Honey Sriracha Salmon Over Spiralized Broccoli Stems and Bell Pepper

So I have about a billion thoughts I want to get across in the post, and they're all a little jumbled in my head so bare with me. 

I'm a HUGE fan of spiralizing! And over the past year or so, I've come to realize how many different, amazing things you can spiralize. Two of these perhaps not-so-predictable things are bell peppers and broccoli stems. I've touched on broccoli stems with a couple other recipes and I think bell peppers once before, but I want to do a quick recap of how to spiralize each.

Broccoli stems are easy. Cut them off and shave off the side nub parts with a knife. The idea is to get the stem as cylindrical as possible, but don't go too crazy. It will be fine, trust me. Just try to get anything that's jutting out a ton off the sides. Cut the ends so they're flat, and spiralize as if it's a zucchini. 

Bell peppers seem complicated, but they really aren't. Cut off the top of the bell pepper, maybe about a centimeter below the stem, and remove the seeds from the inside. Have the open top part facing the blade when you spiralize, and the bottom of the pepper will attach the spiky end. Spiralize as you would any other vegetable. I've found that peppers tend to have a lot of juice, so just be aware you may want some paper towels nearby.

Okay, so now that we've covered how to spiralize them, I'm going to briefly touch on spiralizers. Every time I post a spiralized recipe, I get a lot of questions about which spiralizer I suggest. My major suggestion is to invest in a good one. I wouldn't settle for a small hand one, honestly, because you really won't use it that much because you just can't use it on as many things. My suggestion would be the Inspiralizer. It's comparable to some other, good quality spiralizers, but it reduces the amount of wasted vegetable which is actually a huge deal. For more information or to buy one, feel free to click the link below.

So onto the recipe. I've had the fortune of coming across Fix Hot Sauce lately, and it has literally be a game changer. It is by far the best sriracha I have ever had. They are not paying me to say this, I am not endorsed by them, it is JUST THAT GOOD. So I've pretty much been putting in on or in anything and everything. So I figured why not a nice, simple recipe with sriracha and throw in honey for a touch of sweetness.

Slight tangent here, I buy broccoli a lot. And if I buy broccoli, you pretty much know that there's some sort of broccoli stem concoction coming your way because they may be very high up there on my favorite vegetables to spiralize list. I also may or may not shop for broccoli by broccoli stem size now (insert embarrassed buldgey eyed emoji here).

So I had my broccoli stems laying around, and I thought they would be the perfect compliment to an Asian-ish salmon. Bell peppers came into my mind next, and the rest is history really.

Here's What You'll Need:

-3 red bell peppers, spiralized
-6 broccoli stems, spiralized (may need more or less depending on size)
-1 lb of salmon, cut into 3 equal pieces
-1/4 cup water
-1/4 cup Tamari (or low sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos)
-2 tbsp sriracha
-2 tbsp honey
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions:

1) Mix together the water, Tamari, sriracha, honey, and garlic in large bowl or container. Marinate the salmon pieces in the sauce for at least an hour covered in your fridge.
2) Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
3) Cook the marinated salmon for about 12 minutes. The rule of thumb is 4-6 minutes per half inch thickness, so times may vary. DO NOT THROW OUT THE REMAINING MARINADE. You'll be using it as a sauce. 
4) In the meantime, heat up the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Toss in the broccoli stems and cook for about a minute.
5) Add in the bell pepper and cook for another minute or so.
6) Add in the leftover marinade and let it cook for 3-5 minutes.
7) Once the salmon is cooked, remove it from the oven.
8) Plate the pepper and broccoli stem mixture and top each with a piece of salmon.
9) Enjoy!

Not a fan of spiralizing or not want wanting buy a spiralizer at the moment? Feel free to make the salmon alone. I served mine in a variety of ways over on my Instagram, and you can still save the marinade to use as a sauce.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Sriracha Ginger Turkey Meatballs

I'm basically a sriracha fiend by nature, and recently I was introduced to Fix Hot Sauce which has put my sriracha game on an entire new level. It's literally the perfect hot sauce, and I basically want to pour it all over everything.

So Monday nights are The Bachelor nights for my friend Emily and I and have been for literally years at this point. We get together, cook dinner, and watch the show. Sometimes we plan exactly what we are going to make, and sometimes it's a look in the fridge and see what can be put together kind of deal. This week was one of the latter. I knew I had ground turkey, but I really wasn't feeling the standard tacos or burgers. So I thought why not meatballs...and sriracha? And really the rest is history.

I felt like this one was a bit of a gamble, but Emily's first bite was followed by, "These have to go on the blog!" So I knew we had a winner. They have a nice little kick but nothing too overwhelming for those of you non-spicy fans. Seriously, these guys are a must try. I know you might be a little hesitant, but do it! You won't regret these, I promise.

