Tag Archives: lunch

Ginger, Chicken Sausage, Spaghetti Squash, Egg Muffins | Paleo, Whole30

I have always loved the taste of ginger, but have been even more inspired to add it into things after reading Esther’s post on the health benefits of it.  I mainly just loved the taste haha.

I had made another variation of these muffins a few months ago (with spinach!), and have kept meaning to make them again.  They are a little time consuming, but it’s SO worth it to have these ready to eat in the morning!  OR…for a snack 🙂Blog Whole 30 Paleo Ginger Spaghetti Squash Chicken Sausage Egg Muffins-1 Blog Whole 30 Paleo Ginger Spaghetti Squash Chicken Sausage Egg Muffins-2

What you need… (12 Muffins)

  • 5 Large Eggs
  • 2 cups spaghetti squash, cooked with water squeezed out.
  • 6 precooked chicken sausages, chopped into bite size pieces (I used these)
  • 1 Teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 Teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (or fat of choice)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do…

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • Squeeze out all the moisture from the spaghetti squash with a paper towel and evenly distribute into lined muffin tins (This is my 2nd time making these and I spent almost as much time scrubbing the tins both times, even though I greased them!!).  I had Maya push a paper towel into them to get even more moisture out.  She thought it was fun, and it helped pack them in there!
  • Bake for 10 minutes til the spaghetti squash gets slightly browned at the edges.
  • While that is baking…In a large frying pan, heat up your oil (or fat of choice) with the ginger and garlic, and cook diced onions until soft.  I let Maya stir these up.  🙂
  • While these are cooking you can dice up your chicken sausage.  Once the onions are soft, add in the chicken sausage for a few minutes to warm them up and release the juices.
  • After the spaghetti squash has cooked, reduce  your heat to 350.
  • Evenly distribute the onion/chicken sausage on top of the spaghetti squash in the muffin tins.
  • Whisk all the eggs, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Maya loves whisking eggs, and it was an easy way for her to help!
  • Pour over the sausage and onion mixture until you can see the egg.  Not quite covering the sausage.
  • Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until the eggs are all the way cooked through.
  • Store in an air tight container, and eat through out the week!

Here are some behind the scenes video from us making these.  I’m totally inept at Snapchat, but we are both having fun with it.  Find us at lkahan-ditelle 🙂

ENJOY!! 🙂dit-elle-Lauren

Avocado Sweet Potato “Toast” with a Fried Egg…

I’ve talked before about my love of avocado toast and…having it as breakfast for dinner.  Honestly, we eat a variation of avocado toast with eggs quite a lot for dinner.  Maya requests it all the time, and it’s such an easy thing to whip up, that I rarely say no haha.

We didn’t have any good bread the other night, but we did have a sweet potato.  SO, we unintentionally went the  healthier route haha.  And it was SO GOOD!!!! Blog Whole 30 Avocado Sweet Potato Toast Fried Egg-1 Blog Whole 30 Avocado Sweet Potato Toast Fried Egg-2 Blog Whole 30 Avocado Sweet Potato Toast Fried Egg-3Ingredients

  • 1 Medium size sweet potato
  • Avocado (amount varies on how many people you are going to feed)
  • Eggs (depends on how many people you want to feed)
  • Olive oil + Salt + Pepper to lightly coat the sweet potato

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Cut sweet potato in 1/2 inch slices
  • Lightly coat in olive oil (or oil of your choosing), and salt and pepper to taste
  • Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping over half way through.
  • Once the sweet potatoes are crispy on the outside, take them out.
  • Fry up your eggs.  I like mine runny, so they only take a few minutes.  I cook Maya’s for a little bit longer, so her yolks aren’t runny.
  • Mash up the avocado on top of the layered sweet potatoes, then top with your egg.
  • Serve as is or with a yummy salad or slaw (check out Esther’s recipes here,  here,  and here.
  • I cheated and used Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch Collection of Chopped Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli and Green Cabbage & Red Cabbage, and added some bell peppers, tomatos, and avocado.  It was delicious!!!  And Maya chowed the whole thing down 🙂

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

Chicken Sausage, Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins | Paleo, Whole30

I’ve seen so many variations of eggs in a muffin tin.  The possibilities are almost endless!  I saw a version of this recipe posted on the @Whole30Recipes page on Instagram by @dollyessfit, although I couldn’t find it on her website, Unapologetically Living, but there are a lot of other yummy recipes there.

