🌮 Pollo Ranchero Skillet with Guacamole, Beans & Quinoa
Chicken FajitasRefried Black BeansBlack Beans & QuinoaGuacamole
Ingredients (2 servings)
8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast (sliced into strips)
½ medium onion, sliced
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes (low sodium) with green chiles, drained
1 medium bell pepper (red, orange or yellow), sliced
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1–2 tsp olive oil
¼–½ tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt & black pepper, to taste
½ cup Salsa Ranchera (Herdez)
For serving:
½ cup guacamole (homemade)
1 cup refried beans (black or pinto) or 1 cup black beans & quinoa
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions
Prep: Slice chicken, onion, and bell pepper into strips. Chop cilantro.
Sauté: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken strips and cook until lightly browned, ~4–5 minutes.
Add Veggies & Spices: Stir in onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook until vegetables soften, ~4 minutes. Sprinkle in cayenne, ground cumin, salt, and black pepper.
Stir in the drained tomatoes with green chiles and cook 2–3 min to concentrate.
Sauce: Pour in salsa ranchera, stir to coat, and simmer 2–3 minutes until chicken is fully cooked and sauce slightly thickens.
Finish: Remove from heat and stir in half the chopped cilantro for freshness.
Serve: Plate chicken & peppers with guacamole and beans/quinoa. Garnish with the remaining cilantro.
🍴 Notes & Variations
Add a squeeze of lime juice with the cilantro for brightness.
Swap black beans & quinoa for pinto beans, if preferred.
For more heat, layer cayenne with fresh jalapeño slices.
Serving Size: ~¾ cup grits + ½ cup Creole (per serving, 2 servings total)
Ingredients
For the Grits:
1 lb cauliflower, trimmed and grated (about 4 cups)
1 tsp olive oil
½ clove garlic, minced
¼ can low-sodium white beans, drained and rinsed (about ⅓ cup)
¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup water
½ tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese(optional)
¼ tsp onion powder
Black pepper, to taste
For the Shrimp & Okra Creole:
½ lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1½ tsp olive oil, divided
1 stalk celery, diced
½ small yellow onion, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced
1–2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt-free Creole seasoning
7 oz canned diced tomatoes (½ of a 14-oz can)
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ cup sliced okra (fresh or frozen)
½ green onion, sliced (for garnish)
Hot sauce, optional (for garnish)
Directions
Make the Grits
Heat oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat.
Add cauliflower and cook ~8 minutes, until softened and lightly browned.
Add garlic; cook 30 seconds.
Stir in beans, broth, and water. Cook 3–4 minutes, then remove from heat.
Stir in Parmesan and onion powder. Mash or blend until creamy but still slightly textured.
Season with black pepper, cover, and keep warm.
Cook the Shrimp & Okra Creole
Pat shrimp dry. Heat ¾ tsp oil in a skillet over medium-high.
Sear shrimp in a single layer until just opaque and lightly browned; remove to a plate.
Add remaining oil, celery, onion, and bell pepper to skillet. Cook ~5 minutes until tender.
Add garlic and Creole seasoning; cook 30 seconds.
Stir in tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, Worcestershire, and okra. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer ~8 minutes, stirring often, until slightly thickened.
Return shrimp to the pan and cook 1–2 minutes until heated through.
Assemble
Spoon grits into bowls, top with shrimp & okra Creole, and garnish with sliced green onion and a dash of hot sauce if desired.
low sodium chicken broth (no-salt-added, fat-free) 1/4 cup
ground ginger 1/8 tsp
large carrots (finely diced) 2
cauliflower florets 3 cup
black pepper (ground ) 1/8 tsp
Step-By-Step Instructions:
Cut the cauliflower into small chunks and process in a food processor until rice consistency, or grate the head of cauliflower with a grater; set aside.
Heat 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and scallions and sauté for 5 minutes.
Add remaining 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil and sesame oil to pan. Add cauliflower “rice” and remaining ingredients and lower heat to medium-low. Cook cauliflower mixture for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Cauliflower should be tender, but not mushy.
I think this is so amazing that the AI can view the handwritten text of a recipe and interpret it correctly into digitized text. *Also further below, see how AI took a table of foods that provide Beta Carotene, and easily sorted it for me.
GEMINI says:
This image is a scanned page from a book, likely a cookbook, featuring a recipe for “Shrimp Bisque.” The page number “30” is at the top left.
