Romesco Garlic Shrimp With Zucchini Noodles

What a great, fast and super healthy meal! This meal was inspired from Melissa and Dallas Hartwig's "Whole 30" guide to total health and food freedom. I plan to do the Whole 30 in February!  Check it out and if you are interested, I would love to have you be apart of the group. It is free! You just need the guide and a willingness to follow along!

This meal was hubby and kid approved too!  That is always a win!  Last week I made cauliflower risotto. I thought it was great and my husband was like, "Nope. Not a fan!"

My son OBSESSES over noodles and honestly, I think the fact that the zucchini was "noodle looking" totally hooked him! He could still slurp up the noodles just as if it was spaghetti!  Too cute!

I adapted this recipe from the Whole 30 to save a little time! I used fresh tomatoes instead of the canned crushed that it called for. The book said if you plan to freeze the sauce then canned tomatoes would be better. The other thing I adapted is I used already cooked frozen shrimp. I thawed the shrimp in a colander with cold water and added them straight to the sauce when it was almost finished so that they would be heated and not be over cooked. The original recipe had you saute onions/garlic in a frying plan then add the raw shrimp and cook. I am sure that would have been great, but the sauce seemed to be enough flavour for me that I didn't feel like taking that extra step but if you choose to do that, then go for it!

I decided to add more veggies to the Romesco sauce and combine that recipe with the Tomato Sauce recipe also in the cookbook for some added nutrition.   Feel free to chose the ingredients that you would like to use! Many are optional!

To get the veggies tiny enough I also used a hand powered veggie chopper. Oh my goodness it saved SO MUCH chopping time, I couldn't believe it. It has been sitting in my cupboard forever and I thought I would dig it out to see how it worked. It was amazing! I would give this kitchen tool an A++!  You could also use a food processor if short on time for getting the veggies chopped fine, but that adds another dish to wash.  I hope you enjoy!


Prepare the Zucchini Noodles:
4 medium zucchini (about 4 cups worth)

Using a zucchini spiralizer (aka: Veggetti) , prepare your zucchini. I purchased my Veggetti for about $20 at Bed, Bath and Beyond and the investment was worth it! My Veggetti is a hand operated one, but there are many other versions to get your zucchini in spiral or noodle form!

Using the Veggetti, rotate the zucchini until it has been turned into noodles.  Discard the core and set the noodles aside until you are ready to use them.  I would make sure that you have the sauce and shrimp prepared as the noodles will not take long to steam.

Ingredients for Romesco/Tomato Sauce:

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c chopped almonds (*optional - this WAS in the original recipe, but I didn't use them)
1 small onion diced
1 medium carrot finely diced (*optional - not in original recipe)
2 medium celery stalks finely diced (*optional - not in original recipe)
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp chili powder (If you don't want to use the chili pepper or the paprika just use 1tsp of thyme   AND oregano for a milder flavour)
1 tsp paprika
6 fresh plum tomatoes chopped (or diced tomatoes). The recipe suggests to seed the fresh tomatoes. I did not.
1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp himalayan pink salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
31-40 frozen cooked shrimp, thawed
Fresh/dried parsley for garnish (*optional)

(Optional: 1/2 cup almonds, chopped -- I didn't add this in)

Steps to prepare the sauce:
In a sauce pan, heat the oil. (***If using the almonds, then add them to the oil when it is hot and toast for 3 minutes and stir often and then continue on with the rest of the steps).  Add and cook the onion, carrot and celery until the onion is transparent.  Add in the minced garlic and cook until the garlic is aromatic.  Then add the chili powder and paprika and cook another minute.

Add the plum tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and salt.  Cook until the tomaotes become soft and some liquid has formed. Make sure to stir up the tiny bits on the bottom of the pan.  Stir every 20 minutes.  I allowed my sauce to cook for about 40 minutes.  IF USING the CANNED TOMATOES, then just cook until the sauce has warmed (about 2 minutes).

