Bacon Burger Cauliflower Rice Casserole

Serves 4 

Ingredients

• 3 cups cauliflower riced
• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 6 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
• 8 ounces tomato sauce or puree
• 2 cups packed baby spinach**
• 1 large sweet onion**
• 1 tbl fat of choice (bacon fat, ghee, butter)**
• 1 medium tomato or 2 roma/plum tomatoes sliced
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp celery seed
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½ cup grated cheese *optional omit for paleo

Instructions

1. Peel the onion, cut in half and thin slice the entire onion.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon fat of your choice in saute pan over med-med high heat
3. Cook onions until translucent
4. Reduce heat to low - med low and slow cook onions until caramelized to a deep brown without burning (approximately 20-30 minutes on low)
5. In a food processor or blender, grind cauliflower florets into a rice texture.  You want 3 cups riced.  Set aside.
6. Preheat Oven to 400 F, and lightly grease or oil a 2.5 quart casserole dish.
7. In a large skillet pan over medium high combine and brown:  ground beef, garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, celery seed, and black pepper. Stir and cook until browned (do not drain beef).
8. Add tomato sauce and cauliflower rice to the ground beef skillet. Stir and continue cooking over medium to medium high heat for 3 minutes. 
9. Add caramelized onions and spinach.  Cook for 2-3 minutes until spinach wilts. Remove from heat.
10. Carefully spoon all ingredients from the skillet into the casserole dish. Spread around casserole dish evenly.
11. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with bacon crumbles and optional cheese. Place sliced tomatoes on top, and bake for 20 mins. Remove from oven and serve.

My personal preference for extra lean ground beef is a brand called Maverick (grass fed) which only has 130 calories in 4 ounces and is 95% lean.  The bacon I used was thin sliced (Publix Brand) and only 60 calories per piece.  The cheese I used was shredded off the block extra sharp cheddar (Publix Brand).  By my count the calories for all this was 379 calories per serving.

**Options:  Don't like spinach - omit and serve over shredded lettuce.  Don't want caramelized onions - dice up 1/2 sweet onion and cook with the ground beef.  Use your choice of cheese just like you would on your burger.  The options are endless and you can change up or add more veggies of your personal choice.

Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower Mashed Topping

Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower Mashed Topping

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 2 tablespoons fat (avocado oil, ghee, coconut oil, etc)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef or lamb
• 1/4-1/2 cup beef broth (I prefer Swanson as there is no added sugar)
• 1 tablespoon ketchup (organic, no high fructose sugar) or tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried parsley)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons fat (ghee, butter, avocado oil, etc)
• ½ cup shredded cheese (omit for Paleo)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 2-3 quart casserole dish and set aside (for individual servings use 14 oz bakeware).
2. In a large pot, steam or boil cauliflower until tender.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of fat in a large skillet or saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and cook until beginning to soften, around 5 minutes.
4. Add the ground meat to the pan and cook until browned. Drain off the extra fat.  Add beef broth as necessary to keep the mixture wet. Add the ketchup or tomato paste (if using), parsley and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and let simmer while you prepare the cauliflower topping.
5. To make the topping, drain the cooked cauliflower. Mash or puree with a stick blender or food processor until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of fat (I use ghee or butter) and season with salt and pepper.
6. To assemble, spread the meat mixture on the bottom of the dish (separate into 4 ovenproof bakeware if making individual portions). Top with the cauliflower mixture and smooth with a spoon. Cover with shredded cheese, if using.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbly. Serve warm.

Short on time? Make sure you cut all the veggies the day before then simply start cooking (about 10 minutes plus 30 minutes cooking time of the day you serve it).

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Total Time: 60 Minutes

Ginger Cod (or any White Fish) with Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Ginger Halibut with Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Ingredients:

• 12 oz of cod/white fish, cut into serving size pieces
• Salt and pepper
• Ginger powder (I used 1 tsp for 2 servings)
• 2 tbsp Avocado oil (or your oil of choice...High Grade EVOO would be 2nd choice)
• 2 zucchini, cut into ribbons (next time I will use zoodles instead for easier eating)
• 1/4 each, yellow and orange bell peppers, cut into thin strips
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp Coconut Aminos or Soy Sauce
• Juice 1/2 lemon or 1 tbl Bottled Lemon Juice (not from concentrate)
• 1 tbsp raw honey
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil

Season the cod pieces with salt, pepper and the ginger powder and set aside.  For even cooking allow fish to come close to room temperature (never leave out longer than 1 hour though).

Steam the zucchini and peppers for 3-5 minutes (soft but not mushy...al dente), rinse with cold water (stops the cooking process), drain and pat dry, then place in a mixing bowl.

Whisk together the fresh ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice, honey and sesame oil, then pour over the zucchini and peppers, blending well.  Refrigerate until ready to serve mixing occasionally to ensure flavors blend well throughout). I refrigerated 1 hour in a sealed container flipping every 20 minutes.

Heat oil on medium-high heat.  Fry the cod in the avocado oil (approximately 3-5 each side) until cooked and serve with the zucchini salad.  If you use thick cut fish filet they may require slightly longer to cook (flake test always works well with whitefish when done at the thickest portion).

