Coconut Spinach Chicken

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I am loving this recipe so much I’m making it every week (and it goes FAST in my house, too!) Very simple, easy and beyond yummy!

Serves 2 (photos shown below are with me doubling the recipe for leftovers!)

INGREDIENTS:
1 large chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
3 cups baby spinach
1 large onion
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1.5 Tbl coconut oil
Handful of almonds or peanuts
Seasonings to taste: Salt, Pepper, garlic powder, tumeric, ginger

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INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Chop almonds or peanuts with a knife. Roast them lightly in a small amount of coconut oil until lightly browned. Set Aside. (I actually prefer them raw, but if you like a little bit of toasted flavor, this is a great way to add that to this recipe)
  2. Heat the rest of the coconut oil in a large pan. Saute onions for a few minutes until they are translucent. Add chicken and cook with onions until done (no pink in the center). Stir frequently. This takes about 7 minutes.
  3. Add the coconut milk and reduce heat to a simmer. Stir in seasonings and mix well. Top with spinach, cover and let steam for 2-3 minutes.

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  4. Serve garnished with the nuts, a sprinkle of salt (if needed) and a drizzle of sriracha!

Come back and tell me how much you enjoyed this recipe!

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Nutrition Facts
Servings 2.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 326
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 23 g 36 %
Saturated Fat 14 g 70 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 35 mg 12 %
Sodium 74 mg 3 %
Potassium 117 mg 3 %
Total Carbohydrate 12 g 4 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g 12 %
Sugars 5 g
Protein 17 g 33 %
Vitamin A 26 %
Vitamin C 20 %
Calcium 5 %
Iron 12 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Baked Cod Fish & Chips

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I have a huge bag of Costco cod sitting in my freezer and I wanted to do something interesting with some of it so… I experimented!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cod fillets (I use the fresh caught, frozen Costco brand)
1/2 cup garbanzo or coconut flour
1/4 cup panko
1 Tbl Old Bay Seasoning
Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Garlic powder to your liking
1 egg or 3Tbl egg whites
1 Russet Potato
2 Tbl. oil of your choice (avocado, canola or coconut, melted)
Cajun seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Position racks in upper and lower third of oven; preheat to 425. Spray a broiler pan with cooking spray/ Olive oil spray.

2. Place potatoes in a colander, rinse with cold water and pat completely dry with paper towel. Toss the potatoes in the oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and Cajun seasoning to your liking. Bake on lower oven rack for 35 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until golden brown.
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3. Meanwhile, coat the cod in flour, dip in egg wash and coat with panko. Put on broiler pan. Bake the fish on the upper oven rack until opaque in the center and the breading is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes depending on how large your fillets are.

I served this with some homemade “fry sauce”… my homemade Paleo mayonnaise, ketchup and a dallop of sweet pickle relish. This really completed the meal!

ENJOY!

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Food find review – Maple Sausages

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I had QUITE a food haul at Costco last week, but since I hadn’t tried most of the foods before, I didn’t want to do a general food haul video, but rather use each product, try them in something and then share my thoughts and how I used it, etc.

So these little beauties are Organic Sugarhouse Maple chicken sausage made by AMYLU. I am a big fan of breakfast sausages but do try to limit my pork intake.

The package comes with 3 separate sealed packs of 14 sausages. I put 1 in the fridge and 2 in the freezer for future use.20160411_171517

Here are the stats and ingredients:

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Serving size is 3 links for 110 calories, 6g fat, 1g carbs and 12g protein!! Great numbers here! And all whole ingredients with only 1g sugar noted. I could not WAIT to try these.

So today for lunch I made some. These are pre-cooked so really you just need to nuke them, but I like them a little browned, so I put my links on the cast iron pan and just browned them on low while I got my omelet ready.

I made my omelet with 1 whole cage free egg, 3 Tbl of all natural egg whites, 1/2 cup spinach and 1 cut up stick of raw mozzarella cheese I picked up at Trader Joes a while back. Essentially, I heated about 1tsp of olive oil in a small pan, put in the spinach, topped with the egg mix and cheese and topped with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. I let that cook for a few minutes and the flipped, omelet style, until the eggs were cooked through.

