A Garden Full of Peppers

Can we talk about Pinterest for a minute? I swear, it is simultaneously the greatest, and the worst, social media invention ever created. On one hand, the website gives me tons and tons of ideas for recipes, crafts, fashion, etc.  On the other hand, the website gives me tons and tons of ideas for recipes, crafts, fashion, etc.

Seriously, I have pinned so many things at this point, that I can't even find half of the stuff I need when I actually do want to use it. 

A few months after joining Pinterest, in an effort to be more organized, I realized that perhaps the solution to my problem was more boards with more specific names. I was hopeful that this approach would help me locate my pins a little easier, but in reality, I'm not so sure that worked out as planned, considering I'm still in the process of revamping... All while still pinning several (hundred) new pins a day!

Anyhow, Pinterest has become my go-to place when I am looking for a new recipe to try with ingredients I already have on hand. This past week, my husband and I noticed we now have an over abundance of jalapeños in our garden. We're not upset about it... We love jalapeños, but the overgrowth left us grasping for new and fresh ways to use them.

Thank you Pinterest for leading me to this delicious recipe for jalapeño pesto!!! We've already used this pesto twice this week, once on pasta with grilled chicken, and again on burgers with avocado... It is soooooo good!

The health-nut side of me also decided to try this recipe for Paleo pumpkin muffins this week. They were also really tasty and easy to make. It should be noted that I added a cup of Enjoy Life gluten free chocolate chips to my muffins... I know, slightly less healthy with that addition, but they sure were good!

BLT Spaghetti Squash

If you have never tried spaghetti squash, I highly suggest you do. The stuff is amazing! It's super easy to cook, is extremely healthy, and can be prepared in about a million different ways! That being said, the following recipe would work equally as well with regular old pasta if your not into that whole spaghetti squash thing. Serve this up with a salad and some fresh bread and I promise you'll love it!

BLT Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

1 3-4 pound spaghetti squash

1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes

2 cups baby spinach

5 slices of bacon

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

1 TBS olive oil

Parmesan or Romano cheese to grate on top

Handful of fresh basil leaves

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1.  First I start by cooking the spaghetti squash... You can do this a number of ways; bake it, microwave it, boil it. For the sake of saving time, I microwaved mine. I cut it in half, lengthwise, then scooped out all of the seeds. After that was done, I placed both halves, open side down, in a glass 9x13 baking dish. Then I added about a half inch of water to the pan, covered it with Saran Wrap, and microwaved it for 15 minutes.

2.  While the squash is cooking, you will want to fry your bacon in a large skillet. When the bacon is done, remove it from the pan, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. To the bacon fat, add the TBS olive oil, add the cherry tomatoes, and reduce the heat to low/medium. Cover. Stir occasionally. After a few minutes, the tomatoes will start to burst. When this happens, very carefully (they splatter and it's hot!), mash them with a potato masher.

3.  Add red pepper flakes, garlic, and red onion, as well as S&P, to taste. Let cook, covered, until onions start to become translucent. Add spinach and cook until wilted.

4.  Using 2 forks, scrape spaghetti squash into a large bowl.

5.  Crumble bacon and chop basil.

6.  On top of spaghetti squash in bowl, add the tomato mixture.

7.  Top with bacon, basil, and grated cheese.

8.  Enjoy!