Kim

[jccgf]

I thought of you today when I was pureeing cooked carrots to put in my chili :). I am sure they will pass undetected :cool:.

A couple weeks ago I used ground ostrich in my lasagna to add a little variety to our diet, and nobody was the wiser. I think ostrich has really good flavor in burgers, but I can't get anyone else to even take a taste. Well, except if I sneak it ;).

Cara

[NancyM]

LOL! A friend of mine served ostrich steaks and gazelle pate at a party after he got home from a trip to Africa. We actually have ostrich farms in San Diego.

[KimS]

:D :D :D

Hope it worked out okay.

My kids now know all the stuff I put in our taco meat and spaghetti sauce and chilli. Those are their favourite meals because they don't get nagged to eat their veggies. :)

This is going to sound weird but I picked it up off an Australian gf support group... One tablespoon of cocoa (not for those doing SCD though) and it gives any chilli recipe an incredibly rich flavour. Does that sound weird to anyone else?

I thought it was so far off the wall that I couldn't believe it... but then tonnes of them wrote in to say they wouldn't make their chilli without it. So, I scooped a bowlful out of my pot and added a bit... WOW!! Now I just put in right in the big batch (unless we're having an SCD week).

Our neighbour came over and had some and couldn't believe that half of what he was eating was vegetables because it was so rich in flavour. (For new people, I load my ground meat dishes with all kinds of stuff like ground carrots, beet, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.).

I think the ostrich meat is a cool try. There used to be a place down the road from my parent's house but on the last visit I was told they went out of business. I wasn't surprised. The prices were exhorbitant. I really would've liked to try it though.

I wonder, after they have their chilli that way for a while, if they would miss the carrot flavour? :D

[mistofviolets]

I wonder, after they have their chilli that way for a while, if they would miss the carrot flavour? :D

This makes me think of when my littlest was a toddler and my MIL called me the day after she'd babysat for me. Dd had refused to eat the mac and cheese she made because it didn't have green balls. She'd been to 3 stores and enlisted the help of the stockers and they couldn't find mac and cheese with green balls anywhere.

It turned out the green balls were frozen peas. And I didn't use Kraft.

Dd was also very disappointed in Kindergarten when they visited a pizza parlor and they didn't put any veggies, or even pineapple, on the class pizzas. She couldn't believe people ate them with just cheese! (She isn't gf, but I had to share the stories...Yes, the kids will probably miss the carrot flavor after awhile...)

[diamondheart]

My kids now know all the stuff I put in our taco meat and spaghetti sauce and chilli. Those are their favourite meals because they don't get nagged to eat their veggies. :)

This is going to sound weird but I picked it up off an Australian gf support group... One tablespoon of cocoa (not for those doing SCD though) and it gives any chilli recipe an incredibly rich flavour. Does that sound weird to anyone else?

Our neighbour came over and had some and couldn't believe that half of what he was eating was vegetables because it was so rich in flavour. (For new people, I load my ground meat dishes with all kinds of stuff like ground carrots, beet, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.).



Recipes! Please send us your recipes! I'm sure my kids would love it if I told them there was chocolate in their veggies :D !

Claire

[jccgf]

Now that you mention it, I think I have heard of adding chocolate, but have never tried it. Next time I might. I know I have heard of all the mole sauces originating in Oaxaca from when we visited my neice there!
http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/moles.asp

[note: while on the subject of chocolate, has everyone seen the movie Chocolat with Johnny Depp?]

The carrots passed without any notice. My husband may be my pickiest eater, and there are many things he says he likes the flavor of, but can't stand the chunks (tomato, onion, celery). He says its a texture thing.

They did seem to notice a difference with the ground ostrich when I used it, but they couldn't put their finger on it. I blamed it on a new spaghetti sauce, which I also did really use because the store had been out of my regular. I've tried ground turkey...and they won't eat that. More spices and chocolate next time, and I will sneak it. They've always known before. Hmmm... the chocolate may help it look darker, like ground beef...lol.

Crazy, because my two older children who have flown the nest always ATE EVERYTHING and are very open to trying new foods. My youngest was great until she got sick and stopped eating, and it's been a struggle to get her to taste new things ever since.

