Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

It may be pumpkin season...

but it is also spaghetti squash season!

😆😆😆😆😆

But, before we get to that,

I am shocked it has been over a month since posting!

🙀

Guess interviews, having 3 jobs,

and a possible move are all quite time consuming.

Back to the spaghetti squash!

Many recipes out there use it as a pasta substitute in many Italian-inspired dishes.

(even though this easy spaghetti squash & meatballs recipe is possibly my all-time fav)

So, imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon a spaghetti squash pad thai recipe!

🙌🙌🙌

And it is delicious!

Changes I made:

(mostly due to wanting to save $ and being lazy)

Frozen fully cooked shrimp instead of rotisserie chicken

Haphazard pad thai sauce instead of store bought sauce

Perhaps the pad thai sauce needs an explanation.

TJ's does not sell pad thai sauce, and usually I prefer to do all shopping in one stop,

if at all possible.

So I simply looked up the ingredients usually in a pad thai sauce, and went from there!

Will be making this spaghetti squash pad thai again and again!

Difficulty Level: low 2

Yum Factor: 5!

"Healthy" Orange Chicken

Wow, it's the last day of September!

Time flies when you have two part-time jobs, go on multiple interviews,

and trying desperately to do everything.

Anyways, back to the recipes!

Made this orange chicken this past week for dinner,

and I'd suggest you never make it.

The flavor profile of the sauce is way off...

Way too much orange juice to start with!

Plus, instead of being juicy,

the chicken was dry and tough.

If you make this and are patient enough to tweak it,

let me know how you made it better!

Difficulty Level: 1

Yum Factor: -5 bleck!

Molten Chocolate Mug Cake

I wish it were fall. So does E.

In fact, we've been wishing it for almost a week now!

That's what living in the mid-Atlantic will do to you when you are from the Midwest.

Anyway, I digress.

Imagine it's your day off. You are craving something sweet.

But have committed yourself to relaxing at home.

What's a girl to do?

Make this delicious molten chocolate mug cake of course!

I may be low-key obsessed with mug cakes,

but they usually do not turn out as imagined.

The recipe calls for whole milk...I used vanilla almond milk.

Or creamer.

Or a combination of both...can't remember!

This was as heavenly as it looks in the picture.

Worth making when that sweet tooth hits!

Difficulty Level: .5

Yum Factor: 4.5

Low Carb Shrimp Alfredo

Currently in a love affair with zucchini noodles or Zoodles.

So versatile, so low carb!

You do not miss pasta!

So upon trying this recipe, I thought, it's so up my alley!

So easy and with 1 tweak,

sound delicious!

Well, it was very meh.

Maybe because I don't regularly eat alfredo sauced meals?

I swapped the cherry tomato with sun-dried tomato,

and purchased everything at Trader Joe's.

Definitely not the best Zoodle dish out there.

Not ideal for lunches throughout the week...

Perhaps it's better fresh and eaten the same day?

Try it and tell me what you think!

Difficulty Level: 1 if that!

Yum Factor: 2.5?

Crustless Spinach (or whatever) Quiche

Breakfast. Most important meal of the day? Hmm.

Sometimes, the most challenging meal of the day,

especially if you are wanting to go low-carb.

There are only so many protein shakes one can drink!

Even though I love this breakfast taco recipe, one cannot consume that everyday,

though my favorite time to enjoy it is autumn.

Sometimes physically making breakfast everyday is too much,

it's the morning, who is awake?!

(weird morning people, that's who)

Ok, back to breakfast.

This crustless quiche is great!

Easy to make, easy to customize,

what's not to love?

I have made it twice already,

adding bell peppers and baby portobella mushrooms.

Also extra amounts of garlic.

Mmmmm.

To have more protein, I serve up some Maple Chicken Sausage

from Trader Joe's with the quiche.

Will most likely be making this for the foreseeable future...

Or until I become tired of it. :)

Difficulty Level: 1

Yum Factor: 4.25

Low Carb Shepherd's Pie

Wow.

I try new recipes almost weekly,

yet take almost a month to update..oops!

Well, this recipe is worth the wait.

I've made this Low Carb Shepherd's Pie three times already!

