Eggplant Dip (Paleo)

Once again, I apologize for my lack of posting. With school around the corner (as in, tomorrow), my mind has been preoccupied. Not to mention, I’m still without my computer. Which has made sending out emails, printing out HW, and completing my online class a pain in the butt. I’m practically living at my mother’s house now to have access to a computer. And this is not a Generation Y person complaining about foregoing beloved technology (heck, I’d love to ditch my phone for a few weeks). This is someone being forced to use technology to graduate. I wish blackboards and sent-home notes were still all the rage.

Anyway, what is all the rage right now? (Yes, I know, corny transition). Eggplant!!!! My favorite way to eat it? Roasted! And giving it a blend in the ol’ food processor afterwards? A yummy and fluffy dip/side dish!

Eggplant Dip (Paleo)

Ingredients:   

1 medium-large eggplant

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp salt

pepper, to taste

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the eggplant multiple times with a knife, place on a baking tray, and roast in the oven for 45 minutes. Afterwards, sit eggplant out for 10-15 minutes to cool. Crack eggplant open with a knife and spoon insides out and into a food processor (discard the peels or set them aside to eat). Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and blend until all the ingredients come together. Serve hot or cold. I either dip veggies in this or just scoop it into my mouth with a spoon 🙂

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Baked Chicken Zucchini “Pasta”

Yup, it’s that time of year again. Time to savor the last few weeks of summer and then prepare to say hello to fall!

Aside from the craziness of beginning up school again, I really have no complaints about fall.

Actually, maybe one: no more in-season zucchini 😦

Bummer.

And so, with fall rapidly approaching, I wanted to post a few more summer-like recipes before moving into the fall realms of squash and pumpkins.

You win some, you lose some.

Baked Chicken Zucchini “Pasta”

Ingredients:

2 large zucchinis

1 tbsp avocado oil

1 onion, chopped

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp dried basil

1/2 tbsp oregano

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

2 portabello mushrooms, chopped

14 oz can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes

2 eggs

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella + extra for topping

1 cooked chicken breast (I use leftovers from the grill), diced

Directions:

Spiral zucchinis into “noodles,” place in a colander (with a bowl beneath the colander) and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt. Set aside for zucchinis to release water.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place oil in a deep skillet over medium-low heat and add onion, garlic, basil, oregano, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Sauté for 5-8 minutes. Add in mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Add in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Let cook for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, squeeze zucchini of all excess water and place in a bowl. Add in eggs, 1/2 cup cheese, and chicken and mix altogether. Once sauce in done, mix that in as well.

Pour entire mixture into a 9×13 baking dish and top with desired amount of extra cheese. Place in oven for 30 minutes. Once finished, let cool for 5 minutes to also baked pasta to set.

Broccoli and Red Cabbage Cole Slaw

Well, my computer finally came back today!

Pro- I have all my recipes back

Con- My internet problem is still not fixed and I no longer have access to most of my pictures 😦 Ugh, what a mighty headache I now have.

Luckily, I had most of my food pictures tucked away in another file.

Hmmm, maybe third time (at the BestBuy/Apple Store) is a charm?

Anyway, when annoyed, I tend to gravitate towards comfort food. And, as I have mentioned before, cabbage is one of my comfort foods. 

Which means a cole slaw recipe!

I have been making this cole slaw all summer. Usually, I make it on Sundays to eat at dinner and then have it for lunch the entire week.

And no, it never gets old to me 🙂

Broccoli and Red Cabbage Cole Slaw

Ingredients:

2 heads of broccoli, thinly cut

1 small onion, diced

1/2 head of red cabbage, thinly sliced

____________

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt or sour cream (or a mixture of both!)

3 tbsp white vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried mustard

1/16 tsp stevia

Directions:

Combine broccoli, cabbage, and onion in a large serving bowl. In a different bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients to make the dressing. Add and mix in dressing to the broccoli, cabbage, and onion. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Italian Eggplant Tomato “Pasta” (Paleo)

Soooo sorry, for being MIA for the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I’ve been having computer problems that I figured I should get fixed before my semester begins.

Actually, my computer troubles began over a year and a half ago when my laptop decided to no longer connect to the internet, unless it was right beside the router. Meaning, for the last year and a half, I’ve been blogging and doing anything requiring internet while huddled under the desktop computer desk.

Consider that a test for how much I love this blog.

Anyway, since my laptop is currently across the country, I have not had access to any of my recipes and pictures. Which has been driving me off-the-wall crazy! Now originally, the Geek Squad people told me my laptop would be back in “3-5 days.”

Currently, we’re at Day 11 of no computer (not to mention quite a few hundred more dollars for repair than predicted) 😦

Due to the delay of repair, the recipe and picture below is literally right-off the stove (har-har).

Italian Eggplant Tomato “Pasta”

Ingredients:

1 tbsp avocado oil

2 small eggplants, diced into bite-sized pieces

1/2 onion, chopped

1 sweet pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 handful of fresh basil, ripped into chucks

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

1/2 cup full-fat, canned coconut milk

10 tbsp tomato paste

3 cups fresh spinach

Zucchini

Directions: 

Heat oil in pot. Add in eggplant, onion, pepper, and garlic. Cover with pot lid and let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use this time to chop tomatoes and turn zucchini into pasta “noodles.”

Add tomatoes, basil, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper to the pot and continue cooking for 15 minutes.

Stir in coconut milk and tomato paste until smooth. Add in spinach and cook until wilted.

Serve sauce over stove-heated zucchini “pasta.”