This has become a go to recipe for us whenever we have leftover pulled pork. You can also use chicken or really any other meat that you want. If you have leftovers or meat already prepared this dish is super fast and easy to put together!
We started by heating up the pork in a small pan. At the same time – boil water for a couple of eggs. In a 3rd pan, add some bone broth. We were fortunate enough to grab some from our favorite meat market here in AZ last week, but you can work with any brand of bone broth or stock. Bring your broth to a simmer and add in coconut aminos, salt & pepper, gochujang, ginger, lime juice and garlic. (I’ll share approximate amounts, but it’s really all to your taste/preference)
Don’t forget about your eggs. We prefer a nice soft boiled egg which is about 6-6.5 minutes. Add your eggs to boiling water then set a timer.
After you simmer for a few minutes and make sure your broth tastes just how you like, turn the heat up to a boil and add your noodles. They take about five minutes so should be done right about the same time as your eggs! We used the above pictured soba noodles, but there are a variety of options you can use! We also had some shiitake mushrooms in the fridge so we sliced them pretty thin and added in with the noodles.
Once your eggs are done – peel and slice in half. Put your noodles and mushrooms in a bowl and top with your pork. (or whatever meat you are using!)
Then, ladle in your hot broth. Top with and egg and cilantro. Feel free to add any other ingredients you like – hot sauce, thin slice radishes, scallions, other veggies? Grab some extra napkins as it can get kind of messy! Enjoy!
Pork Noodle Bowls
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups bone broth (or stock or whatever you have on hand)
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2-3 tbsp gochujang
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp ginger dried
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2-3 tbsp minced garlic
- 1.5-2 cups pulled pork or chicken or sliced meat or tofu
- 1/2 pint shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 3/4 lb buckwheat soba noodles
- 1 bunch cilantro for garnish
- 3 eggs soft boiled about 6+ minutes
Instructions
- Heat your pulled pork on stove, if it isn't already.
- Cook your eggs to your liking – 6+ minutes for soft boiled.
- Heat your broth in a separate pan. Add all of the ingredients through the minced garlic. Simmer for a few minutes and taste to see if you want to add or amend any flavors to your liking.
- Bring your broth to a boil and add noodles and mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add your noodles and mushrooms to a bowl. Top with pork. Ladle the broth over the top. Garnish with cilantro and an egg. Enjoy!
Meyer Lemon, Lavender “Quarantini”
Ok – I know.. I guess I’ve been slacking on recipes. I’m coming back with this simple “Quarantini.” Our Meyer lemon tree, as per usual, produced hundreds and hundreds of lemons and we were a little late to getting them all picked this year! But luckily – only sacrificed a few to our lateness.
So.. I’m pulling weeds in the backyard for what feels like the 100th time this month or week at that. And the lovely honey bees are swarming all around the lemon and lime trees as the blooms smell like what I imagine heaven must smell like and they are going back and forth between the trees and the garden where the herbs and the beautiful lavender are growing!
This is just one of the several lavender plants growing in our garden currently! Isn’t it beautiful?
So – I had already picked all of our lemons and peeled and juiced ALMOST all of them. I had a giant pitcher of juice in the fridge waiting to be frozen (like the last 2 gallons) or trying to figure out what else to make!
Save the peels – I will share my “secret” BBQ rub (or all purpose) soon!
So for this Quarantini you will need approx 6-8 stems of lavender and about 2 cups of squeezed lemon juice, preferably Meyer lemon (it’s milder/sweeter). This recipe will make approx 4-5 martinis. You can cut in 1/2 if you don’t want that many!
Begin by making your simple syrup. Equal parts sugar to water. I used one cup of sugar and one cup of water. Bring it to a boil and stir until dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in your lavender stems. Let cool.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice (it is best super cold), strain your simple syrup into the shaker. Add a cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice and shake well. Dip martini glasses in lemon juice (or use a quarter lemon to coat the rim) and then coat in sugar. Pour in 2 oz of chilled vodka and then fill to the top with your lemonade mixture – stir gently. Top with a lavender stem and/or a thin slice of lemon for garnish. Enjoy!
