Roasted Sweet Potatoes

These were Stephen's idea last night, and they were bomb! We literally could have eaten wayyy more! I will definitely be making these again soon, especially since they are the easiest thing ever. We served them up with a roasted chicken and sauteed kale and broccoli!

2 sweet potatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons oregano

1 1/2 tablespoons dried minced onions

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon natures seasoning

Directions: 

• Cut the sweet potatoes into rounds and 1/2 rounds and lay out on a baking sheet.
• Drizzle with olive oil and all seasonings and mix up so that they are all coated.
• Roast in a 450 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes until they are tender in the middle and crispy around the outside!

Balsamic Brussels & Beets

This is my favorite way to eat beets and Brussels. A coworker made this for a party several years ago, and I have loved it ever since! This dish is packed with flavor, so I typically pair it with a protein that is a little more mellow. Tonight I made Italian Panko breaded chicken strips!

2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

1 bunch of golden beets

1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds

1 cup beet leaves

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon coconut sugar or brown sugar (optional but amazing)

3 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions: 

• Prepare the Brussels sprouts and peel and chop beets into quarters
• Chop beet leaves
• In a large pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil (or coconut oil) and saute Brussels and beets for about 5 minutes. Then add garlic, beet leaves, balsamic, seasonings and brown sugar. 
• Cook about 10 minutes until the veggies have softened and slightly browned. Add almonds and cook another 3-5 minutes.  I like my veggies to still have some firmness to them, but you can cook them to whatever you like!
• Enjoy!

For the chicken, all I did was get chicken tenders and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Dredge in flour, then an egg/milk mix, then the Italian Panko. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, then turn over and cook another 10 minutes! Done!

Sweet Potato (or Yam) Casserole

Happy Thanksgiving!! I am a little late with this post, but had to get this awesome recipe up. Yams/Sweet Potato dishes are pretty much my favorite dish at Thanksgiving. This year, I wanted to make a recipe my friend Amber gave me. She made this at our last Christmas party and it was delicious. I definitely recommend this dish, I made a couple minor changes to quantity so I could serve the crowd I was feeding, but the idea is the same.  I will be making it again for our Christmas Eve dinner with Stephen's family :)

5-6 cups mashed sweet potatoes or yams (I prefer the orange color)

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs

1 stick of butter, cut into small pieces

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour (I used AP gluten free)

1/2 cup butter

2 cups pecans, chopped roughly

Directions:

• Peel and boil sweet potatoes. 
• Once drained, mash sweet potatoes and add all of the top ingredients and mix until smooth and creamy.
• Put in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. 
• Melt the butter for the topping and mix all of the topping ingredients together and put over the top of the sweet potatoes. 
• Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 
• Remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes until everything is bubbling. 
• Serve up next to your favorite main dish!

49er Spanish Rice

This rice is red, the 49er's won the NFC Championship today (actually yesterday by the time I am getting this post up) and we had left over bean dip so we decided to make some tacos with Spanish rice for dinner! This was super easy and tasted even better than any you would get at a restaurant or out of a box.

2 cups brown jasmine rice

4 cups vegetable stock

1 onion, chopped

5 onions, minced

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1 tomato, diced

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons chili powder

Directions

• In a pan, put 1 tablespoon of olive oil and brown the rice. 
• Add the onion and garlic and saute until onion is tender
• In another sauce pan, bring vegetable stock to a simmer then add all the spices, tomato paste and tomato and stir to incorporate
• Add the brown rice to the simmering stock and let cook until tender. As it is cooking, continue to stir numerous times and add a little bit of water if the rice seems to not be getting cooked. 
• Enjoy!

Baked Artichokes

Day 17 of the cleanse. Stephen asked for artichokes tonight and I didn't really know how I wanted to make them. I usually just love them steamed dipped in a little garlic mayo. That, I obviously couldn't do, so I had to get a little creative. Artichokes definitely take some time, but they are worth it!

2 artichokes

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons basil, chopped

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons vegetable stock

1 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons soy mozzarella (optional)

Directions

• Prepare artichokes by cutting off top 1/2 inch and trimming the tips of the artichoke leaves to remove sharp points. Also cut off the stem
• Place in a large pot of water and steam until the outer leaves remove easily from the artichoke. This will take 30-45 minutes. 
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Drain the artichokes and cut in half
• Remove the chokes and place heart up in a sprayed baking dish
• Drizzle olive oil and vegetable stock on top
• Sprinkle garlic, basil, salt and pepper and oregano on the top and in between the leaves
• Cover baking dish with aluminum foil for 25 minutes
• Remove from oven and sprinkle soy cheese on the top and put back into the oven for 5 minutes. 
• Remove and eat!

