Ja cię kocham…

This meal is the perfect cozy comfort food during the hot summer months.   It’s warm and cheesy but with lots of fresh vegetables and lean turkey.

Simplicity is the key here.  Pantry staples are used for this dish, and it is so easy to just throw together.  The original recipe called for lean ground beef, but I only had ground turkey so I substituted.  Feel free to throw in any vegetable that you want.  I used three different types of squash – yellow, zucchini, and the chayote.

I had never tried a chayote before.  Quite frankly, I have never heard of it before, but I’m always game to try different fruits and vegetables.  When I cut it open, it reminded me of a granny smith apple in texture.  It’s known as a “vegetable pear”.

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

I found the chayote at my local grocery store next to the zucchini so it’s not like I traveled far and wide to find it.  It was just there, and I grabbed it.  It wasn’t in the original recipe, but I was curious about its flavor and wanted to use it.   It turned out really well.  Believe it or not, this squash can be eaten raw.  You can chop it up and throw it in a salad or cook it and mash it with butter and salt.  Apparently the chayote can be found in the form of tea to help with hypertension and dissolving kidney stones.

I can’t help but be amazed at the healing and health properties of food.  Yes, I have always known that they have vitamins that are good for us.  But think how tremendously beneficial fruits and vegetables are to our health, how can we not eat them all the time?   I have been drinking fresh fruit juice from my juicer every day, and I have so much more energy than I normally do.  It’s fantastic!!

Anyway, this recipe is quick, light, and healthy (as most of my recipes are).  You can easily double it to feed a large family or cut it in half for smaller portions.   And it’s a casserole that’s cooked in a skillet!  There is no waiting.  It’s done as soon as your rice is cooked.

You can use instant rice to cut the cooking time, but just note that instant rice does not have all of the nourishment that old fashioned rice has.  I will be honest, I get impatient with the long cooking rice so I turn up the heat on my stove a little to cut the cooking time.  I just can’t wait 45 minutes for my rice!  I can handle 20 minutes, though.

Cheesy Turkey and Summer Squash Casserole

Source: Adapted from CleanEatingOnline.com

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. water
2 c. brown rice
1 tsp. olive oil
1 zucchini, halved and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 yellow squash, halved and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 chayote, halved and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 lb. organic lean ground beef, turkey or chicken
3/4 c. shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice, cover and simmer about 25 minutes.

Cook 1 lb. ground beef/turkey in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until no longer pink.

During the last 5 minutes of cooking time, pour olive oil into a nonstick skillet and place over medium heat.

Add zucchini, yellow squash, chayote and garlic to the pan. Sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add cooked rice and ground beef/turkey to vegetables, cover with lid and cook for 5 minutes. Stir vegetables and rice together and top with cheese. Place lid on top for 1 minute.

Place in your favorite serving bowl, add fresh basil for garnish.  Enjoy!

I wish I could relive this moment over and over….

Despite the fact that our wedding day has passed, Jason and I continue to create and enjoy memories that are tender, loving, and sweet.

 

One fond memory is this weekend’s feast in celebration of our upcoming anniversary – made from scratch and made from love.

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, we wanted a fun and exciting meal, but we didn’t want to gorge ourselves into utter guilt and discomfort.  Our meal was made from just about all clean ingredients (we did have some wine spritzers!).  Eating clean simply means that you are staying away from processed foods.   Slightly processed items such as spices and extra virgin olive oil are perfectly fine, but the key is staying away from packaged goods with chemicals and scary toxins.

I will be the first to admit that I am not always good at eating clean.  Cake and ice cream just tempt me beyond belief (you know, the kind with all that high fructose corn syrup and “natural flavors”, which are nothing more than chemicals), but just know that it is okay to eat that kind of stuff as a treat every once in a while.  Just don’t make it a daily ritual.

I am reminded of an episode of Oprah I watched last year; a girl in her twenties was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and was basically handed a death sentence.  She decided that it was not her time, bought a juicer and began consuming loads of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Her clean diet saved her life.  She is now in remission.  REMISSION!!!  Healthy food has power, people!  It saves lives!

Now that I have said my piece, I will step off of my soap box and focus on our anniversary meal ;o) …

Jason and I thoroughly enjoyed our clean meal.  We ate until we were full and an hour later, we felt great!  (Even ready to eat a little more!)   The next day, my little pudgy belly was flatter, and I felt incredible!   Need I say more?!

 

Here is our wonderful pre-anniversary dinner menu with recipes:

Roasted Eggplant Dip with Herb Rubbed Pita

Adapted from: Martha Stewart Living, July 2009

Serves: a hungry crowd

 

Ingredients for Dip:

3 medium eggplants
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup + 2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (the recipe calls for full-fat, but I used non-fat and it turned out well)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from two lemons)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Chop up eggplant into small chunks.  Place on baking sheet, toss in 2 Tbs. olive oil, and bake for 20 minutes or until browned and tender.

Using a knife, press the flat side of the blade back and forth across the garlic with 1.5 tsp. salt to create a garlic paste.

Add eggplant and garlic into food processor.  Gradually add the remaining olive oil while processing.   Once done with processing, place mixture into a bowl.  Gently stir in yogurt and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper.

 

Ingredients for pitas:

1/4 cup finely chopped mint
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
Coarse salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
4-6 pitas, sliced horizontally if thick

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degree F.  Stir herbs together in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.

Rub over pitas, and slice into triangles.

Place on baking sheets and bake for 10-14 minutes until golden brown.

 

 

Pumpkin & Pear Soup

Source: Oxygen Magazine, June 2009

Serves: 4-6

 

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 chopped onion
1/2 cup fresh ginger, minced
3 pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 small cans pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups chicken broth

 

Directions:

Put first four ingredients in a large soup pot and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Puree in batches in a blender or use a stick blender to blend until soup is smooth.

 

 

Moroccan Chicken and Lentils

Source: The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook, p. 150

Serves: 12 (we made 4 servings for our meal)

 

Ingredients:

8 cups water
3 tsp. sea salt, divided
1 lb dried lentils, rinsed drained and picked over

1 cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbs. ground cumin, divided
2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. chili powder
2 garlic clove, peeled and minced

1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup fresh parsley or cilantro

 

Directions:

Combine water and 1 tbs. salt in stock pot over high heat.  Add lentils.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce to medium heat.  Simmer until lentils are soft, about 20-25 minutes.  Drain well.  Rinse under cold water and drain well.  Place in a large bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix 1 cup oil, vinegar, 2 Tbs. cumin, 2 Tbs. chili powder, garlic and 1 tsp. salt.  Pour all but 2 Tbs. of this dressing over lentils.  Toss gently and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbs. oil.  Add onion and saute until well cooked, about 5 minutes.  Onion should appear dark brown and soft.  Add chicken or turkey and saute 2 minutes more.  Add 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbs. cumin, 2 tsp. chili powder and cinnamon.  Saute until chicken/turkey is cooked through.

Arrange lentils on a large serving platter.  Place sliced chicken on top of lentils.  Use any remaining dressing to pour on top.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley.  Serve at room temperature.

 

 

Marinated Zucchini with Mint

Source: Everyday Food, July/August 2009

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients:

3 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
4 Tbs. olive oil
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
2 Tbs. fresh mint

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.  On two large rimmed baking sheets toss zucchini with 2 Tbs. oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast until tender and brown underneath, about 10-15 minutes.

On a serving platter, sprinkle zucchini with garlic and 2 Tbs. oil and vinegar.  Let stand for an hour.  (If you don’t have time to let it stand, don’t worry about it.  It tastes great served immediately!)

Sprinkle with fresh mint.

Happy Outdoor Grill Season!  In our family it’s always outdoor grill season, but this time of year is particularly fun because Mother Earth gives us fantastic fruits and veggies to grill.

We LOVE grilling corn on the cob.  The flavor is intensely smoky…. mmmmm…  My only advice is that when you grill your corn on the cob you do one of two things – keep the corn in the husk (with cornsilk removed) OR remove the husks and rub the corn with oil and/or juice (such as lime).

