A kitchen gadget that is helpful for healthy meals
A vegetable spiralizer is an amazing tool to help you prepare nutritious home-cooked meals, and a little bit of prep work is all you need to make a weeknight dinner faster than you can grab take-out! Using a spiralizer makes low-fat, gluten-free “noodles” out of most hard vegetables, such as sweet potato, zucchini, and root vegetables. Veggie noodles hold up well to a variety of sauces and toppings, making them a versatile alternative to traditional pasta. To cut down on time, prep the noodles ahead of time by running them through your spiralizer (try this one by Paderno) and then freezing them in single servings in ziplock bags. When you’re ready to cook, heat your frozen noodles in a pan on medium heat until defrosted, add your sauce and just like that you have a nutritious and delicious meal that the whole family can enjoy!
The Kitchen-Aid Mixer is awesome and has a spiralizer as an attachment. The pressure cooker is also awesome! Steam potatoes for 3-4 minutes, cook rice in just a few! The slow cooker is also incredible during winter months for stews and broths etc. What is awesome for the pressure cooker is it allows nutritious healthy meals in less time, and with the slow cooker it allows stuff to be cooking all day without monitoring. For the busy professional who still wants to eat healthy!
Recipe:
Stuffed artichokes: (gluten free options!) Low calorie!
Stuffed artichokes cooked in a pressure cooker are delicious! They soften up beautifully and the garlic seems to just be infused into the artichoke leaves. This is a great recipe – so flavorful, so classic.
8 servings
Ingredients
- 8 large artichokes, trimmed
- ½ c grated parmesan cheese
- ½ c minced garlic
- 1 c chicken or vegetable broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 c(gluten free) bread crumbs
Directions
Everyone trims an artichoke differently – I cut off the stem and then ½ inch from the top. Then I trim all the leaves by nipping off the end. To get the leaves to open up enough to stuff them, hit the leave side down on the counter a couple of times – then use fingers to pry open the leaves some. Yes, all this work is definitely worth it?
Separate leaves slightly so you can drop in the ingredients – each should get bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and garlic.
Place artichokes in a pressure cooker and can do two high and pour broth over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then squirt with the juice of 1 lemon. Close pressure cooker and bring to pressure and cook 60 minutes. Quick release pressure.
Using a pressure cooker will cut one hour off cooking time!
Make these ahead of time and just reheat in the microwave prior to serving. They just seem to be more flavorful with the second heating.