Roasted Golden Beets & Swiss Chard with Brussel Sprouts

There are two camps when it comes to Brussels sprouts, the lovers and the haters. I find myself posted up in the lovers camp for sure. I love Brussels, so when I found these little gems at farmers' market on Saturday, I knew I had to have them.  This evening, I stood and looked in my fridge trying to contemplate what I was going to do with them. I ended up LOVING what I came up with. The beets were sweet, Brussels tender and Swiss chard perfect! This is definitely a dish you have to try.

3 large golden beets

1 pint of Brussels sprouts 

10 leaves of Swiss chard

1/4 cup almonds, chopped

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 1/2 cups qunioa

3 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon agave

salt and pepper

3 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried minced onions

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 
• Wash, scrub and peel your beets and chop them into small cubes. Try to make them as uniform as possible and put them in a bowl.
• Mix beets with 1/2 tablespoon oil, salt and pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, minced onions and agave. Mix up so all the beets are covered in the oil mix. 
• Prepare your Brussels. Wash and remove stem and a few of the outer leaves. Chop in 1/2
• Now put your beets on a cookie sheet with sides, lined with aluminum and put in the 425 oven and cook for about 45 minutes. The beets will be soft all the way through and begin to brown on the edges when they are done. 
• I was able to do my quinoa and Brussels at the same time in my cooker. Put 1 1/2 cups qunioa and 3 cups of vegetable stock in a rice cooker. In the steamer attachment, put your Brussels sprouts. Season Brussels with salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. 
• Cook until the qunioa is done, the Brussels will also be done, set aside.
• Now spray a pan lightly with cooking spray and then toast your chopped almonds for 3-5 minutes. 
• Remove from the pan and set aside. 
• Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil to the pan and add chopped Swiss chard. 
• Let Swiss chard cook about 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. 
• Add almonds and cook another 2 minutes. 
• Add steamed Brussels to Swiss chard and mix. 
• Serve it all over your quinoa!

Polenta with Vegetarian Ragu

We had some left over sauce from the quinoa pasta from last night, so I thought it would be good to add to it and kind of re-create the dish! It turned out really great. If you don't have leftover quinoa like I did, you can just add some of the same veggies and tomato paste like I used for it. Below are the ingredients I added.

1 tube of polenta, cut in rounds

1 tablespoon olive oil + more for drizzling on polenta

2 tablespoons soy mozzerella

1/2 head of cauliflower

1-2 carrots

1 pasilla pepper

4 leaves of swiss chard

1 cup kale, chopped

salt and pepper

oregano

 

Directions

• Cut the polenta into rounds and set aside
• Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and saute carrots and cauliflower for about 10 minutes until it starts to get tender
• Add the leftover quinoa pasta sauce
• Add swiss chard, kale and seasonings and cook about 10-15 minutes
• Put polenta on a foiled, then sprayed cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
• Broil on high for 5 minutes until they are cooked and slightly crispy on the edges
• I sprinkled a little soy mozzerella on the polenta when it came out of the oven!
• Serve!

Roasted Butternut Squash

I needed some sort of side to go with the chili that would be "cooling" since the chili had some spice. Normally some cornbread and honey will accomplish this, but I had to think a little outside the box. I made some roasted butternut squash. Why don't I make this more often? I have no clue, it's so good!

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into small pieces

salt and pepper

agave

Smart Balance buttery spread with flaxseed oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cut up the butternut squash and put in a baking dish
• Drizzle approximately 1 tablespoon of agave over top, 1 tablespoon of the Smart Balance and generously season with salt and pepper
• Bake in the oven approximately 20 minutes
• For the last 5 minutes, broil on high
• Take a quick taste and if you desire a little more sweetness, drizzle a little bit more agave over the top when you serve!

Cheesy Potatoes

I think I will always owe Kristyn Porter for giving me this recipe, it is amazingly delicious and I honestly get so many compliments when I make it. This is a MUST make cheesy potato dish that will get you the title of "Cooking God" when you make it.

1 -2lb bag hash browns (I use the little cubes, I think original recipe is the shredded), thawed

1 container sour cream (16 oz)

2 tablespoons minced onions (dried)

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 cups cheddar cheese

salt and pepper (optional)

1 can cream of chicken soup

Directions: 

• Thaw the potatoes
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl, making sure its thoroughly mixed
• Spray a baking dish and put the mix into the baking dish
• Cover and cook about 45 minutes
• Remove foil and cook another 15-20 minutes
• The sides should be bubbling and the center cooked through
• I think you could definitely add some extras to this dish too- jalapenos, veggies, you name it!

Firestone Fries

For anyone that has been to or lives in San Luis Obispo, you are sure to have tried Firestone Grill. The menu is made up of various bbq meats, burgers, onion rings, fries and salads. However, their fries alone bring me in... they are amazing!! Stephen and I were having a crazy craving for a good burger and fries a couple weeks ago and I tried to recreate the little beauties. I think I got pretty darn close- and it was only 2 ingredients!

