Apple, Butternut Squash & Bacon Breakfast Hash

Recipe & Image: The Urban Poser

Ingredients:

2 cups diced butternut squash

1 1/2 cups diced tart apples (about 2 medium sized apples)

1/2 of large a onion chopped

4-5 strips of GAPS friendly bacon/prosciutto(Paleo/Vegans: 1/2 cup Pecans)

1/4 cup chopped scallions

2 Tbls olive oil, coconut oil or ghee

1/2 tsp coarse ground salt (or to taste)

1/ tsp fresh cracked pepper (or to taste)

Preheat the oven to broil

After prepping the ingredients, heat a large skillet over a medium heat.

While the skillet is heating up, spread the diced butternut squash out evenly onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place under the broiler. Check and flip/stir  the squash every 3-5 min till it just starts to brown in spots. Watch that it doesn't burn to much. Remove from the oven. Alternatively, you could cook the squash in the skillet. I liked the flavor and lightness that the baked squash added to the dish though.

Add the oil to the skillet and then the chopped onions (not the scallions), cook until they just start to caramelize then remove from the pan.

Cut the bacon/side pork into bite size pieces OR coarsely chop the pecans. Cook the bacon in the pan until cooked to your liking.

If you feel there is to much fat left in the pan (for your taste) pour some of it out into a dish. Then add all the ingredients together except the scallions... the squash, apples, cooked onion, and the bacon. Continue to cook and stir the hash until the apples just begin to soften. It helps to spread the hash evenly around the pan, then let it sit for a monemt before continuing to flip/stir it around again. This will help it to 'brown' instead of steam itself, which could result in a soggy hash. 

Remove from the heat, add the scallions coarse salt and cracked pepper to taste

Tomatoes Stuffed with Grilled Corn Salad

We've had a lot of corn lately! :o)

Source: Everyday Food

Ingredients

• 3 ears corn, with husks
• 4 beefsteak tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grates
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 1/2 cup crumbled soft goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled (optional)

Directions

1. Pull back corn husks, leaving them attached at base of ear. Remove and discard silk; pull husks back over corn. Place ears in large bowl; cover with cold water. Let soak 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cut off and discard top third of tomatoes. Using a paring knife, cut around wall of tomato to loosen flesh. Gently squeeze out seeds; discard. With a melon baller, scoop out tomato interiors, leaving the wall intact. Coarsely chop interiors; transfer to a large bowl.
3. Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. Drain corn; arrange ears on grill. Cover and cook, turning occasionally with tongs, until husks are slightly charred and corn is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove ears from grill. Holding bottom of hot ears with a towel, peel back husks and cut kernels off cob; transfer to bowl with tomatoes.
4. Add scallions, all but 2 tablespoons goat cheese, vinegar, and oil. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Spoon filling into hollowed tomatoes; sprinkle with remaining goat cheese and, if desired, bacon.

Vietnamese Cauli-Fried Rice W/Nước Chấm

This was definitely one of the most creative and delicious ways I've eaten cauliflower!

There is a lot of prepping of vegetables, so it would be good to plan ahead. 

Once you have everything prepped, everything else goes pretty quickly.

So worth it! Also, if this is your main dish and you are feeding a family, you'll want to double it.

(p.s. I didn't have asparagus on hand, but we didn't miss it, 

this would be a great recipe to use up whatever veggies you have!)

Source: The Urban Poser

Directions for Nước Chấm Sauce:

1/4 cup water 

2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (to taste)

2 tablespoons fish sauce (Get a Paleo friendly brand HERE)

1 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon honey or agave (For 'strict Paleo', skip the honey)

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Chili flakes optional

In a mason jar, combine all the Nước chấm Sauce ingredients. Shake or mix well. Sprinkle as desired onto fried rice, salads or even use a dipping sauce.

For The Fried Rice:
2-3 tablespoons coconut oil or preferred cooking oil

1 cup carrots, diced 

1 cup onion, diced 

3-5 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup asparagus, diced  

1 cup sausage, chopped (traditionally Chinese sausage is used, I used Kielbasa)

1 cup shrimp (about 9 large 16 count shrimp, raw or cooked) chopped 

3 cups of grated cauliflower (1-2 heads depending on the size)

2 large eggs, cracked & lightly beaten

1/4 cup spring onions, chopped

1/4 cilantro

Coarse sea salt and cracked pepper to taste (less salt is needed if using the sauce below)

Directions:

Grate the Cauliflower using a food processor with the grater attachment or use a hand grater.

Prep the rest of the ingredients as stated in the ingredient list above. I find it helpful to put each ingredient into a separate prep bowl.

Preheat your wok over medium-high heat. Note: Flat bottomed woks work best on a stove top. You could also use a regular frying pan. In this case, it may be best to cook the ingredients in two batches to ensure that the ingredients ' fry' instead of steam.

Add the oil and the onions to the hot wok. Fry the onions till soft and translucent. Add the garlic and the carrots, cooking till the carrots begin to soften and the onions begin to caramelize. Then add the asparagus, sausage and shrimp. Continue to fry for a few minutes, stirring & tossing the ingredients often. You want the vegetables and protein to be mostly cooked through before adding the cauliflower.

Add the cauliflower. Stir and toss to combine the ingredients and then spread the ingredients out in the wok into a thin layer. Allow them to fry like this for a minute or two. This will help the mixture to 'fry' and brown instead of steam. (Again, sometimes it helps to cook in two batches if your pan is not very large) Toss and spread out again. Do this a few times until some of the cauliflower starts to brown.

