smoked paprika – Oven Love https://www.ovenloveblog.com from scratch, with love...and a little sass Tue, 21 Apr 2015 20:19:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.28 Mini Mexican Zucchini Boats (Grain-Free, GAPS/Paleo/Dairy-Free Option) https://www.ovenloveblog.com/mini-mexican-zucchini-boats-grain-free-gapspaleodairy-free-option/ Wed, 28 Aug 2013 04:54:49 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/?p=2897 zucchiniboats2

I made a real dinner, you guys.

I actually semi-meal-planned it and put thought into it and everything (say what??). Mom/wife of the year!

It’s tough for me to get my head on straight and focus on my every day responsibilities at the moment. The new house is just crazy and it’s consuming my thoughts. I sat down to write my market/grocery list and I reeeeally had to focus, but I got it done. And I actually bought the things on my list at the market without buying any extra stuff (except a strawberry popsicle for my little helper, couldn’t resist). Although.. we did go to Trader Joe’s afterwards and we have about 0.0% self control in that place.. so mission only semi-accomplished. Oops.

We will have to do a whole run down of our Trader Joe’s favorites soon.. I could talk about it all day. Love/hate relationship.

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Okay, so these are mini taco-stuffed zucchini boats. Cute, right? I made them smaller so they’d work nicely for kid portions. I actually thought about making them even smaller, but I thought the filling might fall out. After cooking them, I can say that they’d be perfect bite-sized appetizers if you cut them into 1-inch portions. I’d love to serve teeny tiny ones with some margs- GIANT margs.

If you are paleo or dairy-free, I still think these would be tasty without the cheese. We had some extra filling and we fried it up like a little taco burger, and it tasted great. Cheese not necessary.

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These little boats are a nice way to switch things up if you like tacos, but you’re getting tired of your typical tortilla or lettuce wrap. The zucchini is basically just another vehicle for getting that taco goodness in your mouth. It’s really all about the filling, isn’t it? It takes a little extra time, but it’s not as messy as a taco if you’re feeding them to your child. This is important at my house, since my daughter has crazy-dinner-mess-face every time she eats. Girl is serious about her food.

Hopefully, I can keep up this meal-planning streak for another few days. I think you probably know how that’s going to end..

Mini Mexican Zucchini Boats
 

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*To make things even quicker, you can substitute about 3-4T taco seasoning for the spices.
Author:
Recipe type: Main Course
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
  • 4 medium zucchinis, ends trimmed
  • 1 pound ground beef (I prefer grass-fed)
  • ½ onion, minced
  • ½ green bell pepper, minced
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, minced/pressed/grated
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional, not Paleo-approved)
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • cracked pepper to taste (probably around 1 teaspoon)
  • 1 cup shredded cheese (optional, I used a mixture of monterey jack and sharp cheddar)

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375. Grease the bottom of a large baking dish.
  2. To prepare the zucchinis, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh to make a channel. Set aside.
  3. To prepare the filling, mix the ground beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic, jalapeno, tomato paste (if using) and spices in a medium bowl.
  4. To assemble, fill the zucchinis with the ground beef mixture. Then cut each zucchini in half (or smaller sections if you life). Place the mini zucchini boats in the greased dish.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes. Pull out of the oven, top with the shredded cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the zucchini is soft and the cheese is melted. If you’re not using cheese, bake about 30 minutes until the zucchini is soft and the filling is set.
  6. Serve warm and enjoy.

