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.

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Soup

It's decorative gourd season, and you know what that means . . . soup! At the store the other day I picked up sweet potatoes, a couple cans of pumpkin puree, carrots, onion, and some other staples. All of those earthy veggies make the best soup, and the whole meal comes together fast. Hope you enjoy!

Vegan Artichoke Veggie Dip

I made this years ago, six years ago actually, when I was eating a vegan diet. It's easy to make, fast, delicious, and full of nutrients! What's not to love? Now that it's football season it's good to have a few dip recipes on hand. This is great alternative for those of us who love spinach and artichoke dip, but have no self control. 

Vegetable Lo Mein

Something I've always ordered when we get Chinese takeout is either lo mein or chow mein, I will always choose noodles over fried rice! Here on the west coast chow mein has fried noodles, but they are not super crunchy or crispy. At least not anything I've had here in California. The chow mein here has the same noodles as lo mein, but they are stir fried separately instead of tossed in at the end. The noodles do have a slight crunch and more chew to them, but I would still consider the noodles to be soft. Especially since they soften over time and when you get takeout there's some time between when it's cooked and when you get it home. The main difference other than the crunchier noodles is chow mein tends to only have a couple of vegetables like celery and cabbage. Lo mein generally has a plethora of vegetables, which is why I prefer to make lo mein at home.

This recipe was a bit of an ordeal, it took over a week to perfect and six attempts total to get the right sauce. The short story is I started with a stir fry sauce recipe from another blog, combined that with a yakisoba sauce recipe to make a sort of hybrid sauce since I love that spice that yakisoba has. It was all wrong. So I started to try other recipes I saw online, and come to find out I don't really love hoisin in my sauce because of the five spice, white pepper isn't as good to me as black pepper, and I don't really like using sherry in the recipe either (most recipes call for Chinese cooking wine but say sherry can be substituted). I also found that while I love a bit of light colored soy sauce, having more than the amount of dark soy is just too salty to me. So when it comes down to it, this is a very basic sauce. I can't believe how many attempts it took, but there you have it. The flavor and type of lo mein I had been wanting to achieve. I will include my little list of tips at the bottom of the page if you're interested, but otherwise enjoy the recipe!

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!

Quick and Easy Mashed Potato Pancakes

Last year Isla was a newborn for St. Patrick's Day, so I didn't cook and we didn't celebrate. Now that she's a toddler I wanted to have some fun and cook the traditional Irish-American corned beef and cabbage with a couple sides. This resulted in too many mashed potatoes for a family of three. I like to make leftovers a little different the next day, and these potato pancakes were a fun way of changing up the meal from the previous night. Best part is you can fry a bunch up, then reheat the leftovers the next morning with scrambled eggs. Yum!

No Fuss Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

There are 1,700,000 results online for chocolate chip peanut butter cookie recipes, but just humor me for a few minutes. I like these because they aren't as fussy as the traditional cookie. No rolling into balls, stamping with a crosshatch on top, or refrigerating for hours. The other night I wanted cookies; like a needed them five minutes ago type of craving. I went ahead and whipped these up. The dough sat in the fridge for 30 minutes while I cleaned up the kitchen after dinner, and the cookies turned out fine. They didn't spread into flat crispy cookies. They were fluffy and tender with a nice crust on the bottom. Truly delicious, super easy, and the best part is freezing half of the dough to microwave an individual cookie for yourself whenever you need a sweet treat! Give these a try the next time you're craving peanut butter and chocolate.

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 :)

Breakfast for Dinner: Polenta and Asparagus

Lately I haven't been cooking. Between waiting on the baby to come "any day now" and going out to see friends, cooking has been pushed to the back burner. Last night I made a quick and easy dinner that was vegetarian and filling. If you're unfamiliar with polenta, it's essentially corn porridge. You can make it yourself with corn meal, water, cheese, and butter plus whatever else you'd like to add. I like to buy the rolls of polenta. It's already cooked and packaged, all you have to do is slice it and cook it up!

Single Serving Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup

I had a sweet potato hanging out on the counter, and some leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge. I've been making pumpkin spice lattes in the morning, but that only uses one tablespoon of pumpkin at a time. I really wanted to use up these ingredients before they went bad, so I made myself a single serving of soup. It turned out great! It was quick and easy.