Note: If you are like me and like them a little more tart – feel free to top with some extra lemon juice. And don’t worry – the meyer lemon isn’t too tart! 😉
Lavender Lemon Quarantini
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 6-8 stems lavender
- 1 cup meyer lemon juice (or more) fresh squeezed is best
- 1/8 cup sugar for garnish
- 4 oz chilled vodka
Instructions
- Make your simple syrup. Add one cup of sugar and one cup of water to a pot and bring to a boil. Stir until dissolved. Once sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add lavender stems. Let cool.
- Add ice to shaker. Pour in one cup of meyer lemon juice and strain the symple syrup into the shaker. Shake until super cold.
- Rim martini glasses with sugar – use lemon juice and then dip in sugar around rim. Fill glasses with 2oz of chilled vodka. Pour lemonade mixture on top until glass is full. Stir gently.
- Add a lavender stem and/or thin lemon slice for garnish. If it too sweet for you – top with a little extra lemon juice. Enjoy!
Super Simple Pesto
I love Basil. I love pesto. I like it on so many things! And lucky for me, basil grows here in the desert like crazy! It survived our crazy hot summer and is thriving with just slightly lower temps! Not only is it surviving, but I have found at least 6 volunteer plants popping up. Volunteer – meaning – I didn’t plant them there and I don’t care! 🙂 As far as I’m concerned it can grow wherever it wants.
When you have an abundance of something like basil – you can use it in caprese, any kind of pasta, dry it and keep in jars or… make pesto!
It’s so easy to make. Let me warn you though.. if you don’t have a food processor – get one! You can do this in a blender if you chose, but you might not enjoy this process as much.
First things first – gather your basil and remove the stems and any flowers. Wash it and pat dry with paper towels. Drier the better!
In the large bowl, with your basic, large blade on your food processor – add 1 cup parmesan cheese (I used already shredded), about 1.5 cups of pine nuts, 3 garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. I keep lemon juice in baggies in the freezer – we have a lemon tree so every year I juice a bunch, pour into ice cube trays and save some of the wonderful juice for later! You can just squeeze in a lemon though. 🙂 Pulse together on high until everything is mixed together well and chopped finely.
Add your basil to the top of this mixture. Place the lid back on. Turn the processor on high and drizzle olive oil through the small food chute until it reaches the desired consistency. You may have to stop and stir a couple of times. I think it used about a cup, maybe a little less of olive oil. I like mine a little creamy so sometimes at this point, I also add about 1/4 cup of plain, non-fat yogurt. You can always mix some together separately to try first. It should look something like this when finished.
Lastly, I like to throw in a few seasonings – a dash of cayenne pepper and depending on how salty your cheese was, I have some chardonnay smoked sea salt that is pretty good in this. That’s it! Enjoy on flatbread, use as a pasta sauce, bake chicken with pesto on top or.. add to your BLT! Here’s an added tip for a fantastic BLT – use thick cut bacon and cook it on the grill 😉
This is also a great gift – I’ve found so many people love pesto and it’s easy to put in mason jars and give away.
Super Simple Pesto
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups fresh basil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 1.5 cups pine nuts
- 1/4-1/2 cup non-fat, plain yogurt
- 1 cup olive oil
- dash cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Collect your basil and remove from stems and remove any flowers, clean and dry thoroughly.
- In food processor (with large bowl and large blade) add your parmesan cheese, lemon juice, garlic and pine nuts until you have a fine consistency.
- Add Basil to mixture. With processor on high, slowly mix in olive oil until you reach desired consistency.
- If you like, add in yogurt and cayenne pepper. Enjoy!
Creamy Roasted Tomato Sauce over Zucchini
Ok – I realized this is extremely similar to a recipe I have already posted. However, it turned out quite a bit different. Just a few small changes this time. I guess I will leave both recipes up so you can see the variations and pick what sounds best to you!
I know I have given several “zoodle” recipes already, but it’s summer time and there is nothing better than garden fresh veggies! I was visiting my parents last week and picked up lots of goodies at the local farmers market including these beautiful heirloom tomatoes, zucchini and yellow summer squash. This recipe is a favorite of mine and it’s so easy!