I dished up and put the sausages on the side (as you can see, I was reading with lunch) 🙂

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My initial take was that the sausages were sweet like Maple, but not overly so. At first I thought maybe I would have liked them a bit sweeter, but as I continued to ravish them, I noticed JUST a touch of heat, too. I’m not sure why… maybe the rosemary in them… but there was just a little bite. I loved the contrast. Flavor was mild and delicious. Next time I think I will cut them up, brown them and then add the veggies and egg and have them be a part of the actual scramble.

Overall I’d rate these an A. Great stats for the amount you get, flavor was mild and perfectly lovely. Definitely worth a try if you find them in your local Costco/ Sam’s club!

What is YOUR favorite costco find lately?

Easy Chicken Parmesan

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This is one of the top 3 favorite things my fiance loves that I’ve made (and I rarely make a recipe twice so trust me, that’s saying a lot). We literally feasted on this for DAYS and then wished we had more!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
Sprinkles of salt, pepper, garlic powder
3/4 cup coconut, almond, or garbanzo flour (whatever you have on hand) You can use regular flour too, but we used the garbanzo flour and it was delightful!
2 Tbl olive oil
1.5 cups pasta sauce
6 Tbl grated Parmesan cheese (we actually went crazy and used Pepper Jack!)
2-4 Tbl Fresh chopped oregano or parsley


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the broiler on high

  1. Trip any tenders off your chicken and set aside. Place the chicken breasts, breasts side up, on your cutting surface and slice through the center, horizontally.
  2. Season both sides of the chicken and cutlets with salt, pepper and garlic powder.Sprinkle flour over the chicken to lightly coat all sides. Shake off excess.

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  3. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add olive oil. When the oil is hot, add chicken, nicer side down first. Allow the breasts pieces, and cutlets, to cook until they are golden. The edges start to get white when they are almost ready to turn. Turn the pieces and cook another minute or two.
  4. When done, place chicken on a foil lined baking sheet in a single layer. Top with sauce and cheese.
  5. Broil briefly until cheese melts.

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  6. Top with fresh herbs and serve.

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I know you will love this!

STATS:
4 servings (really seems to make more, so divide stats in half if you find it serves 8 instead)
356 calories
15g fat
14g carbs
45g protein

Cauliflower Flat Bread

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I got this recipe from The Waffles (check out Megathruster  HERE if you haven’t had a chance to! THEY ROCK) and I made it at home and it was DELISH so I just had to share!

INGREDIENTS:
2 small heads of cauliflower** (see note below)2 eggs
Oregeno & Salt to taste (or any blend of Italian seasonings)
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup Shredded cheese
garlic
Olive oil
Misc. meats/ cheese (see instructions below)

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Steam the cauliflower. Then put on a baking sheet and roast until the moisture is gone.
  3. Put cauliflower, eggs, seasoning and some shredded cheese in a food processor or blender. Mix until well combined.

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  4. Spread mixture thinly over parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
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  5. Remove from oven and brush on a mixture of garlic, olive oil and oregeno (or Italian seasoning).
  6. Now here is where you can get creative! Top with anything you want! I used a mix of feta cheese and shredded Italian cheese, cooked onion and both cooked bacon and cooked sausage plus some fresh chopped basil ! But you can add ANYTHING! I would try to stay with dryer ingredients, though, for baking (don’t add tomatoes or pineapple, for example. I’d add those at the very end as you you serving, if those are toppings you fancy)
  7. Roast again until cheese melts.

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  8. Cut and serve!

**NOTE: I found that 2 medium heads of cauliflower made this mixture way too thick. It’s better to be a bit thinner and not have it fill out the pan entirely. I’d start with 1 large had or 2 very small heads of cauliflower.

**NOTE: This flatbread won’t get traditionally crispy as you would expect with a pizza crust. It’s a great low carb alternative to crust, but it will remain somewhat soft. We store it in a flat container and, when having leftovers, reheat back in the oven to reheat evenly. You can microwave this, too, but it will be softer as a leftover. But don’t worry, it will still taste utterly delicious!

