Archives for grain-free

Rainbow “Rice”

March 10, 2014 by Zucchini Runner in Main Dish, Side Dish | 2 Comments

Do you ever have those days where you stare into the fridge, hoping it will tell you what to make for dinner? Well, that is kinda how this recipe became reality. We’ve been trying to expand our food horizons and while cauliflower used to hate me, we’ve now come to a mutual understanding. By the time this dish was hitting our taste buds, we were both pleasantly surprised by the delicious and light flavor! I’m excited to keep experimenting with different cauliflower rice flavors! It’s so nice having a new versatile veggie to work with.

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What you’ll need:
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
4 large green onions, diced OR 1/2 a brown onion, diced
3 cloves garlic

1 head of cauliflower, reduced to rice size bits in a food processor
3 small carrots, diced
1/8-1/4 head purple cabbage, diced
4 kale leaves (no stems), diced (you can also add or use fresh spinach, chopped)
1 large bok choy leaf, diced (optional, just add the flavors you like! load it with veggies and color, get creative!)
1/4 c. water

2 tsp Parsley
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Basil
1/4 tsp Rosemary
1/4 tsp Sage
1/8 tsp Thyme
Pink Himalayan Salt – a few dashes

Heat a very large skillet with the coconut oil on medium to low heat for about 1-2 minutes. Add the onions and stir, cooking for about 3-5 minutes or until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic and stir. Now you can add all the veggies that have already been chopped and are ready to go. Mix well to combine. Add half the water, and cover with a lid (if you can) and steam for about 5 minutes. Make sure you don’t brown or burn the veggies, you just want them cooked with a little crunch. While the veggies are cooking, you can prepare your spices in a small dish.

Remove the lid and stir again. Sprinkle all the spices on top, add the remaining water and stir well to combine. If necessary, you can add a little more water for steaming, but don’t add too much to make it soggy. Replace with lid and cook for another 5-7 minutes until veggies are desired tenderness.

This was a great side dish, or in our case, we used it as a light dinner which was later supplemented with some heavier foods. (Sometimes this is necessary with evening workouts or sports!) The most important part of this recipe is to just enjoy and add the flavors you like best – have fun with different veggies and spices!

The below slide show is the second batch of this same recipe that I made. Follow the instructions above regarding the onion; both times I forgot to add the onion first! Also, I think I used way more cabbage on the second batch and I food processed it versus chopping it up, which made the cauliflower purple; not as pretty as the first batch!

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Lentil Balls with Spaghetti Squash

January 3, 2013 by Zucchini Runner in Food, Main Dish | 4 Comments

I’ve made this recipe a couple of times now; each time I make improvements and modify it slightly! Every time it is delish so have fun with the spices, you can’t really go wrong. It is also very filling and PLENTY for 3 adults. As a bonus, its a whole meal so you can focus on just one dish prep. If you are serving 4-6 you could make a nice salad to accompany this and each person could still get 3-4 lentil balls. We’ve also successfully had this as leftovers for lunch.

1 small spaghetti squash
2 large slices of onion, chopped and kept in separate piles
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed and sorted
3.5-4 cups water
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp almond meal
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (store bought or homemade ~ 20 oz)

Preheat oven to 375°

Cut spaghetti squash in half and scrape out seeds. Fill a baking pan with 1/4 inch water, place spaghetti squash cut side down over water. Bake in oven uncovered at 375° for 30-40 minutes or until a fork easily pokes through the outer skin.

In a medium saucepan, combine water, lentils, parsley, 1 ring chopped onion and pressed garlic. On your stove top cook over medium-high heat for approximately 20 minutes stirring occasionally, leaving the lid partially vented to allow evaporation of water.

Remove lentils from heat and let sit uncovered for an additional 5 minutes or until water is gone. Add cumin, oregano, almond meal, salt and pepper; stir. You want a porridge-like consistency.  With an immersion blender or potato masher, puree or smash the lentils. Set aside.

Once the squash is done, remove from oven and scrape out squash insides using a fork. You will need to hold the squash with an oven mit as it will be HOT HOT HOT. At this time, you can season the squash with a bit of salt and pepper if you’d like.

Use the same baking pan for the lentil balls and sauce. (I’m all about reducing the amount of dirty dishes!) Add your spaghetti sauce and other ring of chopped onions to the pan and stir. Scoop the lentil mixture straight out of the saucepan onto the spaghetti sauce, forming lentil balls. I use one of those mini ice cream scoopers/cookie scoop which holds about 2-3 tbsp. (See slideshow below for step-by-step pics.)

Bake uncovered in the oven at 400° for 15 minutes or until a crust starts to form on the balls and the sauce is bubbling in the pan.

Use a spatula to carefully remove lentil balls with a layer of sauce and place atop the prepared spaghetti squash.

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