Zoodles with Meat Sauce

During the holidays I always say to myself I am not going to over indulge on food and drink. I usually start off great and then all it takes is seeing a plate of homemade christmas cookie cutouts! That's my weakness. It's a slippery slope from there and I begin convincing myself that two weeks of binge eating is okay. When the holidays are over the guilt sets in, and hard! I say goodbye to my jeans for a while because nothing feels better than wearing black stretch pants with a long baggy shirt, every single day!

That's when I decide my diet needs to consist of tons of vegetables and lettuce. You may remember me referring to my rabbit food diet when I feel like I need to loose some weight. And nothing makes me feel better than eating lots of fresh veggies. So I'm on a mission to shed some of those extra pounds. My call to action: the Veggetti!!!

I love making zoodles with my Veggetti spiral cutter. Zoodles are basically cut zucchini strands that emulate spaghetti. The Veggetti cuts certain vegetables into long curly strands. I really enjoy using the Veggetti because it's easy to use and the clean up is a cinch. Plus, the results are outstanding. If you are looking to lower carbs and add more veggies to your diet, the Veggetti is a fun, creative way to prepare them.

Tonight I made Zoodles with Meat Sauce. It was superb. Oh and guilt free…total bonus! The boys were much more interested in making the zoodles than they were eating them. So I made the zoodles for myself and made spaghetti for them.

It takes minutes to spiral the zucchini and then minutes to cook them…it's really quicker than making pasta. Given that this was a weeknight meal I also made my simple meat sauce. I basically sautéd ground beef or you could use ground turkey and added it to my 5-Minute Marinara Sauce. The meat sauce gives the zoodles more substance and a punch of protein. You could also just add my 5-Minute Marinara Sauce without the ground beef and it would be just as delicious. As far as serving size, I usually go with 1 large zucchini per person. If you sauté the zucchini there will be excess water so simply drain the water before serving. Some advise prior to sautéing to lay the zoodles on a paper towel for 30 minutes to sweat out the excess water. Zoodles are very versatile and you can serve it with almost anything. The most basic recipe is sautéing it with garlic and olive oil…click to see my Garlic and Olive Oil Zoodles recipe. If you haven't tried zoodles yet, do your self a favor and buy this inexpensive gadget. You will love it and so will your waistline!

Salute to Zoodles with Meat Sauce and eating it guilt free!

Takes minutes to spiral the zucchini

So easy to do…Zachary having fun!

Zucchini strands come out long 

Zoodles sauteing

Simple Meat Sauce

Zoodles with Meat Sauce

Delicious, low carb, guilt free eating!

Zoodles with Meat Sauce (Click to print recipe)

Prep and cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 whole zucchini

For Meat Sauce:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef or ground turkey
• 2 cans large whole tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1/2 white onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 t dried oregano
• 1/2 t dried parsley
• 1 handful of fresh basil leaves
• a pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper

In a large skillet sauté the ground beef or turkey until cooked through and drain oil. Meanwhile, mix the rest of the ingredients in a food processor on high until smooth. Add marinara sauce to the ground beef and heat over medium heat until it comes to a light bubble. Cover and let cook for 30 minutes. 

While the meat sauce it cooking, spiral the zucchini with the Veggetti. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large pan and saute the zoodles on medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until its' tender. Add salt n pepper. 

Add zucchini to a plate and serve a large spoonful of meat sauce over the top. Add parmesan cheese for extra flavor.

Crockpot Tuna Casserole - An Oldie but Goodie!

So onto one of my New Years Resolutions for 2015…continuing to blog about our family recipes, experiences and food impressions.

The ski season has officially started for each of us. Dave's goal this ski season was to ski "first tracks" on opening day at Holiday Valley. Unfortunately he did not make it for first tracks due to the epic "Snowvember" storm, but he did get to ski that day. However, he was very proud that at least he made "first tracks" on the opening of the 219 when the driving ban was lifted! The boys are participating in Holiday Valley's Screaming Eagles Ski Program and are loving it. Zachary already took 3rd place for speed at the Eagles Nastar Ski Race. I got an awesome pair of new skis, but for me the ski season officially begins when I get to cook our first ski lodge meal. Saturday, January 3rd was the official day and the meal: Tuna Casserole. Yum!

There is something so exciting about waking up on a snowy morning and preparing our ski lodge meal. My inspiration for making Tuna Casserole is it's simplicity. When heading to the slopes I don't want to prepare a meal that requires a lot of fuss. I want to make something that's easy, delicious and keeps us warm on a cold winter day. Tuna Casserole is a meal I've been eating since I was a little girl and to this day I still make my mom's original recipe. Tuna Casserole is also a recipe that is near and dear to my heart because it's the first meal Dave made me when we started dating. His recipe, which is his mom's, is identical to my mom's. This is truly an oldie but goodie recipe. It's no wonder our boys always devour tuna casserole and always ask for seconds and thirds!

Since I made this in the crockpot I did make a few adjustments to our classic recipe. Nonetheless, it was still out of this world and maintained it's comfort food taste. What's so easy about the crockpot version is that you cook your noodles according to the package, add the ingredients and cook for 2 hours. That's it! I served it with pillsbury crescent rolls…another classic. It was a perfect meal for our first ski lodge meal. Everyone had seconds and there wasn't a noodle leftover. It warmed everyone's stomachs for hours. I am confident this is a meal my boys will be making for their children one day!

Salute to the ski season officially beginning, cooking ski lodge meals and eating Tuna Casserole- an oldie but goodie!

Add ingredients to the crockpot

Two hours later…comfort food goodness!

Perfect ski lodge meal

Look behind you Nate!

Asking for seconds

Need I say more!

Crockpot Tuna Casserole (Click to print recipe)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pasta or egg noodles cooked according to package (for this recipe I used rotini)
• 2 cans (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cans of albacore or chunk tuna in water, drained
• 1 can (10 -12 oz) sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup frozen peas

Cook noodles according to package depending on what type of noodle you use. Mix in mushroom soup and milk. Stir until well mixed. Gently stir in tuna, mushrooms and peas. Add salt n pepper to taste. Place tuna noodle mixture into a crockpot and cook 2-3 hours on low. 

Food Impressions:

Nate: "This is the perfect ski meal." He devoured his bowl in literally 5 minutes and he immediately reached his hand out and asked for seconds. My bowl hadn't been plated yet!

Tyler: "Can we have our ski lunches with you every time? This is really warming me up mom!" Tyler had seconds.

Zachary: "Make sure and give me lots of extra mushrooms." He has seconds.

Dave: "Delicious, great lunch, perfect for the lodge." He had thirds!

Andrea: An oldie but goodie. This is a classic comfort food recipe that is so easy to make. Will continue making this recipe for generations! My typical recipe cooked in the oven has a buttered bread crumb topping. I had seconds too!

Zachary placing 3rd!

2015 New Years Resolutions!

The boys and I worked on Native Offerings Farm during the summer. We made some amazing meals with the shares of fresh vegetables they gave us.

The ski season is back and so am I…I mean back to blogging that is! Looking back, it seems that most of my posts were done during last years' ski season. I think the winter months allow for more down time which in turn allows for more blog time. Even though I haven't blogged in a while certainly doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. Trust me, I've been cooking, a lot! The boys have also been cooking a lot as well, they even started their own cooking videos! Despite my incredibly busy family life, I continue to cook and try new recipes almost everyday. I try not to let anything get in the way of my passion for cooking. I don't think Dave and the boys would ever allow anything to get in my way, they love my homemade food too much!

I've taken so many pictures of the meals that I've cooked over the months but sadly I just haven't had the time to blog about them. If you go back to my very first post, you will see that my New Years Resolution for 2014 was to blog about my family recipes and their "food impressions", hence the name. My primary motivation for blogging has been to document and journal our family meals. The boys love it when I blog, and have missed it when I don't. After I cook a meal I often hear them say "Mom, are you going to blog about this meal cause it's so awesome!" Even many of my dear friends and family have missed reading my blog posts…in particular my biggest fans my husband Dave, Christa, Stephanie and my father-in-law! Thanks for the blogger love guys!

So as the new year begins here are my 2015 New Years Resolutions: 1) to continue to blog about our family meals and food impressions..when I have time that is! 2)To donate, purge and de-clutter the hundreds (thousands) of out-of-site, out-of-mind items in our basement storage rooms and 3) To do 100 leg lunges and squats per day…well, lets make that 50.

Salute to new years resolutions and salute to cooking many many delicious meals and creating memorable food impressions for my family and friends! Here's to a happy, healthy new year to all!

Carrots the boys dug out of the ground

We picked loads of tomatillos  

My chopped salad recipe with freshly picked vegetables

Just a sample of our share 

Roasted tomatoes and zucchini, bursting with flavor

One of the boys' jobs on the farm was to feed the pigs..the absolute highlight of the day!

