Every. Single. Recipe. – Spaghetti Squash with Sage and Goat Cheese

ss 2

Hey gang! I’m still here and still cooking! Just a little behind in the posts.
So a couple of weeks ago I made this doozey of a recipe out of Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind.  If you are a fan of squash, and a fan of goat cheese…you will be a fan of this!

It is simple and delicious.  The flavors are tremendous!  The sage brown butter gives such a subtle but rich addition!  As you can see from the pic, I made a few additions to mine….and i think you can add any number of things to taste.  Here is what I did…

ss
I slow sauteed a few thin slices of onions along with some chopped garlic in about a tsp of Kerrygold butter while the squash was cooking. That got tossed in to the final mix along with some halved fresh grape tomatoes. I ended up and doubled the amount of goat cheese, mixing half into the squash while it was hot, crumbling the rest on top. I think next time I might also toss some red pepper flakes into pan of onions to give it a little kick.  And I will confess here and now, I did not share.  My squash was pretty small anyway.  I ate my “half”…and then ate the other half!  (Don’t panic, this was all I had for dinner!)  And savored every bit!  So delicious!  Again, Vanessa Barajas, I think your real talents may fall in the savory realm!  I have really enjoyed every single one!

And when you don’t wear your glasses to take photos, you get blurry ones.  So here is my solution for that:

spagh squash
A nice artistic filter on photoshop! Like Watercolors! Ha!

Try this one, you will be so glad you did!
Kristen

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Every. Single. Recip. – Guest Post! Pesto Caprese!

caprese

Today I get a little help from the best of things, my big sister! After being under the weather for couple of weeks she got a tast for something fresh and delicious and decided the Pesto Caprese from Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind would do the trick! She called me and told me what she was up to, so I begged her to send me the report and the pics…because as much as I love Caprese, and Pesto, I have a pretty intense allergy to Truffles and Truffle Oil…so it’s my sister up to bat with these two recipes!

So the picture above is the final product, which she has done nothing but rave about, even made it a second time and took it to a dinner with her kids!
She really liked the twist of the Truffle oil in the Pesto…
pesto
She reports this was very quick and easy to put together, and made plenty to use several times.

I will definitely be making caprese with a version of pesto that works for me, because Caprese is simple, fresh and delicious.  And the addtion of a flavor loaded pesto is perfect any time of year.

Thank you big sister for taking on the Truffle Oil for me!  Hope you can get in there with a cake down the line!! 😉

Every.Single.Recipe. – Cheeseburger Baked Potatoes

tater
Well this hearty plateful only gave me one good photo. (Apologies, sun was already down, lighting not my friend…and it’s a hard dish to photograph already!)

This dish is a nice surprise!  I love baked potatoes, and love me a cheeseburger!  So putting this all together in one big plate is just happiness!

I used Yukon potatoes…which are delicious!  Her meat mix is very good!  I found a great English Grassfed sourced sharp cheddar.  Fresh chives really are great!

I topped it with a bit of grass fed sourced Sour Cream (like any good baker deserves!) and some delicious chipotle salsa, because, well, salsa!

The recipe is quick, simple, and very filling!  Check this one out, in Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind and let me hear your twists!

Every.Single.Recipe. – Cookie Dough Fudge – Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind RECIPE SCORE!

oblique

My latest try, and huge success, Cookie Dough Fudge! And today, via the magic of internet links, you can try this recipe out yourself, as if you don’t already have enough reasons to run out and pick up the cookbook, go to http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2015/09/cookie-dough-fudge/    where Vanessa Barajas has given The Spunky Coconut permission to post the recipe…a teaser if you will!  (Pluse if you are not already familiar, The Spunky Coconut is a great blog, she has some great recipes, info and photos, I have followed her on instagram for years!)

Okay, back to business here.

