bit so with the exception of the pork chops I’m using what I got

[girlintheredapron]

Join me for dinner: Thursday

No specific recipes today, it’s the 4th of July and in America where I am it’s our Independence Day. It’s also my husbands birthday!

We got his side of the family over for a quintessential Americana barbecue

Hamburgers

Hot dogs

Ribs

Macaroni salad

Potato salad

Fruit salad/bowl

Birthday cake

Root beer floats

Highlight of the day is the robs I made

The only reason they’re in a crockpot is to keep them warm. I got up at 5:00 this morning to cook them low and slow at 250° F for four and a half hours (the last 90 minutes were uncovered so it could get some color). Tender fall off the bone delicious goodness. Used a dry rub that I put on it the day before last so it marinated about 36 hours

[girlintheredapron]

Join me for dinner: Wednesday

Hey friends! Today was supposed to be Panigacci but I ate a lot during my job’s potluck. So what I’ll do is I’ll post the recipe today and maybe on Friday I’ll try making it and share the pictures then.

Panigacci

2 cups flour (9 oz if you have a scale). I’ll be using “00” flour

3/4 teaspoon salt (use sea salt or kosher if you got it)

2 1/3 cups water

1 potato

Up to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup pesto

1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

Mix the flour, salt, and water until it’s smooth batter. Crepe like according to Nonna. The cut the potato in half, you’re using this as a tool. Place the cut side of one half in the oil. Heat a non stick pan (9” recommended, 8” if you got it) and using the potato, coat the bottom in oil. Using a ladle half filled, pour the batter into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes before flipping. Bubbles are supposed to appear while cooking and when fully cooked it’ll look speckled. Top with the pesto and cheese and then layer it the pasta, pesto and cheese.

Enjoy

If you try this before me, please tag me in the photos! Otherwise I’ll share what I made soon.

[girlintheredapron]

Consistency is important which means even if I don’t do the actual cooking it’s a good idea to keep sharing recipes

Food is life. Also these aren’t recipes you’d see on food network which is why it’s good to share

[girlintheredapron]

Join me for dinner: Wednesday

Hey friends! Today was supposed to be Panigacci but I ate a lot during my job’s potluck. So what I’ll do is I’ll post the recipe today and maybe on Friday I’ll try making it and share the pictures then.

Panigacci

2 cups flour (9 oz if you have a scale). I’ll be using “00” flour

3/4 teaspoon salt (use sea salt or kosher if you got it)

2 1/3 cups water

1 potato

Up to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup pesto

1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

Mix the flour, salt, and water until it’s smooth batter. Crepe like according to Nonna. The cut the potato in half, you’re using this as a tool. Place the cut side of one half in the oil. Heat a non stick pan (9” recommended, 8” if you got it) and using the potato, coat the bottom in oil. Using a ladle half filled, pour the batter into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes before flipping. Bubbles are supposed to appear while cooking and when fully cooked it’ll look speckled. Top with the pesto and cheese and then layer it the pasta, pesto and cheese.

Enjoy

If you try this before me, please tag me in the photos! Otherwise I’ll share what I made soon.