Sausage Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

Oh my goodness it’s already APRIL!?!? What the hell…where did March go? We got a tiny taste of spring and after a few gorgeous, sunny days in Vancouver, it’s (of course) raining again :( booooo! At least it gives me a bit more motivation to stay inside and study for finals/write my two massive papers that I haven’t started and are due in less than a week. Eeeeeeeek stress times ten right now!

Doesn’t stop me from making delicious healthy dinners though. I actually made this stuffed mushroom dish about a week ago for my mum and I. I gotta say…it was pretty fantastic. Paired with a yummy salad, we had the perfect meal :) And since I didn’t finish mine, leftovers for lunch the next day was great!

The inspiration for this recipe came from the Practical Paleo cookbook. Such an amazing book full of great recipes.  I highly recommend it! Especially if you’re a meat lover ;)

Makes 4 mushrooms        Prep Time – 20 minutes        Cooking Time – 30 minutes

Ingredients

1. 4 portobello mushrooms
2. 1 tbsp coconut oil
3. 1/2 medium onion, chopped
4. 2 cloves garlic
5. 1 bell pepper, chopped
6. 2 large sausages
7. 2 cups spinach or kale, chopped
8. 1 tsp chipotle powder
9. 1/8 tsp chili powder
10. 1/2 tsp cumin
11. pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Clean the mushrooms, remove the stems and some of the gills, and place face down on a baking sheet. Pop in the oven for 10 minutes.
3. While the mushrooms are in the oven, you can start to make your filling. In a pan over medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic in the coconut oil until they are clear and soft.
4. Take the sausage out of the casing and add to the pan. I just cut lengthwise down the sausage, then squeeze out the meatiness. Also add in all your spices now. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the meat is almost cooked through.
5. Throw in the bell pepper and cook for another couple minutes.
6. Next, add in the spinach and stir around until it’s wilted.
7. Now you’re ready to assemble. Spoon the mixture into the mushrooms and place them back on the baking sheet. Pop them back into the oven and cook for about 15 minutes. Enjoy!!

 

Sausage and Egg Mexican Breakfast Wraps

Wow thank god exams and school are DONE!!! Well at least for a few weeks…. Things got so busy at the beginning of December I think I ate baked chicken breast and steamed veggies for every meal :S sooooo boring!! And I didn’t get to create any new recipes to share. So I had a lot of fun making these wraps for Cale one morning.  I thought he needed a change from his usual breakfast hash that he requests every morning.  These little breakfast delights are super tasty! And really filling.  Great for lunch as well.  Enjoy :)

Makes 2 wraps (one large serving or two smaller ones)    Prep Time – 10 min    Cooking Time – 10 min

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 chicken sausage
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
• 1/8 cup cilantro, chopped finely
• handful of spinach or kale, chopped very fine (optional for added nutrition)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cajun spice
• 2 whole grain tortillas
• 1/2 an avocado
• salsa

Directions

1. In pan over medium heat, start cooking up the sausage.  I like to remove the meat from the casing and cook it up that way.
2. While the sausage is cooking, crack the eggs into a bowl and give them a good whisk.  Add in the red pepper, onion, green onion, cilantro, and spinach, cumin and cajun spice. Mix up until well combined.
3. Once the sausage is almost done cooking, add the egg mixture into the pan.  Keep stirring until everything is all cooked up.
4. To assemble the wraps, place half the egg and sausage mixture into the middle of each wrap.  Top with some avocado and salsa.  ENJOY :)

Heritage Tomato Salad

Thank you to my lovely mother for this recipe! She made it for dinner last night and I was very impressed :)

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Serves 6       Prep Time: 15 min

Ingredients

• 6 heritage tomatoes
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• To prepare the salad, slice the tomatoes to 1/4 inch thickness. Next, slice the cucumber and the onion into very thin slices. Layer the veggies on a serving plate.
• To make the dressing, add remaining ingredients into a shaker bottle and mix until very well combined.
• Pour the dressing over the salad about half an hour before serving.  This will allow time to marinate :) ENJOY!

Baked Carrot Chips

These were actually really delicious! I was missing yam fries on the Dr. Joshi Detox, so decided to try something different! The thinner you slice the carrots, the more they resemble chips (rather than just roasted carrots). You can also season these bad boys with anything you want! Sweet or savoury – your choice! I just tossed the carrots with a bit of salt but next time I might get crazy and try cinnamon ;)

Ingredients

• carrots
• olive oil
• unrefined salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Slice carrots VERY thin. Toss in a bowl with a little bit of olive oil and salt (or seasoning of choice).
• Lay carrot slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Bake for 8-15 minutes or until crispy.  Baking time will vary depending on how thin the carrots are sliced – so just watch them carefully to make sure they don’t burn :)

Rosemary Crispy Brussel Sprouts

I absolutely love brussel sprouts, but I don’t eat them very often….not really too sure why now that I think about it.  I should really buy brussel sprouts more! I also really like finding different ways to cook up veggies.  Steaming and stir-frying gets kinda boring after a while so this recipe was great!

