Acorn Squash Turkey Burgers

We have burger night at least once a week. Having a lettuce bun isn't that much fun. It works. But there are so many other things to use! Like this beautiful Acorn Squash. Yeah, there's going to be a few burgers with a hole in the center. But get creative. You have to fork and knife this anyway. Just stuff it with some avocado or some other cool filling, like Bacon! 

Ingredients

1 acorn squash, sliced and seeded

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Slice the acorn squash into 1/2 inch rounds and remove seeds. Drizzle each slice with extra virgin olive oil. I gave a measurement for the oil, but just use however much you need to coat the squash. I trust your judgment. Sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. 

Roast for about 15 minutes. Then turn broiler on high and broil just to get a little color on the squash. About 2-3 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. 

Turkey Burger

1 lb turkey, ground 93% lean 7% fat 

kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

Heat skillet to medium high. Form the ground turkey into about 4 burgers.  Sprinkle each 4 oz turkey patty with salt and pepper. Cook for about 4 minutes on the first side, flip and cook about 4 minutes on the second side. 

Serve on the acorn squash buns with diced avocado and a nice Kale Salad. Easy and yummy. 

Use any leftover roasted squash or turkey burger in a quick Breakfast Hash with scrambled eggs the next day. 

Creamy Roasted Vegetable Soup and Chicken Cacciatore Frittata

This is why I love my leftovers. It makes lunch the next day so fast and easy. For some of you guys it may be hard to look at a few ingredients and imagine them turning into a meal. Or even harder to look at leftovers and morph them into something completely new.  So here is another helpful tip for completely changing a dinner from the night before, Chicken Drumsticks in Roasted Vegetable Sauce

...into something that looks totally different for lunch!

This all came from the same meal. For the frittata I just added three extra ingredients. Eggs, spinach, and bell pepper. That's it. 

For the soup just two extra ingredients were added. Coconut water to thin the soup a bit and sun-dried tomatoes for garnish. 

Creamy Roasted Vegetable Soup

• Leftover Roasted Vegetable Sauce, about 1 1/2 cups
• Leftover Broccoli Cauliflower Mash, about 1 cup
• Coconut Water, the water that is left when you refrigerate a full-fat can of coconut milk. The cream will rise to the top, just pour the water off and use it for this soup. The cream can be used to garnish the top of the soup if you like. 
• sun-dried tomatoes, for garnish
• salt and fresh ground pepper

Now just place everything in a blender and blend until fully incorporated.

I have a NutriBullet Rx with a soup mode and it blends and heats the soup in 7 minutes. If you don't have this nifty tool, then just heat the soup in a sauce pan, stirring frequently. Simple! 

Chicken Cacciatore Frittata:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup Fresh Spinach
• 4 eggs, whisked
• 3-4 leftover chicken legs, meat removed and diced
• Salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a non stick skillet to medium high. Sauté the bell pepper and spinach. Add the chopped chicken and heat through. Lower the heat to medium low, add the whisked eggs and stir just until the bottom begins to set. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes, just until the frittata is slightly firm in the center. Serve with some Franks RedHot sauce and enjoy!

I had a slice of this later in the afternoon as a snack, cold straight out of the fridge. It's almost like having a slice of leftover pizza. Super flavorful from the chicken that was simmered in the Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce. Double duty leftovers...Yes Please!

Chicken Drumsticks in Roasted Vegetable Sauce

This is a short cut for making a fast Chicken Cacciatore. Planning and having some emergency food items in your pantry is the best way to avoid the "What are we going to eat?" question.

Someone in the house last night was getting super hungry (he's 12) and said "Pizza?" Uh...no silly person. Not even an option.

This. Is. Whole30! 

(said with my best King Leonidas voice from the movie 300) 

Here is my quick fix to make it look like a real Sunday Dinner. 

Remember we were getting hungry so the pictures are not perfect. We ate this right after I slapped it on the plate and took the picture. 

Here is all it took to get some food on the table. 

Serves 3-4 and leftovers 

   I always try to have leftovers to use for another meal. This meal will turn into a Soup and Fritatta.      I'll show that next time.  

About 12-14 chicken legs, bone in, skin on

salt and pepper

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or ghee

1 jar Simply Balanced Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce (from Target and so far it's one of the only jar sauces I can find there without sugar)

Pat each chicken leg dry and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Heat fat to medium high (either olive oil or ghee) in a cast iron or other heavy bottom skillet. 

Brown chicken legs on each side. You will need to do this in 2 batches unless you have a massive skillet. Don't overcrowd the pan. This will sputter and spit a little, so watch yourself that you don't get burned. When you have browned all of the legs, place them back in the pan. Now cover with the Roasted Vegetable Sauce. 

Turn the heat down to medium, cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for about 25 minutes. 

Do other things now. Like get your vegetables ready. You have time. 

This is the result. It's hearty and full of flavor in a short amount of time. 

Again the pic is not perfect. But you get the idea.

We had this over a Broccoli and Cauliflower Mash. Yummy!

This looks like it simmered away all day. But it can almost be considered an emergency meal.

The leftover sauce is going to be morphed into a delicious and creamy soup with a Chicken Frittata for lunch. Since the chicken simmered away in the sauce it has a very rich flavor which makes it a great base for a soup. I'll just plop the sauce, along with a few other ingredients into my NutriBullet Rx and in 7 minutes it will be done!
Love your leftovers. They save you time and money.

Have a Fantastic Day!
Melody

Pomegranate and Date Kale Salad

A quick but power packed salad for any time of day! This is one of my favorite salads to add to any meal. Blueberries, Deglet Noor Dates, raw nuts and a simple Pomegranate Vinaigrette make this a salad with a tart, yet sweet

flavor. The nuts and dates add a perfectly crunchy and chewy texture. 

Kale is a leafy green that can easily be added to your eating plan. In jut a few minutes you can add tons of Vitamin A, C and K, as well as protein, calcium, magnesium and fiber to your meal. There are so many benefits to eating this bad boy! 

To make a salad just make sure you have washed and dried your Kale. Chop or tear the leaves if you didn't purchase it already chopped. The stems are tough and you may not want those in your salad. 

Place the Kale in a bowl and just start to squeeze or massage it in your hands until it begins to break down a bit. You need to do this to "tenderize" those leaves. 

After you massage the Kale, add your acid. Right now I'm loving my Pomegranate Vinegar. Just drizzle it over the Kale, toss, and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. I do this while I'm getting the dates and nuts ready.

Chop a few Deglet Noor Dates. I like these for salads more so than Medjool Dates. The Deglet Noor are harder and chewier. That's the texture I want for a salad. Something with a bite! 

Chop a handful of raw nuts. Add the dates and nuts to the Kale. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the Kale and sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper. Toss it all together. Top the salad off with a few fresh blueberries. 

Ingredients:

2 cups Kale

1-2 tbsp pomegranate vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

4-5 Deglet Noor dates, chopped

1/4 cup chopped raw nuts

1/4 cup fresh blueberries 

Salt and fresh ground pepper 

Have a beautiful day! 

Melody

Balsamic Chicken Salad and Roasted Pepper Soup

What I want is to have last night's dinner leftovers turn into a completely different meal for lunch! Here is just one of my tricks for making that happen.

We eat lunch at home almost 99 percent of the time. This means that I am constantly trying to use up leftovers to make it quick and easy. A couple of weeks ago I shared a recipe for Paleo Balsamic Grilled Chicken with Cauliflower Mash and this is how I used the leftovers to make a completely different meal! 

Balsamic Grilled Chicken Salad with Roasted Vegetable Soup. 

For soups like this, I scour my refrigerator and use up any leftovers that I have. This was such a flavorful soup! My trick is to never throw even the smallest amount of roasted potato, peppers, or any vegetable away. They almost always end up in a Hash, Scramble, Omelette, Frittata, or Soup the next day. 

Serves 2

In a blender add 

leftover mashed cauliflower

3/4 cup grilled peppers 

1 cup Simply Balanced Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce

3/4 cup roasted red potatoes, sliced. 

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk 

Blend heat serve 

I have a NutriBullet Rx which has a nifty soup mode. So in seven minutes this soup is blended and hot. While the soup is essentially making itself, I started the salad. 

The Salad...

Slice up your leftover Balsamic Grilled Chicken and heat in a sauce pan with enough Simply Balanced Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce to coat. 

Use any type of salad greens you prefer. Top with the heated chicken and serve with soup. 

This is an easy way to transition last nights dinner into today's Soup and Salad. 

This is just a fraction of the cost of going out for a soup and salad. Another reason to eat at home. Just leave yourself a nice big tip for making lunch so enjoyable and affordable. Not to mention Healthy! And of course it's Paleo Friendly and Gluten Free. 

Have a Fantastic Souper Day!  

Melody 

Chicken and Apple Sausage Scramble

When you're scrambling to make a quick meal this is a winner winner chicken sausage dinner. 

All of the ingredients were purchased at my local Target. As of right now that is the closest store to my house. It's difficult enough to find whole foods without a bunch of added scary ingredients at a fine grocery market. But when you are limited, it turns your grocery shopping into Sherlock Holmes and the Case of The Hidden Undesirable Ingredients. 

Here is how you can be a winner winner chicken sausage dinner. Or lunch. Or breakfast. You can eat this anytime. 

Serves 2

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Aidells Chicken and Apple Sausage, sliced

1/2 cup baby Portabella Mushrooms, sliced

1 cup bell peppers, diced

3 organic eggs

Salt and pepper

Frank's RedHot Pepper Sauce, to taste 

 

Slice up the sausage, mushrooms and bell peppers.

Heat the olive oil in a non stick skillet or cast iron pan on Medium High. 

Brown the sausage. 

Add the peppers and mushrooms.

Sauté until the peppers are soft and the mushrooms are browned. 

Add the 3 organic eggs and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until the eggs are scrambled. Add salt and pepper. Serve in a bowl drizzled with some Frank's RedHot! Yummy! 

Feel free to add anything you want to this. Like onions. We don't do onion...it's the one compromise in cooking that I have made for my incredible husband who happens to loathe anything onion-y. 

Except for salsa. He really likes salsa.  Maybe that's because I almost purée the onions. 

We are Paleo for the most part and stay away from cheese. But if that's not your thing, by all means add in some cheese. I have added a side of sautéed spinach to this many times before. Also fantastic with some Frank's RedHot. 

Have a Paleotastic Day! 

Melody

Almond and Date Bars

Last week we were on the road. It can be a little difficult to stay true to your meal plan when you're at the mercy of road side restaurants. There aren't that many places where you can get a good clean meal, without sugar, dairy or grains. Let's face it...there aren't that many restaurants that are even sanitarily clean. So I try to pack as much food as I can fit in the truck while traveling. Here is one thing that takes such little time to make it's barely a recipe. But when you are low on energy and need something clean and healthy this works!

Ingredients:

1 cup Dates, soaked in warm water
1 cup raw almonds
2 tsp cinnamon

Place the dates in a food processor and pulse until they begin to make a paste. Add the raw almonds and cinnamon. Pulse until the almonds are chopped and incorporated into the dates.

Pour mixture out onto waxed paper and flatten out, cut into squares with a sharp knife.
Wrap in pieces of waxed paper or parchment paper. Tie with a little kitchen twine. Refrigerate the squares until ready to eat.

For traveling, I placed these in a cooler bag with a couple of other cold items and they were great!

These are an essential traveling snack for me. A little easier than eating a handful of almonds.

And they are just too cute!