 

Hump Day Randomisms

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Back the good’ ole days of MySpace I used to blog. A lot. I had my standard weekly contributions and just regular ‘ole processing of, what was, at that time, a hefty dating life. My blogging has been sporadic, at best, since I shut my MySpace down and became, shockingly, much more private than you know me to be now (I know, it’s hard to imagine. LOL!)

So… in honor of tradition, I hope to pick up my Hump Day Randomisms again for your reading pleasure. These are, simply put, just random thoughts that I have on my mind that day/week. Meaningful, not meaningful, simple, complicated…. just a stream of consciousness.

So without further ado, here is what is on my mind today:

Find who you are, embrace who you are and BE you. Live hard, live strong, live knowing and loving who you are as a unique individual who brings something amazing to this world, just by being inherently you.

As one of the four agreements say, be impeccable with your word.Say what you mean and mean what you say. Words hurt and heal. Actions ARE louder, but words DO matter. Be mindful to them.

Live with integrity. Be kind. Treat others the way you wish to be treated. Be loyal to those who deserve your loyalty. Love your lover, friends and family hard and fully. Trust and be worthy of trust. If you live with integrity, and stay true to yourself, even in times of compromises, the rest will work out as it should, even if it’s not the way you think it will…. the universe has a funny way of ensuring that you are on the exact path you need to be on. Trust in that.

In the words of my friend, Tricia, Choose Joy, friends. CHOOSE and BE it. You can always strive for growth and change, but appreciate who you are, and what you have, right now, this minute. Be present, and fully appreciate, all the good and love and joy that lives within you and your life.

Never EVER give up. Life can be hard. Living up to our own, and others’ expectations, is hard. But don’t throw in towel on yourself, not ever.

Last, but not least, sing. Sing loudly and with abandon. Sing in the car, sing in the shower, dance around your bedroom and living room and kitchen. Play your favorite song on repeat until your face is sore from smiling and your throat itchy from belting out the lyrics. It’s amazing how much goodness can come from this exercise.

Here is my happy song of the day that’s on repeat. Share what your song of the day is.

 

Squash and Bean Enchilada Bake

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I revamped a recipe I’d gotten from New Seasons a few years ago and never made and it was a HUGE hit. My Fiance and I ate this for two meals a day until it was gone because it was just THAT good! It felt like comfort food without all the guilt!

INGREDIENTS:

1 can pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained (I used 2 cups of pinto beans we’d cooked and stored in the freezer)
2 cups cooked squash, cubed (I use butternut squash, peeled, cut into cubes and roasted the day before)
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced (again, 2  = 6 in my house)
3 Tbls olive oil
1/4 cup cilantro
1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
2 tsp Mexican (or enchilada) seasoning (I used 1 tsp each of Southwest and Bold Taco seasoning from Penzeys)
1 tsp salt
6-10 corn tortillas (shoot for non GMO/ organic if you can. I used 8 tortillas
1  15-19oz can of enchilada sauce, divided into 3 equal portions
1/2 cup cheddar or Mexican style shredded cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, over medium heat, saute onions and garlic in olive oil for 8 minutes. Add Mexican seasoning and salt, stir well.20160217_173007
  2. Add squash, beans, tomato and cilantro. Remove from heat and place in a bowl, stirring with 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese.
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  3. Cover the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with enchilada sauce. Put one layer of tortillas along the bottom and cover with half of your squash mixture and the 1/4 cup pepper jack cheese and enchilada sauce.20160217_174115
  4. Cover with another layer of tortillas and another layer of squash mixture. Top with the remainder of enchilada sauce, pepper jack cheese and the Mexican or cheddar cheese.20160217_174435
  5. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes.20160217_190519
  6. Serve with sour cream and any extra cilantro you have on hand.

Be sure to come back and comment how you liked this recipe!