The ingredients listed are:
1 qt. milk
1 pt. cream (an extra 1/2 pt. whipped and added with a sprig of parsley to each bowl when served)
1/4 lb. butter
4 slightly rounded tbsp White Lily flour
1 can Campbell’s Tomato Soup – 1 1/2 lbs. cooked shrimp or 3 lbs. raw shrimp (the raw shrimp preferred where cooked 20 min. in highly seasoned water)
2 cups La Rosa sherry wine
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Salt and Tabasco to taste
The instructions are: “Melt butter and add flour – cook 5 minutes. When smooth – add milk. Then tomato soup, then cream. Add shrimp. Ten minutes before serving, add sherry, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. After shrimp has been added – do not cook – just keep hot. Serves 10.”
The recipe is attributed to “Mrs. Temple Seibels.”
How AI:ChatGPT took a table of foods that provide Beta Carotene, and easily sorted it for me from the one providing the most mg to the least mg. *I bought this book, “Eat Well, Stay Well,” at “the Friends of the Cumberland County Library” Book Sale last week, so it might have cost $1.
I looked at the following table and was pleasantly surprised that both Dried Apricots and Raw Sweet Potato had high mg values for providing Beta Carotene, but I then thought, “This table would be much more useful if the largest providers were listed at the top, and the least at the bottom, so I took a picture of the table, and uploaded to both Gemini and ChatGPT, but ChatGPT was the sharper tool. See it’s response below:
BETA CAROTENE
Beta carotene is a red-orange pigment found in many plants and fruits, particularly carrots. The human body converts beta carotene into vitamin A (retinol), an essential nutrient for vision, immune function, and skin health. It is also an antioxidant, which helps protect cells from damage.
Foods sorted by their Beta Carotene content, from highest to lowest.
Food
Beta Carotene (mg)
% of Daily Requirement
Sweet Potato, raw (1 medium)
11.6
120.83%
Apricots, dried (½ cup)
11.2
116.67%
Carrots, raw (2 medium)
6.4
66.67%
Apricots, fresh (3 medium)
3.7
38.54%
Pumpkin, fresh, raw (1 cup diced)
3.6
37.5%
Watercress, raw (2 cups chopped)
2.8
29.17%
Winter Squash, raw (1 cup cubes)
2.8
29.17%
Spinach, raw (1 cup chopped)
2.6
27.08%
Swiss Chard, raw (1 cup chopped)
2.6
27.08%
Kale, raw (1 cup chopped)
2.2
22.92%
Collard Greens, raw (1 cup chopped)
1.8
18.75%
Cantaloupe (1 cup diced)
1.3
13.54%
Mango (1 cup sliced)
1.2
12.5%
Broccoli, raw (1 cup florets)
0.7
7.29%
Would you like me to also calculate what percentage of the daily recommended Vitamin A these amounts provide?
I first tried to copy an HTML Table that the AI had created for me into this page, but it didn’t work well, so I asked for an image of the above table and imported that into the page.
The AI pointed out that both sweet potatoes and dried apricots both provided more than the recommended daily allowance.
***The original table image was sideways, and the AI read it with no problem, but I then reversed the text and it was still able to read the reversed text. It even made the comparison like reading text in a mirror. Wow, that’s a powerful tool. And at the top, it can read handwritten text.
DIETARY FIBER
Dietary fiber, or roughage, is a type of carbohydrate that the body cannot digest. It passes through the digestive system relatively intact. There are two main types: soluble fiber, which dissolves in water and can help lower blood sugar and cholesterol, and insoluble fiber, which adds bulk to stool and promotes regular bowel movements. Fiber is found in plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts.
Based on an average recommended daily fiber intake of 28 grams for adults, I have added a new column showing the percentage of that daily value provided by each food item.
Food
Amount
Dietary Fiber (g)
Percentage of Daily Value (%)
Lentils, cooked
1 cup
16
57.1
Figs, dried
½ cup
12
42.9
Kidney beans, cooked
1 cup
11
39.3
Barley, pearled, cooked
1 cup
7
25.0
Blackberries, fresh
1 cup
7
25.0
Potato, baked, with skin
1 medium
7
25.0
Apple, with skin
1 large
6
21.4
Artichoke
1 medium
6
21.4
Prunes
½ cup
6
21.4
Split peas, cooked
½ cup
6
21.4
Wheat bran
¼ cup
6
21.4
Winter squash, baked
1 cup cubes
6
21.4
Brown rice, cooked
1 cup
4
14.3
Oatmeal, cooked
1 cup
4
14.3
Pear, with skin
1 medium
4
14.3
Wheat germ
¼ cup
4
14.3
FOLATE
Folate, also known as vitamin B9, is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in many foods. It is essential for a variety of bodily functions, including cell growth and division, DNA synthesis and repair, and the formation of red blood cells. A deficiency in folate can lead to anemia.
