Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away! When it comes to Thanksgiving, it’s all about the sides. You’ve gotta have a great stuffing, potatoes of course, and I always love a delicious veggie side dish. One of my favorite go-tos is this super simple and flavor-packed roasted brussels dish with crispy bacon, pumpkin seeds, and a balsamic drizzle to bring it all together. It’s a super tasty way to get in those veggies that the entire family will love!

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 1 large bundle of brussels sprouts, de-stemmed and sliced

• 4 pieces bacon

• 1/4 red onion, chopped

• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

• 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 1-2 tbsp avocado oil

• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Toss the brussels sprouts in avocado oil, sea salt, and pepper and roast in a preheated 425 degree oven for for 20-25 minutes until browned and crispy.

2. In the meantime, cook up the bacon on the stove top until crispy.

3. Remove the bacon and chop it into small pieces. Remove excess bacon grease from the pan, leaving about 1 tbsp.

4. Cook up chopped red onion and pumpkin seeds for 3-5 minutes in the pan on the stovetop.

5. Once cooked, mix the Brussels sprouts, red onion, pumpkin seeds, and bacon.

6. Serve and top with a drizzle of balsamic. Enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Breakfast Spaghetti Squash Boat

Fall is officially here! So what better way to celebrate than by combining my favorite autumn flavors and my favorite meal to cook, breakfast. This breakfast spaghetti squash boat is easy-to-make with minimal cleanup. Plus, it has all of the best cozy ingredients perfect for this time of year - brussels sprouts, spaghetti squash, bacon, eggs. It’s sure to be a hit with anyone who loves fall produce and breakfast food as much as I do!

Here’s what you’ll need:
(Makes 2)

• 1 small spaghetti squash

• 4 pieces of bacon

• 16-20 brussels sprouts, de-stemmed and sliced

• 1 clove garlic, chopped

• 2 eggs

• 2 tbsp shredded parmesan

• 1 green onion, chopped

• Salt and pepper to taste

• (Optional) red pepper flakes as desired

Instructions:

1. Halve and de-seed a small spaghetti squash (if it’s too hard to halve, score it where you want to halve it, poke holes through with a fork all the way around, and microwave for 3-5 mins to soften).

2. Brush the inside of each half with avocado oil and season with sea salt and black pepper.

3. Bake the two halves of the spaghetti squash in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30 min face down on a baking sheet.

4. In the meantime cook the bacon by desired method, and separately sauté the brussels sprouts in a little avo oil with garlic for about 8-10 minutes. You want both the bacon and sprouts to be just slightly uncooked because they will continue to cook in the oven.

5. Once the spaghetti squash is done, let it cool, and using a fork scrape the insides of each to make it stringy and spaghetti-like.

6. Mix in half of the brussels sprouts and chopped bacon into each half.

7. Form a shallow hole in the middle of the mixture big enough for an egg, and crack an egg into each spaghetti squash boat.

8. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. If the eggs aren’t fully cooked, broil for 3-5 mins until cooked through.

9. Top with shredded parmesan, chopped green onion, and red pepper flakes as desired.

10. Enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Loaded Breakfast Sweet Potato

I honestly don't have a great back story for this (sorry). I was thinking I wanted to make a stuffed sweet potato for breakfast, but I wanted to use cottage cheese instead of yogurt. This got me thinking on more of a savory route, and before I knew it I had loaded potatoes on the brain. Swap out sour cream for cottage cheese, add in some extra greens, and I was salivating just thinking about it. 

This thing literally came together in like 10 minutes. I took the easy way out and microwaved the sweet potato. Feel free to bake it (I generally prefer to avoid the microwave), but the time crunch was real. Easy AND delicious - does it get much better?

