Two Fall Delights

I love fall! The ingredients and food that is in season is one of my favorites of all the year! So fun :)

The great thing about these recipes is they are low-carb; the second one qualifies if you are doing a paleo or low-carb/no carb diet!

This might seem like a lot of ingredients, but you can buy one package of sausage for ...!both! And a little goes a long way. My kids will not for sure eat these, so if you have kids I recommend quesadillas on some corn tortillas or having some macaroni and cheese on hand.

Stuffed Green Peppers

ingredients:

green peppers

brown rice

italian sausage

cheddar cheese

garlic powder

salt and pepper

curry powder

dried onion flakes

Wash green peppers and cut off tops

Remove seed and place in small baking dish

Cook rice

Cook sausage- add other ingredients to rice and mix

Put rice filling into green peppers, pressing as you go until they are overfull

Bake on 375 for 25 min.

Add cheese and broil until cheese is brown and bubbly

Stuffed Acorn Squash

ingredients:

carmelized onions

crumbled sausage

sliced carrots

butter

parmesan cheese

cinnamon

applesauce

sliced almonds

coconut oil

herbs (rosemary or thyme)

Bake on 400 for 35 min.

Cook sausage

cook onion in coconut oil for 20-25 min, stirring every 5 minutes until well-browned!

add other ingredients to filling

Add filling and top with parmesan cheese

broil in the oven 3 min or until cheese is browned 

Shrimp Scampi over Spaghetti Squash

For the Shrimp:

-1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

-1 tbsp. pure olive oil

-2 tbsp. garlic, finely chopped

-1 1/2 c. dry white wine 

-scant 1/4 c. lemon juice

-1 tsp. italian seasoning

-1/2 c. softened butter

-1/2 c. parmesan cheese

instructions:

1. heat skillet and add olive oil

2. add shrimp and cook until tender and no longer translucent, reduce heat. Remove shrimp and set aside.

3. add garlic and cook 2-3 min. no more

4. add white wine and lemon juice

5.cook until wine is reduced by half. After reduced, add italian seasoning.

6. reduce heat to low, add butter.

7. add shrimp back to sauce and season with salt and pepper

8.sprinkle with parmesan cheese

to cook the spaghetti squash:

http://eatwithinyourmeans.com/how-to-cook-spaghetti-squash/

Baked Stuffed Green Peppers

via Jodeze Home and Garden

2 green peppers
1 c. brown rice
2 bratwursts, diced
1/2 onion
parmesan
salt and pepper
garlic powder, chili powder, or cumin, if desired

-Cook rice according to package instructions. 
-Cook bratwurst, according to package, and dice.
-Slice off the tops of the green pepper.
-Reserve 1/4 c. diced pepper for filling.
-Soften the onion and green pepper in olive oil.
-Add to rice and brat mixture.
-add seasonings
-Fill the rinsed-out green peppers with rice mixture.
-Dust with Parmesan cheese.
-Bake upright filled peppers on 350 for 25-30 min. or until green peppers are softened but not overcooked.

Serves 2

Spicy Tilapia

4 tilapia fillets

1 1/2 tsp. old bay

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

2 small pats butter

I’ve tasted enough bland tilapia in my day to know that when I eat a good piece of fish, I will gladly and willingly shovel two or three pieces of it down my gullet.  This happens to fall into the latter, non-bland variety. When such a delicious piece of fish comes along, I am happy to share it with you, dear friends!

I like to cook fish, and like Julia Child’s recipe for boeuf bourgignon, you should pat your defrosted fish (only defrost under cold running water) with a clean paper towel so that it isn’t dripping wet. The water will interfere with cooking a cook piece of fish.

Add a pat of butter to a hot pan, let it start to sizzle. Lay four tilapia fillets and cover the top side of your fish with seasoning. Let the underside of the fish get hot, but don’t wait for it to cook or you won’t have seasoning cooked in on that side. Once it gets hot, flip the seasoned side over and cook for about 4 minutes on high heat. Check it and if it is white and a little browned in spots (like grilled chicken), it is ready to be flipped. After applying the rest of your seasoning to the other side, flip it and cook another 4-5 minutes until reverse side is white with browned spots, as well.

The great thing about this combination of spices, I think, is that the spice is spicy without being too hot, the ginger tempers the Old Bay and makes it more rounded out (less of the plain salt hitting your tastebuds), and the butter makes the finish rich. I think this recipe could be taken up even a few more notches with real garlic, minced or pressed.;)

Enjoy!!!