There is the recipe way of doing this, and an easier way.

The easier way it to hit up your local Trader Joe's and purchase:

mirepoix (avoid dicing veggies time)

frozen mashed cauliflower (avoid all of step 4 in recipe)

So good! And you don't miss the crust!

Heck, it's better with the mashed cauliflower than with potato!

I do use more than the recommended amount of tomato paste,

it just looks incomplete without it!

Yes, making it the recipe way is even better,

but who has time for all that?

If you have two other people helping you with step 4,

then go for it.

Otherwise, do the TJ's version and enjoy!

Difficulty Level: 1-3 depending on what you choose

Yum Factor: 4

Thai Chicken Zoodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce

I don't have anything fun to write about this.

Just make this recipe. It's delicious! It's quick!

And it doesn't matter if you don't have all the ingredients!

Substitutions used:

shredded carrot for spiralized

cilantro omitted (b/c E hates it)

green onion omitted (b/c I forgot)

soy sauce for tamarin sauce

bean sprouts omitted (couldn't find them!)

Also purchased the pre-made zucchini noodles at Trader Joe's.

This was great!

Bean sprouts would make it even better!

But, if I had to spiralize the carrots and zucchini,

I probably would never make this.

Difficulty Level: 1.5

Yum Factor: 4.5

Lemon Rosemary Turkey Meatballs

Kinda sick of cooking for myself,

while E usually picks up lunch at work.

Trying to be healthy, but it takes effort.

This recipe has many foods that are cancer-fighting, or good for hair and skin,

such as rosemary, lemon zest, olive oil, shallots, egg.

My meatballs didn't turn out as round,

they were quite wet...

Perhaps more panko is needed?

Paired the lemon rosemary meatballs with roasted Brussels sprouts,

another food good for you,

and garlic aioli,

probably not as good for you.

The meatballs stayed moist stored with the recipe's white wine sauce.

All in all, a little bit of effort, but well worth it.

Great spring dish!

Difficulty Level: 2?

Yum Factor: 4.75?

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

Go low carb they say. Go Keto they say.

Perhaps it works...in a world without Easter candy, and Girl Scout cookies.

Tried this cauliflower mac and cheese recipe out of desperation,

was wanting to try something new,

nothing sounded good,

and I had most of the ingredients already.

Ran out of time to place the cauliflower back in the hot pot to brown it,

since I was in a hurry to prepare this for work.

Mac and cheese has to taste good always, right?

Not this one!

Didn't even finish the leftovers, that's how bleck it is.

If you try it, let me know how you like it!

Difficulty Level: 1.5

Yum Factor: 1...or maybe 0

Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage (& veggies)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Growing up, my mom annually made corned beef on this day,

though we are Polish. :)

I thought, man, this is delicious...why don't we have it more often?

Well, we didn't have a crock pot, so I am sure it took FOREVER

to cook that great beef.

Making this slow cooker corned beef and cabbage recipe made me feel adult.

Shout-out to the best butchers around, J W Truth!

If you are in the Baltimore/DC area, go and enjoy how magical it is.

Easy to put together recipe.

I omitted the pickling spices or whatever,

since the corned beef from the butcher already came with it basically.

Also used shredded cabbage, because it was there at Trader Joe's.

I used 2 different beers,

Guinness Extra Stout & Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.

The corned beef turned out SO juicy and tender!

Plus the potatoes were yummy,

and I don't even usually like potatoes!

Difficulty Level: 1

Yum Factor: 3.75-4 :)

Taco Cabbage Skillet

Tacos...yum.

and low-carb?

Double yum!

Yes, there are low carb tortillas out there,

I've even had some,

and they are good.

But, it is one less thing to buy.

Plus I really like the freshness of lettuce or cabbage...

is that just me?

This taco cabbage skillet is a quick, delicious meal

that does not make you miss the tortilla!

Will be making again!

Difficulty Level: 1

Yum Factor: 4

Crockpot Bacon Chili

I was on such a roll in January...then no post for a month!

Guess the busy-ness bug got me...wonder what I was busy with?

A list of dishes to review awaits!

First up, crockpot bacon chili. YAS.

Warning: if you are expecting to throw everything in the crockpot and walk away,

this isn't your recipe.

