Paleo Creamy Ranch Pork Chops

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Whole 30, & Paleo!

Ingredients: 

• 4 large pork chops 
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 3 tablespoon ghee, divided 
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 
• 1 can chicken broth* 14.5 oz 
• 1 tablespoon paleo ranch seasoning mix *
• 1 cup coconut cream 
• Salt and pepper,  to taste
• 3-4 tsp arrowroot starch 

Paleo Ranch Seasoning 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp pepper 

2 tbs parsley flakes 

1 tbs celery salt 

1 tbs garlic powder 

1 tbs onion powder 

1 tbs dill weed 

1 tbs dried chives (optional—I didn’t have any this time and it tasted fine without it) 

Directions: 

Season pork chops generously with salt and pepper. 

Heat large, oven safe pan over medium heat and melt 2 TBS ghee then drizzle olive oil. 

Add pork chops and cook 2-3 min each side. 

When cooked, transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. 

Add 1 TBS ghee to pan, melt, and then add minced garlic. Cook for 1 min until fragrant. 

Add in chicken stock, 1 TBS ranch seasoning, and coconut cream. Stir and bring to a simmer. 

Mix in 2 tsp arrowroot starch with 1 TBS of cold water then stir into stock/cream mixture. Let simmer 2 min. 

If you want to thicken sauce more, add additional tsp + water mixture at a time and continuously stir until desired sauce thickness. 

Once sauce is at desired thickness, add pork chops back into pan and simmer 3-5 min. 

If pork chops are not reaching cooked temperature quickly, (145 F or above) you can add the pan to a preheated 425 F oven and cook 5-8 min. 

Serve with cauliflower rice (paleo/whole 30), regular rice (not paleo/not whole 30), and veggies. 

Enjoy! 

Enchilada Casserole

Um, well we found a new favorite meal. Seriously, my husband and I fought over the last slice;

It was that good.

It all started with me wanting to make enchiladas. I prefer the green sauce, I mean I make everything with it, especially enchiladas. Until one day, while biting into the delicious chicken filled tortilla slathered with that yummy green sauce, my husband asks "hey, do you think we can use red sauce next time, I like it more". WHAT?! Oh the things you learned when married.

But I don't like the red sauce that comes in the can.  No matter what brand, so I started my hunt for a good homemade one; Thanks to gimmie some oven. I found it.

This sauce is good. No, not good. This sauce is amazing. And SO EASY to make. 

So I now had my perfect sauce. Now to the enchiladas.

But wait, I was  running out of time that busy night to take the time to slather and roll each tortilla shell, so what did I do. I layered it and made a casserole.

 Genius. I know.

So viola. You get this delicious beauty.

Simple. Easy. and mouthwatering-delicious.
Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Sauce

2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
2 Tbsp. all-purpose or gluten-free flour
4 Tbsp. chili powder (*not cayenne! also, see note below if you do not like heat*)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. oregano
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Casserole
6-8 corn tortillas
2 cups of cheese any flavor (we used Kraft Mexican mix), separated.
3 chicken breasts-cooked and shredded.
1 can black beans (rinsed)


Directions:
Start the sauce: Heat the oil in a small sauce pan over medium high heat. Add flour and stir together quickly. Once mixed well pour in the chicken broth and whisk together until no lumps remain. Add in the rest of the spices and stir until well combined. Now, let simmer for 10-15.
Use immediately or store in an air tight container for up to 14 days.

Once the sauce is done:  Preheat oven to 3Spread a nice layer on bottom of a baking dish.

Lay a base of tortillas on-top of the sauce, then some cheese, all the chicken, all the beans, and then more cheese--leaving some leftover for the top. Pour sauce all over layered mixture--leaving some for the top.

Lay a top layer of tortillas over the chicken and beans and pour the rest of the sauce on top then sprinkle with  remaining cheese.

Bake  uncovered for 20min, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Let cool for 5-10 min.

Dive in!

Creamy Chicken Orzo Skillet

I love experimenting with food. There is such a thrill when you just start putting things together that you know are good on their own and imagine that when combined they could be even better.
This dish was just that.

