Mama McGill's Famous Tomato Sauce

Mama McGill makes a mean homemade tomato sauce that everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. It is simple to throw together, yet taste like it was slaved over for hours. The few ingredients also make it easy to throw together, and making tomato sauce from scratch allows you to control how much sugar etc. goes into it.

Ingredients:
- 1 28oz can of tomatoes (diced is okay but whole is preferred)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium garlic cloves (minced or put through a garlic presser)
- 3 tablespoons chopped basil (fresh is best but dried is okay as well)
- 1 tablespoon basil (optional)

Other Tools:
- Garlic mincer or presser
- Hand blender

Directions: (Makes 1 batch)
- In a medium sized pot, heat the oil to a simmer on medium or high heat. Be careful the oil has a simmering heat to it but not smoking
- Add the pressed garlic to the pot and cook without letting the garlic brown (about 1-2 minutes)
- Pour in the can of tomatoes and stir
- Using a hand blender, puree the tomatoes until they are smooth and be sure to check to make sure there are no clumps (some are able to hide easily and aren't discovered until you take a bite)
- Simmer, meaning put the sauce at a heat where there are small bubbles, for about 10-15 minutes or until the sauce reaches a desired thickness
- Add basil and or pesto sauce

Cheers! And a big shout out to Mrs. McGill for letting me make this and share it on the blog/pinterest world for all to enjoy :)

Grilled Pineapple Ginger Snap Dessert

Grilling fruit is a fresh and easy, not to mention quick way, to whip up a delicious dessert that would satisfy anyones sweet tooth. Paired with a light Greek frozen yogurt (which can be found at Trader Joes of course) sweet spices, and topped with ginger snaps, this dessert is quite the treat!

Ingredients:

- Pineapple

- Fat Free Vanilla Greek Forzen Yogurt (or any time of vanilla ice cream)

- Ginger Snap Cookies

- Cinnamon to taste

- Coconut Flakes

- Agave Nectar 

Directions:

- Fire up the grill or place a grill pan on the stove and spray with cooking spray

- Cut the pineapple into rings

- Lay the rings on the grill or grill pan and sprinkle with cinnamon and coconut flakes. 

- Drizzle agave nectar on last and let grill

- Flip onto the other side and sprinkle cinnamon and coconut flakes on the other side as well

- Cooking time depends on how well you want the pineapple grilled

- When finished cooking, layer the pineapple on the bottom of the bowl, then add the ice cream/frozen yogurt and finish with crumbled ginger cookies on top

Cheers!

Shrimp Fried Cauliflower Rice

Oh no, another cauliflower rice recipe! This time, I've managed to incorporate it into making the oh so popular shrimp friend rice dish a little healthier (so you can not feel so guilty about heading to the frozen yogurt shop after and loading up on the yogurt and toppings). I did this by substituting the starchy and filling rice with the filling, yet light, cauliflower rice.

There were very little ingredients that went into this, and it took no time at all to cook. The only thing that made this dish take so long was Nicholas's rice (he's a guys guy and I guess they don't do cauliflower rice). So while his cooked I made sure he knew how hungry I was by mentioning it every 10 minutes ;)

Ingredients:
- Half a head of cauliflower
- Shrimp (as little or as much as you want)
- Package of steamed vegetables (normally I would do all fresh, but we were cooking at Nicholas's and he does it the easy way)
- Low sodium soy sauce to taste
- Garlic to taste
- Red pepper to taste

Directions:
- Using a cheese grater, grate the cauliflower over a plate
- When finished, place in a large skillet that is sprayed with cooking spray
- Cook on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally
- Cook until lightly crisped and brown
- On a separate skillet, combine the shrimp and vegetables, and cook on low to medium heat
- Once fully cooked, mix in with the cauliflower rice and add a tablespoon to start with of soy sauce. You can add more if you want

Cheers!

*Note: If you aren't a fan of the cauliflower rice and want to enjoy it the way Nicholas did with rice, follow all the directions except add the shrimp and vegetables to cooked rice, then add the soy sauce as well.

