Lobster Mac & Cheese, lightened up

In honor of National Lobster Day, I decided to make a healthier version of one of our favorite comfort foods - Lobster Mac and Cheese.  Because everything seems to be lightened up with a filler of either squash or cauliflower these days, I hopped on the train and went with it.  Because HEALTH.

Ingredients

1 cup bow tie pasta

2 cups cauliflower chopped into small florets

1 TBSP grape seed oil

1/2 sweet onion, diced

3 fresh torn basil leaves (or 2 tsp dry basil)

1 tsp red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup milk (you choose the type)
1/2 cup cream cheese (again, you choose the type... Whole fat, reduced fat... Just not a whipped variety)

1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (you choose, I used a combination of fontina and gruyere but whatever floats your fancy)

1/4 cup parmesan

LOBSTER (really you can add as much or as little as you want, just make sure its cut into bite sized pieces.  I added two large lobster claws to my last one)

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Prepare by preheating the oven to 375 degrees, also heat large pot of water over high heat and coat a 9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray (set aside).
2. Cook pasta as the package instructs and be sure to add the cauliflower florets to the pot when the timer reaches 3 minutes left in cook time. Drain when done.
3. Heat 1 TBSP oil in a skillet.  Add garlic and onion then sautee until the onions are translucent and the garlic makes your mouth water.  Stir in the pasta, cauliflower, milk, red pepper flakes, basil and cheeses, combine until the lumps are gone.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  If it seems dry, add more milk.  At the very end, add the lobster and stir to combine.
4. Pour the pasta mixture into the baking dish.  Add breadcrumbs to the top.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly and delicious. 
5. Eat

Coconut Rice

Coconut Arborio Rice (great for fish side dish!)
Serves 2

• 1/2 cup arborio rice
• 1/3 cup low-fat canned coconut milk
• 3/4 cup water 
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions

1. Rinse and drain rice, then place in a small saucepan with coconut milk, water and salt.
2. Heat over high until the ingredients come to a boil.
3. Stir, then reduce the heat to very low.  Cover with lid and cook for 20 minutes.
4. Check the rice to make sure that most of the liquid is absorbed by the rice (cook more if necessary), then remove the pot from heat.  Let stand for about 10 minutes, then fluff and serve!

Elk Meatloaf… (insert movie quote here)

Long time no blog!  Sorry about that, but I've had a few hiccups happen over the past few months.  I'm happy to be back though!

This is a recipe for elk meatloaf.  We have a plethora of game meat in our freezer, so this is the meat I chose for the recipe BUT you can use whatever ground meat you'd like.  Just make sure that you cook it to the proper temperature for your chosen meat. (I wonder how many times I can say "meat" in the post)

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground elk
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup spinach, chopped
• 1 TBSP grapeseed oil
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (shredded or grated, your choice)
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 whole egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
• 1 TBSP olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Pour grape seed oil in a large skillet and warm over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for about one minute, then add in the onion.  Cook until the onion is opaque and then add in the spinach.  Cook until the spinach is just wilted, but not soggy!  Remove from heat and let cool
3. In a bowl, whisk together the egg, egg whites, parsley and basil
4. In a separate large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, kosher salt and black pepper.  Add the Elk meat, egg mixture and spinach mixture, then add the worcestershire, balsamic and olive oil. Combine until just mixed using your hands.  Do not over mix or else it will become too tough!
5. Place the mixture in a loaf pan (if you do not have one, a glass bottom pan will do but just form the meat into a loaf shape).  Cover in the marinara sauce
6. Cook for about 45-55 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 150 degrees.  Remove and let stand for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving

Deer (Meat)balls...

It's a snowy day in Kansas City… normally when it's snowing or too cold (or too hot… for when I lived in Arizona), I make my Nonno Tony's sauce.  Yes, it's my Grandfather's recipe and not my Grandmother's and maybe some day I will share it all with you all but this post is dedicated to the little balls of glory that you place in the sauce to make it perfect… meatballs, made with the deer meat my husband so lovingly shot down in Montana this past fall.

Your best friends for this recipe are a food scale and a mini cupcake tin.  If you do not have these, no worries.  You can just eyeball the quantities.

Ingredients

• 12 oz ground venison (feel free to substitute with a ground pork or beef option, or better yet mix the two together for a more authentic italian ball)
• 1 oz pancetta, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped finely
• 3 TBSP bread crumbs (I used a gluten free variety)
• 2 oz ricotta (skim or non-fat)
• 2 TBSP egg substitute
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp basil
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients and mix well using a fork.  I say fork because it will keep the meat from compressing and thus becoming more tough during the cooking process.
3. Measure the meat out in 1oz portions and place in the mini cupcake tin (if you do not have a scale but have a mini cupcake tin, the meat will fit perfectly in the tin when formed in a ball).
4. Bake for 20 minutes
5. Remove from oven and drain the meatballs from the grease.  Add them to your favorite sauce and simmer for another 10-20 minutes.  Serve over pasta… or spaghetti squash… or in a grinder for a delicious sandwich

Fudgey Brownies (made with coconut sugar)

Seriously, have you bought your Better Batter yet?  It is life changing.  If not, you can settle for a whole wheat and regular flour blend in this recipe.

Ingredients
1 Cup Better Batter Flour (or 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup regular flour)
1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 TBSP coconut oil
2 ounces of your favorite chocolate, chopped
3 TBSP unsweetened applesauce
1 Cup coconut sugar (you can use granulated OR use 3/4 cup of agave syrup for a lower sugar option)
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1 egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an 8 inch glass or metal pan with cooking spray, set aside
2. Combine flour, cocoa and salt into your mixing bowl
3. In a separate small bowl, add the chopped chocolate and coconut oil.  Heat in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds, stopping sporadically to mix them together. Set aside to cool a bit
4. Add sugar, milk, vanilla, egg whites and egg to the flour mixture and mix on low for about a minute
5. Add butter mixture and applesauce to the bowl and stir until the ingredients are mixed
6. Pour the batter into the dish and bake for about 25-30 minutes.  Do a toothpick check sporadically to make sure they are baked to your liking (the pick with come out clean when they are fully cooked, but if you like a more doughy consistency, remove them from the oven when the pick comes out with just a trace amount of batter on it)
7. Cut into 12 servings for 128 calorie bites (2 grams of fat/2 grams of protein) OR into 8 servings for 188 calories (3/3)