Roasted Garlic Artichoke

Over Labor Day weekend Adam and I went to Atlanta with our dear friends Richard and Jen. We had such a great time and some awesome food! The first night at dinner we had Roasted Artichoke. I had never had artichoke before and I fell in love! It has a subtle flavor and is so tender. I wanted to have this at home but didn't really know how to cook it. I decided to roast it in the oven and I must say, it turned out pretty good! It wasn't quite as good as the restaurants, but I still enjoyed it.

Ingredients;

• 1 artichoke
• minced garlic
• EVOO

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Clip the pointy tops of the leaves off the artichoke
3. Use as much minced garlic as you would like (I used a lot) and push the garlic all down in the artichoke
4. Drizzle with EVOO, making sure you get in between the leaves as well
5. Wrap the artichoke in tin foil and put in oven on middle rack for approx a 1.5 hours

Note: Once you get down to the heart, the prickly, fibrous hairs are not edible. You have to work to get to the heart, but it is well worth it. 

Broccoli Salad

The thing that I struggle with the most, in regards to cooking, are side dishes. I think it's because I am not very picky and I really love simple veggies. I am completely satisfied with sauteed mixed veggies, or roasted veggies; However, I decided to try something new and perk up my favorite roasted broccoli dish.


Ingredients:

• 1 lb broccoli florets (not frozen)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• garlic powder
• 3/4 cup slivered almonds
• 6 slices bacon
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup unsweetened, dried, cranberries
• apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Rinse and cut broccoli into bite sized pieces
3. Mix 2 Tbsp olive oil in with broccoli. Sprinkle with garlic powder
4. Put broccoli on a cookie sheet lined with foil and bake for approx 30 minutes, or until broccoli is beginning to brown
5. Meanwhile, cooke bacon in skillet until crispy. When bacon is almost done, throw in the slivered almonds. Let the almonds toast in the bacon fat until they start to brown. Remove almonds and bacon from skillet - let cool, then crumble bacon
6. In your serving bowl, add about 3 Tbsp of the rendered bacon fat (optional), bacon pieces, toasted almonds, raisins, and cranberries
7. Once broccoli is finished, add broccoli to serving bowl. Drizzle a bit of apple cider vinegar (you don't need much. Maybe 1/2 Tbsp) in the bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
8. Mix well and serve

Zoodles & Meatballs

I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted a recipe. The last recipe I posted was in AUGUST! It is now the 17th of September and that means that not one single recipe has been posted this entire month. Unacceptable. I just slapped my wrist. So I will get right to this recipe. I used Zucchini noodles for this dish and let me just tell you that they are SO much better than Spaghetti Squash noodles. As I have said before, I never was a big fan of spaghetti squash when used in spaghetti recipes. I have since found my replacement. You will need a Julianne peeler. Yes, you can use made the noodles without one, but do yourself a favor and spend $7.99. You won't regret it.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 zucchini squash
• salt
• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 2 eggs, whisked
• Spices of choice. I used:
• garlic powder (1/2 tbsp)
• salt & pepper (1/2 tbsp)
• smoked paprika (1/2 tbsp)
• cumin (1/2 tbsp)
• cayenne pepper (1 tsp)
• Jar of marinera

Instructions:

1. Slice zucchini with Julienne peeler until you reach the seedy center*
2. Put zucchini noodles on some paper towels and generously sprinkle salt over them. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. This allows the zucchini to sweat and removes excess moisture. Let sit for 20-30 mins, then rinse and pat dry.
3. In a large bowl, mix the ground turkey, whisked eggs, and spices until combined well. 
4. Make meatballs out of the turkey mixture about the size of golf balls. You should get a lot of meatballs.
5. In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the meatballs until almost done. Work in batches.
6. Once all of the meatballs have seen time in the skillet, add all the meatballs back to the skillet, pour in the jar of marinara, cover, and let simmer for approx 10 minutes. 
7. Place zoodles in a bowl and top with meatballs and sauce.

* I found it easiest to thinly slice the zucchini lengthwise. then you can lay the zucchini, cut side down, on your cutting board and it won't roll around everywhere.

Leeky Eggs

I tried something new this week - Leek! If you have never had a Leek, it has a very mild onion flavor. When the leek is cooked down, the mild flavor becomes even more mild. It made a wonderful base to my breakfast this week. I really liked the flavor combo, although I will tell you that Adam wasn't a huge fan. I will use it again, for sure, but will leave it out of Adams portion :) If you are looking to try something new, don't be afraid - give it a shot! I think you will be surprised.

