Soyrizo and Pepper Jack Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese

Cauliflower has become increasingly popular. I've seen so many recipes ranging from pizza crust to macaroni and cheese that subs cauliflower for noodles. I've had cauliflower gratin before which is super similar to this recipe, and I wanted to switch up the flavor profile from the traditional cheddar. I love Soyrizo. If you don't know what it is, it's a vegan alternative to chorizo. Chorizo has a delicious taste, but the ingredients can be questionable depending on which kind you buy. It's also loaded with fat, and Soyrizo is a great alternative if you aren't vegetarian or vegan but want to cut out all the grease. I personally think when you have it with scrambled eggs and peppers with tortillas and beans on the side, you really won't notice the difference. The flavor is great, and it works really well in this dish since the cheese is already so rich on it's own.

Simple Beef Chili

I mentioned on Facebook that I hadn't been posting as much because my husband and I have been very serious about a deep freezer/pantry clean out! I love having about 5 times the amount of storage space for food versus our old apartment, but I didn't want things to become lost or forgotten. I've been coming up with interesting meals lately. Usually something frozen, with a can of something, and some veggies. Nothing blog-worthy. I did however spot canned tomatoes, canned black beans, canned kidney beans, canned corn, and frozen ground beef the other day; these ingredients just scream homemade chili. I'm surprised I've never posted a recipe for basic beef chili, but this one is so easy to follow and completely customizable. You can use beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, shredded chicken, veggie crumbles, or no meat at all. You can use black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, etc. It's up to you, so use whatever you have on hand.

Easy Roast Chicken and Butternut Squash

When I think of fall I think of squash and cinnamon, so this recipe was a no brainer for me. It's so simple to put together but I love that the flavors are a little different than what I'm used to which is more of an Italian flavor base. This recipe has cinnamon in it which it such a great addition and really warms the meal up. The best part is it's a one pan recipe, and the ingredients list is simple.

Ricotta Filled Eggplant

I'm on an Italian food kick this week, mainly because I bought a lot of eggplant and I have fresh basil in my garden! This recipe comes together fast and is really filling, would be the perfect dish if you do Meatless Mondays.

(sorry for the picture quality, snapped this right before sunset)

Zucchini Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Mozzarella

I could eat this multiple times per week, it's that good! I finally bought a spiralizer after years of wanting one. I used to have a mandolin which seems to have disappeared, so I haven't been making any vegetable noodles. I got the spiralizer in the mail, and made this dish that same day for dinner. It was fantastic and very filling. Hope you enjoy!

Zucchini Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Mozzarella
      serves 5

• 5 small Zucchini, spiralized or cut into noodles
• 1 Eggplant, peeled halfway or fully and chopped into big chunks
• 28 ounce can Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp + 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup White Onion, diced
• 1/2 cup fire roasted Peppers & Onions (frozen, or just use 1 whole small onion)
• 2 tsp minced Garlic
• 8 ounces Mozzarella cheese, cubed (the vacuum packed type, not water packed)
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh Basil cut into ribbons, or 2 Tbsp of the freeze dried kind
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. On a baking sheet add the chopped eggplant, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss together to coat the eggplant, and bake at 400F for 20 minutes. While the eggplant is baking make your sauce. In a large saute pan or skillet with high sides add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers and cook for about 5-7 minutes, then add the garlic and cook and additional minute. Add the crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Simmer on medium-low while the eggplant roasts. When the eggplant is finished add to the sauce, and simmer and additional 10 minutes. 

The zucchini pasta is super easy. I used the spiralizer and made the zucchini into noodles while the eggplant roasted. To cook I actually microwaved mine for 9 minutes, although it can also be boiled or sauteed. I just wanted to cut down on clean up. Once the sauce has finished simmering add in the zucchini noodles (be sure to drain the excess water), the parmesan cheese, and the basil. Stir well to combine, finally add the cubed mozzarella. It will begin to melt into the hot sauce. Give it a good stir and serve immediately. 