Good Sources of Folate
Food
Amount
Folate (mcg)
% Daily Requirement
Lentils, cooked
1 cup
358
89.5%
Pinto Beans, cooked
1 cup
294
73.5%
Chick-peas, cooked
1 cup
282
70.5%
Romaine Lettuce
2 cups shredded
152
38.0%
Spinach, cooked
1/2 cup
131.5
32.9%
Artichoke, cooked
1 medium
131
32.8%
Spinach, raw
2 cups
117
29.3%
Green peas, fresh, cooked
1 cup
101
25.3%
Brussels sprouts, cooked
1 cup
94
23.5%
Wheat germ
1/4 cup
81
20.3%
Broccoli, sprouted
3/4 cup
78
19.5%
Broccoli, cooked
1 cup chopped
78
19.5%
Orange juice, fresh
1 cup
75
18.8%
Peanuts, raw
1 ounce
68
17.0%
Asparagus, cooked
1 cup pieces
61
15.3%
Avocado
1/2 medium
57
14.3%
Blackberries, fresh
1 cup
49
12.3%
Wild rice, cooked
1 cup
43
10.8%
09/09/25: I was coming back today from Goldsboro, North Carolina and at some point I asked the AI (Gemini) on my phone how far away I was from Newton Grove. It told me 20 miles. I thought this was further than I had expected, but didn’t question the AI. But a short time later (maybe only 3 miles) I came upon a highway sign that said Newton Grove was 10 miles away. I knew I hadn’t gone 10 miles in that short of a time, but maybe 3 miles. So I asked Gemini again, how far I was from Newton Grove. It answered again, “20 miles.” I now had enough doubt in the AI’s correctness that I explored further. Eventually, it suggested a community that I was in and at some point it suggested that the community I was in was in MA (Massachussets). I told it, that there was no way that any location in MA was only 20 miles away from Newton Grove, North Carolina.
Eventually I made it to the city limits of Newton Grove and I just had to check one more time. The AI now told be it couldn’t determine how far I was from Newton Grove. Sometimes an AI, especially Gemini can be as thick as a brick. The problem though is that an AI will state something that is completely wrong and if you are unaware, you may act on this erroneous information. Sometimes the AI can’t even add simple numbers. I’ve had it fail several times regarding where I was located. And recall I actually had Gemini argue that Joe Biden was the current President of the United States, and this was well past January 20th of 2025. One it bases it’s truths on faulty info, you just can’t get it to the correct solution.
Planning for and tracking my meals and food intake is made much easier using the online MyFitnessPal Food Diary. You can add individual items by meal: breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks. You can search for the items, many are already in the database, or you can add an item or create a recipe, by adding individual ingredients and then saving as a Recipe or Meal. Depending upon how you set these up, you can also remove an item or ingredient.
So I’ve just added a specific breakfast meal and labeled it as “BK – Egg Salad / Bacon / Avocado / Bread.” Now the bread might be toasted, and depending upon whether I’m using the Ezekiel 4.9, Aldi’s ‘Knock Your Sprouts Off’ or the Publix Sourdough bread, there may be slight variations in calorie count. My current favorite of these three is “Knock Your Sprouts Off” sprouted bread from Aldi’s.
The “BK – Egg Salad / Bacon / Avocado / Bread” breakfast, after removing the half avocado and adding hot tea.
I can add the above breakfast meal, and then take off the bacon or the avocado if I choose not to have that on the specific meal. I’ve also just added “BK – Coffee,” and “BK – Hot Tea” items with their additions: half-n-half and/or Agave Nectar, Coconut Palm Sugar. I normally also add Splenda and Stevia. Maybe it’s sweetness overkill, but no individual artificial sweetener seems to provide the deep sweet flavor profile of sugar. *I’ve just renamed (had to copy first, and then save under new name, and then delete old meal) the breakfast meals starting with “BK – “. This causes all the breakfast meals & items to group together.
