Vegetarian Paleo Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Shortly after we felt like we were settling in at "NY house" as our toddler calls it, we had to make a trek down to VA for a family wedding. After we saw how long it took to get acclimated in our NY rental, we flirted with the idea of canceling last minute. But it was our chance to see a part of the family we hadn't seen since our move to AZ, so we decided to brave it. We were gone for 5 days, and now we were glad we made the trip. The kids survived the 8 hour drive each way and sleeping in 3 different places, and it was great to get caught up with family. We like to think that we are helping make them more resilient and flexible, but we've yet to see the proof.

We were gone just long enough to make us eat up the food in the fridge before we left. The last night before the trip we found ourselves with lots of leftover spaghetti squash and I thought spaghetti alla carbonara sounded good. We only had one egg and no bacon, but we made it work. Vegetarian Paleo Spaghetti Alla Carbonara was born.

Our recipe was a bit skimpy on the eggs and the mushrooms, but it was all we had. I decided to write the recipe the way we ate it because it is always nice to know that you can stretch some sparse rations into a decent meal.

Vegetarian Paleo Spaghetti Alla Carbonara with a side of broccoli and salad.

Vegetarian Paleo Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

1 large spaghetti squash
2 T coconut oil
2 C mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 egg, beaten
3/4 C coconut milk
1 T herbes de Provence
Parmesan Cheese (if you eat dairy)-optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Bake spaghetti squash until it just gives when squeezed (about 45 minutes to an hour). Immediately cut in half to help it stop cooking. Remove the seeds. Scrape the squash out with a fork to create the noodles.

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet and add the mushrooms. Cook until tender. Add the garlic and the spaghetti squash and heat through. Add the egg, coconut milk and herbes. Stir continuously for the egg and coconut milk to evenly coat the squash. Cook for 2 minutes. Serve and eat immediately. Great topped with some Parmesan cheese (if you eat dairy). Enjoy.

Vegetables alla Carbonara

Vegetables alla Carbonara

Sometimes I get something on the brain, and have trouble adjusting the plan. For example, I planned on making Spaghetti Squash alla Carbonara inspired by Paleo Parents tonight. When I got to the store I couldn't find any spaghetti squash.... Hmmm? What to do? I could have prepared an entirely different dish, but I wasn't up for thinking on my feet. So I substituted some butternut squash and broccoli and proceeded. I was worried that it would be kind of weird, but it was actually delicious. I would make it exactly the same way again. Vegetables alla Carbonara was born.

The eggs, cheese, vegetables and bacon ready to be combined.

Vegetables alla Carbonara inspired by Paleo Parents
4 T olive oil
1 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped
2 crowns of broccoli, chopped
12 oz bacon
6 eggs
1/2 C whole milk
1/4 t oregano
1/4 t basil
1/4 t garlic powder
1 C Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat two large cookie sheets with olive oil. Place the squash and broccoli each on a cookie sheet and toss to coat in oil. Bake for 45 minutes, or until tender. Cook the bacon until crispy. Reserve the fat. Beat the eggs, and mix with milk, oregano, basil and garlic powder. Heat the bacon fat and use it to cook the eggs until they start to firm up. Combine with the roasted squash, broccoli, eggs and cheese. Enjoy!

This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday,

Thanksgiving Dinner

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends.

We had planned on visiting family in upstate New York for the weekend. We expected to enjoy a lunch with one part of the family and dinner with another part of the family (our routine for the last several years). This is baby girl's first Thanksgiving and we were excited for her to get to see so many family members. Unfortunately our transportation fell through at the last minute, and we realized we would be spending Thanksgiving on our own in New York City.

I was really sad about not getting to spend the holiday with family, but we decided to embrace this change of plans. As we get ready to move to Boston, it became a nice opportunity to have a few more New York experiences before we leave.