Blend/puree sauce, return sauce to pan and add cooked shrimp. Warm sauce with shrimp and heat for an additional 3 minutes or until the shrimp is heated thoroughly. (I actually did not puree the sauce and found it delicious!)

Zucchini Noodles:

Add 2 cups of water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add a colander or a steamer inside the large pot of boiling water and add the zucchini noodles.  Cover and steam the noodles for about 2-3 minutes.  Drain the noodles and transfer them to individual plates.  Top with the Romesco Sauce and garnish with fresh or dried parsley!  Enjoy! This dish would also be great with a pinch of parmesan cheese too!!

Enjoy and let me know how you like it!

Taco Zucchini Boats

 Taco zucchini boats are going down in my recipe book as another family favourite in my household for many reasons!  A. The boys thought they were delicious and cleaned their plates and B. it was SO quick an easy that they took no time to make--so that made me happy! I found the recipe while doing meal prep on the road as the hubby was driving and made note.  I have to give credit to the author Gina Homolka of the "skinnytaste" website (www.skinnytaste.com) for this recipe!

Typically I use ground chicken or turkey in any recipe that now calls for ground beef but this night, I did choose to use ground beef.  We typically only eat red meat 2x a week since we have changed our diet so this was a nice treat!  I hope you and your family enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 medium zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup mild salsa (I used my homemade salsa)
1b lean ground chicken, turkey or beef

Taco Seasoning:
1 tsp or each: garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, paprika and himalayan pink or sea salt ground (or to taste)
1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 small onion, chopped finely
2 tbsp green or red bell pepper, chopped finely
4 oz can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup grated cheese of your choice (I used marble)
1/4 cup chopped green onion (or cilantro would be good too!)

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS for Toppings:
Greek yogurt in place of sour cream
Guacamole
Additional Salsa
Jalapeños

Before you get started:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Place the 1/2 cup of salsa on the bottom of a large glass baking dish.

Directions:
Using a small spoon, hollow out the seedy centre of each of the zucchini halves. Make sure that you still leave a thick skin on each half.  Chop up the scooped flesh of the zucchini in small pieces reserve 3/4 cup of what you have chopped--this will be used to add to the taco filling. Either discard or save the rest of the zucchini flesh for another recipe.  Using a cheese cloth or even a paper towl, squeeze the excess water out of the 3/4 cup of zucchini flesh that you have saved.

Drop zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 1-2 minutes depending how thick they are and then immediately remove them from the water and place them in the baking dish on top of the salsa.

Brown ground chicken, turkey or beef in a large frying pan or skillet making sure to break it up as it cooks.  When the meat is no longer pink, add the spices, onion, bell pepper, reserved zucchini, tomato sauce and water and stir well.  Cover and simmer on low for an additional 20 minutes

Once the taco meat is finished then fill the hollowed zucchini boats with the meat mixture using a spoon and pressing firmly until all the meat has been used up.

Top each boat with 1tbsp of shredded cheese or to your desire.  Cover with foil and bake for approx. 35 minutes until the cheese has melted and the zucchini is cooked through.

Top with scallions and serve with salsa and/or additional toppings!

21 Day Fix equivalents without any additional toppings
2 zucchini boats = 2 green, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 orange, 1/2 purple (if you added extra salsa on the side at your discretion).

Chicken Parmesan Bites

Ok, this recipe was a show stopper!!!!  Honestly a family favourite!  Easy to make and SOOO good left over. I made these especially so that I could prep them in advance for my family's lunches last week.  The bites were perfect to have as left overs for 4 days!  I would give them hands down an "11/10!" A++!!!!!  This recipe came from my new "Dashing Dish" cookbook by Katie Farrell.  Love this book so far!

