Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad

I love a great way to put veggies into things, and the higher antioxidants/vitamins/good things, the more I love the veggies.  In theory anyway, since I actually hate brussels sprouts.  Seriously hate.  Even covering them with butter and bacon doesn't typically make them edible in my opinion.  I did cut the recipe in half since it is such a huge amount of food.

Ingredients (serves 8-10):

• 1/4c fresh lemon juice
• 2T dijon mustard
• 1T minced shallot
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1/4t kosher salt
• ground black pepper
• 2 bunches of kale (about 1.5lbs), center stem discarded and leaves thinly sliced
• 12oz brussels sprouts, finely grated or shredded
• 1T olive oil
• 1/3c almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1c grated pecorino

 Directions:

1. Mix together lemon juice, mustaard, shallot, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl.  Set aside to let all the flavors meld together for a while.
2. Toss together the shredded kale and sprouts in a large bowl and set that aside.
3. Put the olive oil in a skillet and toast the almonds, lightly salt after done toasting.
4. Pour the dressing into the bowl of kale and sprouts and toss to coat (a little more olive oil can be added to help here).  Throw in the toasted almonds to garnish.  Top with the pecorino before serving.
   

Crispy Fried Chicken (low carb version)

I love fried chicken.  I will openly admit, mostly for the breading portion... so how does this fit in to a low carb lifestyle where I (obviously) shouldn't be eating bread?  On a recent trip to Florida, we stopped at a roadside stand in GA and picked up some peanut flour (it sounded interesting).  It's not the *absolute* lowest carb thing in the would, but from what I can find, it has about 20g of carb per cup... and considering that I used about a cup (considering that some was left over) for this recipe, it doesn't seem so bad!!

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 3 chicken breasts, cut into strips/pieces (I assume you can also purchase tenders)
• 2T cajun seasoning
• 2T salt
• 1T ground black pepper
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1.5c peanut flour
• 1t ground oregano
• 2T cajun/rib/any seasoning mix you love
• 1t onion powder
• 1/2t garlic salt
• 1t garlic powder
• 3t Italian seasoning
• 1/2t chipotle chili powder
• 1t black pepper
• 2t salt
• 2T paprika
• crisco/frying oil (I think we used about 2 cups)

Directions:

1. Put chicken breast pieces in a large plastic bag and cover with water, add 2T cajun seasoning, 2T salt, and 1T ground black pepper.  Let sit for about an hour.
2. In another large, plastic bag (I used gallon size), combine the peanut flour with the remaining seasonings and shake together.
3. Put the eggs in a pie pan (or other large dish object) and add about a tablespoon of water.
4. Pat the chicken pieces dry, and cover in the egg solution then put (a couple pieces at a time) into the bag with the seasoned flour and shake.
5. Place the pieces on a rack to let dry while you work on the remaining pieces.
6. Once the pieces are dry, repeat with the egg wash and dredging process a second time (I did a couple pieces a third time just for fun to use up the eggs).
7. Heat the oil to 365 (F) and start with the frying!!  Something to keep in mind - the peanut flour does make them turn brown almost immediately, and while they start to look a little "overdone", they actually aren't.  Make sure to leave your chicken in long enough to cook all the way through!
8. Then, grab a bit of BBQ sauce (or other sauce), if desired and chow down!!  :)

Eggplant Pasta (low carb)

