Savory Spaghetti Squash Fritters with Poached Eggs

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Confession: I just discovered spaghetti squash.

I know some of you superwomen out there have been using it forever as a pasta substitute. You were right, and it is heavenly, but I have to tell you that there is something even better to be had in the leftovers...

I was on my way back from a long run at the gym when I started thinking about lunch. We had gorged on spaghetti squash, marinara and ground turkey the night before, so I knew I had some leftovers. It seemed like a decent plan.

...but really, who wants to eat regular old leftovers?

I was still in the car when I realized I could make something even better with my bowl of spaghetti squash. Throw that spaghetti squash in a pan with some paleo flour, egg white, and nutritional yeast - oh, and don't forget the garlic - and you get something that is restaurant-worthy. You know, like a good restaurant.

These fritters? Each one is a savory, cheesy, goody with a crispy exterior and a warm, textured, cheesy inside. Soak it in the warm yolk of a soft-poached egg and it cannot be beat.

Savory Spaghetti Squash Fritters with Poached Eggs
Servings: 2
Total time using fresh spaghetti squash: <90 minutes
Total time using leftover (cooked) spaghetti squash: <15 minutes
Ingredients for Savory Spaghetti Squash Cakes:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp egg whites (1 egg white)
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 1 tbsp parmesan or nutritional yeast (use nutritional yeast to make this recipe dairy free)
• 1.5 cups spaghetti squash, cooked and stringy
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (or your cooking oil of choice)

Ingredients for Poached Eggs:

• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar (optional)
• Water

Directions to cook and prep spaghetti squash (skip this step if you are using leftovers or already prepared stringy spaghetti squash):

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Poke spaghetti squash 4 times with a fork or knife to allow for air to escape.
3. Place on an aluminum or parchment lined pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, until the outside can be much more easily pierced with a fork.
4. Remove from oven and let cool enough that it can be handled. 
5. Cut in half length-wise, then scoop out the seeds and discard.
6. Use a fork to remove the flesh and use for the recipe. Flesh should come out nice and stringy, like angel-hair pasta!

Directions:

1. Combine garlic, egg white, flours, parmesan/nutritional yeast, and spaghetti squash in a bowl and mix well. Divide in two and roll into balls.
2. Heat coconut oil over high heat in a covered skillet until melted. 
3. Place both cake balls in the oil and use a thin spatula to flatten them to be about half an inch thick. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.
4. (Optional directions for adding poached eggs: While cakes are cooking, fill a sauce pan with 2 inches of water and boil. Add rice vinegar, lower to a light simmer, and use a small cup or ramekin to slowly slip each egg into the water. Wait for 3 minutes for soft poached eggs, then use a spoon to remove)
5. Reduce heat, remove the cover, and flip both cakes using the thin spatula. Re-cover and return to high heat for an additional 2-3 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and top with poached eggs.

Savory Parmesan Pancakes with Chorizo and Feta Cheese (Plus an exercise in gratitude!)

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If you ask my fiance what his favorite food is, here's what he'll say: Pizza.

Which is funny for someone who is engaged to a woman that pretty much never makes true pizza. Sure, I'll use similar ingredients, but it is always somehow slightly different. Smaller. Healthier. In a different form. Which reminds me: Anyone ever had a pizza shake? Ew?

Lately, I've been experimenting with pancakes recipes. After we had some delicious savory pancakes at Belly Q, I was interested in creating something similar. Basically, they took a savory, cheesy pancake and topped it with meats and cheeses. It's like if pizza and tostadas had a baby. Here's how they described it at the restaurant:

 

Via BellyQ

I know... it sounds delicious, right? We had the Goat Milk Feta Cheese & Rice Noodle Pancake, and I think we may have also tried the Double Smoked Bacon & Kimchi Pancake. It was a delicious meal and really got my creative wheels turning.

Finally, while working out, those creative wheels finally found their traction, and I had the perfect idea. We had some delicious chorizo left over from a meat and cheese plate we made for our Speakeasy Party earlier this month. And we also had, as we always do (because it is a staple of our kitchen), some delicious feta cheese.

And thus, these parmesan pancakes were born! They were such troopers and cried like total babies. I topped them with some broken up chorizo sausage (chorizo is so soft to begin with that it was pretty easy to break into small pieces with a fork), feta cheese, some mixed shredded cheese, and cholula. The result was something perfectly savory, filling, and low carb. Justin scarfed it up within minutes.

We ate ours with a knife and fork, the way you'd eat a traditional pancake, but feel free to just roll it up and eat it like a taco or something!

