Garlic Zoodles with Turkey

My newest culinary toy is a veggie spiralizer, and I am madly in love! Zucchini noodles, or zoodles, are much closer to the texture of pasta than spaghetti squash, and have an incredible flavor! They also cook crazy fast, are undeniably healthy,  and can be used anywhere you use pasta!

I’m also a big fan of Italian sausage. However, they’re so bad for you! Surprisingly so! So, I take ground turkey here and season it like Italian sausage. It tastes exactly the same, and I didn’t miss the sausage at all!

Therefore, we have here a super delicious and healthy “pasta” night alternative. However, if you want to use real pasta, go for it! I’m not judging. Just cook it and toss it in at the end. Dig in!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 medium zucchini (serves 3-4)
• 1 pound lean ground turkey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fennel
• a couple good dashes of Italian seasoning
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves crushed garlic
• 4 cups spinach
• 1/2 cup shredded parm or Gruyere.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Spiralize the zucchini and wrap it up in paper towels while you cook

Heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet. Add the turkey and all the seasonings, and cook until done and brown.

Stir in the zucchini and sauté for 3-5 minutes until tender.

Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Stir in the cheese and serve!

A grind of black pepper and some toasted pine nuts would be a great garnish. Did I mention this dish is done in 20 minutes?

Go for it!

Healthy Tex Mex Broccoli Bowls

I. Love. Burrito Bowls. The rice, the cheese, the meat. They have them in my school student union. I always get mine with brown rice, queso, pork, lettuce, spinach, and jalapenos.
Thing is, I’m not at school right now, and I don’t exactly have time to cook rice, make queso, slow-cook pork, etc. But, I do have exactly 2 minutes to blanch a big batch of broccoli. And that’s healthier anyway.

And that’s how this recipe was born. It’s crunchy, spicy, cheesy, and a super light lunch that’ll feel heavy because you can eat so much of it!

It’s also vegetarian and keto, and potentially gluten-free depending on the ranch you buy. And you can get creative with it! Make it french with some brie and baguette croutons. Italian with marinara and parm. A broccoli bowl is like pasta, just do what you want!

Here goes:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of raw broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup Mexican cheese blend
• 1 drizzle spicy ranch dressing
• 1/2 avocado, sliced

To prepare, just dump the broccoli in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water to shock it. Put it in a bowl with all the other ingredients!

Later today, I’m going to make this again with a poached egg on top and see how that goes. Cheese has protein, but I’ll need a little more than that to make it through my day today. I’ll just poach the egg in the water I boiled the broccoli in! Y’all try it, let me know how it goes!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Popcorn

I have made a new discovery, and it is glorious. Powdered peanut butter. Now, I have heard of this strange entity before, but I’d just assumed it was only available at all natural grocery stores, which we do not have in town. Then, I’m at Kroger, and I’m grabbing some jam, and I see it. Four flavors, each in a plastic shaker, each smiling at me.

There was vanilla, chocolate, maple, and original. I snatch up the latter. Ideas start popping into my head: peanut butter smoothies without the big chunks. Yogurt with peanut butter on top. Oatmeal with a peanut butter finish.

The reason this product has always been so tempting also has a health reason. It is 1/4 the calories of peanut butter. That takes my favorite spread into the realm of low-calorie, and I load up my cart.

I decide for my first endeavor, I am craving popcorn. So, I throw everything in a bowl to see what happens. I end up with a sweet, sticky, glorious combination much better than movie theatre corn, and with  protein from the peanut butter so I don’t feel obligated to cook something else for lunch. This is going to be a regular in my kitchen and my stomach!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER POPCORN
Ingredients:

• 1 bag popped popcorn (I like smart pop)
• 2 tablespoons powdered peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons chocolate syrup
• Some mixins! I used dark chocolate chips, pecan chips, and salted caramel baking chips. You could do dried fruit, shredded coconut, chopped candies, granola, so many things!

To prepare, simply toss everything in a bowl and dig in. It is absolutely the easiest thing to make and incredibly satisfying. Enjoy!

“But all I have is a coffee pot” mocha latte

Oh, I’d love to have a milk steamer, espresso maker, and an array of flavored syrups. Actually, I’d just love to have a Starbucks in my kitchen. But, alas, all I have is my trusty coffee pot.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my coffee pot. It grinds beans and turns on at whatever time we set it. As a child, I remember hearing it come on an hour before my parents were getting up. My cat always woke up when she smelled it being brewed. It was a safe and satisfying thing to know there would always be coffee.