Ingredients:
1 cup of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 small onion, finely chopped (I used a sweet onion)
1 tsp fresh garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground chicken
2 large eggs
1 cup canned diced tomatoes drained (I used Alymer, petite-cut tomatoes with celery & green pepper)
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
3/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese (divided)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce
Fresh or dried parsley for garnish (*optional)

Directions: 
1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with parchment paper liners and spray lightly with cooking spray (coconut oil cooking spray is preferred).  Silicon liners lightly sprayed also work well.
3.  In a small frying pan, saute the spinach, onions, and garlic over medium heat until the onions are translucent.  Remove from stove and let mixture cool to room temperature.
4.  In a large bowl combine the ground chicken, spinach mixture, eggs, diced tomatoes (drained), oats, 1/2 cup Parmesan, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.  *Don't over mix or the meat will get tough.
5.  Divide mixture among the muffin cups.  You want about 1/4 cup of mixture into each muffin cup.
6.  Top each muffin with 2 TBSP of the marina sauce and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan among the 12 muffins.
7.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until each mini muffin, reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees and is no longer pink in the middle. My thermometer is broken so I just did the old fashioned, "cut one in half."  Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes before slicing (oops!) or serving.  Garnish with parsley for fun!

***If you are following the 21 Day Fix program, I would count 2 of these mini muffins as (1) red container.  There wouldn't be enough spinach/onion or even marinara sauce to merit counting any part of a green, purple or even tsp container, but that is just my opinion. :)

Gluten Free Turkey Meatloaf!

One of my favourite cookbooks is called, "Everyday Paleo," by Sarah Fragoso.  I have two of her cookbooks that I found at Costco a while ago and love them! I don't follow a Paleo lifestyle but the recipes are clean, fresh and super easy. This recipe is from the, "Everyday Paleo" cookbook and I changed it up tonight and used turkey instead of beef!  It is family approved!   I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

~2-2.5lbs ground turkey (or lean ground beef)

~1 cup almond meal (*if you have allergies omit almond meal and only use 1 egg instead of 2)

~2 eggs

~small can of tomato paste (6 oz)

~1 small red or white onion, finely diced

~2-3 garlic cloves, minced

~1/2 tbsp pink himalayan salt (or sea salt)

~1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil (I used 4-6 tbsp of dried basil)
~1 tsp marjoram (*optional. I have never added this ingredient)
~2 tsp finely ground black pepper

Prep Time: 30 mins             Cook Time: 1 hour          

1.  Preheat oven to 350° F.
2.  With your hands, mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl  (TIP: *I like to wear rubber gloves when mixing it!)
3.  Place mixture into a large, glass baking dish.  You can use a loaf pan if you like! I actually placed mine in a 5x9 pyrex container.
4.  Bake for 1 hour (make sure the meatloaf is no longer pink in the middle and cook more if needed).

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Chow Mein

One of my lovely challengers, Terri shared a recipe and indicated how much she LOVED it so I thought I would give it a try. I LOVE chow mein and to have a healthier version than the local take-out order made sense to me! I took the recipe she used and adapted it to include my FAVE ingredients.  Again, another family favourite! When I made it, I cooked the spaghetti squash the evening prior and shredded it and then made the stir fry the next day!  It was easy peasy and quick to prepare!  10-15 mins to be exact having the squash pre-cooked!  Choose whichever works for you!

Ingredients

1 large spaghetti squash
2 chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)
1/4 c tamari (gluten free soy sauce found at the local Supermarket)  or you could use lite soy sauce
1 large clove red garlic minced ( or 3 cloves of reg. garlic, minced)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1.5 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp white pepper (optional)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
1 large carrot grated (I used my Titan peeler - peeled them into matchsticks)
1/2 c. shredded cabbage (*optional)
1 small package of fresh sliced mushrooms, rinsed

Directions: 
Cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise and scoop out seeds.  Add about 1" of water to a pyrex or glass dish. Turn spaghetti squash face down (skin side up) in dish.  Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until flesh is very tender.  When done, let cool for a moment and scoop out flesh with a fork so it breaks apart into strings and set aside.  When I made it, I let it cool and then put it in the refrigerator over night.

In a small bowl, whisk together tamari, maple syrup, ginger and white pepper and set aside.

