Southwest Sausage - Whole30, Paleo, Bulletproof

Southwest Sausage - Whole30, Paleo, Bulletproof

When I was little, long before I had a family of my own, one of my responsibilities was cooking for our family of 5. My parents both worked very hard outside the home and so my brothers and I each had our "chores" we were responsible for to help out. Mine included cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.

This dish, actually an earlier iteration of it without the brussels sprouts and using Russet potatoes, was something I came up with that was quick and easy. Throw everything in one pan and boom, dinner ready in a matter of minutes. Cleanup was quick (a must since I also did the cleanup!) and leftovers, since I'd make a big double batch, were just as tasty as the day before (saving me from cooking the next day!). Plus, this was extremely economical. The biggest food cost was the sausage, which I'd slice thinly to make it stretch further, and then load up the veggies which are very filling and satisfying. A huge win in my book.

For most of my life I didn't really have a name for this dish - I just referred to it as the sausage thingy. But later when my kids were teenagers, I was on the Booster Club Board for their drill team and we put together a cookbook to sell as a fundraiser. How fun, right?! Well, I needed name and so "Southwest Sausage", actually "Steve's Southwest Sausage", is what it became. Steve is my husband's name. Here's a pic of that cookbook:

Ok enough nostalgia - right to the recipe (video recipe here).

These days, I've upgraded the recipe to include organic veggies whenever possible, yams instead of white potatoes, and most importantly the sausage I use is an all natural, uncured, no sugar added kielbasa by Pederson's Natural Farms. It's totally Whole30 compliant as well as Paleo and Bulletproof Diet friendly.

Southwest Sausage
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 Uncured No Sugar Added Smoked Kielbasa, sliced thin into coins (I use Pederson's)
2 Organic Yams, peeled and sliced thin (a food processor fitted with slicing blade works well)
1 Organic Onion, peeled and sliced thick
1 Organic Bell Pepper, sliced thick
8 oz package Organic Mushrooms, sliced thick
8 oz (approx 8-10) Organic Brussels Sprouts, shredded (a food processor fitted with shredding blade works well)
2 Tablespoons Grass-Fed Unsalted Butter
1 clove fresh Organic Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
1/2 teaspoon Organic Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Organic Onion Powder
Organic Paprika
Sea Salt

Prep all of your ingredients first to make cooking quick and easy. You could do this the night before, or even during your Sunday meal prep, if you like.

Heat a large 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat and add the butter.

Add the garlic and give it a quick stir.

Add the yams, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, Himalayan pink salt, garlic powder and onion powder - stir and cook for approximately 10-15 minutes or until crisp tender.

(Tip: slicing the veggies the way I've described - potatoes thinly sliced, others thick - allows you to cook them all at the same time and evenly.)

Add the brussels sprouts and give it a quick stir, then stir in the sausage and continue cooking for 1 minute or until heated through. The sausage is already fully cooked.

Finish with a sprinkle of paprika and sea salt. Serve right from the pan if you like!

Don't have time to read? Here's a 1-minute recipe video:

Where do you find the Whole30 Approved Kielbasa? It's available in some stores or you can go to The Simple Grocer and order it online. They offer free shipping and there's no membership fee.

A big thank you to The Simple Grocer for sending me the Pederson's Kielbasa! If you haven't heard about them, they are a new online store making it simple for you to stay Whole30. I hope you'll check them out. They are a new favorite resource of mine!

Warmly,
Veronica

Vegetable Frittata

If you ask me, the perfect vegetable frittata is airy and fluffy on the inside with a crispy, browned cheesy top, and bursts of flavor from the charred veggies in every delicious bite. Frittatas are surprisingly easy and quick to make and you can vary the veggies and cheeses you select, as almost any will do.

Today I used onions and sun-dried tomatoes because that's what I had on hand; and my beloved Parmigiano Reggiano, because you can never go wrong with that. If I'd pre-planned, I would have also added thick sliced fresh mushrooms, chunks of garden-ripe tomatoes, and perhaps some sliced zucchini, too. Oh, and creamy goat cheese would have been amazing, also!

