Sweet Potato Noodles in Chunky Tomato Ragu

Look at how hip we are!

We are spiralizing sweet potatoes - then gobbling them up with a delicious homemade tomato sauce! If all low-carb meals were this delicious...well, I'd probably be in much better shape. 

Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way from the start - sweet potatoes, or any vegetable for that matter, posing as pasta will not satisfy your carb cravings. And we shouldn't expect them to. Spiralized veggies are a delicious and healthy way to play with our food - literally! 

I especially love sweet potato noodles (swoodles? is that a thing? Should we make it one?) because the potatoes are robust and hold up significantly better in various methods of cooking than softer vegetables like zucchini or yellow squash. They also add a nice sweetness to the dish that gets better the longer it simmers, which complements the tart tomato sauce. 

My recipe for Sweet Potato Noodles in Chunky Tomato Ragu is a great alternative to your usual pasta night! It may be light on carbs but it is in no way light on flavor. Sweet potatoes are spiralized then sauteed in a great big pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Once they start to soften a bit, we set them aside and right in the same pan get started on our delicious sauce. 

It starts like any good sauce should - with olive oil, butter, onions and garlic. Ground chicken is my protein of choice. A big can of whole San Marzano tomatoes is dumped in and we use a potato masher to create the perfect chunky sauce! For the right balance of flavor, I always add a touch of honey, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese and this recipe is no exception. 

I love this meal and I hope you do too! Let's get cooking,

Low-Carb Taco Bowls

I am going to be honest today and tell you guys that when it comes to a blogging schedule, I don't have one. I make things that I want to try and if it's a winner, I take pictures and bring it to you.

This sporadic what-I-ate-is-what-I-write-about schedule seems to have back fired, on account of I brought you not one but two decadent cake recipes back to back.

I don't feel like you're mad about it, but with the holiday baking rush sometimes I feel like our dinners need to be toned down, a bit lighter, allowing us to leave a little room for dessert (winky face). This is so simple but a total crowd pleaser!

Enter these Low-Carb Taco Bowls. It's everything you love about a taco or burrito, with the taco shells scrapped and the rice improvised. I made a Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower rice as a base. Have you gotten on board with this trend? Raw cauliflower is pulsed in the food processor until it reaches a rice-like consistency, then sauteed until golden brown. I'm telling you--you won't miss that bland rice with this dish!

Besides the rice, we are talking tacos how you like them. I used ground beef, for I do not fear the red meat (in fact I love it), and it all gets spiced up with some taco seasonings. Atop the "rice" and beef is the good stuff -- shredded cheese, ripe avocado slices, black beans, lettuce, tomato, chives, and cilantro. It really is a taco bowl with the works!

This is a one pan meal that is perfect to whip together on a busy weeknight. Simply prep the rice, prep the beef, slice up your veggies and serve everything buffet-style, so each person can have exactly what they want on their taco bowl!

Asian Steak Tip Salad

HAPPY MONDAY, BLOG-WORLD!

I realize that was way too enthusiastic for Monday morning. I'm sorry for that. I hope it helped brighten your day at least.

I hope it brightens your day like this Asian Steak Tip Salad brightened my day. It's crunchy and salty and just everything a salad should be!

This salad is a total flavor punch, which is so incredible considering it is low carb. And if you're looking to put a fancy dinner on the table in no time at all, then this meal is for you!

I start by marinating my steak tips in a mixture of sesame oil, white vinegar, dijon mustard, canola oil, hoisin sauce, Worcestershire sauce and some salt and pepper. I had some time on my hands and allowed the steak to marinate for a number of hours -- but just about 30 minutes in the fridge should be good!

When it's almost dinner time, heat up a little bit of oil in a searing hot pan. Brown the steak on all sides until desired degree of doneness. Set aside to cool.

Next, we need to gather up our veggies. I really wanted a lot of crunch in this salad because I feel like really crunchy vegetables pair well with the strong sesame, soy, ginger, lime-ness of the dressing (details coming soon).

Romaine lettuce, shredded.

Red and green cabbage, sliced thin. (P.S. need a time saver? Grab some coleslaw mix from the grocery store!)

Cucumber, peeled into ribbons. Why? Because it's pretty and fun to eat!

Sorry for yelling.

Celery, sliced thin.

Layer all your veggies together on a nice, big serving platter and arrange your browned steak tips on top. Garnish with toasted sliced almonds and chopped green onion.

When it comes to the vinaigrette, I must insist that you put down the store bought bottle and gather up the following ingredients (most likely in your pantry):

Minced ginger. Soy sauce. Fresh lime juice. White vinegar. Olive oil.  Salt and pepper. Garlic powder.

Shake it up. Dress up your salad. And totally enjoy!

Lemony Spinach Pesto Sauce

It's hot hot hot out there! When the temperature starts pushing 90 degrees, the idea of slaving over a hot stove for 30 minutes to make dinner is just SO unappealing. AMIRIGHT?!

Making a quick and delicious pesto sauce is the perfect way to still eat delicious homemade food without sweating it out in the kitchen. This Lemony Spinach Pesto Sauce is a summery twist on a classic. Fresh herbs and lemon zest make this pesto bright and refreshing, while spinach replaces most of the basil in a traditional pesto for a thick and earthy sauce. The zests of citrus fruits are packed with the essential oils of the fruit and they really amp up the flavor more than just the juice alone.

The word "pesto" is derived from an Italian word "pestare" which essentially means to pound or to crush. Pesto was traditionally made by combining all the ingredients in a mortar and using a wooden pestle to literally crush all the ingredients together. Luckily, today, we have a fancy high-tech gadget that will do all the work for us.

That is, a food processor. Thank you, culinary wizards, for this invention.

Now, making pesto is easier than ever! For this particular sauce, we combine spinach, basil, lemon zest, sliced almonds, thyme, oregano, garlic and crushed black pepper in a food processor until chopped.

Next, lemon juice and vegetable broth join the party. Using lemon juice and broth help give the pesto a more sauce-like consistency without using an entire cup of olive oil.

Speaking of olive oil, stream in a bit of olive oil with the food processor running until desired consistency is reached. Wizz in a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese and some salt to finish off the sauce. Perfect!

This pesto freezes really well, so feel free to make the sauce ahead of time and defrost it whenever you need a quick weeknight meal. For last night's dinner, we enjoyed this pesto on top of Gemelli pasta and baked chicken. The spinach can be a little tough if it does not have time to wilt a little bit on top of the dish, so be sure to add the pesto to your pasta or meat while it's still hot and allow it to steam a little bit to soften the spinach.

Top all pesto dishes with a little extra grated cheese. Remember -- you're worth it :-)