Bruschetta Chicken over Angel Hair Pasta

This recipe is from the Wheat Belly Cookbook and I made it only because I knew Taylor would like it. It has tomatoes.  I don't like tomatoes.  It has balsamic vinegar.  I don't balsamic vinegar.  Taylor LOVES balsamic vinegar.  So alas, being the selfless person I am, I made this.  And you know what?! It was pretty good, despite my plate of uneaten tomates that remained after the meal was over.  Like a little battlefield of tomato corpses...

The Recipe:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used the frozen tenderloins because they are easier)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

6 ripe tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons EVOO

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3 packages angel hair shirataki, rinsed and drained (I used a box of corn and quinoa blend spaghetti because that shirataki business is *!%@$#^ disgusting!)

1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese

In a ziplock bag, combine the chicken and vinegar.  Knead to coat the chicken thoroughly.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, basil, oil, garlic, and salt.  Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Cook the pasta.  Grill or broil the chicken.  I broiled it for about 8 minutes, turning once. 

Cut the chicken diagonally into thin slices.  Place atop the pasta.  Top with the tomato mixture and the cheese.

I like this recipe because it is very simple and minimalistic, but very flavorful and refreshing.  Perfect for a summer meal.  This really isn't something I usually like to eat, but Taylor and I really enjoyed it.  Plus, it looks really fancy.  :)

Corn Potato Chowder with Smoked Sausage

Not the best picture because as soon as I made it I started wolfing it down and then was oh crap I need a picture so I stopped mid bite to take this picture so excuse the drips and tiny cut up pieces of sausage. Anyways...

This recipe is one I developed when Taylor and I were living in Provo.  I think the original is from allrecipes.com but I changed it some and made it to my liking and have modified it to be thickened with corn starch instead of flour, so here it is:

1 package smoked sausage (I call it u-bend sausage), cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup butter

2 cloves garlic, minced 

4 tablespoons corn starch

3/4-1teaspoon of creole seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's) to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4 cups milk

2 cups cubed potatoes, cooked and drained

2 cups of frozen corn

Shredded cheese for topping

You'll want to start with peeling and boiling your potatoes if you don't have some already cooked. 

Melt the butter in a big pot. Add onion and garlic (I also threw in a diced bell pepper because I had one and it was a yummy addition). Sauté until onion is tender.  

Mix the cornstarch with the mix until it is dissolved and then add the milk to the pot.  Add the creole seasoning and pepper and cook until thickened.  ( if having all milk makes it too rich for you, you can sub a couple of the cups of milk for chicken broth.  I think I added an extra cup of chicken broth in addition to the 4 cups of milk just to make it go a little further so I could have leftovers for lunch all week.) 

Add the corn and potatoes and sausage.  Bring to boil then cover and simmer for ten minutes.  Stirring occasionally.  I like to break up some of the potato chunks as I stir so the pieces aren't so big and the potatoes get all incorporated into the creamy soup. 

Top with cheese. 

I love this chowder because its hearty and perfect for fall and winter and I love anything with u-bend sausage. :)

Brown Sugar Glazed Pork Chops

I wanted to make the orange-mustard pork chops for dinner tonight but in looking in the fridge I realized I had no orange juice, which is an essential ingredient for that recipe, so I turned to the Internet for a pork chop recipe substitute and found this recipe on sixsistersstuff.com which always has a bunch of awesome recipes.

The picture from their website looked better than ours so I am using theirs haha. Ours still tasted delicious.  Here is the recipe:

4-5 boneless pork chops

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix together the sugar and spices and rub all over both sides of the chops.  Heat oil in skillet on medium to medium high heat.  Cook the pork chops until done.  

I had to turn the heat more to medium while they cooked because the sugar started to burn a little bit but they didn't taste burnt at all. We both really liked them and will definitely have them again.  So fast and easy!

Cinnamon Butternut Squash

Sorry for the crappy pic on this one.  Someone (Joey) started eating it as fast as they could before I got a nice shot of the whole pan, so I did the best I could.  Whatever.  It really is that good that you want to eat it before dinner's even been served!  In fact it is our favorite way to eat any kind of squash lately.  It's like candy, cinnamon squash candy.  It took the 3 year old a few tries to like it, and now we're kind of sad that she does....less for us.

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 Tablespoons (approx.) coconut oil, melted
cinnamon
ginger
sea salt

Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Combine the squash chunks, oil, and spices in a 9x13 glass baking pan, stirring well to ensure each piece is coated.  I don't really measure the spices, just give a few good shakes of each (I tend to do a little less ginger than cinnamon and salt) and then stir away.  Pop in the oven for 40-60 minutes, until squash is tender.  Pull it out to stir every 15-20 minutes.  Your cooking time will depend mostly on how big your squash chunks are.  Bigger chunks take longer to cook, small ones take less time.  By pulling it out every so often to give it a stir you'll be able to monitor how done they are and lessen your risk of overcooking.  My 3 year old does NOT like mushy pieces!

Blueberry Macaroons

These bad boys are one of the few treats Joey can eat on his autoimmune paleo regimen.  Sweetened with dates, these are relatively healthy, yet will even have a three year old asking for more!  Check out the Auto-Immune Paleo blog here for more great recipes and to order the cookbook, it is AWESOME!

Blueberry Macaroons

2 cups fine coconut flakes (unsweetened)
1 cup dates, pitted and soaked in warm water for 5 minutes
1 cup blueberries, frozen
1/4 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons fine coconut flakes (or more, to roll them in)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Place everything (except the extra coconut to roll them in) in a food processor and process until thick and sticky.  Form into little balls, rolling the coconut flakes for decoration.  Bake on a greased (or parchment papered!) cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes, or until barely golden.