I love orzo pasta, particularly in soup. It is such a unique pasta due to its size and shape but it's little form can sure fill you up.
Experimenting came in on many angles with this dish and I almost ruined the dish due to silly mistakes but knowing what I did wrong the minute I did it, I was able to correct them and the dish turned out creamy and had the hubs saying "this is delicious!"

Don't worry the directions don't include my silly mistakes :)

Ingredients
3 large chicken breasts, cubed
1 1/2 cups orzo 
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tbs garlic, minced, ~2 cloves
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup tomatoes, sliced
1 1/2 cup spinach
1/8th cup milk
3tbs flour
salt and pepper to taste
*you may need up to 1/4cup water

Directions: 
Over medium high heat, add 1tsp olive oil to a large skillet. Add in orzo and cook until it start to turn golden brown. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Add another tsp of olive oil in the skillet and add cubed chicken. Salt and pepper to taste and cook through.
Remove from skillet and set aside.
Add garlic and oregano to skillet and cook until fragrant( ~1 min). Then add in chicken broth and milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium high  and whisk in 1tbs flour at a time until each is dissolved. Add in orzo and let simmer for 5-6 min, until orzo is soft and sauce is creamy.
Stir in cooked chicken, and Parmesan cheese.
Then add in spinach and diced tomatoes.
Let the dish simmer on medium high heat or 3-4 min more to wilt the spinach leaves and cook the tomatoes, ***it was at this point  I added a little bit of water to keep everything moist and keep the dish from burning, stirring once or twice until simmering was done.

Serve warm.

Enjoy!!!!

Gnocchi Sausage Soup

This Italian soup experiment was a huge success.

As it should be because the Italian's know their food pairings and seasonings. 

This is the first time I've cooked gnocchi, not an applause worthy feat, since all you have to do is boil it for 1-2 min until they puff up. But, I've had to desire to use it and I'm thankful it helped create such a wonderful dish.

I must also note that there is no half and half or evaporated milk in this. To make this creamy soup I just used chicken stock and 3oz of 1/3 less fat cream cheese. Easy, healthier, and still gave this soup a wonderful texture.

Feel free to add in fresh ingredients if you have them on hand but I just used the dry seasonings I had and it was still fantastic.

Inspired from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Ingredients: 
1 lb gnocchi
1 lb Italian sausage (any sausage will will work really)*
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
3 tbs minced garlic cloves,   about 4 cloves
1 small yellow or white onion
4 small sweet peppers or 1 large red or orange pepper, chopped
32 oz chicken stock 
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
3 oz reduced fat cream cheese
olive oil, for sauteing 
salt and pepper, to taste

* you can keep the casing on and have large cuts of sausage in your soup or remove the casing and break it apart (like ground turkey-esk)

Directions:
In a skillet brown sausage to your liking, set aside. 
Heat olive oil in a large soup pot on medium heat.
Add chopped onions and bell peppers and saute until unions are translucent.
Add in garlic and cook until fragrant. 
Add in cooked sausage, chicken stock, and all seasonings. Bring to simmer for 20 min.
Next, add in gnocchi and chopped spinach and bring to a boil for 1-3 min, until gnocchi is puffy and floating to the top of your soup.
Reduce heat to medium and add in the 3 oz of cream cheese in small chunks and stir into the soup until incorporated into the soup.

Serve warm and top with Parmesan cheese if desired. 

Turkey with Zucchini "Pasta"

So, have you seen those "make pasta from your veggies" machines? If not, Google them.

Some look really cool, others look like a gadget thought up on Star Trek.

But hey, neat idea.

For this dish however, I used the good ol' fashioned potato peeler. I didn't get uniform "noodles," but I did get thin cuts of zucchini that I sauteed in the pan to make a delicious base for my ground turkey and my husband's homemade awesome tomato sauce.

This dish can be whipped up in minutes and is super healthy, clean eating, paleo, and ready to be in your tummy.

