I have fallen back in love with my slow cooker! It is sooooo easy to make something full of flavor, while doing almost nothing, like my lunch today. All thanks to my slow cooker I was able to make a hearty and delicious Veggie Slam: Spaghetti Squash topped with Eggplant, Onions and Sweet Green Peas in an Indian Jalfrezi sauce, in no time at all.
Yesterday I simply turned on my Slow Cooker to low and threw in:
1 Sweet Onion, cut into 8 big chunks
1 Large Eggplant, diced (leave the skins on!!)
1 Jar of Indian Jalfrezi Sauce (purchased from Aldi)
I cooked that for 5 or so hours, then added 2 cups Sweet Green Peas and let it cook another hour. So today all I had to do was plate a heaping cup of my already cooked Spaghetti Squash, topped with a heaping cup of the Jalfrezi Veggies, microwaved it for two minutes; and done!
I am always looking for short cuts to get good homemade meals on our table. This is an example....I love meatballs, but I find the process time consuming and messy all around with more steps than I'd like. I found myself making Meatloaf more often, because well it was just easier and faster, but guess what - they have about the same ingredient list (at least in our house!) So what I do now, is make a Meatloaf and then simply cut it into 'meatball' pieces for dishes like this!
My simple Meatloaf recipe:
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 organic ketchup
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp canola oil
Mix it all together and put into greased meatloaf pan and bake at 350 for one hour.
We actually ate it meatloaf style when I made it, but then I had 1/4 of it leftover and it became a great lunch the next day, as meatballs, over my favorite pasta substitute: spaghetti squash!
So here is the 1/4 pound piece of Meatloaf left over from the night before.
I cut it down the middle and then into halves creating 8 pieces.
Cut those into half to make 16 little meatballs; 8 for my lunch and 8 to save for the kiddos dinner.
Then it was time to plate up my lunch:
1 cup of precooked Spaghetti Squash.
Topped with a heaping 1/2 cup of organic Marinara.
The meatballs of course!
Parmesan cheese on top, a couple minutes in the microwave and done. And yum!
This delicious and totally satisfying meal and didn't feel a bit like just leftovers; this one is going into the weekly rotation here!
Another easy lunch thrown together in no time: delicious, grain and gluten free, veggie-nutrition packed, low calorie and super filling!
It is that time of year again - spaghetti squash time! I have eaten hundreds of nice crisp salads to get through the hot summer, but as temps cool down, I love to enjoy a nice warm meal! Just about anything you love can be served over spaghetti squash - meat/ fish/ veggies/ all sorts of sauces/ cheeses; truly the options are endless.
Today for me that means a culinary trip to India via the rich flavorful spices in my Tikka Masala sauce. I have friends who could make a mean home made version of this (invitations always accepted!!) but for now I'll use my handy jar of sauce from my favorite store: Aldi. Just watch how quick this comes together!
Turn on dutch oven to medium heat. Throw in 1 jar of Tikka Masala sauce.
Add 1 bag of Butternut Squash
and 2 cups of grated Carrots
and 1 cup of thawed Sweet Green Peas.
and then just cover and let it all heat up.....about 10 minutes oughtta do it!
Meanwhile, plate 1 cup of already cooked Spaghetti Squash:
then top with 1-2 cups of the Tikka Masala Veggies!
You will be warmed up and full by the time you finish this plate of delicious food; I promise. And you get to walk away knowing you did your whole bod a huge favor with all those good for you veggies at such a low calorie price! Free Radicals and belly bulge, be gone!!!
You are welcome :)
I am not sure I can make these Brussels look pretty, but I can make them taste good! Brussels Sprouts are one of those veggies that I think gets a bad rap because not everyone knows how to cook them to their full delicious potential! But it is really super simple, I promise.
Buy a bag of fresh Brussels, wash them, dry them, cut off the ends, and then throw them into a wide saute pan along with 1/2-1 inch of water, some salt and 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
Then simply cover and bring to boil, then lower heat and let them simmer until they have achieved your desired doneness (this is about 10 minutes for me - you can check them by poking one with a fork).
Remove the lid, crank up the heat and reduce until all the liquid is gone and all that remains are the Brussels and the olive oil which will create a beautiful browned crunchy caramelized candy sweet morsel of delicious goodness.
One last important step: Once browned to perfection, turn off heat, toss 1 Tbsp of Butter into the pan and cover again. Let that sit for 10 minutes or so, stir and serve, being sure to pour any remaining juices out of the pan and onto the serving dish. And then eat - oh my! SO GOOD.
Delicious, quick and easy to make, and, yes, of course, so so so good for your HEALTH! About 5 will give you all the Vitamin C and K you need for the day, and may even with cancer prevention!!
This blog post breaks 2 of my very important blog post rules:
-Always share the link to the recipe I used or inspired me
-Take picture (nope, that's not my photo, but looks a lot like the ones I made; though I let mine brown a bit more!)
And I did use a recipe, which I found online, but sadly I cannot find the link!
But I broke these two rules because I HAD HAD HAD to share this with you all because these Carrots were the BEST BEST BEST Ever, seriously. I like carrots, I eat them all the time -nearly everyday, but I've never felt a love so strong for them, as when I was housing these little goodies. I'm telling you flat out, they tasted like candy. Seriously, seriously healthy candy.
So I have to write this recipe down quick, before I forget! I'm giving full credit to the Barefoot Contessa on this one, as I'm 99% sure it's her recipe. For the life of me I cannot find the link to it, but I put in a good effort and ran about a hundred different searches. Alas, I give up and give you my version of her recipe, which was crazy simple.
Best Best Ever Carrots
1 pound bag of Organic Baby Carrots, rinsed and dried off
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt, to taste
1 Tbsp 100% Maple Syrup
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large glass bowl toss dried Baby Carrots with Olive Oil and Salt.
Scatter on sheet pan, don't crowd them!
Roast for 10 minutes.
Turn over and roast another 10 minutes.
Remove Carrots from Oven and using a spatula, carefully scoop Carrots back into the large glass bowl.
Toss them with the Maple Syrup.
Return to Sheet pan.
Put back into oven for another 10 minutes of baking.
Remove from oven.
Cool 10 minutes.
Eat. Them. All. Or Share them :)
I will be making this for Thanksgiving this year because who doesn't like a good solid root veggie on Thanksgiving, seasonal color is just a bonus; enjoy!
