Roasted spaghetti squash with mushrooms + sausage

Well, time flies by and I have some posts up my sleeve. More Paleo (-ish) friendly dishes that will satisfy your soul, coming soon. For now, I have spaghetti squash.

Spaghetti squash is kind of bizarre. There is something so strange about cutting open a pumpkin-like thing to find a plethora of stringy, spaghetti-like vegetable substance. Zack and I had never had it before, but since we've been attempting to eat low-carb, low-sugar (or a somewhat loose Paleo diet), we thought there was no time like the present.

I don't know if I would go for it plain, but mixed in with some mushrooms and sausage, your mind just might be tricked into thinking your eating some sort of pasta. And that's not a bad thing.

Roasted spaghetti squash with mushrooms

As adapted from Bliss.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash

2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

3-4 branches of fresh sage leaves

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

8 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced

1/4 cup sliced scallions

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Shaved parmesan for garnish, optional

Chicken or turkey sausage of your choice, sliced on the diagonal (I used a combination of Trader Joe's Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage and Garlic Herb Chicken Sausage)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds, drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, lay sage leaves on top, season with salt and pepper, then place squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake squash for 45 minutes, or until squash flesh separates and strands easily with a fork. In a skillet over medium heat, saute garlic and mushrooms, until mushrooms are brown and tender. (I sauteed the chicken sausage in a separate skillet over medium-high heat at this point to heat through and brown slightly.) Add the squash, combining until heated through. Remove from heat and toss with scallions and parmesan. Serve squash with sausage and parmesan shavings on top.

Spaghetti squash, minus the chicken sausage.

Well, to be honest, I wasn't quite sure about the spaghetti squash when I first got started. First of all, it was hard to slice in half. My little arms were like quivering by the end. I was seriously thinking, "Am I going to be able to cut this thing in half, or will I have to wait for Zack to get home?" Ha. Then I just had this weird is-this-really-coming-out-of-a-squash moment, as I pulled out the strands. And I was worried it was going to be too bland. However, with the combination of mushrooms and sausage, this meal was overall, very pleasing and satisfying. And when Zack and I took our leftovers to eat at a local coffee shop for lunch the next day, one of the girls working there just couldn't seem to believe how good it looked and smelled when she brought over our lattes. She was amazed. And then I thought, "Either she is seriously starving or maybe this doesn't look too weird/bad after all."

That's my spaghetti squash story. And this is my conclusion: spaghetti squash makes a nice pasta replacement given that you've got some other strong herbs/flavors or a nice sauce to pair it with. It's worth trying if you haven't. Cheers.

Walnut and rosemary oven-baked chicken + house salad

So I kind of have a crush on Sara Forte, author of The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods. My mom gave me her cookbook for Christmas, and she thought it was perfect because Sara's husband is a photographer and, naturally, does the photos for her cookbook and blog. And they cook together, and it's just so wonderful - basically, Zack and I are just like them. (Ha ha.)

Anyways. Her 'house salad' is on the cover of the cookbook and I just had to make it. It's funny because as healthy as Zack and I eat, we rarely have salads during the week. I'm big on soups and meals that can be contained in one bowl or mass, for lack of a better word. I mean, we eat a lot of veggies, but it's not very often that I am whipping up a homemade salad dressing. That's all changing. Prepare to see more salads and salad dressings. Because you really don't need to buy store-bought salad dressings. They don't taste nearly as fresh, and who know what's in them. It's never too late to switch! That's the end of my rant (and I'm a new convert too).

And along with the salad, I made a great baked chicken recipe that I've been holding onto for awhile, for a time like this. You may remember my walnut and pecan-crusted chicken breasts from awhile back, but I think this new recipe takes the cake. Or the chicken...you know. The addition of rosemary and Dijon mustard makes for great flavor, and I felt that this recipe held together a little better. Check it out.

Walnut and rosemary oven-baked chicken

As adapted from the November 2012 issue of Cooking Light.

Serves 4.

Ingredients for chicken:

1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard

4 (6 oz.) organic chicken breast cutlets 

Heaping 1/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Heaping 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons grated fresh parmesan cheese

3/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

Rosemary leaves (optional, for garnish)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk together buttermilk and mustard in a shallow dish. Add chicken to buttermilk mixture, turning to coat. Toast panko in a pan over medium heat until golden, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Combine toasted panko, nuts, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in another shallow dish. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture, discarding buttermilk, and dredge through panko mixture, turning to coat. Arrange a wire rack on a large baking sheet; coat rack with cooking spray. Arrange chicken cutlets on rack and bake for 13-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Garnish with rosemary leaves, if desired, and serve.

The house salad

As adapted from Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods.

Serves 4.

Ingredients for salad:

1 large head (or two small heads) butter lettuce (I used one green and one red/purple)

1 small jicama, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch matchsticks (roughly, 1/2-3/4 cup)

1/3 cup pomegranate seeds

1 cup large shavings Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheese (I got mine from Trader Joe's)

Ingredients for house dressing:

2 1/2 tablespoons creme fraiche

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

1 scallion, white part only, finely chopped

2 tablespoons good apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To make dressing, whisk together creme fraiche, olive oil, and honey. Add scallion, vinegar, salt, and pepper; whisk to combine. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Gently pull lettuce leaves from the head, making sure they are dry. Gently toss the leaves and jicama with the dressing (if saving two servings for lunch the next day, only toss half of the salad with dressing). Assemble leaves in a stack for each serving, largest leaves on bottom to create a base. Garnish each salad with a quarter of the pomegranate seeds and cheese shavings. Serve immediately.

