No noodles? No problem… when you have a spiralizer! You are going to love the light freshness of the zucchini with the simple, slightly sweet home cooked tomato sauce for this dish. This fare satisfies and leaves you feeling full (which makes me happy) without the drag and resulting carb coma of demolishing a huge plate of pasta. It’s got a double whammy positive effect! I often make an entire meal out of a few heaping helpings of these zucs, but it can also make a nice side dish, or even an equal partner in a left-over buffet. I'm even happy to eat it cold the next day… Kind of like ...
Peach Quinoa Crumble (Vegan, Gluten-Free) – Healthy Dessert Recipe Ideas
Peach Quinoa Crumble - Healthy Dessert Recipes **Guest Post from Angela the Baker** Toasted and ground quinoa combined with almond meal elevates this simple peach crumble to gourmet status. Almonds and peaches are a winning combination as close cousins on the family tree (pun fully intended.) These blushing ladies I got are so amazingly sweet, it only takes a little boost from some jam and maple syrup to reach that perfectly balanced nature of home-style fresh fruit crumble. Missouri has so many wonderful small production farms and orchards. When I saw these peaches from Hilltop ...
How to Make “Magic Dust” Spice Recipe, Amazing Chicken Wings
Chicken Hot Wing Dust Spice Blend Recipe The one and only “Magic Dust” by Mike Mills, is an amazingly versatile dry rub style seasoning for chicken and pork. The flavor is slightly spicy and savory invoking an almost Cajun effect that finishes with hints of sweetness. It is guaranteed to invoke fond summer memories of outdoor barbecues and sauce on your shirt. (kinda like that old country song…) Recipe Inspiration - Peace, Love, & Barbecue You can use this spice blend a thousand different ways, but my favorite is on roasted chicken. Just substitute it for the Rustic Tuscan ...
Limey Avocado and Grape Tomato Side Dish from Lemonade LA
Avocado Recipe with Limey Dressing and Grape Tomatoes Large chunks of avocados spiked with a zesty lime vinaigrette, smiles are guaranteed. This dish is a great side or main player for a veggie based lunch. The good fats in the avocados will keep both your brain and stomach happy all afternoon. No h-Anger excuses! (h-Anger defined: the annoyed and dangerous mindset that causes you to turn into a ravenous beast until you get junk food or another meal. No, coffee does not fix this condition. See additional details on the Urban Dictionary.) I traveled and worked in downtown Los ...
Hamburger Recipes, Grind Your Own Beef at Home!
Grind Your Own Beef at Home for Amazing Hamburger Recipes! With a simple food processor you too can have the best burgers known to man! Grinding your own 'burger meat transforms a household comfort food into a luxury item. Start with a fresh piece of organic grass-fed beef and you should claim the “Grill Master” title from your buddies. By doing the grinding yourself, you retain complete control of what goes into your burger. I think we all have realized that there are truly unspeakable things integrated into those tubular packages of “hamburger food” sold in the freezer section. ...
Massaged Kale Salad with Sunflower Seeds and Dried Cranberries
Turn that super chewy and tough raw kale into a tender treat with a simple massage. The other secret weapons of this recipe are sunflower seeds and mustard which transform these greens into a savory and satisfying dish. The idea of massaging kale is bound to cause a raised eyebrow from anyone not familiar with the glorious result. The process is so simple, I am still dumbfounded why the technique has not taken hold on a larger scale. Don’t be surprised if you too are amazed by the transformation as the kale dramatically reduces in volume and becomes luxuriously soft. To the untrained ...
Chickpea Pizza with Eggs, Spinach and Tomatoes
Gluten-Free Chickpea Flatbread Pizza Crust Recipe “I want Pizza!!” We all have the craving, so why fight it? This gluten-free pizza recipe will leave you not only satisfied, but inspired to create all kinds of pies. The chickpea crust has a uniquely creamy and hearty taste that will fill you with happiness. Not to mention, the crust is soooo easy to make, you will never have the urge to deal with a 'regular' pizza dough again! Recipe Inspiration Food Matters, Mark Bittman This recipe has become a busy evening favorite at my house. As with any pizza, you can make it as complicated ...
Fresh Raw Beet Salad – Fancy White Shirts, Take Cover!
Beet Salad Recipe with Apples and Cabbage This raw beet salad recipe tames the earthy essence of the beets and brings out a beautiful sweetness. As soon as you get past the fact that you are gobbling up raw beets (if you have phobia), you are bound to forget that this is actually a pretty healthy dish! Raw beets have quite possibly the most intense red color I have ever seen. It has such a powerful color that every item in this salad will become lush and red in color. Watch out for your fancy white shirts! Recipe Inspiration: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian There is something ...
Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Grapes
Roasted Brussel Sprouts Recipe with Grapes When did Brussels sprouts become so cool? People that normally don’t like veggies will even eat these. They seem to have turned into the gateway drug for folks that often stay away from the green stuff. Cool to me! My parents introduced me to this dish and at the time I had not traveled down the veggie road nearly as far as I have today. Although it was a few years back, I can still vividly remember the first time these divine tiny cabbages crossed my lips (sounds kinda dirty… oh well.) The explosion of the sweetness from the cooked ...
Perfect Roasted Chicken Recipe – Impress the Ladies!
Perfect Oven Roasted Chicken Recipe The easiest way to get the perfect girl to fall in love with you, serve her a perfectly roasted beautiful bird. The mythical aphrodisiac effects of the golden crispy skin and luscious meat will unfold before your very eyes. Or at least she will give a hearty compliment on your valiant attempt and big hug. But hey, I’ve heard success stories… Recipe Inspiration - The Perfectly Roasted Chicken, Mindy Fox This method really benefits from starting with a high quality chicken. I have had the best luck with air-chilled birds. As much as I like to eat ...