You can use any size tomato for this recipe – so if you are growing multiple varieties and want to use cherry tomatoes and large heirlooms go for it! If you have cherry tomatoes, I like to cut in half and if they are larger, just cut down accordingly – maybe into quarters. Spread them on a jelly roll pan. (that’s a baking sheet that has a lip around the sides) Drizzle on some olive oil, red wine vinegar, about a tablespoon or a little more of minced garlic, a dash of kosher salt and some red pepper flakes. The pepper adds some nice heat, if you are sensitive to spicy, then go light on the pepper flakes, but don’t worry we will balance out the heat later. Shake the pan around to make sure your tomatoes are all coated. Throw in the oven set at 375 degrees and bake until they are starting to burst. (cutting them in half saves some time here)
Next, let’s make our “zoodles.” And – oops! I forgot to take a picture so here is an old one so you can see what type of “zoodles” I used this time. My mom bought the same spiralizer I have and I thought it had the blade for the noodles that are more like spaghetti style set up, but it was the ribbon blade and I decided that was even better! I actually used about 3 small zucchini and one larger yellow summer squash combined.
Squeeze any excess water out by placing between paper towels. These really didn’t have much excess water as they were super fresh! Heat some ghee butter (or olive oil if you prefer) over medium-high heat and add your “zoodles.” Stir well to coat in your butter and then cover. I actually added a dash of water to help mine steam as I said these were super fresh and had almost zero excess water. If your zucchini is watery you won’t need to add any! These took about 10 minutes to cook through.
Once your tomatoes are starting to pop, you can pull them out of the oven and add to your cooked veggies. I use a spatula to scrape all of the bits from the pan as the juices make a nice, light sauce for summer.
Stir together your veggies and the “sauce” and then add some crumbled goat cheese. This makes for a super creamy, but still light sauce and also helps cut a little of the heat from your crushed red pepper flakes.
I like to sprinkle a little extra on top of each bowl just before serving. That’s it – I hope you enjoy! I’ve also made a similar sauce on top of regular pasta if you have been “zoodled” out like my husband would say.
Creamy Roasted Tomato Sauce over Zucchini
Ingredients
- 3 small zucchini
- 1 medium yellow, summer squash
- 1.5 pints tomatoes any size, add more if you like
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp minced garlic
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp chrushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp ghee butter can substitute olive oil if you prefer
- 5 oz goat cheese approx
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut your tomatoes into pieces and spread on a jelly roll pan. Add your olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss together to coat the tomatoes well and put in the oven.
- Make your zoodles. We used the ribbon blade on the spiralizer and loved the texture for this recipe. Squeeze any excess water between paper towels.
- Heat the ghee butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add your zoodles and stir to coat them in the butter. Cover with a lid and let steam for approx 7-10 minutes. The cook time will depend on the water content of your veggies. (the more water the faster they will cook).
- Once your tomatoes are starting to burst, remove them from the over and add to your cooked zoodles. Use a spatula to scrape off all of the extra bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Crumble the goat cheese and add about 1/2. Stir together well. Add more of the cheese to taste and top with a few crumbles before serving if you like. ~Enjoy!
Peach Caprese Salad
I hadn’t even thought about posting/sharing this one.. I was assuming it was universal. But.. I had multiple people ask for the recipe. So – here goes nothing. This may be my shortest/easiest one yet. And not many pictures to share outside of the above.
Fresh peaches.. I mean it’s summer. We were grilling leg of lamb and I wanted a nice, refreshing, light side. I grabbed a few fresh peaches from the store. Sliced into small pieces. In Arizona, mid-summer, gardens don’t grow so amazing… I mean, I can’t complain. My tomatoes are still growing, but most of them are smaller. So.. I didn’t have the large gorgeous heirlooms to slice for caprese. Instead, I just do a bite size caprese. Slice/dice your peaches.. then same thing with your tomatoes. I bought the pre-made mozzarella in the little pearls/beads. You can also slice/dice larger mozzarella. Next, Basil. That is one thing that is growing so well for me this year. I have an abundance planted with my tomatoes under my shade cloth as well as about 10 volunteer plants that have popped up throughout the garden. Maybe I can thank the birds, maybe the wind, maybe the bunnies?? Either way, I’m happy! I just tear the basil or use some herb scissors if you have them. Mix your peaches, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella together. Drizzle with some fresh, local honey and some good quality balsamic.
