One thing I love about Fall, is comfort food and my roasted squash and beet salad is an all time fav. Even Scott, who doesn’t like goat cheese, gobbled this salad up. We served it with stuffed Portabella Mushrooms (I guess I’ll need to do that recipe next). Other than the time roasting the squash and beets, this salad can be whipped up in a matter of minutes.
Be sure to use Vermont Creamery Clover Blossom Honey goat cheese – it will make a big difference. Scott and I don’t like our goat cheese to be too “goaty” or tangy rather. This cheese is very smooth, a tad sweet and really pairs well with the other salad ingredients.
This salad is full of flavor, slightly nutty and sweet. Compliment it with stuffed portabella mushrooms for a complete meal. Be sure to only use Vermont Creamery Honey goat cheese.
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut beets in half. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes on a foil lined cookie sheet.
Dice & peel butternut squash into 1" pieces. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and add squash to the cookie sheet with beets. If you substitute butternut for another squash - check the cooking time.
Roast walnuts in a skillet for about 5 minutes until toasted.
Once beets and squash are tender, remove from oven to cool. Slice beets when cool.
Mix greens, onion, squash, beets and goat cheese with dressing. Top with walnuts.
Since Washington State has been on a shelter order since March 24, 2020, Scott and I have been trying to stay on the boat each weekend. It’s the only way we can stay sane these days.
Typically, I like to make simple and easy to prepare dinners when we’re on the boat, especially when the weather is nice. That’s because we typically are watching the sunset and I want to spend as much time upstairs enjoying the view, rather than cooking in the galley.
Have everything prepared ahead of time
Last weekend I decided to make one of my dad’s favorite meals – Asian marinated pork loin chops with stir fried veggies. This is super easy and if you have everything prepped ahead of time, then dinner will be ready in about 8 minutes.
Be sure to marinate the pork loin chops at least 4 hours. Another tip I have is, separate the cauliflower from the rest of the veggies. It will take the longest to cook, so start cooking it first.
This meal is so versatile that you can add or swap out any ingredient you wish.
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Asian Marinated Pork Chops with Stir Fried VeggiesYum
This is a family favorite dinner and very easy to prepare on a boat. The pork loin chops are super flavorful and the veggies offer an array of flavors and textures.
Mix all of the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Place pork chops in a ziplock bag and add marinade. Marinate for at least 4 hours and no more than 6.
These are best cooked on a grill. Light the grill to medium high and cook on each side about 3 minutes. You will want to start your veggies before the pork, as they will take a bit longer.
Stir Fried Veggies
In large saute pan, wok or skillet, heat the canola oil over high heat. Add cauliflower and cook for about 2- 3 minutes. Add all remaining veggies except water chestnuts and green scallion tops and stir frequently. Cook for about 5-6 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix soy sauce with sesame oil. Add to the skillet with water chestnuts and green scallion tops. Serve immediately.
With our BVI bareboat charter trip coming up, Scott and I have been trying to lose some weight. He recently watched a documentary about the infamous Keto Diet and decided we should try it. Since I love to cook, this would be an interesting change.
I don’t really miss the carbs, but it’s trying to find the replacement for them that can be difficult. We had decided a few weeks ago, to stay on the boat the first weekend of March because the weather looked great. Unfortunately, when the weekend arrived, the weather was CRAZY!
What do we prepare on a stormy night that is Keto friendly?
Normally I would bake some kind of pasta, but we needed something that was keto friendly. That’s when I decided to try and make zucchini lasagna. How hard can it be? Not hard at all.
How did it turn out? GREAT! The only issue is that zucchini is full water, so you really have to do your best to dry it out. Ours came out a bit watery, but it tasted amazing. Conclusion? Make it again, but let it sit for about 15 minutes to let it set up.
116 oz jarmarinara sauceWe use Mezzetta Homemade Italian Plum Tomato
Instructions
Using a sharp knife, slice the ends off of the zucchini. Holding the zucchini upright, slice thin pieces and lay on a paper towel. Lightly sprinkle salt on each piece.
While the zucchini is drying out, heat a skillet on medium high heat and add sausage, pork, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. After 5 minutes, add onion, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until browned. Remove from heat and drain any grease.
In a bowl, mix Parmesan, Mozzarella and Italian Seasoning. (in our video, I added them separately just to save a bowl)
Spray a 8" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray. Dab each zucchini slice with a paper towel to absorb any extra liquid. Begin layering the lasagna by placing zucchini slices on the bottom of the pan.
Add cooked meat, then sauce.
Layer with cheese.
Repeat layer. For the final top layer, arrange zucchini slices, top with sauce.
Top final layer with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Put a cookie under the pan, as it may over flow with liquid from the zucchini.
Let sit for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with a side salad.
