Spaghetti Squash and Meatball Boats

So we’ve been doing the low-carb thing for a couple weeks now. It’s recipes like these that keep me keepin’ on. I love so many things about eating limited carbs, except for the obvious lack of pasta. BUT, to the defense of this diet/lifestyle, there’s no shortage of cheese (hello, lover), meats, eggs, and veg – also many of my favorite foods. I actually feel a lot more energetic and “lighter” eating this way, so it’s all good.

Oh, and by the way, this dish is AMAZING. Tender (but still with a little bite) spaghetti squash with perfect meatballs, tomato sauce, and melted cheese? How bad could that be. It’s the first time spaghetti squash hasn’t pissed me off – that’s saying a lot since I’ve given it a lot of chances subbing for pasta. I used Mario Batali’s tomato sauce recipe which is my go-to recipe for quick-cooking tomato sauce. I also used my favorite meatball recipe for the meatballs (I subbed almond meal for the bread crumbs), but use whichever is your favorite. Same goes with the sauce. For this dish, instead of frying the meatballs, I just dropped them in the tomato sauce to cook for about 35-40 minutes. I did this, along with cutting and de-seeding the spaghetti squash, ahead of time on the weekend, so come weeknight, it was a very easy dinner to put together. Perfection.

Chicken Pot Pie Biscuits

Biscuits filled with homemade and healthy chicken pot pie filling. Comes together in about a half hour and is perfect when you want a dose of comfort food with a nice hit of veggie goodness.

Tomato-Almond Pesto over Seared Chicken

I saw Lidia Bastianich make this pesto with basil, tomatoes, almonds, and grated cheese and knew I had to make it. I loved that she served it over chicken instead of the typical pasta, so that’s what I did too. It is a fantastic way to fancy-up a simple piece of chicken!  Delicious!

Salsa Verde Turkey Burgers with Avocado Aioli

Oh, this burger. The avocado aioli! The melty pepperjack! The cilantro! The moist (sorry) turkey! All of the things. Favorited.

Sunday Gravy

I already posted this back in 2009 but I thought it deserved a re-posting with some updated pics. This recipe is a staple in my family — guaranteed to make an appearance at each holiday, at the very least, and also among many regular ol’ Sundays throughout the year. It’s the kind of meal that takes several hours from start to finish, but it is one of my favorite types of meals to make. Take some humble ingredients — onion, garlic, canned tomatoes. Throw in some herbs, wine if you like, and your meat of choice (although in my opinion, lamb is necessary for the right flavor — sausage or meatballs optional), and a few hours later you’ve got a delicious gravy that begs to be swirled around pasta and mopped up with italian bread. Yes — eat this!

Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Cheddar Grits and Roasted Asparagus

Usually I’m pretty modest (if not critical) when eating my own food, but tonight, I can honestly say that this dinner was something you could easily find in a restaurant — and it’s so basic. I had some chicken breasts staring at me from the fridge (what a conundrum) so I pulled out my trusty 3-ring binder of recipes and looked for something to cook under the “chicken” tab. This binder contains both tried and true recipes, and also new recipes that I want to get to eventually.  I wanted something comforting enough to block out the “order pizza” chant that was in my head since about 3pm today. But, since we’re trying to watch what we eat, I wanted whatever we made for dinner to be fairly healthy and also pretty straightforward. While starches are a bit of a no-no for us right now, these fluffy, creamy, cheesy grits sure are a lot better than a large pizza. This is harm-reduction at its best. Like how I justified that?

Tomato jam!

I don’t know what about this recipe called to me, but I’m so glad it did. Use up some of your end of summer tomato bounty with this — the sweet smokiness is kind of amazing. Serve with your protein of choice, slather in sandwiches, or with a sharp or stinky cheese. YUM.

Perfect Pulled Pork

MAN, I wish these pics came out better because this is THE BEST PULLED PORK EVER. Ever! Eat it plain, on a roll with coleslaw, or mop it up in some homemade pork sauce. SO good, and the best part is that it’s pretty hands-off. First, there is a simple brining process for about 8 hours. This is my first brining experience and I have to say, I am a fan. This is what keeps the meat moist while it cooks for so long. Fan. Then, the pork shoulder cooks overnight (about 2 hours per pound…so mine was in there for 10 hours).