 

 

]]> Baked Potato Casserole https://www.ovenloveblog.com/baked-potato-casserole/ https://www.ovenloveblog.com/baked-potato-casserole/#comments Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:53:00 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/baked-potato-casserole/
We planted potatoes in our garden again this year.
A LOT of potatoes.
Anyone want some potatoes??
I feel like I’m saying “this-is-what-we-are-doing-with-our-garden-surplus” over and over again on this blog, but it’s usually when we have giant piles of produce on our counter that I have to be creative and come up with new recipes.
With a big pile of spuds staring me down, I got a craving for some baked potatoes. We planted Yukon golds in our garden, which are lovely in taste and texture but not excellent for baking, so I had to come up with another plan.
Here’s the procedure: steam the potatoes and broccoli, fry the bacon, cook the onion and garlic, combine it all with some spices and cheese and bake until nice and bubbly. Pretty straight forward. Don’t forget the smoked paprika- it takes the dish to another level, trust me.
This would be a great side dish, but we actually ate it as our main meal. We should have added a salad to make it a more balanced dinner, but let’s face it: we just wanted to stuff our face with gooey, cheesy, bacon-covered potatoes. And hey! The broccoli’s in there- that’s good for you. You can leave it out if you want, but then you should definitely eat a salad. I mean, really.
This isn’t exactly health food, but it’s way better for you than say, a baked potato from Wendy’s. So I think you can still feel good about it. I mean, I do. I’m all about some good fat. I better end this post before I go on a grass-fed, pastured meat tangent or talk about how you need lots of good fat to make better breast milk. You guys are just here for good food.
And this stuff is good.
 

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Ingredients
  • 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 head broccoli, chopped into small florets (about 2-3 cups chopped)
  • 8 slices bacon
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1-2 cups (150 g) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup (100 g) parmesan cheese, shredded

Instructions
  1. Place a steaming basket in a large pot and fill with 1-2 inches of water. Place pot on to boil. When water is boiling, add the potatoes and steam (covered) for 5-6 minutes. Add broccoli to the potatoes and steam for an additional 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a 9×13 baking dish. (You can butter/spray it now, but I like to use the paper towel with the bacon fat later.)
  3. Meanwhile, fry the bacon until just crisp. Remove the bacon, drain on a paper towel and chop into small pieces, setting 2 tablespoons aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in your frying pan. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the mixture begins to brown, about 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the potatoes and broccoli, paprika, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
  4. Mix in half of the cheeses and the bacon (except for the 2 tablespoons you set aside). Pour the mixture into your baking dish and top with the remaining cheeses. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and serve hot.

]]> https://www.ovenloveblog.com/baked-potato-casserole/feed/ 8 Turnip and Potato Soup with Smoky Cheese Toasts https://www.ovenloveblog.com/turnip-and-potato-soup-with-smoky-cheese-toasts/ Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:49:00 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/turnip-and-potato-soup-with-smoky-cheese-toasts/

 

We are experiencing a crazy March heat wave down here. I am not ready for summer.
I mean, come on.. I’m not done making soup yet!
We got a big bunch of turnips last week from our farmer. At that time, it wasn’t 85 degrees, so this was the perfect lunch. I used my typical method for making smooth vegetable soups- saute some onion, add the veggies with broth and any seasonings, simmer until the veggies are tender and then puree with a stick blender. Works every time.
The soup is simple in flavor- make sure you season it well with salt and pepper or it could turn out quite bland. I made the cheese toasts on a whim- the smoky taste goes great with the simple soup.
I hope you get to try this out before it’s too hot! Or just bookmark it for next year.. it seems weird to eat turnip soup with a tank top on.
Turnip and Potato Soup
 

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Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Serves: 4

Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 medium/large turnips, peeled and cubed
  • 3 medium/large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
  • a few sprigs fresh thyme
  • a few sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 5 cups chicken stock
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
  1. In a stockpot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, 1-2 minutes. Add turnips, potatoes, thyme, rosemary (tie them together with twine if you want the removal to be easier) and stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until vegetables are tender, 20-30 minutes. Remove the thyme and rosemary stalks. Turn off the heat and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Season well with salt and pepper and serve warm.

 

Smoky Cheese Toasts
 

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Author:
Recipe type: Side Dish
Serves: 2

Ingredients
  • 2 slices sourdough bread
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • ½ cup gruyere cheese, shredded
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
  1. Turn the broiler on high. Mix butter, cheese, paprika, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Spread the butter mixture onto the bread. Broil for 2-4 minutes, watching carefully so they don’t burn. Serve warm.

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