In the morning, we went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We had never been, and it was lots of fun. Some people arrive at 6:30 am to stake out a spot. We let the baby have a nap at home, and then headed out. So we didn't arrive until after the parade had started. We were in the back, but we still enjoyed all the balloons and listening to the marching bands. Our little one loved watching all the people.

After the parade, we decided to get a light lunch before getting on the subway back to Brooklyn. We found Fine and Schapiro, a Kosher deli, and enjoyed some latkes, pierogies and half a corned beef sandwich.


We got a few last minute invites to local dinners, but we decided to cook at home. Neither one of us has ever prepared an entire Thanksgiving dinner. We have only made a couple of dishes to take to family dinners. We set our menu and did some last minute shopping the night before.


I love Thanksgiving food, so it was hard not to make a million side dishes, but we were pretty good at keeping the menu at a reasonable size. My husband found a 9 pound young turkey that was delicious. We also made a cranberry orange relish, sweet potatoes with pecans, cinnamon and cloves, brussels sprouts with red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese, creamed onions with bacon, and a leek, cranberry and apple stuffing.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

Mushroom Stuffed Turkey Breast

This last weekend we picked up a turkey breast at the farmers' market. We had never made just a turkey breast before, so we asked the farmer for some suggestions on how to prepare it. He recommended butterflying it and filling it with a stuffing of our choice. We decided to follow his advice and chose to make some mushroom stuffing.

We got half way through stuffing the turkey breast and realized that we were going to need something to hold it together. I should really invest in some kitchen twine for these types of situations, but we didn't have any handy, so we started hunting down something that could do the job. I have been working on a small rag rug out of some old cotton curtains, and decided to sacrifice a narrow strip of fabric to hold together our dinner. (I swear it's clean!) It worked like a charm.

Besides the hunt for a kitchen twine substitute, the stuffed turkey breast was really easy to prepare. I always feel that anything stuffed seems a little special, and this made for a mid-week treat dinner. The mushroom stuffing is full of flavor and quick to prepare. We served ours with quinoa and broccoli.

Butterfly the turkey breast. Because it is so much meat, we put half aside in the freezer to use later. Half the breast will still comfortably serve 4 people.

After placing the stuffing in the center of the butterflied breast, roll up the meat and fasten with twine.

We enjoyed our stuffed turkey breast with broccoli and quinoa.

Mushroom Stuffed Turkey Breast
serves 4

Half a turkey breast
2 T butter
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 t ground thyme
1/4 t garlic powder
a few shakes of oregano
1/4 C Parmesan cheese
1/2 C chicken stock
kitchen twine

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Butterfly the turkey breast. (We set aside half and put it in the freezer.) In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter and add the mushrooms and onions. Cook until the mushrooms are beginning to brown and the onions soften. Remove from the heat and add the thyme, garlic, oregano and Parmesan cheese. Place the stuffing in the center of the turkey breast. Roll it up and fasten with twine. Place the rolled turkey breast in the cast iron pan over high heat. Brown on each side, add the chicken stock, and transfer to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes (or until it is cooked through). Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes and slice. Spoon some of the juice over the turkey.

This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Full Plate Thursdays, Simple Lives Thursday, The Ultimate Recipe Swap, Tip Day Thursday, Fresh, Clean and Pure Friday, Foodie Friday, Fun with Food with Food, Fresh Bites Friday, and I'm Lovin' It.

Pasta Primavera

We had an event at work on Friday, and we had tons of vegetables left from the crudite platters. I couldn't stand to see them go to waste, so I brought home a bag of veggies. Yesterday, we had beautiful sunny, warm weather that felt like Spring, and the weather inspired us to make a pasta primavera with the veggies.

Because we acquired the vegetables already cut up, this was a really quick meal. My husband even declared that is was "the simplest dinner ever." It was delicious too. The rich sauce balances nicely with the fresh vegetables, and a pinch of red pepper flakes adds just a big of heat.

We placed our bamboo steamer over the pasta pot, and loaded it up with the vegetables.

