Author: foodimakemysoldier@outlook.com

Habanero Beef Jerky

I know my packaging is fancy…but this is Food I Mail My Soldier. This is spicy…not just a kick, its SPICY…but he likes it! 🙂

Proceed with caution haha. 

I also made a ton of regular BBQ beef jerky, but I already packed it up. Oops…but its just jerky so it looks the same lol. For the BBQ sauce instead of Habanero sauce, refer to this link for the BBQ sauce recipe: BBQ SAUCE

Ingredients

1 lb eye of round beef, sliced very thin

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp Worcestershire

2 Tbsp liquid smoke

2 Tbsp Splenda brown sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

 1 tsp meat tenderizer

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

Habanero Sauce:

12 habanero peppers, stem removed

1 cup Walden Farms apricot jam (no carb spread)

1/2 cup black strap molases

1/2 cup yellow mustard

2 Tbsp Splenda brown sugar

1 cup white vinegar

2  Tbsp salt

1 Tbsp black pepper

1 Tbsp cumin

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp all spice

*You need a food dehydrator*

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together all your marinade ingredients and add your sliced meat. You can slice it yourself, or have the person at the meat counter do it. Let sit in the refrigerator overnight.

In a blender, combine all the habanero sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Once your meat has marinated, place in a single layer on your food dehydrator racks. Every dehydrator works differently, mine takes about 4 hours total to make the jerky. Let it dehydrate until close to finished, for mine its 3 hours, then brush LIGHTLY with the habanero sauce. Let dehydrate for another hour or until finished.

You do not want to continuously brush the sauce on the jerky otherwise it will end up incredibly spicy. Just try the sauce first, you can add more sugar or jam if it is too powerful.

Are you looking for a delicious and easy-to-make appetizer for your next party? Look no further than bacon wrapped chicken bites! This recipe is simple and can be made with just a few ingredients. You’ll need bacon, chicken breasts, brown sugar and some spices. The bacon will add a delicious smoky flavor to the chicken, and the brown sugar will give them a nice sweet glaze. So grab your ingredients and get cooking!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites instruction

The bacon wrapped chicken bites can be cooked in the oven or on the grill. If cooking in the oven, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with foil. If cooking on the grill, preheat your grill to medium-high heat.

Cut the bacon into thirds and wrap each chicken breast tightly with bacon. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and spices. Sprinkle the mixture over the bacon wrapped chicken breasts.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the bacon is crispy and the chicken is cooked through. Or, grill for 10-12 minutes, flipping once, until the bacon is crispy and the chicken is cooked through. Serve warm!

Variations on the recipe

There are many ways to adapt this recipe to your own liking. For example, you could try using different spices or a different type of bacon. You could also add a little bit of BBQ sauce to the chicken for a more flavorful bite. The possibilities are endless! So get creative and have some fun with it.

Nutritional information

Bacon wrapped chicken bites are the perfect appetizer for any party or get-together! This recipe is simple and can be made with just a few ingredients. You’ll need bacon, chicken breasts, brown sugar and some spices. The bacon will add a delicious smoky flavor to the chicken, and the brown sugar will give them a nice sweet glaze. So grab your ingredients and get cooking!

Nutritional information:

One serving of bacon wrapped chicken bites (3 bacon wrapped chicken breasts) contains approximately 260 calories, 15 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbs and 25 grams of protein.

Serving suggestions

Bacon wrapped chicken bites are the perfect appetizer for any party or get-together! This recipe is simple and can be made with just a few ingredients. You’ll need bacon, chicken breasts, brown sugar and some spices. The bacon will add a delicious smoky flavor to the chicken, and the brown sugar will give them a nice sweet glaze. So grab your ingredients and get cooking!

There are many ways to adapt this recipe to your own liking. For example, you could try using different spices or a different type of bacon. You could also add a little bit of BBQ sauce to the chicken for a more flavorful bite. The possibilities are endless! So get creative and have some fun with it.

Bacon wrapped chicken bites are also a great option for a healthy and satisfying snack. They’re high in protein and low in carbs, making them the perfect choice for those on a keto diet. So if you’re looking for something tasty and nutritious, give bacon wrapped chicken bites a try!

