Today I want to share some of my simpler recipes and meal ideas for you to enjoy on your own when you get a hankering for some tomato sauce and meatballs.
Pasta Substitutes
Cauliflower Rice: I absolutely love this in many dishes, not just Italian ones. It tastes great with tomato sauce and chicken or beef. Recipe is posted in the next section!
Zoodles: A great substitution to regular noodles. All you need are 3-4 zucchinis (up to 5 if you want leftovers) and a julianne peeler. Then sautee the zoodles in some olive oil with S&P, making sure to not overcook them so they don't become soggy. That's all!
Spaghetti Squash: Easy to make! Just slice the squash in half long ways, scrape out the seeds, bake cut side down in the oven at 375 for 40 minutes, let cool, and shred into "noodles" with a fork. Pictures below for visual learners like myself.
Recipes!
Positively delicious! First step is to make your cauliflower rice. Remember you can make this Paleo friendly grain substitute in many other dishes as well!
1. Rinse and chop cauliflower in smaller pieces. Add chopped cauliflower to food processor or Vitamix blender to make it more of a rice consistency
2. Cut a small onion into finely diced pieces
3. Add onion to large pan with hot coconut oil until softened
4. Add cauliflower rice, season with salt, pepper, and whatever else you like. Mix
5. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes until cooked completely
6. Add 1 tbsp of grassfed butter and stir into the rice until melted. Remove from pan
1. Cut zucchini length wise. Then cut in opposite direction to make chunks. Add to pan with 1 tbsp coconut oil and chopped garlic. Cook for 5 minutes to soften.
2. Add 1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (or regular diced tomatoes)
Add Your Protein!
A very simple and quick dinner to make.
1. Peel zucchinis with julianne peeler into zoodles, place in bowl.
2. Place them in pan and stir fry the noodles in extra virgin olive oil. Drain excess liquid and top with salt and pepper.
3. At the same time heat up your tomato sauce. I used leftover ground beef and added to the sauce with basil & oregano. You can cook your beef before the zoodles if you need to and drain the fat before adding to the sauce. Enjoy!
A Classic Italian dish.
Follow the instructions on the pasta box (I don't think I have to help you here).
For sauce, Cucina Antica is delicious, has NO ADDED SUGAR (hard to find) and only natural ingredients. It is kind of expensive but on this day it was on sale at Whole Foods (win!)
I think what needs the most explaining is the recipe for meatballs:
1. Using 1 lb of defrosted ground beef, mix in large bowl with 1 egg, pepper, salt, dried basil, oregano, parsley, and 2 chopped garlic cloves. Instead of breadcrumbs you can use 1/4 cup almond flour (it helps the meatballs stick together better).
Hint: you can use ground Italian sausage or ground pork as well, even mix it together with your beef. Cooking is really about making a dish to your preference.
2. Form into meatballs about the size of a golf ball
3. In skillet over medium heat heat up ghee/grassfed butter/olive oil. Once hot, add the meatballs in a single layer and brown on all sides
4. Add the meatballs to a pot with sauce and let simmer on low for 10 minutes
5. Lastly, check inside a meatball to see if cooked, and when done add to your pasta with some more basil. Bon Appetit!
Thanks for reading!
Stay Healthy,
Leighann