Happy Post Thanksgiving and Zoodles!

Hope everyone filled up on the good stuff over Thanksgiving!  I took the lazy  easy way out.  Ordered my entire meal from Whole Foods.  Since it is just my husband and I, we opted for a turkey breast this year vs a whole bird.  All I had to do was pop everything in oven for 30 minutes to heat through.  The turkey was dry and I did not particularly care for it (but I do not like turkey too much anyway).  The sides were da BOMB!  We had mac n cheese, cornbread dressing, cranberry orange sauce and mashed potatoes.  What what! NO green veggies or anything remotely healthy!  YES!  Also, we had a chocolate chip bourbon pecan pie.  Glutony!  

It was awesome but after a couple days of gorging, we had to get back on track.  So thankful that I ordered this small meal and did not have piles of leftovers nor did I have to spend all day cooking and cleaning up afterward. 

To get some actual veggies back into out system, I decided to make zucchini noodles or zoodles with turkey italian sausage meatballs and sauce.  Aldi actually sells a sauce that has no added sugar and all ingredients that I can prounouce so this was a quick, easy and satisfying meal.
 To make zoodles, you can use julianne peeler or food processor.



 INGREDIENTS

3 large zucchini
1lb ground turkey italian sausage, casing removed
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
portobella mushrooms, sliced
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup + beef stock
coconut oil
parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Roll turkey into 1 inch balls.  Heat small amount of coconut oil in skillet and brown meatballs on both sides.  They do not have to be cooked all the way through because you will simmer in sauce.

In sauce pan, melt 1T coconut oil.  Saute onions, garlic, mushrooms until tender.
Add Spaghetti sauce and meatballs. Simmer about 20 minutes.
I added some stock just to thin the sauce out but this is optional 
Just before serving, microwave zucchini for about 2 minutes, just to heat. You do not want to overcook because zucchini will become soggy.  
Sprinkle with parmesan

As with any spaghetti sauce, you can add whatever veggies you have leftover to make it heartier.  You can also make the meatballs with whatever meat you choose.  If you pick a plain ground beef, chicken, turkey, add italian seasoning to it.

Anyone doing the St. Jude Full or Half Marathon this weekend?  I consider this race the "end" of my busy run season and after, I can "rest".   The icy and cold weather forecast has me just a tad freaked out!  Argggghhhh!  Good luck to all who are running!  
ENJOY! 



Healthier Coconut Shrimp

You know, I do not think I have ever had Coconut Shrimp. I know I never thought of making it and I do not normally get shrimp at restaurants so....  Why Coconut and Shrimp has suddenly popped into my head, I have no idea.  Wait, I am sure it is the gray, cold weather. It has me thinking of the BEACH! What is better at the beach (well, besides fruity drinks) than seafood?!  I googled a couple recipes but they all required batter and frying. Totally not for me!  I tried this a couple different ways, first night browned in my cast iron skillet and the next night browned in the oven.  Either way tasted great but the oven was much easier.  
I bought cooked shrimp, shelled but with tails left on.  dredged in coconut flour, then dipped in egg wash and finally in unsweetened coconut flakes. As I said, the first night I browned in skillet.  When I went to flip to brown the other side, the coating just fell off. Maybe if I sprayed pan with Coconut Oil it would help?  The next night, I breaded the exact same way but then cooked on my stone at 450.  Worked like a charm!  I served with roasted zuchini and green peppers and a side of Papi Joe's Tennessee Pepper Sauce. This stuff goes great on EVERYTHING!

 Ingredients:

1lb shrimp, cooked and peeled, tails on
Coconut Flour
Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
1-2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

Coat Shrimp in flour then egg then coconut
Place on stone (If you dont have a stone, use cookie sheet with coconut oil)
Bake 450 for about 10-15 minutes

***Remember with stones, you do not preheat oven because placing cold food on it may cause it to crack. If you use Cookie Sheet, you can preheat oven and cook time will be shorter.

Chorizo Butternut Squash Hash

Thanks to PaleOMG for an AMAZING and EASY breakfast!  Sorry, I forgot to take pictures but here is the picture from Juli's post.

Ingredients

1/2lb Chorizo
1 small butternut squash, diced (I used 1 bag frozen)
1/2 onion, diced
5 eggs
salt, pepper

Directions

Place onions and squash in cast iron skillet over medium heat
Cook about 5-8 minutes, until squash is soft
Add Chorizo and break it up with a spoon
Add Salt and Pepper
Press 5 indentions into mix and crack egg in each. Cover and Cook about 3-4 minutes (I didnt add the egg to mine since I plan on eating this each morning.  Every morning, I just crack egg over top of serving and microwave until cooked)

So simple, yet so delicious! 

Smoothie Love

I love, love, love smoothies! I have been drinking them since my senior year in high school. I started out basic with milk, banana and protein powder. And can I say how much I love smoothie king?  Keep in mind, not all of their smoothies are good for you and you do not need the super large size!  So here is my daily go-to! 