I really enjoyed this with extra basil on top as well as hot pepper flakes, but I couldn't add those to the whole recipe because it's too spicy for my toddler. Who absolutely loved this meal by the way! Per serving: 323 calories, 19 grams of fat, 16 grams of protein, and 16 grams of net carbs!

Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken fried rice has always been an indulgence for my husband and me, we probably get it 3-4 times a year whenever we're in the mood for Chinese or Thai food. We have Benihana restaurants here in CA and they make really delicious chicken fried rice. I did a search and found a few recipes that were inspired by Benihana's rice, but instead of white rice I used cauliflower rice. If you're unfamiliar with cauliflower rice, it's just cauliflower you run through the food processor to chop it up into "rice." It's yummy, quick, and saves on the carbohydrates. The best thing about this recipe is you can use whatever you have on hand; in my case, whatever I had in the freezer.

Sweet Lemon Gluten-Free Pancakes

Easy pancakes that taste just like the title says, sweet and lemony. This is a simple recipe that doesn't require too much prep, and the batter doesn't need to sit or thicken up like other gluten free recipes. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!


On a side note . . . We are in the process of buying a house! It's all very exciting, things have been crazy. Very crazy. Isla is almost 8 months old and crawls everywhere and gets into everything. Every. Thing. She's sassy and very determined. My husband has been working like crazy, and I've hardly been cooking. I am so looking forward to having a house with a nice kitchen to inspire me to cook again! I plan to have a garden so I can grow fresh veggies and herbs. Hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more of me around here, I sure do miss blogging.  If anyone out there is still reading, thanks for sticking around :)

Blueberry Cream Cheese Low Carb Scones

I had purchased a small bag of the Bob's Red Mill GF flour, but I wasn't too impressed. It's high in carbs, not very high in fiber, and doesn't taste great. The majority of this recipe calls for almond four, but I bulked it up with coconut flour and the GF flour.  I wish I had used fresh blueberries because the frozen always turn the batter an ugly blue/green. If you are using frozen, try tossing the berries in a little sugar/sweetener and GF flour to coat the berries and keep them from staining the batter. I really enjoyed these scones!

Blueberry Cream Cheese Low Carb Scones

• 1/2 cup blanched Almond Flour
• 1/4 cup Coconut Flour
• 1/4 Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour
• 3 tbsp. sweetener, I like Truvia or the Truvia Baking Blend
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/8 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 packet Truvia, for sprinkling
• 2 large Eggs
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen Blueberries
• 1/4 cup Almond Milk or other milk
• 4 ounces Cream Cheese, partially frozen and diced
• 4 tbsp. Unsalted Butter, diced

Per scone: 138 calories, 5.5 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams protein, about 10 grams fat.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Dice the cream cheese and the butter, and place on a plate in the freezer. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients (almond flour through the cinnamon) and whisk together to get rid of any lumps. Cut the butter into the flour mixture, I just used my fingers and then a whisk. Whisk in the eggs and the almond milk until combined. Carefully stir in the cream cheese and the blueberries. There is a proper way for forming scones, and then there's my way:

On a baking sheet lined with parchment, plop the dough out and smooth it into a rectangle using a damp spatula. Use one packet of Truvia to sprinkle over the top of the dough. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and use a sharp knife to cut into fourths, and then into eighths making triangular cuts (like a pizza). Return to oven and bake an additional 5-7 minutes until golden brown on top and set. Let cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack until the scones are completely cool. 

When you cut the dough it will be very wet in the middle still, but a little firm on top. It's too difficult to cut and form the dough before you've baked it, so I like my method because you get it into the oven before the butter and cream cheese completely soften and you're still able to form the dough into the triangular scones. Be sure not to overcook these scones, as recipes with coconut flour tend to dry out quickly. Enjoy!

Low Calorie Curried Chicken Salad

I love all of the cold salads: potato salad, macaroni salad, and especially chicken salad. This recipe is really simple and all I had to go buy was the celery and butter lettuce, chances are you also have the ingredients you need already in your pantry and fridge.