Gosh... I'm thinking Soylent Green or Sweeny Todd here. It took a long time to stoop to deceiving, but my husband is just plain ridiculous about trying things. You should see his plate after he finishes a bowl of my soup, piled high with all veggies he dug out.

Cara

[aklap]

They did seem to notice a difference with the ground ostrich...

So...did you find the ostrich at your local Woodman's? :D

[jamietwo]

My husband may be my pickiest eater, and there are many things he says he likes the flavor of, but can't stand the chunks (tomato, onion, celery). He says its a texture thing.

LOL Cara! My 6-year-old says this - I was hoping he'd outgrow it!:p One thing that works for him is to puree the whole soup, although this only works for "some" soups. Its amazing how pureeing everything together can change the taste!

[stevel]

:D :D :D


This is going to sound weird but I picked it up off an Australian gf support group... One tablespoon of cocoa (not for those doing SCD though) and it gives any chilli recipe an incredibly rich flavour. Does that sound weird to anyone else?


Not at all if you every find a real upper class mexican resto (as opposed to the peon food which I love too) cacoa is used extensively.

[NancyM]

I've been using cocoa in chili for a long time. I heard about it somewhere and finally tried it. I liked it! Sometimes I add a bit of cinnamon too. And you have to be careful because they're very hot, but I like chilis in adobo sauce in my chili. :)

[KimS]

Soylent Green

Bwahahahaha!!!

My family knows I'm always trying new things. They've just got to the point of shrugging and having a bite because I never tell them what's in it until after a few bites and plenty of thought goes into the critique...

Maybe they'll be food critics when they grow up. They're certainly getting lots of practise! :D

Recipe: There is no recipe. I've worked the ground veggies up to about a 1 to 1 ratio with the ground meat.

I use whatever veggies I have. Usually I try to put 3 to 5 veggies in so that everyone gets their daily quota in one meal. If I don't have any leftover in the fridge that are already cooked up, I just boil them up in one pot and then puree them. If I make too much, then I put it in canning jars, in the freezer for next time. Also, if I do any juicing, I keep all the pulp in canning jars in the freezer and use that as my 'burger filler' because it doesn't have too much liquid in it (therefore the burgers don't fall apart).

If you end up with too much liquid... just simmer down until enough has evaporated.

I used to use lots of paprika to get the right 'colour' (and Cara's right about the cocoa making the colour deeper and 'more acceptable' also) before but now it's getting to the point that my family knows I only use it for colour and that it tastes the same red as it does brown. I also use a fair bit of oregano if it's more of a ground beef flavour I want, more basil if it's a tomato based meat dish and then sage if it's a ground pork dish.

Then I either make a 'chilli' type stew out of it or pat it out and cut it into square burgers or sausages.

As you all know by now, I could go on forever but I've got to run to dance class. :D

Any more questions? Ask away! I'll be back later.

[aklap]

Yes, I did ;),
Hmmm I'll have to look for that in Appleton. We don't get meat at the grocery store, so I never even wander thru it.

Anybody ever have Bison?? Mmm Bison Burgers....

[annelb]

Hmmm I'll have to look for that in Appleton. We don't get meat at the grocery store, so I never even wander thru it.

Anybody ever have Bison?? Mmm Bison Burgers....

Bought a small bison steak at Wild Oats today. I will let you know how it tastes. I won't be able to hide any veges in this, but no problem, I love veges. :p Tonite will be sauteed kale, onions and orange pepper.
Anne

[aklap]

I liked it. I had a burger at Big Al's Oasis in SD.

[RathyKay]

My Betty Crocker cookbook calls for cocoa in the chili, so I've always made it that way. I think it's only a teaspoon, though. I made a vegetarian chili a looooong time ago. Mr. Kay and I decided it wasn't bad; it just needed some meat.:p As a result, I do grind up carrots and celery and replace some of the meat with that (3 carrots, 2 stalks of celery matched with 1/2 pound hamburger). I know, not too wild. Maybe I'll branch out a little next time. I like to fry the vegies until their soft before adding the rest of the ingredients. Otherwise, their still crunchy and I don't care for crunchy chili.