Super Healthy Quesadilla Twist - with Butternut Squash and Kale

Hey everyone! Happy Sunday! I don't know about your house, but my household is holding strong to their new year's resolutions and diets. I have been trying to do my part to support my parents, but I can't stand to watch them eat like birds day in and day out! Tonight I made a quick and easy dish that was still very healthy and very flavorful. 

You will need:

1/2 of a large butternut squash

2 cups of kale leaves

shredded pepper jack cheese

low carb tortillas (they make a ton of varieties now)

butter

chile powder

salt and pepper

To prep, you will need to peel and dice your butternut squash. This is a pain but there are tons of videos with tips on how to do it. If you have good knives, that is half the battle. 

Begin by cooking up your butternut squash in a large pan. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan, add your squash and season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, but not mushy!

This is an entire squash, but I only used half for the quesadillas.
The other half we are using to make mashed squash because there is a strong war against
potatoes in these diets for some reason!! 

Put your squash in a bowl on the side, and add your kale to the pan. LEt the kale wilt down to about half size. You will want to keep an eye on your pan and keep the kale moving so no parts get burned.

Add your squash back into the pan with the kale and stir gently. Sprinkle some chile powder over the mixture and stir. Start with a little chile powder and add more to your liking.

Next, in another pan, over medium/low heat, melt 1/2 tbs. of butter and place one tortilla in the bottom of the pan. Add a generous amount of butternut squash and kale filling, making sure to leave some room around the edge to avoid overflow. Add some shredded cheese, and top with a second tortilla. Press down gently to make sure everything forms together.

Flip your quesadilla after a few minutes and allow the other side to lightly brown. Cut into half and then into thirds and serve hot! 

I hope you all enjoy this version of a classic, easy dish. Have a great week!!

Valentine's Day Idea! Bacon and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

Happy Sunday everyone! With Valentine's day coming up, I wanted to give you all a quick and easy way to impress your loved one! Stuffed mushrooms are always impressive, and in reality they are very easy to make, with so many possibilities for flavors. For this recipe, I used spinach and bacon to whip up this tasty side dish. Serve with steak and some good wine and you are set!

Ingredients:

1 package of white button mushrooms
4 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
4 cups baby spinach
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 tbs bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Start off by carefully removing the stems from your mushrooms. Take your time with this, trying to not break the edges of the mushroom, while getting the entire stem out so that you have room for your fillings.

Next, finely chop up your stems.

In a large skillet, cook your spinach until it is wilted.

Remove the spinach, pat off any extra moisture and loosely chop. In the same skillet, cook your bacon until crispy. When finished, finely chop up your bacon.Remove the excess bacon grease from your skillet. Add your olive oil and cook up your garlic and mushroom stems until soft.

In a bowl, mix together your spinach, bacon, garlic, stems, cheese and bread crumbs.

Carefully fill your mushroom caps with the filling. Don't pack the filling in too tightly, but add enough to fill the mushroom and overflow just a bit.

Cook in a pan for 20 minutes or until browned at 400 degrees.

These will be great along side a nice steak! Remember, you don't always have to make the most difficult recipe for it to be fancy and delicious. I hope you try these out and enjoy for Valentine's Day!!

Please note: You can easily modify these by leaving out the breadcrumbs or using turkey bacon. Enjoy!!

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers!

Happy SuperBowl Sunday everyone! I don't know if there are any Broncos or Seahawks fans that read this blog - but for me today is ALL about the food. My family is currently on various diets, so I tried to find something that wouldn't entirely break the bank, as well as pay homage to our own home team! These stuffed peppers are super easy to make - I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

6oz. bell mushrooms sliced

1 medium yellow onion sliced

8oz. roast beef

8-12 slices provolone cheese

2-3 green bell peppers

salt and pepper

Begin by halving your peppers length-wise and cleaning out the seeds.

Next, slice your mushrooms and onion.

In a large sauce pan, melt your butter, add your oil and minced garlic and saute your onion and mushrooms until caramelized.

While your onions and mushrooms are cooking, slice your roast beef into thin strips.

Add these strips to your sauce pan and cook until the meat is no longer pink.

In your bell peppers, gently tuck a piece of cheese into the bottoms. Depending on the size of your peppers, you may only need 1/2 a slice of cheese.

Fill your bell peppers until almost overflowing with the meat, onions and mushroom mixture.

Top each pepper with another piece of cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly, 7-10 minutes.

Let sit for a few minutes before serving. 

I hope you all have a great Sunday and enjoy watching the puppy bowl and the
Superbowl game tonight!!