I changed it a little, but basically stuck to what she did, and these were amazing!  And better yet.  I had breakfast every day for a week, and Maya asked for them for lunch too!

She also helped with almost every step.  She’s totally getting into cooking with me and wanting to help with everything!  Yes, it takes a little longer, and some ingredients are lost along the way, but it’s so worth it for her to know that she helped make what we are eating!  Especially when it’s healthy!  I mean, what kid doesn’t want to make cookies?  I love that she was excited to make these with me, and more importantly that she wanted to eat them!  Although, that last part isn’t a real shock.  She eats just about anything. 🙂Blog Paleo Whole30 Egg Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins-1 Blog Paleo Whole30 Egg Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins-2 Blog Paleo Whole30 Egg Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins-3What you need… (12 Muffins)

  • 6 Large Eggs
  • 2 cups spaghetti squash, cooked with water squeezed out.
  • 4 precooked chicken sausages, chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1 cup spinach, kale (or any leafy green) chopped
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (or fat of choice)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do…

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • Squeeze out all the moisture from the spaghetti squash with a paper towel and evenly distribute into greased muffin tins (overly grease!!  I had to do a lot of scrubbing to get all the egg off after, because I only lightly greased).  I had Maya push a paper towel into them to get even more moisture out.  She thought it was fun, and it helped pack them in there!
  • Bake for 10 minutes til the spaghetti squash gets slightly browned at the edges.Blog Paleo Whole30 Egg Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins-4
  • While that is baking…In a large frying pan, heat up your oil (or fat of choice), and cook diced onions until soft.  I let Maya stir these up.  🙂Blog Paleo Whole30 Egg Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins-5
  • While these are cooking you can dice up your chicken sausage.  Once the onions are soft, add in the chicken sausage for a few minutes to warm them up and release the juices.
  • After the spaghetti squash has cooked, reduce  your heat to 350.
  • Evenly distribute the onion/chicken sausage on top of the spaghetti squash in the muffin tins.Blog Paleo Whole30 Egg Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins-6
  • Whisk 6 eggs in with diced greens.Blog Paleo Whole30 Egg Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins-7
  • Pour that evenly over muffin tins til the mixture reaches the top.  They don’t rise that much.Blog Paleo Whole30 Egg Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins-8
  • Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until the eggs are all the way cooked through.Blog Paleo Whole30 Egg Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins-9
  • Store in an air tight container, and eat through out the week!

Keeping it Real…

The number one hardest part of cooking and baking with a toddler?  Or at least MY TODDLER, is stopping them from licking the spoon and eating along the way.  But…whatever.  Oh, and we made these at 5:00 at night, so there was NO natural light, which bums me out, but such is life.

Blog Paleo Whole30 Egg Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Egg Muffins-10The second hilarious thing that happened (which I’m only admitting at the very end of this post, knowing most people won’t get this far hahaha.)  I accidentally turned the oven off when I thought I was turning it down to 350.  So…I put the muffins in, checked them at 20 minutes and thought.  WHY don’t they look more cooked??  Did I not get enough moisture out of the squash??  SO…10 more minutes.  STILL not looking done.  5 more minutes.  Then I started getting confused on how long they’d been in there and wondered how I would tell people how long they should cook!  SO, I checked them again, and realized…my hand wasn’t hot when I stuck it in to shake the pan.  Um….hmmm, yeah, turning the oven on.  Important step!!!!  I was actually making these for dinner and had to scrap it and make something else while they cooked for their appropriate 20 minutes.  GRRRR.