Portobello Recipe – Roasted Mushrooms with Balsamic Vinegar
Portobello Recipe - Roasted Mushroom Side Dish / Appetizer Portobello mushrooms are from Mars... A UFO shaped meaty treat magically grows on composted poo... Yep an alien species! I am always amazed by their interesting structure (pop off the stalk and observe the texture) and how they seem to hover somewhere between the animal and veggie world. Maybe they are actually more like fish, they do have gills. Anyways enough of the tangent… This recipe for preparing portobellos is SUPER simple and will give you the confidence to just pick up a few mushrooms and make them anytime. I will ...
Grain Free Fried Rice Recipe – Grated Cauliflower and Shrimp
Grain-Free Fried Rice Recipe made out of Grated Cauliflower Seriously, is that fried rice without a grain of rice?? The amazing cauliflower strikes again! Really, what can’t you do with cauliflower? Recently I have ran across recipes utilizing this humble plant in all kinds of uncommon ways, such as pizza crust and taco tortillas to name just a few. Maybe I will have to do an entire series on innovative uses of cauliflower. I am intrigued. This fried “rice” experience is so fast and easy to prepare, it will likely go onto your list for weekday dinner meals. This meal will ...
Vegetable Soup Recipe – Lentil Beans, Tomatoes and Spinach
River Cottage Veg Inspired - Vegetable Soup Recipe - Lentil Beans, Tomatoes and Spinach Simple lentils and tomatoes with a fresh twist from spinach and parsley make for a surprisingly satisfying meal. Add bit of hard goat cheese at the end to further blow your mind. This soup changed my life. That might be a little dramatic, but it has been one of my absolute favorites when: I am starving I feel lazy I want to impress girls I am trying to be a vegetarian A friend asks for a quick and easy healthy meal recipe I have a busy week (because it freezes up amazing) Recipe ...
Pressure Cooker Recipe – How to Cook Dry Beans w/ Timetable
How to Cook Dry Beans - Pressure Cooker Recipe Do people actually cook with those dried beans or does everyone just layer them into Mason Jars to gain hipster points? The traditional way of preparing beans, with the overnight soak, hours of cooking, and on and on is just too much for me. Fine I’ll just eat the canned stuff if that is the only option. Then I was introduced to one of my favorite new tools in the kitchen, the pressure cooker! My dad bought me this one (Fagor Duo 8-Quart ) on Amazon and had it sent to my apartment. I thought “Cool Dad, maybe I’ll use this once or ...
Roasted Broccoli Recipe, Simple Side Dish
Broccoli Recipe for a Super Easy and Delicious Vegetable Dish Broccoli is often cited as everyone’s favorite vegetable, especially raw. Wrong… Until now! Roasted broccoli is guaranteed to change your feelings to pure love for this flowery green veggie. I learned about roasting various vegetables a few years back, and still whip out this technique on a regular basis. Roasting has a unique effect on veggies that draws the sugars out and carmelizes them on the surface. This creates a wonderfully different taste and texture than steaming, etc. You will eat more broccoli than in ...
Green Smoothie Recipe – Cucumbers, Avocado, Spinach
Green Smoothie Recipe with Avocados, Spinach, Cucumbers, Apple, Pear There are infinite combinations of fruits and veggies to grind up into smoothies, but some small additions to norms are a real treat. This time around I added cucumbers to some basic green smoothie ingredients resulting in a little lighter and brighter combo. For me the trick to most amazing smoothie is a great blender. I invested in a Blendtec blender a few years ago, although it did take a while for me stomach the price tag, I am so happy that I took the plunge. This blender is ridiculously strong, to say the ...
How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe
Chicken Stock Recipe with How To Instructions Chicken stock from scratch is one of the most under-rated, and under appreciated beauties in cooking. This winter I have been making lots of soups and they all seem to require some form of soup stock. Then I got kinda cheap, and thought...man, 4 bucks for some chicken flavored water... So I began making my own. Then I started canning it too. I have utilized a pressure cooker to make this a quicker process, but you can do it with traditional methods as well. I have included timing notes below for alternative methods. Another ...
White Bean Soup w/ Mushrooms, Vegetarian
White Bean Soup with Mushrooms and Sage Recipe Inspiration - She Wears Many Hats (blog) A big and hearty winter soup to warm up your spirits through the winter. My favorite elements of this soup are the roasted mushrooms, wow! Combined with the onions and herbs, the roasted ingredients fill the house with a wonderful aroma. We even sampled the mushrooms this time before adding to the soup and they are a great snack. The addition of the blended beans and onion component build up a thick richness in this soup giving it an almost creamy effect. Winter 2014 in Chicago, aka ...
Lacinato Kale and Eggs Recipe (Black Kale)
[column-group] [column span="3"] Kale Recipe for Breakfast with Eggs When I wake up, I walk directly to the stove. Regardless of the day, I enjoy a nice hearty breakfast. This dish is a rather quick way to get both your greens and eggs. I have made this dish with all kinds of kale (Curly Kale, Red Kale, Lacinato Kale, etc.), but Black Kale (aka Lacinato Kale) is by far my absolute favorite. The flavor and texture is strong enough to give you the feeling of eating a "real" meal, but not so much to chew on that you are late for work! For a while, I was on a spinach and eggs ...