That’s it – enjoy! So fresh, so yummy, so summer.. I’m not even putting a recipe card together for this one 😉
Frozen Protein Bars
These are a go to breakfast, snack or pre/post workout treat for me. They are so easy to throw together and you can change them up however you like. I have shared these with most of my guests (I’m bad about breakfast…) and I’ve had dozens of requests for the recipe. I’ve been making these for years and they are slightly different each time. I finally just finished another batch so I think I can now share a “recipe” with everyone.
Start with some overripe bananas. I’m talking black, but not quite moldy.. those are how I like them for recipes like this. I used about 7 large ones in this batch. Next, I add peanut butter. You can use whatever your preference is. I prefer an all natural organic peanut butter and the one we happened to have opened at this time was the Sprouts brand (creamy, unsalted and unsweetened). Picture is deceiving.. I’d say there are about 3 tablespoons of peanut butter in this particular batch. Then, I add in some honey (you could substitute pure maple syrup or agave if you choose). I like to add the local, all natural honey where I can as I suffer from allergies and am told it’s supposed to help! I added probably 3 tablespoons give or take of the honey as well. Mix together well – a spoon should work fine. It should look something like this..
Easy enough so far, right? Next, I throw in some shredded coconut (about 1/4 cup), some sprouted rolled oats (I love the One Degree brand) – probably about a cup or more of the oats. I’m not a big sweets person or chocolate for that matter so I need something tangy and chewy to add. This is where I add my dried cranberries. In this batch I added about 3/4 cup. Often I would throw in some sort of crunchy granola. I didn’t have any on hand so I decided to leave out this time. Last two ingredients I add are chocolate chips (either dark chocolate or semi-sweet) and chocolate protein powder. About 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips and your protein powder really depends on what kind you are using. I prefer the Orgain Organic and use their creamy chocolate fudge for this (there are no added sugars which is important to me). I kept adding until my consistency and taste were ok without overdoing it – my guess is about a cup.
Here is what it looks like after you have everything mixed up. This batch is slightly thin, but will be ok – thicker is ok as well – which it would be if you added granola.
Next – line a muffin tin with some paper cupcake liners. This is important.. it won’t work if you just dump into an empty muffin tin. Also, if you don’t have a muffin tin or don’t have enough you can just use any baking dish that is freezer safe and place your liners in that. See examples below.
Place these in the freezer overnight or until hard. Pop the bars out of the liners into a ziplock bag and store in the freezer until ready to enjoy. If they were a thinner consistency when you put in the freezer keep in mind they will melt faster. These are great in the summer time, after a workout or just anytime in Arizona!
I hope you enjoy these as much we do. Let me know if you come up with any additional ingredients that we need to try!
A few suggestions are: any other dried fruits, including raisins if you don’t like dried cranberries or want sweeter. If you are looking for some extra fiber you could add some wheat bran. Any nuts that you like: almonds, pecans, walnuts.
Frozen Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 7-8 bananas overripe
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 3-4 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup coconut shredded
- 1 cup sprouted, rolled oats or more
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips dark chocolate or semi-sweet
- 1 cup chocolate protein powder
Instructions
- Mix your wet ingredients together first: bananas, peanut butter, honey.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir together well.
- Line a muffin tin (or baking dish) with cupcake liners, fill about 2/3-3/4 full and place in freezer overnight or until frozen solid.
- Pop the bars out of the liners into a freezer bag and store in the freezer until ready to enjoy.
Deviled Eggs
A favorite snack of mine – I love eggs cooked just about any way! My friends and family keep asking for this recipe. I didn’t really think there was a recipe for deviled eggs, but I guess everyone has their own little secret. So – I’ll share my process.
First of all – I only buy large, organic eggs. You have to do your research here on who you are buying from as the industry is not regulated very well and the labeling can be very misleading. Local farms are the best, but there are a few grocery store options I am also good with. Farm fresh eggs are just as good as a tomato picked right off your backyard garden plant! Then – I follow this website’s exact process for boiling my eggs. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel here – this one is absolutely perfect! I follow this to the tee and cook mine right around 10 minutes for my deviled eggs.