Ingredients
makes ~2 servings
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 large zucchini
1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce
1-2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions: 
Cook and brown your ground turkey in a skillet. Season with some garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Take your zucchini and hold upright on a cutting board. Using your peeler, stroke from the top of the zucchini to the bottom in a quick motion to produce "strands". They should be thin.
In another skillet, heat a little olive oil on medium heat. Add in created zucchini noodles and saute them for about 2 min--until they are fragrant and beginning to get some brown spots on them. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder as desired.
Heat up you pasta sauce.

Now place your cooked zucchini noodles as the base of your dish, then top with ground turkey and pasta sauce.
Mix it all up, and enjoy!

Feel free to sprinkle some Parmesan cheese, or crumble some croutons on top; No need to worry about calories with this "pasta" dish.

Enjoy!!!!

The Mex-I-Can Casserole

 

Love Mexican themed food?--MEX 

Believe in yourself?--I  

Have some canned beans and corn? CAN  

(get the title now?)

 THEN MAKE THIS!

I've made this several times for group gatherings because of its simplicity and unbelievably short prep/cooking time.  So far everyone seems to really enjoy it.

10 min prep 15 min bake. Done. 

Feel free to double the batch!

 

(doesn't it look delicious!?!)

Adapted from Panning The Globe

Ingredients: 

12 corn tortillas
1 can of rotel*
1 can of black beans--drained and rinsed (reduced sodium)
1 can of corn (no salt added)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice (I used a mexican blend)
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 to 1/2 tsp chili powder (depends on your heat tolerance)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

* any flavor of  or spice preference or rotel--I've made with original, mild, and lime!
* feel free to add in a hot sauce if desired.


Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish with a non stick spray of choice.
Layer 6 tortillas down in pan--is okay if they overlap and they bend up the side of the pan.
Mix rotel, black beans, corn, onion, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Evenly top the 6 tortillas with half the mixture. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of cheese over the mixture.
Lay out another 6 tortillas on top of that and repeat, ending with sprinkled cheese on top.

Bake for 15 min, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Cut into 15 portions or 9 if you want them bigger. 

Serve with some a side of your favorite salsa and guacamole!

Enjoy!!!!

 

Autumn Apple Chops

It's not Autumn, it's actually Spring,

 Well sorta. 

We are stuck in this Winter trying to be Spring, 

oh yeah and its the first week of May. 

This mid-west weather is crazy. 

Anyways, why Autumn Chops?

Well, I bought the pork chops and it came with a recipe; This recipe, title and all.

Could it get any better?

Why yes, as a matter a fact this meal takes 5 min to prep and 10 min to cook for a total of a 15 min meal.

So Thank you pork chop packaging company. You made my dinner meal planning a little easier this week so I'll post your recipe and use your tile. Thank you!

Ingredients: 
Serves 4
4 pork loin chops. 3/4 inch thick
1 tbs flour
2 tsp butter
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cup apple juice
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 
Heat a skillet over medium heat.
Drizzle a little olive oil and saute sliced onions until they become translucent. Set aside. 
Season flour with a little salt and pepper.
Lightly flour pork chops and brown on one side in butter in the same skillet over medium heat.
Turn Chops;stir in onion and apple juice.
Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 7-8 min until internal temperature on a thermometer reads 145 F. followed by a 3 min rest time.

                                                               ENJOY!!!!

 

Skillet Tomato Beef Rotini

30 min meal are truly the best.

Using left over ingredients to create that meal, even better. 

The story goes as such: 

My husband had been asking me "what's for dinner"  for quite sometime that day and I was at a standstill. I really didn't want to cook a crazy meal.

I opened my fridge and found half a pound of ground beef, half a jar of pasta sauce,  and half an onion. I chuckled at my luck and said: spaghetti it is! But my husband had other plans. 

Noticing I was going for the spaghetti noodles, my husband hollered out, "hey what kind of past noodles do we have?" I listed the names elbow, rotini, linguini, penne, and spaghetti. He looked at me with a cute but puzzled face, so I rephrased my sentence and said, "mac and cheese noodles, swirly noodles, round noodles, thicker spaghetti noodles, and spaghetti"; he got it. 

