Zucchini Quinoa Saute {Gluten Free, Vegan Optional}

October 2, 2015October 5, 2015Leave a comment

It’s October. So, time for harvest-y dishes. Well, you will love this festive little bowl of warm sunshine to eat as the temperatures drop this season.

Talk about 10 minute meals, this is so easy to make and fills you up completely.

Now, this meal is meat-free (not vegan, because chicken broth is used) but, you can easily swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth!

If your honey needs to eat some type of meat protein with this dish, I’d bake some chicken or heat up some sausage (to serve him on the side!)

You’ll need: 3 zucchinis, 1/2 yellow onion, 1 cup of quinoa, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. onion powder, salt and pepper to taste.

First cut up your zucchini, onion and garlic. Then, place them in a pan on the stovetop! Saute these yummy veggies up with about a tbsp. of olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on these veggies to taste.

In a separate pan on the oven, pour in 1 cup chicken (or vegetable) broth. Wait for this broth to start boiling and add in your cup of quinoa. Stir this mixture up and let it cook on medium high for about 10 minutes with the lid on.

Next add 1 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tsp. onion powder to the quinoa mix and salt and pepper to taste. Then combine both mixtures (zucchini and quinoa) together in a large bowl. Stir, then serve!

Bonus – for a cheesy taste, add nutritional yeast to the top of your saute!

Pesto Spaghetti Squash Boat {Gluten Free}

June 8, 20141 Comment

Let’s just talk about all the pluses of this simple little dish. It’s cheap (my squash cost a total of $1.50 at the grocery store). Its vegetarian and gluten free. And, you don’t have to dirty up any dishes with this meal- simply eat out of the squash itself.

You will love making this really easy dinner. One squash = dinner for two. How perfect! Or if it’s just you, eat one side for the dinner and take the other to work. Perfecto.

With spaghetti squash you get all the yummy tasty benefits of eating pasta without the wheat, heaviness and fatigue afterward.

You will need: 1 medium sized spaghetti squash, pesto sauce (store bought or homemade), parmesan cheese, garlic powder.

This is how it should look when you scrape the sides! Photo: Roasted Root

This recipe is as simple as 1, 2, 3. Put your spaghetti squash in the microwave for 1 minute. This softens it up for the cutting you are about to do! After the minute slice your squash half in two long ways.

Gut your squash. So take a spoon and get rid of all the seeds and extra junk inside that resembles a pumpkin. You are going to be eating the fleshy walls of the squash, not the soft gooey insides.

Once the insides are out, sprinkle some garlic powder over the fleshy sides. And lay the two parts of the squash face down on a baking sheet. Set the oven to 375 and cook your squash bowls for around 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes, pull them out of the oven. Use a fork to scrap the inside walls toward the direction of the center. You will see that the flesh looks very much like noodles.

Once you have scarped and filled the squash bowl with its natural ‘noodles’, add some pesto sauce and parmesan cheese.

Serve and enjoy this filling, gluten free dinner.

If you are looking for another awesome recipe for spaghetti squash, I made this yummy meal in the fall – Garlic Spaghetti Squash. It’s awesome.

Bacon Asparagus Pasta {Gluten Free}

April 23, 2014April 23, 2014Leave a comment

Let’s talk about bacon – it’s simply delicious. Recently, there has been this bacon craze. Even to the point of some state fair’s offering, ‘Chocolate Covered Bacon.’ I am dead serious, you can see this interesting combo here.

I like bacon. But, people, it has a lot of fat in it. So, for this recipe we are going to use turkey bacon. It gives you that yummy taste with way less fat.

This gluten free pasta combo is awesome. It is so flavorful. This will become a favorite dish for dinner guests and family parties.

Everyone will love this. I mean, who does not love bacon? And you get your little pops of greens in the asparagus. Let’s get cooking.

You will need: 1 bundle of asparagus, salt, pepper, 1 package turkey bacon, gluten free pasta, 1 tbsp. pesto sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and a splash of lemon.

First, I sautéed the asparagus. Simply cut the ends off of the little green trees [because that part is tough and won’t taste good!] I sprinkled a little salt, pepper, lemon juice, onion and garlic powder over the asparagus. Really seasons the veggie well! When done, set aside in a big bowl.

Next, let’s cook the bacon. I used the same frying pan that I cooked the asparagus in. So, I could have the taste of the spices – in the meat. Chop up the bacon in little pieces and let it brown on the stove. This should not take long. Turkey bacon is a lot thinner than real bacon. Add to the asparagus bowl.

You will want to have a pot of water boiling for the noodles. Decide how much you want to place in there and cook your noodles. Gluten free noodles work the same way as regular noodles.

Once the noodles are done, strain and dump into the bowl with the bacon and asparagus. I added 1 tbsp. of premade pesto sauce into my pasta for that creamy texture. And folded all the ingredients together.

Serve and enjoy this tasty, really flavorful creation!