1st

Not complicated, simple clean ingredients and the magic of a cashew base, if you take the extra 5 minutes and do the browned butter, you will end up with an incredibly close rendition of toll house cookie dough flavor! I went with mini chocolate chips…I’m really in it for the dough, so the minis are always my choice with cookies. Be warned, you gotta pull out alot of equipment to get it done, but it is pretty quick. And because of the type of dough it is, it all cleans up easy. (saucepan, food processor, beaters, bowl, pan, spatulas….maybe not that much??) I just grumble about the food processor really, because I keep mine under the sink and I always time it so it just won’t quite fit in the dishwasher! haha…but then I stuff that chunk of Cookie Dough Fudge in my mouth as I wash the dishes and it’s like little kitchen pixies are there with me making it all get done quickly with sparkles and twinkles!

bowl

So, yeah. If cookie dough is your thing, you really need to do this. I sent a pic to my daughter who is in college several states away and her response was… “STOP.”

I told her not to worry! It’s in the freezer waiting for her on the next trip home!!

side close

One more shot for the road….
Get in the kitchen already!
Also, pick up your copy of Clean Eating With A Dirty Mind, you will be so happy!

Give me some feedback on how you are liking this series of posts…and PLEASE pass along the word about my blog!  I know I am having fun with it!!! Hope you are too!

Kristen

Paleo Banana Bread…my Paleo Mom’s latest inspired recipe!

mothers new banana bread

Mother loves to tinker in the kitchen. She has never met a recipe she has not changed! We giggle about it all the time. So on the weekends, she is usually out at her farm and not close to an organic store, so she makes due with what she remembered to take with her. This is of course a driver in some of the changes, like the one posted here today!

She loves her paleo breads! Usually she’s a muffin girl, but this time she made a loaf…and I imagine the kitchen smelled divine!

She sent me the original recipe which she found from Nourished and Nurtured ( http://www.nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com ) and then she sent me what she did to it, plus this little blurb…

“Because I am leaning toward almond flour and was out of it! I played with this recipe to try to get a bread like my favorite one with almond flour.
Turned out pretty nice and Papa (that’s my husband) really liked it!

-1/2 cup coconut oil (melted and cooled)
-1/2 cup raw honey
-3/4 teaspoon sea salt
-6 eggs
-2 teaspoons vanilla
-1 teaspoon almond extract
-3/4 cup coconut flour
-1 1/2 large bananas, mashed
-2 small zucchinis shredded and squeezed in a paper towel
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Prepare a standard loaf pan with coconut oil (or line with parchment paper).
In a small bowl combine the coconut oil and honey.
In a large bowl, whisk the salt, eggs, vanilla and almond. Add in the oil and honey mixture, whisk away.
Next, stir in the coconut flour until completely combined with no lumps. Stir in the mashed bananas, zuchinni, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.
Pour batter into the loaf pan and top with the “coconut streusel topping” below.

For topping:
-4 tablespoons shreeded coconut
-4 tablespoons palm sugar
-2 tablespoons grass fed butter
Crumble together with fingers like for streusel topping

Sprinkle topping evenly over the batter and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. (Keep checking with the “toothpick test” for doneness).

This makes a nice hearty loaf, serves 12.”

Plate this!

mexiplate

Always on the search for something with alot of flavor that is easy and fairly quick on a weeknight, coupled with will everyone in the house eat it….I was flipping through the March 2014 issue of Paleo Magazine and stumbled across some definitely doable recipes! I read through the two recipes that were meant to be served together called “Salsa Beef and Spiced “Rice” Bowls” and thought, this is too simple!

I got my head around it and started a little improvising in my head, and ended up with the recipe below. I wanted to credit whoever wrote the base recipes, but there is no author cited! So, thank you to Paleo Magazine …for printing those two recipes for inspiration! And here is how I made them my own:

I prepped all my ingredients, the chopping anyway,for both recipes and then just threw them together in their seperate skillets at the same time….

Skillet One – Mexican Beef
Brown 1 pound of Grass fed ground beef in a Tablespoon of coconut oil
Once browned, add:
1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped
4 medium scallions (greens and whites) trimmed and chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
Continue to cook in the skillet another 5 minutes.
Stir in 1/2 cup of your favorite fresh salsa
Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Skillet Two – Spiced Mexican Rice
Chop florets of 2 heads of cauliflower in a food processor
Saute cauliflower in about 3 tablespoons of coconut oil along with 1 medium chopped red onion, 5 minutes. Add in 5-7 cloves of chopped garlic as you saute.
Season the cauli rice with:
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 + tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt, pepper and up to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or more, to taste
Keep moving this around in the skillet until evenly distributed.
Whish together 1/2 cup chicken broth and 2 tablespoons tomato paste….add to the saute and mix in.
while that is cooking a minute or two, chop a handful of cilantro and toss in. Mix in, turn off heat.
Squeeze the juice of a lime over the whole thing and give it a quick mix.

