Wheatless Wednesday: BLT Spaghetti
One of the great side effects of cutting out wheat has been that we’ve been forced to use other, more nourishing foods. This last weekend I decided to give out BLT Pasta a makeover and I couldn’t be happier as to how it turned out!
BLT Spaghetti
- 1 whole spaghetti squash
- 1 pound nitrate free bacon (beef, pork, or turkey)
- approx. 4 cups of cherry tomatoes, chopped
- 1 small onion
- 3-4 cloves minced garlic
- 2 shakes red pepper flakes
- 1 cup homemade broth (water if you don’t have it)
- 3-4 cups arugula
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- grated Parmesan cheese to taste
Roast tomatoes for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned in a 300 degree oven. At the same time, cook spaghetti squash (boil whole for 25 minutes, bake whole for 50-60minutes) Fry bacon and set aside.
Chop onion and mince garlic.
Saute onion in 2 Tbsp butter or oil for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Add minced garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes. Add in tomatoes, pepper flakes, and broth.
Add in basil and arugula. Break bacon into small pieces and add as well.
Don’t mind that I forgot to buy arugula!
Slice spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds.
Using a fork, scrape out the ‘meat’ of the squash. It shreds just like spaghetti noodles!
Top with tomato and bacon sauce. And freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.
Because spaghetti isn’t spaghetti without Parmesan.
Do you have a wheatless, gluten free, or grain free recipe to share? Link to your post (not your homepage) below!
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Recipe: Cherry Tomato Salsa
I originally posted this recipe last summer, but while looking at my quickly growing tomatoes in the garden, I got itching to make it! I also updated it with some lacto fermentation because it’s super easy to do! Plus my friend Wardeh, has a linky up today for her new series: Probiotics for Every Meal.
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While dealing with some quite productive cherry tomato plants a friend recommended that I try making salsa out of them. And I have to say, this is our new favorite fresh salsa recipe!!!
The cherry tomatoes have such a nice sweet flavor, it really goes quite well with the spice. Now the first time I made it (pictured) I cut them all up by hand. *whew that was a lot of cutting* The next time I made it. I threw a handful at a time into the food processor. Not only were the chunks smaller, it went much faster!
Cherry Tomato Salsa
about 5 cups of cherry tomatoes
1 small to medium onion (or half of a large onion)
3-5 jalapenos (depending on how spicy you like it!)
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 -1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (again, depending on spice!)
Cut, chop, and mix everything together. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, but it’s best if the flavors work themselves together overnight!
Seriously soooo easy!
Lacto fermentation: up the sea salt to about 1 Tbsp and add in 4 Tbsp of whey. Let sit out for at least 24 hours, up to 48 hours. Chill and enjoy
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Recipe: Raw Chocolate Pudding
Creamy and chocolaty goodness normally means it’s a dish you need to stay away from, but this raw pudding is a wonderfully healthy indulgence and it’s a treat I don’t mind serving to my family.
Raw Chocolate “Pudding”
1 really ripe banana
1 avocado
1/8 cup cocoa
2-3 tsp raw honey, maple syrup, or rapadura
optional – milk or coconut milk if it needs to be thinned for blending
Put all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until well mixed. If needed add milk 1 Tbsp at a time to ease blending and also to get the right texture. (You can also add in a bit more sweetener if desired. Especially if your kids are used to regular boxed pudding) You can serve immediately, but I like mine well chilled.
A great replacement for boxed pudding and is full of nutrients because of the avocado!
Optional Add-ins:
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- 1/4 cup yogurt (increase honey to 1/4 cup)
- Tbsp almond butter
- Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- few fresh mint leaves
Toppings: sliced fruit or berries, Tbsp of fresh cream, 1 tsp or so of GF, CF, SF mini chocolate chips
This post is linked to: Real Food Wednesday
I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **
Recipe: Multi Purpose Avocado Aioli (dressing)
This creamy multi purpose dressing not only tastes great, it has a lot of health benefits to it as well. Full of healthy fats, it’s also pro biotic and loaded with raw goodness.
