Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (Paleo)

In honor of Father’s Day, I have a recipe my dad asks me to make weekly: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.

When I can, I try to prep my meals and snacks on Sunday. Unfortunately, this hummus does not often make it to Monday as my dad tends to eat the whole thing by Sunday night.

No exaggeration, I now divide the dip into 2 containers and stow one in the back of the fridge so he won’t see it. Shhhhhh! 

Now, you can make it traditional by using white beans, but I prefer making it with an artichoke base instead (the hummus tastes the same either way!)

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1 (14oz) can of artichokes, drained and squeezed of excess water (or white beans)

3/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers (from jar)

1/2 cup water

3 tbsp tahini 

juice from 1/2 of a lemon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a food processor until smooth.

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Sausage and Peppers Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs (Paleo)

Oh breakfast food. How much I love thee.

Unfortunately, I can’t really make you fancy in the mornings as I’m still half asleep and fear burning down the house 😦

And brunch? Please, I can’t wait that long to eat.

So, breakfast for dinner it is. Plus I can eat a lot more at dinner than at breakfast, meaning I have more room for this:

Sausage and Peppers Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, castings removed

1 large vidalia onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

2 medium-small sweet potatoes (any color), peeled and cubed

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp parsley

salt and pepper

3 eggs

Directions:   

In a large and deep skillet (that comes with a fitted lid), cook sausages, breaking into pieces with a spatula, until mostly browned. Turn heat to low and add in onions and green bell pepper. Cook for 10 minutes. Add in sweet potatoes, spices, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 8 minutes. With your spatula, press and flatten all the ingredients down. Crack 3 eggs on top and cover hash with the lid. Let cook until eggs are done. Garish with some paprika and thyme and serve!

Zucchini Lasagna (Noodle-Free)

I used to have lasagna once a year. Christmas Eve at my mom-mom’s house. To be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of it at the time. Or rather, I wanted to play with my cousins and open presents instead of eating. Food in general just had no appeal to me.

I don’t understand the mindset of my younger self. 

Anyway, my grocery store is getting in more zucchini and I wanted to try to establish a good relationship with lasagna by making… zucchini lasagna!

Now I can finally feel that I can relate to Garfield 😉

Zucchini Lasagna (Noodle-Free)

Ingredients:

3 medium-large zucchinis

salt

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1 – 1.5 lbs ground meat

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tsp parsley

1 tsp thyme

pepper and salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28oz) can fire roasted crushed tomatoes

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1 (15oz) container of whole milk ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

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2 and 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Make zucchini into noodles by either using a peeler, or carefully cutting zucchini with a knife. Lay slices on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Let sit to make zucchini “sweat.”

Brown meat in a deep skillet and then add onion, garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes (you want a thick sauce).

In a bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, and egg. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a 9×13 baking dish. Remove “sweat” from zucchinis with a paper towel and use half the zucchini slices to make the first layer. Top with half of the ricotta and spread. Top with 3/4 cup mozzarella. Top again with half of the meat sauce. Repeat all layers. Once you get to the last meat sauce layer, top with the remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before eating.

Deconstructed Sushi Rolls (Paleo)

I was so excited to try my own “sushi” recipe. Instead of using the traditional sushi wraps, I had planned to use cucumber peeled into thin slices with a vegetable peeler.

After I had all my ingredients assembled and ready to wrap, I started with the peeling. A quarter of the way through, however, I came to the realization that this was way too much work. Especially since I would be able to down a whole batch of rolls in a 1/100 of the time it would take me to make them.

And, to be honest, I probably would not go through the hassle to make these rolls again if they required so much work. Nor did I want to give anyone the false impression that I would be by posting the recipe.

Sooooo… to make life easier, I chopped up the cucumber and added it to the mash- thus making my “Deconstructed Sushi Rolls.”

But to keep a bit of the ‘fancy’ factor, I scooped these up into “sushi balls” with an ice cream scooper 🙂

Deconstructed Sushi Rolls (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1 (14.5 oz) can of salmon, drained of excess liquid 

1 Avocado, mashed

1 cup raw cauliflower rice

2 tbsp coconut aminos

2 tsp dried ground ginger

1 cucumber, cubed

Shredded carrot

Directions:

Combine all ingredients (except carrot) in a bowl until evenly mixed. Use an ice cream scooper to plop into balls. Top with shredded carrot for a garnish, if desired.