Orange and Parsley Chicken Cutlets with Arugula

I saw this recipe on Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals and just had to recreate it, in a low carb way of course! I subbed the flour for coconut flour and used flax meal and Parmesan cheese instead of regular bread crumbs. It was so delicious but quite a large meal for one person. I definitely think this is great for when you're starving, or you can share it with someone else and add some extra veggies.

Low Carb Gluten Free Pizza

  Apologies for my absence. I was hit with a cold, then worked a week, then got the flu, then was in Vegas the next week. It's been an exhausting month! I've been attempting to meal plan lately, so two big dinners twice a week and we're pretty much set. This pizza dough is one of my favorite recipes. It's easy, cheap, fast, gluten free, and tastes great. It most certainly is not low calorie or "light," but I prefer to stick to a low carbohydrate diet, even if that means going over my calories on days where I want pizza.

Spicy Peanut Chicken and Noodles

  If you love noodles but hate the carbs that come with them, this recipe is for you. I try to keep it low carb most days. Eating high carb meals gives me stomach aches and makes me feel tired and sluggish. The problem is, I love carbs! It's a struggle, but meals like this give me my carb fix with doing damage. This noodle dish is creamy, spicy, sweet, crunchy, and satisfying. 

Pancakes (because there can never be enough recipes)

Please excuse the poor lighting, photo quality, and paper plate. I whipped these up after a hike, I needed some extra calories and something a little sweet. This recipe just makes three pancakes, so I wasn't intending to blog it. However, I'd have to say these are my favorite pancakes so far!

Lighten it Up: Club Sandwich Under 300 Calories

Hello there! Long time no blog, hopefully a handful of you are still reading. Life as of late has been sandwiches and salads. The summer months are definitely when I stop cooking for the most part. Hopefully soon I will have a lot of toaster oven and slow cooker recipes to share.

Sweet Balsamic Blueberry Grilled Chicken Salad

Spring produce is fantastic, I love seeing low prices on fresh fruits and vegetables. I picked up a huge carton of fresh blueberries for a couple of bucks the other day, but I knew I wasn't going to use them up fast enough by just stirring them into Greek yogurt once a day. I've decided this salad is my new favorite meal, and plan to eat it twice a day! And for 156 calories a serving, I don't think you can blame me.

150 Calorie Gluten-Free Tuna Melt

When I think of a traditional tuna melt, I remember the crisp buttered bread, ooey gooey cheese, and tuna that is sopping wet with mayo. I lightened up this sandwich and made it a little more diet friendly. Using the ingredients I had on hand, this open-faced sandwich turned out to be 150 calories, 11 carbs, 17 grams protein, and 4 grams of fat.

Low Carb Shrimp Scampi w/ Miracle Noodles

This is a super low carb/low fat version of one of my personal favorites. Lemon and garlic work so well with the shrimp you don't need butter or oil to make it taste great!

Chocolate Cheesecake with Peppermint Chocolate Glaze

  These little chocolate cheesecake squares were such a treat for Christmas! My sister is a Winter Solstice baby and she loves peppermint, so I made these as a birthday/holiday treat. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, I'm looking forward to a new year ^_^

Fajita Bowls for 200 Calories

I'm back on the low calorie, no fat, no sugar, nothing processed, etc part of my diet. It's been fine so far, and I'm finally in the 140's! My hubby got steak fajitas for dinner the other night and it crushed my spirits just a teensy bit. The aroma of sizzling spicy flank steak paired with creamy sour cream and guacamole is hard to endure! Today I decided I would make a diet friendly version of the dish. I swapped out bell peppers for English cucumber to save calories and sugar, and used ground turkey instead of steak. To top it I used a tablespoon of very hot salsa and a dab of Greek yogurt, served with wedges of lime of course!

No Bake Pumpkin "Cheesecake"

Yummms. This is a great treat for Fall, I love pumpkin spice anything ^_^ This delicious creamy dessert is just under 4 grams of carbs per serving, so the carb and sugar count is much lower than most desserts. The best part? It's a no bake dessert. It never sets up fully so it's best served in a bowl, and scooped out with a spatula =P You could sub whipped cream for the coconut milk and add eggs to make this a regular cheesecake that you can bake! I was just being lazy!