Avocado Aioli
- 1 ripe avocado (it’ll be slightly soft)
- 1/3 cup whole milk plain yogurt (kefir could be used for a thinner consistency)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 small clove of garlic – minced (using a garlic press is best!)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- couple shakes of ground black pepper
Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Best if served immediately, but can be refrigerated for a couple days. Use it for dipping vegetables in, on salads, or as a sandwich spread.
*This post is linked to: Real Food Wednesday – a great place to glean information from a variety of bloggers.
I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **
Recipe: White Chicken Chili
While we still have some cool nights in which to enjoy a nice warm comfort food like chili, I thought I’d better post this! I used to make white chili quite often for my husband but stopped due to the fact that the store bought mix I used contained way to many ingredients that I didn’t care for. After some searching and tweaking I came up with one that my husband won’t stop ranting about and one that doesn’t include a mix, or can, or anything else packaged!
White Chicken Chili
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 2 cups cubed chicken (you can use leftover roast chicken as well, but it falls apart)
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp dried minced garlic or garlic powder)
- 2 cups chicken broth (or more depending on how thick/thin you like your chili)
- 2 Anaheim peppers, chopped
- 1-3 jalapenos, chopped (depending on ripeness they vary from mild to spicy)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ tsp oregano
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 cups cooked cannellini beans (or white northern)
- 12 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
- optional: red pepper flakes (for added spice if the jalapenos don’t give it enough kick!) sour cream, and salsa
Pour the oil into a hot pan and cook chicken until done. (drain if it gets really greasy)
Add onions and cook over medium until onions become tender then add the garlic and simmer for an additional minute. While the onions are cooking, grab your peppers and finely chop. When you chop them up, make sure to strip them of their seeds!
Add in the broth, beans and additional seasonings, simmering for at least 20 minutes. Taste and add red pepper flakes if needed. Add in beans and 8 ounces of the cheese. Simmer and stir occasionally for another 15 minutes or so. Top with the rest of the cheese, sour cream, or salsa!
This recipe is easily doubled and can be made in the crockpot and left to simmer all day as well. (though leave out the cheese until the last 15 minutes of cooking)
Enjoy!
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Recipe: Maple Sweet Potatoes
Growing up, I hated sweet potatoes.
Let me rephrase that.
Growing up I never tried a sweet potato, but I was sure they were terrible. Being all orange and what not. And sweet? Who wants a sweet potato?
But being the ‘good’ mom and all, I bought one when my son was starting to eat solid foods and cooked and pureed it for him. And then tried it myself.
Huh. Pretty good!
I now try to keep sweet potatoes, in some version, in my meal plans each month and the following recipe is our good (and easy) standby.
Maple Sweet Potatoes
3 medium sweet potatoes, skinned and cubed
5 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp maple syrup
pinch of salt
optional – ground cinnamon for sprinkling
While chopping potatoes, place 2 Tbsp of the butter onto the pan and put it in the oven while it preheats to 350°. Once butter has melted, place the chopped potatoes on the pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
When soft, add the additional 3 Tbsp of butter to the pan to melt and drizzle with the maple syrup. Stir until well coated, sprinkle with salt (and optional cinnamon), and bake for and additional 5-10 minutes.
The deep rich flavor of the maple syrup complements the sweet potatoes perfectly!
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Cold Kicking Garlic Herb Spread
Although I’ve tried my best to remain healthy and boost my immune system, we had a cold virus hit our house last week. And with the conference coming up….I was NOT getting sick. So I kept up with my regular boosters I turn to, I made some homemade chicken broth for soup and started sinus cleansing two times a day. And then I kicked it up a notch and started eating some yummy antiviral foods. My two favorite being coconut oil (contains lauric acid which has been shown to be a powerful antiviral fatty acid) and garlic (which needs to be consumed raw).
Both of them though are not my favorite things to eat plain, or raw in the case of garlic. Believe me though, I tried. I tried a spoonful of coconut oil, but I about gagged. I tried swallowing cut up raw garlic and it made my stomach upset.
And then my brilliance set in. (hey – no laughing!)
