Recipe: Coodles with Organic Turkey Bolognese

I love trying to eat healthy and "paleo". Coodles are my go-to these days! I feel like zucchini noodles get a little too watery. Coodles are sweet and just hold up better!

I have found many turkey bolognese recipes, but the flavor always falls short. I have finally concocted my own seasoning that makes excellent bolognese

Recipe

2 lbs of ground turkey
3 packs of Pomi Tomato Sauce
2 medium onions, diced
1 large carrot, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced small

Seasoning 

1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt (add more if needed)
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp crushed red pepper (add more or less)
1/2 tsp ancho powder
1 tsp aleppo powder (or crushed)
1 tsp granulated onion powder
1 tsp granulated garlic powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp red bell pepper powder (can be purchased at spice shop, optional)
1/2 tsp spanish chorizo seasoning (can be purchased at spice shop, optional)

Mix all of these in a small bowl.

3 basil leaves, torn
1 tsp worcestershire sauce

Directions

In olive oil, cook the onions, carrots, and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add the turkey and 1/2 of the seasoning blend till browned.

Once browned, add the tomato sauce, worcestershire and remaining seasoning blend. Simmer for 20 minutes and then add the torn basil leaves. If you feel as if you need more tomato sauce, add some! It's all preference.

Simmer for another 10-20 minutes.

Coodles

I used a julienne peeler for the coodles. Mix coodles in with the sauce for the "pasta" to get warm. Toss for about 10-20 seconds and serve immediately.

Pad Thai Saturday!

So I found this amazing Pad Thai Recipe on Bon Appetit. So naturally, my boyfriend and I headed 35 minutes the opposite direction to the Asian Market to get all our ingredients to make this for dinner. It's my first time making Pad Thai but this is an excellent base recipe. We added basil, snow peas, etc.... just because we love extra veggies... and subbed in chicken instead of shrimp. You add more spice like us or just keep it simple! We used chili paste.

Update: We realized we had the Pok Pok Cookbook which we purchased earlier this year during our Memorial Day trip to NYC. There is actually a Pok Pok near the NYU campus which has amazing pad thai and drinking vinegar! (Don't knock it till you try it). If you live around the area or are visiting and enjoy thai food, I highly recommend it! Reasonable price and fantastic food!! We ended up cooking up a Pok Pok Bon Appetit Hybrid recipe.

Time to Invest: Ceramic Pans

I feel like a great pan can you take you a long way with cooking. I have been cooking with cast iron, non stick and even stainless steel pans...but nothing compares to the ceramic ones. I kept seeing it on Food Network Competition shows and I knew I had to buy one. I got mine from Gilt and Home Goods (as it's just cheaper to get the pans from places like that). But you can really purchase them anywhere.

I am not going to post any links to these pans because it's just a quick google search. I do recommend checking out your local Home Goods and Marshalls before purchasing these retail somewhere else. My large pan cost be $20 and I just got a two pack (medium and small pan) for $25. The deal are there, just keep looking!

Detox Tuesday - Grilled Turkey Salad with Salmon

So I'm still detoxing and decided to post my recipe for this grilled turkey salad with salmon. I know.. salmon again... I just made a ton, its healthy and tastes delicious!

Recipe

1 piece of grilled Alaskan Salmon (6 oz) - I used about half for the salad
1 grilled turkey burger sliced
4 bunches of romaine lettuce leaves (chopped)
1/4 of an english cucumber (sliced thick)
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs lemon
1 tbs Coleman's Mint Sauce
Dash of fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup of grilled onions
1 small vine ripen tomato diced
2 hard boiled eggs sliced
4 piece of blanched asparagus spears

Dressing

1 tsp hummus
1 tsp roasted red pepper spread (I used the Trader Joes version)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Coleman's Mint Sauce (I purchased it from Amazon - Coleman)

Please refer to my previous post for cooking and seasoning the salmon.

Turkey Burger: I would season the heck out of it just like the salmon. I added one tbs of panko crumbs and one egg to bind it all together but I really just added every herb (rosemary, parsley, oregano, sage) in my garden and every seasoning I own. I also added a dash of cinnamon and cumin to help enhance the flavor, but other than than, go crazy!

Boiling the Eggs: The best trick I have found is to boil the water and then toss in the eggs for about 9-10 minutes to get the perfect yellow yolk!

Asparagus Spears: To blanche asparagus spears, boil your water and add in the spears for 2 minutes. You want that bright green color but for it to remain crispy as well.

Once you have all the ingredients above prepared, mix it all together before adding the dressing. Once tossed, add the small amount of dressing and mix (it may seem as if there is not enough dressing but the flavors from everything else will enhance the salad). Add more pepper if you would like and serve immediately.

Sausage and Tomato Bow Tie Pasta

Good Afternoon Readers! Just a quick introduction to this blog. I started out with Instagram but decided to broaden my horizons and create a lifestyle blog featuring fashion, cooking and home decor. Enjoy.

This is a pasta recipe that I came up with one weeknight with some random items in my fridge. As far as recipes go, I will try to be as accurate as I can, but I usually just eyeball.. so my motto is start with less because you can always add more.

Recipe

3/4 Box of bow tie pasta
3 spicy italian sausage links (In case you were looking for a recommendation, Whole Foods has the best italian sausage out there)
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves (I'm a huge garlic and onion fanatic --- you can put more or less garlic based on preference)
Salt, italian seasoning, oregano, and pepper, crush red pepper to taste (1 teaspoon each) - add more while you taste - or less based on preference
2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 of a green, red, and yellow pepper
1/2 cup of fresh parsley, basil, and oregano
Olive oil (you can sub in coconut oil)

1. Boil water, with half water and half low sodium chicken broth (1 cup of broth - if you want to be exact). Add a little bit of salt so the pasta doesn't stick. Right when the water is boiling, add your bow tie pasta and cook for about 7-8 minutes; stirring occasionally

2. Meanwhile, get out a large pan with olive oil to cook your italian sausage. (the pan should be large enough to mix your pasta and sauce for later) That should take about 6-7 minutes, but make sure you check the inside so its not pink and cooked thoroughly. I usually chop up the sausage while cooking to make sure everything is evenly cooked. Once the sausage is done, set it aside on a plate with a paper towel on top to soak up the fat and oils.

3. In the same pan, add a little bit of olive oil to cook your garlic and onions. (trick of the trade: if you remove the middle stem of the garlic, it won't be as garlicky tasting, in case you don't to sweat garlic later on). Once the onion and garlic has browned, add the crushed tomatoes, 1 cup of broth, 1/2 cup of wine, and chopped up fresh parsley, oregano, and basil, with all the seasonings listed above. Let it all simmer for about 5-10 minutes

4. Now, time to cut the peppers length wise (thin strips) and toss them with a little olive oil and pepper. Preheat your oven to 400 and roast the peppers. A little char on them is a good thing, as it will enhance the flavor. (You can also do this on a grill, but I used the oven since my boyfriend doesn't let me use the grill when he isn't home.. as he is afraid I will burn the house down #legitimateconcern).

5. Add the sausage and roasted peppers to the sauce. Let simmer for another 5-10 minutes and toss in the pasta and serve immediately. I always add a little bit of fresh basil, oregano, and parsley for garnish. You can add parmesan cheese at the end... but it's all preference.