Quick Tomato-Meat Sauce with Cappello's Grain-Free Pasta

First of all, my apologies for my lack of blog posts over the last two months. No excuses, as blogging is something I can do from just about anywhere, as long as I have a laptop and access to wi-fi.

Second, I have been doing a Whole30 for the month of October. I am almost finished! There are only three more days left. This is the second time I have done a Whole30. The first time was back in January (2013). I lost a little bit of inches and weight, but nothing significant. I can tell you that my sweet tooth did not change much. It came back with a vengeance (over time), hence the reason for the current Whole30. I'm not completely sold on my results. I've lost about the same amount of weight as in my first. My clothes do fit a bit better. I feel fine. I have a separate health issue I am dealing with at the moment, so I haven't been working out as much as I would have hoped/liked. The reason I'm not completely sold is that there are foods I want to eat post-Whole30 that aren't Whole30-approved. For instance, I purchased a sampler pack of Nikki's Coconut Butter and I cannot wait to give each flavor a taste. I also want to do some holiday baking around Thanksgiving and Christmas (check out my Pinterest board). I realize it will all still be "Paleo" but it's definitely sweet dishes. My sweet tooth didn't magically disappear. I still think about the 31st of October and making some Paleo pancakes or a Breakfast Cake. I enjoy treats in a different way than I did in my Pre-Paleo days, but I still love them. I do have a tough time with moderation when it comes to sweets. If I bake, I will have to freeze some and/or give some away to friends, family or coworkers.

And finally, the recipe. I created this dish on a whim. I knew I had a bell pepper, ground beef and tomatoes in the fridge. I thought I could put it all together and serve it over Cappello's Fettuccine.

Quick Tomato-Meat Sauce with Cappello’s Grain-Free Pasta

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 2 T. fat of choice
• ¼ onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 pound grass-fed ground beef
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• A handful of spinach
• 2-3 T. chicken broth
• 2 t. dried basil
• 1 ½ t. garlic powder
• 1 t. dried oregano
• Sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
• 1 package of Cappello’s Grain-Free Fettuccine

Directions:

1. Heat your fat of choice in a skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and green bell pepper. Sauté for 5-7 minutes, or until veggies are tender.  
3. Add the ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks, cooking until it’s no longer pink.
4. Season the mixture with all of your spices and herbs (including salt and pepper, to taste).
5. Toss in the tomatoes, spinach and chicken broth, stirring occasionally. Allow the mixture to cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the tomatoes start to break down and the spinach is wilted.
6. While waiting for the sauce to finish up and cook down, make your pasta per the instructions on the package.
7. Put a little nest of pasta on your plate and top with some of the tomato-meat sauce. Enjoy! 

We were able to get three servings out of this, but you could probably stretch it to four, especially if you add a side salad and/or veggies. 

Paleo Basil Cashew Pesto Coated Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and Zucchini

When I posted a picture of this dish (on both The Paleo Network's and my own personal Facebook page), I didn't anticipate the response that I received. A number of people took interest in this dish - both Paleo and non-Paleo eaters alike. I knew I needed to get this recipe written before I forgot any of the details.

I separated the ingredients and directions into different sections based on the parts of the dish: Spaghetti Squash, Pesto, Chicken, Zucchini and putting it all together. It may sound like a lot of steps, but some of it can be done in advance or things can be done concurrently. For example, I roasted and prepared my spaghetti squash a couple days prior and had the squash strands in a large Ziploc bag in the refrigerator. I could have prepared the pesto in advance and had that in a Tupperware, which would definitely make for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. It truly is a simple meal packed with so much flavor. It's so good, I ate some of the leftovers for breakfast! I made this with chicken, but as I was eating it, I thought how delicious shrimp would be. If you don't have cashews on hand for the pesto, you could probably use pine nuts or macadamia nuts. 

I'll be adding this to my regular rotation. Grains and dairy were not missed in this meal. Everything seemed to work together so well. The pesto turned into a decadent sauce when tossed with the spaghetti squash. 

Basil-Cashew Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Zucchini and Chicken

Serves: 5-6

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash or 2 small, roasted and pulled into strands

Pesto:

• 1 cup of packed basil leaves
• ¾ cup raw cashews
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• Juice from one lemon
• 1 t. pink sea salt
• ½ - ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, depending on your preferred consistency

Chicken and Zucchini:

• 3 – 4 T. Fat of choice
• 1 ¼ - 1 ½ pounds chicken tenders, breast or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 medium zucchini, diced
• Sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste

 

Directions:

To roast your spaghetti squash (can be done in advance):

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
   
2. Cut in half length-wise.
3. Place cut-side down in a large baking dish with about an inch of water (I typically use two baking dishes if I am roasting two squashes).
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the shell is soft to the touch.
5. Flip the squash over (flesh side up) and allow them to cool until you can handle them.
6. Using a fork, pull out all the flesh into strands. If using immediately, just put into a large bowl and set aside. If saving for later use, put into a large Ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator.

 

To make the pesto:

1. Place all ingredients except olive oil into your food processor.
2. Process for about 30 seconds, or until everything is chopped and well-incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl.
3. With processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

To cook the chicken and zucchini:

1. Heat 2 T. fat of choice in a large skillet or frying pan over medium to medium-high heat.
2. Add chicken in a single layer and let it cook for 8-10 minutes on one side to allow it to get golden brown and crispy.
3. Season with sea salt and pepper.
4. Flip, add minced garlic and cook 3-5 more minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.
5. Remove from pan and reserve for later.
6. Add remaining fat of choice to same pan. Toss the zucchini in the fat and allow to sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with sea salt and pepper, to taste.

Putting it all together:

1. If you roasted your spaghetti squash in advance (and it’s cold/cool), then heat spaghetti squash in a large skillet/pot/frying pan over medium to medium-high heat, tossing occasionally. If your spaghetti squash is still warm, just add your warm skillet/frying pan in which you cooked the chicken and zucchini.
2. Add pesto, a few spoonfuls at a time, tossing/stirring and adding more until the spaghetti squash is coated to your liking. You may have some pesto leftover (it tastes great on eggs!).
3. Add the chicken and zucchini to the skillet and mix it all together. Add a little more pesto at this point, if you’d like. Toss to coat the chicken and zucchini with the pesto.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Please share this recipe with your friends and family and on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. I appreciate your help in helping build The Paleo Network.