Our table had been host to ground beef stuffed bell peppers three times that summer, and there was a fourth time as we picked some peppers from our garden.

I made a fresh tomato sauce from garden tomatoes for this dish, but you can use canned tomatoes to make this homemade tomato sauce.

I have never been a green bell pepper fan, always choosing the red or yellow peppers, but when baked slowly in tomato, and filled with a meat filling, they are a summer food with winter comfort. Ground beef stuffed bell peppers take a little more prep than many of my dishes, because I take the time to blanch the peppers.  I use a dutch oven with the lid to bake them for about an hour, and then I take the lid off to brown them a little bit.

The Meat Recipe is Similar to Italian Meatballs

I season the meat the same way I make meatballs, using bread, Italian cheese, fresh parsley and basil. I do make a paleo option for myself, skipping the bread. The peppers continue to cook in the tomato sauce and the beef takes on the flavor of both. This is so good that even people I know who don’t like bell pepper (me included) love this dish.

This is a basic stuffed peppers recipe that offers you many options using one technique.

There are Several Options for Stuffed Peppers

Choose your grain or no grain.  While many stuffed peppers recipes add rice to the beef, I have never like that combination, as I don’t like rice with tomato sauce. You can replace the bread with rice, but I find the bread gives a much more satisfying texture. You can use bread crumbs instead of bread pieces if that’s what you have.

Paleo Option: I made some of the peppers (for me) with a paleo option, just skipping the bread and cheese altogether. Add in extra olive oil to the meat for moisture.

Sausage or Ground Pork Option: On of the three times I added in some ground sausage to the ground beef for extra flavor, or you could add in ground pork. The ratio is up to you. I recommend 1/4 pound sausage to 3/4 pound beef.

Ground Turkey Option: You can substitute ground turkey for the beef. In that case, add in some olive oil, as ground turkey does not have the flavor of ground beef or the fat. You can pump up the flavor by doubling the cheese, and adding in more aromatic herbs such as sage and rosemary.

Ground Beef option: You might be wondering what kind of ground beef to use for the ground beef stuffed bell peppers. I used grass fed beef, which is on the lean side, but your favorite ground beef will be fine.

More Ground Beef Recipes

• Ground Beef with Peas (most popular post)
• Ground Beef with Cabbage Stir Fry
• Easy Hamburger Steak Recipe
• Cuban Picadillo

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Stuffed Peppers with Ground Beef, Tomato Sauce

An Italian version of Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers with Paleo Option.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 6 large Bell Peppers
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 4 slices bread torn or 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs(optional)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 onion diced, sauteed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• generous helping black pepper
• 4 to 6 cups tomato sauce recipe using canned tomatoes here or fresh tomatoes here

Instructions

• Cut tops off bell pepper. Save to use later if you want to, cut out seeds.
• Blanch peppers in boiling water for five minutes to soften.
• Remove, put in ice bath, cool.
• Mix ground beef with eggs, bread or breadcrumbs, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper.
• Stuff peppers.
• Put tomato sauce into baking dish. I used a dutch oven. You can use either a baking dish or dutch oven. The sauce should come about half way up the peppers.
• Put in oven at 400 degrees uncovered for twenty minutes. Reduce heat to 325. Cover and bake for at least one more hour, or until peppers are softened.

The post Ground Beef Stuffed Bell Peppers appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Happy Fall everyone. As soon as school starts and the weather cools, I start to crave meatloaf.

This is the southern meatloaf recipe I grew up on, with one twist. When I was in college, a friend named Matt, made meatloaf with me and insisted we use oats instead of bread crumbs, and that’s been my meatloaf secret ever since.

If you want to make this keto friendly, add one cup of almond flour instead of oats.

What Meat Makes a Good Meatloaf

People argue back and forth over what ground meat is appropriate for a meatloaf and it really depends on what you’re looking for. I like flavor, and I’m not opposed to mixing in some ground pork or ground lamb, if I happen to have it. Generally, though I use a mix of lean and fatty beef. If I’m using grass fed beef, (my optimal choice),  I will add in some fat (olive oil) because the meat is so lean.