Behold the best recipe ever:
Donielle’s Garlic Herb Butter
- 3 Tbsp softened butter
- 3 Tsp softened/melted coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp dried onion
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 2+ cloves of garlic
Mix all ingredients together and slather over bread, toast, baked potato, etc.
One tip on the garlic, use one of those microplane zesters to really get it to an almost smooth consistency. And add in as much as you can! Raw garlic is supposed to be a great antiviral. I put 4 or 5 good sized cloves in mine and could have done more if it wasn’t for my 3 year old eating it as well.
Also, a word of caution. You will smell after eating so much garlic! I made this about 4 times in a few days and most of it was eaten by me. Good thing I know how good butter actually is for you too! And I still haven’t come down with a cold even though I had all the symptoms of one starting!
I’m also entering this post into the Mountain Rose Herbs Recipe Contest to toss my name into the hat for a $200.00 MRH gift card! I love MRH and all the ingredients I used for this recipe (minus the butter and garlic) came from them. It’s the only place I trust when I want both great quality and great taste in my herbs. (I’m sure sucking up won’t help me win – just thought you’d like to know where to buy awesome herbs)
*fyi – I am not a doctor or medical professional. This is just one moms way of fighting off a cold. And it seems to have worked for me! Use your head and do what you think is right for you and your family. And even if it doesn’t help with a cold, this is just a fabulous way to eat butter!!
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Recipe: Scrambled Eggs
We tend to eat eggs a lot for breakfast and one day I decided we needed to do something a bit different with them. To much of the same old thing was wearing on us! So I tossed in a few different ingredients and we were all very happy with how they turned out.
Grab 4 eggs
Crack them into a medium sized bowl and add 4 Tbsp of whole milk (or substitute cream for extra creamy eggs)
Toss in your spices
Melt about a Tbsp of butter in a pan over medium heat
While the butter is melting, grab a whisk and beat the egg mixture until well blended
And toss in a handful of cheddar cheese.
Fold cheese into egg mixture and pour into hot pan, letting sit for a minute.
Once it starts to firm up, go ahead and take your spoon and pull it all into the center of the pan
Let it continue to sit for another minute until you pull the cook egg into the center of the pan again. Once most of the egg is cooked, go ahead and start breaking it all up and moving it around the pan. Should you do this to soon, or the entire time you cook them, you’ll end up with egg crumbs.
Serve and enjoy!
Recipe
4 eggs (preferably pastured)
4 Tbsp milk (preferably raw)
½ tsp each of basil, oregano, and minced onion
¼ tsp each of salt and black pepper
handful of shredded cheddar cheese
Tbsp of butter for melting
Whisk all ingredients together and cook in a hot buttered skillet until done.
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Recipe: Maple Sweetened Whipped Cream
Lightly sweetened with rich maple syrup, this whipped cream is one of our favorite indulgences.
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup cram (preferably raw cream)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- maple syrup to taste.
Before you begin, place your bowl in the freezer. This helps the cream stay whipped longer, as a warm bowl will cause it to melt and liquefy.
Pour the cream into the cold mixing bowl and, using a whisk attachment, beat on high for about 2 minutes.
Once the cream is light and fluffy, add in the vanilla. You can add in maple syrup a slash at a time until you reach the taste desired. It will depend on what you’re serving it with for the desired sweetness, so if the dessert itself is very sweet, the whipped cream doesn’t have to be!
Serve or chill immediately. This is best consumed within the day or it will start to liquefy again.
This post is linked to: REAL Food Wednesday
I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **
Recipe: BLT Pasta
I recently tried a new recipe I saw while watching Rachel Ray a few weeks back and thought I’d share it with you since we liked it so much!
BLT Pasta
While you can click on the link above to view the entire recipe, this dish was made using all fresh ingredients; cherry tomatoes, bacon, pasta (we used brown rice spaghetti noodles) parsley, basil, garlic, arugula………
My husband was even pleasantly surprised at how good it was and grabbed seconds, so this dish will be on our meal rotation for sure!
What have you tried lately?
I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **
