Kale baked with Eggs, Chorizo and Manchego Cheese

Ingredients
6 cups kale leaves, washed and drained
4 eggs
4 links chorizo sausage
1 tbsp cream
Salt and pepper
olive oil
1/2 sliced onion
2-3 slices Manchego cheese, chopped into small squares
Instructions
Saute the onions and kale in a skillet until soft. Slice chorizo and add to the pan. Cook until the sausage is cooked through. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly coat the inside of baking pan with oil, butter or spray. Pour kale mixture into the baking pan, and pour cream on top (it doesn’t need to be mixed- just pour drops into random areas). sprinkle cheese on top. Crack the eggs into different areas of the baking dish. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the egg whites are set and yolk still wobbly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve!
Note: You can substitute the kale for spinach and it’s equally delicious!

S’mores and a cookie in one?! This recipe looks amazing. Such a treat!

Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce Recipe

Last night I experimented with a low fat/ low carb pasta alternative- spaghetti squash with meat sauce. One cup of cooked spaghetti squash has only 45 calories, 10 grams of carbs, and 0.4 grams of fat (opposed to one cup of cooked pasta which has 221 calories, 1.3 g of fat, and 43 g of carbohydrates!). The recipe is super easy, inexpensive, and came it out delish. All the ingredients, including onion, garlic, meat, peppers, tomatoes and squash were under $15 and feeds more than two people.

Recipe

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Squash: Cut holes or slits in the squash and add the whole squash to the baking dish. Add ½ cup water to the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, and remove it from the oven. Using a sharp knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise and using a spoon, remove the seeds and discard. Place squash back in the baking dish, cut side down, cover, and bake for 30 more minutes or until the squash is easily pierced with a paring knife and very tender. Remove from the oven, uncover, and allow to cool slightly. Using a fork, gently pull the strands of squash away from the peel and place the squash strands into a mixing bowl.

Heat the squash in a skillet. Add the butter, spaghetti squash, herbs, parmesan cheese (optional), salt and pepper and toss thoroughly for 5 minutes.

Meat Sauce: In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat until no longer pink; set aside. In a large skillet, warm olive oil over medium heat and saute onions and garlic until tender; add about 1/2 cup of red wine; mix well. Add mushrooms, rosemary, oregano and thyme to skillet and add another 1/2 cup wine; saute until tender. Add browned meat, one small bottle of tomato sauce and tomato paste to mixture; simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Decadent Chocolate Brownie Recipe

I made these brownies today for a New Year’s Party and they are Da Bomb! So much better than grocery store bought brownie mix and to be honest, better than If i made them completely from scratch. They are amazing!

The trick to buying brownie mix is to find a recipe that calls for you to add butter. Recipies that require oil are not the same!

Baked Kale Chips Recipe

For dinner tonight I made blackened grouper, baked kale chips, and sauteed butter beans. The kale chips were so easy and yummy, we saved some for a late night snack to have in front of the television. The best thing about kale chips is that they have a salty flavor which satisfies the urge for a snack and is a great substitute for potato chips. I made it as a side dish, then put them back in the oven to make them even crispier to have the rest as a snack. I used this recipe, but added garlic and fresh sea salt to the kale before cooking and sprinkled on toasted sesame seeds just before serving. YUM!

Crispy Pork Belly Recipe

Last night I made the most DELICIOUS dinner- Oven baked pork belly with sauteed spinach. This recipe was super easy.

1 lb pork belly
sliced carrots
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp olive oil
garlic, sliced
sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions: Set your oven to broil (the maximum temperature). Score the fat side of the pork belly by making many small “x” cuts across the top. Pat the meat on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the meat, garlic, stock and carrots in a casserole and place in the oven, fat side up, for 30 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 and bake for another 45 minutes. Baste the meat with the juices and add olive oil. Turn the heat back up to broil for an additional 25 minutes (this makes it crispy!). Remove from oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. Slice and serve!

Warning: I made this as a main meal, but next time I will make this as an appetizer instead- It’s so decadent and delicious, but really high in calories. I almost fell over when I read just how caloric it is- see here. At 8 ounces each, I had 120 grams of fat and 1170 calories. And that was just for the meat!

Laconda Verde’s Ricotta Dip recipe

Last night, for another holiday dinner party at our apartment, I made Laconda Verde’s ricotta dip recipe and it came out AMAZING. So good that my hubby thinks it’s tied with my spinach dip recipe, as one of his favorite appetizers. If you are looking for a new recipe for a holiday party, this one is easy, and tastes so wonderful. Just make sure you make enough, as it will go fast! 

I bake the sliced bread in the oven, since I don’t have an outdoor grill. I would keep adding herbs- fresh thyme and sea salt, until the dip tastes perfect. I like a lot of flavor, use more than the recipe calls for.

As a starter I threw these sweet roasted pecans into a salad of red leaf lettuce, red onion and blue cheese crumbles. I tossed these all together with good quality olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt. The result was heavenly!

Bacon Wrapped Dates

I made these as a pre-dinner snack tonight. They are super easy! Fill each pitted date with a sliver of blue cheese, an almond, and a drop of honey. Wrap with 1/4 slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. That’s it! They came out delish! (My inspiration for this recipe came from The Spotted Pig- Best Devil’s on Horseback ever!)

I am starting braised beef short ribs to serve for tomorrow! This recipe (found here) is a two-day process which involves pan searing the meat and braising in the oven, then refrigerating the meat overnight and re-heating the meat on the stove the next day. This recipe is so delicious, the meat falls right off the bone when cooking. The two-day cooking process is the key to tender, succulent short ribs- YUM! I plan to serve this with rice and oven roasted brussels sprouts.

Pan Seared Halibut and Cauliflower Mash

Last night I made this recipe and it was healthy, low-carb, and delish!!!! I actually preferred the cauliflower mash to real mash potatoes!

Pan Seared Halibut

Ingredients: 2 halibut fillets (skin removed), black truffle oil (regular olive oil), truffle salt, pepper, Old Bay seasoning, fresh sage

Wash the halibut fillets and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a skillet and add sage. Add the fillets to the skillet and season with Old Bay seasoning and additional salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

Cauliflower Mash

Ingredients: 1 head cauliflower, 4 Tbsp goat cheese (I used herb flavor), 2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives, 4 Tbsp light cream, sea salt

Wash and boil cauliflower until well cooked (soft and can be mashed with a fork). Drain very well and add to a mixer. Add the cream, goat cheese, chives, and sea salt and mix with a mixer on a slow setting. Add more cream if desired (less for a chunkier mash). Add more salt, if needed. Transfer to a baking dish and back at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Tyler Florence’s Cheese Fondue recipe- with chicken, sausage, brussel sprouts, asparagus, and portobello mushrooms as dippers. Delish!