Author: Meaghan Thomas

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Mushroom Cream & Chicken Pasta with “La Dulce Vida” Carrots

Ready for comfort food with some bright carrots? (Is that really a question?). We made this last night for a family Valentine’s Day dinner. My was in town visiting and we had just come home from a wonderful museum tour (if you’re ever in Louisville, check out the Conrad-Caldwell Castle). It was a cold day, and by the time we got back we were all a little wiped from being on our feet. We (ok Shoe) whipped up this meal and it was a crowd pleaser. It’s also an easy meal to make vegetarian if you cut the chicken.

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Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce and Grilled Chicken

When you want comfort pasta, but you aren't feeling like red sauce and you also don't want to eat a gluey-thick alfredo sauce... this is the perfect dish. 

Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 13 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 43 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

  1. Coat chicken with olive oil and Finger Lickin' Chicken spice mix

  2. Star boiling water for pasta. Grill chicken until cooked, wrap in foil to keep warm, and set aside.

  3. Cook pasta as you make the sauce

  4. Saute mushrooms in 1 tbs of butter and Sizzling Steak spice mix until brown, set off to the side

  5. In hot pan, add flour and remaining butter and saute until browned

  6. Slowly add vegetable stock and half and half to the mixture and simmer until thickened. Stir constantly.

  7. Pour cream and mushrooms over pasta and top with sliced chicken

  8. Top with basil and serve

la dulce vida baked carrots
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Roasted "La Dulce Vita" (The Good Life) Carrots

Bright carrots with a tiny bit of kick

Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425

  2. Mix carrots and olive oil with La Dulce Vita

  3. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes

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Low (Low!) Calorie Crunchy Tacos Packed with Flavor (The Bright Star Seasoning)

low calories crunchy tacos

Watching calories but hungry and want tacos? Don’t we all?! This dish is super simple and VERY low calorie. We’re talking 500 calories for SIX tacos. AND you can have cheese. For real.

They taste amazing thanks to our “Bright Star” spice mix.

Here’s how the magic happens. (Yes, we use a veggie protein, but with our spice mix, you won’t miss the meat. This has received RAVING reviews from veggies AND meat-eaters alike, we promise.)

low calories crunchy tacos
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Low Calorie Vegetarian Tacos

You won't believe these are low calorie. These are very satisfying, yummy tacos perfect for days when you need a low calorie dinner. We're talking 500 calories for SIX tacos. 

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 12 tacos

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

  1. Add water & The Bright Star seasoning to a pot and bring to a boil.

  2. Add in TVP, reduce heat to a low simmer and cover. Let simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally.

  3. Heat up a frying pan with a teaspoon of olive oil, add peppers and onions. Sauté until soft.

  4. Add TVP, continue to sauté for 5 mins.

  5. Heat tacos in oven on a cookie sheet at 200 degrees for 5 mins.

  6. Serve with guac, salsa and shredded cheese.

 

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Kathleen’s Organic Garlic & Parm Monkey Bread

Big thanks to our good friend Kathleen in Chicago for this recipe. Dese dough balls should keep yous warm up dere! Can you tell we miss our Chicago friends and family? (many of whom have that classic “Jewels” Chicago accent whether they admit it or not)…

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Organic Garlic (Buffy Slayer Helper) Monkey Bread with Parmesan

A warm, gooey, garlic drenched plate of goodness. Perfect pully-bread for parties or a treat for soup or pasta night at home.

Course Appetizer
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 11 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Total Time 39 minutes
Servings 14 people

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

  1. Preheat over to 350 degrees

  2. Mix garlic, butter & Buffy Slayer Helper in bowl.

  3. Roll out crescent dough, cut in little squares & roll into balls (about 48 per roll)

  4. Dip and roll dough balls in butter mixture & place side-by-side in a greased 9-inch pan

  5. Bake for 25-28 minutes

  6. Remove from oven, sprinkle parmesan on top (add optional salt) and place back in oven for up to 3 minutes for a quick melt. 

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Piri Piri Spicy Broccolini

Who says Piri Piri is just for chicken? Ramp up your veggie side game with this delicious broccolini dish full of heat and flavor. Plus, the name is super fun to say!

hot broccolini dish
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Piri Piri Spicy Broccolini

A full-flavor vegetable side dish for heat lovers. 

Course Side Dish
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Resting time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

  1. Mix Piri Piri, lemon juice & olive oil

  2. Blanch brocolini in boiling water for 2 minutes and then quickly shock in cold water

  3. Drain water and mix brocolini & Piri Piri mixture in the bowl. Let sit for 10-15 mins.

  4. Saute on high heat for 3-5 minutes until browned & serve

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Easy Instapot Stew for Dogs (Meat, Veggies + Turmeric)

Here’s a simple dog food recipe we thought we’d share. We make this twice a week for our dogs and it’s a part of their overall meal plan.

Studies have shown that curcumin, a compound in turmeric, may reduce inflammation in humans and dogs. We’ve seen it help humans with our own eyes, and we want our dogs to reap the benefits, especially because Spot, our 12-year-old, has a history of mast cell tumors (he’s fine now!) and Tulip, our 8-year-old, was recently diagnosed with lymphoma (she’s on Week 6 of chemo and doing great, thankfully). Your pups will adore this!

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Homemade Easy Instapot Stew for the Dogs

A comfort meal for our best buddies. Make once in a while for special days, or you can start rotating this into their regular meal plans. NOTE: If you're removing kibble completely, you'll need to add supplements for full nutrition. We use Vegedog along with probiotics, but talk to your vet about the best solution for your pups. We cook this a few times a week as supplement to their regular dog food (we're currently transitioning from high quality grain-free kibble to raw food + homemade stews like these with vitamin supplements).

Course Main Course
Prep Time 7 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 37 minutes
Servings 10 meals

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon turmeric
  • 3-4 pounds meat of your choice, chopped We switch between beef, turkey & lamb
  • 1 can rised beans of your choice We use either kidney, chick peas, black, pinto or lentils. Beans MUST be cooked or they can be dangerous to dogs. Avoid fava, baked or refried beans.
  • 1 sweet potato, chopped
  • 1-2 heads broccoli, chopped
  • 3-5 carrots, chopped
  • 1-2 apples, chopped
  • 1 bunch of kale
  • OPTIONAL: green beans, blueberries, brussel sprouts, celery, cucumbers or peas Double check online if you are tempted to add anything else. Some foods can be TOXIC and even DEADLY for dogs, like onions, cherries, mushrooms, etc. Always "check before you chuck" in the Instapot

Cooking Instructions

  1. Chop all ingredients into dog-friendly chewable bites

    chopped meat veggies and fruit for dogs

  2. Add all ingredients except for kale to the Instapot, plus 1 cup of water. 

    add ingredients to instapot, dogs drooling

  3. Set Instapot to "stew" and pressure-cook it (takes about 30 mins)

  4. When it's done and beeps, add kale (or any other leafy green) on top so it wilts into the stew. Let it cool & serve. 

    ready to eat

Recipe Notes

We supplement with other food, but our 50-60 pound dogs usually get two big ladles for dinner