Pizza Stuffed Bellas

Sometimes your favorites come from what you have on hand in the pantry or fridge. In this case, both. I absolutely love mushrooms and we have an excellent selection at our local Farmer’s Market. This past week the portabellas looked irresistible and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them. I had a feeling they’d end up being stuffed with something delicious. I happen to love pizza flavors, so I decided on a pizza themed stuffed mushroom. The portabellas I had were, HUGE. So, adjust your recipe as you see fit. For one pound of meat, I’d say 4 decent size portabellas should work perfect with about ¼ lb of meat mix per shroom.

When cleaning a mushroom, never submerge or soak in water. Use a damp cloth and wipe off the dirt.

Ingredients:

4 Portabellas, cleaned - stems removed and gills scraped out
1 lb. Ground beef
1 jar pizza sauce or 2 cups homemade sauce (I love MIDS pizza sauce)
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
Olive oil
Cheese optional (I used raw milk cheese and it was phenomenal)

Directions:

Heat olive in a pan and sauté the garlic and onions until they are translucent. Add in the ground beef and cook through. I like to cook mine until it’s a little bit crispy. Stir in the pizza sauce until combined and warmed through, so the flavors marry. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and also rub the outside of the portabella with olive oil. Lay down onto baking sheet with the cleaned gill side up and place pizza beef mixture into the shroom, being cautious not to overfill it. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

These are gooey pizza imitations that outdo the real deal and are much healthier too!

Picture Source Here

Thought for the Day:

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

Italian Swiss Steak - Crockpot

I love those days when you have a random assortment of food and think hmmm…I’m lazy and I need something that will cook itself.  All I want to do is pour stuff into the Crockpot! I also wanted to avoid the traditional way of cooking swiss steak and do something a bit different.  The artichoke Italian swiss steak was created and very much loved in my house.  Even our dinner guests enjoyed the creation!!  This wonderful (insert sarcastic eye roll) picture was of some leftovers that I took to lunch today.

2 Swiss Steaks (about 2 lbs)

2.5 cups red sauce (from a jar or homemade, just make sure it’s gluten free and paleo friendly)

1 can artichoke hearts, quartered

4 cloves garlic, minced
S&P
Garlic Powder
2 T Coconut Oil
Cabbage, shredded

Season meat with salt, pepper, and garlic; in a skillet (we love our cast iron) with 1 T coconut oil heated sauté until brown on both sides. Place meat into Crockpot and top with sauce, artichoke hearts, and garlic. Cook for 6-8 hours. Then take the meat out of the Crockpot and let rest before pulling apart and putting back in sauce, where it will cook for another hour to let all the flavors blend.

Heat 1 T coconut oil in large pan and add shredded cabbage seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Serve meat over cabbage and voila a delicious healthy meal from items in your pantry or freezer (we make sauce and freeze it).

Avocado Egg Cups

Avocado egg cups = win! I saw this idea on Pinterest, but couldn’t find a bake time, so I took it upon myself to experiment and see what worked. It’s pretty darn easy, delicious, and pretty to look at. Dribble on a little hot sauce and voila, total yum! I’m not a fan of spicy but the richness of the egg and avocado cut through the heat to allow me the zing I love without the burn.  I used basic seasoning this time, but up next I'll through in some cumin, paprika, and chili powder for some southwestern flare.


Super Easy Avocado Egg Cups

1 Avocado
2 Eggs
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Hot Sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Split open the avocado and remove the giant seed. Season the inside of the avocado with a little pepper, garlic and salt (very minimal). Crack open eggs and drop into holes where the seed use to be in the avocado. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic to your desired taste. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until eggs reach your level of desired doneness. I prefer a little bit runny yolk, while my husband wants his eggs cooked without a bit of dribble. Top with hot sauce or whatever you prefer and ENJOY!

This was super easy and the avocado melted in my mouth. I served it with a side of sausage and this is an excellent breakfast or dinner meal!

"Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires...courage."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Simple and Sweet

Chocolate, nut butter, and bananas are a match made in the clouds! Pure simple flavors that create an explosion of flavor. This little sweet treat was made to cater more toward a gluten free or paleo diet, but one could sub whatever kind of chocolate and nut butter that is most desired for his or her taste. I chose almond butter and "Enjoy Life" semi-sweet chocolate chips, which are gluten, soy, and dairy free. I like those chips better than Hershey's or Nestle,  I absolutely love those little morsels of goodness!



Resist the Urge to Lick Your Screen

Ingredients

1/2 C chocolate chips
1/2 C almond butter
2-3 bananas, sliced into large round chunks
Shredded coconut (I prefer "Let's Do Organic" shredded and unsweetened)

Melt the chocolate chips and almond butter over a double broiler. Once melted, drop in banana slices and coat completely, before placing on baking sheet lined with wax paper. Sprinkle coconut on top of banana chunks. Once all the bananas have taken their chocolate bath, place them in the freezer on the cookie sheet for a couple hours. They are delightful, so please enjoy!