Home Made Pesto and Zucchini

Last night's dinner was summer fresh.  My basil plant has become a basil bush and something needed to be done before it took over my entire veggie garden and the basil leaves became bitter.  I also had 6 zucchinis that needed to be eaten.  I pulled out my spiral slicer and had a field day with the zucchini.  I love this gadget.  The problem is is that my husband loves it too and we are always "negotiating" who's going to actually have the fun!  Below is the the fruit of 'our' effort:

I had leftover chicken from last night to serve with it, but the zucchini was so good that those leftovers will have to wait until another time.  Here's the recipe.

Home Made Pesto and Zucchini

Ingredients:
4 medium zucchini, made into pasta via spiral slicer or julienne slicer.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the zucchini and blanch for 2 minutes.   Remove noodles with a slotted spoon and place in a colander.  Immediately run cold water over them to stop the cooking.  Place onto a paper towel covered baking sheet and set aside until sauce in done.

Pesto:
2 c packed fresh basil leaves
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 c + 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 pinch fresh ground black pepper
1/4 c fresh grated Parmesan  cheese

Place all pesto ingredients into a food processor and mix until smooth.  In a serving bowl, toss the zucchini noodles with the pesto.  I quartered small heirloom tomatoes and tossed them in as well.

Enjoy!

Chicken, Mushrooms and Spinach, Oh My!

I'm stuffed.  I ate way too much.  But it tasted so good and I couldn't help myself.  I got a recipe off of facebook today and tweaked it a bit.  Here's the picture:

...and here, dear foodies, is the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 pounds thin and boneless chicken breasts
1/2 bag fresh baby spinach
8 oz. sliced crimini mushrooms
1/2 c white wine
1/4 c olive oil
spices...1/8 tsp of:
 black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder
1 tablespoon each:
 parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme
8 oz. shredded cheese (I used Quattro Fromaggio from Trader Joe's)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 13/9" pan with non-stick spray.  Layer chicken into pan.  Cover with spinach and sprinkle with Kosher salt and coarse pepper.  Place layer of mushrooms on top.  Whisk together spices, olive oil and wine and pour over everything.  Lay a piece of aluminum foil on top but DO NOT SEAL.  Bake for 30 minutes; remove from oven and top with cheese.  Bake an additional 5 minutes, uncovered.

May the food gods have mercy on your soul!  Enjoy!

Enjoying Good Eats!

I wish I could eat leftovers all the time.  Unfortunately, in order to have leftovers, one must cook!  This morning I finished my beloved almond flour pancakes.

I actually hid the last four because they were disappearing from the fridge.  I was lucky enough to have them with my homemade plum jam, strawberries from my garden and some blueberries.  Total Nirvana!

Tonight we tried a recipe from The Paleo Kitchen Cookbook by Juli Bauer and George Bryant.  Juli has a wonderful blog called PaleOMG!  We made the The Perfect Burger and ate it with guacamole and fried parsnip.  PARSNIP!!!  Who knew???  You can find the recipe here, but I strongly suggest getting the cookbook.

Feel good in knowing that the recipes or suggestions I make do not get posted until they go through the true taste tester known as my husband.  This recipe is a definite make again!

Enjoy!

Bacon, Egg, Cheese Muffins

I found several recipes that I sort of combined to make these breakfast/snack muffins.  They are packed, I mean PACKED with protein.  When the school year starts, I will definitely be bringing these with me to keep me sustained during the day.  The coconut flour and almond flour provide the fiber needed.  AND they are delicious!

Ingredients:

9 eggs
1/3 C lite sour cream
1/4 C coconut flour
1 C blanched almond flour
3/4 tsp course salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp dried onion
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 slices finely chopped turkey bacon
4 oz shredded cheddar

Instructions:

Cook bacon and cut into small pieces.  (you can use regular bacon but I like the flavor of Trader Joe's peppered turkey bacon).  With a mixer, beat eggs and sour cream until light and fluffy.

Mix dry ingredients separately and then stir into egg mixture with a fork until well combined.  Mix in bacon and cheese.  Pour into paper lined muffin tin and let sit for 5 minutes so flour can absorb moisture.  Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until set.

If you copy the recipe, let me know!  Would love to hear from those visiting my blog!  ENJOY!!!

P.S.  My scientific hubby needed a break down of the stats.  For those interested, per muffin:
2 g fiber
11 g protein
10 g fat
1 g sugar
4 g carbs
Eat with a salad and you get all the fiber you want!

Almond Flour Pancakes

The darling husband came back from a work trip to Japan last night and needed some comfort food this morning.  I decided to give the almond flour pancakes a try.  The original recipe came from Comfy Belly, but I changed it just a tad.  They were absolutely delicious!

I linked you to the recipe so I won't type it here.  Since, I used maple syrup as the sweetener, I served these with homemade plum jam (yes, I actually made jam) and defrosted froze blueberries.   OMG!

PIZZA!

Look what I found on The Unrefined Kitchen blog!!!!!  I am an extremely happy camper!  Pizza is MY FAVORITE FOOD!  The thought of never having it again was almost devastating (ok...so I may be exaggerating here).  But it has always been my favorite food.  Here's a great recipe: 

Note: This makes one, large pizza.

Pizza Crust (Grain-free)
Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
 1 cup arrowroot powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a round pizza pan (no holes) or cookie sheet. (I use a baking stone.)
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk to blend together.
3. Add eggs and almond milk to the dry ingredients. Mix well. (The batter will be runny–not like typical pizza dough.)
4. Use a spatula to spread batter onto greased pan.
5. Bake crust in preheated oven 8-12 minutes.
6. Remove crust from oven and top with sauce and desired toppings.
7. Bake for another 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

*Note: the thicker you spread your crust, the longer you will need to bake it the first time.  It is recommend that you spread it thin or bake it long enough so that the middle is well done.

What's for breakfast?

I HAVE to eat breakfast.  Especially during the school year when I'm teaching.  However, toast is not going to cut it any more.  I'm not a real egg lover;  can't eat cereal, bagels or english muffins.  This was a true dilemma for me.  However, I found this recipe on the blog In Sonnet's Kitchen.  Whoa, quinoa (keen-wa) for breakfast?  How can I eat what I can't even pronounce correctly?  Well, here's why...

"Quinoa is one of the best sources of protein in the vegetable kingdom and is also rich in iron, potassium, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. This makes quinoa the perfect main dish for vegetarian meals." 

So, I'm going to give it a shot.  I reminds me of oatmeal, which I love.  Hopefully this will be as satisfying as a Krispy Kreme donut~LOL!!!

Photo credit goes to Sonnet.