However, after starting college, plain ole’ coffee with creamer no longer did it for me. I became quite attached to my hot espresso drinks layered with froth. When I’m at school, I have a nice little college student union card that allows me coffee to my heart’s content. But at home…

I had to get creative

So, we have here a mocha flavored coffee with a makeshift creamy topping.  I use a very softly beaten sweet whipped cream, because I personally think it’s even better than frothed milk. It melts as we get to the bottom, so you end up with a delicious creamy combination, instead of trying to scoop out stubborn foam with your finger.

But how does one do latte art without foam? The suspense is killing me… I hope it will last.

MOCHA LATTES
Ingredients:

• Enough brewed, hot coffee to fill your mug 3/4 full
• Enough WHOLE (worth it) milk to fill the cup the rest of the way
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (I used fat free to make up for the whole milk)
• 1 heaping tablespoon instant hot chocolate mix (I know, it’s not a gourmet chocolate coffee syrup. That’s only worth it if you can’t make the flavor on your own. But if you’re doing chocolate, vanilla, or cinnamon, just use your own pantry and don’t buy the 17$ stuff)
• 3 teaspoons chocolate syrup (like, the cheap Hershey’s kind)
• 1 dash vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbls cocoa powder in a sifter
• 1 sheet of paper (you’ll see)

Pour you coffee into a blender. Be careful blending hot liquids- hold your hand on the lid and go for a low setting.

Pour in the milk, hot chocolate mix, syrup, and vanilla. Blend until sweet and creamy.

With an electric mixer, beat the cream and sugar until very soft. This is not the kind of whipped cream you would pipe.

Pour the coffee into the mug, and spoon the soft cream over the top.

Speaking of over the top, let’s add latte art!

Simple cut a shape out of the paper and place it on top of the mug. Sift the cocoa powder over the top. Carefully remove the paper. Voila’

 

 

 

 

Hawaiian Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Pineapple, ham and cauliflower? Oh my!

There are plenty of people in the world that cannot stand pineapple on pizza. However, I know, for myself, I did not like it until I had it on a pizza without marinara. The combination of tomato sauce and pineapple was too acidic, but take a cheesy hunk of bread with ham, and add a hint of sweetness from the pineapple, and I’m a-okay. What takes it from a-okay to amazing? A big ole’ squirt of hot sauce.

However, I can’t exactly order a white Hawaiian pizza every night. I also can’t really feel good about there being zero vegetables in that meal.

The solution? Cauliflower crust. It’s delicious, it’s got great Italian seasoned flavor, it’s hardly any calories or carbs. I actually prefer it for most forms of pizza! I love that I can season it anyway I want, and eat an entire pan of it without an ounce of guilt.

Season it any way I want? Not just Italian? That’s right, voices in my head! Make a taco pizza with taco seasoning in the cauliflower crust! Put Cajun seasoning in the cauliflower and top it with Cajun sausage and gumbo veggies! Put cocoa powder and sugar in the crust and spread some peanut butter on it! (Just kidding- not sure I can condone chocolate cauliflower).

Lets’s go!

HAWAIIAN CAULIFLOWER CRUST PIZZA

• 2 bags riced cauliflower (or a head of cauliflower buzzed in the food processor)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard (weird for pizza, but good with ham!)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup pineapple cubkd
• 2 cups diced ham
•  3 sliced green onions

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425.

Microwave the cauliflower for 6 minutes until tender. Then, spread it all out on a kitchen towel to cool.

Once cool, bunch it up and wring out all the water you can. Keep going.

Combine the cauliflower, egg, and all the seasonings. Form into a square on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

Top with cheese, pineapple, ham, and onions and bake an additional ten minutes.

Slice and eat for a guilt-free pizza night! Even the most discerning pizza eaters won’t complain.

15 Minute Taco Salad

I live in Arkansas, where we take our totally inauthentic Mexican food very seriously. The first time I visited a non-southern Mexican restaurant, I was utterly horrified that I could not find rice and chicken covered in white cheese sauce, poblano peppers stuffed with pepper jack and fried, or even good old cheese dip! Everywhere else tries to throw in goat cheese, chorizo, etc, but my hometown cheese dip is just white queso and some finely chopped green chilis. And it is poured over almost everything you order.