But, if you are willing to cook up some bacon and do some prep work,

it will pay off!

So much meat in this recipe, so much flavor.

I didn't know what "chili beans" were in the recipe,

used kidney, pinto, and great northern I think...

or cannellini. :)

Also omitted the serrano peppers and sugar.

And it was delicious!

 E loved it, the people I shared the chili with loved it,

and I loved it.

Will definitely make again!

Difficultly Level: 2

Yum Factor: 4+

Easy (Keto) Cashew Chicken

This cashew chicken recipe has been made twice before this post was made.

It's pretty easy, healthy, and tasty.

Totally forgot to add the green onion the second time!

Is it critical to the recipe?...nah.

We chopped the veggies and chicken pretty small,

as we intended to serve in lettuce cups,

a la P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

The recipe could be even better!

Add garlic powder?

Water chestnuts?

More soy sauce?

Let me know what you think!

This Cashew Chicken is worth making!

Difficulty Leve1: 1

Yum Factor: 3.5-4

Low Carb Keto Lasagna

After quickly glancing at my posts, it is apparent that I must like chicken, a lot!

Or there are just a plethora of chicken recipes out there...

I get it, most people/families can agree upon chicken.

But you can't always eat it!

Wanting to make a lifestyle change, kinda have to actually.

Low carb all the way.

Wish I could get rid of my sweet tooth...

Anyway, in a quest for healthier, yummy recipes, I found this recipe.

A low carb lasagna exists, sans noodles!

Well, you made a "noodle"...out of cheese mostly.

2/3 of this recipe involves prep, making the "noodles" and the meat mixture.

I'd suggest doing this a day or two before,

as making all of this in one day would be too much.

The end result? Amazing deliciousness!

You will not be disappointed!

It does make 2-3 servings, IMO,

as it is not listed on the recipe.

Difficulty: 2.5 b/c of prep

Deliciousness: 5

Chicken Enchilada-Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Am I the only one that hoards spaghetti squash?

It's an amazing substitute for pasta, rice, and other bad carb-y foods.

After eating the same 2-3 spaghetti squash recipes,

low and behold on Facebook of all places,

I stumble upon this Rachael Ray recipe.

5 ingredients you say?

And a new, quicker way to cook spaghetti squash?

I'm sold!

If you've cooked the squash before,

usually it takes 40 minutes at 400 degrees give or take.

But Rachael Ray offered an alternative - cook in the microwave for 10 minutes!

(yes you place it back in the over with the chicken mixture,

but for a much shorter about of time)

Definitely the fastest and easier spaghetti squash recipe ever!

We used shredded Mexican cheese blend from Trader Joe's,

and it was delicious.

Not sure why there is zucchini in this recipe,

other than to add more veggies to diet.

Will make again for sure!

Difficulty Level: 1

Yum Factor: 3.5 (E did not love it as much as I)

Creamy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Winter. Chili. (no, not chilly!)

The two go together like 2 peas in a pod!

Can't believe I haven't posted about this yet!

I've made this creamy slow cooker white chicken chili SO much!

(which should be a testament to how good it is) :)

E requests this all the time, we even froze some.

I will say, he prefers the chili without the cayenne pepper.

Try it both ways, let me know which you prefer!

The most difficult task in the recipe is cutting the onion.

Seriously people, make this and be happy and warm this winter!

Difficulty Level: 1

Yum Factor: 4+

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Happy New Year!

Now that I am done with treatments, it is time to lose the weight gained because of it.

I made a list of foods that are good for hair, good for skin, & cancer fighting,

with the intent of frequently consuming those foods.

No, buffalo sauce isn't on the list! :)

But spinach is, and a simple spinach salad with warm vinaigrette was the side

for these keto/low carb buffalo chicken meatballs.

This recipe is a good choice because it doesn't involve purchasing much for the recipe

 and comes together quite quickly.

The servings say 6 people...(insert crying smiling emoji here).

Between two of us, we had all but 2 of the meatballs,

and again that was accompanied by a huge spinach salad.

I prefer making meatballs in the crock pot,

but these are definitely worth consuming again!

Difficulty Level: 1

Yum Factor: 4