Shrimp Pad Thai with Spaghetti Squash

This homemade Pad Thai with spicy shrimp, spaghetti squash, peanuts and cilantro for a low carb dish you will prepare again and again. It’s super easy to make, the entire dish can be ready in 15 minutes flat.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large Spaghetti Squash
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb. Shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 pint mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Eggs Beaten
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 Tablespoons Peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons Rice vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos
• 1 Tablespoon Sriracha
• 1 TablespoonSesame seed oil
• 1 Cup Bean Sprouts
• ½ Cup Dry Roasted Peanuts
• Juice of 2 limes
• ½ Cup Chopped fresh cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Cut squash in half and remove membrane and seeds. Then brush both sides with olive oil, inside and out. Bake on a foil lined baking sheet until tender (45 minutes) with the cut side down.

Once cooked, remove from the oven allow the squash to cool upright for 10 minutes. Using a fork, rake the inside of the squash and move the spaghetti to a bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add in the shrimp and cook on each side until pink and no longer translucent.  Remove from the pan.

Add the onions to the pan and saute, about 3-5 minutes.  Push the onion to one side and add the mushrooms, saute until cooked. Mix the onion and mushrooms together, season with salt and pepper. Make well in between the vegetables, add the beaten egg.  Scramble the egg with a spatula, then combine with the vegetables.

Add in the garlic, peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce,sesame oil and Sriracha.  Stir until all combined and scrape any browned bits or egg from the bottom of the skillet.

Add in the cooked spaghetti squash, peanuts, and lime juice.  Toss with tongs until combined.  Top with the cilantro and shrimp and serve.

Advertisement

Zucchini Noodles with Sausage and Kale

This zucchini noodle recipe is keto friendly and packed with flavor!

Using a simple zucchini spiralizer or a vegetable julienne peeler, this meal just requires a few ingredients. You can adapt it any way that you want. Add sausage, tomatoes or more vegetables to make it a perfect fit for your family. 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 medium zucchini, spiralized
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 pound sweet Italian ground sausage 
• 4 cups kale, chopped
• ½ cup parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS 

Using your favorite vegetable spiralizer, turn your zucchini into noodles; set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, sauté for 30 seconds or until fragrant. 

Add sausage to the pan, using a wooden spoon to break down meat into bite-sized pieces. 

Cook until cooked through and golden brown, about 7-9 minutes. 

Add kale to the pan and sauté until it starts to wilt and turn bright green, about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Toss in remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and zucchini noodles to the pan, sauté until zucchini is just cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. 

Right before removing from the heat, stir in the parmesan cheese and toss until melted. Check for seasoning then add salt or pepper to taste.

Cheeseburger Stir Fry

Are you looking to cut out carbs but love burgers?

This recipe is for you! It’s packed with that burger flavor we all love minus the carbs!!

You can switch out the ground turkey for beef or even pork and feel free to add a drizzle of ketchup if you are not too worried about the carbs!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bag coleslaw salad bag 
• ½ cup diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• ½ cup diced dill pickles
• ¼ cup diced pickled jalapeños 
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard or your favorite mustard 
• ¼ cup water
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt & pepper 
• Fresh parsley for garnish 

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat the oil on medium heat.

Once hot, add the ground turkey and break it up to cook.

When turkey is no longer pink, add the garlic and onions, salt and pepper, and saute for 2 minutes.

Add the coleslaw bag, jalapeños and pickles. Put a lid on the skillet and let the coleslaw cook down for about 3 minutes – until cabbage is tender.

Once cooked down, stir in the mustard and water. Allow excess water to cook down, and if your mixture is really dry, add a tablespoon of water in.

Stir in the shredded cheese.

Garnish with parsley. 

