Zuchinni "Spaghetti" and Meatballs

If you are on a health kick like me (story of my life), this recipe is about to be your go-to spaghetti and meatball night meal. I love pasta but the fact that it finds its way to places on my body I'd rather it not settle into, makes me avoid it as much as possible. I have found a few ways to get around it that both satisfy and trick me into believing I'm getting to indulge. One of those way-arounds is "Miracle Noodles" (click here to find them on the web). They are a plant fiber based noodle that has ZERO calories and ZERO carbs -- therefore ZERO guilt. They are a completely free food that you can eat as much as you want of. I have found that I like the Angel Hair variety best. I will do a post at some point in the future about these little miracle noodles but I thought I would introduce them here. Another way around pasta that I have been doing for some time is zuchinni. I julienne the zuchinni and instantly have a super healthy veggie pasta. No need to cook it, just use a julienne slicer and serve a hot marinara and meatballs over it. It even whips around and slaps your face sometimes - just like the real thing ::thumbs up::  The recipe below allows you two meatballs and marinara over the zuchinni "spaghetti" noodles for under 200 calories!!!! (The audience says ooooooooh) That means you can have a third meatball and still be under 300 calories (and the audience says ahhhhhh) You're welcome friends. Enjoy.

Meatballs:

2 lbs lean ground beef (95/5 ratio)

1/2 cup raw rolled oats (not instant)

1 egg

1/4 cup minced onion

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 Tbsp  minced garlic

2 tsp salt

1  tsp black pepper

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients together, reserving the water. Once all ingredients are combined, add in the water and mix one last time. Form meatballs that are just slightly larger than a golf ball. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a skillet with cooking spray and brown all sides of the meatballs over medium heat. You may have to do this in 2-3 batches. Once all meatballs are browned spread them out on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. While the meatballs are baking, make your marinara sauce using the recipe below (or use your favorite store-bought marinara). Makes 24 meatballs.

Marinara Sauce:

28 oz crushed tomatoes, canned

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning blend (or 1/4 Tbsp each of oregano, basil, rosemary and thyme)

2 Tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

2 tsp sugar

Combine all marinara ingredients in a medium sauce pan (big enough to fit sauce and meatballs). Heat over medium heat until meatballs are done. Add meatballs to marinara and let simmer for 30 minutes or until ready to serve. Makes 8 servings of marinara.

Other ingredients:

4 medium/large zuchinni squash (room temperature)

I know that most people don't just happen to have a full scale mandolin slicer with a julienne attachment lying around, but you should at least grab a julienne peeler (like this one) from Walmart or Target. They are around $10-$15 and they are super handy! Cut the ends off of the zuchinni squash and julienne them until you have a pile of  healthy zuchinni "spaghetti" noodles. If you sauce and meatballs are hot and ready to serve, there isn't a need to heat the noodles. Just serve 2-3 meatballs and some marinara on top of the "spaghetti" and with the amount of calories your saving with this dish you can even splurge with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

CHECK OUT THE NUTRITION FACTS!!

Meatballs (per meatball): 63 cals / 2g fat / 1g carbs / 9g protein
Marinara Sauce: 58 cals / 2g fat / 10g carbs / 1g protein

Candy Corn Rice Krispies Treats

It is that time of year when you hit up the local pumpkin patch with your kids, bring home a bounty of pumpkins hand picked by each kid, and carve fun faces in each one. If you guys have the same system we did, Dad had to do all the hard work. Dad would cut the top off, we would scrape out all of the seeds and then we would use a sharpie marker to draw the face we wanted. Dad would get the task of cutting out the faces we had drawn so that we could stick a tea light in it and show it off to the neighborhood. All the grandparents would have to drive by and admire our work because we were SOO proud. With Halloween taking place tomorrow, I wanted to share a yummy Halloween inspired treat with you. The kids will love helping you create one of their favorite treats with a candy corn twist!

12 cups rice krispies cereal
12 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup margarine or butter
4 cups Candy Corn, rough chopped
extra butter for your hands

Prepare a baking sheet with a sil-pat mat or waxed paper. Melt butter in a medium or large pot. Add marshmallows and stir. When marshmallows are about 1/2 way melted, add in candy corn. The candy corn will start to melt a little which is perfect! Continue to stir until the marshmallows are completely melted. Add in the cereal and continue to stir until well combined. Immediately pour the mixture onto your lined baking sheet. Rub your (clean) hands with the extra margarine to prevent sticking and use your hands to press and spread the mixture around in the baking sheet until it is all level. Let cool and set up for 20 minutes. Cut into squares or use a candy corn cookie cutter to make the candy corn shape.

In the pan! Just stare at it in anticipation like a little kid...no judgement here.

You can try cutting them into Candy Corn shapes with a cookie cutter 

Or just cut them square

Enjoy! XOXO~

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

I first fell in love with tomatillo salsas at a local Mexican restaurant in my hometown of Norman, OK called Pepe Delgados. When I was in college it was my favorite on-campus lunch spot. Now that I am out of college, we still find ourselves driving across town to satisfy our cravings. Everything they make is so authentic and reminds me so much of the local fare that I grew up on in Cabo San Lucas, MX. It is hard to find fresh, authentic Mexican food that hasn't been adjusted to satisfy the American palette. Pepe's tomatillo salsa is sweet and tart (it's a sweet-tart of a salsa! bu-dum-chhhhh). I love it with tortilla chips, I love to use it as a dressing on my tacos, it truly is an all-purpose salsa. This is my version and I think it is a pretty good knock-off of Pepe's original, if I do say so myself! Once you make it, experiment and let me know what you end up loving it on.

1 lb tomatillos, husked

1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced

1/4 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 large jalapeño or 2-3 small jalapeños

2 tsp garlic, minced

1/4 cup cilantro

1 1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cups water

Turn your ovens broiler to high. Remove the papery skin and stem from the tomatillos. Cut the stem off of the jalapeños. Place the tomatillos along with the jalapeños and sliced onion on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Broil until the tomatillos have turned an olive green color and the tops are browned. Put all the roasted ingredients (as well as any juices that may have cooked out) into your blender and add the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Add more salt to taste. Serve.