Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

I just received the new 21 Day Sugar Detox book in the mail.  It is going to be released to the public in a couple of weeks, but I was asked to preview it, test the recipes and blog about it to my hearts content.  I will tell you that it looks amazing and after just one afternoon speed reading and flipping through the new meal ideas I was totally inspired.  I think this book is going to be a big hit.  I have made my grocery list for tomorrow, but in the meantime I came up with this idea for dinner.  It was super easy and yummy!

 Ingredients:

2 Acorn squash or one medium Spaghetti squash 

1 lb. Italian sausage

5 garlic cloves, chopped

2 green apples, chopped

Shredded cheese to top with

Sauté the sausage, turn off the heat and drain most of the fat. (*At this point I split the meat in half to make a breakfast omelette, too).  Add the apples and garlic to the pan with half of the sausage.  Cook for 2-3 minutes on low.  Remove from heat and store in fridge until dinner or you are ready to eat.

Slice Acorn squash in half.  If you have trouble cutting it, try microwaving it for a couple of minutes first. ( Be careful it gets really hot. )  Cook the squash face down until skin is tender.  I use a vegetable steamer, but you can also cook it face down in a pan of water in the oven.  Remove squash and scoop out the seeds, discard.  Fill with sausage mixture, top with cheese and brown in the oven at 400 degrees, takes about 10-12 minutes.  Serve immediately and enjoy.  The flavors together were amazing!

*now for the bonus breakfast omelette 

Remember when I took half the cooked sausage out and set it aside.  Put it back in your now empty skillet.  Crack and beat 6 eggs, slice your favorite veggies and cook it all together on low heat until done.  There you go 2 healthy meals in the same prep time as 1.

Broccoli and Cauliflower pizza crust

I have been looking at many ideas, blogs and recipes on making gluten free pizza crust. My dilemma is that I cannot have any flour so replacing wheat flour with bean flour isn't an option. I decided to try vegetable crust, after all I love the veggie used in it, so I should like it, right?

Here's what I did:

Take 1/4 head of cauliflower and stick it in a food processor to 'rice' it. Do the same with 2 large broccoli crowns. Microwave them for 5 minutes, stirring every 1.5 minutes or so to release and evaporate as much water as possible.

Purée 1/4 cup whole almonds in food processor and then add to the cooked veggies. Let cool slightly and then add 1 beaten egg and 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.

Press 'dough' into a baking stone or pizza pan. Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes or until sides start to look toasted. Remove from oven. Top with pizza sauce and your favorite toppings. Bake as usual and enjoy!

It isn't the same as flour crust, but for those of us who want to eliminate flours from our diet, it's pretty dang good! If you hate the texture of 'Cream of Wheat', you won't like this either.

I recommend going all out on your toppings and picking veggies you love. I doubt my hubby will even try it, but I am thankful to have pizza without just eating the top for a change, so I covered it in mushrooms to ensure it all to myself ;)

Let me know what you think!

2 course Fondue: low carb dinner/dessert

It was my husband's birthday last week and I surprised him with an overnight at our favorite B & B, the 'Lazy Cloud'. (If you go please use our name for the referral so we can earn a free nights stay ;). Anyway, I was a little nervous about what we were going to eat to stay on our low carb, no sugar, gluten diet. Not to mention there is only a mini fridge and microwave in the suite. As I was thinking about it it came to me that I could make fondue, which is also terribly romantic, and stay on the all natural and non processed food path! Here's what I did:

First, I oven baked a large sirloin steak wrapped in foil and seasoned with our usual garlic salt and Cajun spices until cooked to med-rare. I removed it and sliced into chunks when cooled. I stored it in a microwave safe container with lid.

Next I made a large bar of my all natural and sugar free chocolate by melting 1/2 cup coconut oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Then whisking in 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 2 Tbsp honey, 1 tbsp half n half, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, vanilla and orange extract.
I poured it into a waxed paper lined dish and put it into the fridge to harden. I removed it when hardened and broke it into fourths, stored in a gallon Ziplock bag.

Finally I steamed broccoli for 5 minutes in my steamer, it was a little on the raw side but I knew we would be heating it up in the microwave and didn't want to over cook it. I also cut up all my red peppers.

