Pumpkin Spice Parfait

Still hot as blazes (do old people still say that?) in la but, screw it! I'm ready for fall recipes and all things pumpkin including this awesome pumpkin spice parfait.

Blend the pumpkin layer in advance and keep in the fridge for best results (and faster mornings.)

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 large banana, sliced
healthy granola + 1 tb pumpkin seeds
1 cup pumpkin purree
4 pitted dates
splash of almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
2 shakes pumpkin spice
1 cup greek or almond yogurt
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1 tb unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)

Directions:
Start by soaking pitted dates in warm water for a few minutes. Next, add dates to a food processor or blender, add a splash of almond milk, and blend to a paste. Add pumpkin purree, cinnamon and pumpkin spice and blend again.
In a separate bowl, mix yogurt, pumpkin spice and coconut flakes until well incorporated.
Layer banana slices, pumpkin spice mixture and yogurt and top with granola.

Chicken Roulades Stuffed with Roasted Peppers

Some days I look at my photos and feel like I missed my calling as a food stylist. This is not one of those days.

However, as miserably as I failed at producing beautiful chicken roulades and/or photographing them to look that way I can't resist sharing this delicious and fairly easy recipe.

To save time I prepared them in two nights. Night 1: All preparation + browning. Night 2: Baking in the oven, cooling, slicing and serving.

They are photographed with mashed cauliflower topped with dill.



Ingredients: (serves 4)
4 oz chicken breasts each cut crosswise and opened (aka "butterflied")
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained and sliced
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp flour or arrowroot
olive oil cooking spray

Directions:
Line up filleted chicken breasts on a cutting board and spread ricotta evenly over the top of each breast. Sprinkle peppers evenly over ricotta. Roll up (like a burrito) and secure each piece with 1 to 2 toothpicks. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt evenly over chicken. Transfer 2 tbsp flour or arrowroot to a medium sized shallow bowl and dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Mist a medium skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium. Add chicken and cook for about 6 minutes, turning over halfway until golden brown on both sides. Mist a a large baking sheet with cooking spray then carefully transfer chicken to sheet and bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Slice and serve.

Chicken and Bean Quesadillas

Don't be fooled by what looks like a huge dollop of sour cream. It's actually greek yogurt! That and grain free tortillas are substitutions that make these quesadillas super clean.

Enjoy!

Ingredients: (serves 4)
8 oz ground chicken
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
4 6-to-8-inch tortillas -or- homemade grain free tortillas
1/2 cup shredded Mexican-style cheese blend, Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
olive oil cooking spray
1/2 tsp chile powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp unsalted tomato paste
1 tbsp raw honey

Directions:Mist a medium skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium. Add chicken, beans, chile powder and salt and saute until chicken is no longer pink and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Add tomato paste and honey abd cook for 1 more minut
On a work surface, place tortillas and divide chicken mixture amount them, spooning mixture onto one half of each tortilla. Top chicken mixture with cheese. Fold each tortilla over. Wipe out skillet, mist again and heat on medium high. Working in batches add quesadillas and cook until golden brown on both sides and cheese has melted, turning halfway, about 3 minutes per side. Serve with yogurt.

Baked Chicken with Peaches

Part of me is ready for pumpkin and squash. But with this 100+ degree heat wave it's really hard to get in the mood for fall!

There were still tons of peaches left at Trader Joes yesterday and this recipe looked (and was) so easy and perfect for the hot weather. The chicken was moist and flavorful and the ginger complemented it well without being overpowering. Oh and the peaches were, well, peachy.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 fresh peach - peeled, pitted and sliced
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
Place chicken in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with 1/8 cup of brown sugar.

Place peach slices over chicken then sprinkle with remaining 1/8 cup brown sugar, ginger, cloves and lemon juice.
Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, basting often with juices, until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Grilled Shrimp With Rosemary And Chives

I just returned from a vacation with my family where we ate so. much. good. food. Most of it was prepared at home so it was fairly healthy, and even the food I ate out wasn't typical "vacation eating" as evidenced by this salad :)

The prawns were so good I scoured the internet upon returning home to find a way to prepare them on the grill and I think I found it.

The marinade requires quite a few ingredients but the rest of the preparation is easy. Just be sure to refrigerate shrimp for one hour before grilling.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped chives
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed thyme
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ teaspoon Tabasco pepper sauce
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 ½ lb large shrimp

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients.

Peel and de-vein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in the marinade, cover the bowl, and refrigerate the shrimp for at least 1 hour.

Start the grill. When the grill is hot, place the shrimp on a mesh grate that has been sprayed or brushed with the vegetable oil (or thread the shrimp on skewers), and grill the shrimp for about 3 minutes on each side.

Zucchini Enchiladas

Don't be fooled... this is a Mexican dish, not an Italian dish! But since I loathe cilantro I had to find something else to top it with. And of course I have plenty of oregano :)

This recipe is a little more time consuming than it would lead you to believe. I would advise cooking this one in two nights... night 1: cooking and shredding the chicken and night 2: adding the chicken to the rest of the preparation.

Enjoy!
Ingredients:
4 medium zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder or to taste
1 cup cooked and shredded chicken
1/2 cup corn
1 teaspoon oregano
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce
1/2 cup cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
Directions:
Place the zucchini halves in boiling water for a minute, remove and let cool.
Hollow out the zucchini halves with a small spoon reserving the removed flesh.
Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic, cumin and chili powder and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
Add the reserved zucchini flesh, chicken, corn, oregano, 1/2 cup of enchiladas sauce and cilantro, cook for a few minutes and remove from heat.
Spread 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of a large baking dish, place the zucchini in the dish, stuff them with the filling and top with the remaining enchilada sauce and the cheese.
Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the zucchini is nice and tender and the cheese has melted, about 30-40 minutes.

Zucchini Noodles with Lobster

Still loving my vegetable spiraler! Especially now that the weather has warmed up and cool, light dishes are more appetizing than warm heavy ones.

If you've missed my previous posts about zucchini noodles here's a quick primer. If you don't have a spiraler you can also use a Julienne peeler and it doesn't take too much longer.

Now for the really fun part....the lobster! Depending on how many you're serving you may want to use imitation lobster as the real thing can be pricey (around $13 for one tail at my grocery store!) Imitation lobster is mostly Alaskan Pollack which is very sustainable so not to worry:) And as the garlic sauce is very flavorful you could probably substitute just about any white fish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 zucchini, trimmed
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup lightly packed coarsely chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup lightly packed coarsely chopped parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
Fresh found black pepper, to taste
2 cups multicolored baby tomatoes, halved
2 cups coarsely copped cooked and cooled lobster meat (about 10 oz)

Directions: (serves 4)
Working 1 piece at a time, secure zucchini into a spiraler and crank long strands that resemble spaghetti noodles. In a bowl toss noodles with 1/4 tsp salt and transfer to a colander for about 15 to 20 mins to drain excess water.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine lemon zest, garlic, dill and parsley. Add oil and lemon juice and mix until combined.
Arrange noodles on a large tray lined with a clean, dry towel. Cover with a second towel and gently pat to absorb any excess water. Add noodles to bowl with herb mixture and toss gently to combine. Season with pepper and additional salt. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with tomatoes and lobster.