ENJOY!! 🙂dit-elle-Lauren

Winter Squash and Apple Soup

Washington State is the apple capital of the world and are lucky to get an abundance of different varieties, especially in fall! This is a lovely soup using apples and celeriac (celery root) as the main ingredients. It is wonderful served simply with fresh apples and drizzled with olive oil, or make a full meal out of it by serving with some Winter Squash and Apple Galette or Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates! 🙂

wintersquash and apple soup blog (2)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 pounds celeriac, peeled and diced
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
3 apples – peeled, cored and diced and more for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 to 6 cups vegetable stock
Truffle or olive oil, to garnish
Preparation
Heat oil in a heavy stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leeks and cook until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and bay leaf, cooking for 1 additional minute. Add celeriac, potatoes and apples; cook until soft, about 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and deglaze the pot with wine, cooking until almost evaporated. Pour in enough vegetable stock to cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until celeriac and potatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes.

Remove bay leaf and let soup cool slightly. Carefully puree soup until smooth (either with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor). Return soup to the stove to reheat, adding additional stock if too thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. To serve, drizzle with truffle or olive oil and fresh slices of apple.

Thanks PCC Natural Markets!

dit-elle-Esther

Winter Squash and Apple Galette

This week I’m featuring two recipes using winter squash and apples! Today a Galette (French for a flat round pastry or bread) and on Thursday, check back for Winter Squash and Apple Soup. These dishes are excellent served together as a meal or as separate dishes! I made these for lunch recently when we were having one of the first damp, cold and rainy days here in Seattle. It was a wonderful meal to cheer up the day. 🙂

This is a great recipe for leftover roasted squash since you do need to cook it before putting into the shell here, but it is otherwise quick and easy to assemble!

winter squash and apple pie (2) winter squash and apple pie (1)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound winter squash – peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
  • 1/2 apple – halved, cored and cut into thin wedges
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (or parmesan works great as well)
  • 1 prepared pie crust (I use a gluten free version)
  • 1 egg yolk plus 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)

Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 400° F.
  • Toss squash with oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven until tender, about 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add apples and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; toss with squash and blue cheese.
  • Place pie crust flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Mound squash mixture in the middle of crust, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold border over filling, pleating the edge (the center will be open). Brush edges with egg wash.
  • Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into wedges before serving.

Super Mom Tip: 1) Use leftover baked squash and save a step! 2) Don’t have time to work on the pleating and egg washing the crust? I didn’t either. I just tossed the filling and baked it in the crust and voila! I’m sure it tastes just as good!

Thanks to and inspired by the recipe on PCC Natural Markets!

dit-elle-Esther

Peach, Avocado, Tomato, and Basil Salad with Goat Cheese

I try and make a really big salad with every dinner.

I love when I can put so many flavorful fruits, veggies, and herbs in there, that you don’t really need a fancy dressing.  I drizzled a little bit of olive oil, honey, and a bit of sea salt and pepper on top of this, and it was good to go!Blog Peach Avocado Tomato Goat Cheese Basil Salad-1 Blog Peach Avocado Tomato Goat Cheese Basil Salad-2 Blog Peach Avocado Tomato Goat Cheese Basil Salad-3 Blog Peach Avocado Tomato Goat Cheese Basil Salad-4

Ingredients

  • Large handful of mixed greens.
  • 4-5 Large basil leaves shredded
  • 1/2 Medium avocado diced
  • 1 medium size peach
  • A handful of cherry tomatoes or about 1 cup of roma or heirloom tomatoes cut.
  • 2 Tablespoons of goat cheese
  • Drizzle olive oil over the top and a little bit of raw honey.
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy 🙂dit-elle-Lauren

Kale, Broccoli, Brussel Sprout Salad with Blueberries and Avocado topped with a Fried Egg

If it sounds like I just threw a bunch of random stuff that was in my refridgerator, it sounds correct haha.  When the Huz is out of town, and we don’t have the boys I like to keep dinners pretty simple for Maya and me.  I love tossing a fried egg on salads.  The runny yolk acts as a dressing, and it’s a super easy quick healthy protein-WIN!Blog Paleo Kale Broccoli Brussel Sprout Salad with Blueberries Avocado topped with a Fried Egg-1 Blog Paleo Kale Broccoli Brussel Sprout Salad with Blueberries Avocado topped with a Fried Egg-2 Ingredients (for 2)

  • Large handful of Kale, broccoli, brussel sprout salad per person.  They carry it at Costco and Trader Joe’s.
  • 1/2 Medium avocado diced
  • Handful of blueberries per person
  • Drizzle olive oil over the top
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Top with fried eggs!