They peel super easy every time (use the ice water bath!) and then the yolks pop right out with no problems. Cut your eggs in half and pop the yolks into a medium size bowl. I made about 18 eggs this time. My carrier only fits 2 dozen (halves), but I was taking to a big party so made a few extra.
Next, I add in some mustard. I make a homemade mustard from my banana peppers I grown in my garden. It’s fantastic – a little tangy, slight spice. You can use a store bought mustard. (I will share my recipe soon as I’m waiting to pick enough banana peppers currently). I would look for a tangy maybe honey mustard – should be kind of dark like this:
Next, add in some mayo. Again, I much prefer to use homemade and it’s so easy to make: avocado oil, 1 whole egg, squeeze of lemon juice, mustard powder, pinch of salt. It’s creamier than the store bought and tastes way better. If you are in a rush it’s totally fine to use one from the store. I like the Primal Kitchen avocado oil mayo (it’s sold on Amazon or lots of other places including Target). For my 18 eggs I used about 1/2-2/3 cup of both the mustard and mayo – it’s all about preference and texture. Just add a little of each and you can continue to add more until it’s perfect for you. I also pour in a little apple cider vinegar or if I have pickled red onions in the fridge I’ll use a little of that juice – just about a tablespoon.
Next comes my secret ingredient! I love this stuff! We purchased this for the first time at the Old Town Scottsdale farmers market, but don’t worry – you can buy it online! Saucy lips have great sauces that you can use to marinade meats, use as dressings, or put in things like deviled eggs! The Zesty cilantro is what I use for this one. I use quite a bit as I want the flavor to show about the mayo and mustard. Just mix in about a 1/4 cup and then keep adding to your preference. Here is what my final mix looks like..
I try my best to get the eggs as smooth as possible so the mix is easier to “pipe” into your egg whites. I do not have any fancy piping tips as – I do NOT bake 🙂 So, I dump this into a zip lock bag and cut the corner off and squeeze. If you have larger chunks of egg you will just have to cut a bigger hole into your baggie.
In case you’ve never done this before.. here is what I’m talking about. Just cut that little corner and start piping! That’s it! If you want to make them look pretty for serving you could sprinkle on some paprika or some diced chives on top. Or some micro-cilantro if you are using the saucy lips already. There are so many different ways you can dress up your eggs! I didn’t this time as they were being transported in my little carry case and I was just keeping it easy. Enjoy!
Easy Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
- 18 Eggs large, organic
- 2/3 cup Mustard tangy, honey mustard
- 2/3 cup Mayo avocado oil
- 1 tbsp Vinegar apple cider
- 3/4 cup Saucy Lips Zesty Cilantro Sauce less sauce to taste..
Instructions
- Cook your eggs according to website instructions – 10 minutes. Put in ice water bath for 5+ minutes. Peel.
- Cut your eggs in half and dump your yolks in a medium size bowl.
- Add your mustard, mayo, vinegar and sauce to taste and texture prefered. Try to get your mixture as creamy as possible, removing any large chunks of egg.
- Dump your mixture into a zip lock bag and pipe into your egg whites.
- Top with anything you desire – or a combination – paprika, chives, cilantro.
Spiralized Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Last night.. I actually got my husband to eat fresh green beans – and he loved them. Polished off the pan! I am so happy. I will share that simple recipe with you later this week. It’s absolutely gorgeous weather in the Phoenix metro right now. We are all trying to enjoy this and soak up as much as we can before the ovens are turned on.. and ran all summer long. So I often take my lunch to the patio and enjoy it outside this time of year.
Most of the time I am looking for a super quick, simple and healthy lunch option. The spiralizer that I have is so easy to access, use and clean it really helps speed up the process for things like this. I knew that I had a few cucumbers in the fridge and wanted to be sure to use them up while they were still fresh! So I pulled 2 large cucumbers out, washed and cut off one end and started spiralizing. I used the coarse noodles – like spaghetti noodle size blade. So much fun.. I love transforming foods into noodles and such.
