Whole 30: In the Kitchen

Tangy Tomato Sliders, Caramelized Onion Topped Puréed Cauliflower, and Apple Pecan Salad

Tonight's dinner came together organically so I thought I'd deconstruct the process.

I started with the idea of cooking up a couple packages of beef sliders - some for tonight and the rest for lunches. I seasoned them up with my go to blend from Trader Joes and browned them in cast iron pan Cute Man got me for the Holidays.

While those were cooking, I decided that puréed cauliflower would go well so in went a couple bags of the frozen stuff with 1/2 cup of my homemade beef broth into my new enameled cast iron Dutch oven.

Next up, I brainstormed an idea for a sauce for my sliders since store bought BBQ and ketchup are out for a Whole 30. I adapted my go to Catalina Dressing recipe to be sweetener free - 1/3 cup each of balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, olive oil, and water plus a tsp each of garlic salt, chili powder, and paprika blended. I decided to not only top my sliders with this, but to mix up a quick salad and garnish it with diced apples and pecans.

Turning back to my cauliflower, I added a couple tbs of ghee and garlic salt before going at it with the stick blender. Once it was nice and creamy, I envisioned it smothered in caramelized onions so I took the cooked sliders out of the cast iron and added sliced yellow onions from two ginormous onions from Costco. Stirring often, they slowly developed into a vat of deliciousness in the yumminess left behind from cooking the meat.

Finally, I put it all together on a plate that balanced out to be 3/4 veggies, 1/4 protein, with a healthy dose of fat. I feel really great eating this way and find it so fun to pull together a meal that is not only good for me, but tasty and full of flavor.

So what are you cooking up in your kitchen to keep things fun and fresh?