Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Bake

I personally love spaghetti squash but my family does not enjoy it.  My kids still did not enjoy this one (because they are not big cheese fans) but my hubby gave it a thumbs up!

1 medium spaghetti squash baked (I bake mine face down in a slight bit of water for 30 minutes)
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1/4 yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Mushrooms, diced
1 pound ground beef (or two if you want leftovers or want to make half with traditional brown rice pasta for kiddos like mine)
Either 1 jar pasta sauce (or 2 cups tomatoe puree)
1/4 cup water
parsley
oregano
basil
sea salt
pepper
1 cup shredded raw mild cheese (I used mild cheddar and it was delicious)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1.  Saute onion, garlic, mushrooms, and ground beef in the the oil until browned and veggies are soft.
2.  Add in pasta sauce and spices of your choice and simmer on low for 20-30 minutes to really combine the flavors.
3.  Shred the "noodles" from spaghetti squash and transfer to the pot with the sauce to combine well.
4.  Place noodle/sauce mixture in a large casserole dish and sprinkle with a combination of cheeses.
5.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese is super bubbly!

I typically use this as my "make-ahead" meal.  I make two pounds ground beef, two jars sauce, lots of veggies and we have spaghetti one night and then this is a full meal leftover for another night in the busy week!

Banana Bread/Muffins Two Ways!

The other day I felt like baking and had a bunch of over ripe bananas so here we go!  One is a more basic, gluten and refined-sugar free banana bread and the other is a double chocolate banana bread.

Banana Bread/Muffins with Chocolate Chips:

3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup raw honey (pure maple syrup could work or a version of sugar)
1/3 cup unsweet applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp avocado oil
2 cups flour blend (I used 1 cup brown rice flour and 1 cup ground gluten-free oats finely ground)
2 Tbsp ground chia seeds
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

1.  Mash bananas with masher or in a mixer.  Add vanilla, eggs, oil, applesauce/honey and combine well.
2.  Mix all dry ingredients together and add the the wet mixture until well combined.
3.  Stir in chocolate chips last and spoon into loaf pan or muffin tin.
4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread:

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup unsweet applesauce

1/2 cup raw honey or maple syrup (I did a mixture of the two)

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1 cup flour blend (I did 1/2 cup rice flour and 1/2 cup ground oat flour)

2 Tbsp ground chia seed

1/3 cup raw cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

sprinkle sea salt

2/3 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

1.  Mash bananas and add wet ingredients (applesauce, sweetener, vanilla, egg)

2.  Add dry ingredients and combine well.

3.  Fold in the chocolate chips (saving a handful for decoration on the top)

4.  Put mix in a baking pan and sprinkle chocolate  chips on top.  

5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until knife comes out (almost) clean.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Strawberry Pie

Here is a healthy, vegan dessert (also nut free because my middle child has a nut sensitivity)!  We ended up freezing it so it was almost like an ice cream dessert!  I was nervous to try this because I was making three separate items and trying to combine them into one dessert but it was tasty and fairly quick and simple!

Crust:
1 1/4 cups coconut flour
1 TBSP raw cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
5 TBSP coconut oil (room temperature)
1 TBSP sunflower butter
2 TBSP raw honey
sprinkle sea salt
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together to combine using a fork and press firmly into bottom of pie pan.

Chocolate Mousse Layer:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup coconut sugar (I used less the second time I made this and it was still super sweet)
1 cup chocolate chunks (I tried with enjoy life chocolate chips once and another time using Whole Foods 365 70% chunks)
4 eggs, separated
1 can full fat unsweet coconut cream (put can coconut milk in fridge and use the layer of cream)

Boil the water in a medium pot then add the sugar until dissolved.  Remove from heat and after a few minutes add the chocolate chips until completely melted.  In separate bowls, whisk both the egg yolks until pale yellow and the whites until stiff peaks form.  Then, using a hand mixer combine the chocolate mixture and eggs until completely combined.  Finally, add the coconut cream and mix well using mixer.  Pour carefully on top of the pie crust then put in freezer while you prep the strawberry mousse!

Strawberry Mousse:
1 can full fat unsweet coconut cream (same thing, place can in fridge for a bit and remove the cream)
2 TBSP raw maple syrup (raw honey could also work)
1 cup strawberries (I used fresh)

Place the coconut cream, maple syrup and strawberries in a blender and blend well until smooth.  Pour carefully on top of the chocolate layer and place in the fridge/freezer for a few hours.  I ended up placing in the freezer and we enjoyed about 3 hours later.  Another night, I made just the chocolate mousse and did it in the fridge!  Both tasty!

Freezer Crock Pot Meal Ideas

With Fall approaching, I have seen many posts about freezer crockpot meals, so I decided to round up some of my favorites and make some of my own.  I bought almost entirely organic ingredients (a few things I could not find between 4 stores) and use hormone/antibiotic free range meats.  I made Margarita Chicken (2 bags), Beef Stew, Rosemary Apple Chicken, Chicken Taco Chili, and Thai Curry (2 bags), plus bought ingredients for a new chicken tomato recipe I am planning to try so 8 full meals (most will include leftovers for at least some of us as well).  I also bought gallon freezer bags, brown rice, Ezekial Tortilla (for taco chili leftovers), and even have some leftover veggies for snacking.  My total cost (using quality ingredients) was 106.64 so divide that by 8 meals is $13.33 per meal for a family of 4 plus leftovers.  I am pretty excited!  I plan to just keep these in the freezer and maybe have one a week or use in emergencies when I do not have a meal planned or plans change.  Now that I have done a small version of this, I may expand and do some more!

Margarita Chicken
Beef Stew
Rosemary Apple Chicken
Chicken Taco Chili
Thai Curry

Margarita Chicken (in the Crock Pot)

1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos
3 Tbsp Margarita Mix (liquid)
Sea Salt
Pepper

Whisk Together, then add:

1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup cut green beans
2-3 Frozen Chicken Breasts, cubed

Place in Freezer Bag or Crock Pot for 4-5 hrs on low.  I served mine on top of Jasmine Rice.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

1.5 lbs beef stew meat
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 tomato, diced
2 medium red potatoes, diced (sweet potatoes would be good too)
1/4 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced (or powdered garlic)
Sprinkle Thyme
2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Sea Salt
Pepper
Any other spices you like
1 cup beef broth (or veggie broth would likely work as well)

Place in freezer bag or crockpot for 5-7 hrs on low.  Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Apple Rosemary Chicken

1 Chicken Breast, 2-3 Chicken Thighs (I forgot to buy thighs so used all breasts)
2 apples, peeled and diced
Squirt of lime juice
1/4 sweet onion diced
2-3 Fresh Rosemary Spriggs
Sea Salt
Pepper
2 Tbsp water (to help liquify a bit so we could seal the bag)

1.  Dice and place all in a freezer safe gallon bag (or right in the crock pot).
2.  Cook on low 6 hrs or high 4 hrs.

I served this with brown rice on the side and some steamed green beans.