Category Archives: The Unknown Chef – Recipes

The Unknown Chef is newest addition to the Birdz of a Feather family; it’s our recipe category. Food is one of life’s greatest pleasures. The recipe for a happy life is the right blend of family and friends to share it with, don’t you think?

‘The Unknown Chef‘ is inspired by Hubs. But does anybody really trust a skinny chef? Find out why you should! Although his ambitions to become a well-known chef didn’t go to plan, the blog at least provides an outlet to help prove the naysayers wrong!

We’re big proponents of healthy eating and prefer our ingredients to be non GMO,  organic, where possible, and sugar free.  

You’ll find quick and easy recipes that are real timesavers, like our pressure cooker pulled pork. All the recipes are accessible to everyone. Even those with gluten intolerance or celiac disease, there are gluten free substitutes that will work every time. Hubs himself has celiac so every recipe on the site caters to a gluten-free diet like this gluten free mini pizza-a new technique or Gluten Free Cheddar Biscuits.

Enjoy some of our naturally gluten free recipes too:

Enjoy!  

Shredded Chicken Recipe (Moist & Flavourful)

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Perfecting this shredded chicken recipe was a long time coming.

13 years ago, I auditioned for a TV show in which home cooks could compete for their recipe to become a President’s Choice product to be sold in grocery stores nationwide! Exciting right?

Unfortunately, one of the judges didn’t like the cubed chicken on my chimichurri pizza. It wasn’t the chicken per se, but the shape! Back then, shredded chicken wasn’t even on my radar. Now that this recipe is tried and true, I can’t wait to share it with you. I know we use it a LOT and I think you will too!

Chicken crepes on plate with salad using shredded chicken recipe

Gluten free chicken crepes using shredded chicken

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Beef Stew with Wine

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With winter hanging, on and new snow on the way, this hearty beef stew with wine is like a warm hug. It tastes like it’s been simmering away for hours on end, but it’s a quick cook in a pressure cooker to achieve comfort in a bowl! Or if you have an Instant Pot, that will work just as well.

To make this an Irish stew for St. Patrick’s day (it won’t be gluten free), add a cup of Guinness (you can still keep the wine, or substitute it if you prefer).

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Green Eggs – St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast

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Did you know that green eggs are possible with the addition of only one natural ingredient? Try this fun food experiment for St. Patrick’s Day. And do it with kids; they’ll get a kick out of it too!

Hubs always ends his emails with “I do not like them in a car”. So, as huge Dr. Seuss fans (below is our copy of Green Eggs and Ham), we set out to discover if we could indeed make green eggs and ham!

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Carrot Cake Muffins – Gluten Free

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My husband and I have a birthday pact; every year he buys me ‘flours’ for my birthday and then I make myself carrot cake muffins to celebrate! This year is no exception. Well, except for that fact that I’m turning 60 and setting aside last year’s keto carrot cake muffins recipe in favour of this one (if only just for this special occasion).

Carrot cake muffin with cream cheese frosting on a white plate with walnut halves

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Twice Cooked Potato Latke Recipe

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Can a potato latke recipe that’s twice cooked be twice as good as a traditional potato latke? No, but in some ways, it can be even better!

Hanukkah starts today and it’s customary to eat foods that are either fried in oil or made with cheese. So is it any wonder that my favourite part of the celebration is eating potato latkes?!

To kick off the celebration, we developed this make ahead recipe.

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Oven Pork Back Ribs – In a Pressure Cooker!

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Oven pork back ribs are awesome on the grill as a last step, but sometimes that isn’t possible during the winter. So this is the next best thing! And these oven pork back ribs are super fast too because the first step is to use a pressure cooker (or instant pot)! No need to even marinate or let the spice rub sit on the ribs; the pressure cooker does all the work of penetrating flavour into the meat. You can have fall off the bone sweet, caramelized and slightly sticky ribs in just over an hour!

If I’m being honest, we prefer these to just about every rib we’ve had at a rib fest cooked low and slow for hours! They even have that smoky flavour thanks to liquid smoke!

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Recipe for Kibbeh Inspired Beef Patties – Gluten Free

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Our recipe for Kibbeh is unconventional and not traditional in the least. Kibbeh is a Lebanese dish that is made with bulgur and ground meat (beef or lamb). For an authentic recipe, a reader has kindly shared this YouTube tutorial in Arabic (the recipe is listed in English in the comments).

While Kibbeh means to form a ball, there are many ways to shape it; balls, patties or football shaped. Traditionally, these have a stuffing in the centre. However, we’ve adapted a Milk Street recipe, which is not stuffed, to make this a totally gluten free preparation. I don’t know how the bulgur would taste, but I can guarantee you won’t miss the wheat if you try our version. It’s delicious.

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Belgian Waffle Recipe – Crisp it Up!

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We’ve got another Belgian waffle recipe perfect for a weekend morning! These Belgian waffles are not unlike the homemade belgian waffles we posted last year. However, this time we’re aiming for the crisp factor.

Crispy waffles stand up better to stacking, slathering with syrup or even adding a scoop of ice cream. Instead of eating these for breakfast, they’re also great as a dessert waffle.

stack of belgian waffles with berries, nuts and banana

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