Home Grown Meal: Avocado Smoothie

A powerful way to start your day or enjoy as I did, post workout. Packed with flavor and with a silky smooth texture. This is one of my favorite ways to get a quick and healthy snack/meal in.

This smoothie is super savory and is great for lunchtime.

 

 Avocado Smoothie 

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                  Powerful green smoothie to start your day

1 each, ripe Avocado

1 stalk Celery, large chunks

1/4 English cucumber, large chunks

1 handful Kale, stemmed and torn in large pieces

1 1/2 cups Almond Milk, Unsweetened

Optional: 1 teaspoon raw honey

 

• Make sure all veggies are scrubbed and clean
• Remove pit from avocado and meat from the skin
• Fill blender with kale, celery, cucumber, Almond milk, and avocado
• Blend smooth: I used a Nutribullet and it works beautifully.

 

This smoothie would also be great with the addition of Flax seeds, Nut and Seed butters, Chia Seeds, Nuts, more veggies and also fruits.

 

Enjoy!

-Chef Sean Patrick Gallagher

#365healthyliving

Home-Grown Meal: Chicken Scarpiello

I spent the last few days in Connecticut with my lovely family cooking, eating, and catching up. It was so much fun and my father wanted to spend some time cooking together. He had seen a Chef on TV make Chicken Scarpiello and he wanted to try it out. My Aunt Nancy makes a delicious Chicken Scarpiello, so rich and so spicy, its incredible! I wanted to make a version that was a little less fatty and eliminate the use of flour. I removed the chicken skin and fat from the dish and used cornstarch to coat the chicken in place of flour. The result was a less greasy dish with a very clean tasting flavor. It was absolutely delicious and spoke for itself. This is bound to be a new family favorite and I hope you try it out! It seems like a lot of work, but it was actually very quick and easy. It was so much fun cooking with my father and eating with the family. (Sorry for such low quality photos! Didn’t think I’d be sharing this post but have had so many people ask for the recipe!!!!) 🙂

 

Chicken Scarpiello

8-12 skinless, bone-in chicken pieces, thigh, legs, breast

6-8 hot Italian sausage links

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cornstarch for coating

1/2 cup olive oil

10 garlic cloves, sliced paper thin

Fresh oregano, leaves picked

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups dry white wine

3 red bell peppers, sliced thin lengthwise

2 Spanish onions, sliced paper thin

8 oz hot cherry peppers in liquid

Optional: Sliced cremini mushrooms

• Remove all skin from chicken pieces and remove any cartilage and fat
• Caramelize onions until nice and brown, add peppers and garlic at the end and cook until just softened
• Cook mushrooms on high separately and cook until browned
• Roast hot Italian sausages until browned evenly and cooked though
• Once the sausages are cooked and cooled, slice into pieces
• Get a saute pan hot, add oil
• Dip each chicken piece in seasoned cornstarch and coat evenly. Shake off excess
• Place into hot oil and continue to do so until each piece is coated and browned on both sides
• Remove chicken pieces and place in baking dishes
• Remove oil from the pan and add white wine and chicken stock, cook on high for several minutes to cook out raw wine flavor
• Scatter caramelized onions, garlic, peppers, hot peppers, picked oregano leaves, and mushrooms over chicken
• Place pieces of sausage throughout the pan evenly
• Season everything with salt and pepper
• Pour wine and chicken stock mix over everything evenly
• Cover pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes covered
• Remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes at 400 degrees to brown everything
• Remove and enjoy!

 

You can eat this with rice, spaghetti squash, or roasted potatoes. If you eat pasta you can enjoy it with that as well. 🙂

 

#Chef Approved – “Sweet Sunshine Sauce”

Hello all! I wanted to share a product I have come to love, “Sweet Sunshine Sauces.”

“Sweet Sunshine” is an award winning line of gourmet sauces. They have six flavors that are all natural, vegan, gluten, preservative, extract, and fat free. They work as condiments, glazes, or as a delicious finishing sauce.”

Photo Credit: SweetSunshine.com

Sweet Sauce

An ancho chile based sauce, this is the most mild of them all. It’s great as a dipping sauce or used as a marinade.

Photo Credit: SweetSunshine.com

Warm Sauce

Habanero and Cayenne based sauce, it has a great smokiness and chile flavor.

Photo Credit: SweetSunshine.com

Roasted Shallot & Garlic

My favorite of the line, it’s the same as the “Warm” sauce but blended with caramelized shallots and garlic. It’s has the richest flavor, in my opinion.

Photo Credit: SweetSunshine.com

Jamaican Jerk

This sauce is hot and has so much going on. Jerk seasoning from St. Ann, Jamaica, W.I. as well as scotch bonnet peppers and scallions. It’s a very flavorful sauce. I used it as a marinade for chicken thighs along with honey for added sweetness and it was delicious. So hot it made me sweat.

Photo Credit: SweetSunshine.com

Hot Sauce

A blend of ancho and Red Savina Habanero chilies. This sauces is FIERY. Perfect for the person in your life that likes the burn!

Photo Credit: SweetSunshine.com

Atomic Sauce

This sauce is crazy hot as it’s name might lead you to believe. A few drops on top of braised meats or on Tex-mex food is all you need to ignite your mouth. Too intense to cook with in my opinion, this one is for the real pepper-heads out there.

I chose my favorite sauce to make a recipe with. I loved the flavor of the Roasted Shallot & Garlic sauce so I developed this lean- healthy meatloaf recipe. The granny smith apple and currants add sweetness while the pine nuts give some needed fat and flavor. The Sweet Sunshine “Roasted Shallot & Garlic” Sauce shines in this dish and comes through with a great spice level. This meatloaf would be perfect over a bed of fresh lettuces or with some cauliflower couscous or sweet potato puree.