Dinner all done in under 15 minutes!  YESSSSS!  I’ll be posting another rendition of this soon!

Enjoy 🙂dit-elle-Lauren

Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella and Watermelon Skewers

We’re having another “heat wave” (Seattle doesn’t really know what to do when it’s 80+ degrees (except celebrate perhaps). Get to 90+ though and we start melting). With no air conditioning, we try not to cook and bake much, instead we head to the lake for picnic dinners or grill on our deck. These skewers require no grilling or cooking however and are totally summer, totally simple, and totally delicious.

We had these at a wedding few weeks ago in California. It was the perfect appetizer.

You skewer cherry tomatoes, cubed mozzarella, cubed watermelon and fresh basil leaves. Then drizzle with your favorite balsamic vinaigrette and serve! So easy!

Blog tomato basil mozaarella skewers-3 Blog tomato basil mozaarella skewers-2 Blog tomato basil mozaarella skewers-1

Ingredients

  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Watermelon, slice into 1″ cubes
  • Mozzarella, cubed
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Balsamic vinaigrette
  • Skewers (look for bamboo knot cocktail / Hors’ D’oeuvre picks)

 Directions

  • Skewer tomatoes, watermelon and cheese with basil layered in
  • Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette
  • Keep refrigerated until ready to serve
  • Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Insalata di Arance (Orange Salad)

I would never have thought of these ingredients being perfectly complimentary and surprisingly delightful! Sweet tangy oranges, the subtle flavor of fennel, salty olives, a handful of parsley.. so good!

Blog orange fennel salad-2 Blog orange fennel salad-1

Ingredients

  • 4 oranges, peeled, sliced in bite size pieces
  • 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • Dried red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 handful kalamata olives (or pitted black olives)
  • 1 handful fresh parsley, finely chopped

Directions

  • Mix together oil, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes and salt.
  • Toss with oranges, fennel, onions.
  • Sprinkle with olives and chopped parsley.
  • Serve and enjoy or make ahead of time and let marinade overnight

Thanks PCC Natural Markets for the inspiration. I modified the recipe slightly from the original here.

dit-elle-Esther

Tossed Salad & Scrambled Eggs

Need a quick go-to meal that includes protein and veggies? My quick fix meal is tossed salad and scrambled eggs (yes, I’m a fan of Frasier..:-)). You can add all sorts of veggies, cheeses, or leftover cooked meats for a delicious quick meal!

Here’s a my super fast recipe for scrambled eggs. Basically you put some oil in the pan and add whatever raw veggies/meats you wish, cooking for a few minutes, then crack the eggs directly into the pan stirring occasionally until no longer runny. Add cheese at the end, and mix it in by fluffing a bit with fork and serve!

Blog tossed salad eggs

Ingredients

  • Eggs
  • Oil for cooking
  • Veggies (my favorites include chopped asparagus, fresh spinach, artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes)
  • Cheese (my favorite is goat, but try cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan or pepper jack or others)
  • Fresh herbs, spices, salt & pepper (to taste)
  • Cooked meats (bacon, chopped ham, etc)

Directions

  • Heat oil and saute herbs and veggies (onion until it’s translucent and garlic until fragrant if using either) for a few minutes
  • Crack eggs directly into pan and stir occasionally until eggs are no longer runny
  • Add cheese and salt/pepper to taste
  • Serve with tossed salad (salad greens + oil + balsamic vinaigrette)

Enjoy! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther