If we are talking about plain ol’ good grub, there are few things I enjoy more than a cheeseburger, and even more than a cheeseburger? Make that a double bacon cheeseburger. I said “plain ol’ good grub”, but when it comes to flavor content, your taste buds’ perception will be disagreeing with that.

“Double bacon cheeseburger” is a string of words designed to scare the life out of a vegan. Double the meat, double the tears. Double bacon cheeseburgers might as well be the garlic to the vampire that is a vegan. Hey, vegans, if you happen to be checking out this post, frowning and readying yourself to write a self-righteous comment, allow me to humbly let you know that I am merely half-joking with what I just said. Actually, wait, what are you doing on a barbecue-based website if you are a vegan? Where am I?

Right. There are…

Low-Carb, Keto, Gluten-Free

These lightened up chicken enchiladas use zucchini strips instead of tortillas, Greek yogurt, and a healthier, homemade enchilada sauce. I love chicken enchiladas so much, but let’s be honest – they aren’t the best for you. This recipe is a perfect way to make a favorite meal become guilt free, while getting an extra serving of veggies in. This is sure to become a favorite recipe in your house and you will hardly miss the tortillas!

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Kitchen Gadgets We Love for this Recipe:

• Mandoline Slicer – This is a must have for this recipe. I tried to make this same recipe without a mandoline and sadly it just didn’t work. It is nearly impossible to slice the zucchini to the correct thickness without a mandoline. This was something I personally…

Paleo, Low-Carb, High-Protein, Gluten-Free

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read mydisclosure policy.

Ingredients:

Roasted Spaghetti Squash:

• 1 large spaghetti squash (or two smaller)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Dredge:

• 1 lb chicken cutlets (or chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise and pounded even)
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Other Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 small shallots, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (juice from one lemon)
• Zest from one lemon
• 1 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup dry white wine (I used Chardonnay) – replace with chicken broth for paleo
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (additional for garnish)
• 2 tbsp grass-fed salted butter (or salted ghee)
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1/2 tsp black pepper (adjust…

Paleo, Low-Carb, Keto, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian

This roasted spaghetti squash recipe is used as the base for many of my recipes. I love serving it as a pasta substitute for many delicious dishes such as, carbonara, chicken piccata, and lobster shrimp scampi. However, roasting the spaghetti squash gives it all the flavor it needs to be eaten alone as a side dish or even as a meal itself.

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash (or two smaller)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Optional Ingredients:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp grass-fed salted butter
• 1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast
• Additional black pepper and sea salt, to taste

Recipe:

1. Turn oven to 400 degrees. Begin prepping squash by poking holes into the skin with a knife 8-10 times…

It’s FRIDAY. And PAYDAY! Also unofficially FRUGAL DAY! We shouldn’t feel guilty about looking for cheap healthy eats. Grocery shopping can get quite expensive at times. You head to the store, grab the basics, and your total ends up being $72 for only 10 items!! Not today Satan!

Today we have a great recipe that is fast, tasty, and ONLY TEN DOLLARS! It’s quite rare that you hit that trifecta in home cooked meals. But TKC has your back—and your wallet.

We headed over to Trader Joes to find what could be cheap, filling, and spontaneous! Something that we could customize and make unique. Not just for ourselves-but for anyone! Lo and behold: Tacos.

Tacos are a classic Mexican dish that has been customized by many people and cultures. We’ve seen it all: breakfast tacos, fish tacos, chicken tacos, cauliflower tacos, tofu tacos, Indian tacos, and even GREEN tacos (whatever…

We like to have a nice slow breakfast on the weekends. Usually we make a coffee cake, doughnuts, or some kind of sweet. This was our first time making fritters. They have a doughnut place in Kalamazoo that recently had a fritter contest. Each week they featured two flavors that went head to head and one in the end was the winner. Some of the flavors were wild and some were very traditional such as apple, cherry, and chocolate. This made me crave fritters for the past few weeks.

I figured we would start with the traditional apple and then we could branch out from there.

Verdict:

These were very easy to make. The family liked the flavor of the donuts. We will be making these again in the next few weeks with different fillings. Maybe chocolate or raspberry next.

