Armadillo Eggs

This is one of the easiest recipes I've made.  I grabbed this one from Pinterest, and the pin led nowhere, so unfortunately I don't have anyone to give credit.  But I certainly didn't come up with the name of this myself.  Thankfully the entire directions were in the pin, so here we are.

Armadillo Eggs:

Ground beef

Cheese of your choice (I used string cheese since it was easy to stuff the peppers with)

Varying peppers (I used sweet mini bell peppers, but in the future I'd try something with some kick, like poblano)

Seasonings of your choice for beef

Preheat over to 375. Cut the stem off of the peppers and de-seed.  Stuff with cheese (don't over fill). Season beef (I used pepper, garlic powder, salt and worchestershire sauce). Flatten out small patties of beef (make them as thin as possible).  Wrap each stuffed pepper so that the cheese is sealed inside. Bake 20-30 mins until the "eggs" are brown on the outside.

Even though I'm not a fan of bell peppers, this wasn't so bad (though like I said, I'd love to try this with spicier peppers).  I tend to find that the mini peppers have a milder flavor, which is probably why I could tolerate this.  The only reason I used them though is because we had them in the fridge (and I don't know why, I'm sure Sakief bought them for some reason). 

What I like the most about this recipe (other than melted cheese, noms) is that it's a different way to use ground beef.  Sakief and I often have ground beef in the freezer, and aren't usually so creative with it.  It's nice to be able to use it for something other than hamburgers and spaghetti sauce.

Winter Squash Soup

I had an excellent weekend, and as per usual, am sad that it's coming to a close. Sakief and I got a lot of our holiday shopping done, and Erin was kind enough to take our holiday card pictures today. I can't believe it's November already!

I also had a major win today. After pictures I accompanied Erin, Adam and my two favorite little girls to Chuck E Cheese... And I didn't eat any pizza! CEC has a surprisingly good/fresh salad bar, so I ate a TON of veggies sans salad dressing. I'm pretty proud of myself.

When I got home I did make a real dinner for Sakief and myself. Another new recipe, another win for the day! We had some leftover pumpkin (whole) and butternut squash from a recipe Sakief tried last week (I subsequently turned the pumpkin into purée and froze some as well), so I decided on a soup. I have realized recently that I really should be giving more credit to the original sources when I find a recipe, so with that, I give you Ina Garten's Winter Squash Soup (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/winter-squash-soup-recipe/index.html) :

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp olive oil (I actually didn't use this, mostly because I forgot...)

2 cups chopped yellow onion

1 can pumpkin purée (I used my homemade, about 1 3/4 cups)

1 1/2 lbs butternut squash (I used 1/2 of a large squash-chunked, no skin)

3 cups chicken stock or broth

Pepper

Salt

1 cup half and half

Sour cream (as garnish)

In a stock pot heat the butter (and oil if you use it). Cook the onion until translucent. Add pumpkin, butternut squash, broth and salt and pepper. Cook until butternut squash is soft. The original directions call for the mixture to then be blended in a food mill, but I just used a stick blender. This means you don't have to transfer everything to and from the stock pot and simplifies the process (I think). Blend until smooth. Add half and half. Simmer for a few minutes. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream. Makes 4 servings. 

This is an awesome meal for a cool fall evening, and is very filling. I'm glad I have leftovers!

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Sakief wants me to start blogging again, and it can't say that I disagree with why. I've completely fallen off the wagon, and only been able to really get back on this week. I'm so afraid of what the scale will say that I've actually hidden it away. Give me a few weeks and I might be brave enough to dig it back out. Anyway, I've mentioned it before, but blogging helps to keep me accountable, so it makes sense to get back to it. That, and I've had posts starred for weeks now to share recipes and they've just been sitting, waiting for me to write them. Le sigh.

The following recipe is the first recipe I feel like I can after least somewhat claim as my own. I got the idea from Pinterest (duh), but the pin led to nowhere, and while the text of the pin told me the ingredients, I had to figure out the measurements. This was a HUGE win, and will make if again, soon probably. It was not only delicious and healthy, but Sakief (who is super tired of spaghetti squash) didn't complain because it had so much flavor to cover the squash.

I proudly present: Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

1 medium spaghetti squash

1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp smooth peanut butter

2 large carrots (shredded- I used my spiral slicer)

4 baby Bok Choy (chopped, no greens)

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Green onion

Diced garlic

Cilantro

Lime wedges

Cook spaghetti squash. I cut mine in half length wise, scoop out the seeds and roast at 375 for 45 mins or so.

While squash is cooking: Chop chicken into bite size pieces. Add broth, garlic, soy sauce and rice vinegar to wok, or large pan. Over medium heat cook chicken in broth mixture. When chicken is cooked through, add carrots and Bok Choy. 

When vegetables are cooked, scoop out cooked spaghetti squash and add to wok. Mix together. Add peanut butter and stir thoroughly. Let simmer to cook off some of the liquid (not all). Add chopped peanuts and green onion and mix. Let simmer about 5 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro (not pictured, we were out) and squeeze some lime over the top before eating.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did, and I hope to share more recipes and dieting life things soon. Back at it :)