I do like bacon with the egg salad, but I’ve also come to like just mashing up half an avocado and not having any bacon. I now have an easy way to toast my bread and most of the egg salad fits on the two half slices of bread. I might also add a few halved grape tomatoes (yellow or red).
I make my egg salad from two hard boiled eggs (9 minutes), and mash them up with a little Dukes Mayo and Kerry Gold Grass Fed Butter, celery seeds, garlic powder, Dulse, cayenne powder, salt & some ground Long Pepper. *I had this breakfast this morning, but switched out the grape tomatoes for bacon.
I’ve really enjoyed using the Recipe creator in MyFitnessPal because I can enter a list of ingredients and then change the amount of each ingredients used in the recipe. It will also allow you to determine serving size.
The Ezekiel 4:9 bread comes frozen and that may be one reason why I like it a little less. I actually think the Knock Your Sprouts Off bread has a better flavor. But, the fresh baked sourdough bread from Publix has it’s merits also.
Recall that I love bread, but I also have to limit the type and amount of bread that I eat because of my Type 2 diabetes. Sourdough and sprouted breads are supposed to be more “diabetic friendly.”
A few days ago, I took out half the frozen loaf of Ezekiel 4:9 bread and let it thaw. I then put it in the refrigerator. I’ve enjoyed eating it as toast with egg salad, with peanut butter & a little Agave Nectar, and even as a simple sandwich with Neuske’s Smoked Liver Pate.
[06/24/25];
I will now freeze some of my bread, and refrigerate some. This was something I didn’t like to do, but now am okay with it. I’m eating more bread lately after many months of eating only about 1 slice of sprouted grain bread (“Knock Your Sprouts Off” Aldi’s).
Before the sprouted grain bread, I was eating mostly Sourdough Bread from the Publix bakery. I haven’t bought the Publix bread in a while opting to buy the Aldi’s “Knock Your Sprouts Off.” But now I have about 2/3rds of a loaf of seeded rye bread that I bought so that I could have a couple of slices for my homemade Pastrami Reubens. And just recently I saw a loaf of Sourdough bread at Aldi’s which I bought and have eaten about half of it so far, instead of the sprouted grain bread. And surprisingly for me, my blood sugar hasn’t been affected negatively by switching to the Sourdough.
I have reduced the amount of some ingredients including black beans & corn and switched from vegetable broth to chicken broth, and from vegetable oil to avocado oil. I reduced the amount of black beans, not because I don’t like them, but because I am thinking of the number served from the recipe, and since I am “cooking for one,” I’ll try half and see if I can eat it all before some of it spoils. *Well, that turned out to be a moot point. This dish is a very good base for other Mexican flavors. And, to surprise a 71 year old man with such delicious flavor is pretty wonderful.
Ingredients:
Here is the original recipe halved so that only 1 can of black beans is used, which would yield 5 servings.
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup quinoa
3/4 cup vegetable broth (try upping the amount to 1 C of broth to 1/2 C of quinoa)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained1
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
I’m going to try and add the simple cooking process for the above ingredients in case the web site I reference changes or goes away.
NOTE: I have changed the above recipe to reflect a halving of the ingredients, and this means that I have to adjust the cooking time somehow. I may up the broth to 1 Cup for 1/2 Cup of quinoa. This may bring the cooking time back to the 20 minutes time, and also make it easy to remember twice the broth for the amount of quinoa. [end]
Start with very little oil, and chop half an onion and a little garlic and sautee for about 10 minutes. Then add 3/4 cup of quinoa and twice as much, 1.5 cups of broth to the onion/garlic mix. Add the cumin, cayenne, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, then cut the heat down to a simmer for 20 minutes, covered. Don’t boil for 20 minutes or you will have burnt quinoa! The broth seems to be too much at the start, but simmering for 20 minutes, the liquid will evaporate leaving a moist, not dry, and not too wet fully cooked quinoa & onion mix. Now add the frozen corn, and let it warm up for about 5 minutes. And after this add the canned, cooked black beans (leave out the empty can, and rinse the beans before adding) and the chopped fresh cilantro. Stir to mix thoroughly and viola!
The cooked quinoa.Black beans & corn (not frozen)The finished product, Black Beans & QuinoaEgg salad, avocado, grape tomatoes & toast from new toaster oven.
*The Black Beans & Quinoa are an excellent base for other flavors. Add the heat, or avocado, or Greek Yogurt or sour cream to your other sauces or toppings for the beans & quinoa. And then mix a little, as you prefer with each bite, as you eat and enjoy.
