Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash

It is a known fact I have a buffalo/hot sauce obsession...so when I found this recipe I tried and fell in love with it!

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash

3-4 green onions

1-2lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1-2 tbsp EVOO

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup shredded cabbage (I bought coleslaw mix)

1 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce (more if you'd like)

1 oz blue cheese crumbles (optional)

2 tbsp ranch dressing (optional)

Salt, pepper and oregano to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and oregano. Put the cut side down on a pan and cook for 45 minutes or until tender. 

While spaghetti squash is cooking, cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss in garlic and onion powder. Slice green onions, including the whiteboard and reserve a small amount of green for garnish later.  

Heat EVOO up in a large saucepan, add chicken and green onions and cook about 5 minutes or until cooked through. 

Remove spaghetti squash from the oven and let cool. Take a fork and scraps all the spaghetti squash out. Add spaghetti squash, cabbage, carrots and hot sauce to the pan with chicken. Toss and cook for 3-5 minutes. 

Add in ranch dressing and blue cheese crumbles, if desired. I found the blue cheese to overpower the dish, but if you like/love blue cheese then add as much as you please. Same with ranch dressing. 

Sprinkle green onions on top and serve. 

Eat, Enjoy and Be Happy!

Mushroom-Hummus Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons EVOO

2 shallots sliced 

1 1/4 lbs cremini mushrooms, wiped and sliced (I used 2-10oz packages)

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons madeira wine, marsala wine or brandy (I used marsala)

4-6 cups low sodium chicken stock

1 teaspoon thyme (or 2 sprigs)

3/4 cup hummus (store bought or homemade - see my previous hummus post)

Directions:

Heat EVOO in medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook about 15 minutes until liquid from mushrooms evaporates. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add wine or brandy and cook for 2 minutes, scraping any browned bits. Add thyme and broth and simmer gently, stirring occasional for 30 minutes. 

If you used thyme sprigs, remove sprigs...if used dried thyme, there is nothing to remove. Stir the hummus into the soup. 

Transfer half the soup to a food processor or blender (remove cap so steam can escape) and purée to desired consistency. You can either pour back into saucepan or purée the other half. I puréed  the whole soup then heated through for about 15 minutes. 

Optional -- juice 1 lemon into soup, stir and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Soup fully puréed makes (1) 32oz jar of soup. 

Eat, Enjoy and Be Happy!!

Hummus

Picked this recipe up from a friend...much better than the first recipe I used that was terrible!

Ingredients:

1 (15oz) can chickpeas/garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed - save liquid in a bowl)

3 tablespoons from 1-2 lemons 

1/4 cup water

4 tablespoons tahini (stirred well)

2 tablespoons EVOO

1 small garlic clove minced/pressed through a garlic press - about 1/2 teaspoon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (substitute smoked paprika for different taste if desired)

Pinch of cayenne

Directions:

Combine water and lemon juice in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the tahini and EVOO. 

In food processor (or blender) process chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin and cayenne together for 15 seconds til almost fully ground. Scrape down sides with spatula. 

With machine running add in lemon juice/water mixture in a steady flow through the top scraping bowl at end processing for about a minute. 

With machine running again, add tahini/EVOO mix through top and process til smooth and creamy...15 seconds or until the consistency you want. 

I added a little bit of the chickpea juice in after for a little more thickness. 

It makes enough for a 20oz jar. 

Chill for at least 30 minutes...hummus gets better the longer it chills and sets!

Eat, Enjoy and Be Happy!!

Avocado Egg Salad

A great (and healthier) alternative to egg salad with mayo. 

Ingredients:

2 hard boiled eggs

1/2 avocado

Salt and pepper to taste

Frank's Red Hot Sauce (optional)

Directions:

Peel and chop eggs and put in a bowl. Add avocado. Mix and mash together. Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to your liking. 

Refrigerate a few minutes to chill or serve right away. Delicious on toast. 

Eat, Enjoy and Be Happy!!