This is my second time around trying this recipe, and I'm so glad it came out right this time!!  To explain, last time my eggplant "noodles" came out terrifyingly salty.  I ate two bites and couldn't even pretend to be able to finish.  :(  This time, however, it came out delicious and the most amazing part was how filling this is, especially considering that it's (mostly) all veggies!!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium/large eggplants (ours equaled about 2lbs)
• 4T olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2t chile flakes
• 4 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1/2c cream (I used half heavy, half light cream)
• 1/4c grated fresh parmesan cheese
• 1/4c fresh basil
• kosher salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. To prepare the eggplant, peel it first then slice lengthwise into 1/4" wide pieces.  Salt both sides of each piece and lay out on a grate (over a baking sheet), or place in a colander in the sink for 45min (up to 2 hours) to drain out the water.
2. After the eggplant has purged out the water, rinse well under cold water then slice into small strips lengthwise (these will be the noodles so the thinner they're sliced, the more like spaghetti they will be) then put in a bowl of cool water and let it sit for a little, then keep rinsing (this is the part I added between the first and second times).  Make sure to squish all the water out at the end - don't worry about damaging the noodles, they're pretty resilient, just make sure they're as dry as possible.  At the end, you can try a piece to make sure it's not too salty!
3. Heat up the olive oil in a large frying pan.
4. Add the garlic and chile flakes to the oil for a couple minutes until they start to smell delicious.
5. Throw in the eggplant noodles and coat them in the garlic/chile oil for a couple minutes then add the tomatoes and let mingle for 4 minutes together.
6. Pour the cream into the pan, and turn up the heat to help it simmer off and thicken.
7. Once the cream has thickened up, add the cheese, basil, and pepper to taste.  It shouldn't need any salt to be added!!
8. Enjoy your dinner!!

Shrimp Bake (low carb)

I asked Mike if he wanted some pasta or something for this to go over (it's similar to shrimp scampi) but he declined... after, I think we would have been happier if I had made some cauli-rice to soak up the butter sauce because it was *awesome*!!

 

This picture was taken with the "leftovers" so it's slightly cooled down to explain the butter looking this way.

Ingredients:

• 2lbs uncooked shrimp (I used the 31-40 size), peeled and deveined
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 stick of butter 
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1T basil
• 1t oregano
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400(f) and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (easy clean up).
2. Put shrimp in the lined baking sheet (go for single layer instead of clumped in the middle to ensure each shrimp gets cooked in the sauce).
3. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat.
4. Add the garlic to the butter and let simmer for a minute (so the garlic can seep into the butter).
5. Throw in the lemon juice, basil, oregano, salt and pepper then remove from heat.
6. Pour the sauce over the shrimp (you may need to stir gently to ensure each shrimp is coated).
7. Put in the oven and let bake for 12 minutes (keep an eye on this, if your oven cooks faster like mine does, it may be done in less time).

Low Carb (Cauliflower Crust) Caprese Pizza

So my mom reminded me today that she hasn't seen any new recipes for a long time... and it's true, I've been so busy with everything in life that I haven't been posting.  I also have fully switched my diet to a low carb lifestyle (I need to get ready to put on a wedding dress in less than 5 months, people!), so I think I should focus more on those recipes... and still add some "normal" recipes since they are quite delicious.  So, without further comment, here is the first recipe, and the best low carb pizza crust I've tried to date!

Ingredients (pizza crust):

• 1 medium/large head cauliflower
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1c shredded mozzarella cheese
• Italian seasoning mix
• salt and pepper

Ingredients ("cheap" pesto):

• 1c fresh basil leaves
• 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled (I love garlic)
• 1/2c extra virgin olive oil, separated
• 2T walnuts (yes, pesto is supposed to have pine nuts but $9 for 3oz makes me cringe!)
• 1/4c fresh parmesan

Ingredients (pizza toppings):

• pesto (about 1/4-1/2c or one batch here)
• pepperoni (we love pepperoni)
• 3-4 fresh roma/plum tomatoes, sliced
• 1 lb fresh mozzarella, sliced

Directions (pizza crust):

1. Preheat oven to 400(F) and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Cut the cauliflower into florets and use a food processor to make into a "rice" consistency.  If you have a smaller food processor, like me, this will take a few rounds.
3. Add the eggs and cheese to the cauliflower along with seasonings (to taste) and mush together - I use my hands just because I find it easiest.  The "dough" may not stick together very well at this point, but just make sure it's all combined.
4. Spread the "dough" on the lined baking sheet (mine took the entire sheet and was almost to the top of the sides). 
5. Once it's pretty even and patted down, bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are golden and it bounces back a little bit when pushed (GENTLY).
6. Let the crust cool down for a few minutes before adding toppings, this will give it a chance to become more firm... which is important if you want to eat the pizza with your hands!

