Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Zucchini-Boats These are seriously tasty and very healthy!  Impress your friends with this delicious and beautifully presented dish.... and it's SO easy and can be made ahead of time!

Trust me, this serves 4, but you'll want to double the recipe!  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

You will need:

  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 3/4 grass-fed ground beef (ground turkey, or any quality ground meat will work)
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
  • 1/2 cup sweet red peppers, chopped
  • 1/2 cup green peppers, chopped
  • 1 cup of raw cheese or goat cheese, shredded (today I used a mixture of goat cheddar and sheep Pecorino Romano which is kind of salty like parmesan...I used to only find it at Whole Foods and now they have it at Trader Joe's!)
  • 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste - if you make your own, great, otherwise get a good organic canned one.
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Wash the zucchini and trim the ends off.  Cut them in half, lengthwise.  Scoop out the pulp, leaving 1/2 inch shell.  I use a sharp spoon because it fits perfectly...keep the pulp!

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Butter or grease a baking dish - 8 x 8  or  9 x 13 depending on how many you're making.  I love this coconut oil spray...

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Place the zucchini shells in the dish...

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Finely chop the pulp from the zucchini.  Brown the meat in a skillet along with the pulp, onion, mushrooms and peppers until browned.  Drain the fat.  Remove from the heat.  Add 1/2 cup cheese and the tomato paste, sea salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Spoon the mixture into the zucchini shells, packing it in each one and then adding the remainder over the top...it's okay if the filling covers the shells...the extra is good!!  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

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Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.  Try to keep the boats upright when serving;)  It can be a little tricky, if you need to, cut them in half and they'll be easier to serve.  Enjoy!!

Oh, by the way....I've made these stuffed zucchini without the cheese and I must admit, with this one....cheese makes it SO much better, so go for it!  :)

Homemade Roasted Chili Salsa

roasted-chili-salsa I've been making this homemade roasted chili salsa ever since a friend came over and taught me how...about 3 years ago.  It has a special ingredient that makes it taste AMAZING...different than any other salsa I've tried.  It's so easy to make and tastes SO fresh!  It's SPICY, but you can control the heat by how many chilies you think you can handle!  :)

Here's what you'll need...

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  • 1 15 oz can good quality tomato sauce...I get the "no salt added" one so I can control the salt to taste OR if you have homemade, great!
  • Water - 1/2 a can (above)
  • White onion - about 1/3 of one
  • Juice from 1 lime - if you don't have a juicy lime, you may need more to taste
  • Cilantro - about 3/4 of one bunch
  • Minced garlic - 2 spoonfuls, again you can adjust to taste
  • Sea salt - to taste, I usually end up adding more after tasting it!
  • 3-6 Roasted Arbol Chili Pods - secret ingredient!  These can be found in any grocery store in the Mexican food section/spice section

Ok, so the only tricky part of this recipe is getting the chilies roasted.  At first, I tried doing this in the house and it can be a little dangerous!  I'll tell you why...I promise, after you master this step, the rest is easy-peasy!

All you do is put them in a dry pan on med-high heat and roast them until blackened, easy....but here's the catch... you can't breathe in the fumes that come off of them!  These chilies are HOT and if you breath in around these babies while they are on the heat, you will cough....and cough...and cough.  I know this sounds crazy, but trust me on this one.

My friend warned me of this, but I thought...how bad can it be??  That first time wasn't fun, I should've listened.  The next time, I put a handkerchief over my nose and mouth and ran in, checked on them, ran outside.  Held my breath an ran in, turned them, ran outside.  You must think I'm crazy by now, but I'm telling you...this salsa is AWESOME...well worth looking like a crazy burglar running in and out of your house!

Now, I have a better way....I make my husband do it.  Outside.  Bam!  Solution Creator!!!  I just give him the chilies on some tinfoil and he knows what to do!  He throws them on the grill...knows not to breathe deeply while turning them...and brings them to me nicely roasted;)  Being outside makes it way less intense.

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I've even roasted extra and stored them in a baggy...works great!!  Once they off the heat, they're safe;)  Pull off the stems like this...

