First Regular Food Post in Forever: Chile Rellanos

I haven't been posting much about our regular food.  I've posted about holidays and such but not about the day-to-day.  Partially, I've just been busy busy and haven't taken any kitchen pictures.  I really admire food bloggers who can somehow stop the forward trajectory of dinner time to beautifully plate and display their food without their families totally losing their minds with hunger.  I am not that girl.

The other thing keeping me from blogging about food is that we have started to a grain-free, legume-free diet.  For us, that means I'm cooking more meat.  And frankly, pictures of cooking meat are just about the grossest pictures that exist.  It also means that in the kitchen, I don't know what I'm doing.  Here I am making gluten-free "pizza".

I wasn't sure how this diet change would work, but I wanted to give it a try because we were having so health issues.  Although I do feel better than ever, I haven't yet fully settled in to my new way of cooking and the cooking itself is messier and less photogenic.  That is more than made up for by my increased energy, lack of joint pain, and lack of chronic stuffy nose.  Still, a person's gotta blog.  So let's blog this.

The other night I made a grain-free version of one of my favorite comfort foods: Chile Rellenos.  Frankly, before we changed our eating habits, I never made this dish. I ordered it in restaurants and it came deliciously fried and with a side of beans and rice.  This version is baked without sides, but is still totally delicious.  The seasonings are vague.  Don't you just love a vague recipe?  See, I don't know what I'm doing yet.

Grain-Free Chile Rellenos

1 lb. chorizo, mild or hot depending on your preference
Rice or cauliflower "rice" (recipe follows)
cumin, chile powder, and/or other spices
hot sauce or salsa, to taste
6-8 poblanos, ends cut off and seeds and ribs removed
queso fresco

Preheat oven to 400F.

Remove chorizo from casings and prepare according to package instructions.  Drain the grease.  Add rice or cauliflower "rice" queso fresco and sautee.  Salt to taste.  You could also sautee and add any yummy veggies you like as long as they aren't too wet (or if they are too wet, drain them!)  Add hot sauce or salsa to taste.

Fill the peppers and place in baking pan.  Bake until heated through and the skins are bubbly, approximately

I'd also like to try a version of this recipe where I smother the peppers in melty cheese, but I haven't gone there yet.

Cauliflower Rice
1/2 head of cauliflower
1/8 cup red onion cut very teeny
1 TBS EVOO, coconut oil, bacon fat, lard, or other fat of your choice.
salt to taste

1.  Chop the cauliflower into small pieces and then pulse in food processor until the bits are rice-sized and uniform.
2.  Heat the fat in a pan and sautee onion until soft.
3.  Add cauliflower and sautee until entire mixture is warm.
4.  Salt to taste.

As a side note, grain-free, legume-free eating can get expensive in a hurry if you aren't careful.  This dish is nice because it uses inexpensive ingredients as its base and can easily be adapted for whatever you have on hand--even leftovers.