Coq au Vin - (in other words, French Chicken Stew)

Coq au Vin

From the moment I woke up this morning I knew it would be one of those fall days where my mind, body and soul would yearn for comfort food and a glass of bold red wine. The sun was bright, the air was crisp and the wind blew briskly enough where I could hear the leaves falling from the trees. As soon as I got out of bed I poured myself a hot cup of coffee, sat at the kitchen table and started looking through some of my cookbooks. I have hundreds of them and the first one I pulled off the shelf was "Saveur Cooks - Authentic French." I quickly looked to see if they had a Coq au Vin recipe and sure enough they did. I don't think I've made Coq au Vin since last fall and for whatever reason the recipe on page 185 was begging me to make it. Maybe it was the bottle of rich red wine it called for, maybe it was the crisp bacon, maybe it was the earthy mushrooms, carrots and onions, or maybe it was the plump browned bone-in chicken it called for. Whatever the reason or ingredient that moved me to make this recipe, it was hands down the right choice for me and my family.

Making Coq au Vin requires several steps, so you need a chunk of 2 plus hours to make this recipe. I knew I had time the time so I really looked forward to "playing" with food today. Yes, playing with food is what I said. Come on, those of you who love to cook or bake know what I mean…cooking for the mere act of self pleasure and entertainment! I had so much fun making this meal and the end result was OMG delicious. My favorite part of making this recipe was pouring an entire bottle a bold red wine into my Le Creuset dutch oven. No, it didn't call for a measly one cup of wine, it called for one flipp'n bottle…how awesome is that!  My second favorite part was browning the chicken and bacon because it created the most flavorful aroma throughout the house. The boys were playing football outside and as soon as they stepped in the house they were like "Wow, it smells soooo good. What are you making?" I explained I was making Coq au Vin and of course they got a chuckle out of pronouncing the name but also said "What is that?" So I told them Coq au Vin is, in other words, a french chicken stew. Honestly, as long as it smells good, looks good, and tastes good they don't care what their food is called…nor does Dave for that matter!

Let me talk about taste for a minute…when I mentioned as soon as I woke up this morning I knew I wanted to make a recipe that would satisfy my mind, body and soul…this dish's taste and flavor over satisfied if that's even possible. The chicken was so tender and juicy it fell off the bone, the red wine sauce was rich tasting with layers of flavor you didn't want to put your fork down, and the vegetables soaked up the medley of herbs and spices which made it take on a whole new taste. I served the stew over egg noodles because they are light and airy but you could serve them over mashed potatoes or any pasta or serve them over nothing.  I also served a crusty french bread on the side so we could soak up all of the juices from our bowls. And I made sure to buy an extra bottle of french wine that the recipe called for so we could have a glass (or two) with dinner. This meal created quite a positive food impression on all of us. It was simply divine!

If you are looking to make a quintessential fall meal; one that will truly satisfy your mind, body and soul like it did ours, then look no further.  Salute to Coq au Vin, or in other words French Chicken Stew!

Medley of ingredients

Sauteing Vegetables in the bacon and chicken oil

Browned chicken and bacon

Adding one bottle of good, rich red french wine!

Zachary chopping the fresh herbs 

Love when my boys help me cook and create a delicious family meal!

Just out of the oven

Coq au Vin over egg noodles

Coq au Vin (Click to print recipe)

Preparation and Cook Time: 2 hours

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 roasting chicken cut into pieces
• 2 large yellow onions peeled and chopped
• 3 shallots peeled and chopped
• 5 carrots peeled and sliced
• 3 garlic cloves peeled
• 1 tb chopped parsley
• 2 tb chopped thyme
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 bottle of good rich red wine like bordeaux or burgundy 
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tb flour
• 1/4 cup cognac
• 3 thick cut pieces of bacon, diced
• 1 lb of small white button mushrooms
• 3 tb tomato paste
• 1 cup beef stock

Using a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium to high heat. Salt and pepper chicken pieces and brown on both sides until crisp. Add garlic gloves. When chicken is browned set aside on a platter. In same pan add bacon pieces and brown for about 10 minutes. Remove bacon bits from pan and set aside along with chicken. Add onions, carrots, mushrooms and shallots and cook until al dente about 10-15 minutes on medium heat. Add flour to vegetables and mix well. Add beef stock to scrape pan of the chicken and bacon bits. Add parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper and stir. Add chicken and bacon back to the pan and add cognac. Then add bottle of wine. Heat over medium to high heat for 15 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir until well blended in wine sauce. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. bake in oven for 30 to 40 minutes until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, cook 1 package of egg noodles according to package. When done, add a spoonful of egg noodles to a bowl and add a large spoonful of chicken and it's red wine sauce over top. Serve with crusty french bread. 