One of the mistakes people often make with ground beef is packing it too tightly, making it tough. This true for burgers and meatballs too. A gentle touch allows the fat and flavor to move around.

My Key Ingredients for an Authentic Southern Meatloaf Recipe

I like to use vegetables like green bell pepper and onion, but very very finely chopped and most importantly, pre-cooked. The sautè ahead of time busts out the flavor,  and I personally do not like the texture of raw veggies in my meatloaf. You could also finely process zucchini if you needed to add more moisture.

Eggs are a catch 22. You need the egg to hold it together but too many eggs can make it too loose.

Ketchup, Mustard, Worcestershire. These are the flavor boosters. I tend to add a few tablespoons of a ketchup and mustard and a good soak of Worcestershire. I think it’s the anchovies that bring it.  I look for a sugar free ketchup and dijon mustard, but good old yellow mustard is fine too.

We use these gluten free oats which add moisture  and create a wonderful texture.  Oats are also practical. Your mix can be more evenly consistent.

How to Top a Southern Meatloaf

This meatloaf is topped with a can of tomato sauce. This recipe makes two meatloaves that each fit into loaf pans, but I like to make mine free-form.

You will probably see recipes that top meatloaf with barbecue sauce or add maple syrup or brown sugar to ketchup. I don’t care for sweet food, but you can certainly do that. I stick to what I grew up on, and enjoy a more savory take on Southern meatloaf.

Topping: Ketchup or a can of tomato sauce. I like it both ways. I grew up with a tomato sauce topping, but I also like a ketchup topping like this one I made last week. G. Hughes sells a great sugar free ketchup.

Serve Delicious Sides with Southern Meatloaf

Meatloaf simply has to have mashed potatoes (or mashed cauliflower if your watching carbs). Either of these choices makes me feel special, happy, satisfied, and well fed.

• Homemade Mac N Cheese
• No Lumps Mashed Potatoes
• Southern Fried Corn
• Green Beans Almondine
• Easy  Twenty Minute Collard Greens

More Ground Beef Ideas

Ground Beef Recipes for Easy Family Dinners from Spinach Tiger

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Big Fat Healthy Southern Meatloaf, Made with Oats

Southern style meatloaf recipe, moist, and easy simple dinner.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 10 servings

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds ground beef see notes
• 1 cup gluten free oats
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons green bell peppers
• 1 large onion
• 2 tablespoons worcerstershire sauce
• 2 medium sized eggs or 1 extra large egg
• 1 tablespoons chopped parsley
• salt
• black pepper
• 1 small can tomato sauce or 1 cup ketchup

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Keep the ground meat loose. Compacting will make the meatloaf tough.
• Seed and chop bell pepper.
• Dice onion to a fine dice.
• Heat oil in pan. Sautè bell pepper and onion on low for about ten to twenty minutes until very softened.
• You want the vegetables to cook down very fine.
• Once softened, cool.
• Mix all ingredients except the tomato sauce together, keeping the meat loose.
• This recipe will make two meat loafs and will fit into two loaf pans, or you can bake them freehand as I do.
• Form into two loaves. Top with tomato sauce (or ketchup). I like it on the sides also.
• Bake until the temperature reaches 160 degrees inside, about 30 minutes. Allow to sit for ten minutes before cutting, or meatloaf may fall apart. It will continue cooking.
• Meatloaf is extra good, refrigerated and reheated. This is a perfect do ahead meal.

Notes

You can make this recipe keto friendly by replacing the oats with almond flour. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 8

The post Big Fat Healthy Southern Meatloaf Recipe, Made with Oats appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Actually this soup came about quite by accident. I was hoping to use eggplant, canned tomatoes, and bell pepper to make a chicken dish. But when I roasted the vegetables with olive oil, white wine and garlic, covered in the onion and decided to blend and make a soup or a sauce.

Once blended, I added in some heavy cream and broth and it turned to be a lovely summer soup. You could go dairy free (see below).