Ingredients:

• 1 leek, green portion diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 5 strips of bacon (one for eating while the eggs cook)
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove bacon from skillet.
2. In the same skillet, add the diced leek and bell pepper. Saute until leek is tender - consume 1 piece of bacon.
3. Create 4 small wells in the leek mixture and crack 1 egg into each well
4. Turn heat down to medium (if it is higher than that), cover, and let the eggs cook until done
5. Chop remaining bacon and garnish the eggs with it and a sprinkle of salt & pepper

Balsamic Steak with Garlic Zucchini

Quick and easy this recipe was! I am on a mission to get Adam to eat more veggies and so far I am doing a pretty good job (he even had asparagus for breakfast the other day!)! Here is a recipe for the meal I cooked recently and sure enough, Adam ate all his veggies :)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp EVOO, divided
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium zucchini, cut into thin half-moons
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds london broil, or red meat of choice
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp EVOO over medium high. Add garlic and zucchini moons, season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute until zucchini is tender and starting to brown, approx 6 minutes. Remove from skillet.
2. Add remaining oil to the same skillet. Season meat with salt and pepper and cook until browned on all sides, approx 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil
3. Then, add balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper to same skillet. Cook, stirring, until reduced by half, approx 2 minutes. Drizzle balsamic reduction over steak and serve.

 I also baked sweet potato chips for an additional side.

Creamy Spaghetti Squash

One of the first "new foods" I learned about when I first researched Paleo was spaghetti squash. I am sure you all know what it is....but on the off chance you don't....spaghetti squash is a variety of squash that, when cooked, a fork can be used to shred the squash into spaghetti-like strings. The spaghetti squash has a really mild (almost bland) flavor that is a noodle substitute for all of us paleo-folk. There are probably a thousand recipes for Paleo Spaghetti that uses this type of squash, and I think I have made 100 of them.
Each recipe has been fine...but that is the problem, they were just "fine". No spaghetti squash recipe has ever made me jump up and down. I decided that I needed to try something different with spaghetti squash. And I hit a gold mine with this recipe! This was the perfect side dish and was rich and creamy - a combination I have really missed! This recipe makes a ton, which was fine by me! I ate on it for days :)

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 6 strips of bacon (or more)
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 6 eggs
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half*, scoop out the seeds, and place cut side down on a plate. Microwave for 10 minutes (this is much faster that 40 minutes in the oven!)
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Once bacon is crispy, remove the bacon from heat and set aside.
3. In the same skillet over medium heat, whisk in the arrowroot powder to the bacon grease and let it cook for a few minutes.
4. While the arrowroot cooks and thickens, combine eggs, coconut milk, Italian seasoning, parsley, salt and garlic powder in a bowl until fully combined.
5. Pour egg mixture into skillet with arrowroot, stirring frequently, and cook eggs until cooked through, approx 3-5 minutes.
6. As the egg cooks, chop the cooked bacon.
7. Shred spaghetti squash with a fork to create "noodles" and add to large bowl. Add egg mixture to the bowl of noodles and mix to incorporate. Stir in bacon pieces
8. Enjoy as a side dish or even as breakfast!

Cumin Roasted Carrots

This side dish of carrots is my new favorite! Once the carrots are roasted, they have a nice crisp to them and the combination of flavors is perfect, IMO. The first time I made these I merely sprinkled the spices on top of the carrots, and while the flavor was good, the spices just sat on top and was a little "chalky". This time, I mixed the spices with melted coconut oil and poured the spices over the carrots - whoa. The spices blended in with the carrots and it wasn't like you took a bite of carrot, and then sprinkled cumin in your mouth :) MUCH better.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spread peeled and halved carrots on parchment lined baking sheet
3. Mix spices in microwave safe bowl. Add coconut oil
4. Microwave coconut oil/spices for approx 45 seconds, or until coconut oil is melted
5. Stir spiced coconut oil well, then drizzle on top carrots
6. Bake carrots for 25 minutes

Kale and Bacon

Can you guess from the title of this post, what this dish consists of????? That's right, Kale and Bacon. That's it. We all know that Kale has some amazing health benefits and as I posted earlier, I am trying to incorporate more green into my diet. I had a bunch of kale but wasn't sure how to prepare it. I am still a little intimidated by kale for some odd reason. My coach at ITF doesn't understand it. He cooks with kale all the time. So...I ask you another question, what food makes everything, and I mean everything better??? BACON! Kale + Bacon = genius.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg bacon
• A few stems of kale. I think I had like 5 stems-ish
• 1/2 cup water
• sprinkle of sea salt

Instructions:

1. Chop bacon. In a large stock pot, add bacon cook until crispy.*
2. Chop kale, then add to stock pot with 1/2 cup water
3. Cover and cook for approx 30 minutes
4. Sprinkle with sea salt, if you so desire

* As you can see from my picture, I didn't let my bacon get crispy enough. #fail Don't do yourself a disservice by skimping on step 1.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

A couple Sunday's ago, Adam and I went to one of our favorite restaurants for brunch with another couple. This Sunday in particular they had a Chilled Cucumber Soup as one of the specials and I really, really, wanted to order it; However, I refrained as I knew it did not have 'clean' ingredients. Since I couldn't get it there, I mentally made a note to try and create my own version. Now, I have never had Chilled Cucumber Soup and I have no idea what is supposed to go in it - but I threw some things together in my blender and it turned out awesome! While this soup is delicious fresh, it was not that great the following day - just so you know.

Ingredients:

• 2 cucumbers
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 2 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 2/3 cup coconut milk

 Instructions:

1. Peel the cucumber and chop into pieces.
2. Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve

Chicken And Cabbage Salad

As I mentioned in a post last week, I am really trying to be more conscience of my spending habits in the grocery store. I got really carried away for a few weeks making elaborate, albeit amazing, dinners and tons of treats. That gets expensive. Fast. I have been trying to save those elaborate meals that require lots of ingredients and time for the weekends and eat more low-key during the week. I hope you didn't read: Tasty meals on the weekend, boring/bland meals in the week. Just because my weekday meals are more 'simple' they still have lots of flavor, and are very satisfying and delicious. Below is the recipe for the Chicken and Cabbage Salad I had for lunch today.

Ingredients:

• EVOO
• 1/4 bag shredded cabbage
• 1 can chicken
• 8 grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp tarragon
• 1/4 tsp of each: basil, rosemary, minced onion
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Heat EVOO in skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage to skillet, once hot.
2. Allow cabbage to wilt slightly, then add chicken, tomatoes, and spices
3. Heat throughout and drizzle with lemon juice before serving

This would also be a good side dish if you wanted to leave out the chicken. You can also sub the shredded cabbage for broccoli slaw.

Roasted Acorn Squash

This is a great side dish or snack to make during the week! If you are going to save some for leftovers, I wouldn't advise drizzling the balsamic over the pieces you are saving. Just wait until you are about to eat the leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 1 acorn sqash
• 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cut off top and bottom of acorn squash, then slice squash into circles. Remove seeds and slice the circles in half
3. On a parchment lined baking sheet, lay squash in single layer. Sprinkle with sea salt
4. Bake for approx 35 minutes or until squash is tender
5. Meanwhile, heat balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan over medium heat. Allow vinegar to reduce by half
6. Remove squash from oven and drizzle with balsamic vinegar

Mustard Greens

I made a huge mistake at the grocery store last night....I went without my glasses. I had planned on buying a big bag of kale to make a yummy kale salad, kale chips, and sauteed kale this week. Well, I brought home mustard greens instead. I was so upset when I realized this. MUSTARD GREENS?!?!?! YUCK! What the heck am I going to do with all these mustard greens? Then I stopped and thought to myself  "Leesa, you have never even tried mustard greens - at least give them a chance". Yes, I talk to myself. I'm awesome like that. I had no idea where to even begin, so I began by trying a mustard green leaf right out of the bag. Whoa. It was strong and peppery! My thought was to saute the mess out of these little green leaves to help minimize the strong flavor. I must admit, they were actually pretty good! I will keep experimenting with them throughout the week since I don't want to waste them. If you have never tried mustard greens before, you should. They still aren't my favorite, but it was an (unexpected) nice variation to dinner.

Ingredients:

• a few handfuls of mustard greens, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 yellow onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts

Instructions:

1. In a non stick skillet, melt coconut oil over medium heat.
2. Add onion and let cook until translucent. Add garlic and pine nuts.
3. Once the garlic is fragrant, add mustard greens.
4. Allow the mustard greens to cook down. They will significantly reduce in size.
5. The longer they simmer the less pepper-y they will be

Oven Roasted Okra

Okra might be one of my favorite vegetables, although I often forget about it. I had only had it prepared one way my whole life and that was fried! When I was a child and went to the grocery store with my mom, my treat was always fried okra. I was thrilled when I was allowed to get it, because we never ate it at home (my mom HATES it!). I kind of feel bad for okra. It seems it has a bad rep for being slimy - I will be the first to say that I also don't like slimy okra. Yuck. And I guarantee you, this oven roasted okra is not slimy. It is also not fried, so eat to your heart's desire.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb okra, washed
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (or be lazy and use spray, like me!)
• 2 Tbsp ground cumin*
• 1 tsp of both salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne

*note that this is quite a bit of cumin. Its delicious and bold but if you are not the biggest fan, reduce the amount, or use something else!

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Toss (or spray) coconut oil over okra and lay okra in single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
3. Sprinkle spices over okra
4. Roast in oven for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through

Cinnamon Apple Brussels Sprouts

I have just recently been interested in Brussels Sprouts. I whipped up this quick side dish last night and look forward to trying new things with them.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large apple, diced
• 1 pear, diced
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• Cinnamon to taste (I like a lot)

Instructions:

1. Heat skillet over medium heat and melt coconut oil
2. Halve Brussels Sprouts and put in skillet, cut side down
3. Let cook for approx 12 minutes, turning halfway through
4. Add apple and pear and cook for approx 4 minutes until fruit begins to soften
5. Add apple cider vinegar - let simmer until liquid has cooked about half way out.
6. Add cinnamon. Mix and continue to simmer until liquid has cooked completely out.



I took this pic after I had already eaten about half of what I cooked :)

7. Enjoy!