I wanted to find something to pair with homemade salsa instead of using tortilla chips that might be more Type 2 “diabetic friendly.”
I also saw a comment to eat the salsa on an avocado. I like the thought of that. I’m guessing we might be heading for guacamole. I could have some salsa in one salsa dish, some guacamole in another dish, some Greek yogurt, plain, in a third.
And, the thought came to me to add a dollop of sour cream, and then Gemini (AI) suggested, Plain Greek Yogurt.
I keep forgetting Greek Yogurt, and because I already have “Plain Greek Yogurt” on hand for a dessert of yogurt & pureed blackberries, raspberries or strawberries, hey that’s a no brainer.
I’m not sure if this might be over doing it, but I also might try using some of my Cilantro-Lime Dressing in this. *I ended up NOT using any of this dressing, but many of the same ingredients added to the flavor and smooth texture of the guac.
As I’m walking toward my kitchen I pass my new wire storage rack, and noticed an odd shaped Rubbermaid container. I say odd because I have a bunch of the Rubbermaid Easy Find Lids containers, assorted sizes, but this one doesn’t belong to that style. I wondered what I had put in the container, shook it as I picked it up, and then popped the top and looked inside.
Oh, yeah! Tomatillos. Just four of them and about medium sized. But the thought came to me immediately, something to mix in with the avocado. I’ve made a type of green salsa to off set the red tomato salsa I usually make.
Add some avocado, sweet onion, tomatillo, green chilis, cilantro and S&P with some cumin and cayenne and that’s another good flavor. *I added the plain Greek Yogurt & a little real sour cream and Agave Nectar to the guacamole. Sweet, smooth, not spicy.
*I made the mistake of using a little jalapeno instead of the green chilis in making this guac version. It turned out to be too spicy, but my solution was to add less heat to the salsa. And because I like mixing the three flavors with each bite, problem solved.
Oh, my! The flavors came together so well. I would definitely make this again, and repeatedly, and often. One of those surprises that works so well. And, it’s hard to surprise yourself, but I did, and pleasantly. I wanted something to replace the tortilla chips with my salsa, but chips & a little extra sour cream would kick it even further. *And I’ve already eaten a few Blue Corn Tortilla Chips with this meal twice. The little bit of extra salt and the crunchy texture just add to the experience.
*04/07/25 I’ve just made this again and the recipe is spot on, regarding how much to use and how to cook it. The broth evaporates and at 20 minutes it is ready for the frozen corn and in about 5 minutes, the black beans and cilantro. I did try the LIDL Black Beans and Whole Kernel Sweet Corn (instead of frozen).
And now on to some other ideas for enhancing the above meal, or even taking it in a slightly different direction.
Garden of Eatin’
I’m trying to interpret the nutritional values of these Blue Corn Taco Shells. Two shells are only 130 calories. There is no sodium? That would make them awful bland wouldn’t it? And, there is no sugar or added sugar? As a Type 2 diabetic, no sugar or salt is great, but questionable.
I’m thinking about doing the following: Black Beans & Quinoa for the base layer in the taco shell. Then add a layer of shredded Romaine Lettuce. Followed by some of Bill’s Salsa and Bill’s Guac. I already know that all of those flavors work well with Blue Corn Tortilla Chips so if the taco shell is flavorful, it should all work and two tacos .
I’ll calculate the estimated total nutritional values per taco based on the ingredients you listed:
Black Beans & Quinoa (½ helping per taco)
Shredded Romaine Lettuce
Bill’s Salsa (¼ cup per taco)
Bill’s Guac (adjusted per taco)
Blue Corn Taco Shell
Estimated Nutritional Values per Taco:
Calories: ~207 kcal
Carbohydrates: ~32.4g
Fiber: ~9.2g
Protein: ~6.2g
Fat: ~7.5g
These tacos are relatively high in fiber, which is great for managing blood sugar levels. The combination of black beans, quinoa, and healthy fats from avocado makes it a well-balanced option for Type 2 diabetes.
And here is a much cheaper Wegman’s product of similar comparison.
*04/07/25 I did buy a package of the Wegman’s Blue Corn Taco Shells and tried a couple with the Black Beans & Quinoa, Salsa and Guacamole. The shells had good flavor. I had been worried that with no sugar or salt that they might be very bland. I didn’t heat the shells, and I need to try that because they crumbled easily when eating and made it messy.
Currently I would prefer using the tortilla chips with these foods.
Here is an Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chip from On the Border.