"I want the swirly!" he said with a smile; 

and thus I give you Skillet Rotini. 

Ingredients: 
3 cups  whole wheat rotini, uncooked
1/2 lb 97% fat free ground beef*
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 jar of  pasta sauce, any type you want!( I used Prego heart healthy traditional)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp organo
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can of diced tomatoes, not rinsed --I didn't have this, but would HIGHLY suggest it!
  
 *If you can't find ground beef at that percentage  just cook your beef like normal. When fully cooked, rinse under hot water in a colander/strainer. Quick rinse skillet and place rinsed meat back in skillet, then season. You are rinsing away the accumulated grease. 

Directions: 
Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. Add 3 cups of rontini and let cook  on boil, uncovered for 10 min. when done, drain and set aside.
meanwhile, heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add ground beef and chop and cook until no longer pink.  
Add onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, and the rest of spices to beef and let cook for 2-3 min, until onions start turn transparent. 
Turn heat to medium low. 
Stir in pasta sauce and mix well.
If pasta is done, add drained noodles to large skillet and and mix  very well noodles with meat mixture. 

Serve hot with some homemade french bread and a side salad!

ENJOY!!!

Nutritional Information: 
Makes ~ 5 servings (a little more than 1/2 cup each)  
251 cal * 35 carbs * 5g fat *  14g protein * 6g fiber

   

Delicious Baked Pasta

 Or "Deliziosa Pasta al Forno" in Italian

 Mainly because it is filled with all the ingredients I love in pasta: 

Whole Wheat penne, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, greek yogurt (okay that one is my own twist), red pepper flakes, and, of course, CHEESE.

 So why this combo? 
Because I had it all in my fridge. Can't get much better than that. 

Why bake it? 
The recipe could be eaten once its all mixed together but who could resist gooey, bubbly, baked-on cheese? Not me. 

So give it a try. You won't regret it.

 Ingredients: 
2 chicken breasts 
2 1/4 cup whole wheat penne pasta
1/2 chicken bullion cube
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 
3 tbs sun dried tomatoes, chopped 
1/2 onion, chopped 
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt 
1tbs olive oil 
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp crushed red peppers 

Directions: 
Bring a sauce pan boil with 4 cups of water and 1/2 of bullion cube. 
When water is boiling dump in pasta and bring to a simmer for 8-10 min or until al dente. Remove from heat but keep covered. 
 
Meanwhile,
Heat a skillet with 1tbs olive oil on medium high heat.
Dice chicken into small cubes. 
Chop onion and then toss both chicken and onion into skillet-season with a little salt and pepper. 
Cook until chicken is fully cooked (no pink).

When chick is done set aside on a warm plate or in covered bowl.
Add greek yogurt to skillet and season with garlic powder,salt, and pepper. Stir constantly. Add spinach and sun dried tomatoes, and stir together unto spinach is wilted. 

Created sauce and cooked chicken and 1/8 of both cheeses into pasta pot (or bowl) and stir together. 
Dump into a 7x11 baking pan and top with the rest of cheese.

Place in the oven for 15-20 min until cheese is melted and a little golden brown. 

ENJOY!!!! 

 

Chickpea Chicken Chili

Chili is so flavorful, and filling; 

add a side of toast, and you have a DELICIOUS meal.

You do have to mindful of what and how much of something you put in to keep it healthy, but with beans, broth, veggies, meat (or more veggies!), and seasonings you can't go wrong. 

 I choose to use chickpeas for the beans because I thought they would be a fun alternative to the normal chili kidney/navy bean, and boy were they.  The flavor and texture was perfect and help create a protein packed and fiber rich meal. 

This recipe is perfect for two people but feel free to double, or trip it to your liking.


Ingredients: 
1 chicken breast
1 can of chickpeas(aka garbanzo beans)
1 cup of natural chicken broth
1/2 onion, chopped
2 oz of diced green chilies (I used half of a 4oz can)
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp pepper


Directions: 
Heat olive oil in a skillet medium-high heat and cook chicken with onion and garlic powder until chicken is cooked through.
While chicken is cooking, dump the can of drained chickpeas, 1/2 cup chicken broth,  pepper, cumin, and oregano in a food processor (a blender could work, but you may have to scrape down the sides) and blend to a smooth cream.
Heat a small sauce pan with 1/2 cup chicken broth on medium-high. Add creamed chickpea mixture, diced chilies, and onions from chicken pan.
Shred chicken and add to sauce pan.
Simmer for 15 min.