SERVE IT UP:
Put a good helping of cauli rice on the bottom of the plate or bowl.
Top it with your Mexican Beef…
Add a dollop of home made guacamole (mine is a secret recipe…for now!) or chopped avocado…

we decided it could be spicier…
Next time around I will put a couple of spoonfuls of pico de gallo in the rice and mix in….I think that sounds good!

This whole thing took 30 minutes, start to finish…smells divine! Tastes even better!
I cannot wait to hear how you like it!

And now a word from my Mother!

fritatta

My mother sent me a pic of her breakfast last weekend…she does this from time to time…and it always looks amazing so I post it on instagram and everyone loves it and it gets way more likes than anything of mine, whatever! She is paleo, she will not let me tell her age, but I am 43, and she gets discounted movie tickets! So that is all I have to say about that except how cool is it that she GETS it! She is holistic, organic, natural and paleo!

And because everyone on IG wanted to know, here is her recipe for the fritatta above, and her guest post….so, mother….you are on the internet now! you famous!

Guest Post from Mother:

I understand there are some who are
wanting to make the Sunday morning frittata.
This is a meal that fits many occasions. An easy breakfast/brunch
Or try for dinner on a busy day. Aren’t they all?

Most time consuming thing is grating the sweet potato. “What?” you say.
Yes sweet potato!
Recipe coming up and it is very healthy!
I have a little farm where I grow some of my own vegetables and herbs.
Love that and of course we do it organically !
So here is the frittata using veggies and herbs
a la my farm garden.

Sunday Morning Frittata with Chorizo
the oven does alot of the work for you…..and fast!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 -1 lb. chorizo sausage uncooked ( I used veal chorizo)

1 small sweet potato, scrubbed and shredded (about1 cup)

1/2 large yellow bell pepper sliced

1/4 cup of yellow or white onion

8 large pasture raised organic eggs

1 tsp. coconut milk

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 roma tomatoes sliced, (even 9 or 10 small grape tomatoes sliced is fine)

Garnish: avocado slices and fresh chopped herb of your choice, cilantro, sage, basil

the marriage:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Heat the oil in an oven safe skillet over medium heat.

Add the sausage, sweet potato, yellow pepper, and onion and sauté apx. 5 min.

(I browned the sausage first, and added the rest for a sauté of 5 min.)

Beat the eggs with the coconut milk and salt, then pour into the skillet and cook for 2 minutes

Just pour evenly, no stirring or turning…….just easy

Arrange the tomato slices in a circular pattern on top of the eggs. (I added1 cup chopped spinach first)

Place the frittata in the oven and bake for 12 minutes.

Serve with the avocado and sprinkle with the torn herb

**I would add some “smashed garlic with sea salt”, we tend to thrive on alot of garlic!

And if you like hot peppers, I would do either of the next suggestions for a little “tickle” for your taste buds.

Just chop one hot pepper, could be cayenne, our personal favorite that we grow, or jalapeño or a small Tai pepper. I seed them mostly and chop finely with sea salt.

Add 8-10 sliced grape tomatoes. Toss some of this on each slice of the Frittata.

Or do all of the above except sauté with 1 teaspoon grass fed butter or oil in a small skillet for a minute and then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of full fat coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk and stir till thickened slightly. You can add some(grass fed) grated cheddar to this or just spoon it as is over… anything really. Just delicious!

Oh! Don’t ever breathe over a skillet with hot peppers cooking or you will choke a bit and or sneeze, depending on your particular physical make up. Experience is our teacher, right?

I think it took me longer to write out the recipe for you than it did to make it.

So, hope you try this, it will work for any “busy girl for a paleo world”.