Sweet Potato Soup with Carrots, Apples, and Ginger

My birthday week was a definite success! The only downside was gaining five pounds in a week. It wasn't because I was eating in excess, it was because we were eating restaurant food! My stomach hasn't been feeling great from the lack of fiber, and I am definitely retaining water. My solution is to eat as clean as possible and see if a few of the pounds will come off. I've been wanting soup lately. Something creamy and rich, even though it's been beach weather this whole week. Who says you can't make soup when it's 82 degrees out!? I went to the store and picked up all organic ingredients for this meal, and I absolutely love the way it turned out.

Low Calorie Black Bean & Quinoa Crunchy Tacos

  Okay, confession time. This is a big one, so brace yourselves. My favorite fast food item? Beef crunchy tacos from a certain well known chain restaurant, that not a soul living in CA would dare call Mexican food. I wish I was kidding. The soft warm meat-like filling, crunchy shell, and shredded cheese make my heart skip a a beat and make my stomach cry out with gratitude. The only downside? They're 170 calories each, with 10 grams of fat. I could easily polish off one of those variety boxes of 12, without help. Alright that might be a slight exaggeration, but I really do love them.

Delicious Hearty Omelet For Under 200 Calories!

 What a great way to kick off the weekend!! Mushrooms are so hearty and meaty that you forget this meal is vegetarian! ^_^ No Denver omelet here folks, fill up on mushrooms today!

Cheesecake for Under 200 Calories

Ever wished we lived in a perfect world where dessert could be consumed for lunch? I suppose with this recipe you could keep that dream without losing your waistline.

This recipe was inspired by a Vlog I saw on Youtube. This girl is super creative and used cottage cheese to make her version. I've used cottage cheese in cheesecake before, but it's always been accompanied by cream cheese! I've also made ricotta and cream cheese cheesecake before, which is equally delicious. This is a very light version of those previous recipes. It makes 1 serving (which is 3 muffin molds) and it's about 150 calories.

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

  A few months ago I won a giveaway for cookies and a cookbook from Tate's Bake Shop. Little did I know this would be the most beneficial cookbook I would own for baking. Kathleen King's recipes are simple and easy to follow. I don't need a fancy Kitchen Aid stand mixer to make these treats, my plain old electric beaters work just fine. I had made these muffins right after I received the book, but I only had enough banana and chocolate chips to make a half batch (6 muffins). I had 2 large and very ripe bananas sitting in my fridge the other day and remembered this recipe. We've been snacking on delicious muffins since, and I froze five and put them in individual baggies that can be nuked for a quick morning breakfast.

Grilled Eggplant Crostini & A Recipe Remix

I bought an eggplant for 64 cents the other day and didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I had a large baguette sitting in my freezer that I got for $1.15, I also happened to have plump tomatoes on the vine. I didn't want to fry the eggplant since I'm in a constant struggle to lose weight, so I decided little crostinis would be fabulous! This recipe is so simple but incredibly tasty and pretty healthy as well, minus the carbs of course.

Banana and Nutella Breakfast Crepes

Mastering the Art of French Cooking never lets me down. I've been wanting to make crepes for a while now, and I knew this book would have the tastiest recipe for them. I followed the instructions for making dinner crepes versus dessert because 1: it was easier, and 2: it was easier. No judging.

A Day Late: Sprucing Up Packaged Foods

You must think that we eat a lot of canned food or something, but I promise that isn't the case. Every once in a while we have an "Oh man, that pasta bake thing from Domino's looks really good . . . " moment, and that's when packaged raviolis and other pastas come into play. I thought to myself: I have basil pesto ravioli, jarred sauce, fresh mozzarella that is about to expire, tomatoes, herbs that needed to get used like yesterday, and more shredded cheese. Why on earth would we go out and spend at least $10 on some pasta thing from a fast food place when I can whip it up in no time! Here's what you need:

Peppery Creamy Fettuccine with Grape Tomatoes

 I was watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa on Hulu the other day and found this recipe irresistible. What I liked most about it was the ingredients were already on hand, so all I had to do was boil water and cook the pasta. The rest is really too easy! I've tweaked the recipe a tad, but the ingredients are almost identical to the original. Enjoy!