Food Impressions:

Nate: "I love the sauce over the noodles and the chicken is so tender and juicy." 

Tyler: "Every time I take a forkful I get something different. Once it's bacon, then it's chicken then it's a piece of carrot. I think the combination of all of the ingredients are super delicious." 

Zachary: "This Coq au Vin or however you pronounce it is really yummy. I love the sauce and it tastes so good dipping the bread in it. Oh, and the mushrooms are so meaty tasting."

Dave: "This is the best Coq au Vin you've made. The sauce has depth and there are just layers of flavor every time you take a bite. The chicken is perfectly cooked, the vegetables aren't overly tender or mushy, and the egg noodles pair well. The wine is also a perfect pair with this dish."

Andrea: "I must admit, this dish was outstanding. The reaction of Dave and the boys regarding this recipe was priceless. This dish is quintessential fall comfort. It is great for a Sunday family dinner or it's great to serve for a fancy dinner party. I'm glad there were some leftovers so I can have it for lunch the next day. It takes a few hours to make but if you are in the mood to play with food, as I said in this post, you will truly enjoy yourself in the process. Absolutely delicious meal. Make sure to have plenty of crusty bread to soak up the juices, oh and don't forget to buy and extra bottle of wine to serve with it!"

Nate enjoying his meal

Zachary soaking up the juices with his french bread!

Butterflied Grilled Shrimp with Garlic Butter

I often make grilled shrimp that I marinate, put on a skewer stick, and then grill 'em…they are always delicious and a cinch to make. But every once in a while I want to get fancy with my shrimp, so for dinner tonight I decided to make Butterflied Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Garlic Butter.

What made my so shrimp fancy was the fact that I took the extra time to "butterfly" them. Dave was quite impressed with my "butterflying skills." Butterflying shrimp simple means cutting the shrimp down the middle of it's back with a paring knife or scissors and then spreading the shrimp's flesh until it lies flat.  Butterflying shrimp takes some extra time and effort but the presentation results are far worth it. It makes you feel like you've prepared something truly special or something you'd see on the Food Network. You can butterfly your shrimp with shells on like I did or without. In my opinion leaving the shells on yields a more juicy, flavorful and succulent taste. Plus once they're grilled the shells peel off with ease. You can buy shrimp that's already "butterflied" but you will pay an arm and a leg for them. I buy jumbo sized frozen shrimp that has the shell on but has already been cleaned and deveined. That way that's all you have to do is defrost the shrimp and use a good paring knife to split and butterfly. It's so simple once you get the hang of it.

I marinated my shrimp with a little white wine, lemon, olive oil, fresh parsley and salt n pepper. Dave grilled them for approximately 8 minutes. The tailed end of the shrimp curled a bit after they were grilled but it made it super easy to pick up with your fingers and eat them. No utensils required with these tender and juicy morsels! I also made a warm garlic butter to dip the shrimp in. The boys kept double and triple dipping because the butter was that good and tasty….oh who am I kidding, I also kept double and triple dipping too! The grilled shrimp was good enough by itself but indulging in this butter made it seem like we were dipping chunks of lobster. This dinner was a treat for sure!

Next time you decide to grill shrimp, go the extra step and make it a fancy one! Salute to Butterflied Grilled Shrimp and Garlic Butter.

Butterflied 

Marinating with white wine, lemon, olive oil, parsley and salt n pepper

Grill for 8 minutes

Beautiful grill marks when the shrimp is butterflied

Succulent and moist shrimp

Even better once it's dipped and drenched in warn garlic butter

Butterflied Grilled Shrimp with Garlic Butter (Click to print recipe)

Preparation and Cook Time: 40 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds jumbo shrimp, cleaned and deveined, with tail and shells (about 24 shrimp)
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tb minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• salt n pepper

Garlic Butter:

• 2 sticks of unsalted butter
• 1 t fresh minced garlic

To butterfly the shrimp: Make sure to keep the shell and tail on. Using a paring knife, make a deep incision from the tail to the opposite end. The incision should be where the shrimp was already deveined. Make sure not to cut all the way through. Once the incision has been made use your fingers to spread open the shrimp's flesh until it lies flat. Place shrimp in a baking dish. In a bowl mix white wine, parsley, olive oil and lemon and whisk until well blended. Drizzle mixture over shrimp and add salt n pepper. Let sit for 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat grill to medium to high heat. Place shrimp on grill shell side down. Cook for 4 minutes and flip for another 3-4 minutes or until shrimp is opaque. 

