Healthy Crab Cakes!

Normally I don't think of crab cakes as particularly healthy. As mentioned in my last post however we are eating extremely healthy this month. So I was happy to find this recipe at Everyday Paleo.  The crab cakes are SERIOUSLY good! I will be keeping this recipe and making them again for sure!

For these you will need:

1 pound of crab meat. (We used canned crab meat, making sure that it had no preservatives or sugars in it.)
2 tbsp of finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp of paleo mayo (We made this from the same site.)
1 tsp of crushed garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp of chipotle powder
1 egg
2 tbsp of almond meal (They called for coconut meal, but we had almond so we went with it.)
2-4 tbsp of coconut oil

Mix all ingredients, except the coconut oil, in a large bowl. Heat a large pan with the coconut oil until hot. You will know the oil is ready to go when you can splash a drop of water on it and it sizzles. Form patties out of the mix with your hands. Then put them in the oil for about 2-3 min on each side. You want to make sure the side is browned before you flip it over. This will make around 10 cakes.

We served this meal with some of the homemade mayo on top. To add a little something extra we put  some dill to the mayo. (You can find the mayo recipe at the everyday paleo website as well.) It worked really well with the crab cake. This is for sure something we will be making again.

It is so neat to me that we are working hard to eat 100% paleo and here we are coming up with some awesome food. We wouldn't normally have made ourselves crab cakes, but now that we have I see no reason not to continue.

Enjoy!

Trying my hand at scallops!

Today I made scallops for the first time!

Mark and decided for dinner to have some grilled shrimp, so while I was at the store buying them I saw some fresh sea scallops. I LOVE scallops, but always thought they were above what I could make. I decided to try my hand at it. I have to say I really impressed myself. I googled how to cook them and here is what I did...

1) Sprinkle some sea salt onto both sides of the raw scallops. 

*From here on all steps need to happen together. Make sure you are about 5 min. away from serving dinner.*

2) Heat up 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of vegetable oil on the stove. You want to make sure the oil and butter get really hot. If you put your scallops on and they don't sizzle then the pan is not hot enough.

3) Once you put the scallops in the pan you MUST let them sit for around 2 min. Do not move them to look at the bottom. During this step I also spooned some of the butter on the top. I think that it really increased the flavor. *This is a suggested time based on large sea scallops. You might need to scale the time depending on the size.*

4) Check the bottom of the scallops. If it looks nice and bronzed like the above picture then it is time to flip the scallop over. Let cook for just 1 more minute. The sides of the scallops should still be soft. 

5) Let the scallops sit for around a minute to allow them to finish cooking. Then serve!

Note: A perfectly cooked scallop should be caramelized on the outside, but once you cut into it should slide through like butter.

While making these I had this cute little boy patiently looking on. I think he thought I was making something for him. ;)

We added some shrimp and peas to make a wonderful meal.

This was my first time cooking them and they turned out wonderful. I was very pleasantly surprised. I will for sure be making these again!

Enjoy!!

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter! 

Sugar Free Coconut Macaroons!

Sugar Free Coconut Macaroons
by Four Hour Body Recipe


2 - cups unsweetened, shredded coconut
4 - egg whites
1 - teaspoon vanilla extract
1 - 3.9 ounce cup Mott's unsweetened applesauce (optional. If used, use additional 1/4 cup coconut to rebalance added moisture)




Heat the oven to 350F and line baking sheet with parchment or foil.

Then separate the egg whites from the yolk using the shell. Add vanilla to the egg whites and whip until they start to stiffen. 

You should be able to see peaks when you lift your mixer.

If using applesauce, add and mix together.

Add the egg white mixture to the coconut.Fold the wet and dry ingredients together.Using a spoon or your hand, mold into 1 - 1 1/2 inch balls, flatten and put on the cookie sheet. Leave 1-2 inches between cookies. (I used a piping bag to have more control over the size of the cookies.)Bake for about 15 minutes. They are done when the bottoms are a rich brown and the tops are just starting to tan.

This is a great healthy treat that will curve your sweet tooth. If you want just a touch of sugar then use sweetened coconut instead of unsweetened. 

Enjoy!

