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).

Chicken Pineapple Coconut Stir-Fry (Paleo)

I have a love-hate relationship with pineapple. On the one hand, it’s pineapple: yummy, refreshing, and bursting with juice. Plus, it makes images of tropical islands pop into my head.

On the other hand, I have a bad physical reaction to the enzymes found in fresh pineapple. My mouth begins to burn and my lips puff up 😦 Grrrrr. And the first time I realized I had this reaction?: the night before my first day of school. Lovely, right? 

But does this deter me from my love of fresh pineapple? Certainly not! I bravely (and yes, I’ll give you stupidly) eat on. 

I just stop before my lips blow up 😉 

Fortunately, I’ve come to discover that when cooked, pineapple loses it’s stinging quality to me. Therefore, I decide to throw some in to this recipe:  

Chicken Pineapple Coconut Stir-Fry (Paleo) 

Ingredients:

1/2 head of uncooked cauliflower 

1 lb organic chicken breasts 

1 tbsp unrefined coconut oil

1 onion, chopped  

2 garlic cloves, minced 

1 tsp dried ginger 

1/2 tsp curry powder 

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 cups pineapple chunks 

3 tbsp canned coconut milk (full-fat) 

1 tbsp pineapple juice

1 tbsp cilantro 

Salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions: 

Cut cauliflower into florets, place in a food processor, and pulse until cauliflower resembles rice (do not over-blend, or else it will turn to mush!). Set aside. 

Chop chicken into bite-size pieces. Heat coconut oil over low heat and cook chicken. 

Add in onion, garlic, ginger, and curry powder and sauté for 5 minutes. 

Add in red bell pepper and cook for 5 more minutes. 

Add in pineapple chunks, coconut milk, pineapple juice, and cilantro. 

Stir in cauliflower rice, add salt and pepper, to taste, and cook for 10 more minutes. 

 

 

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.

Stuffed Pineapple Boats

Tuesday night was my last night of freedom. Now it’s back to stress and lack of sleep. The downside of college. Unfortunately, this also means that I won’t have much time to create and cook new recipes. And so, the other night I decided to make something extra special.

Awhile back, I saw what is called “pineapple boats” in a magazine. I thought it was such a cute idea with a pretty end result. For my send-off meal, I made pineapple boats stuffed with rice, shrimp, and peppers. Not only did it taste delicious, but it also looked oh so very impressive.

 

Stuffed Pineapple Boats:    

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice, uncooked

1 pineapple

1 tbsp unrefined coconut oil

1 lb shrimp, peeled

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 sweet pepper, chopped

1/3 cup frozen corn

3 tbsp soy sauce

hot sauce to taste

dash of crushed red pepper flakes

basil to taste

Directions:

Cook the brown rice while making the rest of the meal (it’s ok to make the rice in advance). Cut the pineapple in half and hollow out the insides, reserving the hollowed pineapple, the pineapple meat and juices for later. In a deep skillet, heat the coconut oil and add in the shrimp. On low heat, cook for 2 minutes. Add in garlic cloves, onions, and peppers. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring every so often. While this is cooking, cube pineapple meat to the desired size. After the 5 minutes, add in 1 cup of pineapple chucks, 2 tbsp of pineapple juices, and the corn. Let cook for 3 more minutes. Add and mix in brown rice. Stir in soy sauce, hot sauce, red pepper flakes, and basil. Transfer the rice mixture into the hollowed pineapple bowls. With a spoon, top with more pineapple juice. Garnish with basil.