Eggplant Pizza Casserole

*WARNING* -May be habit forming

Ok, so I'll admit. 

I don't know much about eggplant.

When the hubs and I were at Sprouts last week

I wanted to buy an eggplant to broaden our veggie horizons.

I found an amazing recipe on Pinterest

(you can find the original recipe HERE)

and I wanted to try it out.

Neither one of us knew how 

to pick a good eggplant.

So the hubs asked 2 different guys in the produce dept

and neither one had the answer.

So my brilliant hubby pulled out his iPhone

and found the answer on eHow.

So apparently they should be dark purple

very shiny and give to gentle pressure.

When they become dull, they are no longer good.

So, now on to my modified version of this fantastic recipe!

If you make it once,

you'll make it again :)

Eggplant Pizza Casserole

2 - med eggplants

1 lb - Organic grass fed ground beef 

1 - 13.66oz can Organic Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk

2 - 15.5 oz jars Pizza Sauce (check ingredients - I buy Fresh & Easy brand)

3 Tbs - minced chives

3 Tbs - minced parsley

1 Tbs - dried thyme

1 - 2 tsp potato starch or arrowroot starch*

Olive oil

Brown the ground beef in a pan, drain fat and add salt to taste. Set aside. Slice eggplant into 1/4" thick discs. (I like them thin but you could go thicker) Brush both sides with olive oil and brown them in a hot pan. Set aside. Simmer the coconut milk over medium high heat in a small saucepan until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. *(If not thick enough, add 1 - 2 tsp starch to thicken) Add chives, parsley and thyme. Next take your browned eggplant and place a single layer in the bottom of a 9" by 11" pan sprayed with olive oil. Spoon some of the pizza sauce over the eggplant and a layer of ground beef. Repeat until you have used up all the eggplant, sauce and beef. (about 3 layers) Pour the herb cream sauce over the top and bake at 375 for 25 - 30 minutes. Let it rest a few minutes before serving. This is seriously so delish!!! I couldn't wait for lunch the next day to eat the left-overs! Then I doubled the recipe and made it again for Sunday lunch after church. Everyone loved it! 

Enchilada Style Stuffed Peppers

Since changing my way of eating I've been craving Mexican food.

Mexican and Italian.....*sigh*

Being gluten free and corn free and dairy free

has pretty much taken my favs out of the picture.

But these stuffed peppers have given me

a little bit of what I miss.

Enchilada Style Stuffed Peppers

4 bell peppers (any color - I prefer yellow or red, but he hubs likes green)
1 lb grass fed ground beef
1/2 medium onion - diced
1 roma tomato diced
1 - 15oz can organic black beans, drained & rinsed
1 - 4 oz can diced green chilies (don't drain)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 - 28oz can enchilada sauce

Cut peppers in half, stem to tip and remove seeds. Brown ground beef together with onions. With grass fed ground beef I never have to drain any fat. (pretty cool) Microwave the peppers for 3 minutes to soften. You can skip that part if you prefer your peppers more crisp. Mix remaining ingredients, except for the enchilada sauce in a bowl. Pour enchilada sauce into a 9" x 13" baking pan. I line mine with aluminum foil to make clean up easier. Place peppers in the pan and divide the meat filling equally into the peppers. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes. Spoon some of the enchilada sauce over the peppers. YUM

I serve this with guacamole and I add cheese to the tops of the ones my hubby is going to eat.....lucky duck :)

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

If you would have told me a year ago that my favorite snack

would be raw cauliflower and roasted red pepper hummus

I would have doubled over laughing!

Guess what?

I love this stuff!!!

Give it a whirl....

you might just love it too!

Of course you can eat it with flat bread or pita chips,

but I'm watching my carbs and the crunch of the 

raw cauliflower satisfies my need for crunchy goodness :)

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 - 15oz can Organic Garbanzo beans - drained

1 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup tahini

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 cloves shallots or garlic

1/3 jar roasted red bell peppers (about 1 whole roasted pepper)

Place all ingredients into your food processor and blend until smooth.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

I like to keep this in the fridge to snack on during the week.

