Eggplant & Lamb Casserole

This casserole is basically a hybrid of lasagna and moussaka, and also very delicious & healthy! It uses no pasta, but instead contains layered roasted eggplant with a tomato and ground lamb sauce. To make the cheesy looking crust, I actually mixed two eggs with a bit of almond milk which gave it a fluffy, cheese-like texture. I did sprinkle a few pieces of feta on top though, because mo' feta is mo' betta.

Eggplant & Lamb Casserole

- 2 eggplants

- 2-3 tbsp olive oil 

- 1 bell pepper, diced 

- 1 onion, diced 

- 1 lb ground lamb

- 3 tomatoes, chopped 

- 1 can Rotel 

- 2-3 tbsp tomato paste 

- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley or 1 tsp dry parsley

- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

- ¼ tsp ground black pepper

- ½ tsp salt

- 2 eggs, lightly beaten

- 1 tbsp almond milk

- 2 tbsp feta cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 

2. Slice eggplants into ½ inch slices and place on baking sheet. Make sure there are none overlapping. Sprinkle the slices with salt and let sit for a couple of minutes. 

3. Place eggplant into oven and bake for 15 minutes. After they are finished, take out while meat sauce is cooking. 

4. While eggplant is cooking, heat olive oil in a pan over high heat. 

5. Add onions, bell peppers and ground lamb and sauté until browned and all the liquid has evaporated. I like to strain my meat to get rid of excess fat after the meat has browned, but it's not necessary. 

6. Add the chopped tomatoes, Rotel, and tomato paste and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Cover while simmering for 20 minutes and stir occasionally. 

7. Remove the lid and add the parsley, cinnamon, pepper and salt. Taste and add more seasoning if required. 

8. I used an 11x7 pan to cook this, which allowed me to make two layers of eggplants so I divided them into two sections before I started layering. 

9. Begin layering by placing the first section of eggplant on the bottom of the dish. Then spread half of the meat sauce on top the layer of eggplant. Repeat with second group of eggplant and then spread remaining meat mixture. Bake for 35 minutes. 

10. Lightly beat eggs, pinch of salt and almond milk and pour on top. I also added some feta on top at this point. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

This is the recipe I used for inspiration for this dish. Thanks Paleo Grubs!

Baked Breaded Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fries with Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce

Today I was craving Chick-fil-A nuggets SOOO BAD but I overcame it and went for a healthier substitute instead. Spoiler Alert: it wasn't anything like Chick-fil-A... but it did turn out pretty tasty. *small wins*

Sweet Potato Fries

- 1 sweet potato, cut ~2 in. long slices
- Olive oil for tossing
- Kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika to taste

1. Set oven to 425 degrees and then start slicing sweet potato into slices that are about 2 inches long and about 1/4 inch wide. 

2. Place sweet potato slices in bowl and pour just enough olive oil on top to make sure all slices are coated. Sprinkle some salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder and toss all together. 

3. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil, spray with non-stick cooking spray, and place sweet potato slices on top. Make sure that none are overlapping and place into oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, flipping the fries once or twice to make sure they are cooked evenly. 

Baked Breaded Shrimp

- 1/2 lb shrimp
- 1/3 cup coconut flour

- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 cup milk (or coconut/almond milk)
- 1/3 cup panko
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1. Since I was already cooking the sweet potato fries, my oven was already set at 425 degrees. If not, set it now. 

2. Pull three bowls out. In the first mix your flour and salt and pepper (I added a bit of Tony Chachere's as well). In the second bowl add the egg whites and milk. In the third, mix together the panko and breadcrumbs. 

3. First coat the shrimp in the flour, then dip in the egg white mixture and then toss and coat shrimp with panko and breadcrumbs. 

4. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then place shrimp on top. Put baking sheet in oven and cook shrimp for about 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. 

Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1.5 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and then let set in the refrigerator for a few minutes before serving.

Römertopf Chicken Drumsticks and Vegetables

Growing up, my family had "Chicken Römertopf" at least once a week and it usually ended with my dad and I fighting over who would get the most celery that had been cooking in the chicken's... hindquarters. Anyways, since I was cooking for one I decided to use drumsticks instead of the whole chicken (plus I didn't have my Dad to tear up the chicken and didn't feel like getting my hands all slimy). So back to Römertopf: this is a clay pot that's soaked before cooking and it allows for meat and vegetables to retain moisture and it also prevents nutrients from escaping. The end result is perfectly juicy chicken and savory, mouthwatering vegetables.

**One note is that you don't want to risk cracking the soaked clay pot in an already hot oven - so just make sure not to turn on your oven until the pot is inside.

Römertopf Chicken Drumsticks and Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:
- 4 stalks celery, sliced

- 1 cup baby carrots

- 1 cup mushrooms 

- 1 onion, sliced 

- Chicken drumsticks (5-6)

- 1 tsp olive oil 

- 1-1.5 tsp mustard

- 2 cloves garlic 

- Italian seasoning

- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Soak Römertopf clay pot in water for at least 10 minutes. What I usually do is put it to soak before I go to work in the morning and let it soak all day, but all that is required is 10 minutes. 

2. Place vegetables in pot first and then top with the chicken drumsticks. Rub olive oil, mustard and garlic on chicken. 

3. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, parsley, etc.) on top of chicken and vegetables. 

4. Place clay pot in cold oven then set to 400 degrees. Cook chicken and vegetables for 1 to 1.5 hours. Be careful when opening clay pot after taking it out of the oven for steam will be very hot. 

Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Curry Soup

I have always had a serious love affair with eggplant, but this purple delicious vegetable has not always complied with me in past cooking attempts. I've cut it up, salted, put it on a strainer, etc. etc. and it always came out a little bitter and mostly soggy. Yum. Well - I've finally found a recipe that I successfully mastered the eggplant and I'm so excited. I had bought one from my grocery store and was thinking of ways to cook it, and decided that I wanted to cook a soup to bring with me to work the next day. From there I decided I was going to roast that mutha and then immersion blend the hell outta it. Thus we have...

Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Curry Soup

Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- 1 bell pepper (I used orange)
- 2 tbsp olive oil (more if needed)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp curry
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- Handful of chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- Kosher salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. After chopping bell pepper and eggplant, toss in bowl with olive oil and a little Kosher salt. Lay vegetables on covered baking sheet with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Roast for 25-30 minutes.

2. While eggplant and bell pepper is roasting, sauté onions with olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds - 1 minute. Add broth, spices and parsley. Then add roasted vegetables. Can simmer for 5 minutes or however long you want (I let mine simmer for around 2 hours).

3. After soup has simmered, use either immersion blender, regular blender or food processor to puree soup until it reaches desired consistency. Return to pot and stir in coconut milk and lemon juice.

Roasted Cauliflower and Bacon Soup

This soup is perfectly hearty with warm bacon and roasted cauliflower. I've been putting coconut milk in everything I make recently and this was no exception - you could substitute with a little bit of heavy cream or even milk if you don't have any on hand. Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower and Bacon Soup

Ingredients:

- 1/2 roasted cauliflower
- 1/2 shallot
- 3 slices bacon, diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- Dash red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves

Recipe:
1. Roast cauliflower. I usually use this recipe as a basis to how I roast my cauliflower. If I don't have wine or any stock on hand, I usually just use water and it turns out just the same. You'll end with up a juicy cauliflower with a beautiful golden roasted finish.

2. Drizzle about 1 tsp of olive oil into pot and let it heat up. Once hot, add shallots and cook until they start browning. Add garlic and bacon then sauté until the meat starta becoming a little crispy.

3. Add honey and chives and sauté for a few seconds. Remove half of bacon mixture from pot and stir in coconut milk, bay leaves and spices.

4. Once boiling, add half of cauliflower florets to pot. Let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes. Just make sure it's been long enough for the cauliflower to easily be passed through the mixer. After removing the bay leaves, I used a hand blender to blend mine, but it can also easily be done in a food processor.

5. Once the soup has become creamy, add back the other half of the bacon and cauliflower. You could also leave some out to garnish! Stir and let it simmer for a few minutes and then serve (I put a little cheddar cheese on top of mine).

Tropical Salad with Honey Lime Shrimp

I've had this recipe for Honey Lime Shrimp stored in my Pinterest account for forever and I've been wanting to make it. So with that as my inspiration, I created a salad with Honey Lime dressing and combined it and the shrimp with mangos, kiwis, rasberries, and bits of ramen noodle pieces.


Tropical Salad with Honey Lime Shrimp

For shrimp:

• 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• zest of 1 lime 
• 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Creole seasoning, to taste 

For dressing: 

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin 
• 1/2 packet flavor seasoning for ramen noodles 

For salad: 

• 1 mango, diced
• 1 kiwi, diced
• handful of rasberries 
• smashed ramen noodle pieces, for topping 
• lettuce of your choice (I used a spinach and spring mix)

1. In a large ziploc bag, combine all ingredients for the marinade. When everything is well-combined, add the shrimp and let marinate in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. Flip the bag once or twice to make sure all shrimp are well coated with the marinade. 

2. While shrimp are marinading, combine all ingredients for the dressing and let it sit in the fridge until you're ready to eat. This is also a good time to chop the fruit for the salad. 

3. When ready to cook the shrimp, let them sit for 10 minutes at room temperature. Heat a large skilled to medium-high heat and add shrimp to the pan in a single layer, making sure they are not too crowded. There is no need to add additional butter or oil because of the olive oil in the marinade. 

4. Let shrimp cook on one side for a minute, until they curl up and start to pink. Flip them over and cook for another 30 seconds until the shrimp are opaque. Remove from pan. (I didn't include this in the ingredients, but at this point I added some orange bell pepper and cooked it a bit and had it with my salad). 

5. Combine lettuce, fruits, ramen noodle pieces and shrimp. Toss or top with dressing and enjoy!

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

This is more of a spread than actual bru-sketta, but it's great for parties and was a winner at the one I brought this to! I like keeping them separate or else the toast would get soggy - and that would be no buono. I used 4 tomatoes for this recipe because it was for a large group, but if you're serving a smaller party, 2 tomatoes would probably be enough. Also - I like using balsamic glaze because it's a bit sweeter and thicker than vinegar, but it doesn't really matter which one you decide to use.

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

• 4 red or yellow heirloom tomatoes, diced  
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp balsamic glaze (or vinegar) 
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 5 basil leaves, julienned 
• 6-8 oz fresh buffalo mozzarella, diced  

Instructions: 

1) Dice tomatoes and stir in olive oil, apple cider vinegar, balsamic glaze (or vinegar), brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Dice mozzarella cheese and stir in half of it, leaving the other half to put in right before serving. Do the same with the basil, stir in half of it. 

2) Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. 

3) Right before serving, add in the rest of the mozzarella and the basil. Serve alongside toast.