Years ago, I went on a vegetarian diet for health reasons and found one of my favorite chili recipes. I’ve altered it with my own unique flavors and surprisingly, Scott loves it too.
This recipe is super easy to make, especially on a boat – during a wind storm! LOL. Be sure to follow the key points below, so your chili doesn’t get soggy.
There are all kinds of meat substitutes, especially today. I haven’t tried any of the new ones, like “Impossible burger”, but I do plan on it. We’ll let you know what we think. For this recipe, we use our favorite crumbles, which are from Morning Star. Be sure to not over cook the crumbles, or they will get mushy.
Recently, Scott and I made this recipe on the boat during a wind storm. It was perfect for our cozy winter night and we also baked corn bread to accompany it. Enjoy!
If you love corn and asparagus, you will love this salad! Last weekend, we invited our friend Randy over for dinner on the new boat. He brought his home dry-aged steaks, along with his sous vide cooker and this was a fantastic meal! It would be hard to have this cooker on the boat, as we are limited to space and storage. So it was a treat that he brought his from home.
When I’m cooking on a boat, space is so limited. While our new boat has a much bigger galley, space is still tight. This is why I try to make recipes that are easy to prepare. In addition, it’s usually very warm when we’re boating, so the last thing we want to eat, is something too filling.
This grilled corn and asparagus salad is super easy and it goes with almost any kind of protein. Plus it’s a pretty dish to present at dinner. It’s also not limited to the ingredients listed. You could add zucchini, mozzarella cheese, avocado – you name it. All would be delicious in this recipe!
Toss corn and asparagus in olive oil. Pre-heat grill to high heat. Grill corn on bbq until slightly charred (about 7 minutes). Set aside. Grill asparagus for about 2-3 minutes, until slightly tender and charred (but not overcooked).
Using a large bowl, stand ears of corn vertically in the bowl and slice off corn kernels. Cut asparagus into 1" pieces. Add remaining vegetables, feta and oregano.
In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add to the salad and toss ingredients gently. Refrigerate for about 1 hour and serve.
If you are shopping or traveling, they will happily wrap it up in dry ice for you too!
When it’s not grilling season
Since it’s winter now in Seattle AND we live in apartment, it’s hard for us to grill (remember, we also sold our boat recently). This Asian glazed salmon recipe is so easy and delicious – perfect for a cold winter’s night. There are many versions of this dish out there and I’ve added a few of my own twists.
You can serve it with white long grain rice or brown rice. You can also swap out spinach for baby kale or brussels sprouts. This recipe takes about 20 minutes to prepare, so it’s quick and easy! For more tasty ideas, please visit our Recipes page! Enjoy!
Rinse the salmon and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Mince garlic and set aside. In a small pan mix glaze with crushed red pepper and 2 tbsp. of lime juice and bring to a simmer to warm up.
Heat skillet on medium high and add 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil. Add salmon, skin side down. Cook for about 4 minutes, then flip. When you flip the salmon, you can now remove the skin with your spatula and discard. Cook for another 4 minutes (all depending on how thick your filet is - so watch it). and flip again. Remove from heat.
As I mentioned in my last recipe post, Scott and I have been trying to eat less carbs and this creamy cauliflower casserole is now his new favorite side dish! What’s funny about this, is that when Scott and I met seventeen years ago, he hated cauliflower! I remember the South Beach Diet had replaced mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower and he couldn’t choke it down.
Of course, “everything cauliflower” is now the rage these days, which works for me, because I love it! Next week I’m making a few recipes that use “cauliflower rice” and instead of making it myself, I’m going to buy it pre-made. I will let you know how it works.
We have been trying a few “Keto” recipes that are on Pinterest. Of course, being a cook, I end up changing the recipes to our own tastes. Since it’s been so hot this summer, I have been avoiding cooking anything in the oven. Finally this past week, it cooled off and it was the perfect night to bake a casserole. Everyone loves “twice baked potatoes”, so I decided to try and mimic that with cauliflower.
I also used a secret ingredient to add to the “bacon” flavor I love in twice baked potatoes. It’s a Chardonnay Oak Smoked French Sea Salt that I bought when we were in Gig Harbor from “For the Love of Spice” Store. If you haven’t been there yet – this is another reason to go!
The dish turned out great – BUT it is super rich! I made the mistake of serving it with creamy garlic chicken and it was over the top in comfort food. Actually I think the dish would have been great on its’ own by just adding cooked chicken to it. Since our boat does not have an oven, this dish could also be “baked” on the stove top or in a table top oven like ours. We use our Xpress Redi Set Go Cooker all of the time!
Let us know what your favorite low carb recipes are – we’d love to hear from you. Enjoy and happy cooking! Ally
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the cauliflower into bite size pieces. Place cauliflower in a steamer basket with a cup of water, cover and cook for about 3 minutes when it begins to boil. You don't want to "cook" the cauliflower, you simply want it to begin to sweat and soften slightly. Immediately remove from heat and remove lid to let it cool down.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add prociutto, onions, mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until slightly caramelized. Add butter to melt.