Adapted from 

https://mealplanaddict.com/low-carb-cheeseburger-stir-fry/

Grilled Swordfish Salmoriglio

Rachael Ray is one of my all time favorite cooks. I feel like we could be family. I love reading the stories behind each of her recipes because it reminds me of my own family memories in the kitchen. She definitely has been an inspiration. She has said her Sicilian grandfather and her Cajun ancestry both exert strong influences on her cooking. She uses ingredients such as fresh herbs, garlic, and chicken stock to boost flavors, and believes measuring “takes away from the creative, hands-on process of cooking.” She, instead, favors approximations such as “half a palmful” or “2 pan swirl.”

I believe my Sicilian and Spanish ancestry has definitely been a strong influence in my cooking style as well. Before I started my blog, I never measured anything. But now since I have been writing and sharing my recipes, I always have my laptop next to me in the kitchen so I can keep a record of what I am creating. 

She has been an inspiration to several of my recipes.  Today I would like to share my Salmoriglio recipe inspired by her. 

Salmoriglio is a traditional condiment from the Calabria and Sicily regions of Southern Italy. The name is from the word salamoia, which means salty or briny.

Salmoriglio is a quick sauce made with olive oil, lemon juice and fresh herbs – and it’s absolutely fantastic served over this grilled swordfish, as well as other grilled meats, or seafood.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds fresh swordfish 
• 2 lemons, zest and juice divided
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped fine
• 4 tablespoons cold butter

INSTRUCTIONS 

In a small bowl mix lemon zest, garlic, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper.

Mix and add only half of this liquid to the bag with the swordfish. Seal the bag and let sit for one hour at room temperature.

While the swordfish sits for the hour, add the lemon juice (about ¼ cup of lemon juice) and parsley to the reserved half of the liquid and set aside to serve with the cooked fish.

Heat outdoor grill to high on one side and cool on the other.

Clean and oil the grill grates.

Remove the swordfish from the bag and brush off any garlic or zest and place the two pieces on the hot side of the oiled grill. Brush some of the liquid from the bag over the fish as it cooks.

Cook two minutes and turn each piece one quarter turn to get cross hatch marks. Cook for two more minutes then flip. After two more minutes turn one quarter turn and cook for two minutes. (Total of eight minutes so far.)

Take a sheet of foil and place on the cool side of the grill. 

After the eight minutes of searing both sides, move the swordfish to the foil and close the cover. Try to keep a consistent temperature of 350 degrees F. in your grill.

From here you will cook for 1-6 more minutes based on how thick your steaks are. Our 1 ½ inch swordfish steaks cooked for exactly six more minutes for a grand total of 14 minutes.

You are looking for an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. 

As soon as they come off, place the four tablespoons of cold butter over the top to melt.

To serve, drizzle the reserved sauce over each portion.

Honey Orange Glazed Grouper

This Honey Orange Glazed Grouper is a citrusy sweet recipe that I guarantee you’ll have on repeat. A quick and delicious dinner that will be  on the table in no time! Perfect for a healthy lunch, weeknight dinner or a dinner party! To make this easy fish dinner you need less than 30 minutes, isn’t it great?

And it keeps getting better and better! You can use this sauce for just about anything from fish, shrimp, chicken or as a salad dressing. It’s very versatile and delicious!

I love experimenting with new marinades and sauces. And really love using orange marmalade in my homemade salad dressings so I figured it would be great in this recipe. The outcome? Amazingly delicious! You’ll want to drizzle the sauce on all your side dishes too. So I recommend pouring about ¼ cup of the prepaped sauce into a separate bowl and save for the table. 

What to serve with this dish?

Cold Zucchini noodle salad or steamed Broccoli, pan fried Asparagus.

Want a starch? Couscous or rice are also great choices, but anything will do as long as you like it.

Grab a bottle of Scout and Cellar 2019 FIELDHOUSE WHITE BLEND and you have yourself one delicious meal! The taste? Under ripe peach, under ripe apricot and white flowers with refreshing acidity that hangs on so the wine finishes clean; as the wine warms, notes of pear and honey emerge.

