Spaghetti Squash Bake

A friend of ours, Kendra, from the gym gave me some great recipes to try using spaghetti squash. I have modified them a bit, so here is my first attempt. It was pretty darn good. And, just so you know, this is not totally Paleo because it has some cheese in it. You can try to make it without the cheese, but I think it is the cheese that really makes this entree delish!

Here is what you'll need:
1 spaghetti squash
1lb extra lean ground beef
5 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 c mushrooms chopped
1 cup skim ricotta
3 c organic marinara (from TJs)
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp garlic powder .... what? I like garlic!!!
parmesan cheese (optional)
chopped basil (optional)

First, preheat the oven to 375. Cut the spaghetti squash lengthwise (or have a strong man do it, it was pretty hard, and kinda scary). Place the two sides face down on a cookie sheet greased with Pam or Olive oil spray. Bake for 40 minutes. When finished, set aside.
Next, in a saute pan, place olive oil, onions and garlic and cook until onions are semi translucent. Add ground beef, garlic powder and italian seasonings and cook until the meat is browned.
While the meat is cooking, "noodle" the squash by scraping the sides out of each half. Once all of the noodles are out, set aside. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mushrooms and marinara sauce. The meat should be done by now, drain the fat from the pan and add the mixture to the sauce/cheese mixture, stir it up well, then add about 3.5 cups of the spaghetti squash.

Take the oven down to 325. Place the mixture into a 13"x9" baking dish and top with parmesan cheese if you like. Bake for another 15 minutes. We chopped up some fresh basil and threw it on top, it was quite a delight!

Curry Chicken

The picture may not look so good, but this was a spicy delight! It was weird, because as the chicken was simmering, the whole house smelled like Creamy Top Ramen, and it brought me back to my old college dorm days.... Oh the Carb-o-loading memories!

Here is what you'll need:
2 chicken breasts
1 TB Coconut oil
1 chopped white onion
5 cloves garlic chopped
1 Teasp red pepper flakes
1/2-1 can coconut milk
2 TB Curry powder

In a pan, start to saute the onion and garlic in the coconut oil, then add the chicken breasts. Cook each breast about 6 minutes on each side, then add the remaining ingredients. Stir the ingredients in the pan (maneuvering around the chicken breasts), so that all is mixed together. Place a lid on the pan and let simmer over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. The thickness of your chicken should determine when the meal will be done. I served mine with broccoli, as always! Hope you enjoy!

Yum Yum Shish-ke-bobs

Spice up your life! Since going Semi-paleo, I have learned to work with spices. A LOT of spices. Sometimes when I'm feeling a little martha-y I will go to the spice aisle and just buy a couple, even though I don't know what they are. Some have been good, some, not so good, but I'm sure I will find a way to work with them some day. In this recipe, I used some pretty basic spices, however, I have never really put any seasoning on my shish-ke-bobs, I just put a skewer through them and threw them on the grill. This time, "marinating" them was phenomenal!

Here is what you'll need:
2 Chicken breast- cubed
2 Bell Peppers (color of your choice)
2 onions, cut in "sixths"
2 c pineapple, fresh is better, but canned works
2 Zucchinis sliced in 1" slices

Whatever other veggies you like- mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus, you name it!

For the seasoning:
Olive oil- I would say I used maybe 3 TBSP, maybe more
Granulated Garlic- about 1 TBSP
Pepper- 1 TBSP
Dried Parsley- 1/2 Tea
Chili Powder- 1/2 Tea

Put all of the veggies into a large bowl. (Not the chicken) Drizzle the olive oil and all the spices into the bowl. stir the veggies so that they all have a nice covering of spices.

Strangely, I did not season the chicken, but it came out just as tasty. Before placing the chicken and veggies on the skewers, I sprayed them with pam so that the food was easy to remove after being cooked. Once all the skewers were loaded up, I grilled them over medium heat for about 20 minutes, turning them every 5-7 minutes.

Guilty As Charged!

I have not been feeling very creative in the kitchen lately. Summer time has me lazy, falling back on the easy recipes from time to time. One thing I did want to share with you was this recipe from a blog that I follow... these little muffins are so delicious! Check out the whole blog, she has great recipes and ideas!

I hope to get some creative-ness from somewhere, sometime soon! I promise!!! Any ideas?