I bought some shaved sirloin today at Lee’s Fresh Market, and had a desire to make a stir fry with onion and various peppers (jalapeno, poblano, red bell pepper & a few Ajicitos Dulces peppers). It just made sense to put these on top of some of the Black Beans & Quinoa, and then the guac and salsa came along for the ride. It was all delicious together. I had thought the other day that maybe adding roasted sausage might work, and I still think that. Chicken isn’t the only thing that could set the beans, salsa and guac afire.
These Ajicitos Dulces Peppers are no heat, and not very distinctive in flavor (my revue). I got the above picture of the red Aji Dulce Peppers online, so I guess they ripen from green to red. But, also note that the Brazillian Starfish (some heat & distinctive flavor) has a similar shape and color. I compare the shape to that of a white “Patty Pan” Squash, but much smaller. I do not recall what the multi-colored pepper is called, but this reminds me of the ripening stages of the Sweet Bell Pepper. Green Bell Peppers are the least ripe, then turn to yellow, orange and finally red which is both the ripest and sweetest. *I froze some of the Aji peppers and have used a few in some other cooking.
Nothing to do with the above, but just what I had for dinner tonight. I opened a plastic container in the refrigerator earlier today and was shocked to find one of those thick cut, bone in, pork chops that I had bought some time back at Lee’s Fresh Market in Benson, and had frozen them, but had taken this one out to thaw, and forgot it. I smelled it and it smelled perfectly fine, so I moved it up on the list of what to cook tonight.
*I had my Ciabatta Roll Pizza for lunch and it was delicious. I had roasted the bell pepper, onion & jalapeno in the oven before putting it on the shredded cheese and melting it all together. I wanted to make sure those items toasted, and didn’t think they would if I put them on at the same time I started to melt the cheese. It worked. The pepperoni goes on last, and takes only about 3 or 4 minutes to get oily and crisp up. Delicious, once again!
The porkchop took about 15 minutes to cook, and I added just a little jalapeno & sweet red bell pepper to roast with it. Ten minutes on one side, under tin foil, and then flip it over and 5 minutes later it’s done. Pink on the inside, but not bloody.
I made a modified Greek Salad with Spring Mix, Romaine lettuce, red bell pepper, sweet onion, walnut pieces, feta cheese and wonton strips for crunch. I also made a modified Italian dressing with brown & yellow mustards, red wine vinegar, olive oil, a little water, S&P and some sweetener. Added a slice of sourdough bread and everything worked. Meat, bread, roasted jalapeno and tart salad.
NOTE: I may need to get a toaster, or toaster oven because I am increasingly unable to put bread in the oven to toast it without burning it. I can’t keep my mind on the toast for the other things I might be doing, like testing my resting blood sugar level, or even heating water for hot tea in the microwave, or putting dishes in the dishwasher. *04/07/25 I did buy a small toaster oven from Walmart about a week ago. I haven’t taken it out of the box yet, because I really don’t have a place for it yet. *04/19/25 I finally put the toaster oven on a small table in the living room next to the kitchen counter. It toasts bread quickly and has a timer. Still, this is not the place for it, but I don’t have a good place yet.
I finally got up the courage or interest, to read about pickled eggs, and in reading about them, I suddenly had the idea and minor desire to try and make some pickled eggs at home.
I love eggs. I like the standard formats of scrambled and hard boiled, and over medium, and I’ve even made poached eggs and have microwaved them to my satisfaction. But the thought of “pickled eggs” has for many years, since my youth, has elicited an extreme aversion to trying to even taste one bite. Here is why.
As a boy growing up in Eastern North Carolina, I would travel about, tagging along with my mother, or favorite aunt (Aunt Sis) and going into stores as they either shopped, or window shopped, or even just stopped in to “touch base” with the store owner, or some long time friend, relative or acquaintance. There were several of these stores, perhaps even small enough to be called a shop, as this was before the Convenience Store became popular. These small stores might have all sorts of goods for sale, both food related, and household, or outdoor work related. And up near the checkout counter or cash register, there might be one or two large glass jars labeled, and two different food items would be floating, one type in one jar and the other type in the other jar. They weren’t mixed. And these items were floating in what I came to know as vinegar or brine. The items were “pickled pig’s feet,” and “pickled eggs.” For some reason I found the idea of fishing out either from their nasty looking jar, and eating them, was a repulsive thought.
