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.

Chocolate covered bananas. :)-

Looking for a fabulous chocolate-covered-healthy treat? Try these super simple and super tasty frozen bananas. Now all we need is some sunshine!

4 frozen bananas
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 tsp. raw honey
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup almond butter

Slice the bananas, place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, and put into the freezer for 30 minutes.

Take the bananas from the freezer and spread a small dab of almond butter on top of each slice. Freeze for 30 more minutes.

Melt the coconut oil, add the cocoa powder and honey. Mix well. Dip each banana slice in the chocolate and set onto waxed paper. Store in the freezer.

Take a few out at a time and let set for 5-10 minutes before serving them.....mmmm perfect!

Easy Beef stew

We love beef stew in our family. This recipe is so simple and without potatoes, it fits the 21 day sugar detox guidelines.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. stew meat
1 large onion
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
8 cups beef stock
1/2 tsp. garlic salt and onion powder
2 cups stewed tomatoes (or 1 can)
1 bag frozen peas
1/2 bag frozen green beans

Sauté the stew meat in olive oil. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook until tender. Add tomatoes and broth and simmer for 1 hour or more. Add frozen vegetables 30 minutes before serving.

Sugar free, No bake, Double Chocolate Cookies

I was really craving cookies the other day so I decided to try making a no bake, no sugar, no flour version. I have never done it so I was a bit skeptical. The result was a cookie that tasted like a double chocolate chip cookie from Subway! I couldn't believe it! I even made my own chips, which honestly made took the cookie from good to fabulous!

Homemade sugar free chips:

1/3 cup coconut oil
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp milk or cream
1 tsp honey
Dash salt

Melt the oil, whisk in the rest of ingredients, spread in small dish lined with waxed paper and place in the fridge/freezer.

Cookie ingredients:

1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup pecans
2 Tbsp almond milk
1/2 cup milled flax seed
1 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries (optional)
1 tsp vanilla

Blend nuts, milk and oil until smooth. Fold in rest of ingredients one at a time.

Take chocolate out of the freezer, slice into small pieces with pizza cutter and stir into batter.

Spoon small balls of dough onto a cookie sheet and put into fridge to harden. Store in airtight container.

You can substitute the flax for oats or flours, add coconut or peanut butter, the combinations are limitless!

Balsamic Barbecue Chicken -sugar free

One of the things I notice about doing the sugar/gluten detox over the 21 days is you miss yummy sauces like barbecue on your chicken. I started looking for an alternative and came up with a very tasty and healthy version. My crock pot is broken at the moment so I slow cooked this in the oven in a covered roasting pan. I used fresh pineapple in the sauce and had everyone licking their lips asking for more. We will be making this again soon I'm sure!

Ingredients:

1 cup stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 fresh pineapple

Chicken breasts
Provolone cheese

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth. Cook in a sauce pan for 10 minutes. Pour over chicken breasts and bake at 300 degrees for 4 hrs or in a crock pot. Baste with the sauce over the chicken several times while baking. Top with Provolone cheese and broil for 5 minutes and just before serving.

Baked Apple Slices: No pop corn movie treat!

I took the teenagers to the movies last night and since we are all on the detox we had to plan ahead to avoid popcorn and Junior Mint temptation. I was looking for something semi-sweet, but with a crunch. We went for sliced green apples slightly dried and sprinkled with cinnamon. They were perfect and we saved at least $12.50 on popcorn not to mention the empty calories of theater snacks. We also opted for unsweetened iced tea instead of soda. Overall, a successful night out and we made choices we can feel good about.

Ingredients:

3 Granny Smith Apples
Cinnamon

Slice your apples and place on waxed paper on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake/dry in a 200 degree oven for 3 hours, flipping them half way through. It was just the right amount of time so they were dry, sweet and crunchy. Any longer and I think they would have been too soft.

Frozen yogurt and Magic Shell!!!

The kids keep asking for dessert so I decided to try some of my homemade yogurt frozen with blended fruit. The result was excellent, but next time I will add some cream so it isn't so icey. The kids didn't notice, but I did.

The magic shell was.....well, magical! The flavors were perfect, but the possible combinations are endless! The quart was gone in about 15 minutes and had everyone asking for more.

Frozen yogurt Ingredients:

2 cups yogurt
1 cup organic strawberries
2 bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream

-Blend on blender and pour into container with lid, freeze at least 4 hours.

Magic Shell chocolate syrup:

1/2 cup melted coconut oil
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup cocoa powder

- mix ingredients together and pour over scoops of frozen yogurt. Watch it harden in about 30 seconds! Magic!