In a separate bowl, mix whipping cream, sour cream and shredded cheese. Add mushroom and onion mixture. Gently add cauliflower and mix until blended well. Spray a 9" x 9" baking dish with cooking spray and pour in cauliflower mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes until golden brown. If you like it crispy on top, you can broil it for about 2 minutes - just be sure to watch it closely.
Scott and I have been trying to eat less carbs lately and I recently made Thai Pork Noodles for dinner. When I first stumbled up the recipe, it was a salad and it was supposed to be eaten cold or at room temperature. No thanks. So I added some of my own ingredients and noodles, which we had hot.
While many no carb diets, like the Keto diet are high in fat, I’m not a fan of lots of high fat foods. This dish is perfectly balanced and works well for everyone.
It’s been so hot and smokey in Seattle this past month and the last thing I want to do is stand in a hot kitchen slaving over the stove. Because of the smoke, we haven’t been spending much time on the boat this month. This is a quick dish to make and very hearty. You can certainly add some of your own favorite ingredients or spices. In hindsight, I would have added some Thai chili peppers for some added spice.
I wanted to add glass noodles and our grocery store, only had sweet potato glass noodles by Chung Jung One. I used two packages and they worked great! Plus they are gluten free!
Please share with us some of your favorite low carb dinner recipes! We’d love to hear from you.
Heat canola oil in a skillet and add ground pork. Season with salt and pepper and break up in the skillet. Begin to brown the meat and add the white part of the green onions and peppers. Cook until tender.
Cook glass noodles as instructed. Drain, don't rinse.
Add the mirin and cook for about 5 minutes until reduced slightly. Add the soy sauce and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until slightly wilted.
Gently add the glass noodles and blend with the pork mixture. Top with dry roasted peanuts and sliced green scallions and serve immediately.
If you love a BLT, then this is your dip! When Scott and I head up to my family’s place at Tyee Beach on Camano Island, I always make some kind of snack that everyone can enjoy during the day. Over the years I’ve made a 7-layer, Greek layer, Loaded Baked Potato and other fun hearty dips.
This summer, I wanted to make something a bit simple, yet filling enough for a crowd. Keep in mind, we don’t eat lunch, so this “snack” is the main meal between breakfast and dinner. That’s when I decided to make a BLT Dip! Who doesn’t love a BLT? Well, except for the fact that the bread rips the roof of your mouth up.
This BLT dip is the perfect solution! I fry my crostini (check out my recipe here). This makes the bread softer than if you just baked it in the oven.
Where did the dip go?
Normally when I make one of my hearty dips, they last for a few hours. This dip was gone in less than an hour! This dip with the crostini tastes exactly like a BLT. We had people from next door coming over to try it. So the next time you are looking for a crowd pleaser, this is a winner! Enjoy!
This dip can be made ahead time, about an hour (remember, it has lettuce and tomatoes and you don't want them to get soggy). I made a huge batch and it was gone in less than a hour - so Enjoy!
Mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Spread mixture evenly into a 15" x 10.5" Pyrex dish.
Begin layering the dip, starting with chopped lettuce, bacon, tomatoes and shredded cheese.
Serve immediately with crostini. Can be refrigerated for up to one hour.
With warm sunny weather, no one likes to spend time cooking. That’s why I love this easy couscous salad! I make a big batch of it and have it for lunch at work or take it on the boat.
In this recipe, I use a lemon flavored packaged couscous by Casbah, but you can easily make it from scratch too. The one thing I love about this couscous, is you don’t need to add any kind of dressing. The couscous is so flavorful, that it does great on it’s own. This way the veggies don’t get soggy too!
With our busy schedules, this is just easier for us. I also use pre-cooked chicken when I am in a hurry.
This will last about three to four days in the refrigerator. I’m not a big fan of eating cooked chicken after that. You can certainly add or swap out your favorite veggies too. If you have a favorite version, please share with us.
We’re headed down to Kingston on our boat next weekend, so this will be a great salad for entertaining. It packs well and the veggies don’t get soggy. Be sure to use very fresh cucumbers and bell peppers. Be sure to check out the rest of our tasty recipes on our recipe page! Enjoy!
This couscous salad is very fresh and perfect for a hot summer day. You can make a full meal out of it, just add some crunchy bread and your favorite dry rose'. What I really love about this recipe, is you don't need a salad dressing! Enjoy!
Cook couscous according to instructions. Remove from heat and let cool. Be sure to stir occasionally while cooling.
When completely cooled, mix in veggies, chicken and feta cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for one hour before serving. Store up to 4 days in the fridge.
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