Savory Parmesan Pancakes with Chorizo and Feta Cheese

Ingredients for Pancakes:

• 1/2 Cup Oatmeal
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Egg Whites
• 2/3 Cup Cottage Cheese
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients for Topping (to taste):

• Chorizo
• Feta Cheese
• Mixed Cheese
• Italian Seasoning
• Cholula

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Place chorizo in a greased pan and heat on medium, breaking apart and moving around every few minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine pancake ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed. In a greased pan, pour batter to the size you'd like your pancake to be. Heat over medium-high heat until your pancakes look a little bubbly and you're able to lift them up with a spatula and see that the bottom is beginning to brown. Flip and heat on the other side for just enough time until both sides are beginning to brown. Then, remove from heat and place on a plate.
4. Once chorizo is done, take a cookie pan and line with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place cooked pancakes on the pan (you may need to use more than one or do them in shifts if you're making a big batch), and top with chorizo, mixed shredded cheese, and feta cheese. Then, place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until cheese is sufficiently melted.
5. Remove from the oven, add cholula (or the sauce of your choice!) and serve!

Delicious! 

• Have any of you ever made savory pancakes?

P.S. From now on, I'm going to try a little exercise in gratitude at the end of every post. Feel free to join in and add your own via comments!
Dear Nasty-Watery-Slushy-Melted-Snow all over Chicago,
Sometimes, when I am boarding the CTA bus, I imagine I am stepping over hot lava instead of 3 inches of dirty snow water. Thanks for making me feel like a kid again.
Love, Carly

Italian Overnight Kale Salad with Sea Salt

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When I was in High School, I used to get sick a lot. A lot. Like I missed 28 days of school one year. So, in the interest of boosting my immune system, my mom decided to force me to start juicing (at 17 years old, I was very opposed to the idea and thought it tasted like garbage sludge). The key ingredient she continued to put in these garbage sludge smoothies? Kale.

Five years later, I started putting Kale in my salads. Though my immune system is now near teflon (thanks to consistent exercise and healthy eating), I am always looking for the next healthy element I can incorporate into my life. After reading about the seemingly never ending health benefits of Kale, I was sold.

Only I wasn't eating it right. I was just throwing it in a salad and eating it immediately. Little did I know that there really is a better way to eat Kale. It needs a bit of... coaxing.

Enter this new method. By letting the Kale marinate in olive oil and lemon juice overnight (or at least for a solid few hours), the Kale begins to break down just slightly, enough to get rid of the bitter flavor Kale tends to have when eaten on its own.

Combined with Italian toppings and Sea Salt, this is officially my favorite salad ever. I love it so much that, when I couldn't find pre-cut Kale at the grocery store this week, I was legitimately upset. It's just that good.

Italian Overnight Kale Salad with Sea Salt

Servings: 2 (Feel free to cut in half for only one serving, but keep in mind that this salad keeps very well in the fridge, so making it ahead of time doesn't hurt!)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Kale
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Pepper
• 1/3 Red Pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 Cup Shaved Parmesan
• 2 tbsp Purple Onion, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, and a sprinkling of sea salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk.
2. Rinse Kale and cut into ribbons (or any bite size pieces) and pour mixture over the Kale. Toss.
3. In a small tupperware, combine shaved parmesan cheese, chopped red pepper, and chopped purple onion.
4. Cover both bowls and store overnight. 
5. To serve, put marinated Kale on a plate or in a bowl and drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the salad. Then, spoon cheese/pepper/purple onion on top. Top with Sea Salt and Black Pepper, if desired.

P.S. Looking for more Kale in your life? Check out Sea Salt Kale Chips, Sriracha Polenta with Kale Chips, and The Ultimate Salad of Health

Recipe | Skinny Spinach and Asparagus Dip

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Let's talk about things we love, shall we? Ok, I'll go first... You know what I love? I love the taste of the totally-bad-for-you spinach dips you can get for $6.95 at T.G.I.Fridays or Applebees or some equally unimpressive yet easy restaurant. But I never order them.

In fact, I can't even remember the last time I walked into a T.G.I. Friday's, sat down, and ordered a Spinach and Artichoke dip. Really. I know it exists... but I can't remember doing it.

Why? Because it's so bad for you. Like, ridiculously bad for you, throw your diet out the window, you're overdosing on sodium kind of bad.

That's crap to me. Why do those restaurants insist on sour cream and butter and salt (oh my!)?

There's got to be more to life than that, right? (Am I dramatic enough yet?)

Okay, so that's my first favorite thing (and a total tangent about the health content of chain restaurant dips). My second favorite thing? Greek Yogurt. Why? It's good for you. And you can put it in just about anything.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Unhealthy spinach dips + super healthy greek yogurt = ???

Any guesses? Did I just hear you say "Skinny Spinach and Asparagus Dip?!" WOW! Good guess. That's IMPRESSIVE!

And so, by using Greek Yogurt instead of the typical sour cream base, this comfort appetizer goes from HORRIBLE to HEALTHY.

Looking for other healthy appetizers to use? Check out the food section of my website or go specifically to Lettuce Wraps, Grilled Eggplant Nachos, Spicy Pumpkin Fries, or Whole Wheat Quesadillas.