Handful baby spinach

Kale

Half a large banana

Vanilla protein powder

Turmeric

Vitamin c powder

Flax seeds

Handful frozen blueberries

Handful frozen fruit of choice (sometimes strawberry, or peach pineapple strawberry mix) 

Half cup coconut water 

Half cup coconut milk 

If you want a real treat

Handful spinach

Frozen cherries

Half banana

Turmeric

Flax

Vitamin c 

Chocolate almond milk 

Lightened Up Eggplant Parmesan

I found this recipe on SkinnyTaste.com.  Eggplant Parmesan is probably my favorite Italian Meal. I've made it a million times with breaded and baked eggplant but this time I made it without any breading. It came out really good, but I admit, I was worried the eggplant may be soggy but nope. The key is to slice the eggplant kind of thick and brown it on each side. 

Ingredients

1 large eggplant (I used 2)

1T Olive oil

12oz ricotta (I used 15oz)

1/4 cup + 2T Romano (I used Parmesan)

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I used dry)

1 medium egg

2 cups mozzarella

3 cups homemade tomato sauce

Salt 

Sauce ingredients (courtesy Mario Batali)

2 (28oz) cans whole tomatoes, crushed (used 1)

1/4 cup extra Virgin Olive oil

1/2 carrot, grated

1 onion, diced 

4 cloves Garlic, crushed

3T Thyme (I used Italian seasoning)

I added bell pepper 

Start by making sauce.  Heat Olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until soft and light brown. Add thyme and carrot, and cook 5 min more. Add tomatoes and bring to boil, stirring often. Lower heat and simmer 30 minutes. 

While sauce simmers, slice eggplant 1/4" thick. Lightly salt and place in colander to release moisture for about 1/2 hour. Lay on paper towels to soak up any excess. 

Preheat oven to 450. Brush eggplant lightly with Olive oil on both sides and place on cookie sheets. Bake 20-25 minutes, turning half way through.

In medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg, parsley, and 1/4 cup cheese.

In a 9x12 dish, put a little sauce a layer of eggplant, 1/3 ricotta mixture, mozzarella. Repeat til all ingredients used up. 

Top with sauce and mozzarella and remaining Parmesan. Cover with foil and Bake 400 about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake additional 10min until golden. 

I served over spaghetti squash with side salad. To make squash you just cut on half and scoop out seeds. Brush with Olive oil and back skin side up til soft about 30 min. 

So, the recipe is a bit time consuming but so worth it for that comfort food feel. Honestly, this recipe is almost a dead ringer for my lasagna. Substitute sliced zucchini (or noodles) for eggplant and BAM! 

Crock Pot Chili

What is better than Chili when the weather gets cold? Chili is easy to make, filling and nutritious.  I made the below Chili Recipe in my crock pot and it was delicious! I do not have a real Chili recipe so below is my guesstimates. I usually just throw whatever I have in my chili! 

Ingredients

2lbs meat

Frozen Butternut squash

1 can black beans, rinsed 

1 can tomato paste

24oz can tomatoes

Diced Garlic 

2 cups broth

1 large onion

2 bell peppers

2T chili powder

1/4t Cayenne pepper

2T Cumin

1t Curry powder

1/4t Red pepper flakes 

1/4tCinnamon

1 Bay leaf

1 paprika 

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Brown meat in pan. I used 1lb ground beef, 1 Italian Sausage (casing removed) and some left over stew meat. 

Add everything to crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours.  I topped mine with fresh avocado and it was TO DIE FOR! 

GNO - Must Have (besides wine)

Friday I met up with friends for Girls Night Out. Over the years, the faces have changed but one thing hasn't...Rotel Dip! The MUST HAVE staple for any girls night, trip, bunco party etc.  I will never forget the girls trip to Destin where we met some New Yorkers who had *gasp* never heard of rotel dip. Seriously! Obviously, we immediately made a batch (even though it was 2am) and new fans of it were made. Best thing they ever had they said!  

Here we are enjoying it on the first night of the trip

And Here we are sharing it with the New York group the next night

Start with the basic recipe

Velveeta and a can of Rotel 

I prefer the ratio of 1 small bar of Velveeta to 2 cans Rotel. 

Dice the cheese and place in either crockpot or microwave safe bowl. Pour cans over top and heat, stirring occasionally, til melted. 

From here, you can branch out and add other ingredients like sausage, chorizo, avocado. The possibilities are endless. You can even make Rotel Spaghetti. An old college neighbor (thanks Kristin) shared this with me years ago. 

Cook spaghetti noodles per box directions

Shred cooked chicken breasts

Melt rotel per above 

Place in casserole dish and top with breadcrumbs and bake til bubbly 

Totally not healthy but who can turn down cheesy goodness?