Cheesy Crab Bake with Veggie Noodles

I know it's been a while, but the stress levels have been through the roof the past few weeks and I've devoted what little time I have towards my mental health and getting things done for work. I've stored away a few good recipes that I got to make during this time and this one was delicious. Definitely a make again and definitely a great way to welcome in spring time. Anyway, blah, blah, blah, on to the the food!

I've been digging through memories of the 90's bands that I loved growing up. A lot of them don't hold up but I was surprised to come across a lot that I could still sing out loud to. This band can still get it. I give you The Cardigans:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs crab meat
• 3 stalks of green onion diced
• 3 large carrots, peeled and washed
• 1 jar of alfredo sauce ( I used Newmans Garlic Alfredo)
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 2 tbsps lemon juice
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• salt and pepper

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
• Using a spiralizer, spiralize your carrots for the noodles. 
• In a pan with your olive oil, place your carrot noodles, add your lemon, salt and pepper and parsley. Cook until the carrots are softened. 
• In a saute pan place your whipping cream, cheeses and garlic powder. Simmer until the cheese is melted.
• In a large baking dish, add your crab, alfredo, cheese sauce and noodles. Mix well until the crab and noodles are completely coated and incorporated. 
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• Enjoy!

Happy Eating Everyone!

Green Queen Chinese Taco

It's only Wednesday and it already has been such a long week. So I threw things together and made up a name for it and came up with this recipe. Eat it, enjoy it, and I'm not going to lie, I really wanted actual taco shells, mmmm carbs. Sweet, sweet carbs. Siiiiighhhhhhhh...

Ingredients:

• Lettuce
• Chicken
• Teriyaki Sauce
• 1/4 cup Green Onion
• 2 Avocado

A downside of everyone I like is that they're either dead or going to be. I saw this man fortunately this past week and it was a concert where I felt like I was just in my living room. So comforting.

Directions:

• Marinade the chicken in teriyaki sauce over night.
• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Dice your green onions and slice your avocado.
• Bake chicken for 1 hour, when done dice the chicken up.
• Use the lettuce as a taco shell by placing onion avocado and chicken in each lettuce taco shell.
• Eat up!

Happy Eatings Everyone!

Low Carb Broccoli Cheddar Soup

After 200 posts of various different recipes, something in my gut says that I've posted a broccoli cheddar soup before. But I have grown as a person in the kitchen and think some recipes would be worth revisiting to see how I can better them or if I missed something that would have really made the recipe go above and beyond. Anyway, I don't like to chatter too much about the food, I'd rather just get on with the recipe. Stay warm and stay safe out there!

Searching through the vinyl stacks for what to listen to, I was reminded that I was blessed once again by my husband this past Christmas, when he presented to me an original pressing of the When Harry Met Sally soundtrack. Harry Connick Jr is a gift and I will forever treasure this piece of history. To one of the best soundtracks of all time!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chopped broccoli
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 stick butter
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 sticks of celery diced
• 8 oz cheddar cheese
• 3 oz cream cheese
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• salt and pepper

Directions:

• In a stock pot sautee your celery and onion in your butter. Cook until onion is translucent. 
• Next add your broccoli and cook until the broccoli has softened and turned a darker green.
• Then add your broth and cream and cook until a slow boil. Slowly add your cheeses and stir frequently until it is all melted and combined. 
• Add you salt and pepper and your xanthan gum. Stir.
• Remove from heat.
• Serve warm!

Happy Eatings Everyone!

No Carb Cheese Crackers

I needed something to snack on this past week that, well, wasn't a vegetable. Though I love the freshness of lettuce, the crisp crunch of a carrot, or the full feeling I get after eating some delicious broccoli. At the end of the day, this girl needs meat and cheese. So a friend inspired me to make something I was always hesitant to make. Not only was this a lot less intimidating than I thought, it literally took a cut of my knife and then a wait period. Unfortunately they were gone in less than 2 hours, and took the place of the dinner I had planned (not the best), but they were just so good!