Ore-Ida Shoestring Frozen Fries

Lawry's seasoning

Directions: 

• Bake the fries according to the directions. When they are almost done, put them up on the top rack and turn on the broiler for a couple minutes to get them extra crispy. 
• Pull them out of the oven and put them in a big bowl
• Mix with approximately 2 tablespoons of the Lawry's seasoning- or more if you want them extra covered. 
• Serve right away!

Pan Fried Zucchini

So I finally got a new cell phone- I know what does that have to do with zucchini? Well I think it takes WAY better photos, so excited!! This is a recipe that my mom told me my grandma used to make. She use to pan fry it in butter though, and honestly, I forgot that step and used oil. It was delicious, but next time I will definitely use butter!

Zucchini, cut into rounds

eggs, whisked

flour

salt and pepper

garlic powder

oil (or butter)

You will see I am working with a
MUCH larger than normal zucchini!
Thanks Alyssa & Danny for letting me
shop your home garden :) 

Cut into slices 

In 2 pans add your egg and flour. Whisk
the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

Season each slice with salt and pepper
and garlic powder. Then put in egg mix
and then flour making a very light batter.

Heat oil in a pan and put zucchini in.
When both sides are brown, remove and
lightly season w/ a little more salt and pepper! 

Garlic Parmesan Noodles

I love Pasta Roni, it's cheap and delicious, but I hate not knowing what is in the mystery powder you make it with so I decided to make my own version :) Stephen LOVED this dish and it literally took me 15 minutes to make!

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup milk (I had non-fat)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb angel hair pasta

2 teaspoons parsley (I used dried but fresh would be good)

1 cup rotisserie chicken (I had some left over from another dish- this is optional)

Directions: 

• Put the oil and garlic in a pan and cook for 1-2 minutes then add the butter and let it melt. 
• Add in the chicken broth and salt and pepper and bring to a boil
• Once the chicken broth is at a roiling boil, break your angel hair pasta in half (I usually HATE doing this with pasta, but for this dish it works really well) and add it to the broth. Cook for about 8 minutes
• Add the Parmesan cheese and stir to make sure you have no lumps then add the milk. 
• Lastly, stir in the parsley and chicken if you have it and serve!

Pink Alfredo Sauce

I wanted to make Stephen a special dinner to go with our awesome dessert :) He LOVES alfredo sauce, obviously not the best menu choice, but every once in a great while is ok. I wanted to make this alfredo pink to go along with the theme, so with the help of a little tomato paste, that was possible! I served this recipe up with some cheese tortellinis shaped like hearts (totally cheesy huh? but I love it)

1/4 cup butter

1.5 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, graded

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons tomato paste

Directions:

• Peel your garlic and smash. To do this, you will put about 1/4 teaspoon of salt on your minced garlic. Then you will begin to make a paste of the garlic by smashing the edge of your knife on the garlic and pulling your knife back, really just smashing the garlic into your cutting board- the salt acts as an aggregate. 
• Melt the butter in a pan and add the garlic to cook for about 1 minute
• Add in the cream, tomato paste, and seasoning and stir for about 5 minutes
• Add the parmesan cheese and stir. Cook for about 5-8 more minutes until it has thickened
• Serve over your favorite pasta!



Chicken Packets

My mom used to make these when I lived at home and I always loved them. They are so simple and delicious! The recipe below is for 2 people and divide each ingredient in 1/2 to be what you need for each packet. To make it for additional people just add an extra chicken breast per person and bump up all the other ingredients.

2 chicken breasts

4 carrots, cut into chunks

1 onion

3 red potatoes

4 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons parsley
2 table spoons butter, each tablespoon cut in 6 pieces

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 teaspoons olive oil

aluminum foil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Lay a large piece of foil down on your counter and season both sides of your chicken with salt, pepper, Italian seasonings, paprika and parsley.
• Then begin to put the following ingredients on the foil:  2 cut up carrots, 1/2 an onion, 1/2 of your potatoes, and 2 cloves of garlic. Then season the veggies with some salt and pepper and garlic powder.
• Add your butter in little pieces all over the veggies and chicken (will be 1 tablespoon per packet, cut into 6 pieces) and drizzle with about 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Bring 2 of the opposite sides of the foil up and begin to fold the foil together. Fold it down to about an inch above the food, then fold in the two sides. You want to have an aluminum foil packet that doesn't let any air escape
• Put your packets on a baking sheet and cook for about 40 minutes. 
• After 40 minutes, slightly open your packet and see if your veggies are fork tender and your chicken is cooked. 
• Enjoy!

Mozzarella Meatballs

I haven't done a big grocery shopping trip in almost two weeks, so it is definitely slim pickings at our house. I have been attempting to clean out my cabinets and freezer a little. Tonight I was down to my last protein in the freezer, ground turkey and I was really not feeling very inventive. I decided to make some mozzarella filled meatballs since I had all the ingredients at hand.  They turned out to be super yummy and I just served them up with some pasta and jarred spaghetti sauce. Piece of cake!!