I love pig’s feet, when I cook them at home. The process is simple, Get a large pot to place on the stove top, pour in enough water to cover all the meat, and add a little salt and pepper, and just a hint of Cider Vinegar to “sweeten their flavor” and after a very long cooking time, the scant meat and the vast amounts of cartilage break down, and release almost completely from the massive amounts of intertwined pig’s feet bones.
I will say that eating pig’s feet is an interesting process. Your fingers start to stick together. And now I think, this is probably why they can turn a horse into glue. But, I have almost completely stopped fixing pig’s feet because of the feeling I am left with after eating them. It may be the high fat content, or salt, but I feel awful, as if I have been drugged. Much like my body’s reaction to eating a doughnut. Just eating part of one, I almost immediately go into a sugar coma, which can last for several hours.
The other item that connoted gastric horrors were the pickled eggs. They were in a dark brine, or some in a brine colored by beet juice, giving the brine and the eggs a deep purplish color. But, it wasn’t the color of the eggs, it was the thought of all those people sticking their fingers and hands in this one jar to fish out an edible egg. And I know it was probably only the store owner that did the fishing, and he probably had a large spoon to complete the process. But I never had the desire.
I was watching a YouTube video about someone shopping at various grocery chains, and maybe it was Sam’s Club where as he was walking along he saw a case of these and just looked in wonder that these were for sale. And having tried them finally, I would wonder even more.
And now I have the first ever pickled hardboiled eggs sitting in a small glass jar in my kitchen, in a brine of Apple Cider Vinegar, water, beet juice with some mustard seeds, sweetener, a Bay leaf, one garlic clove and some peppercorns. According to one online suggestion, I should wait perhaps a week or more to let all the flavors meld before trying an egg. I have two eggs in the jar, so I may not wait a week to try the first. And, if I like the first pickled egg I try, I may not wait for a whole week.
Now, at 71 years old, never having ever tried a pickled egg, what if I find that like many other food items, I love the unique flavor of a hardboiled egg seasoned with a little vinegar and beet juice.
And, I like the flavor of beets. I got the beet juice for the pickled eggs from a jar of sliced beets. I poured out the rest of the beet juice, after adding some to the egg brine, and I dumped the sliced beets into a small Rubbermaid container. I then added a little Cider Vinegar, some Balsamic Vinegar and some sweetener, coconut sugar & Agave Nectar.
If I like the pickled eggs, then finding a use for the beet juice I once threw out, but now can repurpose would be fantastic. And that I quite often boil a couple of eggs to make egg salad, would make it easy for me to boil two eggs for immediate consumption, and two eggs for a later pickled egg treat.
NOTE [03/31/25]: I think I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but I didn’t like the pickled eggs. I wouldn’t make them or any variation of them again. They were pickled, but if I want something pickled, I’ll eat a pickle. Now, I do like the flavor of sweet bell peppers, sweet onion and tomatoes in a turmeric/vinegar brine. That would give the eggs a bright orange or yellow color, but I’m not sure I would like them with that flavor either. [end NOTE]
I have mixed Fenugreek with Turmeric in a Ginger/Vinegar drink. But at some point I think I read that those combinations might actually be harmful to someone taking blood thinners, so I don’t take it as often. *I came to like the flavor it gives certain foods, and have even added it to a Spring Mix Salad, that had Cilantro-Lime Dressing. And, to my egg salad this morning. Just a subtle flavor change.
Ginger
I’ve enjoyed ginger in it’s various forms for years. I especially like ginger candy, because of the sweetness mixed with the ginger flavor. I also like the pink pickled ginger that goes with Oriental flavors, and even Ginger Snap cookies, and I think ginger is also included in carrot cake, which is one of my favorite flavors in a dessert. I enjoy adding adding ginger powder to some of my stir frys.
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Turmeric (Powdered)
As mentioned elsewhere, I’ve mixed Turmeric & Fenugreek in a Ginger/Vinegar drink. I’ve also made Golden Milk, which is just turmeric mixed with milk. That has an interesting flavor, because I add sweetener, and in some ways this reminds me of Egg Nog.
Perhaps my earliest introduction to turmeric was when I made a simple salad of tomato, sweet bell pepper and sweet onion, in vinegar, with a large amount of turmeric powder added, and no sweetener. This imparts a very acrid flavor to these vegetables. I don’t recall if I found anything to pair these veggies with but they are quite memorable. I’ve also added sweetener to this mix, and it makes a sort of turmeric pickles.