I packed the rest of the ingredients into a cooler bag along with my sterno and fondue pot and off we went. When we were ready to eat I lit the sterno and started melting 2 cups of shredded Colby jack cheese, 1/4 cup half n half, 1 Tbsp butter, 2 slices Swiss cheese and 1/4 really good winter ale beer :). While the cheese was melting we warmed up the meat and broccoli. It took about 10 minutes altogether and we were ready to eat. It was so good! We filled up pretty fast, so we decided to save the chocolate fondue and fruit for breakfast. Have I ever mentioned how much I love chocolate for breakfast before????

In the morning while my coffee was brewing in the coffee pot we melted 1/2 of the homemade chocolate bar in the fondue pot over a candle. The sterno seemed to hot and I didn't want to scorch it. When the chocolate was ready we pushed the cinnamon rolls and muffins the B & B provide out of our way and started dipping! It was way better (I had one bite of a cinnamon roll ;).

I wasn't sure if this experience was blog material or not, but I hope I've encouraged you to think outside the box! We thought the meal was perfect and saved the normal $100 we would spent eating out. More importantly we saved precious alone time by not eating out in public. Alone time is what the whole B &B was about, after all!

Oh yeah, and as a thank you to the kids for letting us get away we gave them the rest of the chocolate and fruit when we got home.

Chicken fajitas with homemade tortillas

Well this recipe is not exactly on the gluten free diet unless you use alternative flour or skip the tortillas altogether, but I made them for the kids who all agreed they were the best tortillas they ever tasted. My 7 year old son even have me a huge hug after dinner and said, "Thank you mommy for learning how to cook so much stuff, you're a real chef now!" Awe, that made it all worth the effort. I always tell the girls when their daddy raises the bar for their future husband, and tonight I think I just raised the bar for the boys' potential wife :)

Ingredients:

Tortilla dough- 2 cups flour, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 tsp salt and 3 Tbsp olive oil.

4-5 chicken breasts
1 green pepper
1 Red pepper
1 orange pepper
1 onion

Taco seasoning:
1/4 tsp each of garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, and cumin.
1/4 cup water

Make tortilla dough. Dump out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough a few times. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Slice the chicken into strips and sauté it in olive oil while the dough is resting. Add taco seasonings and water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking roll out the tortillas as thin as possible and fry in oil one at a time. Flip them like a pancake to cook each side.

Add vegetables to chicken and cook for 5 minutes or until they are the fineness you like. Serve with salsa, avocado, cheese and sour cream.

I dumped mine into a Romain lettuce leaf, but admit I tasted a small piece of a tortilla....it was good!!!

(You may notice in the picture that I doubled the tortilla dough recipe. I made the second set fried in butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar for dessert. I'll post that recipe next :)

Noodle-less Lasagna

Ditching the wheat noodles has proved to be pretty easy. I didn't even have to give up lasagna, yay!

'Noodles'

3 med- large zucchini cut into strips

Cheese filling:

1/2 cup fresh chopped spinach
1 regular container cottage cheese
1 regular container ricotta cheese
2 eggs

Sauce:

1 lb ground beef
1 jar sugar free spaghetti sauce
1 diced onion
1 small jar tomato paste

Directions:

Slice the zucchini into strips and set on paper towels to dry out for a few hours. I sliced mine and went to church. By the time I came home, took a nap and felt like cooking they were prefect.

Mix the cheese filling ingredients into a bowl, set aside.

Brown the ground beef, drain. Add onion and sauté for a few minutes. Add sauce and tomato paste. Mix well.

Layer your ingredients as normal for a lasagna. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Tex Mex hamburger stir fry

Ummm, well I was short on time, ingredients and imagination.....the result was a hit with the hubby! I ate mine over lettuce, he covered his with cheese. Pretty simple and tasty. Don't be afraid to experiment. :)

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 med onion chopped
1 large green pepper
1 large red pepper
1 large yellow pepper
1 can chili beans
1 can tomatoes with chilies
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp minced onion

Brown the ground beef and drain. Add the sliced veggies and sauté. Drain the tomatoes and add with the beans to the pan. Mix in the spices and serve over lettuce with cheese. Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash and Sausage

It took a year, but I finally got (almost) everyone to admit that spaghetti squash is good! Proving the simple truth that if you put sausage in anything my husband will like it. I personally love spaghetti squash. I think it is one of those amazing foods that show the creativity of our Creator! Here is how I make it for the less adventurous in our family.