Here’s the game plan: The morning before you want to eat this, follow the directions to brine the meat. Let it brine all day, and before you go to bed, season the meat and roast it overnight. The next day, you’ll have perfectly moist pulled pork and it will kind of feel like a miracle.

Make this as soon as you can, you won’t be disappointed.

Chicken Korma (finally)

You’ve seen one or two korma recipes on this blog here, and that’s because I keep trying and trying (and trying) to mimic the smooth, creamy kormas I have in indian restaurants (and seemingly never at home –until now!). Keep in mind, this is one of my favorite dishes of all time and I have very high standards with it.

Well, people, I’ve got the best homemade chicken korma to date here. Absolutely restaurant quality and amazingly delicious. Yay!

Vegetarian Samosas with Mint-Cilantro Sauce

These are my new obsession!! I love love love samosas but anything deep-fried always comes with a side of guilt. These, my friends, are BAKED. And AWESOME. I kind of want to put this sauce on everything (cats beware).

Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish with Collards and Creole Mustard Vinaigrette

This recipe is from one of my all-time favorite restaurants in the Boston area — Hungry Mother. After eating and loving their catfish dish more than once, I was over the moon to find that the recipe was shared online! I actually found this recipe about a year ago and ever since have been looking for Creole mustard. Literally, every.single.grocery trip I stopped to survey the mustard selections and could never find it. Well, folks, this weekend I found it. Waaaay too excited to find mustard, let me just tell you. On the way to a friend’s house, we stopped for espresso and stumbled upon a fantastic gourmet food store called The Cook Shop. Along with the Creole mustard (yay), I grabbed some whole wheat cavatappi (also an impossible find), a rockin’ Microplane pizza wheel, and a few other fun kitchen gadgets and food stuffs.

I’m so glad I finally found this mustard. I’m sure I could have easily substituted another mustard, but because I was trying to replicate a restaurant dish, I really wanted to try to make it as authentic as possible. This dish was amazing, and well worth the search.

Mustard Chicken

Everyone needs a new chicken recipe from time to time — and this one is yum. This recipe is all about the sauce. Mustard is one of my favorite things ever, and I love anything involving a sauce. Try it when you’re in a chicken rut!

Ultimate Shrimp and Grits

This is one of my favorite dishes of all time. It is comfort in a bowl!

Salmon with Creamy Pesto Sauce

Given my new-found obsession with pesto, and my long-time love affair with salmon, this recipe was was a no brainer. Can be on the table in under 15 minutes, to boot.  Delicious.

(Slightly Lightened Up) Chicken Fried Steak

#1 This is a big boy meal.

#2 It is delicious.

#3 This will be my go-to batter for “chicken frying” stuff. So good!

Greek Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

I am in love with this tzatziki sauce. I seriously can (and do) eat it straight from the bowl. If you’re unfamiliar, tzatziki is a cold sauce made out of greek yogurt, cucumbers, and other amazingness. It’s super great on sandwiches (like this one), fish, or as a dip, or straight up.

Also, this turkey burger is amazing. Seriously. Maybe my favorite yet. Get yourself the regular ground turkey, not the breast — it makes all the difference in the world.

Pork Chops with Herb Gravy (and a partial kitchen tour)

Hello, lover [gravy]. I am clearly obsessed with anything gravy, and this is no exception. The sage adds a really nice “woodsy” quality to the sauce, but you might want to use a little at first and see how strong you like it. I served it up with mashed sweet potatoes and steamed and buttered green beans.

Chicken with Apple Cider Gravy, Cheesy Rice, and Green Beans

This is one of my favorite fall meals. The apple cider gravy is one of my favorite things ever and, while you might have to do a little juggling to get the timing right, it’s SO worth it.

Chicken with BLT Gravy

This literally takes no time and is a great go to. And it has bacon.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic and Cognac Gravy

Chicken with how many cloves of garlic, you say? Yes, 40. Well, I halved the recipe, so used a few less, but nonetheless – that’s a lot of garlic. No worries – it gets so super sweet in the cooking process that you’ll delight in chewing on the entire cloves while eating. No garlic breath either, I promise.