Directions (pesto):

1. Put the basil, nuts, garlic, and half the olive oil in a food processor and thoroughly chop.
2. Add the parmesan and drizzle in the remaining olive oil until a wet paste consistency is achieved.
3. EASY!!

Directions (putting it all together):

1. Turn your oven to the broiler setting (I used the low setting since the high one still burns everything I try to cook with it).
2. Now that the pizza crust has cooled, it should be pretty firm... perfect to spread the pesto over (remember, you don't need a huge amount of pesto for a huge amount of taste so while it may look like a thin covering, it's what you're looking for).
3. I added the pepperoni on top of the pesto, then the sliced tomatoes, followed by the fresh mozzarella.
4. Now put the pizza back in the oven until the cheese is melted and delicious looking (about 5-10 minutes)!

****Keep in mind that fresh mozzarella is a lot of water, I patted down the top of the pizza a little bit to remove the little "puddles" that were there when it came out.  Of course, if you're using different toppings, this won't be an issue!!

Cheese Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Well, it's true, I (obviously) love bacon... just check out how to wrap sweet potatoes in bacon if you have any doubt of this.  I also love cheese, and chicken is one of the few meats that I enjoy *all* of the time, so how could anything go wrong with putting all these items together?!  This came from a blog without measurements, so I tried to adapt a little, also understand that I am fully onboard with using more cheese and/or more bacon!!

Ingredients (should serve 4):

• 4 chicken breasts
• 4oz cream cheese or cheese spread (I used mostly artichoke asiago from Wegmans and it was awesome)
• 1/2c shredded cheddar cheese
• 16 pieces of bacon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 (F)
2. Show that chicken who's the boss!  I guess most people use a meat tenderizer (I used a jar wrapped in a plastic bag, then put "meat tenderizer" on our wedding registry), to pound the meat into an even patty.  Cut each one in (approximately) half.
3. Spread cream cheese over one side of the chicken (I used the mushed side) pieces, then evenly divide the cheddar cheese on top.
4. Take a piece of chicken and roll/fold the ends together, so the cheese is in the middle.  Take two pieces of the cut bacon and wrap one direction, then two more pieces to go the other direction, until you have a little "package" held together with bacon.
5. Lay on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil and continue with remaining chicken pieces.
6. Bake for about 45 minutes, then turn the oven to broil and toast that bacon!  Flip each piece of chicken over to be sure to get the underside bacon also toasted!

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potatoes

To celebrate spring deciding to show up, Mike asked if we could at least grill this week.  So we made some salmon packets on the grill, along with these delicious sweet potatoes.  They were awesome after a hard evening of playing in the dirt!

Ingredients (serves 2 very hungry people as a side):

• Sweet potato, cut into thick (french fry) strips
• Bacon, cut in half to match number of sweet potato strips
• Brown sugar
• Chipotle pepper (dried and preferably in a shakable container)
• Toothpicks (especially helpful if grilling)

Instructions:

1. Boil water and add sweet potato strips.  Cook until tender to pierce with a fork (for mine, I think it took around 15 minutes and that might have been a little long).
2. Remove sweet potato from water and sprinkle with chipotle pepper.
3. Take a strip of sweet potato, and make a small mound of brown sugar (this should caramelize when cooking) the length of the strip.  Wrap with a piece of the bacon and secure with a toothpick.  Repeat until all strips are used (and/or there is no bacon left).
4. Grill until the bacon is cooked then get your sweet potato on!!

Sorry that this is a little not measured, but I modified a recipe as I was going to make it work.. the amount of bacon definitely depends on how big your strips of potato are.  Next time I definitely need to make more potatoes (I used only one) and maybe use mini marshmallows inside the bacon (to make it a little like sweet potato casserole)..