First of all, this chicken is great. Like I said before, the rosemary and Dijon add such great flavor, and the combination of nuts and panko make for great crunch. Furthermore, the crumb coating holds together really well. A great alternative to your usual chicken breast.

Secondly, I've never really used butter lettuce before, but it has such a smooth texture while maintaining a good crunch. You could also use bibb lettuce. And given that your lettuce leaves are clean and dry, the house dressing clings on beautifully. This dressing is like a vinaigrette, but the creme fraiche brings the thinnest amount of creaminess. It is really good, and very different. Plus, I had never had jicama before; it is mild, but adds a wonderful crunch to the salad. And come on - we all love pomegranate seeds. They're a juicy explosion of flavor. Right?

Check back here soon for some pot pie action. Cheers. 

Green herb shrimp with zucchini couscous

It's my ongoing quest to, slowly but surely, like seafood more and more. I can't say I've always been the biggest fan. As a kid, I really disliked the smell of seafood. Walking through the seafood isle at the grocery store was a struggle. Annual family vacations to the Oregon coast often consisted of trips to the fresh seafood market - where I would wait outside and try to avoid the wafts of oysters, crab, and goodness-knows what else with scales. Clam chowder was always a terrifying mystery...there could be a big chunk of rubbery clam in there that I don't know about! That being said, I have grown-up a little (I think), and I'm more openminded when it comes to seafood.

Being willing to try various seafood is one thing; cooking it is another. Hence, I thought it was time to cook some shrimp. The big ones. With tails. Make fun if you want to...I know it does not sound like a big feat, but I was proud of myself. (Ha.)

Now. I was drawn to this recipe because the shrimp are marinated and coated in a green herb sauce, which sounded like the perfect thing. Plus, basil, feta, zucchini...what a wonderful combination.

Green herb shrimp with zucchini couscous

As adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups diced zucchini (about 4 medium)
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat couscous
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
Heaping 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for herb sauce:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 green onions, white and light green parts, chopped
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 2 limes

In a food processor, combine all sauce ingredients and blend until fairly smooth with a few herb flecks. Put half of the sauce in a bowl along with the shrimp and set aside to marinate for 1 hour, reserving the other half of the sauce. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and sauté until edges are browned, 8-10 minutes. Cook couscous according to package instructions. Transfer couscous to large mixing bowl and add zucchini, remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the basil, crushed red pepper flakes, feta, and vinegar. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large skillet (or alternatively, a grill) over high heat. Cook shrimp until they just turn pink, flipping halfway through, about 6 minutes. Toss cooked shrimp in remaining herb sauce and serve with zucchini couscous.

Well. I can say that I learned something by making these shrimp. My amateur tidbit is this: if you are going to cook shrimp that are coated in sauce, make sure to remove any excess sauce instead of dragging them through additional sauce, prior to cooking. That way, your sauce won't cook faster than your shrimp. I think this could definitely be applied to cooking any fish or meat in sauce. Just a good tip. Maybe I'm alone on this one, but it was a lesson that I had to learn.

In conclusion, this shrimp was delicious. The herb sauce is so colorful and vibrant, and could really be used on other types of fish as an alternative. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I actually enjoyed these shrimp. And I don't always enjoy shrimp. Shrimp lovers and not so very shrimp-loving readers, this recipe will not disappoint. Give it a try.

Broiled salmon with Mexican salsa verde + corn salad

Salmon is such a great fish and it is so easy to cook (not too mention oh-so-good for you). The options are endless. Furthermore, it's also good just plain and broiled. This makes for an easy weeknight meal.

I went ahead and paired it with Mexican salsa verde and a corn salad as adapted from Mighty Spice. Normally, I might just buy some good green salsa from Trader Joe's, but I'm on a roll with making most things from scratch. I've also discovered the endless opportunities for using my Cuisinart food processor (thank you, Ron). It has a new, permanent place on my kitchen counter. And we all know how I love corn, so this corn and tomato salad appealed to me.

Mexican salsa verde

As adapted from Mighty Spice Cookbook - Fast, Fresh, and Vibrant Dishes Using No More Than 5 Spices for Each Recipe

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 garlic clove

1 green jalapeño chili

6 scallions

1 tomato (or a couple small tomatoes)

2 large handfuls cilantro leaves

1 large handful mint leaves

2 large handfuls parsley leaves

juice of 3 limes

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make salsa verde, put all ingredients into a food processor with a scant 1/3 cup of water and blend until smooth.

Corn salad

As adapted from Mighty Spice Cookbook - Fast, Fresh, and Vibrant Dishes Using No More Than 5 Spices for Each Recipe

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup corn kernels

1 scant handful mint leaves, finely chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a mixing bowl, toss together the cherry tomatoes, corn, mint, lime juice, and oil and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Mighty Spice actually calls for broiled red snapper for this meal, which I think would be good with the salsa and corn salad. However, Zack is not a big fan of snapper, so we opted for salmon but I think a whiter fish such as halibut could be good as well.

This was definitely better the next day, so really, the salsa and corn salad could be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. All in all, a pretty simple but good meal.

Roasting my first whole chicken (amateur, I know) as I write, so I better run. More recipes to come soon! Cheers!  

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Lots of blog writing catch-up to do. The holidays are here!

For now, here is another lovely side for a packed lunch. Tabbouleh.

I love quinoa. It's a great alternative to rice or couscous. And it's high in protein. I basically just cooked the quinoa, rinsed, drained, and added tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, and an easy dressing (freshly squeezed lemon juice, sea salt, and extra-virgin olive oil).

More lunch sides like these coming. They're light and fresh, and go great with a pita or sandwich. Cheers.