Variations for Creamy Eggplant Tomato Soup

• You could change out the heavy cream for coconut milk to thin it down if you want to keep it vegan.
• Add in other vegetables like zucchini, which is also plentiful this time of year.
• Use this as a pasta sauce with a penne pasta or gnocchi. Use less broth in this case.
• Make this a meal with grilled bread or use as a starter.
• Serve with a white, mild fish, or shrimp.

Equipment

• Immersion Blender
• Cutting Board Flexible Mats
• Small Soup Bowls

More Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Chunky Italian Summer Vegetable Soup
• Chicken Vegetable Soup
• Watermelon Gazpacho
• Chilled Cucumber Gazpacho
• Carrot Ginger Soup
• Gazpacho from My Garden
• Eggplant Rollatini

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Creamy Summer Eggplant, Tomato Soup

Soup made with Eggplant, Canned Tomato, Onion, Bell Pepper, Garlic and Olive Oil with a bit of heavy cream, great for Summer

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Bean macaroni Soup, Eggplant Soup, Tomato soup

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant peeled, cubed
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 small onion
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup olive oil extra virgin
• 1 24 ounce Italian Tomatoes
• 1 cup white wine
• black pepper
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
• fresh thyme, oregano or basil for garnish

Instructions

• Peel, cube eggplant. Salt and place on colander lined with paper towels.
• Chop onion medium dice.
• Peel garlic cloves.
• Seed and slice bell pepper in 1 inch slices.
• Place all vegetables in shallow baking dish (so you can spread out). Pour olive oil and toss. Add garlic cloves whole.
• Open tomatoes. Chop tomatoes and pour over vegetables including juices.
• Stir in white wine.
• Bake at 300 degrees for up to two hours, until all is soft. A long, slow bake melds flavors. Or put in slow cooker for four hours on low.
• Use immersion blender to blends and add broth and heavy cream.
• Serve with herbs and a drizzle of olive oil.

The post Creamy Roasted Eggplant, Tomato Soup appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

When you’re making this chicken with potatoes and tomatoes, and people enter your home, they’ll walk straight to the kitchen. This happened today when the twins (boys age 17) came in from school. I told them it’s actually a dish for the next day, because these kinds of dishes takes minutes to prep, but hours to braise. However they HAD to have a potato and to my surprise ate dark meat chicken. They only eat white meat chicken or so they thought.

How to Serve Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Tomatoes

• Remove the chicken skin before serving, but keep it on for cooking.
• Serve with a salad and crusty bread.

Budget Friendly

Chicken thighs are probably the most affordable meat right now. I love the Bell Evans air-chilled chicken from Whole Foods. These four thighs were very meaty and cost about $7. I also like the Greenwise brand at Publix. Most of the 4-thigh packages are under $5. You will see below that I have a LOT of chicken thigh recipes that present as gourmet good without too much fuss. I actually like to double the recipe and freeze the thighs for another dinner.

Ingredients

• chicken thighs
• tomato sauce
• chicken breast
• potatoes
• bell pepper
• herbs, salt, pepper
• capers
• white wine (optional)

More Chicken Thigh Recipes

Serve with Tossed Salad.

• Greek Chicken Thighs on the Grill
• Creamy Chicken Thighs with Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Italian Roasted Chicken Thighs with Roasted Tomatoes
• Italian Roasted Chicken Thighs with Peppers and Onions

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Chicken with Tomatoes and Potatoes

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Keyword chicken thighs

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion
• 2 bell peppers peppers
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 2 cups potatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 can San Marzano Tomatoes see notes
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine Optional
• fresh thyme, basil or parsley Can use 1 teaspoon dried herbs

Instructions

• Season chicken breasts with salt.
• Heat oil in dutch oven or (to brown chicken thighs). Add chicken thighs and brown on each side, 3 to 4 minutes each side. Remove and set aside.
• Chop peppers and onions (and fennel if using) into large dice or large bite side pieces. Peel garlic. Leave cloves whole.
• In same dutch oven, add onion, peppers, and saute for five minutes. Add garlic cloves. Saute for one minute.
• Add chicken thighs. Crush tomatoes with hand and add to chicken. Add chicken broth. You will want enough liquid to cover the chicken by about 3 inches. Add more broth if needed. Add wine. Season again with more salt and pepper. Add in capers and any herbs you want.
• Cut potatoes into large chunks. I cut medium sized potatoes into quarters and I left skin on.
• After one hour, add potatoes and continue to cook for another hour. You may need to add more broth at this point.