I saw this recipe on one of Rachael Ray’s 30 minute meals.  Personally, I love her recipes but find a lot of them to be expensive to make.   Sorry Rachael, I do love you, but my pantry is meager compared to yours!

This recipe uses items that are already in your kitchen.  Rachael whipped up her own homemade BBQ sauce to top the corn with and in hindsight, I should have done the same thing.  I used store bought BBQ sauce, which was yummy, but I wish I had tried making my own.   It requires mixing a few staple ingredients together such as brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, etc. in a sauce pan.  Easy enough for me!

The only thing that I did NOT have on hand were scallions to throw on top of my bbq’d corn.  That would have added a beautiful finish to these babies.  There is always next time )

BBQ Corn on the Cob

Source: Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

(including items needed to make your own BBQ sauce, which are indicated with an asterisk “*”)

If you want to use store bought BBQ sauce, omit the items and directions with an “*”…

4 ears corn on cob
2 limes, juiced
A drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar*
2 tablespoons brown sugar*
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce*
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, a palm full*
1/2 cup ketchup or tomato sauce*
1 tablespoon hot sauce*
2 scallions, finely chopped

Directions:

Heat grill over medium-high heat.

Husk corn and cover with lime juice, drizzle with oil and season with salt.  Grill corn for 10-12 minutes, rotating it every few minutes.  Make sure there are lots of char marks on your corn!

Combine vinegar and brown sugar over medium-low heat, stir in Worcestershire, grill seasoning, ketchup or tomato sauce, and hot sauce. Simmer a couple of minutes.*

Baste corn liberally with sauce and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from grill, cover corn with chopped green onion and serve.

Alright, Philadelphians – I initially wrote “hoagie” in the title but for some reason “sub” was a better fit.  I really want to put hoagie in there given my Philly roots, but it didn’t work.   I just don’t ever see a Philly Deli offering Roasted Red Pepper HOAGIES.  Hoagies are loaded with meats, cheeses, oil, mayo, hot and sweet peppers…. this just isn’t a Philly sandwich.  But feel free to call it a hoagie if it makes you feel better – it tastes just as good. )

This sandwich is great for picnics because the goat cheese lasts a long time in your picnic basket.  Simply wrap it in wax paper and you’re on your way!   It’s also great when you want to have a sophisticated and unique meal at your home without all of the fuss or stress that large and time consuming meals bring about.  Like many of my recipes, this one takes minutes.  You gotta love that!   It goes great with a side salad filled with nuts and dried fruit.

Be creative.  Use this recipe as a template for your own creations.  Add grilled eggplant, portabella mushrooms, chicken… anything to make this sandwich to your liking!  Have fun and enjoy.

If you like this sandwich, check out my Grilled Vegetable, Herb, and Goat Cheese Sandwich!

Roasted Rainbow Pepper Sub

Slightly adapted from: Eatingwell.com

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce jar roasted red, orange and/or yellow peppers, rinsed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 16- to 20-inch baguette, preferably whole-wheat
3 tablespoon olive paste or olive tapenade – or pulse black olives with olive oil and salt in your food processor
4 ounces creamy goat cheese
1 1/2 cups arugula or spinach leaves
1 container of baby portabella mushrooms, sliced and sauteed in olive oil (5 minutes or so)

(PS – this sub is 220 calories per serving!!)

Directions:

Combine peppers, garlic, vinegar and oil in a small bowl; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.  (**Note: go easy on the garlic and vinegar.  A little goes a loooong way!)

Slice baguette in half lengthwise.

Spread one half with olive paste and the other half with goat cheese.

Layer pepper mixture, mushrooms, and arugula over olive paste.

Top with remaining baguette. Cut across into 4 pieces.

Just about every time I purchase a head of cauliflower I use half of it and leave the rest in the fridgie.  Having only two people in the house causes me to place left over veggies in the fridge.  Consequently, within a few days, my entire downstairs REEKS of something foul, which ends up being my cauliflower going bad.  It’s sad that it doesn’t last as long as I’d like.  After buying cauliflower for my Sweet Chile Roasted Vegetables, I had to come up with an additional recipe to use up the rest of my cauliflower.

101 Cookbooks never fails me.  Conveniently, Heidi, the author of the fantastic food blog, posted a cauliflower recipe exactly when I needed it.   It was definitely something that I would never have thought up on my own.  Thank you, Heidi )

Instead of using olive oil, I used coconut oil to saute the vegetables.  Coconut oil reminds me of butter but with a fresh, coconut fragrance that delightfully lingers in the house hours after cooking with it.

Coconut oil can be found at Whole Foods Market.   It’s a tad pricey ($6-8 a container), but it lasts a while.  If you’re a cook that likes to spice things up in the kitchen, I suggest purchasing unrefined coconut oil.

Coconut Curry Caulifower

Source: 101 Cookbooks

Serves: 2-3 as a side

Ingredients:

2 – 3 heads of small cauliflower (or 1/2 head large)
2 tablespoons of unrefined coconut oil
a couple pinches of sea salt
2 tsp. curry powder
1 small bunch of chives, chopped

Directions:

To prep the cauliflower, remove any leaves at the base and trim the stem. Now cut it into tiny trees not much larger than a table grape.  Rinse under running water, and set aside.

Heat the coconut oil and fine grain salt in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the cauliflower and stir until the florets are coated. Wait until it gets a bit brown on the bottom, then toss the cauliflower with a spatula. Brown a bit more and continue to saute until the pieces are deeply golden – all told about six minutes.  Stir in the curry.

Remove from heat and stir in the chives, and salt to taste.  Serve immediately.

Omigosh, I know – it’s chicken!  We all thought that I was vegetarian!!!  I didn’t eat meat for MONTHS.  I was absolutely appalled by the thought of meat.  But the truth be told, I’m anemic, and months without adequate iron and protein left me exhausted.  I seriously thought that I had mono again.   Despite all of the multi-vitamins, leafy greens, and other supplements that I was consuming to compensate, I still felt like I was hit by a large truck every single morning.  It got to the point that no matter how gross I thought that meat was, my body craved it.  I fought it for a while, but eventually caved in.  I’m sorry vegetarians and vegans.  I knew deep down that this wasn’t permanent.  I just didn’t know how long my meat-free ways would last.   I still prefer vegetarian meals, and I always have, but if my body screams for meat, I will give my body meat.  And let me tell you, the day after I finally ate meat for the first time, I seriously felt like a million bucks!  I went and ran for an hour.  Fantastic.

Anyway… I was flipping through my Eating Clean magazine and came across a winner.  Long ago, I made an Eat Clean Pad Thai and was not too fond of it, but these two recipes were awesome!!  I’m so glad that I tried them.

Fresh after work on a day that my students were screaming, kicking their peers, and jumping in puddles in their socks in front of their mothers, I needed a real meal.  (And a real drink.)

Here it is!  The meal was perfect for the day that I felt that wouldn’t come to an end ;o)

Stuffed Chicken & Sweet Chile Roasted Vegetables

Source: Eat Clean Magazine July/August 2009

Serves 4

Chicken Ingredients:

Olive oil spray
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 roma tomatoes, seeded, cored and diced
2 Tbs. bread crumbs
4- 4 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breats, pounded thin (I found chicken breasts cut thinly at the market that avoided this step)

Chicken Directions:

Heat a large nonstick or cast orin skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.  Mist with cooking spray and add onion, garlic, spinach, and tomato.  Saute for 5 minutes or until just cooked.  Remove from heat and mix in breadcrumbs.

To stuff chicken:

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat again for two minutes.

Place 1.5-2Tbs. veggie-breadcrumb mix in the middle of each chicken breast.  Fold chicken over filling and secure with toothpick.

Mist skillet with cooking spray.  Place stuffed chicken into skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Sweet Chile Roasted Vegetables:

Source: Eat Clean Magazine July/August 2009

Serves 4

Roasted Vegetables Ingredients:

2 Tbs. agave nectar (or honey)
2 tbs. water
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar (if you have white balsamic, use that)
1/2 tsp. chile powder (I used chipotle chile powder, YUM)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. each of salt and pepper
1 medium head of cauliflower
24 pieces thin asparagus, ends trimmed
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Roasted Vegetables Directions:

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients except for veggies.  Set aside.