Dinner and Dessert

Today I made 2 really fun things. First dinner:

Greek Chicken & Potatoes

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breats

1 1/2 lbs potatoes (I used red potatoes)

Mix the lemon juice, chicken broth, olive oil, minced garlic, and dried oregano together in a rather container. Then add in the raw chicken. I would suggest a sealable container this was you can 100% contain the mix and raw chicken. (I am paranoid about raw chicken.)

Marinate this mix over night... If you are wanting to eat this recipe today then you need to marinate for at least 2 hours. I find that over night is best though.

To cook this mixture put all ingredients from container into a oven safe pot. I used my dutch oven for this. Cut up your potatoes in cubes and add to the pot. Bake for 60 minutes @ 350 degrees. 

Make sure to let the chicken cool before eating, it will be very hot. This is such a delicious meal, I even crave it from time to time. The best part is how juicy this chicken is. It just falls apart. 

Now onto dessert:

For dessert I made these conversational heart cookies I found on pintrest. They turned out really cute!

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries!!

This is a wonderful dessert! Last night we had some new friends over and I really wanted to surprise them with a dessert to remember and love.  All I can say about these are... I wish I had made more.

Here is the recipe.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
from The Sweets Life

Ingredients:
1 lb large strawberries
8 oz. cream cheese, soften
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
graham cracker crumbs

Cut off the tops of the strawberries and hallow out middle. This is where you are going to put the cheesecake filling.

Next, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together thoroughly. You want to make sure there are no lumps of cream cheese left. 

I put this mixture into a piping bag in order to neatly apply the filling into the strawberries. You can also use a spoon to scope the filling in.

After filling all the strawberries, arrange them nicely on a plate, and sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs on top.

When finished, cover the plate or bowl lightly and put in the fridge to keep cool until ready to serve.

This recipe was so good that I think I am going to write it down and keep it in my recipe box so as not to loose it. I will be making these again. Next time I though I will know to make more.

Enjoy!

A Recipe To Dress Up Your Peas

Most people that I know don't particularly like peas. My husband Mark would be one of them. Until... I made him these. Again this is a family recipe from my italian grandmother, Mama. 

For this you will need: 

extra virgin olive oil 

garlic

green onions

1 bag of frozen peas

salt 

pepper

Shop your green onions and garlic. Then pour enough olive oil to lightly cover the bottom of the pan. (I never measure just when it looks like the oil will lightly cover the whole pan.)

Once you have this done you can put all of you green onions and garlic into the pan. You want to cook  the onions and garlic till it is very lightly browned, allowing all the flavors to come out. Be sure to use a low heat setting. This will help in not cooking the onions and garlic too fast. Be very carful... you DO NOT want to burn the garlic.

After the green onions and garlic have started cooking down pour in all the frozen peas. No need to thaw them before you put the peas in the pan. 

I like to put a cover over the pan. This allows the moisture to stay in from the defrosting peas, and helps it cook faster. Every so often be sure to stir the peas, making sure none are sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the peas are hot then they are done! (I find the best way to test doneness is to just taste it.)

These peas make a great addition to any dish. I  love them with red sauce. In this case we had spaghetti and meat balls! 

I hope that you will try these out. 

ENJOY!

Tasty Tease

If there is something that you need to know about Mark and I, it is that we LOVE food. We like to cook new things at home, we like to explore new restaurants, and we love being with friends while eating.

The reason this is called a tasty tease is because I wanted to share my delicious dinner with you that I had this evening.

Tortellini with a tomato red sauce

This was sooo delicious I just had to share. I did not make the tortellini this time. I have made them before, and if fact while Mama (my Italian grandma) says it isn't worth it to make your own pasta, I think making tortellini and ravioli is a good reason. These however have been purchased from the store. I like to get the ones in the refrigerator section. Now the tease part is the sauce. This is our special family recipe. The interesting part is that while Mama has given each member the recipe they all differ slightly. This is the one she gave my family. I am not prepared at this time to release the recipe, but I do want to offer a little advice. It is ALWAYS ALWAYS better to make fresh sauce and well worth the effort. Mine takes 2 hours to simmer in order to allow all the flavors to really meld together. I know this is a lot of work, so I have a solutions so you can still have fresh sauce without having to make it every time. I like to make a large batch and then freeze it. 

Pasta sauce ready to be frozen.

I like to break it up into smaller amounts, so I could make anything from 1 to 4 servings without unfreezing extra sauce. 

I hope this inspires you make your own fresh sauce.