Slow Cooker

• You can place everything in a slow cooker, once sauteed on low for four hours.

Notes

I  used a large can of San Marzano Tomatoes. You can replace with  tomato puree, crushed tomatoes. 

The post Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Tomatoes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

The key is to mix it up with lots of crunch and color from various cabbages, greens, colored bell peppers, snow peas and top it off with a very bright citrus ginger dressing. You can add peanuts or sliced almonds for added flavor.

When I first made this asian slaw, I took the time to shred Napa cabbage, but then realized a bag of angel hair slaw would save a lot of time and provide the same result. I also used a bag of broccoli slaw which has added carrots (more color). The only time consuming part of Asian Slaw will be doing thin slices of colored peppers and making a homemade dressing.

I highly recommend you make your own dressing, as it’s easy, fresh and won’t contain harmful seed oils like canola oil.

My Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing is full of flavor and jumps with brightness. I brought this salad to an Asian night potluck and it was a big hit. I kept hearing words like refreshing, flavorful, delicious.

The main components of the ingredients for Asian slaw are listed below. You can skip the nuts altogether or replace broccoli slaw with more napa cabbage or angel hair slaw. You can add in slivered carrots or finely chopped celery. I’ll leave that to you.

Main Components of Asian Slaw

• Large Napa Cabbage or Bag Angel Hair Slaw
• Broccoli Slaw (bag)
• Red and Yellow Bell Peppers
• Snow Peas or Snap Peas (optional)
• Scallions
• Peanuts or Sliced Almonds
• Sesame Seeds
• Cilantro or Thai Basil

Sesame Ginger Dressing Ingredients

• Fresh Knob of Ginger
• Shallots
• Tamari Sauce (or soy sauce)
• Garlic cloves
• Orange juice from fresh orange
• Lime Juice from fresh lime
• Rice Vinegar
• Sesame Oil
• Avocado Oil

How to Make this Slaw Turn into a Full Dinner

This slaw can be the base for grilled for the following poached shrimp, salmon, fish tacos, salmon tacos.

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Asian Slaw with Ginger Dressing

Asian Slaw with Ginger Dressing for a side or serve with a Protein

Course Salad and Salad Dressing

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Asian Slaw, Ginger Dressing

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 1 Napa Cabbage Or Bag Angel Hair Slaw
• 1 bag Broccoli Slaw
• 6 Scallions
• 1 cup snow peas or edamame optional
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Yellow Bell Pepper
• 1/3 cup Peanuts or Sliced Almonds
• 1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds optional

Ginger Dressing

• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons Freshly Grated Ginger (1 large knob)
• 1/2 orange
• 1 lime
• 4 tablespoons Rice Vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Tamari or Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
• 10 tablespoons Avocado Oil
• 1 large shallot
• 1 tablespoon fresh herb cilantro

Instructions

• Slice Bell Peppers into very thin slices. Slice scallions.
• Cook Snow Peas or Snap Peas and put on Ice to maintain color. You can serve them raw in the salad.
• If you are using Napa Cabbage, clean, rinse, dry and slice thinly.
• Put all cabbage and broccoli slaw in bowl. Add vegetables.
• Toss with dressing. You may not use all of the dressing or you may need more. For best flavor dress a few hours ahead and refrigerate.
• Add Peanuts and a sprinkling of cilantro right before serving.

Ginger Dressing

• Grate a large knob of ginger.
• Mince garlic.
• Finely chop shallot.
• Put vinegar, Tamari sauce (or soy sauce) and honey Into a jar Add garlic, ginger and shallots.
• Add juice from orange and lime.
• Add avocado oil and sesame oil and give a good shake.
• You may choose to add more of any Ingredient according to your taste.

