Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing

 My mom LOVED Caesar Salad. We ate it 2-3 times a week with grilled chicken while I was growing up. Especially in the summer. It was a family favorite. Now, I eat it often, and always on Mother's Day. I lost my mom 7 years ago, and there is something so wonderful about eating her favorite meal. I feel so close to her. Its amazing how food connects us to those we love in such a real and beautiful way.

Our family friend, Rachel, gave mom this recipe for caesar dressing, and we've used it for years. Its a great, non-creamy caesar. It has a killer garlic bite (which I LOVE, because I am a garlic freak) and a nice, rich, umami flavor.

Sometimes, instead of croutons, I put crispy bacon in my caesar. Yeah, its pretty much a dream come true. Look at that cute little helper, sharing my lunch with me! :-)

It is also EXCELLENT with beautiful, organic, red leaf lettuce. But romaine also works great too!

Caesar Dressing Recipe

One Lemon, juiced

Anchovy Paste, 2 inch ribbon

1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce (or liquid aminos)

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/3 Cup Olive Oil

Place everything in a food processor and blend together until combined. Serve with lettuce of choice, croutons, Parmesan cheese, grilled chicken or crispy bacon. Yum!!

Put an Egg On it

I don't know if it's just me, but I can't get enough of the roasted veggie/fried egg combo! I feel like I could eat it all day long- and some days I do!!

Here are three fabulous, SUPER simple paleo friendly 'breakfast' options. But let's be honest, you could and SHOULD eat this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! So yummy!

Parsnip Fries, with a fried egg

Cut large, long fries out of your parsnip. Coat in Coconut Oil and roast in oven at 400 degrees for 45mins, or until desired crispiness. Mmmmmm, Crispiness. Season with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Fry an egg, and chop some green onions and you have a great meal!

Sweet Potato Medallions with Spinach, Ham and Sunny Egg

You can see my previous post, here, about how I love to do my sweet potatoes. I take some fresh spinach, or greens, and lay my sweet potatoes on top. Take some high quality, nitrate-free deli ham and fry it up in a skillet until nice and crispy. Place it on top of potatoes, and then put a beautiful sunny egg on top- with some parsley and pepper to garnish. This is a FABULOUS breakfast to do with guests. It looks beautiful, and it tastes incredible. 

 Leftover Veggie Hash with Eggs and Bacon

When I have leftover roasted veggies from dinner, I often warm them up and through a nice yolky egg on top. And of course, if you have some bacon or sausage you can add that too-- a little breakfast meat always warms my heart first thing in the morning!!

Lesson of the day: Pretty much everything is better with an egg on it. :-) 

Healthy Stuffed Peppers

When I lived in Romania, I fell in love with stuffed peppers and stuffed cabbage. I could have eaten it everyday! I brought home lots of traditional spices with me, but I have finally run out after 7 years of hoarding them!! This is a great recipe for those that are looking for a lower calorie option, but still want yummy comfort food. 

These do need to bake in the oven-- but I think you could prep them all and then put them in the crock pot if its just too hot to turn on your oven during these summer months. You could let them cook for 3-4 hours in the crock and they would be totally yummy too!

Brown Turkey on stove top. Chop pepper tops and zucchini and add to turkey in sauce pan.

 I always steam my peppers a bit so they are soft and dreamy-like.

 In a large mixing bowl, mix browned turkey and veggies, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Bell seasoning, canned diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and one cup cooked rice. Mix well. 

Fill each pepper all the way up. If you have extra filling just put it in the baking dish with the peppers! Put a sprinkle of cheese on each pepper, if you'd like. Cook at 375 for 45mins, or until cheese is golden. Garnish with sour cream. Each pepper comes in at about 350 calories!! Serve with broccoli and more cheese and you have a great meal for under 500 calories! Enjoy!

Garnish with sour cream, and some Parmesan (if you want!). Each pepper comes in at about 350 calories!! Serve with broccoli and more cheese and you have a great meal for under 500 calories! Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers Ingredient List

1lb lean ground turkey 
4-5 bell peppers
1 small zucchini
1 cup cooked long grain brown rice
Fire roasted canned tomatoes
1 heaping tbsp Bell seasoning 
1/4 cup tomato sauce
Salt/Pepper/Garlic powder to taste
Cheese/sour cream to garnish