Hope you like it as much as I do!

Hubby's Favorite Pork Carnitas

There are very few things that make my hubby happier

than coming home to find pork carnitas

simmering in the slow cooker.

I mean he would happiliy eat this every single night.

and maybe even throw in a few lunches too!

I'm not kidding...

The boy loves him some yummy pork :)

Pork Carnitas

2 - 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tblsp olive oil

1 yellow onion quartered

4 cloves of garlic, minced (or shallots)

1 orange, halved

1/4 cup Coconut oil

Mix salt, oregano and cumin with olive oil and rub all over the pork. Place 1/2 onions and garlic in the bottom of slow cooker and place pork on top. Add remaining onions and garlic. Squeeze the juice of the orange over the pork and add the 2 halves of the orange to the slow cooker. Cover and cook 8 - 10 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

Remove pork from slow cooker and cool slightly. Pull apart with a fork and in a large frying pan melt the coconut oil over high heat. Press the shredded pork with a spatula and fry until crispy. Flip over and repeat on both sides. Serve over rice. I add black beans and quacamole....YUM!

Is it possible to be addicted to Green Smoothies?

When my daughter told me last week that she was making

and drinking green smoothies,

I'll admit that I thought she was crazy.

I mean the thought of drinking

green leafy vegetables and fruit

was the last thing on my list of yummy treats.

But after hearing about how she had tons of energy

after drinking green smoothies

I figured I'd give it a whirl.

Guess what?

I'm addicted!!!

Here's my recipe,

hope you like it!

Green Smoothie

1 cup So Delicious Organic Unsweetened Coconut Milk beverage

1 cup organic baby spinach

1 cup organic frozen peaches

1/2 small organic banana (cut into chunks)

1/2 dropper Vanilla Cream Stevia liguid

Place spinach leaves in your blender first and then add remaining ingredients. Blend on high speed until thick and creamy and spinach is pretty much pulverized. In my Ninja this only takes a minute or so. Pour into a glass and enjoy! The cool part, for me anyways, is that this mixture stays creamy and doesn't seperate so I don't feel like I have to race to finish it. It tastes like a yummy peach and banana smoothie. You don't really taste the spinach at all. There's just a bright freshness to it. I'm totally addicted. You could switch out the fruits and or try kale instead of spinach to suit your taste.





Yummy Creamy Avocado Dressing

It's hard to believe,

but yesterday it was 94 degrees outside

and it's only the first week of March.

This kind of weather makes me want to eat

cool fresh salads.

Unfortunately for me, I have so many food

sensitivities that I can't just buy

salad dressing at the store...

 I have to make it.

So here is one of my new favs!

I can just imagine this poured over

a crisp wedge of iceberg

or even as a dip for fresh veggies!

Yummy Creamy Avocado Dressing

(the coconut milk does not add coconut flavor)

1 - 13.66 oz can Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk

1 - large ripe avocado - peeled and cut into chunks

2 to 3 green onions - chopped

1/4 cup minced parsley

1 clove garlic minced or minced shallots

1/4 tsp dried dill weed

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Add all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 2 cups.



Seasoned Salt

I had originally planned on sharing my fantastic new recipe

for Roasted Carrot Chips with Seasoned Salt with you today.

But sadly, the carrot chips did not work out

quite as fantastic as I had hoped.

It's back to the test kitchen on those guys.

I did eat each and every one of them

and they were delicious

but they were more like flat little roasted carrots

and not so much like "chips".

Really tasty, but not what I had planned.

So today you can have my recipe for Seasoned Salt.

This is fantastic on fries or steaks

or just about anything in my opinion :)

I hope you enjoy it!

Seasoned Salt

2 tblsp coarse sea salt

2 tsp coconut crystals or 2 packets of Sweet Leaf Stevia

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp arrowroot starch

Combine all ingredients into a small bowl and mix well. Pour into a clean empty spice jar