Serve warm with a sprinkle of cheese, a dollop of plain greek yogurt, and/or a sprinkle of parsley flakes.

ENJOY!!!!

Nutritional Information

1 serving

279 cal * 43 carbs * 1g sat fat * 25g Protein * 11g fiber

Chicken Pockets

I am so glad I made these, they were so delicious and soooo easy to make. 

My favorite part was wrapping the filled dough into a ball because I felt like was tenderly tucking in a masterpiece of flavor. 

This recipe is easily adaptable so please experiment  and share your outcome! 

I did!!!

My Rendition: 

Creamy Chicken Parmesan and Spinach  

and

Creamy Chicken Parmesan with Spinach and Sun dried Tomatoes

My Healthy Secret:

 I used greek yogurt instead of cream cheese and butter

 and of course it turned out 

AMAZING.

Recipe happily adapted from Pennies on a Platter

Ingredients: 

1 pkg of crescent rolls

1 large chicken breast, chopped (or 2 small)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese + some for sprinkling

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4-1/2 tsp pepper-(depends on how much you like it)

1 tbs Sun dried tomatoes diced

1/8 cup fresh spinach leaves, chopped (I didn't measure this, I just grabbed a pinch of leaves)

~1 tbs butter, for brushing

Directions:

Mix greek yogurt, spinach, Parmesan cheese,  garlic salt, and pepper in a bowl. 

Heat oil in skillet on medium heat and cook chopped chicken and minced garlic cloves. 

Preheat oven to 375. 

Add cooked chicken and garlic to yogurt mixture.

Unroll crescent roll from pack and separate into 4 squares--2 triangles attached. Pinch seams to close square. 

Place on a ungreased baking sheet .

Place a large spoonful of chicken mixture onto the dough.  Sprinkle top with either a pinch of Parm cheese or sun dried tomatoes. 

To fold into a ball, pull the two opposite sides together and pinch close. Repeat with the other side, and pinch any open seams. 

         If you notice a tear in the bottom of the dough where the mixture may be pushing out, gently pick up the ball and  pinch seam close. Place back on baking sheet. 

Gently brush the top of the dough ball with butter. 

Bake for 11-13 min until ball is a golden brown. 

Serve with a delicious side.

ENJOY!!!!

My husband and I wanted to try both so we cut them in half and shared! Mhmmmm! 

Fancy Mac & Cheese

I hardly ever have Mac & Cheese these days, but sometimes creamy, milky, cheesy pasta calls my name and this one, from Iowa Girl Eats, is packed with some of my favorite ingredients: Broccoli, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Chicken!

 

This is super easy dish to prepare for those busy week nights when the tummies are rumbling (I made mine after a particularly busy day of work, a long workout, and seemingly endless errand running day).

Yummy!

Say cheese and cook away!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
2 cups of pasta (your choice!--I used whole wheat penne)
1-3 cups broccoli florets,cooked (depending on size--I had large florets and cut them)
1 container of laughing cow cheese: Garlic and Herb (6 oz/8 wedges)
 
1/4-1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced ( I did 1/4 but wanted more!)
2 tsp olive oil (use the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes)
3/4 cup milk of choice
Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

Boil water, and cook pasta until al dente
Heat large skillet with olive oil.
Steam broccoli with 1 tbs of water.
Cut chicken into small cubes, salt and pepper, and cook completely in skillet. Plate chicken and set aside.
In same skillet (with chicken juices if you have any) place milk, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until cheese in melted and sauce is thick. 
Add in chicken, broccoli florets, and pasta. Stir until well combined. 

Enjoy!!!! 

p.s. share this with ~5 people and you'll have a UNDER 300 calorie dinner! (4 people is about 330 cal)