If you have ever made a cucumber salad before, or actually if you have ever eaten a cucumber before, you know that they are very watery. So – for the first time, I decided to use a little of the salt method for this. I sprinkled on some Kosher salt and mixed together well letting the (cucudooles) sit while I dug for what other ingredients I had in my fridge to turn this into a salad. Hehe.. I will have to think of a better name for them! About 5 minutes later – I squeezed the cucumbers between a LOT of paper towels to take out quite a bit of liquid. You will never get it all and if you do – I’d like to see what that looks like.
Next, I added some cherry tomatoes, cut in half. I cut them in half because it’s so much better when those tomato juices mix in with everything else. I also had some quick pickled onions already in my fridge – so I added the remainder of a jar. I have found I really enjoy keeping the pickled onions on hand and they are so easy to make!
I then added some dill weed – you can use a dried or fresh. And then top off with about 1/2 cup of plain, non-fat, Greek yogurt. (organic of course) That is something else I like to pretty much always have on hand. Much better than sour cream, so many uses and it really stays fresh for a long time. Mix this all together really well. You might want to cut up your cucudooles if they were in the really long strands. Just like you would cut up a kid’s bowl of spaghetti noodles at a restaurant.
There is is – that simple. It’s great when you eat it right away, but even better when you let it sit at least for a few hours. Great idea for a summer BBQ side or if you are like me, lunch. You could even throw in some rotisserie chicken if you wanted to add some protein for your lunch. This will still get pretty watery – that’s just what you get with cucumbers!
Spiralized Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 large cucumbers
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes approx
- 1/3 cup pickled red onion
- 2 tbsp dill fresh or dried
- 1/2 cup plain, non-fat, Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Wash your cucumbers and cut off one end. Spiralize using the coarse noodle (spaghetti noodle size) blade.
- Sprinkle with Kosher salt and let sit for approx 5 minutes. Squeeze out the water between several paper towels as much as you can.
- Wash and cut your cherry tomatoes in half. Add your cherry tomatoes and pickled red onion to your cucumbers.
- Sprinkle in your dill. Mix in the yogurt and still well.
- Refrigerate for a couple of hours before enjoying. OR – eat now if you don’t want to wait.
Sauteed Carrot Ribbons
Have I mentioned just how much I love veggies? Really any veggie, I just can’t get enough. I also love the colors you can find in these organic carrots. As I was smoking my chicken the other day – it felt like summer out and that called for some colorful summer sides. I was wanting to use my spiralizer for these, but found out quickly it is just much easier to use a vegetable peeler. The carrots just weren’t fat enough. Carrots are a great veggie to saute as they are firmer than other veggies and hold their texture well.
This may not look like very many carrots, but it makes a lot more than you would think. This was plenty for the 2 of us with leftovers for both as well. So.. cut off the top and skinny little bottom parts of each carrot. Then, take our your vegetable peeler and peel the carrot down the long side – lay the carrot flat on a cutting board and hold onto the large end. At least that is what I found the easiest. Also – for consistent ribbons, I just kept shaving down the same side. I think my favorite are the purple carrots – they are yellow in the middle. One of them was a lighter purple and my husband joked that it looked like bacon!
You end up with a bowl looking something like this. Of course you can use all orange carrots or whatever you prefer. Next, I melted some ghee butter in a pan over med-high heat. I added some mushrooms and a couple of rosemary sprigs. The mushrooms really soak up the ghee butter so I added a little extra. Probably between 2-3 tablespoons total.
Rosemary grows like a wild weed in Arizona – and it’s one of my favorite smells. Does anyone else do that? ..walk out to your garden and run your fingers through the herbs to smell the wonderful scents? Sometimes that is how I get my dinner inspiration. Some people don’t like how rosemary can be tough to chew in certain dishes. It will soften enough here that it should be fine, but leave the sprigs and you can easily pull them out if you prefer and still have plenty of the wonderful flavor.
Next – add your carrot ribbons to the same pan. Stir together and kind of rotate your carrots with the mushrooms so that everything in the pan soaks up the rosemary flavored butter. I also added about a tablespoon of garlic powder. I like how the powder sticks in this a little better, but you could always use fresh or pre-minced garlic as well.