So day three of eating pork. We had pork butt (click for link to recipe), Caramelized Pork (click for link to recipe) and now Barbecue Pork Pasta.  The nice thing was that no one complained because the dishes were so different that they didn’t feel like they were eating pork every day. And, I still have enough leftovers to freeze for another small dish like Pork Fried Rice another week.

Verdict:

Having the pork cooked in advance made this dinner super easy to bring together.  If your family likes pulled pork and barbecue sauce they will love this super simple pasta dish. We love sauce so we use plenty of barbecue sauce to make it saucy but you can cut back if you like.

We served this dish with green beans and a green side salad.

I remember my mother making this cake when I was a kid. She never put frosting on it (which was always my favorite part of the cake) because she said it was so rich anyways that it really didn’t need any. She would dust the top of the cake with a bit of powdered sugar but that was all. I remember the cake being really moist. It would almost melt in your mouth.

When I was asked what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday this cake popped into my head. I had to have it. Yes, my birthday was over the holiday weekend. Not a significant one, I still have a bit longer for that.

Verdict:

This wasn’t quite as good as my memories of it are but then again is anything? It was REALLY good though. It was moist, chocolaty and everything I wanted. The frosting was amazing…

I love chocolate cake! It is probably my number one dessert. Now, I am NOT a big dessert person but if I am I want a stick to your fork, creamy, smooth chocolate cake. This recipe is one that has been changed because I didn’t have all the ingredients of another cake recipe. Making changes in a baking recipe is not easy. You have to make sure you don’t affect the science behind making your cake raise. This was my Frankencake.

Verdict:

The cake was pretty good but the frosting is one I will make over and over again.  It was creamy, chocolatey, perfectly smooth. It was one of the best frostings I have ever made. The mayonnaise was a last minute addition that we tried and thought, “Huh, it was what it needed!” Not something I would normally add but this was one of those experiments that was perfect.

Day 20 – Another gray day. At least it is slightly warmer today. The gray 30 degree days need to end, now. We are making dessert just about every day right now. We never used to have dessert before this shelter-in-place started. I think the whole emotional toll has made us crave carbs. Oh, wait. I think I see the sun! Seriously, I haven’t been this excited in so long!

Governor Whitmer announced that school buildings would not reopen this year. School will continue online in some form set up by district. Thankfully ours had been working toward this and we are a 1:1 district for computers from 6th grade up. I am sad for all the students but thankful that I don’t have to make the decision to send my children back to the petri dish of school germs this year. Being one of the people with a compromised…

Another great Mexican sandwich is “la torta de bacalao”, made by simply filling a telera bun with Mexican style cod stew, a clever way to use leftovers from the day before, as recalentado (reheated stew is always better!)  Cod stew is one of the two most traditional dishes to serve in Mexico during the Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter seasons, particularly on Christmas Eve and during Holy Week; I have already posted about the other dish, called Revoltijo, a raucous jumble of flavours (click here for story and my recipe.)

I thought that preparing the cod stew and tortas at home would be a very nice way to wrap up my sandwich themed posts, as well as my Lenten season recipes, since today is Palm Sunday, marking the beginning of The Holy Week (Alleluia, Easter Sunday is finally in the not too distant future!)  The recipe calls mainly for…

This dish is a match to any food,whether it is

rotis , rice or thickened to make any bakes,

frankies….. . Blend of browned onions and

tomatoes with masalas it has a unique taste.

Let’s get into the recipe rightaway.

INGREDIENTS

500 gm boneless lamb / mutton

2-3 onions sliced

3 tomatoes ground coarsely

1 tblsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp saunf ( perumjeeragam)

Few pieces of cinnamon

1 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp cummin seed powder

1-2 tsp chopped ginger

Few slit green chillies

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp ginger -garlic paste

1 tblsp vinegar / 1 tsp amchur powder

3 tblsp oil/ butter

10 coarsely ground almonds

1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves/ coriander leaves

Salt to taste

METHOD

Cook the mutton with 1 cup water, ginger garlic

paste , peppercorns, in a pressure cooker till

done .Drain the stock and set aside.

Heat oil…