{In My Kitchen} Charbroiled Avocado with Warm Red Onion & Tomato Salsa

Tonight, after an afternoon of Fall decorating and football, Michael and I were in the mood for a warm snack while we watched Sunday night football. {We like football in this house.}I'd bought a bag of avocados to use for baby food, but they were starting to get too ripe and I wanted to use them before they went bad. I love guacamole as a finger food, but it seems more like a summer dish to me. And after getting out pumpkins, hanging a Fall wreath, and lighting a spicy candle, I was craving a more Autumn-ish snack.

Enter the broiled avocado. Simple. Easy. Whole food. Delicious. Seasoned with a little salt and pepp, placed under the broiler, topped with warm diced tomatoes and red onions, and served with crunchy blue corn chips. The cold weather version of guacamole. Also, it's just one more way to savor September. :)
Here's how easy it is.

Charbroiled Avocado with Warm Red Onion & Tomato Salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados, halved and pitted
• 1 vine ripened tomato, sliced
• 1 sliced ring of red onion, separated
• salt and pepper

Get Cookin'

1. Turn broiler on high. Wait for oven to heat, about 5 minutes.
2. On a baking sheet, lay out avocado halves, tomato slices, and the separated rings of onion.
3. Season avocado and tomato with salt and pepper to taste. {I'm always a little heavy on the pepper.}
4. Place baking sheet under broiler for approximately 8 minutes, checking every minute after 5 minutes to ensure food isn't burning. To get a good charred taste, wait until avocado flesh is browning and bubbling. Tomatoes and onion rings should be soft.
5. Remove from heat. Dice onion and tomato.
6. Fill the well of each avocado half with a spoonful of the tomato and onion salsa. Serve warm with chips.

That's all there is to it! If you're going to a football party and want to spice up regular ole guac, make sure you give this recipe a try! You could even empty the flesh of the avocado from the skin into a bowl, mix in the tomatoes and onion, and serve in a bowl for easy dipping if you're serving a crowd. It'll still be warm with that charbroiled taste.

Happy first day of Fall!

{In My Kitchen} Louisiana Shrimp Pasta

My sister has been raving about this dish she makes called Louisiana Chicken Pasta. I think she got it off Pinterest. Because, let's be honest, we hardly ever find new recipes in cookbooks anymore. 

I feel I've been in a recipe-rut, cooking the same dishes over and over. Lately it's been chicken burgers (will have to do a blog post soon) and Mexican stack-ups. When I mentioned to Christy that I wanted something different, she persuaded me to try this recipe. She even wrote it on a cute little recipe card. That's how committed she is to this recipe. I mean, ya don't give someone a handwritten recipe card for a so-so dish.

I tried it last night, and y'all, it was DELISH. Really and truly, down to your core DELICIOUS.

I had to share the recipe right away. I did make a few minor changes to her recipe, so I'll include both versions. Be prepared to drool.

Louisiana Chicken {Shrimp} Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces {I used a bag of Gulf caught peeled & deveined shrimp}
• 8 oz bowtie pasta {1 cup Hodgson Mills whole wheat pasta spirals}
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil {3 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil in place of butter & olive oil}
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup half and half {1/2 cup organic half and half}
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream {1 cup heavy whipping cream}
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder {1/4 tsp organic minced garlic}
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning*
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper*
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp water
• 3 scallions, chopped

* We both used more Cajun seasoning and Cayenne than suggested.

Get Cookin'

1. Cook chicken {or shrimp} in small amount of butter/olive oil {coconut oil} in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season with salt and Cajun spices. Cook until lightly brown {or pink if using shrimp} and is thoroughly cooked. Set aside.
2. Cook pasta according to instructions on package. 
3. Sautee peppers and onions in the same skillet the chicken {shrimp} was cooked in. Season with salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, and Cayenne. Cook until veggies are tender, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Add the half and half and heavy cream to the skillet and bring to a simmer.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water until dissolved. Add to skillet once the cream mixture has started to bubble. Allow to cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.*
6. When the sauce has thickened, add cooked pasta and chicken pieces {shrimp} to the skillet. Cook until chicken {shrimp} is warmed through. 
7. Stir in scallions.
8. Serve immediately and top with addition Cajun seasoning, if desired. Which we did.

