Tag: easy meals

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Grilled Shrimp Louie Salad with Smoky Thousand Island Dressing(GF, Low-Carb,Keto)

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A fresh take on the original Crab Louie salad. I made this with grilled shrimp and fennel bulbs, and drizzled with a smoky thousand island dressing.  I had this salad on a recent trip we took to Napa, and wanted to recreate it at home because it was so delicious and light compared to the Crab Louie. I changed up the dressing and made it low carb and slightly smoky compared to the typical thousand island dressing which I find heavy and overly sweet.

Create

Perfect for summer, this salad is just as delicious the next day. Place  the components in separate containers and just assemble it all together when you’re ready to eat.

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Grilled Shrimp Louie with Smoky Thousand Island Dressing

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Main Course, Salad
Servings: 4 people
Author: WhollyCupcake

Ingredients

Smoky Thousand Island Dressing

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup sugar-free ketchup I used Heinz
  • 1/2 cup creme fraiche
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp erythritol or sugar free sweetener of your choice
  • 1 tsp good quality mustard I used garlic aioli mustard from Trader Joes
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke
  • salt and pepper to taste

Grilled Shrimp

  • 20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Salad

  • 4 cups mixed spring greens
  • 12 cherry tomatoes halved
  • 4 large eggs medium boiled(place eggs in boiling water and leave for 6 minutes, leave under cold running water to cool approx 3-5 mins.)

Grilled Fennel Bulb

  • 1 fennel bulb cleaned and quartered
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Heat grill to high.

Dressing

  • Combine the mayo, ketchup, creme fraiche, lemon juice, erythritol, mustard, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, and liquid smoke in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Chill in fridge until rest of salad is assembled, then you can adjust the seasoning if needed.

Grilled Shrimp

  • Place shrimp in a bowl and drizzle with the olive oil. Top with the minced garlic, salt and pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder. Toss gently to combine.

Grilled Fennel Bulb

  • Wash bulb and cut green leafy top off it. Quarter the bulb and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Assembling the Salad

  • Turn heat on grill to medium, grill the fennel bulb away from direct heat 10-15 mins until tender,turning them over halfway through. Remove to a pan. Grill shrimp 5-7 mins, turning them over halfway through. Remove to a pan.
    Divide mixed greens to 4 plates, top each plate of greens with 5 grilled shrimp, 1 quarter fennel bulb, 1 boiled egg halved, few tomato halves and drizzle with the dressing.
    Enjoy!

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Simple Chicken and Rice Soup

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A very simple, but delicious soup. You can practically add any vegetable you like, and substitute the rice for any other grain such as barley.

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Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

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Here’s a fun idea for dinner (or if you’re stuck on what to make for Valentine’s Day perhaps?) It’s fairly simple to make, it’s baked, and you can substitute the cheese and prosciutto to your liking. Happy Valentine’s Day, hope you have a nice and relaxing one today ❤❤❤

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Thai Green Curry Soup

This is the prefect soup to warm you up, fragrant with curry, ginger, and garlic.  Make a pot and keep on hand for the winter.

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Thai Green Curry Soup

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Serves: 4 Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp grated ginger
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp grated lemongrass
  • 2 Tbsp green curry paste
  • 1 Lb chicken breast cut into bite seized pieces
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 can reduced fat coconut milk
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 cup fresh snow peas
  • 3 oz uncooked rice noodles
  • cilantro springs and lemon wedges for serving

Instructions

1

In dutch oven or 5 QT pot heat canola oil

2

Stir in garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, cook 1 minute

3

Add the curry paste and cook another minute until fragrant

4

Add in the chicken breast, cook about 3 minutes until just slightly pink

5

Pour in the chicken stock and coconut milk ( you can add in some cilantro springs as well if you like). Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

6

Taste the broth and adjust your seasoning ( ginger, salt,curry paste, etc...)

7

Stir in the snow peas and noodles, cook for 3 minutes

8

Top with cilantro springs and serve with lemon wedges

9

Enjoy!!!😁

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Curried Brussels Sprouts

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Yes, I will brag that my kids are the kind of kids that ask for Brussels sprouts, and why shouldn’t they? If done properly they can be a delicious addition to your meals.  For this recipe I tossed the Brussels sprouts in turmeric and garam masala to give them a nice mild flavor and warmth.