Serves 2

NOTE:  I used halibut this time as fresh never frozen cod was unavailable.

Caramelized Onion Ham Butternut Squash Crustless Quiche

Serves: 6-8 SERVINGS

Ingredients

• 1 sweet onion
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil (separated)
• 1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 small butternut squash, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 8 oz ham (I used Smithfield Anytime), cut into 1/2" cubes
• 14 eggs (11" quiche pan or 10 eggs for deep 9" pie pan) 
• 3/4 cup almond milk (or coconut milk or even regular milk - use 1/2 cup for 9" pie pan)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 cup packed chopped baby kale, spinch, chard blend (or fresh chopped spinach or ½ cup frozen spinach, drained well)
• 2.5 oz  shredded swiss cheese
• 1.5 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Slice one yellow onion and place into a large saucepan. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon balsamic vinegar. Cook the onion slices on medium/high, evenly coating with the olive oil and balsamic. Once the onions start to get translucent, turn the heat to medium/low and cook until they start to caramelize, mixing frequently. This will take roughly 30 minutes
3. While the onions are cooking, cut the butternut squash into ½" cubes. Place the cubes on a baking sheet and coat evenly with avocado oil (approximately 2 teaspoons)
4. Roast the squash for 15 minutes, until the cubes start to soften slightly
5. Once squash is done, lower the oven temperature of the oven to 375 degrees
6. Let the squash and onions cool slightly
7. With remaining 1 teaspoon of oil brush bottom and sides of quiche or pie pan
8. Layer ingredients by placing 1/2 of the squash and ham on bottom of pan. Top with 1/2 of the caramelized onion.  Add ALL the kale, spinach, chard blend, then 1/2 of the cheese.  Top with remaining squash, ham, onion and remaining cheese.
9. Combine the eggs, milk of choice, salt and dried herbs in a large bowl. Mix well then pour over everything into the pan.
10. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the center of the quiche is set
11. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing
12. If you are not serving immediately, let cool completely then cut into appropriate serving sizes and refrigerate

Orange-Balsamic Glazed Chicken

A friend's daughter made some Calamondin Marmalade/Jam of which I was lucky to receive two jars. Calamondin Oranges are also known as "Acid" Oranges for their intense tart flavor.  So instead of making this dish with the typical orange marmalade I used what I got from her and was I ever happy so happy that I did.  The tartness was tempered by the other ingredients however it lent a pleasant tang not typically associated with the typical marmalade.

Orange Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Ingredients
2 tablespoons Avocado Oil
2 pounds boneless skinless breasts or breast tenderloins
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 to 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves chopped
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 scallions, whites and greens, finely chopped

Directions
In a large pan, heat the extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high to high heat.
Season the chicken liberally with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. 
When the oil is hot and ripples, add the chicken and brown for 5 minutes, then turn and sprinkle with rosemary. Cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
In a small bowl, stir together the marmalade, vinegar and stock and pour over the chicken. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and becomes a thin glaze. Add the scallions during the last minute of cooking time. Serve over Cauliflower Rice.


Serves 4-6

Pumpkin Chili

Do not curl up your nose at another pumpkin recipe.  This chili has a unique combination of heat and sweet (even though there is no sugar added) to make your taste buds dance.  Using my preferred beef, tomatoes and broth my calorie count came out to 136 calories per serving....and it was one heck of a healthy serving too.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds Extra Lean Ground Beef (I like Maverick Grass Fed)
• 1 tablespoon Avocado Oil (or Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 6 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 large Green Pepper, diced
• 1 Jalapeno, minced
• 2 - 14.5 oz cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes (I prefer Muir's Fire Roasted)
• 1 cup Beef Broth (I use Swanson's as there is no added sugar)
• 1 tablespoon Paprika
• 1 tablespoon Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Salt 
• 1 - 15oz can organic Pumpkin Puree (do not confuse pie filling for puree)

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan or dutch oven crumble and brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain off any fat and set the ground beef aside.
2. In the same pan heat the Avocado oil then cook the onions and garlic for a few minutes until the onion are beginning to soften and the garlic is developing some color.
3. Add the bell pepper and jalapeno to the onions and garlic.  Cook until the peppers are soft.
4. Add the cooked beef back with the onion/pepper mixture.  Add in the tomatoes, broth and spices.
5. Allow the mixture to heat through and reduce heat to medium-low allowing the mixture to simmer 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
6. Add the pumpkin puree to the chili.  Cover the pan to allow the chili to come back to temperature and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Serves 6

Maple Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash

Found this little gem online and it was so good I simply had to share.  I can not take any credit for the original recipe as the only modification I did was used Avocado Oil instead of EVOO.  This will definitely become a family favorite during the holidays.

Maple Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash (about 3 lbs), peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Avocado Oil (or EVOO)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. Place butternut squash cubes in a bowl. Drizzle evenly with oil then sprinkle with ground cinnamon, salt, pepper and maple syrup. Toss all the ingredients together, using your hands, ensuring all the cubes are coated.
4. Spread the seasoned butternut squash cubes evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Place in the oven and roast for 35 - 40 minutes (rotating pan if necessary half-way) until squash is tender. Remove from oven and serve immediately or allow to cool.