Here are the stats for 8 tortillas and a 19oz can of enchilada sauce. Calculations based on 9 servings and not including sour cream.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 9.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 280
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 16 g 25 %
Saturated Fat 7 g 35 %
Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 28 mg 9 %
Sodium 703 mg 29 %
Potassium 241 mg 7 %
Total Carbohydrate 25 g 8 %
Dietary Fiber 5 g 22 %
Sugars 5 g
Protein 12 g 23 %
Vitamin A 96 %
Vitamin C 17 %
Calcium 27 %
Iron 10 %

Roasted Garlic chicken sausage & egg scramble

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I got a new brand of sausages at Fred Meyer (Kroger) the other day and have been dying to try them so I whipped up this amazing lunch. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
1 roasted garlic chicken sausage, split in half. 1 organic egg
2 organic egg whites
2 Tbl grated cheese (I used comte for this)
1 cup spinach/ kale/ mixed power greens

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Saute chicken sausage until desired browned. Set aside. When cool enough to handle. cut into bite-sized chunks.
  2. Whisk egg and egg whites.
  3. Pour eggs in the same skillet you cooked the sausage in, top with your power greens and sausage. Stir in. Once your eggs are almost cooked, stir in the cheese.
  4. Cook until desired doneness and serve hot!
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NOM NOM NOM

This would also be great with some onion, avocado and any other veggies you wanted to throw in!

Stats
Calories: 312
Protein:  33g
Fat: 17g
Carbs: 6g

Butternut Squash, Apple and Bacon Soup

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I know we’re heading into Spring, but this is really a delightful and refreshing anytime soup that’s not too time intensive and a fan favorite in my household!

Ingredients:
2 slices bacon
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
white and pale green parts of 1 large leek
1 large garlic clove, minced (but who are we kidding, I always use 4x that)
1 bay leafe
1.25 lb butternut squash, seeded, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
1 medium tart apple (such as a granny smith), peeled and chopped
2 cups broth (we used homemade turkey stock)
2 Tbl sour cream

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1. Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp and drain, reserving fat. Crumble bacon and set aside.

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2. In a heavy saucepan, cook onion, leek, garlic and bay leaf with salt and pepper to taste in reserved bacon fat over medium heat, stirring until softened.

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3. Add squash, apple, broth and 1/2 cup water. Simmer, covered, until squash is very tender, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

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4. Puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add water until desired consistency is achieved, then whisk in sour cream.

5. Garnish with bacon. Serve hot and enjoy!

**This soup also freezes remarkably well, but expands quite a bit, so be sure, if you’re putting in in glass gars or tupperware, you leave some room for that expansion to happen without breaking the glass or busting the lid off the top.

 

Chia Seed Crusted Salmon

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Hi all! I experimented last night with a salmon recipe and tweaked it quite a bit and this is what I came up with. Sadly, I neglected to take a picture of this beauty whole before I cut it up and put it in some wild rice/quinoa blend, but trust me, it was beautiful! Happy eating!

Ingredients:
1 tsp chia seeds
1/4 tsp celery powder (not salt)
1/2 tsp lemon zest (or dried lemon rind from Penzeys)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp oil, such as olive or coconut oil
1 egg white, lightly whisked
4-6 oz salmon fillet

Directions:

  1. Preheat Broiler
  2. In a small bowl, combine chia seeds, celery powder, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Drizzle in oil and stir, set aside.
  3. In a shallow bowl, whisk egg white until frothy. Dip salmon filet in egg white, then transfer filet to an oiled baking sheet. Press seed mixture thickly on top of fillet.
  4. Broil salmon filet about 6″ below broiler for 8 minutes. Transfer file to a serving plate and serve!

I actually cut mine up to bite size pieces and mixed it in with 1/4 cup cooked TruRoots wild rice/quinoa blend that I love to get from Costco. It was a well balanced, heart healthy meal. Next time, I’ll throw in a few pieces of broccoli to round it out even better!

Stats:
Makes 1 serving
Based on 6 oz fillet:

Nutrition Facts
Servings 1.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 329
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 20 g 30 %
Saturated Fat 8 g 40 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 85 mg 28 %
Sodium 70 mg 3 %
Potassium 637 mg 18 %
Total Carbohydrate 2 g 1 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g 7 %
Sugars 0 g
Protein 36 g 72 %
Vitamin A 2 %
Vitamin C 0 %
Calcium 3 %
Iron 6 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA