TABOULI

 TABOULI

INGREDIENTS: 1 box Near East Tabouli mix, 1 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 bunches parsley, 4 scallions, 4 celery stalks, 4 large tomatoes and 1 carrot

Add the water, oil and lemon juice to all of the contents in the box, mix thoroughly and let sit on your counter for at least an hour (or until the bulgur (wheat) is softened.) Thoroughly clean the parsley and take off the stalks. I put everything in a food processor to chop small except the tomatoes, which I cut by hand. Don't over chop any of the veggies because you don't want them mushy. I like to put some of the parsley in the blender with a chopped celery stalk for a few seconds. Works best when you add a hard veggie with the parsley.

Mix everything and enjoy!

STUFFED MUSHROOM FLORETINE

STUFFED MUSHROOM FLORENTINE

INGREDIENTS: Large button mushrooms (or portobello), large pack of baby spinach, 1/2 leek chopped small, 8 cloves chopped garlic, 1 small red pepper, 1 jalapeno, 1/4 cup grated cheese, 1 tsp celery salt, 1 tsp thyme, 2 tbs butter

Olive oil.

Heat oven to 350. Hallow out the mushrooms. I first use a knife, then a cerated spoon to get the little hairs. Chop the garlic, leek & peppers and saute them in the butter until soft. Add the spinach, salt and thyme and cook until spinach is wilted. Add the cheese and mix thoroughly. Spray the inside of the mushrooms with a little oil & fill with the spinach mix. Sprinkle a little cheese and paprika on top and bake for 30-45 minutes. I made a creamy bacon sauce and drizzled on top at the end!

THAI MEATBALL APPETIZER

THAI MEATBALL APPETIZER

 INGREDIENTS: 1 pound ground beef, 1/4 cup milk, 1 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup parsley, 1 tsp each salt and pepper and 1 egg.

Sesame oil, olive oil & sweet Thai chili sauce.

You can always use your own meatball recipe; I was just playing around with something new. 

Mix everything thoroughly and then fry in the 2 oils (about 2 tbs each)  until brown. Cook on a medium high heat. When they are done, keep the heat on and add sweet thai chili sauce to the pan to get them coated with the sauce. 

MORNING PROTEIN SHAKE

MORNING PROTEIN SHAKE

 INGREDIENTS: 16.9 ounce coconut water, ice, 1 frozen banana, 12 strawberries, 1 scoop collagen peptides, 1/3 cup gluten free Quaker oats, 1 heaping scoop vanilla whey protein powder.

If you need more liquid, add some water!

CAULIFLOWER TACOS

 CAULIFLOWER TACOS

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 head of cauliflower, 4 tbs olive oil, 4 tbs Frank's Red Hot, 1 tbs each black pepper, garlic powder and chili powder.

Topping suggestions: Purple onion, red hot, lettuce, scallions, fresh cilantro, tomatoes, shredded cheese, salsa.

Heat oven to 425. Mix cauliflower ingredients in a bowl and put on a foil lined cookie sheet in the oven for 20 minutes (or until browned. ) Add more red hot if you love the buffalo flavor and then load up your favorite taco shell or make it into a taco salad!

SAUTEED LOBSTER

 SAUTEED LOBSTER

INGREDIENTS: 2 FROZEN LOBSTER TAILS THAWED AND CUT IN CHUNKS. 1 LEMON, 8 GARLIC CLOVES CHOPPED FINE, 1/2  TEASPOON SALT,  1 TSP PEPPER & BASIL, 1/4 CUP GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE, 3 TBS BUTTER AND 2 TBS OLIVE OIL. 

SAUTE THE GARLIC IN THE BUTTER AND OIL UNTIL SOFT (ABOUT 3-5 MINUTES) ADD EVERYTHING ELSE INCLUDING THE JUICE OF THE LEMON AND COOK ON HIGH UNTIL DONE. MINE TOOK ABOUT 10 MINUTES! 

SPICY VODKA SAUCE

SPICY VODKA SAUCE

 INGREDIENTS: 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tbs butter, 1 head chopped garlic, 1 large chopped shallot, 1 cup chopped mushrooms, 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, 1 cup chicken stock, 1 cup vodka, 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tbs basil, crushed red pepper, and parsley, 2 tbs chili garlic sauce

Garnish: Fresh basil

Cook the garlic & shallot in the butter and oil for 5 minutes, add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Add everything else and simmer on a low heat for an hour. 

After an hour, I put meatballs in it and let them cook for another hour. I put the meatballs and sauce over steamed broccoli. My family ate it over fresh tortellini's. If you don't like it too spicy, skip the chili garlic sauce.