Cut cauliflower into florets about 1 inch in size.  Place them into a large mixing bowl, add half of marinade to bowl and toss gently.  Arrange cauliflower in a single layer onto one baking sheet.  Using the same mixing bowl, repeat with remainder of veggies, arranging them in a single layer on the other baking sheet.

Place veggies into oven and rost for 12-15 minutes, until tender or a light goldern brown color.  Serve immediately.

I discovered this Godsend in college.  I struggle with meal-making decisions because I want something light but I want something that fills me.  Normally an hour after a light meal I’m already hungry, and I end up snacking my face off until bedtime.  Yeah, I know.  The light meal was pointless if I am going to snack all night. )

But then my Mom came to the rescue with a fantastic recipe.  It was fantastic in so many ways.  Being young, I didn’t really know how to cook, but this recipe looked simple enough.  It was fantastically inexpensive, which was great because I worked in the school library for pennies.  And all in all, spaghetti squash is simply a fantastic vegetable.  It has all the qualities of pasta without all the pasta.  Make sense?  You could fill up on this stuff, eat some more, then eat some more and there is no guilt.    It’s light because it’s all veggie, but for some reason it fills you up for hours.  No need to snack after this meal.  I’m satisfied.

Feel free to add your favorite pasta fixings to this dish.  It’s very versatile and super easy to make, and its bright contrasting colors make this particular recipe irresistible to the eye and to the mouth )

Spaghetti Squash with Red Bell Peppers and Basil

Serves 4 as main dish; serves 6-8 as side dish

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash
3 cups of veggie or chicken broth
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
Parmesan cheese
Salt to taste (if broth is not overly salty)
Fresh basil, for garnish
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Poke several holes in the spaghetti squash.

Microwave for 10 minutes.  Using an ovenmit to protect your hand, slice in half and allow to cool so that it’s manageable to touch.

Scoop and discard the seeds.  Then using a fork, scrape the insides of the squash into a large skillet.

Add veggie broth and onion, and peppers to skillet.

Cook uncovered on medium-high until all of the broth is absorbed by the squash, about 10 minutes.  Add desired amount of cheese, red pepper flakes and salt.

Upon serving add basil.  The heat of the squash browns the basil quickly so make sure to add the basil immediately before serving!!

Enjoy!

Forgive my absence on here.  Life has created a whirlwind that has picked me up, whooshed me around, and before I knew it, it was the end of April.  Where has the time gone??!

No worries, though.  I have plenty of recipes to be posted in the next few days or week….  I won’t let you down.  Promise.

Lucky for me red peppers are on mega sale this week.  They are always so painfully expensive, but THIS week they were more than 50% off!  SCORE!  As soon as I saw them, I piled them into my cart with a huge grin on my face.  Stuffed peppers dinner!  Yes!

This recipe was literally thrown together with whatever I had in my fridgie and cabinets.  Don’t you just love those experimental meals?  You hope and pray that it turns out okay since there is absolutely no recipe in sight.   And guess what.  These stuffed peppers were delightful!   The pineapple gave them a hint of summery sweetness while the red beans gave them the heartiness I need in a meal.

Get creative with your pepper stuffing.  Throw in whatever you would love to eat in your rice!  Or do what I do and just throw in whatever you got.  You won’t be disappointed.

Stuffed Peppers with Pineapple Rice

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil or cooking spray
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 3/4 c. vegetable stock (or whatever amount of liquid that your rice calls for)
2 c. instant brown rice
1 c. diced pineapple (Dole has the Pineapple “tidbits” that are perfect!)
1 can small red beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 Tbs. fresh rosemary, chopped
Pepper to taste (If your veggie stock isn’t salty, then add salt to taste)
3-4 red bell peppers with tops cut off and discarded, seeds and ribs removed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil on medium in large skillet.  Saute garlic until fragrant.  About 3-5 minutes.

Add veggie stock to skillet, bring to a boil.  Add rice and cook according to directions.

Toss in the rest of the ingredients except for the peppers.

Fill a baking pan with an inch of water.