Make a well in the center of the 'rice' mixture. Pour the lightly beaten eggs in to the 'well'. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir the eggs until they begin to thicken. Once thickened and just beginning to scramble, mix and toss them into the rice. Mix well. The rice will become fluffier and you should only see little bits of egg throughout the mixture. Continue to cook the mixture until it looks good to you. 

Garnish by tossing in the spring onions, cilantro and  just a splash of Nước Chấm per serving (or just fish sauce)

If not using the Nước Chấm or fish sauce, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Best served hot. 

Creamed Chard And Spring Onions

You can swap cream or half and half for all or a portion of the milk, if you want this to be extra lush. You could also stir in a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan. (We ended up using a couple of cans of evaporated milk as that was all we had, really YUM!)

Source: Smitten Kitchen

1 1-pound bunch Swiss chard, thick stems removed and leaves sliced into ribbons
3 spring onions, ends trimmed, white and some green parts sliced into thin coins
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups milk
Salt and pepper

Wash your chard, but no need to dry it, just place it in a large pot over high heat. Cook, covered, with just the water clinging to leaves, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 6 minutes.
Press or squeeze out the excess liquid any number of ways, either by wringing it out in cheesecloth, putting it in a mesh strainer and pressing the moisture out with a spatula or large spoon or letting it cool long enough to grab small handfuls and squeezing them to remove as much water as possible.
Wipe out the large pot so you can use it again. Heat milk or cream in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until warm. Keep warm. Meanwhile, cook onion and garlic, if using, in butter in your wiped-out large pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about six minutes. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, about three minutes. Add warm milk or cream in a slow stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, and simmer, whisking, until thickened, three to four minutes. Stir in chard, then salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, until heated through.

To make Creamed Chard and Spring Onion Pasta: Use 1 3/4 cups of milk instead of 1 1/4 cups. Stir 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan into the sauce while cooking, and keep extra on hand for serving. This should be enough to toss with about half a pound of pasta (more or less depending on how saucy you like yours).

Grilled Vegetable Tostadas

Source: Everyday Food

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grates
• 3 medium zucchini (1 1/2 pounds total), cut into 1/2-inch-wide slices on the diagonal
• 4 portobello mushrooms (1 pound total), stemmed
• 1 1/2 bunches scallions, root ends trimmed
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 flour tortillas (10-inch or burrito-size)
• 3 cups store-bought fresh salsa, or Fresh Tomato Salsa
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
• 1 lime, cut lengthwise into 4 wedges (optional), for serving

Directions

1. Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. In separate piles, arrange zucchini, mushrooms, and scallions on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper. Working in batches if necessary, remove each pile of vegetables from baking sheet. Grill, turning once, until lightly browned and tender, 2 minutes for scallions, 6 minutes for mushrooms, and 8 minutes for zucchini. Return all vegetables to baking sheet. Slice mushrooms into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Set aside.
2. Brush tortillas with remaining tablespoon oil; grill, turning frequently, until browned and very crispy, about 2 minutes. Place 1 tortilla on each serving plate; cover evenly with mushrooms and zucchini. Using kitchen shears, snip scallions over vegetables. Top with salsa, and sprinkle with feta; serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Swiss Chard Bake

Origin: Simply in Season Cookbook

Ingredients:

● 1 lb. Swiss Chard, chopped leaves (discard stalk)

● 4 eggs, beaten

● 1 cup milk

● 1 cup shredded cheese (swiss suggested)

● 1 cup bread cubes

● 1/2 cup green onions, sliced

● 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Boil Swiss Chard leaves thoroughly and drain.

Combine ingredients with cooked greens. (I added 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper to the mixture). Pour into a greased 2-quart baking dish. Cover and bake in preheated oven at 375 until set, 25-30 minutes. (I covered halfway and then uncovered rest of the way.)

Chicken and Veggie Gyro

Sauce:

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2-1 whole cucumber diced (or chopped)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
pinch salt and pepper

Stir together in a small bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes

4 whole wheat pitas (I used whole wheat with flax flat bread instead)
1/2 head lettuce
1/2 small red onion
fresh green beans (raw)
tomatoes sliced
feta cheese
2 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)

Stuff your pita or flatbread with all of these yummy fresh ingredients and top with the yogurt sauce. Enjoy!

We made these last night for dinner and they were delish. It's a great way to use up any of your veggies. Cabbage would be a nice addition as well.

Springy Shells

Source: Pioneer Woman

Springy Shells

16 ounces medium pasta shells (or other short pasta)
1 pound asparagus, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (avoid tough parts)
1/2 pound broccoli, cut into small florettes
1/2 pound zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini), diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 green onions, sliced (white and light green parts)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
20 to 22 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Extra olive oil, for drizzling

Cook pasta until extremely al dente—with still quite a bit of bite.
Melt butter with the olive oil over medium-low to medium heat, then add in the garlic.
Add the asparagus to the pan and cook for five minutes. Sprinkle in a little salt. Add the broccoli and cook for one minute, then add the zucchini and cook for one or two more minutes. Add the frozen peas and green onion, stir together, then turn off the heat. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, eggs, salt, and pepper until well combined.
To assemble, butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Add half the pasta, then spread 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture over the surface. Sprinkle 1/3 of the Parmesan over the ricotta, then 1/2 of the vegetables. Repeat with the rest of the pasta, the rest of the ricotta, and another 1/3 of the Parmesan. End with the rest of the vegetables and the rest of the Parmesan.
Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons olive oil, then bake for 25 minutes on 350 degrees or until nice and hot.

I served with crusty French bread and chilled lemonade. :o)