Once your carrots are cooked through – sprinkle in some shredded Parmesan cheese just before serving and Enjoy! Pull the rosemary sprigs out if you would like before serving.
Sauteed Carrot Ribbons (with Mushrooms and Rosemary)
Ingredients
- 1 bunch carrots organic, mixed colors
- 3 tbsp ghee butter or regular butter or oil if you prefer
- 1 pckg white button mushrooms
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese shredded
Instructions
- Wash your carrots and cut the top and bottom off. Using a vegetable peeler, hold the carrot down flat on a cutting board and run the peeler along the carrot to create ribbons. Do this until the carrot is too thin to peel.
- Over medium-high heat, melt some ghee butter. Add your mushrooms and rosemary.
- Once your mushrooms are cooked about 1/2 way through or more, add your carrot ribbons and garlic powder.
- Stir together well until carrots are cooked through.
- Pull our your rosemary sprigs (if you choose to). Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.
Carrot Top Pesto & Cold Stuffed Tomatoes
Along with my smoked beer can chicken, I made sauteed carrot ribbons and cold stuffed tomatoes. I stuffed those tomatoes with quinoa and carrot pesto. I’d honestly never eaten carrot tops before and wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out, but I just went for it. I hate letting those gorgeous greens go to waste.
Look at all off of those greens just from a few organic carrots. This made more than enough pesto to last us for a while. I also recently received a new food processor from my husband, for my birthday, and I always get excited to break it out so another reason for the pesto. Remove the greens from the stems (and carrots) just like you would cilantro. Set aside. Gather your remaining ingredients – you can adjust to your personal preference, but here is what I included: pine nuts (about 1/2 cup), Parmesan cheese (shredded or cubed), minced garlic, crushed red pepper, 1/2 a large preserved lemon, a handful of mixed greens (baby spinach and fresh greens mix), a handful of fresh basil and olive oil.
With the large bowl and large chopping blade in your processor, running on high – put in your pine nuts and Parmesan cheese until chopped. Add your garlic, crushed red pepper and pulse a few times on high. Add in your carrot tops, greens, basil and preserved lemon and pulse about 10-15 times on high. Scrape the sides of the processor and turn it back onto high. Pour your olive oil slowly through your small food feeder until mixed well. I added about 2/3 cup. Mine was pretty salty as most of these ingredients are and the tartness of the carrot greens didn’t help balance that. I decided to add some sour cream. I added about 1/2 cup. If you want it sweeter you could always add some honey or brown sugar.
Next, cut the tops off of your tomatoes and scrape out the inside using a grapefruit fork. Turn them upside down for 10-15 minutes to let the juices run out. You can sit on a wire rack or just a plate works fine.
Cook your quinoa per package instructions. Let it cool. If you are in a rush you can put on a plate in the fridge for a bit. Mix together your pesto and quinoa and stuff your tomatoes. There you have it! I forgot a complete picture, but grabbed one with our dinner. (at the top)
Carrot Top Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 bunch carrot tops
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded or cubed
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 large lemon preserved
- 1 handful mixed greens
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt, plain (or sour cream)
Cold Stuffed Tomatoes
- 3 or 4 tomatoes large
- 1/2 cup quinoa
Instructions
- Cut off carrot tops and set aside.
- Chop your pine nuts and parmesan cheese on high. Add your crushed red pepper, preserved lemon, garlic and pulse on high until mixed well.
- Add your greens (carrot tops, mixed greens and basil). Pulse on high about 10/15 times until chopped. Scrape the sides.
- With processor on high, slowly add your olive oil until mixed well.
- Taste and add any honey or sugar your might want. Pour into a bowl and mix with 1/2 cup of yogurt.
Cold Stuffed Tomatoes
- Cut the top off of your tomatoes and scrape the insides out using a knife or grapefruit spoon.
- Turn your tomatoes upside down for 10-15 minutes to let the juices run out.
- Cook your quinoa per package instructions and let cool.
- Mix your cooled quinoa with your pesto – to taste. about 1/2 and 1/2, maybe a little more quinoa.
- Stuff your tomatoes and enjoy!