Sheet Pan Peppers and Sausage

Sometimes dinner is so easy I'm hesitant to share it here because it just seems like everyone already knows about it. But then I realized I could potentially be holding out on a secret gem that you might not have stumbled upon yet. So this is for you!

These sheet pan dinners are SO easy and come together so FAST. They are a great get dinner in their stomachs quick meal, and also a great I'm too tired to cook anything else meal. We've done tons of variations but my kids love the sweet chicken sausage and peppers version.


1 Pack Aidells Chicken & Apple Sausage, 4 links, sliced
1 Red Bell Pepper, Chopped
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, Chopped
1 Red Onion, Chopped
1 Tbsp Taco or Fajita Seasoning of  your choice
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Toppings of your choice!

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Chop Everything! Sometimes we do diced, sometimes chopped, sometimes sliced. It doesn't really matter, as long as it's all bite sized.
3. Put the vegetables and sausage into a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over them.
4. Add the seasoning and toss until everything is evenly coated
5. Spread the mix on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

For Birdie (Gluten Free, Dairy Free) we put hers in a bowl and added a dollop of Supreme Cream Better Than Sour Cream. It is seriously so good and she ate it up like a crazy girl!

For Hammy (Picky Eater Extraordinaire, Dairy Sensitive) we put the sausage and peppers into a tortilla and topped it with Supreme Cream Better Than Sour Cream and she thought it was great! 

For Me (Bariatric) I put it over a half of a baked potato with some Supreme Cream Better Than Sour Cream.

Sweet Shrimp Over Rice

The other night we had the most delicious dinner I've made in a very long time. Honestly, it was just delightful. Sweet and with lots of veggies and some lovely shrimp. Even the kids dug in and ate every bite.

I started with this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction called 20 Minute Honey Garlic Shrimp. 

My Version of Honey Garlic Shrimp:

1/2 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/4 Cup Teriyaki Sauce, GF
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Minced Fresh Ginger
1 Lb Medium Uncooked Shrimp, peeled & deveined
2 Tsp Sesame Oil
1/2 Yellow Onion, Chopped
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, Chopped
1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper, Chopped
Handful of Asparagus (I didn't measure sorry) cut in half
1 Cup Baby Carrots
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
Splash of Water

1.  In a bowl whisk the honey, liquid aminos, teriyaki, garlic, and ginger in a medium sized bowl.
2. Put your shrimp in a zip lock bag and pour the mixture over the shrimp. Put bag in the fridge and let marinate for at least 15 minutes but up to 8 hours. (this is a good time to cut up all those yummy veggies!)
3.  Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet (one that has a lid preferably) over medium-high heat. Place the shrimp in the skillet and cook until pink all the way through and then remove from skillet. Just the shrimp, not the sauce.
4. Put the onion, peppers, and carrots into the pot and cook over medium heat until just barely softened. 
5. Add the asparagus and cover skillet cooking until the asparagus is cooked through.
6. In a cup add the cornstarch and water to make a slurry.
7. In the skillet make an open space in the pan and then add the slurry and mix the entire contents together until thickened. 
8. Add shrimp back to the skillet and stir to warm through.
9. Serve over rice (or a baked potato if you're bariatric!)

Here are my girls devouring their dinner!

Chicken & Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Some things just seem intimidating to me. Sometimes they are big things like skydiving or traveling to Brazil. Sometimes they are seemingly small things like spaghetti squash and peanut sauce. Yep. We're talking dinner (aren't we always?!).

I have made peanut sauce in the past with varying results. Usually, it was just ... not so great. But one of my favorite foods is Pad Thai and I really wanted to make it for the kids. Of course Pad Thai has noodles in it... and we're a GF household. Which brings me to my number two intimidating thing; Spaghetti Squash. It seems silly now, with hindsight being 20/20 but I was worried about not liking the taste, or the texture, or that it would be hard to use the fork to get the 'noodles', or some other worry. I do know how to work myself up into quite the tissy. But it turned out that it was ALL unfounded. Spaghetti squash is EASY! And it tastes like glass noodles. Everyone was a happy camper last night!

 I started with this recipe from Leelalicious called Thai Spaghetti Sauce with Peanut Squash. Her version was vegetarian but I knew my kids needed a little something extra today because every 2 minutes they were coming in asking for a snack. So I decided to add some chicken to the mix.


Chicken & Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

1 Medium Spaghetti Squashed - Cooked and Shredded *Instructions below*
2 Medium Chicken Breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 Can Coconut Milk
2/3 Cup Peanut Butter (we used Skippy)
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Chicken Broth
2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos
2 Tbsp Vinegar (we used white)
2 Tsp Sesame Oil
2 Tsp Red Curry Paste
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro
2 Tbsp Crushed Peanuts

 Spaghetti Squash:
I was in a hurry to get dinner on the table (remember the incessant snack requests?) so I popped the spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot for a quick pressure cook.