I have bought the turmeric tubers, but really had nothing I could do with them. I am guessing you could grate them and mix the raw turmeric much as you might grate raw ginger. I have grated raw ginger and added it to the Ginger/Vinegar drink and it does provide a depth of flavor beyond just powdered ginger.
Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing recipe with calorie estimates and approximate serving sizes:
Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing (Approximately 1366 calories total, Makes about 1 1/4 cup dressing)
1/3 cup olive oil (~636 calories)
1/4 cup lime juice (negligible calories)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (~720 calories)
1/2 teaspoon salt (negligible calories)1
2 garlic cloves (negligible calories)
1/2 a jalapeño, sliced (negligible calories)
1/2 teaspoon agave nectar (~10 calories)
1/2 cup cilantro, packed (negligible calories)
Key points:
The majority of the calories come from the olive oil and mayonnaise.
Lime juice, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro and salt contain very few calories.
Agave Nectar and Honey contain about the same amount of calories.2
This calorie count reflects the total for the entire recipe. To calculate per-serving calories, divide the total by the number of servings.
By combining the listed measurements of the wet ingredients, it can be determined that the total volume of the dressing will be approximately 1 and 1/4 cup.
Alright, let’s rework that recipe with plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.
Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing (Greek Yogurt Version) (Approximately 746 calories total, Makes about 1 1/4 cup dressing)
1/3 cup olive oil (~636 calories)
1/4 cup lime juice (negligible calories)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (~100 calories)
1/2 teaspoon salt (negligible calories)
2 garlic cloves (negligible calories)
1/2 a jalapeño, sliced (negligible calories)
1/2 teaspoon agave nectar (~10 calories)
1/2 cup cilantro, packed (negligible calories)
Key points:
The Greek yogurt significantly reduces the calorie content compared to mayonnaise.
The majority of the calories now come from the olive oil.
This calorie count is for the entire recipe. Divide by the number of servings for per-serving calories.
By combining the listed measurements of the wet ingredients, it can be determined that the total volume of the dressing will be approximately 1 and 1/4 cup.
Here are the calorie counts for various serving sizes:
1 Tablespoon:
There are 16 tablespoons in 1 cup, so in 1 1/4 cups there are 20 tablespoons.
746 calories / 20 tablespoons = 37.3 calories per tablespoon.
[NOTE 03/16/25]: I used Gemini to generate this recipe with the calorie counts and calories per serving. The AI made it simple to get the calorie count for each ingredient, and then it added up to get the total carlorie, and divided the total calories by the number of Tablespoons possible from the whole. *And then I pasted the recipe into MyFitnessPal Recipe importer. The result was a special dressing recipe with calorie counts and the ability to select a portion size. [end NOTE]
Another pared down version of this dressing using Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (or light mayonnaise)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves
1/2 a jalapeño, sliced
A few drops of a sugar-free liquid sweetener, or omit entirely
1/2 cup cilantro, packed
Estimated calories per serving (2 tablespoons): 520(total calories)÷8(servings)≈65 calories per serving.
Ajicitos Dulces Peppers
After blended, this recipe fit easily in a 4 oz. Mason/Ball Jar. Not sure I need much heat in this to be pleasing. *I just read elsewhere that I used a Ajicitos Dulces pepper and that would add flavor with no heat. I think I may have used this on baked tilapia, but with the mayonnaise version. **And I found that I had used this dressing on a baked salmon filet. I seem to recall that the original dressing was high in calories and the next day, it did affect my weight negatively. I liked the flavor so, finally decided to make a healthier version with plain Greek yogurt.
[04/25/25]: I had this tonight and then added Spicy Chili Crisp and Toasted Sesame Oil (no sweetener). It was savory and delicious with my jalapeno pork chop. I had the jalapeno pork chop yesterday with cabbage slaw. I only had red cabbage, but it still worked. [end]
[04/27/25]: These flavors work so well together. The steamed cauliflower, flavored with Spicy Chili Crisp and Toasted Sesame Oil has an savory, earthy flavor. This time I added Mung bean sprouts to my red cabbage & sweet onion slaw. Dukes Mayo, some Half-n-Half, and sweetener. The sprouts are crunchy, and that goes great with the crunchy cabbage. And, the pork chop seasoned with some roasted sweet bell pepper, onion & a little jalapeno. I did add half a slice of sourdough bread from Publix. “Winner, winner, chicken (no pork) dinner.” [end]
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Bill Gibson, II 