Okay...  There is a story behind this name and recipe.  I was texting with my sister the other day - she lives in Wild Rose Country, Alberta, Canada.  Yup as beautiful as those Wild Roses are, and they are a plenty, the miles are too far between us and I miss her. Thankfully, we do visit from time to time.

Now onto how this recipe evolved.  Texting away at both our ends she mentioned what she was making for dinner.  I thought, hey, I have most of those ingredients, and can easily make a few improvisations, hence this recipe came about.  You know how you get bored with the same old same old?  Well, here was something new to try, and yes, it was damn delicious yummm in your mouth!  Plus, for those that follow a Keto diet, this is a recipe you will love. Thank you sweet sister, a recipe we will make time and time again. xoxo

1 spaghetti squash, cooked - we used our tried and true Air fryer method

2 Tblsp. Olive Oil

1 shallot, sliced

2 minced garlic cloves

398 ml can of whole, peeled Italian Pomodaro tomatoes, with sauce, cut into bite size pieces (or 1 pint fresh cherry tomatoes)

huge handful (1  1/2 cups?) roughly chopped fresh spinach

4-5 slices roughly chopped bacon

1 tsp. whole leaf dried oregano, crushed in hands, 1/2 tsp. ground basil, 1/2 tsp. ground fennel

salt and pepper to taste

Grated Parmesan cheese

Follow the directions for Air Fryer Spaghetti Squash, or use oven roasted method.

Heat up a large sauce pan low medium heat, with the Olive Oil, shallots and garlic.  Saute until fragrant, 3-4 minutes, then add in the chopped whole tomatoes and sauce, and fresh spinach.  Add in the spices stirring well, bring to a simmer, turn down to low minimum, lid off and simmer.  This will low simmer 30-40 minutes while the rest of the meal comes together.

Heat up a frying pan on medium heat and cook the bacon until brown/crisp, then remove and place on a plate with paper towel to absorb the extra grease.

Once spaghetti squash is cooked, remove from Air fryer to a platter.  I use tongs at one end, and scrape out the strands using a fork onto the platter.  Plate the spaghetti squash, and cover with the Italian tomato sauce, sprinkling of bacon and Parmesan cheese.  Comfort food full of flavor and quick and easy too!

 

 

 

This recipe can be increased to feed however many people.  Here it was made for one - and could not be easier to make.  It is also a very liberal recipe - you can use any seasonings, spices, or even marinades for this recipe. Super quick cooking time as well.

1 small top sirloin medallion - about 4- 5 oz

sliced cremini mushrooms - however many you want

a drizzle of Avocado oil

a drizzle of Gluten Free Worcestershire Sauce

Seasoning blend - I use this one

Slice the sirloin medallion steak into strips, and slice up the mushrooms.  Place into an 8 inch round baking pan.  Drizzle a bit of Avocado Oil, and a drizzle of Worcestershire sauce through out the meat, then sprinkle with the seasoning blend.  Toss/mix to coat well.

Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees for 5 minutes.  Place the pan inside the Air Fryer and cook for 5 minutes, tossing ingredients half way through the cooking time.

Serve with any side vegetables.

If you love curries, Tandoori flavors are some of the best.  The method here using an air fryer is very simple.  You can make your own Tandoori seasoning, but we recently found a jarred Tandoori paste that is gluten free - and outstanding in flavor.

In this recipe we used whole chicken legs, thigh with attached drumstick, but any chicken pieces will work nicely.  Cooking time will vary, depending on cut and size.

Method:

In a glass bowl, mix 4 Tblsp. natural low fat yogurt, with 1 Tblsp. of Tandoori paste, or more to taste.  Mix well. Cut a few slices on top of the chicken legs (not too deep) and place the chicken legs into the bowl and cover fully in the sauce.  Cover the dish with a lid or cling wrap and marinate in the fridge for minimum 4 hours.

Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees for 5 min.  Carefully place a folded piece of parchment paper, folded to size into the bottom of the air fryer.  Using tongs, place in the chicken legs, leaving the top portion covered in the Tandoori sauce.

Cook 15-25 min. depending on size of the chicken legs.  Half way through, using tongs, turn the parchment paper to rotate.  Using an instant read thermometer, check the chicken legs intermittently, once the chicken has reached 165 degrees fahrenheight, the chicken is ready to be plated.

We had ours served with Saffron rice and steamed vegetables, but any side dish or salad will be complimentary.

 

Air Fryer spaghetti squash could not get any easier.  We love to have spaghetti squash with Meatballs and Marinara sauce, or under a serving of chili.  Spaghetti squash is a nutritious and filling squash any way you decide to serve it.

Cut the stem end off of the spaghetti squash, then place on cut end and cut the squash in half.  Scoop out the seeds with a spoon.  Drizzle a small amount of Avocado Oil in each squash and spread throughout with you hand.  Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the Air Fryer at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.  Open the basket and add a splash of water to the bottom of the fryer - no need to remove the tray.

