Whole30 Parmesan Chicken

September 9, 2017Leave a comment

I’m a big fan of Italian food, but I don’t eat it very often. Pasta does weird things to my blood sugar.

On a rare occasion, I will whip up something inspired by Italy. But when you’re on Whole30 and the Italian craving hits, you have to improvise.

And so was born this Whole30 version of Chicken Parmesan.

After throwing the chicken in an egg wash, I breaded the chicken in a mixture of almond flour and coconut flour with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Heated up a jar of Thrive Market tomato sauce.

Sautéed some Veggie Noodle Co. butternut squash noodles.

And called this dinner.

And it is spectacular.

Full of flavor and texture. We loved every bite.

What are your favorite weeknight dinner shortcuts?

Roasted Apple Chicken Sausage and Broccoli over Cauliflower Rice

September 8, 2017September 8, 20173 Comments

I love a sheet pan dinner. Throwing everything on one pan and roasting it all in the oven is the ideal (lazy) way to create a delicious meal when you would rather be doing something else.

This sheet pan dinner was originally suppose to be served with a baked sweet potato. But one of my pre-baked potatoes was kind of yucky looking on the inside so I had to improvise as dinner was coming to a close. Thankfully, I had some cauliflower rice in the freezer.

With the broccoli and apple chicken sausage ready to do, I didn’t have to wait long for the cauliflower rice to heat up in the microwave.

I seasoned the cauliflower rice with avocado oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. The roasted broccoli and sausage was seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.

I topped my sausage and veggies with a little Cholula Hot Sauce and Primal Kitchen Ranch Dressing. Both are Whole30 approved. And I can’t live without Cholula. It’s the absolute best.

What are your go-to weeknight dinners?

Prosciutto Egg Muffins

September 6, 2017September 5, 2017Leave a comment

Weekday breakfasts on the Whole30 can get boring. Usually I make hard boiled eggs with a little bit of Wholly Guacamole. It’s the best I can do most days.

But some days I feel adventurous (and obviously tired of hard boiled eggs) so I whip up some egg muffins.

And these beauties are perfect in every way.

You don’t need much to make it happen. Just a package of Applegate Prosciutto (check your labels), eggs, coconut oil, salt and pepper. You could add in tomato and basil. Or peppers and onions. But I just went classic.

Everybody likes eggs and ham.

Line the muffin tin with a piece of prosciutto. Crack an egg into the muffin tin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Not much salt since the prosciutto is pretty salty. But you need a little to season the egg.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

The end result are gorgeous egg muffins with a crispy prosciutto cup. That’s pretty hard to beat. I bet we will have these egg muffins a few times during this round of Whole30.

What are your favorite breakfast treats?

Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup

September 5, 2017September 4, 2017Leave a comment

The key to being successful with Whole30 is to prepare. If you don’t prepare, you will have a terrible experience. Don’t get me wrong, you can still do it and be successful, but you will stress about preparing food on the fly. Trust me. I’ve been there.

Part of my meal prep and planning success happens because I always try to make enough dinner for lunch the next day. After my first Whole30, I realized I need to double my dinner so we could eat it for lunch.

Whole30 lunches are the toughest thing to prepare. We live off sandwiches or wraps for lunch, but I know bread isn’t the best for my tummy so I try to limit it as much as possible.

This round of Whole30 I am trying to simplify even more. That’s where my trusty Crockpot comes into play. I love the convenience of the Crockpot, but I usually forget I have one.

But I woke up Sunday morning feeling extremely terrible. Had a bout with my reactive hypoglycemia, and worked through my low blood sugar issues with a fresh peach and a little bit of scrambled eggs. Cooking was the last thing I wanted to do. So I ventured into the depths of my cabinet for the Crockpot. I knew I had the makings for a delicious Vegetable Beef Soup, and the goal was to throw everything into the Crockpot so we could eat a nice, hot dinner. (And I was off the hook for standing over a hot stove/thinking up what to make).

What you need:

Crockpot
One bag of frozen root vegetables (mine had sweet potato, red onion, parsnip and turnips in it)
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
2 zucchini squash, sliced into half-moons
5-6 baby red potatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 bag frozen okra
1 box of beef bone broth (I used Thrive Market brand)
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 lb. grass fed ground beef (I get mine from the Farm at Barefoot Bend)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Italian seasoning, to taste

Directions:

Brown the hamburger meat in a skillet. Season with salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning. Once the hamburger meat is brown, throw all ingredients into the Crockpot. Turn it on high and cook for six hours. Check the seasonings, and add more salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, if needed.

We both really enjoyed this hearty soup. It’s full of simple ingredients, but it doesn’t lack in flavor. You can add whatever veggies you have on hand, and I bet it will be just as delicious.

Quail Eggs and Sautéed Veggies

September 3, 2017September 2, 2017Leave a comment

Saturday mornings are reserved for visiting my favorite farmer’s market.

Me & McGee Market is located off Highway 70, near the Galloway exit on I-40, in North Little Rock. When we moved to the country, I realized we were 20-25 minutes away from the nearest grocery store. And I am a frequenter of the grocery store. I love cooking, and having fresh produce and meat is important to me.

Yesterday, I visited the market, and they happened to be out of eggs. I got there earlier than normal so the lady who brings fresh eggs hadn’t delivered the weekend loot. So Neva suggested quail eggs.

How cute are these little guys? I’ve never had nor cooked quail eggs before, but I can tell you the cuteness makes them taste better. And they felt really special to enjoy on a lazy Saturday morning.

So here is how I prepared my quail eggs.

First, I chopped up all my veggies. I used red bell pepper, onion, baby tomatoes and a mix of greens. I diced the bell pepper and onion pretty small so they would cook quicker, and I sliced the tomatoes in half. I rough chopped the greens to give them a little more longevity. Greens tend to wilt quickly, and I’m not a fan of a whole mouth full of wilted greens unless bacon grease is involved.

I cracked the quail eggs one at a time in a separate bowl. Since they are so tiny, I cracked the tops with a sharp knife and let them slide out into the bowl to avoid getting shells in my eggs. Not knowing how many eggs it would take to make what I normally make for breakfast, I cracked six quail eggs. It turned out to be the perfect amount.

I fried the eggs in a little bacon grease. And since they are so small, they cook really quickly. So just be aware.

And this was the final product. The most delicious plate of eggs I’ve ever made. The yolks were so rich and flavorful. I couldn’t get over how they complimented the veggies. The only seasoning I used on all of this was salt and pepper. Because when you buy good quality ingredients, it doesn’t need much. Just let the flavors shine.

And the best part is this whole breakfast was Whole30 approved. So you can bet I will be making some version of this again.

What are your favorite lazy Saturday morning meals? Are you adventurous enough to try quail eggs?