The post Asian Slaw Recipe, Ginger Dressing appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

How’s your August settling in? Is it time yet for a nice hot spicy cajun stew with shrimp and bacon?

The twins are doing school here for a few weeks in rooms upstairs, and the more they work, the more I feel like cooking something for Spinach Tiger that has tons of flavor, is even better left over.

I spend a lot of time baking, and sometimes forget I am still a cook who loves savory food more than sweets.

Just to give you an example of the day in the life of Spinach Tiger, today I baked three chocolate cakes for the home keto bakery, a blueberry galette for the twins, a torta bianca caprese for the blog, (an Italian lemon cake coming here soon).  Then I excitedly made this cajun cauliflower rice, shrimp and bacon dish for dinner, which was my favorite of the day!

A Peak Behind the Blog 

Before I start cooking or baking, I get up early to write Spinach Tiger and do blog management. At 8:30 Monday through Friday, I host a prayer call for 45 minutes and head to the gym. We are in week 22, and it has been the secret sauce to staying happy in what we could call challenging times.

We have been able to handle the changes with a little extra grace because the prayer, which has been like having a meeting with Jesus every day, has been bringing us peace. It also does something else. It gives us back control. We believe prayer changes things and we believe things don’t change for good without it. Over this twenty two weeks, we have prayed for everything you can imagine and these prayers all point to a healing for our nation, emotionally, physically, spiritually.

I’m especially concerned for those who don’t have enough to eat, who can’t figure out what to do about their kids and school, and who have teenagers who are facing serious loneliness.  The teen years  are the years where people break from parents and form bonds with peers. It’s an important developmental step and missing this socializing is causing depression. These are the things I think about when I’m cooking and when I’m praying.

If you’ve read this far, there is a bonus for you. If you have prayer needs, please let me know. All I need is a first name and my prayer partners and I will cover you. You can leave a comment or email me at angela@spinachtiger.com.

I could go on and on about this but you’re here for dinner and I understand that. It’s just that sometimes I like to give you a peak behind the blog into the person that is so passionate about big fat healthy cooking and baking.

I want to encourage you to find a way to survive these changes in this new life we are all leading.

Keto Shrimp Creole with Cauliflower Rice

This is really a hybrid dish between creole and jambalaya.

Like a creole dish, it’s tomato based, but like a jambalaya the rice (cauliflower rice) is cooked in the sauce.  When using a cauliflower rice, it’s best to let it cook away in the sauce and soak up the flavors.

Like many cajun dishes, it starts with the holy trinity,  green bell pepper, onion, and celery. Creole spices, hot sauce, herbs, and fire-roasted tomatoes round out the dish.

The Tomatoes

The second time I made this I only had my favorite Cento San Marzano Tomatoes and we actually liked the dish better.

The shrimp is added at the last five minutes, ensuring the tenderness of the shrimp.

It takes about twenty minutes to prep, and about 30 minutes to cook. It’s an easy dinner that tastes like you took hours in the kitchen.

You can prep your veggies and your shrimp ahead of time, which will make this a tasty 30-minute dish during the week.

We LOVED this dish, and I mean LOVED!

My Favorite Go to Ingredients for a Keto Diet

I use the organic chicken broth and organic cauliflower rice from Costco. I like the frozen shrimp  from Trader Joe’s. which is are peeled and deveined.

Play Around with Recipe

The next night we added andouille sausage to the left overs, making it more like a creole jambalaya.

Nutrition for Keto Shrimp Creole

There are about 8 net carbs per serving.

