Turkey Meatballs with Baked Spaghetti Squash and Pesto

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • Cut spaghetti squash in half, and scoop out seeds
  • Sprinkle generously with olive oil, salt + pepper
  • Place squash face down on a baking sheet, and bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees
  • For the meatballs, follow my turkey meatball recipe
  • When squash is cooked, scrape out the inside with a fork and place in two bowls (1/2 squash per bowl)
  • Add meatballs to the bowl, and top with pesto and parmesan

Pan Seared Strip Steak with Rosemary Butter Sauce

I’ve included two strip steaks in this recipe, but adjust accordingly to make more or less depending on number of people you are serving. I highly remind making extra as steak makes for amazing leftovers!

Ingredients

  • Two strip steaks, at room temperature
  • Sale + Pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup fresh rosemary, off the stem
  • 4 cloves garlic, grated

Instructions

  • Heat a large skillet over high heat (steaks cook best if skillet is HOT)
  • Once heated, add steaks to the skillet
  • Immediately add butter, rosemary and garlic to the skillet and swirl butter around so steaks are well coated
  • Cook steaks for 3 minutes on one side, flip and cook an additional 3 minutes on the other side
  • Remove steaks from skillet, and let sit for approx. 2 minutes before cutting
  • **steaks will be medium rare, adjust cooking time based on preference

Tahini Caesar Salad

I saw this recipe on Half Baked Harvest, and had to recreate it as caesar salads will always be my favorite! What I like about this dressing is that it’s fairly light, and it does not include any cream or heavy dairy products (only a little parm!).

Ingredients

  • 1 head of broccoli
  • 3-4 large handfuls kale
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1/4 cup grates parmesan
  • salt + pepper
  • red pepper flakes

Instructions

  • Chop the broccoli into bite size pieces (I discarded the stems, and cute the florets in half, for reference)
  • Add the chopped broccoli and kale to a salad bowl
  • In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk the olive oil, lemon, tahini, mustard, garlic, parmesan, salt + pepper, red pepper flakes until well blended
  • Pour the dressing over the broccoli and kale, and combine

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

This is a NYT Cooking recipe, I skipped the almonds because I did not have any (but I’m sure they would be a great addition!). Since I do not have an immersion blender, I used my Vitamix instead – the official recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds fresh cauliflower
  • 2 medium white onions, halved and thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • Salt & pepper
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 large potato, skin on, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 quart vegetable or chicken stock
  • Chopped parsley, for serving

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 400 degrees
  • Arrange the chopped cauliflower, and the onions on a large baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil, cumin, coriander, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix everything together, then arrange in an even layer. Roast until the cauliflower is browned and cooked through, about 25 minutes.
  • While the cauliflower and onions are cooking, melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about three minutes. Stir in the potato and turmeric, add the stock and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook until the potato is soft, about 10 minutes.
  • When the cauliflower is done, reserve about 1 cup cauliflower for the topping and add the remaining cauliflower and onions to the soup. Return the soup to a simmer and cook until flavors meld, about 5 minutes. Add the ingredients to a high powered blender (I use a Vitamix) and blend until smooth.
  • Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Top with the reserved roasted cauliflower and parsley.

Coconut-Miso Salmon Bowl

I found this recipe on NYT Cooking and made a few slight modifications – doubled salmon, added additional miso, used olive oil instead of canola, and did not include the cilantro (I am not a fan of cilantro, but feel free to sprinkle on top if desired)!