These take minutes to make, they hardly have any carbs at all, and they are good. They resemble butter crackers in a way, with a little sweetness. I made these before, and forgot about them…I do that sometimes lol. Someone repinned on Pinterest and now I keep getting all these emails with repins. So, since my photo was terrible, and the carb count changed, I thought I would do an update. I previously made my own Almond flour in Texas, because I couldn’t find it anywhere. So I took the carb count from that. However, Almond Flour in Germany is very easy (and inexpensive) to come by. Try them out…it only takes a few minutes. 
Update: You can also use RAW honey rather than Stevia. If you want more of a savory cracker, you can add herbs rather than sweetness. 

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 Tbsp Stevia

2 egg whites

3 Tbsp butter, softened (plus a little extra for the parchment paper)

1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread or brush with butter so the crackers do not stick. 

Place the mix on the parchment paper, and cover with another piece of parchment. Roll the dough in between the two pieces of parchment, otherwise it will stick to the rolling pin. *Note: foil wont work…I tried…twice.

Once the batter is rolled cracker-thin, about 1/4″, take the top piece of parchment paper off and discard. Bake the crackers until golden, about 10-15 minutes depending on your oven.  While hot, cut into small squares and let cool.

Recipe makes 40 to 45 crackers depending on how many tiny end pieces you end up with.

This weekend I had Italian…like really bad for you Italian food. The amount of carbs is probably 5x the amount I normally consume. Then you know what happened? I gained 3 lbs…all because of bad food choices. I am annoyed with myself lol. However, starting yesteday, I am making sure I do no cheating, NO sugar, NO starch. I am also doing a 30 day bootcamp with Alison from Insulin Resistance Diet Info starting Sept. 8th, but I am cutting out the bad now because I cant afford to wait any longer. I also told myself, if I can do well on this program with no cheating, and lose 15 to 20 lbs by Oct. 15th I am going to buy this Michael Kors Chelsea Bag. Nothing wrong with rewarding yourself lol. I really want that bag, and chances are I will buy it either way, but I will feel better about it if I work for it.

So anyway, I made these stuffed mushrooms for my husband’s lunch. I usually experiment at lunch time to see if he likes it. All was good 

Cheeseburger Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

• 6 medium portobello mushrooms
• 1/4 lb Ground Beef
• 1/4 Avocado
• 1 tsp Worcestershire
• 1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepperdash of cayenne
• 6 small slices Cheddar Cheese (I cut mine from a large block)
• 3 cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 6 basil leaves

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the stems from your mushrooms, and cut them along the bottom sides to make a smooth edge. Scrape out the brown middle of the mushroom into a bowl. The brown insides are called Gills just FYI lol.

In the same bowl, mash up the avocado, then add the beef, Worcestershire, Parmesan, salt, pepper and cayenne. Mix together until everything is combined.

Stuff the mushrooms with the beef mixture, then top with cheddar cheese.

Place each mushroom in a baking dish, and place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and beef is cooked through.

Once removed from the oven, top with 1 basil leaf and slice of tomato

Recipe makes 6 mushrooms

Each mushroom has 2.5 net carbs

When compared to other grills, I would say flat top grills are easier to clean and so you can have your cleaning schedules as frequent as you can. Now apart from guaranteeing the hygiene of your food, cleaning your grill also improves on its durability. However, as you try to minimize the chances of replacing the appliance any time sooner, you should also minimize amount of money spent on buying expensive cleaning products. That’s why in this article, I’ll show you two different methods on how to clean a flat top grill using either lemon juice or vinegar in four simple steps.

How To Clean A Flat Top Grill Using Lemon Juice

• Heat-up your grill

Heating the grill before you start cleaning helps with softening the dirt, making cleaning effortless. However, if yours is fairly clean, you can skip this step. At the same time, it’s advisable to protect your hands when handling a hot grill to avoid injuries.

• Scrape off the residues

You should watch out for the tools you use on the grill surface, and for scraping, a triangular heavy-duty scrapper is a great option. It also gets to the corners with much ease, ensuring that every residue is removed. When scrapping, do it gently to avoid leaving trails of scratches on the grill, which could make it ineffective.

• Soak the surface

For this step, you’ll need a mixture of water, lemon juice and soda water and probably a spray container.  Bringing in soda water is to help the solution dissolve through the entire grill surface. With this, the residues will easily peel off and you’ll only have to wait for 5 minutes or less.

