Weird food...

Today I'm going to talk about a weird kind of meat: gizzards and hearts. When I was growing up every summer we would go to my Uncle Howards for his family's big 4th of July party. On his grill he would have this HUGE pan of gizzards and hearts and about 2 or 3 lbs of butter. He would serve those up on a fresh roll and fresh tomatoes. I thought it was the best thing ever to eat! My friend just recently was given some gizzards and hearts and she doesn't eat them and so she passed them on to me. I'd frozen it in the hopes that I'd cook with it or maybe feed it to the dogs.  I checked out the Dukan list and sure enough gizzards and hearts are on there so I'm looking for ways to cook it that would be Dukan Diet friendly. Here are some of the recipes I found:

CHICKEN HEARTS & GIZZARDS
Chicken hearts & gizzards 1 onion Egg Grated low fat or ff cheese lite Salt 3 tbsp. tomato paste Cut up hearts and gizzards. Put in frying pan. Cook at medium temperature. Cook onion with these after these are cooked. Add a whipped egg. Mix. Add cheese and salt. Add tomato paste and mix. You may need a little water. Heat up and eat. http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1739,153189-227194,00.html

One person suggested:

Okazu

Clean and chop the gizzards, heart, necks, and livers in bite size bits. Marinate in soy sauce, grated fresh ginger, finely chopped garlic, touch of wine, touch of sugar (optional), and chili according to taste. Cook with your choice of sweet/picante peppers (e.g., Anaheim types), sliced onion, or chinese or other Asian cabbage or kales. Serve with rice. The resulting dish is a sort of okazu, Japanese peasant food that is good, cheap, and variable in terms of ingredients.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/339005

** I would serve this not with rice but maybe cauliflower or on salad or cabbage or even some tofu noodles. 



Pumpkin, Portobello and Gizzards... Was (Portobello, Wild Rice, and Gizzards)

• 1 pound chicken gizzards
• 3-4 cups of cooked pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (on a PP day use 1 tablespoon of chicken broth)
• 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 large portobello mushroom cap, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 cup grated low fat Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium casserole dish.
2. Place gizzards in a pot with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook 15 minutes. Drain, and dice.
3. Heat olive oil (or chicken broth) in a skillet, and cook the onion, mushroom, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes until tender. Mix in the cooked gizzards, and cook until lightly browned. Transfer mixture to the prepared casserole dish, and stir in the pumpkin. Top with Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Portobello-Wild-Rice-and-Gizzards/Detail.aspx

**This sounds so good that I'm going to go get the ingredients and cook this up tomorrow!!! :)

Chicken Gizzards and Hearts a la Stroganoff 

Chicken gizzards (stomachs) - 200 g
Chicken hearts - 250 g
Onion - 200 g (about 2 medium)
Mushrooms - 227 g (1/2 pound)
low fat Sour cream - 250 g
Salt, pepper, spices, oil for sauteing

- Wash the gizzards and hearts.
- Boil the gizzards in a pot with a couple of bay leaves, some salt and peppercorns for about 40 minutes.
- After 40 minutes add the hearts and boil for another 5-8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dice the onions and saute them in some oil on medium heat until they start to change colour.
- Add the slice mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms reduced by half, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add the sour cream, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add some salt, pepper and favourite spices to taste.
- Add boiled hearts and gizzards to the sauce and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the gizzards are very tender. Add more sour cream if needed.
- Serve with mushed potatoes, egg noodles, rice or buckwheat.

Comments:
- Chicken gizzards are very tough, so 40 minutes of boiling might not be enough, try them.
- Chicken hearts, on the other hand, are very tender, so 5-8 minutes are enough.
- The stock is quite tasty as well, you can freeze it in an ice-cube tray and use it later for some sauces.
http://sweetladysweetsrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/07/chicken-gizzards-and-hearts-la.html

Chicken Gizzard & Heart Saute

Ingredients

• 2 lb Chicken Gizzards & Hearts
• 1 cup Onions
• 2 tsp Spices, Cinnamon, Ground
• 2 tsp Turmeric
• 2 tsp Cardamom Pods
• 2 tsp Spices, Cayenne Pepper
• 2 1/2 tsp Spices, Cumin Seed
• 2 1/2 tsp Sea Salt    *I'd use lite salt here*
• 1 tbsp Canola Oil     *I'd use olive oil or chicken broth here*
• 1/2 cup Tap Water   * I'd use chicken broth instead of water*

Preparation:
Marinate the meat in everything except the oil & water

Leave overnight or for some time to marinate in the fridge

Cooking:
Heat up oil
Pour in the marinated meat
Pour in water
Cover & cook on Medium for 15 minutes
Uncover & stir
Cover & cook on Low for another 15 minutes

http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/chicken-gizzard-heart-saute/