Divide the rice evenly among the peppers and fill them to the top.  Place stuffed peppers into the baking pan with water and cook for 30-45** minutes or until peppers begin to wrinkle and rice begins to brown on top.  Feel free to top the peppers with cheese with about 5-7 minutes left to cook.  I opted not to because I was looking for a more low-fat meal.

**IMPORTANT FYI – Many recipes call for 40-50 minutes but my peppers were done in 30 so use your judgment.  It doesn’t hurt to check them at 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

There are days when I want a light meal, but I want something that can hold me over.  Normally when I eat a salad, I am hungry an hour later.  It’s frustrating.  I want to eat healthy, but I want to be satisfied.   This soup really did the trick.  It’s made from fresh vegetables and it’s incredibly hearty.  After having it for lunch, I was full for the rest of the night.  There isn’t much that can keep me from eating dinner, but I was so full I just couldn’t do it.

So if you’re looking for something light, healthy, and filling, you’ve met your match.

Fresh and Hearty Carrot Soup

Source: 101 Cookbooks

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds carrots
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cups+ vegetable stock or water
juice of 1/2 a lemon
fine grain sea salt (as much as you need)

olive oil, toasted sesame oil, or red chile oil for a finishing drizzle
cayenne pepper to garnish

Directions:

Take the tops off the carrots and give them a good scrub.

Cut them into 1-inch segments and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes or until the onions start to get translucent.

Add the stock and carrots and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender – longer if your carrot pieces ended up larger. But try not to overcook. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.

Puree with a hand blender or regular blender to the consistency that you are looking for then stir in the lemon juice.

Now salt to taste. If you used a salty veggie stock, you might just need a little salt. If you used water, you’ll need quite a bit more.

Finish with a drizzle of great extra-virgin olive oil and cayenne pepper.

This intensely satisfying breakfast is for my darling husband, Jay.  Jay LOVES Saturday and Sunday morning breakfasts in our home because we like to go all out.  Being as busy as we are (both in grad school and both working) we adore lazy weekend mornings filled with jammies until at least noon, no real urgent plans, and a large homemade breakfast.

Jay loves pancakes.  He has his own special recipe that makes them light and fluffy with the capability of melting in your mouth.

Jay loves carrot cake.  For our wedding we had a mixture of carrot and red velvet (my absolute favorite cake) as our wedding cake.  As far as Jay is concerned, carrot cake simply cannot be beaten.

During my typical daily perusing of food blogs, I came across a carrot cake pancake recipe from Joy the Baker.  Joy knows baking, and if you are going to indulge in any baking recipe at all, it must be Joy’s.  She is a pro.

Made from freshly grated carrots and a mix of whole wheat and unbleached all purpose flour, these pancakes are incredibly filling.  Your eyes are easily bigger than your stomach for these babies.

Joy made a very important observation.  She said that the carrots in her pancakes were a little too crunchy so I alleviated that by finely grating mine.  The results were great!

Noodles loves her carrots and she’ll eat them chopped, grated or whole!

Since I have a complex with crunchiness in my baked goods I FINELY chopped my pecans to the point that they were almost a powder.  I wanted the flavor without the chunk.  Again, it worked well!  No funky chunky pecan bites in my pancakes!

I also prefer my nutmeg to be freshly grated with a microplane.  The flavor is fresher, bolder, and a little goes a long way…

These pancakes very easy to make and incredibly filling.  If you enjoy a good carrot cake then these pancakes are perfect for you.

Homemade Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cream Cheese Topping

Source: Mildly adapted from Joy the Baker

Makes 10-12 small pancakes or 5-6 large pancakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
2 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum-free if you can!)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash nutmeg
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup packed natural cane sugar (brown sugar works well, too)
1 cup milk
2 cups finely grated carrots – (as fine as you can)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Spread
4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 dash ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a bowl, combine flours, pecans, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.

In a separate bowl, combine egg, brown sugar, milk, carrots, and vanilla; mix well.

Stir carrot mixture into dry ingredients until moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on the top of pancake; flip and cook until golden brown.

For topping, blend cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve with pancakes.

Not the most glamorous shot, but you can see why I became full so quickly!!  Yum!