Zucchini Pizzas – A Healthier Version of a Family Favorite!

Tags

healthy, Keto, Pizza, recipe, vegan, vegetarian, zucchini

For the last year, I have been on a weight loss journey. I’m down 80 pounds so far and still going strong! One of the things that has helped me, is to give some of our favorite foods a health upgrade. And who doesn’t love pizza?!? So last night I decided to level up the pizza and make a healthier version that tasted great and totally answered my pizza craving! The zucchini doesn’t have a strong flavor, so it really was just a healthy vessel for the yummy pizza toppings.

Now I guess you could make this on lengthwise slices of normal size zucchini, but this is the PERFECT recipe for those ginormous, mutant zucchini’s we have all found hiding in our gardens!

How did I do it?

1. Slice zucchini about 1/4 inch thick.

2. Lay paper towels out on counter or on cookie sheets

3. Lay down zucchini slices and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Flip and salt other side.

4. Let sit for an hour or so, periodically patting dry with additional paper towels. Flip over once in a while.

5. Preheat oven to 375. Put zucchini on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

6. Remove zucchini from oven and top with favorite sauce and pizza toppings. I used my homemade red sauce, grated motzarella, pepperoni, more motzarella, and black olives. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until cheese is melty.

Enjoy!

Spicy Chicken Sweet Potato Chili – Hearty and Healthy!!!

Tags

Chicken, chili, healthy, recipe, slow cooker, spicy, sweet potato, vegan, vegetarian

I’m always looking for ways to sneak additional vegetables into our meals. I happened to have a sweet potato on hand and thought it would be a good add to spicy chili. The sweetness of the potato really balances out this dish! It was an incredibly flavorful! Very hearty and healthy too! You could substitute ground turkey for the chicken or leave the meat altogether for a delicious vegetarian or vegan dish (If you left out the sour cream).

Spicy Chicken Sweet Potato Chili

Makes 6-8 servings

1-2 tbsp avocado or olive oil

1/2 diced sweet yellow onion

3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

2 cans Rotel tomatoes (I used one can hot and one can chipotle Rotel)

1 – 8 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 cup water (rinsed Rotel can and dumped in)

1 pound chopped rotisserie chicken (or 1 pound ground turkey, browned)

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1/4 cup roasted red peppers, diced

3/4 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp Hungarian Paprika

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 cup sour cream

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Add oil to Dutch oven or other large pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soften, add garlic and sauté another couple of minute until fragrant. Add remaining ingredients and set to low and simmer for 1-2 hours. You could also sauté the onion and garlic and then throw everything in the slow cooker for 4-6 hours on low. Serve with tortilla chips, sliced green onions, chopped avocado or any other toppings you like on your chili.

Enjoy!!!

Pimento Cheese – A Southern Classic and a Family Favorite!

Tags

appetizer, dip, Pimento Cheese, recipe, southern, spread

Yesterday, we had a little Kentucky Derby party at our house. Being that it’s a very southern thing, I thought the menu should follow suit. I’m a California native, but I was born into a family with southern roots. I grew up eating the jarred pimento cheese. You know the kind where you have a lovely drinking glass after you eat all the cheese? Well I thought I would get a little more authentic and make the pimento cheese from scratch. It was totally worth the effort! We have a new family favorite!!!

This definitely can’t be defined as a healthy food, but once in a while its OK to splurge, right?!? Anyway, it’s delicious and would be a great dip/spread to add to any party.

Pimento Cheese

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese

1 – 4 oz jar of diced pimentos

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used light)

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 plus tsp cayenne pepper (Add more if you want it spicier)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Salt to taste

Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. I made mine a day ahead and it definitely tasted better the second day. Feel free to play with the spice amounts to get a flavor you enjoy.

Remember: Taste as you cook!

Enjoy y’all!!!

Roasted Chili Garlic Asparagus – Quick, Easy and Wow!!!

Tags

low sodium, Roasted Chili Garlic Asparagus, side dish, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

I sprained my ankle last week and it’s still hurting, so I’ve been trying to keep my meals pretty easy. I need to keep off my feet as much as possible! Last night I made chicken and mushroom risotto in my pressure cooker, yum!!! I thought this roasted asparagus recipe would be a quick and simple accompaniment to the risotto and it was a great add! The tender asparagus was bursting with flavor; fresh, garlicky with a little spice!