More Cauliflower Rice Dinners from Spinach Tiger

Five Shepherd’s Pie Recipes with Cauliflower Mash

Chicken and Cauliflower Rice

Skillet Cheesesteak with Cauliflower

Mustard Roasted Spatchcock Chicken with Whole Roased Cauliflower

More Keto Shrimp Recipes Ideas

Italian Spicy Shrimp with  Zucchini

Keto Shrimp and Scallops in Wine Butter Sauce

Shrimp Scampi

Spicy Shrimp in Onion Tomato Sauce

Shrimp Avocado Salad

More Big Fat Healthy Shrimp Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Keto Shrimp Creole

Shrimp, Bacon, Cauliflower Rice and a big boost of cajun flavor

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword bacon, shrimp, red caulifower rice,

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 7 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Equipment

• Dutch Oven (if using this option)

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 1 cup onion diced
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic diced
• 1 28 ounce large can San Marzano Italian tomatoes or 2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons creole spice
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups boxed chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 sprigs thyme can use 1 teaspoon dried
• 3 cups cauliflower rice
• 1 pound shrimp peeled, deveined
• 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce optional

Instructions

• Fry bacon in frying pan until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside. Keep bacon grease.
• Add diced green bell pepper, diced onion, diced celery to bacon grease. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add garlic. Sauté for a minute, stirring into the vegetables.
• Add tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, broth, bay leaf, thyme sprigs, creole seasoning, hot sauce, cauliflower rice, salt, pepper.
• Cook for 45 minutes. You can put on a very low simmer at this point and cook up to two hours.
• Once cauliflower is cooked through and broth is reduced by half, add shrimp, and cook for five minutes. Shrimp should be cooked through, but still tender.
• Garnish with chopped parsley.

Notes

Since I first wrote the recipe, I made a second batch replacing the diced tomatoes with a large can of San Marzano Tomatoes, and we actually liked it better. However, both ways work well.

The post Keto Shrimp Creole with Red (Cauliflower) Rice appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I use my roasting trick of salting for a day or more in the refrigerator and then baking at a high heat. The green pepper, onions and potato will go in after ten minutes. You can salt the chicken pieces up to three days, but the prep time is no more than ten minutes, making this an elegant fast food, appropriate for any season or occasion.

You can also make Italian Baked Chicken in a Sheet pan

I’ve made this in a sheet pan at times also. Just add either potatoes or turnips and green peppers after about ten minutes.

Even eaten at room temperature it’s a winner, so feel free to take this to the next potluck. (Just cut the breasts in half or make it with thighs only).

To save money, I usually buy a Publix Greenwise whole chicken or a Whole Foods Belle Evans Air Chilled chicken, and have the butcher cut it into 10 pieces. I don’t serve the backs; they are the chef’s private snack.

You can also choose to freeze those and save for chicken stock.  he butcher will ask you how you want your chicken cut. I always get the 10 pieces. When you get home and find the breasts too large, you can cut those in half.

Use a green bell pepper when baking chicken or braising chicken. The green bell pepper sometimes gets a bad rap, because it’s often served too raw, but it is the best pepper for flavoring chicken when roasting, braising or baking.

There is a slightly different flavor than a red bell pepper and when married with onion, and a little garlic, it creates a perfect medley, yet it doesn’t take over the dish and is so good with roasted potatoes.

Baked chicken pieces make for great leftovers.

I will purposely make a lot of chicken in pieces, so I can have a good protein lunch for the next few days, and each piece can be frozen separately.

Chicken Za’atar with Charred Lemons and Turnips

Grain Free Chicken Parm with Pepperoni

Cast Iron Roasted Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes

Roasted Chicken with Peppers, Onions

Low Carb Chicken Picatta

Low Carb Chicken and Cauliflower Rice 

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Italian Healthy Baked Chicken Recipe

Italian style roast chicken with potatoes, peppers, onions, and fresh herbs makes for a very healthy dinner.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 chicken cut into 10 pieces or any combination of pieces you prefer.
• 1 onion cut into slices
• 4 garlic cloves whole
• 1 bell pepper cut into strips
• Two tablespoons fresh herbs rosemary or thyme work well
• 2 medium sized potatoes peeled, cut into large cubes or wedges
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil

Instructions

• Salt chicken pieces, wrap in plastic for 1 to 3 days
• Remove chicken, rinse off in cold water, pat dry with paper towels.
• Season with salt and pepper and allow to sit out for 30 minutes before baking.
• Preheat oven to 425
• Warm pan in oven for 5 minutes before placing chicken in.
• Place chicken in pan, skin side down and bake for 10 minutes
• Toss garlic, onion, potato and pepper strips with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper.
• Add in peppers, onions, potatoes.
• After another 10 to 15 minutes, turn chicken pieces over. Continue to bake for another ten minutes until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear.