1. Cut the squash in half crosswise (not lengthwise) and scoop out the seeds
2. Put the steamer trivet into the Instant Pot
3. Add one cup of chicken stock OR water
4. Add the squash and sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Put the lid on and cook on Manual for 7 minutes. 
6. Once complete use the quick release for the steam
7. Let sit for 10 minutes before using a fork to shred the insides (SO EASY! WHO KNEW?!)

 Pad Thai:

1. While your spaghetti squash is going start cooking the chicken in a large pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once the meat has cooked through transfer it to a plate. Discard any juices left in the pan.
2. In a separate pot combine the coconut milk, peanut butter, sugar, broth, coconut aminos, vinegar, sesame oil, and curry paste. Stir continually over medium heat until it comes to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and continue to stir for another 5 minutes and then remove from heat. 
4. Using the pan you cooked the chicken in, add the garlic and set the heat to medium. 
5. Once the garlic and warm and fragrant add the cilantro and 1/4 cup of the peanut sauce, stirring to combine. 
6. Add the spaghetti squash and chicken and continue to stir to combine until heated through. 
7. Add more of the peanut sauce until everything is coated in peanut buttery goodness (you'll have a little left over). 
8. Enjoy!
   
    We served ours with a side of tomatoes. Birdie ate her entire meal standing up. She's ready to be done with the high chair I think. This was certainly a protest. At least she ate!

Leftovers and Drool Worthy Food Ideas

Last night we had leftovers for dinner. The kids just about polished off the leftover Turkey Gumbo and Burly and I both had Tofu Lettuce Wraps. I can honestly say that the wraps were even better the next day. The flavors all had time to meld and soak in and it was simply divine! I wanted to eat So much more than I was able to.

Since I don't have a recipe to post today I thought I'd share some recipes that I've had my eye on to try soon-ish!

Enjoy!

These Paleo/GF fried zucchini are certainly on my list! They look SO GOOD! Check out the recipe at Paleo Newbie!

I think this is going to go into the recipe rotation pretty soon. It just looks so yummy and colorful. I think I'd do this one with chicken and I'd have to be careful to get all GF ingredients of course but its totally doable. The fam loves Asian food! This recipe is from Gimme Some Oven!

I found this Brazilian Shrimp Stew on Food.com and I can't wait to try it. It just looks so creamy and warm and of course, anything with shrimp is a winner in my book!

I want to try this Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Alfredo sauce from Crunchy Creamy Sweet over spaghetti squash. I'd omit the parmesan and instead add nutritional flakes. I think it could be delicious. Maybe add some onions and burst tomatoes... I think I'm onto something!

Lastly, I'm going to attempt these some point soon. Fish is intimidating to me just because I haven't had a lot of experience with it. But I'm going to change that. Also, what is better than fish tacos? I'd say NOTHING! (Is my California showing? lol) These are from Alaska Home Pack.

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

At least once a week we try to eat a vegetarian meal. It's a good habit to have. It's good for your health, your wallet, aand the environment. Some people call it Meatless Monday but we don't plan our meatless meals for Mondays we just work it in where we can. Last night we had Tofu Lettuce Wraps. It came together pretty easily and tasted Delicious! The recipe below is a modified version of the one found at Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body. I adjusted the ingredients to be gluten-free and also doubled the recipe to feed our family of 5 (Bunny's at her moms) and have enough for leftovers.

The only pic I got was of Birdie's plate

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

2 Packages Extra Firm Tofu, drained, pressed, and crumbled
1 Package Diced Mushrooms, chopped into smaller pieces
1 Large Yellow Onion, Chopped
4 Tbsp Minced Garlic
4 Tsp Sesame Oil
1 Cup Stir-Fry Sauce - **See GF Recipe Below**
2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Head Iceberg Lettuce

Toppings of your choice. We had chopped tomatoes and avocado slices.

Gluten Free Stir-Fry Sauce Ingredients

8 Oz Orange Juice
1 1/2 Cups Braggs Liquid Aminos
2/3 Cup Rice Vinegar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp red hot pepper flakes
6 Tbsp arrowroot starch ( cornstarch if you are not allergic corn)

1. Wisk all of the stir-fry ingredients together in a medium saucepan until it begins to boil and is lump free. You will see it start to thicken. Set aside and let cool.
2. Heat the sesame oil over medium heat. 
3. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent. 
4. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the crumbled tofu and cook another 5 minutes then add the stir-fry sauce and brown sugar.
6. Cook until the liquid has cooked off to a consistency you like (for us about 15 minutes). 
7. Serve it up! We like ours on lettuce leaves with tomatoes and avocado. 
8. Enjoy!