Chili Garlic Asparagus

2 tbsp olive oil

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces (cut off the bottom inch or so of the stalks and discard)

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In an oven safe skillet, pour in olive oil. Add asparagus and toss, so coated with oil. Sprinkle on chili flakes and garlic and toss. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. You can cook them more or less depending on the texture you like. These came out pretty soft, but not mushy.

Enjoy!

Healthy Potato Leek Soup in the Pressure Cooker in 30 Minutes!

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healthy, instant pot, low-fat, Potato Leek Soup, Pressure Cooker, vegan, vegetarian

As one of my food blogger friends recently noted, I am like a kid in a candy store with my new pressure cooker! I am constantly amazed at how quickly it cooks and how flavor infused the foods are. Not everything I’ve made has been a homerun, but this Potato Leek soup was a grand slam!!!

First of all, the soup was delicious!!! While it was a meat-free meal, it was hearty enough to be a stand-alone entrée. I just served it with a slice of French bread. Second, when you look at the ingredients it was a pretty darn healthy, low-fat meal that could easily be altered to be completely vegan and still be incredibly tasty. Third, the entire process to make this soup took about 30 minutes!!! 30 MINUTES!!! For those of us that love to cook and have busy schedules, this pressure cooker is a handy tool to make delicious food in a short amount of time.

So here is the recipe. I’ve made notes on some of the ingredients that could be changed to convert this to a vegan soup. I did taste my soup prior to the last step of adding the half and half and it already tasted great at that point, so if you want it vegan or just want to save the calories, this is a viable option.

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, these same ingredients could be cooked on the stovetop or in your slow cooker, but it would just take longer. Basically, you would want to cook it until the potatoes are very tender.

Potato Leek Soup

3 tbsp olive oil

6 cups leeks, chopped (Don’t use the tough, dark green parts at the top)

3 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced

3 tbsp flour

6 cups broth (I used homemade turkey broth. You could also use vegetable broth for a vegan soup.)

2 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 1/2 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

¾ cup fat free half and half (You can leave this out for a vegan soup.)

Set your pressure cooker to sauté or do this step on the stove in a separate pan. Pour in olive oil. Once heated, saute the leeks for about 6-7 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add flour and continue stirring for another minute. Stir in salt and pepper and slowly add broth as stirring. Add potatoes. Put the lid on your pressure cooker and lock. Set the release valve to Pressure Cook, not steam. Set the cooker to Pressure Cook setting for 10 minutes. Once cooking cycle is complete let pressure release naturally for about 15 minutes. Use an immersion blender to blend soup or pour into a blender. Blend until smooth. Then stir in half and half, if you wish. Taste and add additional seasoning, if needed.

Enjoy!

Barbecued Asparagus – BBQ Sauce on Asparagus??? Yes!!!

Tags

Asparagus, barbecue sauce, bbq, grill, Grilling, vegan, vegetarian

Last weekend we did an all BBQ dinner for 4th of July.  Our favorite, and probably easiest entry, was the Barbecued Asparagus. Now you’ve probably grilled asparagus before, but have you doused it in BBQ sauce??? It not, you HAVE to try this! It is so very delicious!!! It was the easiest thing in the world and it could easily be done stovetop or in the oven too, if you don’t have a grill handy. I think our family has found our new favorite way to eat asparagus!

Barbecued Asparagus

Serves 4-5

1 bunch Asparagus (I like to buy the thinner spears as they are not as woody as the thick ones)

1/3 cup BBQ Sauce (I usually like my asparagus a little spicy, so I used the Kinders Sweet Sriracha variety)

Trim about an inch off the cut ends of your asparagus and discard. Cut the asparagus into bite size pieces, about 1 inch and place in a medium mixing bowl. Pour barbecue sauce over asparagus and toss gently. We used a grill basket to cook the asparagus in. I like it with the holes and not a solid bottom, so the veggies get the smoky flavor of the grill. Spray your basket with non-stick spray and then add your veggies. Put on a hot grill and cook for 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally. We like our asparagus to still have some crunch to it, but if you like yours softer you can cook it longer.

Enjoy! I hope you’re having a fantastic summer!!!