A Fast Scramble in the mornings

fast scramble

Ok so first, clearly I am obsessed with blueberries right now. I eat them like a sugar junkie on jelly beans. The are so juicy and sweet right now, I almost cannot stand it! Cheap they are not, but mighty tasty and really good for you, so I splurge!
Blueberries are showing up along my breakfast, as a snack and trailing through my salads. I just cannot get enough right now!

This morning was a blur in my house as usual. The daily scramble to get yourself dressed and ready for work along with a few household items (washer, dryer) dogs and cat fed and watered and let out…always leaves me barrelling out the door in a rush no matter what time I get up! I kind of like it, but I don’t like running late, and that does happen.

Thankfully there are alot of quick ways to throw breakfast together….I usually pack mine and eat it at my desk when I can breathe a little!

A red pepper was calling my name from the fridge, and bacon was not.

So here is the super fast and easy scramble I threw together (and ate along with my BLUEBERRIES!!!):

I put a bit of Kerrygold butter in a small skillett to melt over medium heat. Quick chopped about a fourth of a RED PEPPER…tossed it in the pan.
While that is cooking, crack two eggs into a bowl and chop about a teaspoon of fresh PARSLEY – add that to the egg.
Beat the egg with a fork with a dash of salt and pepper.
Pour into the skillet and start moving the eggs and peppers around as it scrambles.
THATS IT!

You can give a quick sprinkle of grated Kerrygold Cheese over the eggs if you like, or dice some tomatoes or avocado over the top….but today it went as is into the container….

You can do this!
So easy, so fast….so good!

And, that’s Lunch

and thats lunch

All right, one last one for today.
Lunch kind of just happened today, but happened really well!

So, I posted earlier about a little cucumber veggie salad that I like alot made with chopped veggies, mayo, Sunny Paris Seasoning, fresh garlic, S&P and a little vinegar. Well, the nice thing about that mix is it gets better as it sits, and I had a little (very little!) left over last night, and I kept it! I decided to make a salad at lunch and a sweet potato and a little leftover grilled chicken.

I just made a salad with spinach and lettuce leaves. Added a little more veggies (more radishes, carrots, a stalk of hearts of palm) and a tiny bit of organic feta cheese (goats). I hit the whole bowl with a small dollop of mayo, a little more vinegar, and dumped the remainder of last nights salad on top! mix mix mix . wow and WOW! look at that plate! I sort of went into a trance while I was eating away, ended up not even eating much of the chicken and of course devoured that tater!

So this I guess is kind of a recipe? More of a guideline of how quick and easy paleo lunches can be! Keep easy things on hand like leftover proteins, lettuce, fresh organic veggies, and a fresh jar of your home made paleo mayo at all times!

Hope you like my pretty plate, I know I did!

Simple Green and a Cucumber Mix up

good stuff salad

So this salad is too easy not to try, and there are so many variations you can make it your own! I actually had this one published in Paleo Magazines Reader’s Choice Cookbook!
I have a soft spot for broccoli! Broccoli is always the base for this salad for me. And avocado (but I didn’t have any on hand that day…wah!).

So here is what happens:

Bring a pan with about an inch of water in it to a boil.
Throw in a large handful of broccoli florets and let them cook about 2-3 minutes….you do not want them to get mushy!
While that is happening, place the following in a bowl…
Chopped veggies! Tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, avocadoes, celery…whatever catches your eye that day!
Strain and drain the broccoli…then dump out on a paper towel to catch the last bits of water. Then add those to the bowl.
Into the bowl with a big spoonful of homemade mayo, salt and pepper to taste, and squeeze lemon juice all over it…then toss, toss, toss.

That is it! so easy and so good! (I think this is going to be lunch today too!)

Another variation I did last night was simply:
One cucumber, thinly sliced
sliced radishes and sliced carrots
Mash up one piece of garlic into the bowl
Salt and pepper, and a good handful of Penzey’s Sunny Paris Seasoning
A spoonful of mayo and this time I shook some light raspberry vinegar over the top…maybe 3 tablespoons?

toss and mix and toss….the longer it sits, the better it gets!

So delicious I just cannot say enough about these two easy salads that are so different every time you make it!