• Scrub the grill

Having softened up, all you need is a mild scouring pad and soapy water, which is optional. You also have to consider the rest of the grill parts like the grease catcher, which needs scrubbing as well. Ideally, you should scrub in circular motions and also gently in order to have the cleaning done and also keep the surface safe. If you used soapy water, rinse it off and afterwards, use a clean rag or paper towels to wipe the surfaces dry.

How to clean a flat top grill using vinegar

Before getting into the cleaning process, one thing to note is that vinegar also protects steel from rusting, so using it is an added advantage. Well, let’s get the cleaning started:

• Make  a mixture

Mix the vinegar with clean water in a bucket and put a fraction of the mixture in a spray bottle. The quantities to use here depends on how big or dirty your flat top grill is. However, for the spray bottle, you’ll only need enough to fill your bottle, so you can save the rest for refill in case you have a smaller bottle. The whole essence of insisting on using a spray bottle is to make the next step easier.

• Spray the grill surface

Spray the entire grill surface with generous amounts of the mixture to soak up the grease and food residues. This should take approximately 5 minutes before you scrub off the layers of residues. For scrubbing, use a grill brush to ensure that you get rid of all the dirt and also keep your grill surface safe.

Again, how much to spray and how long you’re going to wait for the layers to soften up will depend on the layers of dirt you have to deal with. As I had previously hinted, you can use a spray bottle or sprinkle the mixture with your hands

• Wipe the grill with a rag

Here, you’ll need the leftover mixture in the bucket. Using the same, soak up your rag and use it to clean the remaining dirt, not forgetting other parts of the grill which might be dirty as well. This should be easier because you’ll have minimal wiping to do. If you’re going to do this frequently, remember to replace or clean the rags afterwards, to avoid contamination when doing your next cleaning.

• Season the grill surface

One of the ways to chances of food sticking on the grill surfaces when grilling is to season the surface with vegetable or any other cooking oil you have. You can do this using a dry rag or brush to ensure the oil is evenly spread out. This makes cleaning easier, especially when you plan to store it afterwards

I picked these home-made cleaners to highlight for you how to clean flat top grills because of how affordable and readily available they are. However, you can still substitute the two with grill cleaners and still get the job done perfectly well. A cleaning hack that always come in handy for me is cleaning my grill before keeping it away, because I’m one of those who only do seasonal grilling.

This ensures that it doesn’t gather additional dirt over the usual grease and food residues as it sits unused, making the stains more stubborn. You can also try this out by first allowing the grill cool down to heat levels that you can handle after use, then cleaning it the usual way.

Whether home alone, at the school lunch, or with kids around the picnic table, Sloppy Joes are a perennial lunch and suppertime American favorite — and not just among kids!  We’ve had all manner of Joes, even tofu Joes, but we like the original ones made with good ol’ hamburger best. This makes a neat-ish Joe that you can eat sandwich style. For a sloppier, knife-and-fork version, add 1 cup of tomato sauce to the beef mixture before slow-cooking. You can double or triple this recipe. Serve with ice cream cones for dessert and really be claimed to be the best cook in town!

Need a new taste treat for Meatless Mondays? Try the variation of Slow Cooker Lentil Sloppy Joe’s based on our meat Joes, even an offering on the heart-healthy McDougall diet Program. All the ingredients go into the slow cooker at once. How easy is that? There is the addition of vegetable broth, which is necessary to cook the lentils properly. The vegetarian version is amazingly good.

Overview

Cooker: Medium Round or Oval

Machine Setting and Cook Time: Low Heat: 6 to 7 hours

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1-pound lean ground beef or ground dark meat turkey
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 large stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, or more if needed
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, or more if needed
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2  teaspoon dry mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Dash Tabasco sauce
• Dash cayenne pepper
• To serve: 4 to 6 hamburger buns or other soft sandwich rolls

Instructions

In a large, nonstick skillet, cook the beef with the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic, stirring to break up the meat. When the meat is cooked through, place the meat and vegetables into the crock. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours. Taste and add more vinegar or sugar if desired. Serve the meat mixture spooned into hamburger buns or soft sandwich rolls.

Slow Cooker Lentil Sloppy Joes

Overview

Cooker: Medium Round or Oval

Machine Setting and Cook Time: Low Heat: 6 to 7 hours

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups brown lentils, rinsed (do not use red lentils as they do not hold their shape)
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 large red or green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 large stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• One 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, or more if needed
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose salt-free seasoning blend
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (don’t skip this)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (use a vegan version if desired since the real sauce contains anchovy)
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• Dash Tabasco sauce
• Dash cayenne pepper
• To serve: 4 to 6 whole wheat buns or other soft sandwich rolls

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients into the crock in the order listed and stir to combine.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, until lentils are tender. Check at 4 to 5 hours in case you like your lentils a bit firmer in texture, like for salads. Adjust the consistency with 1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth if the lentils seem too dry. Serve the hot lentil mixture spooned into split toasted buns.