Here's what you'll need:

-1 lb ground turkey
-1/2 cup panko or whole wheat bread crumbs
-1 egg
-1/4 white onion, chopped
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
-1 tsp sesame oil
-1 tbsp tamari or low sodium soy sauce
-1 tbsp sriracha
-1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2) Mix together all of the ingredients in a bowl. Mix it really well, spreading out everything as evenly as possible.
3) Using 1/4 cup measuring cup, form the meatballs and place evenly on a baking sheet (I sprayed mine with coconut oil). This should make about 8 meatballs.
4) Put the meatballs into the oven and cook for 12 minutes. Take them out, flip them, and place them back in the oven. Cook for another 12 minutes.
5) Remove the meatballs, serve, and enjoy!

I served mine over some some sauteed veggies and topped it all with a quick, throw together sauce made with more sriracha, tamari, garlic, and ginger. It was perfect! Let me know what you think below.

Shrimp and Veggie Stir Fry in a Spicy Ginger Garlic Sauce

So this is one of those "I swear it tastes better than it looks" kind of meals! Winter is a killer when I want to share dinner recipes because non-natural light is, well, ugly. But what can ya do? 

It's Sunday which has commonly been a Chinese takeout night in my family. It's an easy and tasty way to finish up the weekend. So I figured why not save on the money and greasy food and make my own, healthier version?

I started this meal out thinking that I was going to make a stir fry over broccoli stem noodles. But my smaller noodle blade for my spiralizer was in the dishwasher, so I figured I'd just switch it out for the next size, no biggie. WRONG. It literally turned the broccoli stems into something I'd liken to the looks of shaved parmesan cheese. Not really the most aesthetically appealing, and they didn't really pan out to be a good base for the meal. Oh well, again what can ya do? So I just decided to throw them into the stir fry, and put it all over some brown rice instead. 

I think this must have been one of those weird twist of fate mistakes because the shaved broccoli stem pieces were a perfect addition consistency-wise and added a nice crunch like that of a water chestnut. All in all, everything turned out delicious, and the sauce, although spicy, is AMAZING. I might need to put it on everything, just saying.

Here's What You'll Need:

-5 oz cooked shrimp
-1 red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
-2 bundles of baby bok choy, removed from stem and cleaned
-4 broccoli stems, spiralized with second blade or just sliced very thinly
-1 tbsp olive oil
-3 cloves garlic, minced and separated
-2 tsp sesame oil
-4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or Tamari
-2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced (NOT shaved - if you use shaved ginger it will be significantly less than 2 tbsp)
-2 tbsp sriracha (I use Fix Hot Sauce)
-2 tbsp pure cane sugar

Instructions:

1) In a pan over medium high heat, heat up the olive oil. Once hot, add in one clove of garlic, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
2) Add in the broccoli stem pieces and cook alone for about 2 minutes.
3) Mix around the broccoli stem pieces, and add in the bell pepper and bok choy. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes until the boy choy is wilted and bell pepper is cooked through.
4) In the meantime, mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, remaining garlic, ginger, sriracha, and sugar in a bowl. 
5) Add the shrimp to the pan and top the whole thing with the sauce. Let cook for another 2- 3 minutes, mixing regularly.
6) Split the stir fry between two bowls, and enjoy!

I served mine over about 1/2 cup of brown rice, and it was perfect. Let me know what you think in the comments below! 

 

Spicy Vegan Collard Green Wrap with Sriracha Chickpeas

If you haven't already gotten the picture, I am a HUGE fan of heat. I love spicy anything, and hot sauce is my jam, especially sriracha. So one day when I was making one of my veggie bowls, I decided why not sriracha chickpeas? They'd be perfect in a veggie, wrap, salad, basically anything and everything. So I made them, and they exceeded my wildest dreams. They add a kick to anything while keeping that delicious chickpea flavor. 

So yesterday comes, and I decided that I wanted to throw them in a collard green wrap. I knew from multiple veggies bowls that they are perfect with basically all roasted veggies, so roasted broccoli was a go. But I wanted something else to pull it all together, and naturally because I'm a spicy freak, the Hope Foods jalapeno cilantro hummus in the fridge jumped out at me. My mouth was a little nervous, but my mind was super excited!

So I did it, and my mouth was screaming for mercy at times, but it was FANTASTIC. It's really a spicy lover's dream. And if you don't think you can handle the heat, feel free to switch it out with any other flavor of hummus.

Here's what you'll need:

-4 large collard green leaves
-1 15 oz can of chickpeas, strained and rinsed
-4 tbsp sriracha
-1 large head of broccoli florets
-2 tbsp olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste
-8 tbsp Hope Foods jalapeno cilantro hummus 

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Toss the broccoli florets in the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
2) Once preheated, throw the broccoli into the oven for about 15-20 minutes.
3) On the stove top mix together the chickpeas and sriracha over high heat. Let the chickpeas heat for about 3-5 minutes, mixing every so often. The high heat will cause the sriracha to become a coating on the chickpeas versus just a sauce that comes right off. Remove from heat once the chickpeas are coated.
4) In the center of each collard green leaf, spread 2 tbsp of the hummus. Split up the chickpeas and broccoli between each. You want all ingredients to stay about an inch or two from the edges so that the leaf can be easily wrapped.
5) Roll each leaf long ways tucking the ends in right before the final roll. 
6) Cut each wrap in half, and enjoy!

Let me know if you can handle the heat in the comments below! I'd love to hear from ya.