Baked Ratatouille (Whole 30)

I am not vegetarian but there is something immensely satisfying about a plate of well seasoned, well cooked vegetables.

This is a recipe where you want to stay in the kitchen while you are cooking. It is very easy to burn the vegetables because they are cooking under the broiler.

Roasted Ratatouille

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Adapted From The Easy Keto In 30 Minutes Cookbook

4 tsp olive oil

2 cups eggplant, peeled and cubed, 3/4 inch cubes

3/4 cup chopped bell peppers, red, yellow and orange

3/4 cup cherry tomatoes

5 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise

1 tsp oregano

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp dried black pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme

Juice of half a lemon

2TBS chopped fresh parsley, optional

Set the oven rack 6 inches below the broiler. Preheat the broiler on high. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with 1 1/2 tsp olive oil .

In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic, 2 1/2 tsp olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper and thyme. Mix well.

Spread the vegetables over the baking sheet and broil until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes so it doesn’t burn. Sprinkle with lemon juice and parsley.

Texas Hash Casserole

Hey Guys,  thank you for all the good vibes for me and Riley Jo.  It is all very much appreciated.  Riley Jo came through the surgery amazingly well.  However,  the damage was more extensive than Dr. Dill thought.  We will be going for a re – check on October 29th to evaluate whether or not Riley Jo will need further surgery.   Keep your fingers crossed she doesn’t.   Right now, Riley Jo’s biggest complaint is she has to be in a cage by herself because I have to monitor her food intake and I keep giving her icky pain medication every morning.

As for me, I am starting to relax enough to let Riley Jo,  Beau and Squeak play together when I am around to supervise.  I can actually leave the room without freaking out that every noise I hear is Riley Jo hurting herself.  Yeah,  I am a mess.

I haven’t been doing much cooking this week.  This casserole is really the only attempt I have made to cook anything, which is a testament to how physically, mentally and emotionally draining this week has been.  Usually, you can’t pry me out of my kitchen.

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted from The Crazy Casserole Cookbook

1/2 lb ground beef

1 large onion, sliced

1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

2 8 oz cans tomato sauce

1/2 cup long grain white rice

2 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper, taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.  In a frying pan, over medium heat, cook the ground beef until no longer pink, about 8 minutes.  Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic.  Stir until the vegetables soften.  Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice and chili powder. Season with salt and pepper.  Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole and bake 45 minutes or until slightly crusted on top. 

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Instant Pot Coconut Tomato Soup

I am never going to be the kind of person who spends hours on Sunday meal prepping for the week. My Sundays are just too busy for that even when all I do is lay in bed watch back to back to back episodes of Choppped all day. Don’t judge. It gets cold here in North Dakota and sometimes the best t way to spend the day is in bed, under the covers binge watching Chopped.

When my work schedule shifted, leaving me no time to cook after work, not even with my pressure cooker, I knew I needed to find a better way of meal prepping, somewhere between none and most of my day off doing it. I decided that instead of cooking after I got home from work, I would simply gather all my ingredients and tools (I am forever trying to find my can opener) and put them in one place. I would chop any vegetables that needed chopping and put them in the fridge. I would measure any spices I needed and leave them on the counter. That way all I would need to do in the morning is get cooking. Prepping this way only takes about 5-15 minutes in the evening, depending on the recipe. In the morning, I can throw it all in the pressure cook and go about my day or take 20 minutes and cook things on the stove.

Coconut Tomato Soup

• Difficulty: Easy
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adapted from Two Sleevers

1 (14.5 oz) can full fat coconut milk

1 red onion, diced

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

1 tsp garlic, minced

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cayenne

1 tsp turmeric

1 TBS honey

Place all ingredients in the pressure cooker and cook on high for 5 minutes. Use a quick or natural release.