Savory Spaghetti Squash Fritters with Poached Eggs

Tweet this!

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!)

Tweet this!

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

Cranberry Cumin Quinoa

Tweet this!

One of my coworkers is on a low carb diet. I feel like we should erect a monument and dedicate it to her ridiculous willpower. Seriously. It's not that I'm incapable of willpower -- God knows it's not always easy to turn down a 500 calorie Cheeseburger when somebody is grilling out -- but I could never cut out carbs.

I will, however, dedicate myself to spending them wisely. Carbs, that is. There's a big difference between a hamburger bun and a bowl full of Quinoa. Not to mention that a semi-carb like Quinoa isn't really a full carb -- because so many of its calories come from other sources, like protein and dietary fiber (which is soooooooo good for your you-know-whats).

Cranberry Cumin Quinoa

Servings: 4
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Calories Per Serving: 227
WW Points (Old): 4
WW PointsPlus: 6
*Nutritional information includes Chia Seeds. Without Chia seeds, each serving is 18 calories less.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Quinoa
• 2 cups Water
• 2 tablespoons dried Cranberries
• 3 teaspoons Truvia
• 1/2 tablespoon Cumin
• 2 tablespoons Pine Nuts
• Optional: 1 tablespoon Chia Seeds

Directions:

1. Combine Quinoa and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Add Cumin and stir, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add Cranberries, Pine Nuts, and Truvia (and, if you're using Chia Seeds, add those), then serve!