Anyhoo, I used what I had on hand and it worked out juuuuust fine. I also leaned on this Alton Brown recipe for general guidance because it had been a strangely long while since the last time I had made a frittata. I will not make that mistake again. Frittata Friday anyone?

Vegetable Frittata

serves 4

ready in about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon butter

1/2 medium-sized onion, sliced or thick chopped

6 eggs

3 teaspoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes

large pinch of fresh chopped Italian parsley

1/4 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano

Set oven to broil.

Heat a 10-inch non-stick oven safe skillet on stovetop to medium-high.  Add butter and onion and saute for about 3 minutes.

While onions are cooking, beat eggs, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, salt and pepper in a bowl with a fork until blended (as you would for scrambled eggs). Set aside.

Add sun-dried tomatoes to skillet with onions and saute for about 1-2 minutes.

Pour egg mixture into skillet and stir with spatula, then cook for approximately 3-4 minutes until bottom is cooked but top is still very wet. Sprinkle fresh parsley and shredded Parmigiano Reggiano on top and place in oven under broiler.

Broil for approximately 2 1/2 - 3 minutes until eggs have puffed up and browned on top.

Slide from pan onto plate, slice and serve.

Excellent served any time of day alongside a mixed green salad dressed lightly with a lemony vinaigrette.

I also really enjoyed spreading a little wedge of Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Cheese to the top. It added a rich, creamy decadence for only a few more calories (+35 calories per wedge).

Frittatas are super easy and quick to make and look incredibly impressive when done - all puffed up and browned. Your guests will be amazed and wonder how you did it so effortlessly!

Mexican Beef and Bulgur Salad

Bulgur is a healthy whole wheat grain that's low in fat and a great source of fiber and protein. The quick-cooking variety cooks in 12-14 minutes and reminds me of the mild flavor and hearty texture of steel cut oats. It's filling and can be easily transformed to take on the nuances of whatever dish it's used in.

Bob's Red Mill Quick Cooking Bulgur
Net 23 grams carbs per serving (1/4 cup dry), a very filling serving

In this easy and quick recipe, I used RO*TEL Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies plus some additional Mexican seasonings to produce a delicious and hearty one-dish meal in under 30 minutes.

RO*TEL, fresh chopped onions and garlic

Mexican Beef and Bulgur Salad

Serves 4

Ready in Under 30 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Quick Cooking Bulgur, prepared according to package directions PLUS add 3/4 teaspoon salt to water before cooking

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 medium-size onion, chopped

3 to 4 large cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1 can RO*TEL Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies 

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro (leave out if you dislike cilantro)

1 small head iceberg lettuce, rough chopped

Optional Garnish:

low fat Mexican four cheese blend

low fat sour cream

salsa

While bulgur is cooking according to package directions, heat a large non-stick skillet to medium high and add ground beef.   Brown ground beef breaking it up as you go for about 8-10 minutes or until almost fully cooked.

Add onions, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Continue cooking over medium high heat, stirring occasionally and allowing onions and garlic to soften and become fragrant, about 3 more minutes.

Add entire can of RO*TEL and fresh cilantro to beef mixture, stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium.

By this time your bulgur should be ready (water fully absorbed).

cooked bulgur

Add bulgur to skillet with beef mixture and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt or pepper if needed.

Remove from heat and serve individually over beds of lettuce. Top with cheese, sour cream, and salsa as desired.

NOTES:

• This mixture is excellent as a leftover and reheated the next day.
• It's also amazing as a burrito filling. Just place in a warm, low carb tortilla, add desired garnishes, wrap and eat. Fat-free refried beans make an excellent additional filling.

Perfect Pasta with Al Dente's Carba-Nada Fettuccini {Low Carb}

Now you can have your pasta and eat it, too! Al Dente has a full line of low carb pastas that taste amazing. They're called Carba-Nada and they're all natural, high in fiber and protein, and low in fat and carbs.

Just take a look at the label:

Low carb, delicious AND it cooks in 5 minutes!

Guilt-free pasta - now that's what I'm talking about!