Moscato Sauteed Chicken and Baked Balsamic Vinegar Eggplant

Do you ever get in the mood to try something new food wise? I was in one of these moods while staring at a bright purple eggplant that I just bought this weekend. I didn't want to make the usual eggplant parmesan, or just sautee it with other veggies. I wanted the eggplant to be the staple flavor.

I finally decided on a simple yet rich and flavorful dish to make, and it only took a total of 30 minutes! Just enough time for me to sautee the chicken and make the cauliflower "rice."

Ingredients for the Eggplant:
- 1 Large Eggplant
- 1 Tomato
- Fresh Basil
- Feta
- Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Thinly slice the eggplant into as many pieces as you wish to make
- Thinly slice the tomato into the same about of slices at the eggplant
- Finely chop the fresh basil
- Layer the basil on top of the eggplant pieces, then the tomato on top of that
- Lightly drizzle balsamic vinegar over each piece
- Place in the oven on a cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray
- Cook for 20 minutes, then add the crumbled feta onto the pieces and place back in the oven for the last 10 minutes

Ingredients for the Moscato Chicken:
- Boneless chicken breast
- 1/4 cup of pink Moscato wine
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- Garlic powder and pepper to taste

Directions:
- Cube the defrosted chicken breast into a size of your liking
- Place a large pan on the stove and spray with cooking spray, put on low to medium heat
- Chop the garlic cloves and layer the bottom of the pan with them
- Place the chicken pieces in the pan and sprinkle with as much garlic powder and pepper as you want
- Gently pour the wine over the chicken and let cook, making sure to turn and flip periodically
*Note: You don't have to use all of the wine, I ended up using less than the 1/4 cup

I also added roasted asparagus and cauliflower "rice" to this dish!

Cheers!

Cauliflower Rice

Lately I've been hearing lots of people talking about the Paleo diet and how it's an effective, easy, and healthy way to eat. After looking into it more, I learned that it is based off of what the cavemen ate, so fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, and nuts- nothing processed and no dairy. 

This cauliflower rice is a staple recipe that falls under the Paleo diet because it can be paired with many meat and seafood dishes. It is also filling, delicious, and easy to make.

Ingredients: (serves 1)

- 3 large chunks of cauliflower

- 1 Garlic clove

- 1 tsp Rosemary

- Pepper to taste

- Cooking spray

- Cheese grater

Directions:

- Using the cheese grater, grate the cauliflower onto a plate or cutting board.

- Chop the garlic clove

- Once you're done grating the cauliflower and chopping the garlic clove, put a medium sized skillet on the stove on low to medium heat. Spray with cooking spray.

- Put the cauliflower in the skillet and add the garlic, rosemary, and pepper

- Cook until almost golden brown

I paired the "rice" with chicken and a sweet potato!

Cheers!

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you have a super sweet tooth like I do, then you know how important it is to have sweets handy at all times. These cookies are the perfect treat to have around the house because they will satisfy any sweet tooth without any added guilt. That is because the ingredients are all healthy!

Ingredients:
- 2 cups oats
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 3 mashed ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional) and or you can use dried fruit like cranberries or raisins
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Cinnamon to taste

Directions:
- Heat the oven to 350
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together
- Scoop mix into the size you want the cookies to be and place on a cookie sheet
- Bake for 15-20 minutes

Cheers!

Flaxseed Crusted Tuna

If you love fish, then this is the recipe for you. It's quick, filling, and so good! All you need is 30 minutes and you will have a meal that tastes like it was slaved over for hours.

Ingredients (makes 4):
- 4 tuna filets (6 oz each)
- 1 lb frozen peas
- 2 1/2 cup arugula
- 3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken brother or water
- 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (will probably need to add more while cooking)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 egg white, beaten
- 1/4 cup whole flaxseed

Directions:
- Combine peas, arugula, broth, lemon juice, parmesan, and olive oil in a blender. Puree until smooth, and then add pepper to taste. Transfer to saucepan and warm throughly over a medium-low heat
- Put egg white and flaxseed in 2 different small bowls. Dip tuna filets in the egg whites and then flaxseed.
- Heat on a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray over medium-high heat.
- Be sure to flip the filets, and cook for about 5-7 minutes
- Spoon puree onto plates and top with fish.

Cheers!