Trying to get back on the diet wagon, I picked out a couple of fun recipes. I actually made some egg, green chili, and cheese burritos with almond flour tortillas, but didn’t take pictures. They were very tasty, but not particularly pretty. And I forgot.
But ANYWAY. I did take pictures of the pizza zucchini boats! These were fun and easy to make, and yummy to boot (see what I did there, Canada? Boat… boot…).
I took an ice cream scoop and scooped out the fleshy seed bit of the zucchini. I put them on aluminum foil because I’m lazy very efficient. I baked them for about 15 minutes, just to cook them a little. I knew they wouldn’t need long once I added the rest of the ingredients.
I added my favorite pizza sauce: Rao’s Homemade Pizza sauce. No sugar here! It’s just savory deliciousness.
I didn’t have sausage crumbles, so I diced up an Aidells Cajun style andouille sausage and hit them with some heat on the skillet. Then I put them on the pizza sauce and added the shredded Italian cheese mix.
These little low-carb treasures are delicious! They’re easy to heat up at work (pop them in the microwave, sans the foil), and just so darn tasty. I will definitely make them again. Maybe a pepperoni and/or veggie version?
Over the last couple of months, I’ve had a student with me at work. She’s such a sweet person! She just ended her term and is graduating on Saturday, and we decided to meet for coffee. I ordered an espresso shot, and the barista asked me if I wanted a little sparkling water on the side as a palate cleanser. I have never heard of such a thing, but it sounded good, so I said yes.
When I tried the sparkling water after a sip of the espresso… Well, first let me tell you a quick story. A few years ago, my husband and I were going to have homemade chicken fettuccini alfredo. I went to the store to get the ingredients. We had recently been to a nice Italian restaurant, and I had *loved* their fresh pasta. My husband said something about getting fresh pasta, but I had never known grocery stores carried that. Sure enough, I found fresh pasta in the refrigerated section. I made the dish and was stunned. WHY DIDN’T SOMEBODY TELL ME I COULD GET FRESH PASTA AT THE STORE! I was furious for the next two years.
Okay, back to the present. I tried the sparkling water after a sip of the espresso and was, once again, stunned. It took away the intense bitterness and I was left with a slight espresso aftertaste in my mouth. It was WONDERFUL!!! Now. Why didn’t I know this before?? People, I am getting close to the fantastic age of half-a-century, and I feel like this is something that should be common knowledge. Is it? Am I the only one who didn’t know??
No matter what, I’ve found a new thing in life to thoroughly enjoy, and that makes me happy. This time, I will not be angry about it for two years, I promise.
The Happy Viking 