Here's What You'll Need:

-2 small sweet potatoes
-5.3 oz classic Good Culture cottage cheese pack
-1 cup baby arugula
-1 clove garlic, minced
-2 pieces of uncured, all natural turkey bacon
-1/2 tbsp olive oil or ghee
-Hot sauce to taste

Serves 2

Instructions:

1) Poke the sweet potatoes with a fork all over to create little holes. Cook them in the microwave for 3-5 minutes, flip over, and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.
2) In the meantime, heat up the olive oil/ghee on the stove top. Once hot, add in the garlic and cook for about a minute.
3) Add in the arugula and cook for about 2-3 minutes until it is cooked down. Remove from heat.
4) Cook the turkey bacon on the stove top according to directions until crispy, and chop into small pieces.
5) Remove the sweet potatoes from the microwave and cut each in half.
6) In the middle of the halves, add half the cottage cheese pack to each potato.
7) Top the cottage cheese with half of the arugula and bacon pieces.
8) Top each with desired hot sauce, serve, and enjoy!

This combo is just the perfect balance of salty and sweet with that little kick of heat (if you choose to add hot sauce). This one will definitely be on repeat over here. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
 

Pear and Blue Cheese Salad

Something about this (somewhat) cooler weather really made me start craving pear. To counter the sweetness, I thought it would go really well with a nice blue cheese. I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to eat the two together, and I went through all the options in my head (including literally smearing blue cheese on pear slices). At the end of this mental conversation with myself, I decided I could really use a refreshing salad. I knew I also had some vegan bacon, almonds, and sunflower seeds which could add a nice savory kick and crunch to the meal.

Here's what you'll need:

For the dressing:

-1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
-1 tsp olive oil
-1/4 tsp garlic powder (or less)
-1/4 tsp dijon mustard
-1/4 tsp German mustard
-salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

-1/2 cup of baby kale
-1/2 cup of baby spinach (feel free to do a full cup of either or substitute with the leafy green of your choosing)
-2 pieces of vegan (or regular or turkey) bacon, cooked and chopped
-1/2 pear, sliced
-2 tbsp blue cheese
-1/2 tsp sunflower seeds
-2 tbsp almonds, chopped

Instructions:

1) In a bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients.
2) In a larger bowl, mix together the kale and spinach. Top with the pear slices, bacon, sunflower seeds, and blue cheese.
3) Drizzle on the dressing, and enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below, and feel free to subscribe!

Shrimp Cobb Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Shrimp has been one of my favorite foods since I was a little kid. It has a nice flavor, provides protein, and is still light and low calorie.

I knew that I had shrimp at home and was really feeling a nice salad. I started going over the things I had in my fridge and literally couldn't think of anything. Then I thought about the bacon I randomly had leftover from a couple days ago (random because I never buy bacon). Shrimp wrapped bacon? That sounds delicious but not exactly what I was looking for.

I sifted through the limited other ingredients I had lying around, and each one fit perfectly into a summer-inspired lighter cobb salad. Instead of heavy bleu cheese or ranch, I could make a nice citrus vinaigrette and cut out the cheese.

Here's What You'll Need:

For the Salad:
-4 cups of baby spinach
-10 cherry tomatoes cut into thirds
-1/2 avocado, chopped
-1 ear of corn, kernels removed from cob (or 1 small can of corn, drained)
-2 slices of bacon
-2 hardboiled eggs, chopped
-6 oz shrimp
-1/4 tsp of paprika
-salt and pepper to taste

For the Dressing:
-The juice of one lemon
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 tbsp white wine vinegar
-1/2 clove garlic, minced
-1/8 tsp oregano
-salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) If you haven't already, cook your bacon slices in a pan or microwave until they are crispy, and chop them into small pieces.
2) If you haven't already, hard boil your eggs (you may also buy them already cooked). Chopped up the eggs.
3) Add the paprika, salt, and pepper to your shrimp and cook on a grill or in a pan on the stove. If you are using pre-cooked shrimp, I still suggest adding the seasoning and just heating up the shrimp a bit using either method.
4) You can either add all the ingredients into one large bowl or split ingredients in half and serve separately.
5) Mix together the dressing ingredients, add to the salad(s), and enjoy!

If you are hesitant about the dressing, please try it! It is seriously delicious in the salad. It balances so well with the egg, shrimp, and bacon and gives just that extra bit of added flavor to this meal. Let me know what you think, and feel free to subscribe below!