Place the Spaghetti Squash cut side up into the basket and cook.  Depending on the size of you squash cooking time will be anywhere from 23-30 minutes.  Carefully remove the cooked squash with tongs and allow to cool a bit before using a fork to scrape out the strands of squash.  Serve along side any main dish.

We are coming up to one year of using our 8 quart Chefman Air Fryer.  Do we still love it?  YES, even more so.  It takes a bit of adjustment to cooking/roasting compared to using the oven or other cooking methods, but we have discovered everything we have cooked in the Air Fryer tastes way better.

To list the pros:

- Roasted meats and vegetables are taken to a higher level of taste.  A better roast flavor, meat is super juicy and tender verses using the oven

- Cooking time is way faster

- Little to no oil is used

- Clean up is easy

- And best of all:  We have had huge savings in our electrical/hydro bill.  For example in a 2 month period we saved 28% cost over the same time period a year ago.  28% is considerable.  Therefore, a "greener" cost saving, more efficient cooking method.

To list the cons:

The only downside we have discovered, is in cleaning the fan/top underside of the Air Fryer.  So, every once in a while we will gently unscrew one of the screws to lift the element in order to clean the fan.  So far so good.  The rest of the Air Fryer is very easily cleaned after each use.

The only other consideration one might have is what size your family would best need.  With a 8 quart it provides lots of space in the fryer basket, but is fairly large so you do need the space for one this size. For example an 8 quart size will easily accommodate a 4 - 4  1/2 lb. chicken.

In the past year, we have seldom used the oven where as before we used it all the time.  We do use the BBQ occasionally, especially for steaks or burgers (have not tried those in the Air Fryer yet)

We love the Air Fryer method of cooking, and have purchased them for our adult children who are now enjoying it as much as we do.  Just the savings alone, in our time of high inflation is a huge bonus. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Air Fryer chicken wings take everyday chicken wings to a whole new level.  Quick and easy with a simple marinade of your choice you can not go wrong!

The method used here is a bit different to other chicken air fryer recipes, so will begin with the simple marinade we used.

25 chicken wings/drumetts

in a bowl whisk the following ingredients:

1 tsp. Hot Sauce - we use Cholula

1 1/2 tsp. ketchup

1 tsp. white vinegar

4 Tblsp. Gluten Free Soy Sauce

1 large roughly chopped garlic clove

3 Tblsp. water

Add chicken wings to a zip lock bag and pour in the marinade.  Allow to marinate in the fridge for 7 hours.  Remove from the fridge 40 minutes before cooking in the air fryer.

Remove the bottom tray from the air fryer, then preheat the air fryer at 380 degrees for 5 minutes.  Carefully replace the tray into the air fryer, and lightly brush on grape seed or avocado oil.  Using tongs, place the chicken wings into the basket evenly spaced.  It is ok if they are close together.

Set the air fryer for 28 minutes.  Every 10 minutes, using tongs, carefully turn over the chicken wings.  Serve with any side dishes.

 

 

Here is the method we used to cook smokies in the Air Fryer ... it could not be easier.  These are an all natural gluten free smoked sausage that we normally do on the BBQ, but we have discovered they taste even better being cooked in an Air Fryer.  No oil is required, for four smokies, preheat your Air Fryer at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.

Once preheated, place your sausages into the basket with space between each smokie.  Set the Air Frier for 9 minutes and turn the smokies over half way through cooking.  Serve with any side dishes or use as a hot dog style smokie.

You have all probably heard me say before, we love love our Air Fryer!  Chicken of all kinds is truly divine.

We have discovered with Air Fryer chicken - various parts of the chicken or a whole roast chicken, each method is a bit different.  For example, while whole chicken legs are cooked at a temperature of 380, for a whole roast chicken we set it at 370 degrees.  Again we used a small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil worked over the chicken and then used a dry rub.  Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes, cooking a 3 1/2 lb. chicken for 45- 50 minutes turning around the chicken half way through the cooking time.  You will want an internal temperature of 165 by the time the chicken has rested 10 minutes.  Most times we leave the chicken in the Air Fryer slightly cracked open to rest.

Roasted whole chicken in the Air Fryer is nicely browned with crispy skin, and the meat is juicy tender, falling off the bone.

Next up is skinless, boneless chicken breasts.  Here you will again use a small amount of oil on each chicken breast and your choice of dry rub.  It will depend on the size of your chicken breasts to determine the full cooking time, again reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees.  We have had both small and large chicken breasts and the cooking time does vary.

These chicken breasts were not large, so preheat the Air Fryer at 375 degrees for five minutes. (ours took 11 min. with 5 minute rest in the Air Fryer cracked open) Place the chicken breasts into the basket and cook 10-16 minutes turning over half way through cooking time.  Again lovely tender juicy chicken served along any side dishes.