What does this have to do with 15 minute taco salad? Very little. Only that I love Mexican food, I have eaten taco salads more than almost any other meal, and I am well aware that they come in many shapes and sizes.

At my favorite local place, they come in a fried tortilla bowl, with beef, guac, queso, several kinds of cool cheese, salsa, jalapenos, and no dressing, because the guac and queso have that covered.

This is not that. This is done in 15 minutes. This was made because I had nothing in my fridge and some ground beef in the deep freeze. But it’s delicious, it’s easy, and it can be made when you have no time to come down to AR to eat.

15 MINUTE TACO SALAD:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 can red Enchilada sauce
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 head shredded iceberg lettuce
• 2 avocado, sliced
• 1 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 diced tomato
• some crushed tortilla chips
• other veggie mixins: Celery, onion, scallions. I actually threw in some sweet gherkin pickles because they were on their last legs and I love them.
• Your favorite Hispanic salad dressing! I used poblano ranch, which was perfect if you can find it.

Instructions:

Brown the beef in a large skillet with the enchilada sauce, cumin, and chili powder.
While it’s cooking, toss together the lettuce, cheese, tomato, some of the chips, and other veggies.
Put a pile of the lettuce mix on your plates, top it with some of the beef (scooped with a slotted spoon to catch any stubborn sauce that wasn’t absorbed) and some nice slices of avocado. Drizzle it with your dressing, and top it with the leftover crushed chips.

Feel free to personalize this too, with chicken, other veggies and lettuces, salsa, shrimp, whatever you like. Enjoy!

Blueberry Coffee Cake With Lemon and Coconut

My grandmother loves light, fruity treats. She rarely cooks for herself anymore, so anything fresh and full of bright flavors is a real treat for her.

She also is where I get my sweet tooth from, so just because we’re working with tangy flavors doesn’t mean we are sacrificing the sweetness!

So where does that leave us? A crumbly, buttery coffee cake with bursting berries, a very gooey lemon icing, and sweet coconut on top.

This is coffee cake, meaning it is a perfect excuse to eat dessert for breakfast! Serve it with hot tea and milk, or a very creamy coffee beverage and treat yourself!

BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE WITH LEMON AND COCONUT

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup of butter
• 3/4 Cup + 1 tbls of sugar
• Dash salt
• 1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, separated (sorry- it’s worth it!)
• 1 1/2 Cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 Cup milk
• 1 1/2 Cup blueberries
• 3/4 Cup cream cheese
• 2 More Tbls of butter
• 2 tsp fresh lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8 inch square pan
Cream 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar with a hand mixer until creamy ( hence the verb “cream”). Add in a dash of salt and 1/2 tsp of vanilla (don’t measure the vanilla, just dash it in. It’s not worth digging out the spoon).

Beat in the egg YOLKS. Get it all nice and combined.

Combine flour and baking powder, and add it into the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk. The formula is 1/3 of the flour, 1/2 of the milk, 1/2 of the remaining flour, the rest of the milk, the rest of the flour. Read it again; it looks scary but it’s not.

Toss the berries in a tbls of flour to keep them from sinking, and fold (NOT BEAT) them in.

Now, the fancy part of this recipe. In another bowl, beat the egg whites, and gradually pour in the 1/4 cup of sugar. Gently fold (NOT BEAT. Again) into the batter. Try not to stir it so much that the egg whites lose their fluff. That’s the opposite of what we want!

Bake for 50 minutes!

Once the cake is cool, make some icing!

Combine cream cheese,  2 tbls butter, lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and a dash of salt. Beat until creamy, then gradually add in the powdered sugar. Now wipe off any sugar that flew out of the bowl when you turned on your mixer.

Spread this icing all over the top and sides of the coffee cake. Lay it really thick. Then, top it off with a thick layer of the coconut for garnish.

And no, eating this does not make you a grandma. Though I think if it did, that would just be a bonus.

 

 

Party Pinwheels and other party-ful ideas

The Tony Awards were last night, so naturally, I laid out a huge spread of goodies in the form of grab-and-watch treats. I always theme my food around the shows, but these snacks would be delicious for any watching party!

I was going to be gone for a long part of the day, so I intentionally chose items that could be made ahead or made easily and quickly at the last minute. That’s why this spread works so well: you can labor for an hour in the morning, then relax for most of the day!

For savory goodies, I always like to include something with starch, something with meat, and something with veggies. I also like to include a few warm things and a few cold things when doable, and I like to offer enough meatless options to accommodate my weird theatre friends.

