STUFFED ACORN SQUASH - VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN OPTIONS

I have tried many different squash recipes, but this has to be one of my favorites. My girlfriend Lili made it for me the other day when I went to her house for dinner and it was not only healthy, but really tasty so of course I had to share the recipe with you guys. You can add any veggies that you like and can even switch up the pesto for tomato sauce if you want. Be creative but most of all have fun!

INGREDIENTS:

1 - 2 Acorn Squash
3/4 Cup of Uncooked Quinoa
1-2 TBSP of Olive Oil
1/2 Medium Spanish Onion (chopped)
2 Celery Stock (chopped)
2 Clove of Garlic (minced)
1/2 Cup of Carrots (chopped)
1/2 Cup of Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
Pesto Sauce
2-3 TBSP of Goat Cheese, Feta Cheese, Halloumi (whichever you prefer/optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is warming up go ahead and cut a small portion of the top and bottom of your acorn squash off to help it sit up straight. Next cut the squash in half, width-wise, and remove the seeds from the inside.

Place the squash on a baking tray that is lined with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

In the meantime make your quinoa.

While you are waiting for your quinoa to cook you can add the olive oil to a pan and throw in your chopped onions, celery, carrots, garlic and black beans. Sauté until the onions become translucent. I also like to salt and pepper my veggies as they are cooking

Once the quinoa is ready transfer to a bowl, add in your pesto and sauteed vegetables. Mix together. At this point you can add in your cheese if you want. Save a little for garnish!!

Once the squash has been in the oven for 30 minutes remove and stuff with the quinoa mixture. Garnish with cheese and pop back in the oven for an additional 30 minutes.

Once ready remove from oven and serve warm. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can!  Bon Appetite!!!

CHORIZO AND POTATO TACOS

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My sister was the first person to introduce me to chorizo and potato tacos. She made them for a big family gathering and they were an instant hit. Every time I have made these since there hasn't been a single spec of left overs. They are so yummy they are the epitome of "I bet you can't just have one." and will have you saying, "Are you going to finish that? cause I will!" I also find tacos are great for entertaining large groups of people because they have this make you own/style it to your liking that gets other people involved in the meal process. Plus they're super easy to make! BONUS! ...but your guest don't need to know that ;)

Makes 12-14 Tacos

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 Yukon Potato (cubed)
1 TBSP of Lemon Juice
1 TBSP of Olive Oil
1 Sweet or Yellow Onion (chopped)
1-2 LBS of Uncooked Chorizo Sausage (remove chorizo from casing by cutting open the casing)
1-2 Jalapeno Chile (remove seed and chop finely)
Salt and Pepper (as desired)
Tortillas
Suggested Taco Fixings - Salsa, Guacamole, Hot Sauce (I love Valentina's), Bean paste. There is also sour cream, cheese and lettuce but these are not typical Mexican toppings.

*Place your cubed potatoes in a large bowl and cover in water. Add in your lemon juice - this will stop your potatoes from browning while you are prepping everything else.

DIRECTIONS:

Okay so the first thing we are going to do is boil the potatoes (first we boil them then we fry them). So when you're ready get a pot, drain the potatoes existing water and fill it with fresh water. Place the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil on high heat.

Once boiling lower heat and let it continue to cook for 4-6 minutes, drain and set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, in a large skillet add in the olive oil over medium. Once the oil is warm throw in your onions and lower heat to medium and let your onions start to sweat and release their juices.

When the onions start to soften and become clear throw in your chorizo stirring well to help break up the meat. Cook the chorizo on medium to high for 6-8 minutes.

Next add in the cooked potatoes and jalapenos. You will notice that the potatoes will start to absorb the flavors and oils of the chorizo and turn orange - this is good!!! Continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally to avoid burning, but it is also great to let the meat and potatoes to get crisp too! You can add salt and pepper to your liking.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy cooking!!!

SPICY LOBSTER QUINOA PASTA - GLUTEN FREE

INGREDIENTS:

1 TBSP of Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion (chopped)
5 Cloves of Garlic (minced) - you will need to split 3/5 cloves for the sauce
1 TSP of Chili Flakes
1 TSP of Dried Basil
1 TSP of Dried Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Bottle of Tomato Pomodoro (strained tomato sauce)
1 TSP of Butter
6 Lobster Tails (thawed 4 chopped up 2 left whole)
1 Pack of Quinoa Pasta

DIRECTIONS:

Add oil to a sauce pan and heat up on medium heat. Add in your onion and 3 cloves of garlic and let them sweat.

Add in chili flakes, basil, oregano and salt and pepper. Stir around and let evenly mix

Once onions are garlic are nicely cooked add in your bottle of pomodoro tomato sauce, reduce heat to low and set aside to simmer.

Start to boil your water for the pasta.

Salt and pepper your chopped lobster bits lightly

In another skillet add in your butter and let melt on medium -low heat. Add in the remaining garlic and allow to season the butter for a second until you add in the chopped lobster bits.

Once the lobster bits are cooked through (apx 4-5minutes) then add cook lobster bits to the tomato sauce. Stir lobster into the tomato sauce and leave to continue to simmer

When the water is boiling add 1 TSP of salt to the water before adding in your quinoa pasta. You need to stir quinoa pasta for the first two minutes so that it doesn't stick together then let it continue to cook for an addition 10 minutes before it is al dente.

In another pan we are going to add in 1 cup of water and steam the remaining two lobster tails for 3-4 minutes. One ready remove lobster tails from water and set aside.

One ready dump pasta water and add pasta to sauce. Mix in and plate hot. Top with full steamed lobster tail and serve. ENJOY

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy cooking!!!
 

SMOKE SALMOM SANDWICH ON PUMPERNICKLE

I love lox bagels but I sometimes feel guilty about all the calories in bagels. Who needs all that calories, right? Pumpernickel bread is made with coarsely ground rye flour and therefore it has a much lower glycemic load then white bread. That means that when you eat pumpernickel your body which turns carbs in the bread to sugar doesn't have as much carbs to turn to sugar as regular bread which is great if you have diabetes. Salmon is a great source of Omega 3 as well as protein, B vitamins, vitamin D, magnesium and selenium which is essential for daily body functions. Enjoy guilt free.

INGREDIENTS:

100 Gr Of Smoke Salmon
Light Cream Cheese
2-3 Branches of Chives (diced)
1 Small Red Onion (sliced)
1 Vine Ripe Tomato (sliced)
2 Pieces of PumperNickle Bread (toasted)


DIRECTIONS:

Take both of your toasted pumper nickle bread and cover in light cream cheese.

Sprinkle your cut chive on either side of the bread you just dressed with cream cheese

Next start to build up your sandwich with tomato slices and onion and lastly with smoke salmon.

Next add more tomato and onion and the other sandwich, cream cheese side down. Serve!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy cooking!!!