Mushroom, Garlic and Roasted Red Pepper Cous Cous

I don’t consider myself a recipe creator. I do, however, love food and appreciate how it can fuel our bodies. The magic that happens when you mix different flavors and textures is the added bonus.

I get inspiration from things I’ve eaten, or recipes I’ve read.

Don’t be intimidated when you read below. There is a lot of different things happening (in the stove and on top) but I promise it’s easy and all comes together beautifully.

Ingredients:

1 box of plain cous cous

1 roasted red pepper cut in half

1 whole garlic head

1 container of Baby Bell Mushrooms 

1 onion chopped 

1 whole cauliflower cut into bite sized pieces  

Juice from 1 lemon 

2 tbs tahini 

1 tbs almond butter

Broth 

EVOO

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Parsley 

IN THE OVEN:

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:

•Cut a red pepper in half - take out the insides put some olive oil on it and roast for about 20 minutes in the oven at 350.
•At the same time roast a whole garlic clove: Cut off the top of the garlic as to expose the cloves, add some olive oil on the top and wrap it in tinfoil. Cook for about 30 minutes Also at 350.
•cauliflower: roast a whole cauliflower with evoo- salt- pepper- pop in the oven with the pepper and garlic

ON STOVE TOP:

While things are cooking in the oven…

•Cook cous cous according to directions while cous cous cooks .....

•sauté onions, after slightly brown, add mushrooms - cook until mushrooms have released their juices - you really can’t overcook mushrooms

Tahini sauce: (this will go on the side or on top of the dish)

• 2 tbs tahini

• 1tbs almond butter

• Juice of 1 lemon

• Salt

• Cumin

• Some broth to bring to desired consistency

Roasted Red pepper and garlic sauce:

• After red peppers and garlic have cooked and cooled: blend the whole garlic clove (squeeze or pick out softened cloves) and roasted red pepper together. Add some broth some salt, pepper and olive oil and some cumin.

Assembly:

To the cooked cous cous add the roasted red pepper garlic sauce and the mushrooms/onions. Mix. Top off the couscous mixture with roasted cauliflower, tahini sauce and fresh parsley. Enjoy!

Roasted Carrot Hummus

This has got to be one of my favorite homemade hummuses. The roasted carrots make it SO special! The roasting of the carrots does make this hummus a bit longer to prep, but it is worth it! I used FRESH chickpeas with this recipe, but if you do not have time to cook the chickpeas or do not have fresh chickpeas on hand, 2 boxes will do just fine.

This recipe makes a good amount of hummus. You can eat it all, give some to a friend, or store it in the fridge for the week and eat it with pita chips, cucumbers, celery and carrots.. is that weird to eat carrot hummus with carrots?

You will need some kind of bender for this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 large sized carrots - roughly chopped
• EVOO for roasting carrots
• 2 tbs EVOO to put in HUMMUS while mixing
• salt (you will add salt to the carrots and then more to the hummus while mixing)
• pepper
• 1 cup raw dried chick peas (you will be cooking these, I did it in a crockpot just add water and cook for a couple hours on high) OR 2 Boxes/BPA free cans of chickpeas
•  1/4 cup tahini
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric 
• 1 garlic clove chopped
• Juice of 1/2 large lemon or 1 small lemon
• 1/2 cup-2/3 cup water - depends on how thick your hummus ends up being. Add water as needed.

Directions: 

* If using fresh chickpeas cook them according to package,

• preheat oven to 400 degrees
• place roughly chopped carrots coated with EVOO, salt and pepper in the oven for about 20 minutes or until tender. 
• While carrots are cooking squeeze your lemon, measure out your 2 tbs of EVOO, 1/2 C tahini and all of your spices (cumin, paprika, turmeric and salt). 
• Dump the chickpeas, cooked carrots and all your mise en place (aka all the food you prepped) in the blender- don't forget your garlic clove.
• Blend and slowly add in water. You will need to pause and scrape down the sides and then start to blend again.
• Your hummus is done when it is smooth and all mixed. It will be a beautiful orange color and will taste AWESOME! You can serve it in a bowl and add a bit of EVOO to the top if you wish.