1 lb. sausage
1 small diced onion
1 jar sugar free spaghetti sauce (or homemade)
1 small can stewed tomatoes
1 large spaghetti squash
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Split the squash. I microwave mine for 5-8 minutes to soften the skin before cutting. Cook the squash. You can cook it in the oven at 350 for 35 minutes or steam them in a steamer for 25 minutes. Scoop out the squash and put in a casserole dish.

Sauté sausage and onions in pan, drain. Add sauce and tomatoes. Pour over the squash and top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Serve warm.

Stuffed Green Peppers

My husband helped me make 2 full weeks if meal ideas and this was one of his requests. I haven't made them but a few times in our 19 years together, and never without rice. They turned out really good! We didn't miss the rice and they stayed firm, not mushy.

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef
4 large green peppers
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 small onion
5-6 baby sweet peppers
1/2 cup shredded cheese

(Taco seasoning for ground beef)
1/4 tsp each: garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika
1/4 cup water

Brown ground beef, drain and add taco seasoning and water. Add onions, can of tomatoes (drained) and sweet peppers. Simmer for 10 minutes. Slice off tops of green peppers, set aside. Scoop out seeds and fill with ground beef mixture. Place in baking dish and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with cheese. Bake an additional 5-20 minutes. Serve with tops on.

Zucchini and squash Au Gratin

I was really craving Au Gratin potatoes today so I decided to use squashes instead. It turned our magnificently!

Ingredients:
3 med zucchini
3 med yellow squash
1 onion
1 cup shredded cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil

Slice the vegetables thin. I dried them on a paper towel for 10 minutes. Pour and coat baking dish with oil. Arrange zucchini and squash in pan. I had the kids line them yellow-green-yellow-green :). It kept them busy and looked so pretty! Sprinkle on top sliced onions and cheese. Bake at a 425 oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm. Delicious!

Mexican Chicken chili

Ingredients:

1 baked chicken
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can mild chili beans
1 can black beans
1 chopped jalapeño (for spicier)
3 cups chicken broth

Bake a whole chicken at 350 degrees for 2.5 hours. Remove from oven and let cool. Shred chicken. Add broth and chicken to soup pot.

(At this point I start a second pot of broth with onions and diced carrots for the kids who won't eat chili and can have noodles and add half the chicken.)

Add the other half of chicken and the rest of the ingredients to the chili pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and enjoy!!!

Grilled shrimp, zucchini and bacon wrapped chicken

Here's more ways to use bacon! The kids wanted shrimp the other night so I added some bacon and chicken to the skewers, too.

On the other side of the grill I roasted squash, zucchini and onions with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, wow was it good!

Not really a recipe, this is just an idea to share for eating low-carb and healthy. :)

Italian sausage and stir fried sweet peppers

We did the 21 day sugar and wheat detox and are technically on day 25. We have found out that we love eating this way and feel so much better. My husband and I both had achey joints and terrible acid reflux, both of which are now completely gone. I haven't eaten a TUMS in 3 weeks!!!! One challenge we've found with excluding wheat is balancing your meal with vegetables. Tonight's dinner was a winner and we will make it again soon, I'm sure.

1 package Italian sausage links
1 sliced onion
1 small bag fresh tri-color sweet peppers
1 large green pepper
1 tsp. fresh garlic

Cook the sausages in the pan. (I add a little water to steam them and find that it also helps in caramelizing the veggies before it evaporated out) Slice the vegetables into strips and add to the pan. Stir fry the vegetables. Serve warm.

Bacon wrapped tilapia

Super simple, super yummy. Bacon wrapped anything is great in my opinion, but this was just pure genius. Tilapia takes on the flavor of the bacon and stays light and flakey. Here's what we did:

Split your tilapia filets into 2 pieces, wrap with uncooked bacon. Sauté in a frying pan until done on both sides, about 6 minutes each side.

My 9 yr. old son wanted to try it himself tonight, but was intimidated by wrapping the fish in bacon and flipping it without it coming apart. I had him fry the bacon first and then sauté the fish in the bacon grease. Same flavor and now he can make it for me :)