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Usually, I use about 5 chilies...I did a couple extra in case I needed them.  Start slow...this salsa is spicy!  Try 3 to start, you can always add more.

Put all of the ingredients from the list above in a blender and mix!

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Taste, adjust the salt.  Taste, adjust anything else until it's just right!  Let it sit a while in the fridge before serving it...it gets better and better as all the flavors mingle together for a while...my husband always says that... "It gets better and better!!"

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This salsa is my absolute favorite....great on eggs, great as dip, great on tacos!!!  That's what I did with this last batch!!  SO good!

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I just made taco meat the way I used to when I ate tortillas....chopped up my extra white onion and cilantro and put it in lettuce cups!  Deliciously Paleo!!  Whenever I've made this salsa for guests, they LOVE it.  Roasting those chilies give it that thing that makes you go Mmmmm.  :)

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Also, delicious and satisfying with roasted plantains... they're not sweet like banana chips, salty like chips!!!  Yum!  I hope you try this one...you won't regret it!

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Have you heard of Bulletproof Coffee?

Bulletproof-Coffee Last weekend I heard about "Bulletproof Coffee" for the very first time.  When I heard the ingredients....I almost said "WTF?"

Well, I was convinced to try it.  I must say, it was THE MOST DELICIOUS COFFEE DRINK I'VE EVER HAD.  So, what's all the hype about?  I decided to find out.  After reading quite a few articles about it, including what the inventor of the drink had to say...I chose this one to share with all of you.  I think it sums it up nicely.  What are your thoughts?  Is this something YOU would drink for breakfast??  I'm still a little torn...but it was tasty!!

Enjoy the following article written by The FabFitFun Team...

Bulletproof Coffee:  Would You Add This to Your Cup of Joe?

For most of us, going without our morning coffee would be like a never-ending version of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. (An average of 2.25 billion cups are drank around the world every single day. #yikes!)

And now there’s a new way to drink your java: Bulletproof coffee!

What exactly is this new trend that even Jimmy Fallon is getting in on? Bulletproof Coffee is made by combining three things in your blender: coffee, butter from grass-fed cows, and coconut oil (or Bulletproof Upgraded MCT Oil). Start with a teaspoon each of butter and oil and work your way up to one or two tablespoons.

Why Bulletproof? Dave Asprey, the founder and creator of Bulletproof, said preparing coffee this way yields “maximum energy, total elimination of food cravings, and easy weight loss.” Um, yes please!

But what’s wrong with the coffee we’re drinking now? “The mold toxins found in coffee can cause the negative symptoms people associate with coffee, like jitters, headaches, or a crash, and worst of all, food cravings for sugar,” Asprey said. Bulletproof beans are lab-tested to maintain ultra-low levels of mold toxins.

What sort of changes can we expect to see by making our coffee Bulletproof? How about mental clarity and no sugar cravings for starters! “Your brain uses the healthy fats to fuel clear thinking, and the satiating fat from grass-fed butter and Brain Octane oil to turn off food cravings for hours. Sugar cravings disappear immediately and stay gone for between four and six hours,” Asprey said.

Wondering how weight loss can go hand-in-hand with butter and oil in your coffee? Fear not! “The low-fat dogma that is still very common was largely based on incomplete science done over a half century ago,” Asprey said. “The latest science supports using high quality, undamaged fats, including saturated fat, into your diet. In fact, the government of Sweden just revised its version of the food pyramid to focus on using high-quality saturated fats for a significant portion of calories.”

So why butter and coconut oil? “Butter provides a feeling of satiety and is a source of a rare fat called butyric acid that improves brain and gut health. Coconut oil provides additional saturated fat to keep you full, and very small amounts (15%) of fats called medium chain triglycerides that fuel the brain. Your body can use these special fats to provide cellular energy in a way that sugar and other fats do not,” Asprey said.

-For the link to the above article click here:  FabFitFun.com

For the official Bulletproof Coffee Recipe and to learn more about the inventor, Dave Asprey, click here:  bulletproofexec.com