For Garlic Butter: In a medium saucepan over medium heat and 1 stick of butter until melted. Add garlic and heat for 1 minute. Turn heat to a simmer and add the other stick of butter until melted. Stir continuously until all butter is melted and garlic is warm. Place in a small dipping bowl. 

You can drizzle butter over the shrimp or simply dip the shrimp. I prefer drenching it in butter!

Food Impressions:

Nate: "Ummm Ummm this is finger licking good"

Tyler: "The shrimp is so juicy and I love the butter. It's pretty easy to peel!" 

Zachary: "Mom, we should really get our own bowls for dipping the butter!" He's right with all of the double and triple dipping that was going on!

Dave: "Loved that you butterflied the shrimp…it really gave the shrimp a moist and flavorful taste. Feels like a meal we'd have on the east coast." 

Andrea: Next time we have someone over for dinner I will make these for dinner or for an appetizer. They were delicious! It was a hit with everyone. I need to buy a warming dish for my butter though. It cooled quickly without a warmer. 

Gazpacho: The Perfect Summer Soup

If you aren't familiar with Gazpacho, now is the time to get acquainted with this delicious soup! Gazpacho is my favorite summer soup because it's full of flavor and very refreshing to eat. It's a tomato based soup, that is made with raw vegetables and is served cold. Gazpacho originated in Southern Spain and helped people cool down during hot summer days.

Years ago you couldn't get me to eat a cold soup. My thought back then was that soup is a comfort food, thus should only be eaten warm. Plus the texture of a cold soup simply turned me off. Until one day, our friends Tony and Sheila made Gazpacho as their first course for our Gourmet Dinner Club. I remember thinking "oh no, cold soup and it's gourmet so I have to try it!" I hesitantly took my first bite and immediately said "oh my gosh this cold soup is amazing!" I think I had two helpings that night it was that good. Thank you Tony and Sheila for eliminating my crazy aversion to cold soups! If you aren't a fan of cold soups, give this a try and it may change your opinion like it did mine.

What I love most about Gazpacho is that it's the freshest tasting soup. Nothing is cooked so the flavors are at their highest peak. Gazpacho is made with tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, red onion and garlic. The veggies are finely chopped in a food processor and then tomato juice and white wine vinegar is added. My father-in-law was over while I was making it and he could smell the cold soup from the other end of the kitchen. The aroma of this raw soup smells like you are in the middle of a salad garden. It's vegetarian, paleo friendly and super healthy for you. You feel good after eating it, like you are doing your body good. So it's healthy AND tastes delicious!

The other thing I love most about this soup is that it's served raw and that means no cooking is involved and that means not having to turn on the oven or stove….gotta love a recipe like that on a hot summer day! Plus, it's a chilled soup so eating it will be sure to cool you down. It's refreshing and light. I always make a double batch so I have leftovers the next day. In fact, it tastes better the next day because the flavors have a chance to really meld and come together. So it's a great make ahead soup if you are having guests over.

There are several recipes out there and I've tried a few but my favorite by far is a recipe from Ina Garten.  Many gazpacho recipes either tastes like you're eating salsa because it's too chunky or like you're eating tomato soup because it's too pureed. The texture in Ina's soup is the perfect balance! Make sure to follow this recipe exactly to get the best results.

So cool off this summer and make yourself some Gazpacho Soup. It's refreshing, healthy, and full of the best summer ingredients. Salute to Gazpacho, the perfect summer soup!

Gazpacho Soup - By Ina Garten (Click to print recipe)
Preparation time: 30 minutes

Serves 6 

Ingredients:

• 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 4 plum tomatoes ( I used beefsteak)
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups tomato juice
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 tb kosher salt
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop the cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1 inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steal blade and pulse until its coarsely chopped. Do not over process! 

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer the gazpacho chills, the more the flavor develop.

Food Impressions:

Nate: Didn't have any tonight, for whatever reason he said he just wasn't in the mood. You know what that means, more for me!

Tyler: "This is soup is "souper" Get it? Very clever of him to say! He said it well after dinner. Oh and he had two bowls.

Zachary: "We haven't had this soup in a while. You should make it more it's so good."

Dave: Very refreshing and flavorful. It has a really fresh taste.

Wally: My father-in-law stopped over to give me birthday flowers while I was making this soup..I gave him a bowl to take home and told him to eat it the next day so the flavors had a chance to meld. He texted me the next day and said "This soup is a keeper."

Andrea: Four words: LOVE this cold soup!