The whole dinner was ready in 15-20 minutes and was ready to enjoy. We chose farfalle pasta (bow ties) which seemed appropriate for Oscar night.

Pasta Primavera
serves 4

1 lb farfalle pasta
1 T butter
6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
4 C vegetables, cut into bite size pieces
1 pint half and half
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/4 C Parmesan cheese
salt to taste

Start the pasta water. Prepare vegetables. Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed skillet and add the garlic. Cook the garlic until soft. Add the pasta to the boiling water, and place bamboo steamer over the pot. Add vegetables and cover. Cook the vegetables until they are crisp but tender (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and place in a mixing bowl. Once the garlic is tender, lower the heat and add cream, red pepper and Parmesan cheese. Cook over low heat, whisking regularly (to ensure the sauce doesn't break) until it thickens. The sauce and pasta should be done about the same time. Add everything to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. It's ready to serve.

Some other easy variations include adding artichoke hearts, pesto, or pureed roasted red pepper.

This week's menu:
Monday - out to eat after a prenatal appointment
Tuesday - Turkey breast stuffed with mushrooms, quinoa and broccoli
Wednesday - Fire chicken with salad
Thursday - Salmon with mustard glaze
Friday - leftovers

This post is part of My Meatless Mondays, Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist, Meatless Mondays at Midnight Maniac, and Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.

Sage Polenta with Fresh Corn

We got four ears of corn with our farm share this week, and we also got a bunch of sage from the farmers' market. We were racking our brains for a creative way to use them both. Suddenly, my husband had the idea to combine them in a polenta. He always told me that he didn't like polenta, but he found a recipe that sparked his curiosity.

I have never made polenta. I always thought it was fussy like risotto, and since my husband swore that he didn't like it, I never gave it a try. It's actually pretty easy. For basic polenta, just combine some water and cornmeal and cook for about 30 minutes stirring frequently. We jazzed it up with some sage and fresh corn. The results were delicious. It had a really creamy texture with hints of Parmesan cheese and sage with a crunch and sweetness from the fresh corn. We are totally sold and are ready to make polenta all the time. Here is the recipe:

Sage Polenta with Fresh Corn
small onion, finely chopped
clove of garlic, finely chopped
4 ears of corn, kernels cut off the cob
oil
5 c water
1 c corn meal
3 T sage, finely chopped
4 T butter
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
pinch of salt and pepper

Heat a heavy sauce pan and coat with oil. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and corn and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Bring water to a boil and gradually add the corn meal stirring with a whisk. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the sage, butter, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Mix until smooth. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese.

We ate our polenta topped with sauteed chicken breast, oven roasted tomatoes and garlic. The combination was awesome. More on the oven roasted tomatoes in the next post.

Zucchini Pancakes

I'm usually the one that comes home from work starving, but yesterday my husband was the hungry one. We have a large supply of squash in the fridge, but I was at a loss for new delicious, nutritious ways to prepare them. Chopped up and sauteed in butter, in stir-fry and burritos. Check, check and check. I tried to think of something fast, and decided to make zucchini pancakes.


I grew up with very sensible dinners that looked like a picture in the nutrition brochures. My mom always tried to have a protein and starch on half the plate, and a yellow and green vegetable on the other half. This is not one of those dinners.

I got a little over zealous with the egg, so they almost tasted like omelets. A dinner of zucchini omelets with salad, how very European of us. I adjusted the recipe to make it less eggy.

Zucchini Pancakes
2 medium zucchini, shredded
2 scapes, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2 T Parmesan cheese
flour, if necessary
oil
salt and pepper

Squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the zucchini and mix in the scapes, eggs and cheese. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add a thin layer of oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Spoon in the mixture and cook until golden (about 2-3 minutes per side). Repeat the process until all of the pancakes are prepared. As the mixture sits, the zucchini will release more liquid. If the mixture starts to get runny, add a tablespoon of flour. Serve warm.

We ate the leftovers for lunch today in a cold salad and they were good.