Heat olive oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, celery and cook until tender (about 3-4 mins). Be sure to stir often! Then add grated carrots and shredded cabbage and cook another minute before adding sliced mushrooms. Cook another minute longer until heated through.  Stir in spaghetti squash, cooked chicken and soy sauce mixture.  Mix it until well combined, and if you are using pre-cooked spaghetti squash make sure it is heated through before serving!

Serves 4-6 ----->21 Day Fix: 2 Green, 1/2 red per serving
Enjoy!

Clean Chicken Quesadillias

After a lunch date with a friend to a Mexican Restaurant I have been craving quesadilla's like crazy!  I wondered how I could make these the cleanest way possible and discovered it IS possible!  For starters, I invested in the smaller sized whole wheat tortilla (approx. 7") to avoid making something so big that I of course would have to eat it.  I went online to find a recipe that would work with the ingredients that I had at home.  Allrecipes.com is a great website with a variety of recipes for any taste bud.  Not all the recipes are clean however, depending on what you want to make they can be adapted.  Most proud of myself was the fact that I made my own fajita seasoning!  No more packaged seasonings for this girl!

Chicken Quesadillas (Makes approx. 10)

~3 large chicken breasts

~1 white onion

~1 Green Bell Pepper

~1 Orange Bell Pepper (any colour would work, this is just what I had)

~1 c. white mushrooms

1 TBSP olive oil

Fajita Seasoning
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp chili powder
1tsp salt
1 tsp paprika (for a smokey flavor Victorian Epicure sells a Smoked Paprika)
1 tsp raw sugar
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to how hot you want your fajitas)
1/2 tsp cumin

1.  Cut chicken into small strips.  Toss chicken strips and fajita seasoning in a ziploc bag and place on a lightly greased foil lined cookie sheet. Use a fork to separate the chicken so it isn't all in a big clump.

2.  Broil chicken for 5 minutes until no longer pink.  Add to frying pan with vegetables and saute for approx. 10 minutes.

3.  Place open tortilla on cookie sheet and fill each half of tortilla with chicken mixuture. About 1/4 cup.

4.  Put small amount of shredded Montrey Jack & Cheddar Cheese on the mixture. 

5. Fold the tortilla over the mixture and bake at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

6. Serve with fresh salsa, jalapeños and a small amount of greek yogurt if you desire.

Cheese & Broccoli Quinoa Bites with Garlic

While food prepping this week, I took a thorough look through my cupboards to see what I haven't eaten in a while.  Food prep for the week is work and time consuming but it is "worth it work!" Some weeks I stick to the usual just to save time as I seem to finally have a good handle on what I am doing now.  So when I dug deep in the cupboards to see what we haven't had in a while, voila!  I found my quinoa!  I typed in a few ingredients on the internet to find something quick, easy to make and that would make good left overs!  *That to me, is key! I found this recipe on "Alidas Kitchen" and modified it a bit.  Let me tell you, they were DELICIOUS!  A family favourite for sure! 

Cheese & Broccoli Quinoa Bites with Garlic

Ingredients
~3/4 c. of uncooked quinoa, rinsed
~1 1/2 c. of water or low sodium chicken broth
~2 eggs
~2 cups of broccoli florets, finely diced
~3/4 c. of yellow onion, finely diced
~garlic clove, minced
~1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
~1/2tsp paprika

Instructions

1.  In a medium sauce pan combine the water or chicken broth, quinoa. Bring to a boil, cover then turn on low and simmer for 15 minutes.  Then remove from heat and let quinoa cool for at least 5-10 minutes.
2.  In a large bowl, combine cooled quinoa, broccoli, cheese, onion, garlic, eggs, garlic and paprika.  Mix well.
3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins lightly with cooking spray.
4.  Put 2 heaping tablespoons of quinoa mixture in muffin tins. Lightly pat them down.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges turn golden brown.  Makes 2 dozen.
*These can also be made in a mini muffin tin using 1 tablespoon of quinoa mixture and will make 3 dozen.

Hope you enjoy!