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes             Baking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 20-25 brussel sprouts, washed and cut in half
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp unrefined salt
•  2 tbsp fresh rosemary (can use dried as well but fresh is way better)
• pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the brussel sprouts (which are already cut in half) in a medium size bowl.  Add in remaining ingredients and mix around until evenly coated.
3. Pour the brussel sprouts onto a baking sheet and spread out until they are evenly spaced.
4. Pop them in the oven on the middle rack and bake for approx 15 minutes.  Half way through baking, stir and flip the brussel sprouts to make sure they don’t burn. Serve up and enjoy! :)

Orange Ginger Carrots

I found this recipe on the Paleo Cupboard website.  I was BBQing chicken for dinner and thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out some new veggie side dishes!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. carrots (about one whole package)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 orange, juiced and zested
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Peel the carrots and cut into 1/2 inch slices.
2. Boil water in a medium saucepan and drop in the carrots.  Let the carrots simmer in the pot for about 5 minutes or until they begin to soften.  Drain the water.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and stir until combined. Sauté for another 3 or 4 minutes until the carrots are tender and the glaze has thickened slightly.  Serve up and enjoy!

Veggie Quiche

Got this recipe off the Oxygen Magazine website.

I changed it up a bit because I didn’t have the exact ingredients in the house, but it turned out really well! I found it a little bland – not much flavour…boring! So you could definitely experiment with some different spices.  What I did with the leftovers is melted a tiny bit of grated cheddar on top and served the quiche with salsa! More of a mexican dish! That’s definitely how I’ll eat it from now on :) Soooooo delicious!

Ingredients for Crust:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cups spinach, chopped very fine
• 1 cups kale, chopped very fine
• 1/2 cup almond flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 1/4 cup wheat germ or whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Ingredients for Filling:

• 6 egg whites
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt or cottage cheese
• 1 cup fresh broccoli, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup kale, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1/4 large onion, minced
• pepper
• whatever spices you want to add :)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375.  Coat a pie dish in 1 tsp olive oil.
• Combine the ingredients for the crust in a mixing bowl. Pat the crust mixture into the pie crust to cover the entire dish, including the sides evenly.  Bake for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile prepare the filling. Put the eggs, milk and yogurt into a mixing bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer or whisk for several minutes until well blended.  The more thoroughly you mix this, the fluffier and lighter the dish will be.
• Add chopped veggies and spices to the egg mixture and give it a good stir. Pour into the pie crust.  Bake for 35 minutes or until a knife placed in the centre comes out clean and the top edges are lightly browned.  If the centre is still liquidy, cover the entire quiche with aluminum foil and bake for another 5 minutes.
• Let sit for 5 minutes before serving! Enjoy!
• Mexican Version – sprinkle the grated cheese on top in the last 5-10 minutes of baking.  Then serve with salsa on the side.

If you want the original recipe, here’s the link:

http://www.oxygenmag.com/Health/Articles/Veggie-Quiche.aspx

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad w/ Tahini Dressing

I made this for dinner tonight! I served the salad over brown rice and it was great. You could also serve it over lettuce for a healthy lunch option too. Overall really good!

Got the recipe from the Eating Bird Food website.  I added broccoli and broccoli sprouts as well to it…just because I love broccoli so much!

http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/2009/11/deliciousness/

Spinach Salad w/ Warm Veggies, Quinoa and Avocado Dressing

New creation! Super tasty. It’s like a half stir-fry and half salad. Perfect for a quick dinner…took me 15 minutes to make.

Avocado Salad Dressing:

• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all the ingredients (except oil) in a blender or food processor.  Pulse until combined then slowly add the olive oil until dressing is the right consistency.

Salad:

• 1/4 cup cooked quinoa (still warm)
• spinach
• steamed or stir-fried veggies – i used broccoli, onions, kale, and mushrooms
• Chicken (optional)
• cilantro and green onions for topping

To assemble: put a handful of spinach in a bowl, add some quinoa and pour a bit of dressing on top.  Then top with your veggies and chicken (if you are having it) and pour a bit more dressing on.  Then top with the chopped cilantro and green onions! Done.

The recipe for the dressing makes more then you will need, but it makes a really good dip for veggies, sauce for chicken, or even sauce for a sandwich later so having a bit of extra is nice!