TIP:

I covered my broiler pan with foil then sprayed it with non-stick Olive oil spray, which is a real clean up saver.  The honey makes the grouper crispy and crackly and tastes like heaven, but makes cleaning up no fun.  What good is a quick dinner if you are scrubbing the pan all night, right? 

Ingredients 

• 1 pound grouper fillets
• 2  tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed Orange Juice
• ¾  teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 teaspoon orange zest
• 2 teaspoon dried parsley

Instructions

Preheat broiler.

Combine all ingredients except grouper, mixing well.

Season filets with salt and pepper on both sides.

Place fillets on an oiled broiler pan and brush fillets with honey glaze to cover.

Broil or 4 to 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Flip fillets, brush with honey glaze and broil for an additional 2 minutes, then brush with honey glaze and broil for additional 1-2 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily.

*Don’t have a broiler pan? No worries! You can use a baking sheet. Don’t forget to cover it with foil and oil it for easy clean up!

Creamy Spaghetti Squash Boats

Spaghetti squash is such a fun, underrated vegetable! 

Spaghetti squash is so healthy and versatile. You can simply enjoy it with some salt and pepper as a side dish, or drizzle it with melted butter or your favorite sauce.

Squash has little to no taste so it’s amazing the different flavor combinations you can come up with!  I wanted to do something a little different than just marinara so I thought it’d be fun to make individual squash boats tossed with a creamy sauce, broccoli and sausage. Chicken sausage that is.  Publix Greenwise Italian chicken sausage is DELICIOUS, but really you could use any type of sausage you’d like!  

• 

• 

Creating the “noodles” from this squash is so incredibly easy.  All you have to do is cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, bake them (cut side down) for about 30-40 minutes in the oven then start scraping with a fork!

The cream sauce is so flavorful and seriously so simple to make. To bring the sauce up a notch, I added a drizzle of truffle oil  but you can skip it, if you are not a truffle fan. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Toss the spaghetti squash in with the broccoli and sausage and transfer everything into the squash boats.  Top with cheese, broil in the oven and enjoy!

This recipe pairs beautifully with Scout & Cellar Chardonnay!

Click the link to purchase a Clean-Crafted bottle from Scout & Cellar!
https://scoutandcellar.com/?u=whiskawaykitchen

Spaghetti Squash Ingredients

• 1 medium Spaghetti squash
• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 1 ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning 
• Salt & Pepper 

Stuffing Ingredients

• 4 Italian chicken sausage, removed from casings
• Head of Broccoli, chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 1 large shallot, chopped 
• 3 tablespoons of White wine

Cream Sauce Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup White Wine
• 3 ounces truffle oil (black or white), optional
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 4 oz. shredded parmesan cheese
• Salt and Pepper

Spaghetti Squash Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and ribbing. Drizzle the inside of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Place the spaghetti squash cut side down on the baking sheet and use a fork to poke holes. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on the outside, fork tender, but still a little bit firm. The time will vary depending on the size of your squash. 

Remove from the oven and flip the squash so that it’s cut side up. When cool enough  to the touch, use a fork to scrape out the strands from the sides of the squash. Do not toss the empty squash halves. 

Stuffing Instructions

While the squash is roasting, prepare the stuffing. 

In a skillet, brown the sausage crumbles. Once browned transfer to a plate and deglaze the pan. 

Pour in 3 tablespoons or so (enough to cover the bottom of the pan 1/4″ or less) of white wine, with the heat still on, and scrape the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spatula vigorously as the liquid comes to a boil. 

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the same skillet, once the butter has melted saute the broccoli for 3-5 minutes. 

Move the broccoli to the sides of the skillet, creating a well to add the garlic and shallot. Saute for one minute and then combine broccoli, garlic and shallots- sauteing for an additional 3-5 minutes. 

Once the squash is done, scoop the strands into the skillet with the broccoli mixture. 

Add the cooked sausage to the skillet and stir to combine. 