Here's Birdie going to town on dinner. Of course she ate all her fruit first lol

Turkey Gumbo

On Sunday we celebrated Bunny's birthday with a small family-only birthday party. Bunny's birthday is in March, and Hammy's is in April so two birthdays add up quick! We had a talk with the girls and came to the conclusion that we'd rather spend the extra money we would have spent on two elaborate all-out birthdays on an adventure.  We voted, so it wasn't' just me not wanting to plan 2 big birthdays a month apart (but no lie that was part of the appeal!) So in May we'll take our savings and go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Long story short I made a nice Linner (lunch/dinner for those not in the know). A nice oven roasted turkey, peas with onions and bacon, honey roasted carrots, salad, and of course a nice big sprinkle dinosaur birthday cake just like the bday girl asked for.

Unfortunately, we had a thermometer error and the turkey came out of the oven too soon. When we went to cut into it the breast was still partially raw!!!! OH NOES!! THE TRAVESTY! We couldn't hold up the party on the damned turkey so we put the bird back in to cook and I pulled out the leftover Lechon Asado and heated it up. Everyone loved the leftovers and it paired surprisingly well with the sides. Whew! Crisis averted!

But what do we do with a WHOLE uneaten turkey?  Well, I froze two bags of meat to eat later and left out a few pounds for leftovers and to make dinner with this week.

That brings us to this marvelous Turkey Gumbo. Let me tell you, It. Was. Delicious. Better than I even imagined. I hope you give it a shot. You'll stand in front of the stove for a long while, but OMG it's worth it.

 Here is a picture of Birdie's plate before she dug in.

Turkey Gumbo

3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
3/4 Cup Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Chopped Celery
1 Cup Chopped Green Bell Pepper
2 Cups Chopped Yellow Onion
1 Package (4 links) Sweet Chicken Sausage (I use Al Fresco Sweet Chicken Apple)
3 Cans Chicken Stock
1 Tsp Cayenne Powder ***
2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Paprika
2 Cups Cubed Turkey (I used breast, but dark would work well here too)

*** My family doesn't enjoy spicy things like I do. Feel free to up the spice on this! If I were only making this for me I'd use a cajun seasoning and go to town! But it is still delicious as is!***

1. In a large heavy pot or dutch oven combine the oil and GF AP flour over medium heat.
2. Stir slowly and constantly to make a dark brown roux, about 25 minutes. It should be the color of chocolate when it's done. 
3. Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and sausage. Cook, stirring often until the vegetables are very soft. If the roux/veg mix is too dry you can add a splash of the chicken stock to get things moving. 
4. Add the cayenne, garlic, and paprika and stir well. 
5. Once the vegetables are soft add all of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. This is when you'll want to scrape the bottom of the pan to get all that yummy stuff off the bottom. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. 
6. Add in the turkey and cook for another 15 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Then skim off the fat that has risen to the surface.
8. Enjoy! For the fam. I served this over rice, which isn't bariatric or paleo approved. I had it on its own and it was just as good!

She had seconds of this one!

Here it is in the pot before we dug in.

Saturday Dinner - Lechon Asado

I'm not Cuban. I don't have any Cuban relatives. I don't have Cuban in-laws or friends. Basically, I know not a single Cuban person in the world. But I have been to Cuban restaurants in Los Angeles that just blew my mind with greatness. So when I was searching Pinterest and found this recipe I knew I was going to have to give it a shot.

Now the OP called this a Christmas recipe, but I made it in March. But you know, I just think holding onto a recipe until the holidays is a waste! Especially when I found bone-in pork butt on sale at the grocery. So away we went!

Lechon Asado

10 (ish) lbs Bone-in Pork Butt (aka shoulder)

2/3 Orange juice mixed with 1/3 Lime juice (or sour oranges if you live somewhere that has them)

3 Heads of Garlic, finely chopped (no joke dude, use 3 HEADS of garlic!)

2 1/2 Tbsp of Oregano

2 1/2 Tsp of Cumin

2 1/2 Cups of White Cooking Wine

Sea Salt to taste

1. Rub the surface of the meat with salt
2. Poke holes in the meat and insert all of the garlic
3. Mix remaining ingredients in a large zip-locking bag
4. Place roast in the bag, the bag into a baking dish, and marinate over night (turn tonce or twice to coat)
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
6. Remove the roast from the marinade and place in a baking dish
7. Pour a little of the marinade into the bottom of the dish, about 1/4 cup.
8. Place covered in oven for 5-6 hours. 
9. Remove the cover and baste several times.
10. Remove from oven when internal temperature has reached 145 degrees. 

You could serve this with traditional black beans, and rice, but we couldn't! So instead we served this with some sauteed zucchini and mushrooms with marinated sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and lemon juice. Everyone ate till they were stuffed and not a single complaint from the little ones, which in my book is a success!