Roasted Spaghetti Squash w/Sautéed Veggies

Decided to go real simple with this quick dish that can be made for lunch, dinner or a side. Very versatile!

Ingredients:

1 small spaghetti squash 

1 small zucchini, diced 

1 handful baby carrots, shredded (I used my mini food processor to make small)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated 

Salt, Pepper and Oregano to taste

EVOO

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the stem end off of the spaghetti squash. Cut squash lengthwise in half and place on baking sheet cut side up. Drizzle EVOO over both halves of the squash and sprinkle salt, pepper and oregano lightly. Turn the squash over so the cut side is now down on pan. Poke a few holes in the squash with a fork.

Place in oven and cook for 45-50 minutes.

While the squash is cooking, heat over medium a pan and add 1 tbsp EVOO to pan. Once heated, add in diced zucchini. Cook for 2 minutes, then add in carrots. Once they cook for 3-5 minutes, push to the side and cook the garlic til fragrant and mix all together and cook for another 2 minutes. Take off heat and cover until squash is done.

Once squash is done, use fork to shred and pull out all the squash. Put into a bowl and add in the veggie mix to combine all. Grate Parmesan on top and add any additional salt and pepper if needed. 

Yum!!

Jicama Salad

This is a delicious, new, refreshing salad that my dad brought to my attention after experimenting w/the Spiralizer we bought my mom for her birthday.

If you are serving the jicama salad as a side to a spicy Mexican dish like enchiladas or tostadas, then you don't need to add olive oil or avocados. There is enough fat in the main dish to balance the acidity in the salad. In fact, a benefit of the salad is that it does just that, brings balance to these types of dishes. But, if you are serving the salad on its own, then you may want to add a little olive oil or some chopped avocado to the salad so it is balanced in and of itself.

Apparently I forgot to take a pic of the finished salad - so, just imagine all of these veggies mixed and tossed together in a large bowl. (btw, that's not ALL of the jicama...this was just a portion to show ingredients and for a pretty picture!) Next time I make this...I'll be sure to take a finished product pic!

Ingredients:

• 1 large jicama (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, then julienned or spiralized (easiest to work with if you cut the jicama in half first).
              I used my mandolin to julienne it bc the spiralizer wasn't working best w/it - probably
              bc it was a big jicama.
  
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 a large cucumber, seeded, chopped
• 1 navel orange, peel cut away, sliced crosswise, then each round quartered
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• Pinch of cayenne
• Pinch of paprika
• Salt
  
  Optional: (I left it out)
• 1/2 avocado chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Toss together the jicama, bell peppers, red onion, cucumber, orange, and cilantro in a large serving bowl. Pour lime juice over all. Sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne and paprika. Season generously with salt.

Let sit a half an hour before serving.

Simple Swai and Veggie Couscous

I recently took my bestie's suggestion at frozen fish (she probably has no clue I just gave her a shout out) and bought a bag of Swai Fish Filet's for a decent price. I haven't had a lot of luck w/frozen fish before, but this seems to be a great find!

The pieces are a nice size and I decided to go VERY simple with the fish and it came out great!

Ingredients:

Fish:
2 Swai Filets (defrosted, if frozen)
1 tsp ea of: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
2 tsp Paprika
1/2 lemon, juiced (Need 1 lemon for fish and couscous combined)

Couscous:

1 cup Israeli pearl couscous
2 tbsp EVOO, divided
2 cups veggie or chicken broth (or water if don't have broth)
1 cup frozen peas (thawed beforehand)
1/4 red and yellow pepper, diced small
1/2 zucchini, diced small
1/2 onion, diced small
1 large clove garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4-1/2 cup fresh, grated Parmesan (what you prefer)
Salt, Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat 1 tbsp EVOO up in a pan and add onions, peppers and zucchini and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for another minute, be sure not to burn garlic. Remove mixture and place in a covered bowl to keep warm and use later.

In the same pan, heat another tbsp of EVOO and pour the couscous in and stirring frequently cook until lightly toasted (2-3 minutes).

Add in the broth (or water), lemon zest, lemon juice, sprinkle a little salt and pepper...stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for about 8 minutes or until cooked to your liking. If you need to add more liquid, add more little by little until absorbed and cooked the way you want. NOTE: 8 minutes will be al dente...I like my couscous much more cooked so I left on until it was to my liking.

At the very end, add in your peas, parmesan and cooked veggie mix to the couscous, stir and serve!

While couscous is cooking...

Spray EVOO on the pan before seasoning the fish so they don't stick.

Sprinkle salt, pepper and paprika on both sides. I only sprinkled a pinch of garlic powder on one side. Finish with 1/2 juice of a lemon around the fish and a little on top. You can always add more after it's cooked.

Pop in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until white and flaky and cooked through. I finished it off w/a quick broil to get the top a little crispy.

Crockpot Herb Dijon Pork Tenderloin w/Mixed Veggies and Sweet Potatoes

After a long holiday and weekend, football was on and it was time to take down the decorations and do some new year cleaning! We took pork tenderloin out, which we thought was huge, but it turned out to be two smaller tenderloins so into the crockpot they went! Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 pork loins

5 cloves garlic 

Handful of Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme & Parsley - chopped

4 tbsp, EVOO, divided

1/3 cup-ish, Dijon Mustard

1 apple, sliced into slivers

1/2 small bag baby carrots

15 green beans, ends cut off

6 cremini mushrooms, halved or quartered 

1 red onion - cut into large chunks

1 large sweet potato, cut into chunks (whatever size you want)

2 cups chicken/veggie broth OR white wine

salt, pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Add all vegetables and 3 cloves garlic (smashed) to the crockpot, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add 2 tbsp EVOO and mix together. Pour in broth or wine over veggies.

Salt & Pepper the pork loin(s). Make 5-8 horizontal slices (depending on the size of the loin) big enough to fit slices of apples and garlic in.

Combine herbs (rosemary, oregano, thyme & parsley), 2 tbsp EVOO and dijon mustard and mix together. Rub all over pork loin(s). Add remaining garlic and apple slivers to the slices made in the pork.

Cover the crockpot and cook one of 2 ways:

1. 2 hours high heat, switch to 1 hour low heat 

2. 6 hours low heat

I normally do this slow and low...but put it on late and was home all day - so sped up the process. The pork came out perfectly cooked and the veggies were a little al dente, which Kev prefers to my mushier veggies lol.