ENOY! XO

Super Quick Homemade Pizza

First off, this pizza is NOT gluten or dairy free.

Secondly, it is so easy to make.

And lastly, it is crispy and delicious!  

(Gluten free?? Do not fret I'll have a gluten free pizza recipe up next week!) 

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Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups whole wheat white flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour. I made my own- just take 1/2 cup of oats and blend them to make  flour!
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbs EVOO
• 3/4 cup water

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  Directions :

• preheat oven to 450
• mix together all dry ingredients : both flours, salt and baking soda
• add in water and EVOO - mix until moistened - there may still be some dry flour floating around but don't worry you will get that mixed in the dough in your next step.
• add a little flour to your table surface and dump out the "dough" mixture on top -  knead dough into a ball. You have two options:

1. Wrap the dough ball tightly in plastic wrap and put in fridge to use later that day 
2. Roll it out right then and there.  

• Grab a rolling pin and make your pizza crust! I like to make mine pretty thin, but not so much that it falls apart. 
• Spray down a baking sheet.
• Place you crust on top of baking sheet and place in oven for 12-15 minutes (depending on how thin your crust is). It will get slightly golden brown around the edges. Take out tray and add your toppings. I kept it simple and added tomato sauce and cheese. Place back in oven for 10 minutes.
• Top with some spices like oregano, chili flakes, and/or garlic powder. Add a fresh green like arugula or basil. Possibilities are endless!

How did you make your pizza?  

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Whole Wheat Couscous with Cherries & Arugula.

Incase you didn't see the recipe that I posted on Instagram and Facebook I thought I would share with you an easy and yummy couscous salad I made recently.  I made a few changes like taking out the cheese and adding more EVOO at the end. 

I love arugula. It is my staple green along with spinach and kale. Arugula salads are the best. Mix it with some EVOO, lemon juice, fresh parm cheese and pine nuts and you are good to go. I made this for lunch today:

• arugula
• hard boiled egg
• apples
• cucumbers
• avocado
• evoo - balsamic - lemon juice - turmeric - pepper

Enjoy!

Raw Red Salad with EVOO and Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

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I recently got a spiralzier and love it! Do you have one? Amamzing right?! This is the one I have.

I think spiralized fruits and veggies are so much more fun to eat and can make any dish look fancy. I am totally on a spiralizing kick right now (I actually have spiralized sweet potatoes in the oven right now with some salt and EVOO). 

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Zucchini pasta! Just adeded EVOO, garlic, and tomatoe sauce.  

This past weekend we celebrated the Camera Mans birthday! We had both of our families over for a late lunch/early dinner. Both my mom and mother in law came over a little early to help me cook, I could not have done it without them.

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Of course this is a carvel ice cream cake.  

We made burgers, orzo salad, shrimp in a spicy garlic sauce, a plate of fresh veggies and my raw red salad.  If you are ever in the mood for something deep red, full of nutrients and just beautiful, then this is your salad. 

Its crunchy, light, and so fresh. 

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Ingredients: 

• 1/2 purple cabbage 
• 1 large apple
• 1 raw red beet
• 1 raw golden beet
• 2 medium sized carrots  
• evoo
• apple cider vinegar  

Dressing: (this makes 1 cup, you can reduce it if you want. Add as much or as little to the salad. I like a lot of dressing with this salad)

• 3⁄4 cup Olive Oil
• 1⁄4 cup Apple cider vinegar
• add salt to taste

Directions: 

For the salad all of the vegetables/fruit should either be put through a food processor or a Spiralizer, OR very thinly cut by hand. The point of the salad is for it to be cut up thin making it fun easy to eat. 

The dressing is very simple and gives the salad the bite it needs. You could add a dab of honey to the dressing but I think the beets, carrots and apples give the salad the sweetness it needs. 

enjoy! 

XO