Veggie Fajitas/Tacos

You need:

-1 large onion, diced
-1/2 red bell pepper, diced
-1 zucchini, diced
-1 small tomato, diced
-3-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 carrot, diced
-1/2 cup broccoli florets
-1/2 cup frozen corn kernals
-1/2 packet mckormick (or any brand) mexican seasonings


Toppings:
-cabbage
-diced avocado
-fresh diced tomatoes
-black beans
-shredded cheese
-sour cream
-salsa
-tortillas or taco shells


Directions:

For best taste, use a cast iron skillet (helps add some char to the veggies)

First, sautee the onion in 1-2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil until softened.  Next, add the carrot, and then after about 4 minutes add the remaining veggies, except the garlic (always add garlic last, it can overcook easily and turn bitter).  Continue to sautee everything over medium heat, until all veggies are softened, add the garlic, salt, pepper, and 1/2 packet of  taco seasoning for 2 minutes, and then remove from heat.

I like to build my fajitas on flour tortillas with sour cream, veggie mix, fresh shredded cabbage, diced tomato & avocado, with a few black beans and a hint of salsa.

Tomato & Feta Quinoa Bowl

Healthy, easy to make, cheap, and delicious!

You can also make this with cous-cous instead of quinoa, but quinoa is the healthier option.

You need:

-Butter, salt, and pepper
-1 onion, minced
-1 medium/large tomato or several smaller varieties (roma, san marzano, etc), diced
-3-4 cloves garlic, minced
-Feta cheese (also good with parmesan)
-Quinoa or cous-cous

Directions:

Sautee onion in 1-2 tbspn butter, olive oil, or coconut oil over medium head.  After the onion is cooked down (i like mine to be transparent), add the tomato and cook until tomatoes are softened.  Add garlic and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, and then remove from heat.

While the veggies are cooking, prepare your cous-cous or quinoa.  I use a rice cooker for both, and it easy and turns out perfect every time.

Fold the veggie mix into the quinoa and lightly top with Feta.  This dish is great on its own, or with a salad or even as a side dish.

"I Love Green" Smoothie

Super health food stuff

You can do this one 2 ways!

In a blender combine:

-1 whole avocado
-1 whole banana
-1-2 handfuls fresh spinach
-1/2-1 cup almond milk (Calfia brand -- do not use Almond Breeze or Silk - those are mostly full of fillers and toxic chemical shit)
-diced pineapple if you want to add a little more sweetness

OR

In a blender combine the following:
-1 cup pineapple
-1-2 cups fresh spinach leaves
-1/2 avocado
-1/4 cup aloe juice
-2-4 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
-juice of 1/2 lemon

Butter chickpeas & potatoes over jasmine rice

I found this recipe online, and it was made with tofu. Next time I think it will be better with potatoes (I don't think I like tofu in my Indian).

You need
2 onions
5 cloves garlic
1 can lite coconut milk
1 cup tomato purée
1 tbspn garam masala
1 tbspn curry
1 tsp ginger (I didn't have any so I used tumeric)
1 tsp chili powder
Fresh chopped cilantro
1 can drained chickpeas
1 potato, diced
Jasmine rice


Sautée the onions and garlic in oil until soft. Whisk in the coconut milk, tomato purée, and spices. Cook 5-10 min over medium

Place potatoes and chickpeas in crock pot and cook over low for 4 hours. Serve over Jasmin rice and top with cilantro

Asparagus & mushrooms over Orzo

This was really good on its own, but could be served with meat as well.  Also a great recipe for the asparagus and or mushrooms alone as a side.

You need:
-2 Land O' Lakes Sautee express cubes, garlic and herb flavor (I don't normally buy this sort of thing, but these are so good! The dish will not taste right without these)
-1 bunch asparagus
-1 pack baby portobello mushrooms
-3 cloves garlic
-1/4 cut diced sundried tomatoes
-orzo pasta

Directions:

1. Melt the sautee express cubes in a large pan over medium heat, adding onion, mushroom, and asparagus.  Cook over medium (maybe even a little lower), until all veggies are golden and softened. 2. Add the minced garlic and sundried tomatoes towards the end.
  ** My pan needed a little moisture at one point, so I added a splash of Marsala cooking wine
3. Serve over orzo pasta noodles

Scallop-Crab Cakes

You need:
-1/2 onion, diced
-1/2 red bell pepper, diced
-1 stalk celery
-1-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 lb lump crab meat
-1/4 lb bay scallops (the smaller ones, which are also cheaper, because they are pureed for the mix)
-1-2 cups breadcrumbs (i had to keep adding until it felt right)
-1 egg
-3 tablespoons lemon juice
-2 tablespoons dried dill
-2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
-1 tablespoon dijon mustard
-1 tablespoon old bay seasoning
-panko breadcrumbs for outside

Directions:

1. Sautee the onion, pepper, and celery until soft, adding garlic last
2. Remove from heat and cool
3. In a bowl, whisk together egg, lemon, dill, Worcestershire, dijon, and old bay seasonings.
4. Add veggies to sauce mix once they have cooled, stir to combine
5. Puree the scallops in a food processor (I have found that the scallops were hard to get cooked through when they were chopped, and the smooth texture after pureeing eliminates the need for mayonaise!). Add pureed scallops to the mix, combine, and then gently fold in the crab.
6. Let mixture sit over night
7. Form mixture into patties, coat with panko crumbs, and pan fry in grapeseed oil until golden brown, about 5 min per side.

On the side I whisked some of the extra mayonaise, lemon juice, and dill together to drizzle over the top or serve on the side for dipping.

Serve with Asparagus and Couscous

Chicken Parmesan Over Pasta and Marinara

For the Marinara Sauce
(My go-to spaghetti sauce recipe):

-1 onion, diced
-1 carrot, diced
-1 green bell pepper, diced
-1 small package baby portobellos
-3-4 cloves garlic
-1/2 package of Italian Seasonings (the kind you use to make the dressing)
-1 large can canned whole tomatoes
-1 small can tomato paste
-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Sautee the vegetables and seasonings with butter or olive oil until softened. Next, add the tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to a boil, reduce heat and continue at a low boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to a simmer and let it cook...the longer the better.

When I make this dish, I actually don't use very much of the sauce (usually just for 2!).  I freeze the leftover sauce and use it later for something else...usually lasagna

For the Chicken, etc"

-2 large chicken breasts, POUNDED THIN!
-eggs
-flour
-bread crumbs
-grapeseed oil (higher burning point than olive oil)
-parmesan and mozzerella cheese
-noodles

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook noodles about 9 min while you do the following...

Pound your chicken out to about 1/2 inch thick, dredge in flour, then a beaten egg, and coat in breadcrumbs.
Next, pan fry the breaded chicken in grapeseed oil over medium/medium sort of high heat, about 3-4 min per side, until gold and crispy.
When the chicken is cooked through, top with parmesan cheese and broil until cheese is melted over the top.  Serve over a small bed of pasta, sauce, cheese, and then top with a spoonful of more sauce, and more cheese.