Slutty Low-Carb “Pasta”

Slutty Low-Carb “Pasta”

 

I have been seeing recipes all over Pinterest that require the use of a tool that cuts veggies into spiral noodles. I gave in and bought one months ago, yet it sits in my kitchen in the original packaging begging to be used. Well…until tonight that is! I was inspired by a recipe I pinned on my Lighter Fare board. I went to the grocery store with my weekly menu in hand and when I came home, I couldn’t wait to get started on my creation.

 

This is a low carb, sugar free, delicious meal that combines delicious veggies, ground turkey and a little bit of heat. The outcome ….. I can’t even tell you how good this was.  The name for this recipe is pulled from the inspiration recipe on pinterest. Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is an old school Italian recipe that translates into “spaghetti a la whore”. The name works and it’s catchy so I decided to keep it.

 

So let’s get started. This was enough for me to have dinner and lunch the next day.

2 ripe zucchini’s

97% fat free ground turkey (I used ½ pound)

Olive Oil

½ cup diced red bell pepper

¼ cup diced yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon capers

Pine nuts

Lemon juice

15oz can of fire roasted tomatoes, diced (not drained)

Seasonings

 

To start, brown your ground turkey in a pan (add a touch of olive oil if the meat sticks to your pan). Season with sea salt, pepper, dehydrated onion and garlic powder. Add in red bell pepper and onions and cook until turkey is cooked through and veggies are translucent. Toss in a handful of pine nuts and cook for a few minutes to sort of toast them. Add in garlic and capers, cook for a few more minutes.  Add the can of tomatoes and turn up the heat to medium high. Once the skillet is pretty hot, squirt some fresh lemon juice around the inside edge of the pan and stir. I love adding lemon to tomato sauces/mixtures because it really brightens up the flavor of the veggies. Turn down to medium and let simmer while you cut the zucchini noodles.

 

Use your spiral veggie cutter to cut 2 zucchinis (wash and dry them first). Once the sauce is hot and bubbly, I add just a pinch of red pepper flakes and toss. Put your “noodles” in a bowl, top with a few ladles full of the tomato sauce and garnish with parmesan cheese.

 

You could add other veggies as you see fit. Mushrooms would be delightful, other bell peppers, asparagus even. The possibilities are endless. Then you could change up the spices to make the flavor completely different.

 

 

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Lightened Up Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I live in Ohio. And its Winter. Enough said?! LOL!

Without fail, every year when winter hits, I end up telling myself and those within ear shot that I "can't wait to get out of here". Yet each year, I find myself still here, suffering through the dreary winter days. Aside from it being cold and having the occasional blizzard, the drearyness is the worst part of it. Today broke a 14 day stretch of having no sun. YUCK.

I wanted to make something like a chicken pot pie but Shawn is on his yearly lenten diet and I don't tend to lean towards heavy, calorie-laden dinners (unless it involves hot sauce and fried chicken). And I didn't feel like devoting a large chunk of my time in the kitchen this weekend.

I ended up landing on the idea of making a soup inspired by the flavors and goodness of chicken pot pie but without all of the unwanted heavy ingredients and time.

You can make substitutions on the vegetables to fit your family's tastes. I'd love to hear what you think about this!!

Lightened Up Chicken Pot Pie Soup

(photo courtesy of  www.noblepig.com)

1/3  C. flour

3 C. Chicken Stock

5 C. 2% milk

1/2 medium sized onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 medium carrots, sliced and quartered

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 bag frozen green bean

1 bag frozen corn

2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes

Ground Black Pepper

Sea Salt, to taste

2 tsp. Herbs De Provence

2 medium to large sized chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into bite size pieces

2 medium to large sized potatoes, cut in small cubes

1) In a bowl, combine 1 cup chicken stock with the flour and whisk until the flour is incorporate. Set Aside.

2) Pour remaining chicken stock and milk into your soup pot. Slowly bring to a boil.

3) Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, frozen vegetables, chicken buillons, herbs and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. 

4) Partially cover and reduce to simmer on low to medium low until vegetables are tender. 

5) Add potatoes and chicken and simmer on a low boil until potatoes are cooked through and tender. 

6) Slowly whisk in the stock/flour mixture that you set aside in step 1. You may need to add more depending on how thick you like your soup. 

7) Make sure to adjust seasonings to taste prior to serving.

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Stuffed Pepper Soup

One of Shawn's all-time favorite meals is stuffed peppers. And its specific to who makes them. They have to be Cheryl's stuffed peppers. I will side with him that they are pretty darn good. Ok...they are awesome. There!

So I was cruising through the food section on the app that I am addicted to these days (you know the one) and saw a recipe for stuffed pepper soup from The Country Cook's blog. I was inspired but knew that I could make a few changes to it to make it my own and more in line with the stuffed pepper flavor that our family loves.

I got all the ingredients ready and started making it and could tell that by the smell of the kitchen, that it was going to be darn tasty. And it was!!! I even took some over to my dad for dinner that night (because he hadn't' eaten and he wanted to see the new car Shawn and I bought). He was very hesitant of a soup inspired by a meal but yesterday I got a text that said "Soup was TASTY! Share the recipe please". Well Dad, you got it!!!

I hope you enjoy this recipe. As written below, it is for a stove top, but can easily be adapted into a crock pot method. At the end of the recipe will be how to do it in the crock pot.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

1 lb. Ground Beef

1 small red onion, finely diced

1 medium green bell pepper, diced

1 medium red bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (29 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes, preferably seasoned with garlic and oregano

1 can (14oz) tomato sauce (or Italian Sauce)

1 - 14oz can beef broth

2 cups cooked rice

1 T. white sugar

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp dried oregano

1 T. dried minced onion

salt and pepper, to taste

shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream for garnish (optional but strongly suggested!!)

1) In your large stock pot, brown your beef for 4-5 minutes. Add your peppers, onion, and garlic and continue to cook until cooked through.

2) Drain off grease and put back into the pot.

3) Add in garlic powder, oregano and minced onion.

4) Stir in canned tomatoes, beef brother and tomato sauce.

5) Add sugar and salt and pepper and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and allow to cook for two hours.

6) Add in your rice during the last 15 minutes and serve.

You can choose to cut the cooking time down but I believe that a good flavorful soup comes from allowing it to cook on low for a few hours. If you choose to make this a quick soup, add in your rice with the tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes and serve.

*To make this in a crock pot, follow the directions as written through step 5. You'll put all the ingredients into the crock pot set on low and cook for 4-6 hours. When you come home, add in the cooked rice and turn on high for 30 minutes or so. Then serve.

I garnish mine with a good pinch of cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

Dinner is served!

*recipe adapted from www.thecountrycook.net, photo courtesy of www.ziplist.com)

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