Mango Slaw

One of the things I learned by participating in the Whole30 plan is that I could eat vinaigrette-based slaw with any meal. I love the stuff! Yesterday I made a batch with mango, using the recipe for this slaw from smitten kitchen. Here's my very slight variation of it.

Mango Slaw

1 bag shredded cabbage, coleslaw blend
1 mango, julienned
1 small red bell pepper, julienned
1/2 shallot, finely minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
6 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
5 tsp (1 Tbsp + 2 tsp) olive oil
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
3/4 tsp salt
heaping 1/4 cup cashews, toasted & roughly chopped
1/4 cup mint leaves, finely sliced

Notes: Julienned means cut into thin strips, like matchsticks. Dressing can be made in advance; just shake well to re-emulsify.

In a large mixing bowl, mix your cabbage, mango, and bell pepper.
In a small jar, add the shallot, vinegar, lime juice, oils, chile flakes, and salt. Shake well to emulsify.
Thoroughly mix dressing into the slaw.
Optional: chill for an hour.
Just before serving, mix in cashews and mint.

My Favorite Pasta Sauce

First thing you should know before I go on, I'm two-thirds through my first Whole30! The Boyfriend is not participating, although he'll eat what I cook. Thus, this recipe is paleo, gluten-free, & Whole30 approved. To keep the whole meal in line with the Whole30 plan, I served the sauce over roasted spaghetti squash. It would also be good with zucchini noodles, and honestly, it's so good that I like to eat the leftovers heated up with a spoon.

Also, if I was a real food blog, there would be pictures. Unfortunately for you, I'm not a photographer, my only camera is my iPhone, and my kitchen is usually a mess. So no pictures. Trust me, it looks like delicious pasta sauce.

Big Batch Meat & Mushroom Tomato Sauce

(This makes enough for 4 dinner servings + leftovers for snacking + a jar for the freezer)

Olive oil
2 lbs ground beef
2 small sweet onions, chopped
4 carrots, peeled & diced
4 celery stalks, diced
16 oz mushrooms, sliced or roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
2 bay leaves
2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes with basil (no-salt added, if possible)
1 small can tomato paste
splash of balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy pan, such as an enameled cast-iron dutch oven. Add ground beef & cook until brown. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onions to pan, cook until softened and starting to brown. Remove and set aside with the cooked meat.
Add more olive oil if the pan gets dry. Add carrots and celery to pan, cook until slightly softened, then add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms begin to brown.
Add garlic, dried spices, and bay leaves. Cook 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant.
Add cooked meat & onions and all remaining ingredients. Stir well.
Lower heat to lowest setting on burner, cover with a heavy lid, and cook at least 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. The sauce will get better if you can cook it longer.
Taste for seasoning, season with salt or vinegar if needed.

Designing Our Perfect Entertaining Space

This post brought to you by Char-Broil. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Accidental Carolina Country Girl.
The idea of custom designing our perfect entertaining space sounded like fun. It's daunting! Luckily we weren't completely starting from scratch, and we're at the point in the renovation now that I can visualize the end result.


Old farmhouses from the 1930's don't have big open floor plans like modern homes. The rooms are smaller, and there are more hallways. When our contractor suggested moving our kitchen into the master bedroom, I absolutely could not see his vision. Thankfully he knows what he's doing, and now the kitchen, while kind of isolated at the back of the home, is going to be the heart of the home.

Our kitchen design is centered around a set of french doors leading out onto the future deck. We're putting in a large island with a sink that faces out those doors. With the design of the kitchen coming together and the warm weather, I've started dreaming about our outdoor space. I can see it in my imagination, hosting parties in our big farmhouse kitchen, people gathered around the island, french doors open to the dining area on the deck, and a patio just off the deck with the grill, more seating, and a fresh herb garden. Can you visualize it too?








It doesn't look like much yet. We haven't even replaced the old sliding door with the french doors yet.

The original deck on the house was quite small. We're adding a bit more to it, so it'll go to the driveway, but that's only just over 12 feet off of the house. We'll put a table and chairs on the deck itself. The grill will go on a patio off the side of the house. Since we grill on charcoal, this is not just a good use of space, it's actually a safer design. Unfortunately, it looks like we won't be able to move our big old grill, so soon we'll need a new grill. We've been to Lowe's several times now to browse. The new Char-Broil Kettleman Grill looks like a good option for us, since we seem to be constantly running out of charcoal, and it uses less than a standard charcoal grill (learn more about the Kettleman grill). Plus, it looks easy to use, has grates designed to keep food from falling through (perfect for grilling veggies), and it fits within our super tight budget.

So, what do you think? Are there better designs for our outdoor entertaining space?