Notes

Use any combination of fresh herbs such as sage, rosemary, parsley, thyme. Two tablespoons if fresh, 2 teaspoons if dried.

The post Italian Healthy Baked Chicken Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Truth be told, this soup was an accident. I made eggplant stew this summer when the eggplants and tomatoes were sold fresh at the farmer’s market. I felt lazy, but wanted to do something special and comforting with the eggplant.

Italian Eggplant Soup can be make in a crockpot or dutch oven.

I did what I always do, cutting and salting. I then just put tomatoes, red bell pepper, onions, and eggplant in a dutch oven and let it simmer for hours. You could also put this in a crockpot. This montage of vegetables developed into an outstanding eggplant stew, creating an umami type taste, because we could not stop eating it.

I love this oval dutch oven from Lodge. I make so many wonderful dishes in it.

On a whim, I took the leftovers and put them in the Vitamix and made a thick soup, then added Italian sausage. This hit all the notes of Italian comfort food! If you don’t have the fresh tomatoes, use San Marzano Tomatoes in a can.

You will love this soup and you’ll be sad when it’s gone! Make this soup on a cold, wintry day and, because it takes time in the crock pot or dutch oven, make this gluten free french bread to go with it. It only takes an hour start to stop!

You might also like my Pork Panko (Grain Free) Eggplant Parmesan.

You might also love this

Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

More Italian Recipes from Spinach Tiger

More Eggplant Recipes from Spinach Tiger

More Soup Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Eggplant Soup with Sausage

Eggplant Tomato Soup with Sausage, a hearty yet healthy meal. You can choose to make this vegetarian and skip the sausage.

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 2 eggplants peeled cut into large cubes
• 2 large cans San Marzano Tomatoes about 6 cups
• 1 bell pepper seeded, sliced thinly, lengthwise
• 1 onion chopped
• fresh basil
• 2 links Italian Sausage or 1/2 pound loose sausage

Instructions

• Chop tomatoes. Set aside. Keep the juice.
• Heat olive oil in a large pot.
• If using a dutch oven on top of the stove, heat olive oil and soften garlic. Add onion and saute for a minute or so just to add flavor to the oil.
• Add the rest of the ingredients.
• Place in crock pot on low for six hours or longer.
• Or, Cook on very low for three hours, until all the eggplant is very soft.
• While eggplant stew is cooking, make sausage. You can either fry or bake in oven until cooked through.
• Cut sausage into discs.Optionally, you could use loose sausage.
• Put ¾ eggplant stew into a vitamix or use an immersion blender. You can blend all of it if you desire.
• Add sausage.
• Serve with fresh herbs and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

The post Italian Eggplant Soup with Italian Sausage appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

For the next few hours, the vision of a watermelon gazpacho danced in my head. I could see pretty colors, and taste refreshing combinations of tomato, melon and cucumber. The weather was a crisp 99 degrees F. and as I was putting my farmer’s market bounty away, I realized I a cut up watermelon staring at me, a half cucumber and of  some summer tomatoes.

As if genies gathered in my kitchen, a watermelon gazpacho was poured into a bowl, and I was happy.

This is gazpacho blended a bit more smoothly, although I still prefer it chunkier.

The first thing I did was research watermelon gazpacho. I have a good tomato gazpacho here, but adding watermelon is another story.

When I returned home, I had that watermelon gazpacho on my mind. What are the chances of me just happening to have al the ingredients on hand? Don’t you love when things like that happen?

Easy Recipe for Watermelon Gazpacho Depends on the Freshest Ingredients

This recipe for watermelon gazpacho is straight away simple, as long as you have the freshest, sweetest ingredients. This is a soup that requires farmer’s market tomatoes and sweet, ripe watermelon. Go gently on the cucumber, which has a penchant to dominate a dish.

When you add in your peppers, go with what makes you happy. I’m not a fan of raw, green bell pepper, as red bell pepper is sweeter. I also used a serrano.