This pasta is excellent tossed with a little olive oil and fresh garlic, or with any of your favorite ingredients. One of my (many) favorite ingredients is asparagus and I just happened to have picked up some beautiful thin organic asparagus at the farmer's market yesterday.

fresh organic asparagus diced small

Combined with one of my other favorite ingredients, sun-dried tomatoes, makes for a great pasta dish.

I like these sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil).
They're much easier to chop when they're dry.

diced fresh organic asparagus and chopped sun-dried tomatoes

To these I added some spicy Italian sausage, a light and creamy tomato sauce (the creamy part comes from adding fat-free Greek yogurt), the low carb pasta and topped it off with my favorite Parmigiano Reggiano. If that's not perfect, I don't know what is.

My Perfect Pasta dish is:

• low carb
• high in protein and fiber 
• full of rich flavor
• quick and easy to make (less than 30 minutes, including prep)

What more could you ask for?

Yummy "Perfect Pasta"!

Perfect Pasta

serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 10-ounce bag Al Dente Carba-Nada Roasted Garlic Fettuccini Noodles, prepared according to package

1 bunch fresh organic asparagus (the thinner the better), diced small

3/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

3 large links hot Italian sausage, removed from casing (or you can use chicken sausage cut in small pieces like the one I used here)

1 26.46-ounce box of Pomi Marinara Sauce (or use your favorite brand of marinara)

1/2 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt (I like Chobani)

salt

fresh-cracked pepper

grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Heat a large skillet to medium-high and add the sausage. Break up with your spatula as you cook for approximately 5-10 minutes or until sausage is fully cooked.

I love this sausage, but any spicy Italian sausage will do.

Next add the asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes, plus a dash of salt and fresh cracked pepper (just enough to season the veggies you're adding).

Stir and cook for approximately 2 minutes then add the marinara sauce and cook a couple more minutes until warmed through.

Next add the Greek yogurt and stir until creamy.

Last, add the cooked pasta and toss together with the sauce.

Top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and enjoy!

Enjoy this delicious "Perfect Pasta" guilt-free!

Hobo Stew (Beef and Veggies in Foil Packets)

We used to make this when I was a kid - it was economical, easy, and versatile. We called it Hobo Stew, even though it's not a stew at all.  It's a sirloin patty topped with fresh veggies and seasonings, then sealed up in a packet of foil and grilled. Grilling it all together in these packets melds the flavors, caramelizes the beef, and allows all of the juices to stay in tact. It's simple to make, and simply delicious.

They're portable and you can make them in advance, so they're perfect for camping, or cooking out at the beach. When you're ready to cook, you just toss the packets on the grill. No turning, no watching. And at 30-45 minutes, you've got perfectly caramelized beef on the bottom and delicious steamed veggies on top. (Give a quick peek at 30 minutes by opening one of the packets and checking to see if the potatoes are tender. If not, leave on for another 10-15 minutes.)

Every time I make these I wonder why I don't make them more often - they're so darn good!

Hobo Stew (Beef and Veggies in Foil Packets)

Serves 4 (serving size 1 packet)

Grill Medium-High (about 450 - 500 degrees F)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds grass fed ground sirloin

sea salt (I use Maldon Sea Salt)

fresh cracked pepper

Worcestershire sauce

2 cups fresh green beans, cut in bite size lengths

2 cobs fresh corn, cut from cob

2 red bell peppers, chopped

4 small Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed

2 zucchini, cubed

2 red fresno peppers, thinly sliced (optional)

extra virgin olive oil

Take 2 long pieces of aluminum foil and criss cross them, one under the other and place on the counter. Do this 3 more times, making a total of 4.

Divide the ground sirloin into 4 equal parts and make large, flat patties out of each. Place one patty in the center of each criss-crossed foil and season with sea salt, pepper and several dashes of Worcestershire sauce.

Top each with 1/4 of the veggies:

french green beans

corn off the cob

red bell pepper

Yukon Gold potatoes

zucchini

red fresno peppers

Season with sea salt, pepper, several more dashes of Worcestershire sauce and a light drizzle of olive oil:

Seal up the packets by bringing the four ends of foil up to the top together and folding over. Leave room inside the packets for air to circulate and steam. Place packets on the heated grill and leave for 30-45 minutes.