I have been lazy in my music listening lately. Meaning I've been letting Spotify choose for me, rather than me going out and exploring on my own. So, I will choose the one piece of music that came, not from an algorithm, but naturally came up in conversation with a dear friend of mine who was convinced that I truly loved ELO without actually knowing it was ELO. He was right. Here is an absolute banger:

Ingredients:

• Your choice of pre-sliced cheese, I used pepper jack and havarti (I would not recommend mozzarella because it's stringy).
• Parchment paper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
• Cut pre-sliced cheese into 4's and place on the parchment paper
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Let cool and then eat!

Happy Eatings Everyone!

Chorizo Stuffed Mushrooms

In eating healthy there are good weeks and there are bad weeks, at least for me. As an emotional eater I sometimes crave the foods that comfort me and they aren't always the best for my body. But I have learned to never make myself feel bad about the bad weeks. I am a human being and I should show myself more grace when it comes to my journey of diet and exercise. I served this appetizer as a meal because it screamed comfort to me. It also took two seconds to make which is a major plus. (Sorry for the dark photo, yay winter!)

The jams this past week have all been familiar music that makes me feel like curling up with my cat, sipping tea and wish for rain. This man's voice has been in my life for over a decade and I never tire of how vulnerable and soft it sounds. 

Ingredients:

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 lb chorizo
• 20 cremini mushrooms stems removed

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Fry your chorizo until browned, then drain the excess liquid from the pan.
• In a medium bowl mix your chorizo and cream cheese together until well incorporated.
• Take a tablespoon and scoop your mixture and stuff each mushroom and place on a baking sheet.
• Bake your stuffed mushrooms for 20-22 minutes.
• Enjoy!

Happy Eatings Everyone!

Lemon Dill Shrimp

In my quest to healthiness this week was definitely hard. I had some wins and some losses but I can only really keep going and doing my best. Trying to be intentional in the things we consume at home again has been interesting. Saying no to Uber Eats and instead making something from scratch, or fighting the urge to go out to eat and instead building up my need for home cooked meals, it's been hard. So I am posting one of the recipes I made when all I really wanted was a burrito from the local Mexican restaurant. This, as you probably know because I thrive on ease, was super easy. 

Had a dance party in my kitchen, like I do:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb medium shrimp
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp fresh dill
• olive oil
• Asiago cheese
• 1 head of broccoli chopped
• 1/3 cup water

Directions:

• In a medium skillet heat olive oil and place shrimp in pan.
• While cooking add your fresh dill and lemon juice.
• Continue to cook until the shrimp is finished.
• In another skillet place water and broccoli. Cover and let steam until broccoli is soft.
• Remove broccoli from the heat and drain the water. 
• Finely shred asiago cheese on top to serve.

Easy Low Carb Pizza

I'm back. After two years of focusing on my degree and getting my masters under my belt, I have done it and I can focus on sharing things with my friends once again. YAY! It was a long journey and I have to say along the way I lost that love of sharing and preparing meals. Cooking a meal had become a chore when it was once something I would thoughtfully plan out and send out into the internet universe for my 15 readers to take pleasure in. This blog was something I looked forward to posting to. I looked forward to chopping, sautéing, baking and seasoning all so that you could take the pleasure in making these dishes at home. So I am working on gaining that love back, starting with an easy peasy, delicious, pizza. This crust recipe is so quick and you can use it for whatever pizza toppings you desire, this one was just a tad unique.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp garlic salt
• parchment paper

For the toppings:

• 1 jalapeno sliced thinly
• 1/4 heaping cup of finely sliced red onion
• 3 oz honey goat cheese (I found mine at Trader Joe's, but you can use regular and drizzle honey on top when you top the pizza. Same diff.)
• salami (add as much as you want)
• pesto

It's not Sunday, but it's how I feel ok?

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a medium sized microwavable bowl, take you mozzarella and cream cheese and melt them. 
• When they are melted add your almond flour, egg and garlic salt and mix well (spatulas work best in my opinion). 
• On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread the mixture across (it'll make a 5X8 crust roughly). This mixture is sticky but easily spreadable.
• Bake for 12-14 minutes or until browned.
• When its done baking, remove from oven and spread pesto over the top.
• Add your toppings. I like to add the salami on top of the pesto first, then add everything else.
• Bake for 10-12 more minutes.
• Cut and serve!