- Mexican Meatloaf with Jalapeño Lime Cream Sauce -

Tonight was one of those nights where I just stared into my fridge trying to decided what to make for dinner- which would also be my main meal for the next couple days. I really wanted to make something simple, but something I've not made before... something simple with ground beef. Simple for me would be meatloaf. And it's flavorful & healthy. But I didn't want traditional meatloaf. I wanted something with character. With spice. I though for a second about how I could change it up and, A-ha! Mexican spice meatloaf. As I was getting the ingredients out of the fridge for that, I saw a carton of jalapeños I needed to use. Immediately I remembered the jalalpeño mushroom cream sauce I came up with a couple months ago that topped a quesadilla I had made. Though this time I didn't want a mushroom sauce so I decided to omit the mushrooms and add lime juice instead. 

Satisfied with my plan for dinner I got to making the meatloaf and while it was in the oven I made another test batch of brownies. :) I think this is my 5th test batch in a week to figure out how to make a delish grain-free, sugar-free brownie without following someone else's recipe. It's more challenging than I anticipated. Good thing I like challenges!

Anyway, back to the meatloaf- when it was done cooking, I poured some of the drippings into a skillet and made the jalapeño lime cream sauce. While that was simmering I cut a green bell pepper and half an avocado, plated them with the meatloaf slices and then topped it with the lovely sauce.

I was really excited to try this and didn't want to take the time to take pictures, but I shot one with my phone just in case this meal was blog-worthy. This photo below was, like, 30 seconds before I ate the meal all up. It was SO good. I could eat this everyday!

The meatloaf itself was tender, moist, rich, and filling- but not heavy. And the sauce complimented it wonderfully: a subtly flavored sauce that blended well with the spices in the meatloaf. The avocado added more richness and creaminess while the green peppers added a nice fresh crunch. What a tasty and simple to prepare meal. This will now be a staple meal for me. As it is full of super healthy fats and protein, while being low in carbs and is grain-free. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Mexican Meatloaf

• 1 ½ lbs grass-fed ground beef
• 2 organic eggs, beaten
• ¾ c blanched almond flour
• ½ onion, finely chopped• ½ green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1 ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ⅛ tsp cayenne [or more to taste]
• ½ tsp oregano
• 1 tsp real salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

- Preheat oven to 360º
- Mix all ingredients well.
- Place in loaf pan and bake for 40 mins.
- Let cool in pan at least 10 minutes.
- Slice and serve with jalapeno lime cream sauce.

Jalapeño Lime Cream Sauce

• 1 c water
• ½ c organic heavy cream
• 3 tbsp plain organic yogurt Or organic sour cream
• 3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped [save seeds from 1 pepper]
• juice from half a large lime or a whole small one

- Add everything into a pan and simmer for about 10-15 minutes stirring frequently.
- When sauce thickens and jalapeño pieces soften, it’s ready.
- Serve over Mexican Meatloaf  or any other dish you’d like and enjoy! :)

*As always, If you try this [or any!] recipe, please come back here and let me know. I'd love to hear how you liked it or any changes you made. :)

- Fried Zucchini with a Creamy Dipping Sauce -

Howdy! I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. I sure did!
I've not posted recently because I've been out of town. But I'm back and ready to get you some recipes and more great info.
Onto today's post:


  I love fried things. I always have. Thankfully, though, I don't really crave them anymore. But a couple weeks ago, for whatever reason, I wanted to try my hand at making fried onions. They were ok. Tasted good because they were fried, but nothing much to look at. So I decided to try making fried zucchini instead. And it worked SO well. Much better than the onions. I am quite excited about it... not that I fry things regularly. But I'm glad that I have a solid go-to recipe if something needs frying. [Tonight I'm going to try making fried mozzarella sticks with fresh mozzarella from Trader Joe's. And I just devoured a whole pan of baked kale chips!] :)

Anyway, after I made the fried zucchini I realized that I didn't have anything to dip it in- it's been so long since I've eaten a dipping sauce. But one can't eat fried zucchini without a sauce! So I peered into my fridge to find things I could whip together real quick. And I mean real quick! I didn't want the warm zucchini to get cold and soggy. So a little bit of this, a little bit of that in the blender and next thing I know I have a creamy, delicious dipping sauce for my delectable fried zucchini. Woo!

I know it's not hard to fry something up, but here's the recipe I came up with in case you're interested. The recipe for the dipping sauce follows.

Fried Zucchini

• 1/2 c. refined almond oil, for frying [Can use coconut oil or macadamia nut oil. If you use unrefined coconut oil, it will taste like coconut. I'd use refined. Do not use olive oil or butter.]
• 1/2 large zucchini, sliced in french fry strips
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 c. blanched almond flour

• 1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese [finely grate]

• pinch salt & pepper
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• couple shakes of garlic powder

- In a small bowl, beat egg.
- In medium bowl add all dry ingerdients and mix together.
- Heat almond oil in skillet until a drop of water sizzles.
- Place a couple strips of zucchini at a time into egg, then into flour mixture and toss to coat.
- After first coat of flour, place zucchini pieces back into egg mixture and then coat again in flour  mixture.
- Place coated zucchini in oil and fry about 5 minutes each side. Or until deep golden brown.
-Drain on paper towel.
Serve immediately.

[I got the idea to add parmesan cheese from Maria over at Nutritious and Delicious blog. But this is my own recipe.]

Dipping Sauce

• 1/4 c. cottage cheese
• 1 tbsp cream cheese
• 2 1/2 tbsp organic chicken stock [make sure no sugars or oils are added to it]
• 3/4 tsp dijon mustard
• dash garlic powder
• pinch salt & pepper [to taste]
• 1/8 tsp xanthan gum [optional, makes it a little thicker]

- In blender or food processor blend all ingredients until smooth.
- Pour into serving dish and let set in the fridge for a few minutes.
- Serve with fried zucchini, fresh veggies, chicken, etc.

**If you try either of these recipes out, please come back and let me know how you liked them or if you altered them and how they turned out. Thanks!

-Enjoy eating-