So what was on the menu?

First off, we had baked meatballs and BBQ. These were literally just frozen meatballs from Kroger that I popped in the oven 15 minutes before guests arrived. I microwaved the BBQ sauce to make it special.

Then, there was a crunchy salad with sesame dressing, also pre-made. You could certainly make your own salad mix, but I had zero time.

Also on the cold front were deviled eggs. These are just boiled eggs with a filling of the yolks, mustard, mayo, salt and pepper. I sprinkled on smoked paprika to serve, and laid them out in cupcake wrappers so they weren’t all slimy when you grabbed them.

There was also a medium spice salsa and corn tortilla chips. This is leftover homemade stuff, but use a can if you wish.

                                                     

For dessert, I made super easy “dirt cakes.” These were instant chocolate pudding layered between crushed oreos, with a teddy graham soft bake shoved in the top, and a chocolate spoon for garnish!

To drink, I bought the new Ocean Spray “Mocktail” mix, and mixed it with ginger ale. FYI, just because they call it a mocktail doesn’t mean it’s anything more than cranberry juice. Would not buy again.

The real recipe in this post is for turkey pinwheels! These were made in the morning and sat well in the fridge all day. They were a huge hit; everybody loaded their plates!

TURKEY PINWHEELS:
Ingredients:

• 8 taco sized flour tortillas
• shaved turkey
• 8 oz softened cream cheese
• 1 tbls lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• shredded carrot
• shredded lettuce
• 1 tsp dry mustard

Mash the cream cheese with the lemon juice, salt and pepper, and dry mustard.
Lay out a tortilla, and spread with a thick layer of the cream cheese mixture, making sure to get to the edges.
Lay out the turkey, lettuce, and carrots in a strip going down the middle.
Roll up super tight, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for an hour.
I always save the leftover cream cheese in case one of the rolls starts to open up when I’m slicing. Just seal it back together with the cheese!
Slice them into inch long wheels, and keep in the fridge until serving! I served with mustard. Feel free to add some spicy mayo, Italian dressing, or ranch!
Also feel free to mix these up with ham, avocado, cucumber, hot sauce, etc! Or make em’ meatless.

Happy partying!

 

Foolproof Kentucky Bourbon Balls

Okay, every fan of horse racing has a vehement recipe for bourbon balls. Some add crushed cookies, some used browned butter. Some use dark chocolate, some milk. Some walnuts, some pecans. People will get angry when someone refers to their own version as “authentic,” because nobody really knows what’s authentic. It can be a big cause of discourse amongst family during the Kentucky Derby.

I have been eating these three times a year my whole life. The Derby, the Belmont, and the Preakness are all cause for these chocolaty, boozy, nutty, buttery (too many adjectives?) truffles. They are simply divine, and how couldn’t they be? Look at the ingredients and you’ll know why.

Fair warning: do not wake up at noon and think you can have bourbon balls done by dinner. A good bourbon ball takes three days to make. It’s all incredibly simple, and each day will only require a few minutes of your time. But they are not a quick dessert.

Which means they’re amazing, and the anticipation is probably a huge part of that! Make sure to lick the bowl every step of the way. It’s worth it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• enough bourbon to cover the pecans in a jar (5-6 tbls)
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 16oz package powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup crushed vanilla wafers or graham crackers (one day I will do this with crushed Oreos and have bourbon Oreo balls. But that’s not today.)
• 9 oz high-quality dark chocolate chips
• 9 oz low-quality milk chocolate chips (yeah, literally use the Kroger brand for these. Trust me, they stabilize better and you won’t be dealing with melty balls)

TO PREPARE:
Day 1: Place the pecans in a mason jar, and pour bourbon over the top until they are just barely covered. Leave them overnight.
Day 2: Beat together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Fold in the soaked nuts. Form into balls and keep in the freezer overnight (or until they’re totally hard.) Lick the spatula, trust me.
Day 3: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt both chocolates in a double boiler over simmering water. The dark chocolate provides rich flavor, and the milk provides stability and keeps it from seizing. If it does seize, start with a teaspoon of oil and see if that helps. If that doesn’t work, a tbls of water. Dip the frozen balls into the melted chocolate and pop in the freezer until firm.

Eat at least 3. Store them in the fridge or freezer depending on how hot it is. They’ll keep in the freezer for quite awhile, but I doubt you’ll have many left!

Enjoy horse racing fans, enjoy.