I was gentle with the vinegar, but keep in mind that the vinegar taste will subside.

Sit back and relax, cool off with this delicious soup.

This is not the first time Spinach Tiger did something unique with watermelon. Check out these recipes.

Grilled Watermelon with Scallops

Grilled Blackberry Watermelon with Lavender Sea Salt

Please let me know how you make watermelon a little bit differently. I’d love to hear about it.

More Watermelon Recipes from Spinach Tiger

More Fruit Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Recipe for Watermelon Gazpacho

Refreshing Summer Soup, using summer's freshest ingredients.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 minute minute

Total Time 16 minutes minutes

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 cups watermelon
• 1 large fresh tomato
• 1 serrano pepper diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper diced
• 4 slices cucumber
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or to taste
• vegetables reserved for garnish
• Fresh herbs such as mint for garnish
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

• Reserve some of the chopped watermelon, tomato, pepper for garnish.
• Put ingredients into a blender. Pulse to get the texture you like. I left my texture on the chunky side.

The post Recipe for Watermelon Gazpacho appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I got this new Le Creuset in Marine blue for my birthday, and I couldn’t wait to use it. This is a five quart braiser and it’s perfect to first brown meat and then put it in the oven.

Why is this combination of peppers and onions taste so good with Italian roasted chickens thigh

The onions caramelize. The peppers melt and the vegetables make their own sauce. The Italian roasted chicken thighs become so tender, when you eat the chicken as a full bite with some of those veggies, it melts in your mouth.

Roasted Chicken thighs are awesome with a medley of bell peppers, onions and garlic. If you added nothing else, this would still be that dish you will hope has enough for leftovers! I’m not sure why there aren’t more dishes with roasted peppers, but there needs to be.

Once the peppers cook down and the onions caramelize, the flavors will be incredible. I only used three large peppers for this dish, but feel free to use more peppers and lots of onions and garlic. You might think you’re starting with too many peppers, but they will reduce down.

You can feel free to enjoy each tender, juicy bite. Instead of potatoes, I used low-carb, purple-top turnips. If you’re not familiar with turnips, you might be interested in this post. 

I used herbs de provence for the herbs and finished with a bit of fresh Italian parsley. You can use fresh rosemary and thyme.

Sometimes I included Italian sausage, sometimes I didn’t. I threw them in raw and they cooked away, swimming in those great flavors. At any rate, the sausage can be part of tomorrow’s lunch!

We love chicken thighs in this house.

Mediterranean Chicken Thigh with Olives

Tumeric Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

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Italian Chicken Thighs with Peppers, Onions

Chicken thighs roasted in the oven with peppers and onions.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• avocado oil
• 4 chicken thighs
• 2 drumsticks or more thighs
• 2 Italian Sausage links see notes
• 1 large Vidalia onion
• 3 large bell peppers of various colors see notes
• 8 cloves of garlic
• 2 turnips peeled and cut into quarters or smaller (or potatoes)
• 1 teaspoon or more of herbs de provence
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

• Salt chicken thighs for one hour, leaving out at room temperature if you have time.
• Heat oil in large frying pan. Brown chicken on medium high until the skin is browned. I do this because the skin doesn’t get as crispy in the oven. This will aid in that.
• Clean out pan if this is the pan you are using to roast. A big cast iron braiser, roasting pan, or sheet pan will also work.
• Slice onions, medium thickness about 1/4 inch.
• Seed and slice peppers into strips.
• Peel garlic cloves.
• Layer the onions, peppers, chicken. The juice from the chicken will fall into the vegetables.
• Add garlic cloves whole.
• If adding sausage, add in raw sausage links.
• Add turnips.
• Add olives.
• Bake at 375 degrees F. for 45 -60 minutes until the sausage and onions are caramelized.

Notes

You don’t have to include Italian sausage to make this dish. We don’t always do that, but it’s really awesome if you do.

As far as peppers and onions, you can add more. They will cook down considerably.

The post Italian Roasted Chicken Thighs with Peppers, Onions appeared first on Spinach Tiger.