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium red onion, halved and sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices
  • 1 piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1/2 cup white miso
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened, full-fat canned coconut milk
  • 2 salmon fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 5 cups baby spinach
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • Steamed rice for serving
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Instructions

  • In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onion, ginger and garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 3 minutes.
  • Add miso to pot and cook, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes
  • Add coconut milk and 3 cups water to pot and bring to a boil over high heat, cook about 5 minutes
  • Stir in salmon, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until just cooked through
  • Turn off heat and stir in spinach and lime juice
  • Divide rice among bowls, top with salmon curry, and basil

Pan Seared Strip Steak

Instructions

  • Season strip steak with salt and pepper on both sides
  • In a medium sauce pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat
  • Once oil is heated add steak to pan and cook for three minutes on each side
  • Reduce heat to medium-low and add two tablespoons butter and two crushed garlic cloves to the pan
  • Swirl butter in pan so it coats the steak, cooking for one and a half minutes
  • Remove steak from pan, and wrap in foil
  • Let steak sit for 10 minutes, remove from foil and serve
  • **served with cauliflower rice grilled asparagus

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Pancake Bread

Ingredients

  • Birch Benders chocolate chip keto pancake mix
  • Birch Benders six grain cinnamon pancake mix
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Grease bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or butter
  • In a mixing bowl combine 1 1/2 cups chocolate chip keto pancake mix, 1/2 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt, 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract, and 1 egg
  • Pour mix into bread pan
  • In a separate mixing bowl combine six grain cinnamon pancake mix, 1/2 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt, 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract, and 1 egg
  • Pour mix into the bread pan on top of the chocolate chip keto mix (the bread will have two layers, chocolate chip on the bottom, cinnamon on the top)
  • Sprinkle 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips on top of bread mix
  • Bake bread for 40 minutes until the top is crispy, and knife inserted into bread comes out clean (cooking times may vary, so I recommend setting a 25 minute timer, checking on the bread, and adding time gradually)

Everything Bagel & Lox

A simple, yet delicious recipe!

Ingredients

  • One Everything bagel
  • Chive & Onion Cream Cheese
  • Smoked Salmon (lox)
  • Arugula
  • Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Seasoning

Instructions

  • Toast bagel (I like to let me bagels cool a bit prior to adding cream cheese so it does not melt)
  • Spread Chive & Onion Cream Cheese onto bagel
  • Sprinkle Everything but the Bagel Seasoning on top of the cream cheese
  • Layer Smoked Salmon (lox) onto the bagel, and top with arugula

Creamy Coconut PB Oats

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Quacker quick oats
  • 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
  • Cinnamon
  • Homemade one minute cashew milk  (optional)

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan, bring the coconut milk to a boil
  • Once coconut milk is boiling, add the oats and cook for about one minute over medium heat
  • Add the peanut butter, and stir until incorporated (don’t over cook!)
  • Poor oats into a bowl, add about 1/3 cup cashew milk (or as much as desired!), and top with cinnamon

Roasted Artichokes with Ricotta and Peas

I found this recipe on NYT Cooking (I made a few modifications)- it is a delicious appetizer (or side) that will make you feel extremely sophisticated in the kitchen!

Ingredients

  • 1 lemon, cut in half
  • 4 medium artichokes, or 8 to 10 small or baby artichokes
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for garnish
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
  • 1 cup fresh peas (from about 1 pound of peas in the pod) or frozen peas
  • 2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
  • Finely grated zest from 1 lemon
  •  Sea salt (or regular salt, to taste
  •  Fresh lemon juice, to taste
  •  Sourdough bread (for dipping)

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Squeeze one lemon half into a large bowl of cold water. Pluck off all tough leaves from one artichoke, until you reach leaves that are pale and soft.
  • Pull leaves off stem, and cut about 1/2 inch of the stem (you still want some of the stem remaining)
  • Cut off the top 1/3 of artichoke and discard. Slice artichoke lengthwise into quarters; remove any inner purple leaves and scoop out the fuzzy choke if there is one. Put the quarters in the lemon water and leave them there as you cut remaining artichokes.
  • Drain the artichokes, and place on a baking sheet, toss with oil and salt. Roast until golden and tender, 25 to 35 minutes, tossing them halfway through.
  • While artichokes are cooking, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Once water is boiling, add peas; cook for 1 to 2 minutes until tender, then drain.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, lemon zest and kosher salt to taste. Spread out on a plate, and top with peas, artichokes, sea salt and lemon juice to taste. Drizzle generously with olive oil.
  • Heat olive oil in a pan and toast sourdough bread until crispy – use for dipping!