Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

A delicious gluten-free, low calorie, high fiber (very filling) substitute for pasta. Perfect for fall while squash is in season! I didn't take a picture but this is such a easy, healthy and delicious meal.

Ingredients

• 1 Spaghetti Squash
• Olive Oil
• Spaghetti Sauce (make your own or use a jar, I cheat with a jar and spice it up as this is an easy weeknight meal)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Half the squash lengthwise (hot dog style if you will) and scoop the seeds
• Lightly coat the inside of the squash with olive oil and place both halves cut side down on a roasting pan
• Bake in oven for around 1 hour or until you can easily insert a fork through the outer skin
• While the squash is baking, heat your sauce on the stove
• When the squash is done, remove from oven and use a fork to remove the strands from the skin
• Cover "squash noodles" with sauce and enjoy!

Erin's Fish Tacos

Tilapia is a great, cheap, lean fish that's great for fish tacos! I make these often as we usually keep frozen tilapia on hand and since the fillet's are so small, it thaws quickly!

Ingredients

• 2 Tilapia Fillets
• 1 tsp Spices, Chili Powder
  1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
  1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  1 tsp Turbinado Sugar
  1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 Corn Tortillas Taco Size
• 2 tbsp Red Onion (diced)
  1/4 Tomatoes (diced)
  1/2 Lime (cut into wedges)

Directions

• Thaw, rinse and dry tilapia
• Preheat pan med/med-hi
• Combine spices together (for an addedtouch, dip the very tips of your lime
  wedges in the rub so when you squeeze it on the tacos, you get a little spice,
  not to mention it looks great on a plate)
• Coat fish in olive oil and rub with spice rub
• Cook Tilapia in pre-heated pan until done (approx. 3 min per side)
• Meanwhile, Heat tortillas and dice onion and tomato for garnish. Sometimes I make a basic vinegar slaw to toss on top as well.
• Build your tacos and enjoy! (don't forget to serve with the lime wedges!)

3 B's Baked Beans...because everything is better with Bacon, Bourbon and Brown Sugar

Summer is here and it's time for grilling and delicious homecooked food. Baked beans are easy to cheat with by grabbing a can of it at the store and heating it up nice and quick. However, we wanted to try the real deal and they are far superior with no high-fructose corn syrup and no preservatives!


Ingredients

• 1 lb dry Navy Beans (aka Great Northern's)


• 4 slices thick bacon, diced


• 1 cup packed brown sugar


• 2/3 cup Bourbon


• 1/2 cup Stoneground or Dijon Mustard


• Water


• Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Sort through beans and remove any pebbles, foreign objects, etc


2. Soak beans for about one hour in water at room temperature.


3. Cook diced bacon until nice and crispy


4. Put bacon, grease and all into crockpot (how else do you think baked beans taste so good?)


5. Add brown sugar, bourbon, mustard (to give some tang), and drained beans


6. Add enough water to cover beans with an additional inch or so above them


7. Cook overnight or all day. Add water if things are drying out


8. Add salt and pepper to taste
9. Enjoy!

Oven Baked Bacon!

Oven Baked Bacon

I have a strong love/hate relationship with bacon. LOVE crispy bacon, despise soggy bacon, love the flavor and texture but hate the guilt. Oven Baked Bacon is by no means healthier for you than any other bacon but is a good "sometimes food" on a lazy weekend morning.

Using the wire racks helps with heat distribution as well as allows some of the excess fat to drip off of the bacon.

Ingredients:

• Thick Sliced Bacon (as much as you want - 3 pieces per person is plenty!)
• White Sugar (small spoonful)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400
• Line baking sheet with foil - really helps with clean up
• Place wire racks on baking sheet
• Lay out back on wire racks
• Bake for 20 minutes
• Flip bacon
• Bake for a bit longer to desired doneness (usually about 10 minutes for me)
• Remove bacon from oven
• Dab extra fat off with a paper towel if desired
• Sprinkle a LIGHT amount of sugar on the bacon
• ENJOY
  

Oven Potatoes

Oven Potatoes

We make a lot of oven baked potatoes. A lot. You get the flavor of a fried fry without the guilt!

We make breakfast potatoes for breakfast or “Brinner”, steak fries to accompany veggie burgers, sweet potato fries, etc.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes – Russet, Red, Sweet, Blue, Fingerling – your choice of as many as you’d like


• Olive Oil


• Seasonings: I’d suggest black pepper, rosemary, seasoned salt, kosher salt, anything you want!

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400


• Cut potatoes as desired (ideas include wedges, fries, “scallop slices”, cubes)


• Toss in bowl with enough oil just to coat them. Too much oil will make them soggy. Toss in seasonings BESIDES salt


• Oil baking sheet – you don’t want stuck potatoes!


• Spread potatoes on baking sheet


• Place in oven


• Stir frequently and cook until desired doneness – it typically takes 45-60 minutes until they’re evenly cooked, browned and crisped


• Pull out of oven and salt as desired. My favorite is a light sprinkling of kosher salt
  

Enjoy!

Kale Chips

I am such a sucker for crunchy, salty things like chips and crackers. However, that's probably not what my body's telling me to eat when it sends those cravings to my brain. Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium and iron (bonus for consuming iron with vitamin c to aid absorption). In order to cure my cravings and get something healthy ingested in place of chips and crackers, I've been making Kale Chips.




Kale Chips

Ingredients

Kale (purple, green, anything works) - you pick the quantity. Keep in mind it really cooks down!


Olive Oil


Kosher or Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350-375
2. Coat sheet pan in olive oil
3. Wash kale thoroughly. Spin or strain dry but leave some moisture
4. Cut or tear kale into chip-size pieces. (Remove the stems)
5. Toss with olive oil -a little goes a long way
6. Bake in the oven - stirring a few times throughout cooking - until pieces are dehydrated and crunchy but not burnt
7. Salt and Pepper as desired
8. Allow to cool and enjoy!

***Note: If you do choose to store some, do so uncovered. If you cover them they get soggy and funky!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

I rarely follow a recipe to cook but a few people have asked how to make this soup so here goes! I don't cook or garnish with dairy and it's amazing how creamy and delicious this recipe is!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

2 TBSP Olive Oil

1 Yellow Onion chopped

4 Cloves Minced Garlic

1 Apple Chopped (I usually use Fuji or Gala as it's what I keep around)

2 Med/Large Butternut Squash - peeled, seeded and cubed

4 Cups Broth (I use veggie but chicken would work too)

2 TBSP Yellow Curry Powder (+/- to taste)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat a stockpot over med/med hi heat
2. Saute onion, garlic and olive oil until onion is transluscent
3. Add apple, squash and broth
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Add curry powder and salt and pepper.
6. Allow to simmer, stirring frequently.
7. Cook down until it is the texture you're looking for - about 30 min if you don't want it to be total mush
8. Mash with potato masher to desired consistency - I like some "chewable" chunks to remain
9. add any curry, salt and pepper needed to taste.
10. Enjoy! I often serve it with beer biscuits (recipe as follows)

Drop Beer Biscuits (baking does need a recipe!)

Ingredients

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup beer (less or more to get consistency right)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 F
2. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt
3. Cut in shortening until it has cornmeal consistency
4. Stir in Beer until you get a not too wet, not too dry consistency. DON'T OVERMIX!
5. Drop onto sheet pan as desired size
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown