Category: Recipes

I wish I was that mom who cooks homemade spaghetti sauce from scratch and lets it simmer all day on the stove while the whole house gets engulfed in yummy smells as the anticipation for dinner builds, but I’m just not. I just don’t really have the time, I am always running in and out of the house (and I assume leaving your stove on when you are not home is frowned upon?) and I just don’t think that far ahead these days. That’s why I am a big ol’ cheater and use jarred marina sauce for this “recipe”. I do dress it up a little with some spices, but for the most part, I just let that jar of red goodness do it’s job. Also, “recipe” is a generous term because this is more like a “throw whatever you want in a pot and go with it” sort of situation. It’s easy, it’s delicious, my kids will actually eat it and it’s great leftover. This is yummy to eat alone or over pasta or zoodles.

This comes together in about 20-30 min if you’re in a pinch, but if you want to let it simmer longer, you can definitely do that too!

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground Italian sausage
1/2 large onion
8 oz sliced mushrooms, chopped smaller if you prefer
2 medium zucchini, chopped*
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, more to taste

1) Brown the sausage and onions over medium-high heat breaking up the sausage.
2) Add the mushrooms and zucchini and stir occasionally as they soften.
3) Season with Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
4) Add the marinara, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for at least 5  min, but up to 30 min.
6) Top with a little parmesan if you’d like and stuff your face!

*You can leave the zucchini out and spiralize them for zoodles instead and pour the sauce over top.

Things have been a little quiet over here for the past week on butter+blush. My family has had such a fun week with Halloween, my girls’ 3rd birthday, a friend visiting, a big grilling party at our house, a night out to celebrate my 30th coming up and then Monday night, I started feeling sick. Womp, womp. Too much fun and too many late nights and my body said NOPE. I guess this is what being 30 is like. So here I am nursing myself back to health with hot tea and *ding, ding, ding* this chicken soup!

This is one of my favorite soups ever. It’s creamy, hearty and full of flavor, but it’s a little on the indulgent side for my current lifestyle. I decided to use that recipe as a spring board to create a soup that doesn’t pack the high carb and fat content and I’m really pleased with how this turned out. If you find yourself feeling like junk, then I highly recommend whipping this up. Or even if you don’t feel like junk and you want something full of veggies and flavor, then that’s a good reason too. If you’re dairy-free, I think substituting a milk alternative would be just fine, but you could also leave the dairy out all together and adjust the seasoning a bit so it’s not too salty.

Ingredients:

2 TBS avocado oil
2 TBS butter
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cups cooked chicken*
1 1/2 TBS chicken powder
32 oz chicken broth
1.5 TBS Herbs de Provence
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 bay leaves
1 TBS parsley
1.5 cups whole milk, half and half or heavy whipping cream

1) Heat the butter and oil over medium high heat. Add the veggies and cook, stirring often, until crisp tender.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients, crank the heat up to high and bring to a boil.

3) Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 min.

4) Taste and adjust seasoning and add salt if necessary.

5) Cozy up and enjoy!

*You could use rotisserie chicken or leftover baked, grilled or boiled chicken. Chopped or shredded is fine.

Can you tell that I am full force into fall mode? It’s true. When the weather dips below 80, I’m gone and never look back. So here is another chili recipe not even 3 weeks after the last chili recipe. It’s just who I am.

Last night we were in a huge hurry to get to church for our small group meetings. I defrosted some ground beef the day before and needed to do something with it for dinner. I had VERY minimal ingredients available (my fridge is looking SAD) and only about 20 min to cook.

Here’s what I came up with.

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

4-5 Tbs Pioneer Woman’s Taco Seasoning (I make a large batch and keep it in an airtight container)

1 can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce

*optional toppings: additional chopped onion, shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole or fresh avocado, salsa

1) Brown ground beef and onion in a splash of oil on medium-high.

2) Sprinkle taco seasoning over the top and stir to combine.

3) Add can of tomato sauce. Stir occasionally while bringing to a simmer.

4) Turn the heat down and simmer on low for 5-10 min.

5) Serve hot with your choice of toppings. Enjoy!

*If you aren’t low carb, you could always add a can of beans (black, pinto or kidney would all work) and/or serve over rice.*

I am a straight sucker for soups and chili. I am guilty of making them in the dead of summer because I really like a one pot wonder type of dish…you know, something that doesn’t require extra sides to dress it up and is fantastic leftover! I want to be able to throw last night’s dinner in the microwave and have the easiest lunch ever. #mealprep, amiright?

As I’ve said before, I eat low carb/keto, so I needed figure out a way to enjoy one of my favorite dishes, white chicken chili, without the beans. I didn’t want it to be just meat and broth, so I decided I would subtract the beans and bulk it up with chopped zucchini instead. I made this for the first time sort of on a whim and didn’t have one of the key ingredients on hand – green chile. So being the creative genius that I am (ha!), I just took the jar of salsa I had in my fridge and used that instead. And guess what? Magic happened. I now have to make this in double batches because it disappears so quickly in our house. No kidding, I will double the recipe and it will still be gone within 3 days.

Also, if you can chop a vegetable, you can make this recipe. It is so straight forward and simple that from start to finish, you could have a hot bowl of chile ready in less than an hour. Get after it!

Ingredients:

1-1 1/2 lbs of ground chicken (or turkey…or pork…or a mixture of any of the three)
1/4 large onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup of salsa or chopped green chile
12 ounces chicken or veggie stock
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne *optional – if you use a spicy salsa, you might want to omit the cayenne
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1) Season meat and onion with garlic powder, salt and pepper and brown on medium high.
2) Add chopped zucchini, salsa, stock and spices and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and allow to simmer until zucchini is cooked through and tender.
3) Add sour cream and heavy whipping cream and heat through.
4) Serve hot and garnish with any of the following: shredded cheese, extra sour cream, sliced avocado, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, etc.