Hello! Thank you for visiting! 

I decided to do a few updates on this recipe…seriously you guys I had NO idea how popular this would be when I first posted it! WOW! Thank you so much for all the positive response, Pinterest pins, Facebook shares and pin-backs! I love it! Someone also mentioned “lettuce wrapped cheeseburgers” comes up first in google, even before “The Pioneer Woman” umm..whaaaat?! She is a Food Network Star, I love her recipes, so that shocked me! Since then, I have become the lettuce wrapped burger lady haha.  

If you are new to my page, thanks for coming over! I have over 250 Low Carb and/or Paleo recipes for a healthier lifestyle!  I started the “real food” approach about 7 years ago when I was 100 lbs overweight. I have lost 80 of those pounds, and if you would like to know more about my story, feel free to click here to be redirected:  My Story. I am also an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, Nutritionist and Beachbody Coach! Don’t hesitate to reach out to me on Facebook or Email  (FoodIMakeMySoldier@yahoo.com) if you would like to learn more about some of the programs I offer! I would love to help you and fill you in on the details!

 I have really enjoyed seeing all of your food creations, so don’t forget to tag me if you make one of my recipes, and I will be sure to share it!I am @FoodIMakeMySoldier on Facebook and Instagram! 

So, on to my updates….I wanted to give you some more ideas based on what I have done since the original recipe, what others have mentioned, and some suggestions! Please keep in mind, the original recipe below is my take on the In-N-Out protein style burger. I am from Southern California, and In-N-Out is a California favorite! Living in Germany, I really missed a good burger. So, this was the closest I got to an old favorite! Of course feel free to make any version you like best! 

Version 1: I make these burgers Paleo Friendly. This means, I use grass fed beef, I make my own ketchup, I normally use a dark green lettuce rather than iceberg, and if I use cheese, I use Kerry Gold Cheddar. I also make my own Mayo for the spread. If you would like a paleo/primal approach, I suggest those modifications. 

Version 2: I know not everyone loves beef, so YES you can definitely make this with ground turkey or chicken. 

Version 3: I have become so picky it’s horrible lol…so I always grind my own beef. My favorite modification to this burger is to grind your own beef with 4 slices of uncured (raw) bacon, and form your burgers from the beef and bacon mixture. They are delicious! 

Version 4: Lot’s of questions about types of lettuce, and what else you can use. Of course, iceberg is large and stays together pretty well, but it doesnt really have nutritional value. If you want more vitamins in your meal, choose a dark green lettuce. You can use romain, butter lettuce, boston lettuce, etc. You can even use a cabbage…the napa cabbage is softer than regular cabbage, but of course it is your preference. Collard Greens also make a great wrap. 

So that’s it for now! Feel free to share you modification in the comments if you would like! 

Lettuce Wrapped Cheeseburgers Recipe

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 Tbsp oregano
• 2 Tbsp reduced sugar ketchup
• 2 tomatoes, sliced thin
• 1 head of iceberg lettuce, leaves removed6 slices American cheese Spread:
• 1/4 cup mayo3 Tbsp reduced sugar ketchup1 Tbsp dill pickle relishdash of salt and pepper 

Directions 

Heat your grill or skillet on medium heat and add a little Kerry Gold Butter. In a large bowl, mix together the beef, salt, pepper, oregano and ketchup. Divide the mixture into 6 sections, and roll each piece into a ball then press down flat for 6 burgers. You can also use a burger press if you have one. 

Place each burger on your grill/pan and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes on each side. Try not to press down on the burgers…they end up a little dry that way. Once you flip the burger, add your cheese to the top cooked side. In a small bowl mix together the spread ingredients and refrigerate. 

Once you have cooked all your burgers and removed them from the pan, assemble them. Place 1 cheeseburger on the lettuce leaf, top with 2 slices of tomato, a spoonful of spread, then wrap top to bottom with another lettuce leaf. 

So, that’s it! Super simple and easy! 

Recipe makes 6 cheeseburgers