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Curried Brussels Sprouts

Serves: 4-6 Cooking Time: 30 mins
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Servings: 0
Author: WhollyCupcake

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs Brussels sprouts washed and cut in half
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 Tbsp ground turmeric
  • 1/2 Tbsp garam masala

Instructions

  • 1
  • Preheat oven to 375F, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  • 2
  • In a large bowl toss all ingredients well to combine and (this might sound weird) taste the seasoning off your fingers and adjust if you need more.
  • 3
  • Make sure you wash your hands first before mixing again 😁
  • 4
  • Bake for about 30 mins until sprouts are tender but still crunchy.
  • 5
  • Enjoy!
 
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Slow Cooker Meatballs

Almost every country has some type of meatball.  In Romania we call them “chiftele or piftele” depending which part of the country you’re from.  We fry them and sometimes make a tomato sauce in which they are left to marinate “chiftele marinate.”

This here is a simple, no frying pan needed meatball recipe.  They are cooked in the crock pot for about 5 hours.  Boil some pasta and serve them over, turn them into meatball subs, or just eat them as they are, my personal choice.

Slow Cooker Meatballs (makes about 40, 1 inch meatballs)

  • 1 lb ground beef or turkey
  • 1 lb italian sausage mix, your choice of sweet,mild or hot
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup cold milk
  • 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Place ground meat in large bowl, followed by the rest of the ingredients, with the exception of the spaghetti sauce.  Mix thoroughly with your hands until mixture is homogenous. Pour half jar of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of your crock pot. Lightly wet your hands and pinch a small amount of meat from the bowl.  Roll it between your palms to form a ball, continue with the rest of the meat, placing meatballs in the crock pot as you go.  Pour the rest of the sauce over the meatballs.  Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.  When it’s time to serve, gently separate the meatballs from each other with a spoon as they stick together during cooking. Enjoy!

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Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Burst Cherry Tomatoes

I accidentally grew a spaghetti squash.  At first I thought it was a weird looking cucumber, but it gre larger, rounder and eventually yellow.  I’m so glad we got this extra vegetable from the garden. It’s sweet, a bit crunchy, versatile and fun to make.

  • Spaghetti squash (2-3 lbs in size)
  • 1 cup Cherry tomatoes
  •  Fresh Basil, small handful chopped
  • 3 tbsp grated parmesan
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Wash, cut the squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds.  Drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil on the flesh side and season generously with salt and pepper.  Place on microwave safe dish cut side down and cook approx 10 minutes or until skin feels soft.  Remove carefully from microwave and let cool enough to handle.  In the meantime, in a small pan heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, place cherry tomatoes in the pan along with the garlic.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook on low to medium heat until tomatoes burst gently, approx 6-8 mins. Remove from heat and set aside.  With a fork scrape the flesh from the squash into a large bowl stirring gently to break it up.  Pour the tomato mixture on top, season with more salt and pepper if needed, sprinkle with the parmesan and fresh basil.

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Back to School Pizza Rolls

I feel like I blinked and summer break has spread it’s wings and flew by in a rush.  With my youngest homeschooling again and my oldest doing independent studies, plus all the other things I’ve got going on the side, I felt an easy dinner was in order.  With the girls being able to help with this meal it made it even easier on me.  Use store bought pizza dough ( I use Trader Joe’s brand) of your choice and follow pre-cooking instructions on box before starting. I use a 12 muffin tin to cook the rolls in because it keeps them from falling apart and spreading everywhere.  Grease the muffin tin with small amount of olive oil and preheat oven to 350F

Pizza Rolls (makes 12 rolls)

  • 1lb pizza dough
  • 1/2 cup pizza sauce of your choice
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella
  • any other toppings of your choice, just try not to over load the dough or it’ll be hard to roll

Flour your workspace and roll the dough into a rectangle approx. 13×18 in.

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Spread the sauce, cheese and choice of toppings onto the dough. Starting at the long end roll the dough away from you as tight as you can.

Cut the roll into 12 equal pieces using a large knife or bench scraper. Place rolls into the muffin tin and bake about 30 mins or until dough is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.  Serve with a garden salad for an easy back to school dinner.

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