Cream Sauce Instructions

Add butter to a sauce pot. Turn the heat on medium. 

Once the butter has melted, add 4 tablespoons of flour, whisk until combined.

Pour heavy creamy, wine and truffle oil into the pot, whisk to combine. 

Once the mixture is hot, slowly whisk in the cheeses. 

Let the mixture simmer for 2-3 minutes until it’s thickened, stir occasionally. 

Season to taste with salt and pepper and reduce the heat to low.

Assembling Instructions

Drizzle cream sauce into the bottom of the squash halves.

Divide sausage and broccoli mixture among the halves.

Drizzle Cream sauce over top.

Sprinkle it with mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. 

Broil until cheese is browned and squash warmed through, 4 to 5 minutes. 

Serve hot with a glass of Scout & Cellar Chardonnay!

• 

• 

Shop for the perfect Chardonnay on my Scout & Cellar page

https://scoutandcellar.com/wine?u=whiskawaykitchen

Zucchini Taco Boats

Looking for an alternative to your Taco Tuesday?

These Zucchini Taco boats are made with fresh zucchini stuffed with seasoned ground beef, bell peppers, and topped with cheese and salsa. But the filling could literally be anything, from chicken and corn, to meatballs with tomato sauce! 

They are low carb and keto diet friendly. 

Start with 3 or 4 small zucchini. 

I used a small cookie scoop to scoop out the middle of the zucchini, but you can also use a small spoon. I got a little close to the edge on one of them, but don’t worry about it. The meat filling will cover it up. I love using the insides of the zucchini I scooped out to add filler, so place the insides to the side.  

Pour 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa in a baking dish- I used Pace. Lay the boats on top of the salsa and sprinkle each with salt. 

Now it’s time to make the filling.  Heat a pan over medium-heat and cook the meat. You can use any ground meat, I used ground beef.  Once the meat is cooked, transfer to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out the same pan and add a drizzle of EVOO.

Sauté the insides of the zucchini. Make sure to cook it down to reduce the liquid. Then add bell peppers,- any color,  I used red and yellow. Sprinkle it with chili powder, cumin, and salt. Stir together and cook for about two minutes. Add the red onion and garlic. It should start to smell like it’s almost Taco time! 

Continue to cook until vegetables are softened and water has absorbed. Lastly, add the meat back to the pan, and stir together. Once it is combined, it’s time to fill up the boats. Go ahead and fill those babies up- don’t be shy! Let the meat spill over if you need to.

I love cheese and, what’s a taco if it doesn’t have any cheese on it? Cover the filled boats with shredded cheese. I used Cheddar but Monterrey Jack or a Mexican blend would work great, too. 

Place the baking dish in the 400°F preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes. 

This recipe  is great if you’re looking for a low-carb option for tacos, or need to get more veggies into your diet. Try them out for Taco Tuesday and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Zucchini
• 1lb Ground Beef
• 1/2 cup Mixed Red & Yellow Bell Peppers, finely diced
• 1/2 cup Red Onion, diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced  
• 1 tablespoon Chili Powder
• 2 teaspoons Cumin 
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 8 ounces Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup Salsa

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°F

Prepare your zucchini, cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a measuring spoon (teaspoon) to hollow out the zucchini forming a boat… save the insides and set aside. 

Pour salsa into a baking dish.

Place the zucchini boats in the same baking dish and sprinkle a small amount of salt over them.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef. Once cooked, transfer to a bowl. Wipe out the same pan and add a drizzle of EVOO.

Add the inside of the zucchini, water will release. Let it cook down to reduce the liquid, then add bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Stir together and cook for about two minutes. Then add the red onion and garlic.

Continue to cook until vegetables are softened and water has absorbed. Add the meat back to the pan, stir together. 

Once combined, fill each zucchini boat with the beef and vegetable mixture.

Top the zucchini boats with cheddar cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes or until zucchini has softened and cheese is melted.

Serve hot!