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, can be shredded or cubed

2 teaspoons Worcestershire

1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs

3 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon pepper

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

• Mix all of the ingredients, except the turkey, in a bowl. Then add the turkey. You do this so that you aren't over mixing the turkey and making it tough. 
• Grab about 1 tablespoon of turkey mix and squish it kind of flat in your hand. Add the mozzarella to the middle and then shape the turkey mix into a ball. Try to make sure all the cheese is covered by turkey. 
• Spray some non-stick spray on a baking sheet and put into the meatballs into an oven that has been preheated to 400 degrees.
• Bake about 15 minutes, flip or stir around the meatballs to get them brown on the other side and cook about 15 more minutes. Cooking time will differ depending on how big you made the meatballs. 
• Put your jarred sauce into a pot to warm. When the meatballs are done, add them right into the sauce. Then stir them up, and put on your pasta!

Pulled Pork Sammys and Coleslaw

I have always loved this meal and with my new crock pot, I am actually able to make a large amount of pulled pork at once! This is a must try :)

Pulled Pork:

Pork Roast (I trimmed off the fat before cooking)

3/4 bottle of bbq sauce

8 oz sprite or 7up

Coleslaw (below makes for 4 people):

1/2 head of cabbage

2 large carrots (If you have shredded carrots all the better)

2 green onions

1/4 cup mayo

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon carraway seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Directions:

•  Put the pork, bbq sauce and sprite in a crock pot and cook on low 8 hours.
• Shred the pork when it is done and remove some of the excess liquid. If you want it to be a little bit more bbqy (that a word? haha) add the rest of the bbq sauce after remove excess liquid.
• Chop the carrots, onion and cabbage and put in a bowl.
• In a small mixing bowl add the mayo, sugar, carraway seeds, s & p and vinegar and mix. Do a quick taste test to make sure its how you like it and pour over the cabbage mix.



Butternut Squash Bowties

So no words were spoken while eating this meal, with the exception of a few "mm's" and "oh's" it was quiet, some serious devouring was taking place.

This recipe was adapted from a Giada de Laurentis recipe. I added a couple different things and changed up a few ingredients. It is overall the same, but awesome! I served it up with a side of thinly sliced flank steak, the recipe had called for prawns (which I would have LOVED, but Stephen can't eat shrimp). Guess I have to cook some beef to satisfy the hubby sometimes!

Served as a side with steamed broccoli
and a pretty amazing flank steak!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound butternut squash, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup chicken stock (or you can use veggie)

1 pound bow tie pasta (this would also be excellent with brown rice pasta)

1/2 cup chopped basil

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

3/4 cup milk

Directions:

• Cook the pasta, drain and set aside
• Warm the olive oil in a large skillet, then add the butternut squash, garlic and seasonings.
• Saute until the squash is golden brown and tender.
• Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the squash is very soft.
• Trasfer to a blender or food processor and puree.
• Add the pureed squash back into the pot, the milk and cooked pasta. Stir to combine. If it is still a little dry add more milk (up to 1/4 cup more).
• Add basil and cheese and serve warm!

Cranberry Horseradish Sauce

Just wanted to try something new and different for the turkey! This sauce is light and tangy and definitely a change of pace from gravy!

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 small onion

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

Mix the cranberries and onion in a food processor. Once it is in small pieces add the rest of the ingredients until well incorporated!



Mac n Cheese 4 a Crowd

Made this for the first time this Thanksgiving. I got the recipe from Pioneer Woman's website (if you don't know of her, you need to she has AMAZING recipes and ideas!). It was delicious. Of course, baking for a crowd required me to double the recipe. I also used 3 cheeses- Gruyere, Sharp Cheddar and Mozzarella! Because the website I got the recipe from has the best step by step pictures, I will send you to that website and just show you a pic of my final product. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Macaroni and Cheese

My amazing tomatillo sauce!

After learning a couple of different versions, I have made my own - it is pretty amazing and the perfect compliment to enchiladas and especially tacos!  So good!

15-20 tomatillos, peeled and washed

1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped big

1 jalapeno, de stemmed and washed

1/2 bunch of cilantro

salt and pepper

1 avocado

4 cloves of garlic

Directions:

• After peeling and washing the tomatillos, put them in a pan wih the jalapeno and cover with water. Boil until the tomatillos skin starts to crack and they turn a light green color
• In a blender, add the tomatillos, jalapeno, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and cilantro and blend. Do a quick taste test to make sure it is seasoned ok.
• Then add the whole peeled and de-pitted avocado and blend!
• Enjoy as a sauce on your tacos or add to tortillas with jack cheese to make salsa verde enchiladas- no baking required.