Chicken Alfredo with Spinach and Mushrooms!

EUREKA! This was AMAZING!!! And it was also quite easy. For the spaghetti squash, I followed these directions. It worked much better than previous attempts with the microwave. This was way less messy. After it was done cooking, I allowed it to cool for a bit, removed the spaghetti from the rind, and placed it on a paper towel. I pressed more paper towel on top to try and reduce the amount of moisture. 

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti from one cooked spaghetti squash (see link and directions above)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 4 cups fresh leaf spinach
• 2 clove crushed garlic
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (or bacon)
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Add spinach and garlic, and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until excess moisture is mostly cooked off. Add heavy whipping cream and sour cream. Simmer for 10 minutes or until starts to thicken a bit. Add parmesan, chicken (or bacon), and spaghetti squash. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until everything is warmed through. Season with salt and pepper.

Best Chicken Salad You’ve Ever Had!!!

---

This was FABULOUS!  I could hardly wait to eat it, and was getting frustrated with myself because I had to take a picture before I could indulge.  I LOVED this.  I used Whole Foods rotisserie chicken, which made this even better.  It was incredibly easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups chopped, cooked chicken
• 3/4 cup mayo (to make your own, here is a recipe for homemade  mayo)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp dried dill or 2 tsp fresh dill
• 1.5 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (taste and see if you need more at the end)
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Enjoy!

Eggplant Lasagna

This was soooooo good. My husband and son absolutely loved it, and they have been the ones devouring my leftovers. This is really a perfect dish to make on a Sunday and then eat as leftovers throughout the week.

With your eggplant, make sure that you have a fresh one. Go to a store that has a high turnover rate, or the best case scenario would be to get a nice one at a farmer’s market. If you get an older eggplant, it can have a bitter taste to it.

To pull some of the moisture out, I like to cook the eggplant a bit before using it. Make sure not to overcook or you will have “mush” instead of a lasagna noodle substitute.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant
• sea salt
• avocado oil or coconut oil
• 1 15oz container of whole milk ricotta
• 1/2 cup plus 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
• 1 lb ground Italian sausage, cooked and set aside (make sure to check ingredients for carbs or frankenfoods)
• 1 cup pasta sauce (Wild Oats organic has very low net carbs)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin from the eggplant. Use a mandolin to thinly slice the eggplant, lengthwise. Salt the slices of eggplant. Drizzle some avocado oil in a skillet or on a griddle over medium-high heat. Cook the eggplant for 2-3 minutes on each side to remove moisture. Remove eggplant to a plate. In a bowl, combine the cheeses (using only 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese), egg, basil, and sausage. In a glass 9×9 dish, use the back of a spoon to spread a thin layer of the pasta sauce. Lay a single layer of eggplant on top of the sauce, spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture on the eggplant, spoon a small amount of sauce over the cheese mixture. Continue layering (about three layers). Put remainder of sauce on top and spread. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over the top. Bake for 25 minutes.

Stroganoff!

Oh yes…yes yes yes.  I LOVE Beef Stroganoff! I haven’t figured out what to eat it over, but by itself, it sure is goooooood. My husband and son ate the leftovers this morning (I tried not to show my contempt when I saw that they were eating the rest of it because it’s MINE). IF you want a thicker sauce, use 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup sour cream. If you like a semi-thick sauce, use 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream and 1/2 cup sour cream. This is a great trick for thickening sauces because once you’re simmering the heavy whipping cream, it will get to a point where it just gets thicker and thicker. No flour or other thickening agents necessary! I am just providing the sauce recipe because I haven’t found a low carb meatball recipe that’s just right. It would be amazing with strips of beef or chicken though. It really was soooooo good!

I tried this over cauliflower rice, and it was “good”, but I actually liked it better just eating it plain.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Kerrygold butter
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms (more if you really love them)
• 1 clove chopped garlic
• 1 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (1/4 cup if you don’t want it quite as thick)
• 1/4 cup sour cream (1/2 cup if you don’t want it quite as thick)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Melt butter over medium-high heat, and cook the mushrooms. About 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove to a bowl. Add garlic and onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add beef broth, heavy whipping cream, and sour cream, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low boil, stirring often. Add mushrooms back in and cook for 20 more minutes or until desired thickness is reached (stirring often).