When done remove from grill and place each packet on a plate and serve.

This dish is so versatile you can tailor each packet to suit your picky eaters. You can use any veggies you like, in any quantities you like. I normally like to add cherry tomatoes to mine (although I didn't have any this time) and whatever veggies are in season.

Ina's Summer Garden Pasta

Ina's Summer Garden Pasta

Don't let the plain look of this dish fool you - it's absolutely delicious. And I mean delicious. Fresh, garlicky, and parmigiano-y...Wow. Ina Garten's recipes never disappoint.

And it couldn't be easier to pull together. The only thing is that you'll need to plan for macerating the tomatoes. Ina recommended 4 hours and that worked just fine. It's minutes to prepare the tomato mixture, then you just let it sit out at room temperature for the 4 hours. The last thing you do is cook the pasta, which takes about 3-4 minutes to cook to al dente, then toss it with the tomato mixture and serve.

Ina's recipe is meant to serve 6, so I halved it and it was plenty for 2-3 people, especially with a side salad. I also opted for whole wheat pasta and chose organic ingredients when possible. Lastly, I recommend splurging on Parmigiano Reggiano, it makes a huge difference in flavor.

Ina's Summer Garden Pasta

inspired by Ina Garten

Serves 3

2 pints organic cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup good olive oil

3 large garlic cloves, minced

9 large organic basil leaves, julienned, plus extra for garnish

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper to taste

8 ounces organic whole wheat capellini or angel hair pasta (half of a 1 lb. pkg)

3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus extra for garnish (if you can't find it already grated, just buy the block and you can pulse it in a food processor)

In a large bowl, place the cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave out at room temperature for about 4 hours.

cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, red pepper, salt and pepper

mix together, cover, and let set at room temp for 4 hours

When you're ready to eat, prepare the capellini pasta according to package directions in heavily salted, boiling water (no oil). I don't recommend adding oil to your water because it keeps the sauce from sticking to the pasta.

I love this pasta! I also use it in my Sesame Noodles recipe.

Once the pasta is done, drain and add to your tomato mixture. Then add the Parmigiano Reggiano and toss to coat. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and/or pepper if needed. Garnish with fresh basil and an extra sprinkle of cheese if desired.

YUM!!!!!

Whole Wheat Pearl Couscous with Roasted Sweet Peppers and Tomatoes

I love colorful dishes. Often times, when I'm thinking of what things I want to add to a dish, I think in terms of color first. Take this dish for instance - I saw these beautiful red and yellow sweet mini peppers at the market and decided I couldn't leave without them. At that moment in time I wasn't sure what I'd make but I knew I wanted them.

Mini Sweet Peppers

Roasting them sounded good because I love how it brings out the natural sweetness as they caramelize. Same with cherry tomatoes. Yum.

To Roast: Toss with olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, then roast in oven at 450 degrees F
until tender and browned, about 30 minutes.

So I had decided to roast the peppers and tomatoes but then what? Well, I've had this whole wheat pearl couscous sitting in my pantry for quite awhile just waiting for the right accompaniments to bring it to life. This round-shaped couscous once cooked, is tender like pasta. It's hearty, nutritious, and simply delicious. And it cooks pretty quickly, too.

Now, I was still thinking in terms of "color", so in my mind of course it needed some green. I was thinking some nice Italian parsley would be wonderful but the only thing I had on hand was cilantro. No problem! It worked perfectly.


Lastly, I just topped it with a little Greek feta (goat cheese would have been lovely, too) and I was in business. The best impromptu lunch in a long, long while.

Whole Wheat Pearl Couscous with Roasted Sweet Peppers and Tomatoes

Serves 2-3 (more as a side dish)

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pearl couscous, prepared according to package directions

1 5-ounce package sweet mini peppers, stemmed and split

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt

fresh cracked pepper

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup crumbled Greek feta cheese to garnish

crushed red pepper (optional)

Toss peppers and tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, then roast in oven at 450 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes or until tender and lightly browned.

Toss roasted peppers and tomatoes with cooked couscous, then gently mix in cilantro. Top with crumbled feta cheese and crushed red pepper, if desired. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold. It's equally delicious both ways.