Christy's Note: Makes about 6 servings. This would be good for company. {I completely agree!}

*I skipped step 5, choosing not to add cornstarch as a thickening agent. Instead I allowed my sauce to simmer a bit longer. It thickened up on its own.

Even Michael, who doesn't generally like pasta dishes for supper, gave this one two thumbs up. I'll leave you with one final picture to drive home the point. Now, go get in the kitchen!

{In My Kitchen} Homemade Meatballs & Spaghetti Sauce with Brown Rice Noodles

 


 I'm looking for a good spaghetti sauce recipe. I tried this recipe {from scratch!} last night. But unfortunately, it got the "thumbs down" from my husband. Anybody else get that response sometimes? Here's how the conversation went.

"Babe? Can I tell you something?" {there was a note of please-don't-kill-me-when-I-say-this in his tone}

"Yes..." {putting a bite in my mouth and chewing}

"Well, this is not exactly what I picture when I think of spaghetti sauce."

Now, because I'm a pretty forgiving woman, I didn't take the sauce pot and knock him over the head. Also, he had a point. The sauce had a really strong Italian flavor, which we both liked, but the texture was just too chunky. I like a thick, smooth, stick-to-the-noodles type of tomato sauce. And unfortunately, this one just fell short. Sigh.

If, however, you're a fan of a chunky sauce, I'd say this one's a winner.

I also made homemade meatballs. Which Michael raved about. So, hopefully that made up for the disappointing sauce.

Instead of using whole wheat pasta like I normally do, I used brown rice pasta. I ran across it in the grocery store the other day and was intrigued, so I decided to give it a try.

Neither Michael nor I are gluten-intolerant, so that wasn't the motivation for buying this type of pasta. I was merely curious. Overall, I liked the taste and the texture. I think the noodles were a bit "stickier" than wheat noodles. There was a lot of starch in the water when I finished boiling them. But I also thought they were softer than whole wheat noodles, which is a plus for me. I'd say the major downfall of this type of pasta is that it took 15 minutes to boil rather than the traditional 6-8 minutes for wheat pasta. The cost was about the same.

If you have an intolerance to gluten or if you're just looking for "whole food" alternative to whole wheat pasta, I'd say give these a try! I'll be buying them again in the future.

{In My Kitchen} Coconut Milk + Flaxseed

Two things on this sunny August afternoon:

1) Have any of y'all ever tried coconut milk? Oh. My. Goodness. It has quickly become my favorite breakfast drink besides coffee. It may or may not also be my favorite drink for afternoon snack.
Recently a friend of mine posted about how delicious coconut milk tastes. I was immediately intrigued. Usually I stick to my organic vitamin D fortified whole milk. I mean, I've tried several "milk substitutes" before. Almond milk- gritty and bitter. Soy milk- oily and tasteless. I was a bit skeptical, but she raved about it so much I decided to take the plunge and purchase a carton. Now it will have a permanent spot on the top shelf in my fridge. And if you want to know what it tastes like before you buy it, I'll tell you.
Coconut milk = Vacation in a glass.
Enough said.

2) Another item that's been in my kitchen recently is flaxseed. That's what you see up there sprinkled on top of my yogurt and strawberries. I've been hearing about the health benefits of flaxseed, so I decided to do some research to find out exactly why I need to eat it on a regular basis. Here's what I discovered:

• Flaxseeds are rich in lignans (which as far as I can tell have qualities similar to antioxidants), fiber, and Omega 3 fatty acids. Due to these qualities, there are several health benefits associated with flaxseed consumption. Turns out that flaxseed can:

• Reduce your risk of cancer
• Prevent heart disease
• Stabilize blood sugar levels
• Help weight loss (who doesn't like that, right?)
• Promote intestinal health

And those are only five reasons out of the eleven or more benefits I found. Sounds like a superfood to me!

I love how easy it is to include in my diet. I can easily add it to yogurt, a smoothie, salad, oatmeal, peanut butter toast, or simply mix it with fresh cut up fruit. And a little bit goes a long way, so for those of you who are like me and on a monthly grocery budget, a $3.00 bag can last a couple of months. Win.

Information about flaxseed from here and here.