Pineapple “Crust” Hawaiian Pizza (Grain-Free)

As I have previously mentioned, I have an aversive reaction to the enzymes in fresh pineapple. Namely, I experience a stinging sensation in my mouth and my lips puff up. Not pretty.

But when cooked, I don’t have the reaction (unless if I chow down an indecent amount of pineapple).

And so, when working with pineapple, I usually use the outer sides of the pineapple (less enzymes are concentrated here) or cook it.

To kick off the unofficial start of summer, I’m posting a Hawaiian Pizza recipe. But instead of topping it with pineapple, I’m using the (cooked) pineapple as the crust!

Pineapple “Crust” Hawaiian Pizza (Grain-Free)

Ingredients:

Pineapple slices (sliced thinly)

Marinara/pizza sauce

Bell pepper (any color), chopped

Precooked ham, chopped

Mozzarella cheese

Cilantro

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place pineapple slices on a baking pan and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Take out, spread on a thin layer of sauce, followed by bell pepper, ham, mozzarella, and cilantro. Put back in the oven for 10 more minutes. Let cool for at least another 10 minutes before eating.

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Cauliflower Hawaiian Balls (Paleo)

This week has been ridiculously cold. To the point where I have been rather unproductive; my survival instincts have taken over and I rather curl up in a ball under the covers than do homework. Unfortunately, my professors didn’t get the memo 😦

The only comfort I got was the space heater in my basement. My brother and I would come home from school, crank the heater on high and sit in front of it until our skin literally turned red. That is, until this week when it no longer turned on. Apparently my dad did get the memo (the bill) that we were using it and he shut off the heater 😦 😦

And so, to mentally escape the cold, I am posting a rather tropical recipe today. Hey, if I can’t live in Hawaii right now, I can pretend with food, right?

(The answer to that is a resounding “yes”).    

Cauliflower Hawaiian Balls (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 egg

1 cup pineapple, divided

2 tbsp cilantro

1/2 tbsp garlic powder 

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup bell pepper (any color), chopped into small pieces

2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/3 cup precooked ham, chopped into small bits

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and oil a baking sheet.

In a food processor, process cauliflower until it resembles rice. Add in egg, a 1/2 cup of the pineapple, cilantro, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt and process until evenly mixed.

Transfer cauliflower mixture to a bowl and mix in bell pepper, the rest of the pineapple, shredded coconut, and ham.

Roll into small balls (I get anywhere from 35-40 balls) and place on baking pan.

Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from tray (NOTE: Use a spatula for removal- it gets until the Hawaiian balls and lifts them with leaving anything behind).

Spicy Ham Yogurt Dip

Just something quick and simple today. Kinda like the calm before the storm of all the Thanksgiving and holiday cooking coming up.

Along with veggies, I also dip pieces of grilled chicken in this. So good. Enjoy!

Spicy Ham Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

1 cup plain organic whole milk yogurt

1/4 cup finely diced precooked organic ham (cooked bacon sounds good too 😉 )

1 tbsp hot sauce (more or less depending on heat preference)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper, to taste

Optional garnish: chives

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients together. For a garnish, top with a few more pieces of ham and a sprinkle of chives, pepper, and paprika. Store in fridge until ready to serve.

 

Lentil and Ham Salad

Overdid it on the sugar this Halloween?

Surprisingly, I didn’t eat any sweets. My birthday, however, was a different story (waaay too many birthday cakes). And so…

time for a detox salad!

Simple, yet tasty and filling 🙂

Lentil and Ham Salad

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

pepper

1 and 1/2 cups precooked ham, cubed

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1 cup brown lentils

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1 head romaine lettuce, shredded with kitchen shears

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

3 cups of broccoli, chopped into florets (before steaming)

1/4 cup fresh red rubin basil, shredded (regular basil works too)

1/2 onion, finely chopped

Directions: 

In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, oil, garlic, and pepper. Place ham in a container and drizzle soy sauce mixture over it. Place in fridge and let sit for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, pick over and rinse lentils. Cook lentils according to box instructions. Set aside and let cool.

In a serving bowl, combine lettuce, spinach, steamed broccoli, basil, and onions. Add in lentils. Top with ham and soy sauce mixture. Toss altogether before serving.

Oven-Roasted Shush Kabobs

Well folks, I can no longer pretend it’s summer. Last Wednesday was 94 degrees. As I’m writing this, it’s now 53 degrees.

Farewell heat.

To be honest, I’m not too upset summer has ended. Autumn is my favorite season after all.

Of course, I may be singing a different tune once I get more into this semester.

Just because I had to say goodbye to summer, however, does not mean I have to say goodbye to summer food. Which brings me to shush kabobs. Oven roasted shush kabobs to be exact. Now you can have a bit of summer in the dead of winter (or any season!).

I didn’t actually design this recipe with cold weather in mind. Really, I was just trying to find a way of making shush kabobs without using a grill. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to so much breathe near the grill at my house. I think it must be a man thing. Kinda like how men cannot ask for directions. Men cannot let women grill (no offense to anyone out there!). So, I went to my mom’s house to use hers. Except… well, maybe men do grill with good reason (again, no offense!). Main point being, I had to find a way to make these sans grill.

Oh, and another thing, no need to break out the skewers with these. Wooden chopsticks work perfectly! Since we have so many lying around, I figured it was about time I did something with them 🙂

NOTE: the first time I made these, I placed the ham in the oven with the rest of the shush kabob (which is why the ham in the picture is integrated in my fruit/veggie pattern.) Do NOT do this! The ham quickly gets all mushy and slimy. I made this again in the way it states in the directions and problem solved! Just don’t cook the ham. Since I used precooked ham, I don’t know how any uncooked ham or other meats will work with this.

Oven-Roasted Shush Kabobs

Ingredients:

1 pineapple, reserving 3 tbsp of pineapple juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup precooked organic ham, cubed

3 bell peppers (1 green, 1 yellow, 1 red), sliced into desired shush kabob size

1 onion, peeled into desired shush kabob size

Directions:

Cut pineapple in half and cube into pieces. Reserve 3 tbsp of pineapple juice and store cubed pineapple in fridge. Combine soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, oil, garlic, and reserved pineapple juice in a bowl. Add in ham. Place in fridge and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. With each chop stick, pierce onion, peppers, and pineapple into desired pattern. Place onto pans. Once ham has done marinating, remove ham and drizzle/rub about 3/4 of marinade over shush kabobs. Place in oven for 10-12 minutes.

Once out and cooled slightly, add on ham to each end of shush kabobs. Drizzle remaining marinade over shush kabobs before serving.