Roasted Shallot & Garlic Turkey Meatloaf

Roasted Shallot & Garlic Turkey Meatloaf

1.5 pounds ground turkey breast (You can also use ground turkey thigh, for more richness)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 white onion, minced

1 granny smith apple, small dice

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup currants

2 T finely ground almond meal

1 large egg, beaten

3 T Ketchup, divided

1/2 cup Sweet Sunshine Roasted Shallot & Garlic Sauce, divided

1/2 t kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Roasted Shallot & Garlic Turkey Meatloaf

• In a skillet, cook onions until caramelized, add garlic, thyme, and apples.
• Continue to cook until the apples have begun to caramelize. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Stir in toasted pine nuts and currants.
• In a bowl mix together egg, 1/2 of the Sweet Sunshine Roasted Shallot & Garlic Sauce, 2 T ketchup, salt & pepper, and almond meal.
• Mix turkey meat into sauce mixture, when combined add sauteed apple mixture.
• In bottom of a loaf pan, add the remaining Sweet Sunshine Roasted Shallot & Garlic Sauce and the remaining ketchup, mix to combine.
• Pack the meatloaf mix on top of the sauce, pat to make sure there’s no air pocket.
• Bake at 375º for 45 minutes. Insert a knife to make sure that the loaf is cooked all the way through.
• Allow to cool for 5 minutes and invert. The sauce will be caramelized on top.
• Allow 5-10 minutes for the meatloaf to redistribute its juices and then you can slice to eat.

Roasted Shallot & Garlic Turkey Meatloaf

For more information about Sweet Sunshine and ordering info:

Website: Sweetsunshine.com

Telephone: (860) 567-3529

One 10oz bottle runs for $6.99. It really is a great product and different kind of condiment for sandwiches, wraps, marinades for different proteins, dips, and burgers. You should definitely check it out, because it is #ChefApproved.

Cheers

Chef Sean Patrick Gallagher

Quick and Easy: Green Shake

One of my favorite things to make either in the morning or for a boost throughout the day is a shake. Blending together fresh ingredients gives me a nutritious and filling snack/meal.

My favorite Green Shake is inspired by my dear friend Margaret Lunetta who turned me on to the Paleo lifestyle.

Here is a modification of Margaret’s delicious shake.

Green Shake:

2 Bananas, peeled and cut in chunks
2 large handfuls of washed Spinach
2 heaping tablespoons of Cashew butter
1/2 cup Almond milk
1 teaspoon raw honey

Preperation

Blend smooth, with ice if you prefer. If you like it thinner you can add more almond milk.

The flavor of this drink is intoxicating and I love to have it several days a week. It gives me a boost of energy and satisfies hunger.

Hope you enjoy this quick post/recipe!

Cheers

Sean Patrick Gallagher

Quick and Easy: Turkey Chili with Chipotle and Black Beans

Turkey Chili with Spaghetti Squash

I have recently cut gluten and dairy out of my everyday diet and am on a mission to improve my overall health and wellness. In changing my diet, I have had to teach myself to do things that I I’ve always known I needed to do but ignored with my busy schedule. Time is the one thing we all never have enough of, so I have begun to plan my meals out a week in advance and make things that will work for multiple meals.
Any kind of meat chili is a great meal, high in protein, satisfying and hearty, as well as low fat. When you make your own you can control the levels of salt and fat that are added to it. I also love making chili because it’s something that you can throw together, put on a timer, and walk away. This recipe would also work great in a slow cooker.

Turkey Chili with Spaghetti Squash

Turkey Chili with Chipotle and Black Beans

2 pounds 95% lean ground Turkey
1 large Spanish onion, diced small
6 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 cubanelle peppers, diced small
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can home-style Chipotle sauce
1 bottle dark beer ( I used a black & tan)
1 T McCormick hot smoked paprika
2 t McCormick ground cumin
1 T McCormick Mexican oregano
1 t McCormick Roasted Coriander
2 cans low sodium black beans

Preparation:

• In a large heavy bottom pot, add 1 T of olive oil.
• Saute onion, garlic, and peppers on medium high heat until softened.
• Add ground turkey and break up meat with a wooden spoon.
• Continue cooking until turkey is cooked through.
• Add your McCormick spices, stir to combine and cook for several minutes to open up spices.
• Add dark beer and cook until beer reduces by half.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add chipotle sauce and crushed tomatoes, stir to combine.
• Add black beans and stir to combine.
• Cover with lid and let cook on low heat for 30-45 minutes.
• Taste chili and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
• The chili should be thick, spicy, have a good heat, and slight bitterness from the beer.
• If you like it slightly sweet, you can add 1 T brown sugar when you add the tomatoes.

Such an easy, healthy, and satisfying meal. I like to serve with spaghetti squash, which is so simple to make and such a great exchange for a starch side. It would be delicious topped with avocado, cilantro, and some fresh squeezed lime juice. If you are a very strict paleo, you can omit the black beans of course and bulk it up with some more veggies. 🙂

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

• Take a spaghetti squash and cut it in half long ways.
• Use a spoon to remove all seeds from the squash.
• Place both pieces on a sheet pan and add some water to the bottom of the pan to create a moist cooking environment.
• Season both with salt and pepper.
• Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
• Remove and use a fork to scrape the long strands of squash from the peel.
• You can eat it just like spaghetti, saute it or mix with a sauce.
• If you have really large ones, you will need to cook longer.

Cheers and enjoy this healthy and delicious recipe!

– Chef Sean Patrick Gallagher

Turkey Chili with Spaghetti Squash