Low- Carb Million Dollar Zoodle Spaghetti

It’s the beginning of a new year. Many people are trying new diets and trying to stay healthy. Here is a delicious low- carb recipe that even kids will eat.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds zucchini
• 1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs chopped fresh parsley (or dried flakes)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbs butter
• 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage (I used mild)
• 1 1/2 cups marinara or spaghetti sauce
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

 

Instructions:

1. Heat your oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking dish.

2. Using a spiralizer, make your zucchini noodles (if you don’t have a spiralizer, most stores carry pre-made zoodles).

3. Cut pieces down if any of them are super long. Put the zoodles in a colander with small holes. Toss the noodles with the Kosher salt and allow to sit in colander over an empty bowl. Let them sit about 20 minutes. This allows all the extra moisture to be released.

4. While you are waiting on the zucchini, whisk together the eggs, parlsey, and Parmesan in a bowl. If you are using dry Parsley you can cut the down by at least half.

5. Give the zoodles a squeeze and get rid of the last of the excess moisture.

6. In a medium skillet, melt the butter and add the zucchini noodles.  Turn off the heat and add the eggs mixture. Quickly toss the mixture until well coated and creamy. Then add the ricotta and cream cheese, and toss until combined and no chunks are left. Transfer this mixture to your prepared baking dish.

7.Heat a medium skillet to medium high heat. Add the sausage and brown it all over. Remove the sausage from the heat and stir in the marinara sauce. Spread the mixture over the zoodles. Add the mozzarella to the top.

8. Bake 30 to 40 minutes until the cheese has melted and lightly browned. Cool for five minutes and serve.

Hope this gives you a new found love for zoodles! They are great in many recipes. Enjoy!

Pesto Chicken & Ravioli

Last week I was looking for an easy week night dinner. I didn’t really make a menu for the week due to lack of time. But I did go to Costco and bought a few staple items so I knew I could come up with something.

After looking around at my ingredients, I cam up with Pesto Chicken and Ravioli. It was so easy anyone could do this for a week night dinner.

I had chicken breast, pesto sauce and ravioli. All bought at my “hurricane Irma” Costco shopping.

I butterfly my chicken breast and put in a sprayed glass dish and spread the pesto sauce over the tops of the chicken. I used a tablespoon per piece and then added the tomatoes for color because everything was so green:

Shredded a little parm over the top and then baked at 350 for 30-35 minutes. The cook time depends on the thickness of your chicken.

In the meanwhile I had a pan of salted water boiling and followed the directions on the ravioli package. After I drained the pasta and added 2 tablespoons of pesto. This meal was soooooo easy!

When I plated the food I layered the ravioli and chicken. The cherry tomatoes definitely added some much needed color. Again, I sprinkled it with Parm cheese.

Made a salad and sliced some organic artisian bread and voila! Dinner is done.

And there you have it, an easy weeknight dinner!

 

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast – butterflied

6 tablespoons of Pesto (4 for chicken and 2 for ravioli)

a few cherry tomatoes cut in half

Parm cheese

Pre made ravioli

 

Directions:

Spray glass pan and lay chicken flat in dish. Put 1 tablespoon of pesto on each piece of chicken and spread around. Sprinkle cherry tomatoes and parm chese. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350*.

Cook ravioli as directed. Drain and add 2 tablespoons of pesto, stir gentle as to not tear the ravioli.

Serve with a green salad and bread. The kids will love it!

Enjoy!

 

 

Vacation Prep

Today, as I prepare for vacation, I want to share a few things with you about time management. For some of you this is just common sense but for others I hope it helps you think about managing your time so you can spend more time with the people you love on vacation.

Many of you know that I cook for my family while we are on vacation. The three adult children and their spouses cook one night each also.  Our family has 16 people now and four of the children are under three years old. At this time in life we do not venture out to eat as a group. It is very diffficult.

Even though I like to cook, I don’t want to spend all my time in the house on vacation. With 16 people you have to be very organized to make this work. This years menu is going to be great! I tried to add a few new things in but when the family heard I was not making Wings or Flank Steak, the menu had to have a few corrections.

Here is the menu:

I like to hand write everything! Old school, I know!~

After writing my menu, I make a grocery list. On this grocery list I put and initial of which store I am buying the item at. My three stores are, Walmart, Costco and Fresh Market.

I have already made up our dinner meats and they are in the freezer. So some of the meats are not on my list due to the fact that I already have them made. The week before vacation, I make one dinner per day and put it in my freezer.  Sunday, I made marinate for the Flank Steak and froze it, yesterday, I made the burgers and today, I made the chicken for Street Tacos. We are having Wings also but there is not much prep for wings. Now my meals are ready and I just have to make the sides. This saves me tons of time!!

I also make hot breakfast daily. Anything that I can prep before getting to the beach, I prep. Like, my homemade pancake mix. It just makes life easier for me and gives me more time to spend with my family.

Also, it is wise to make all baked goods a day or two before leaving. When I prep for vacation it always pays off! It gives me more free time at the beach but allows me to cook for my wonderful family of 16!

If anyone would like my recipes, please leave a comment of so and I will email them to you.

With all of this work some of you could be asking yourselves if I work, and yes I do. Around 35-40 hours a week. Sometimes more. That maybe why I have to be so organized.

I hope this helps you to be a little more organized in your beach prep! Not that you have to make or do what I do, but, that you think about and do what works for you. Where ever you go for vacation, have fun, be safe and cherish family! We are only here for a short time!

 

Spicy Flank Steak

This recipe is a good freezer meal to have on hand for company or when you have forgotten to lay something out for dinner. If you forgot to lay out dinner, you can put this bag of flank steak in warm water (bag sealed) and it will thaw.

Ingredients

One 2 to 3 lb. Flank Steak

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup brown sugar

2 TBS of spicy sesame oil

4 good size fresh garlic cloves minced

2 TBS of fresh ginger peeled and shredded with lemon zester or cheese shredder

1 TBS of red pepper flakes (use less if you want it less hot)

Use a small bowl and add all ingredients together to make marinate. Use a 9×13 dish for the meat and cover with marinate. Marinate for at least 3 hours. You can even mix this up a day before and marinate the meat overnight in the refrigerator. After removing the meat save marinate.

(If you want to freeze this meal, put the meat and all ingredients in a gallon size bag that you will close well.

Throw it in your freezer for later use.. Make sure you seal the bag well).

Grill on each side 6 to 7 minutes for medium and longer for well done.

When you bring the meat in from the grill, let it rest for about 5 minutes.

Slice thin and cut against the grain of the meat.

Cook marinate in a small sauce pan. Boil on low for 5-7 minutes and serve as a dipping sauce of pour over the steak and serve.  Serves 4 to 6 people depending on steak size.

Serve with garlic mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus a salad for a great dinner.

If you have leftovers, you can make steak fajitas by adding peppers, onions, cumin and cayenne pepper for another dinner.

Grocery List

2-3 pound Flank Steak

soy sauce

brown sugar

spicy sesame seed oil (regular sesame seed oil if you don’t like hot)

4 garlic cloves

good size piece of ginger

red pepper flakes

I hope you enjoy this recipes as much as we do!

“In truth a family is what you make it. It is made strong, not by number of heads counted at the dinner table, but by the rituals you help family members create, by the memories you share, by the commitment of time, caring and love you show to one another, and by the hopes for the future you have as individuals and as a family unit”.~Marge Kennedy

Easiest One Pot Dinner

I found this recipe on Pinterest but of course I changed it a little. The Pinterest recipe that I made didn’t have meat which is great for vegetarians or a meatless meal. We try to have a meatless meal once or twice a week for health but we also like our meat and potatoes! You can do this recipe either way and it is full of flavor.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 (12.8-ounce) package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced (OPTIONAL)
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cups halved grape tomatoes
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup grated Parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat, combine spaghetti, sausage, onion, tomatoes, basil, garlic and 4 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked through and liquid has reduced, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in Parmesan.
• Serve immediately.

I hope you enjoy the simplicity and the flavor!