Thanksgiving Tips – A Wonderful Salad for a Special Dinner

Tags

apple, Festive Tossed Salad, Pear, poppy seed dressing, taste of home, vegan, vegetarian

  As I’ve mentioned before, some of my favorite recipes come from the Taste of Home folks. They have a monthly magazine, website and annual cookbooks that have wonderful, down to earth recipes. I love that their recipes are usually made from a combination of commonly used ingredients, so I often already have all the ingredients in my pantry.

Several years ago, my sister ran across a Taste of Home recipe for a fabulous green salad called Festive Tossed Salad. It’s a little more work than your run of the mill green salad (not that bad though!), but it tastes WAY better than those every day salads. We tend to make this salad for special occasions and family gatherings, since it’s a little more work we usually have someone other than the hostess bring this item. That way the person brining it can focus on that one thing and when that’s all you have to make, it’s not overwhelming at all.

Festive Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2/3 cup canola oil

• 2 to 3 teaspoons poppy seeds

• 10 cups torn romaine

• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese

• 1 medium apple, chopped

• 1 medium pear, chopped

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped cashews
Directions

1. In a blender, combine the sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, onion and salt. Cover and process until blended. With blender running, gradually add oil. Add poppy seeds and blend.

2. In a salad bowl, combine the romaine, cheese, apple, pear and cranberries. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing. Add cashews; toss to coat. Yield: 8-10 servings.

Enjoy!

A Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dish – Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Tags

side dish, Sweet Potatoes and Apples, Thanksgiving, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

About 20 years ago (man, I’m old!), I was at an office potluck and a co-worker of mine brought the most wonderful sweet potato dish. Keep in mind, prior to this I did not like sweet potatoes. My mom didn’t cook them much at all growing up, so my only exposure was that dish where they’re covered in marshmallows and to top it off, I don’t like marshmallows much either! Anyway, this dish my coworker brought was both sweet and savory. In addition to the sweet potatoes, there were apples in the dish.

I asked her for the recipe and she said she didn’t have it. Her mother had made the dish for her to bring, so I asked her to please ask her mom for the recipe. She comes back into work and tells me that her mom won’t give her the recipe. It’s a “secret” family recipe. What’s a girl gotta do to get that stinkin’ recipe!?! Thanksgiving was coming and my friend said that her mom would make those sweet potatoes every year, so I gave her marching orders to hover around her mother and take copious notes. Well she came through!!!

This dish has been a family favorite for the last 20 years and it always gets rave reviews when I share it with others. I’ve taken it to a few church potlucks and the such.

Not only is this dish delicious, it’s also pretty darn easy to make. Nothing complicated, but the flavors come together wonderfully! The recipe I have is pretty rough and these days I usually just make it from memory. It’s kind of a vegetable lasagna as you’re simply layering the ingredients and it’s easy to increase/decrease the recipe based on how many people you’re feeding. I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we do!

Sweet Potatoes and Apples

4-5 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in half, short-ways

2 – 15 oz cans apple pie filling
Butter or margarine
Brown sugar
1 tbsp Brandy
Place sweet potatoes and 1 tbsp brandy into large pot of water making sure to cover potatoes. Bring to a boil and let boil for about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove potatoes from hot water and slice into ½ inch slices. Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray and spread one layer of sweet potatoes, then thinly cover this with a layer of pie filling (about ½ can or more if you need it), spoon dots of butter over apples about a teaspoon or so 2-3 inches apart. You just want them spread apart. Then sprinkle about 1/3 cup brown sugar. Now repeat these layers. I usually try to end with the brown sugar on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until warmed through and bubbly. If you’re making a bigger batch, it may need to cook longer.
You really can’t go wrong with the amounts of the ingredients, so play with it and see what looks good to you. It’s amazing how much flavor that little bit of brandy in the water adds!

Thanksgiving Dutch Apple Pie – A Traditional Favorite

Tags

baking, dessert, Dutch Apple Pie, Thanksgiving, vegan, vegetaria

Yesterday I was a baking fool! First I made cranberry pecan muffins. These were only so-so, so I won’t burden you with that recipe! BUT then, I went on to bake an apple pie and chicken pot pie. Now these two recipes are worth sharing! Today I’ll start with the Dutch Apple Pie. This was my first time ever baking an apple pie! I decided to keep it basic and use a frozen ready made pie shell and went with a dutch topping, instead of crust. The pie was fairly easy to make and it was delicious!!! If you’re looking for a pie to serve at your Thanksgiving dinner, this is an easy version that can fit into your busy cooking schedule. Pies even freeze pretty well, so you can make it ahead and freeze for the big day.

Now I say this was pretty easy, but this is coming from a girl who was blessed to receive a Kitchen Aid spiralizer for Christmas last year. This particular spiralizer has a spiral slicing blade along with a peeling blade, so I did not have to peel and slice 8 cups of apples! Having to do this manually would make this pie more time consuming to make. If you don’t have a Kitchen Aid mixer, but you think you might make this more if you didn’t have to peel and slice apples consider investing in an hand crank apple peeler/corer that attaches to a table. We have an antique one of these and they work great!

Lastly, I cannot take credit for this recipe. This is a Betty Crocker recipe minus the portion to make your own pie crust. I substituted a frozen pie shell.

Dutch Apple Pie

1 frozen pie shell (set out and let thaw for 10-15 minutes)

Filling

8 cups peeled and sliced apples (I used about 5 medium sized apples)

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat ove to 400 degrees. In large bowl, toss Filling ingredients. Pour into pie plate, mounding apples toward center.

In medium bowl, use pastry blender or fingers to mix butter, 1 cup flour and the brown sugar until a crumb forms. Sprinkle evenly over top of pie. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon granulated sugar on top.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until pie crust and crumb topping are deep golden brown and filling begins to bubble. Transfer to cooling rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Vegetables and Noodles in a Red Curry Coconut Sauce – A Quick, Delicious Vegan Meal

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Carrots, eggplant, Thai, vegan, Vegetables and Noodles in Red Curry Coconut Sauce, vegetarian

I love watching cooking shows and there are several that I enjoy. On one recently, someone made a dish with red curry paste and coconut milk that looked delicious, so I picked up these ingredients and stashed them in my pantry. Yesterday, I bought some beautiful vegetables at the store and decided to try my hand at this dish. I was very happy with how it turned out! The sauce had a bold flavor without being too spicy. I know some of you may be thinking, “but I don’t like curry!” You have to give red curry a try! It has a completely different flavor than the curry flavors you find in Indian food. I really think you’ll find that you like it! So if you’re just looking for something different or needing to feed the vegans & vegetarians in your life, give this delicious dish a try!

It takes a little time to do your mise en place (prep work such as chopping, dicing, etc.), but thiis dish cooks pretty quickly. 

Funny story: Last night my husband was down at the golf course at the driving range. He texts me asking what I wanted to do for dinner (Husband code for “come down here and lets eat at the golf course restaurant!”). I responded telling him I already had something in mind and had begun my “mise en place”. He tells his buddies that we’re having Mise En Place for dinner and none of the guys could figure out what that was! Guess I better skip the French cooking terms and speak English for the golfers in my life.

Of course, you could add protein to this dish in the form of tofu, chicken, or shrimp to this dish and I think it would be equally as tasty.

Vegetables and Noodles with a Red Curry Coconut Sauce

1/2 Eggplant, peeled and chopped (Tip: To keep from getting slimy, salt and weight in caulinder to drain. I put it in a caulinder and then set a bowl on top and set a heavy jar in the bowl. You’ll be suprised how much liquid comes out.)

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 Carrots, julienned (Tip: I use the Pampered Chef Julienne tool. It looks like a wide vegetable peeler and makes this job SOOO easy!)

4 oz Mushrooms, sliced

1 Red bell pepper, chopped

1 clove Garlic, minced or pressed

1/2 tsp dried Ginger

1 tbsp Soy sauce

2 tbsp Red curry paste

1 – 14 oz can Coconut milk

6.75 oz package of Maifun Rice Sticks

I filled my tea kettle with water and put it on to boil. This is for the noodles. Meanwhile, I spray a large non-stick skillet or wok with Canola Oil. Over medium high heat, saute onions and red pepper for 3-4 minutes or until beginning to soften. Then I added the eggplant, mushrooms and carrots and continue to stir over heat until mushrooms become tender. Reduce heat to medium low and add garlic, ginger, soy sauce, red curry paste and coconut milk. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. At some point your water should have started boiling. Set the dry noodles in a large pot, pour boiling water over noodles and allow to sit for a couple minutes. Drain and mix noodles into sauce.

Enjoy!