Whole30: Zoodles with Tomato Sausage Sauce

Part of a tbd series, sharing my favorite (easy) Whole30 recipes to make your 30 days more bearable!

This recipe doesn't take much and was hot and ready in about 30 minutes.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED 

3 small zucchini

Spiralizer, for zoodlin'

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

   - double check for no added sugar. Hunt's passed the test!

Basil (fresh is better)

Garlic Salt

Pepper

Aidell's Chicken and Apple sausage

   - one of the only sausages out there with no added sugar

Garlic clove

Olive Oil

The steps are as easy to list as the ingredients!

First, wash your zucchini and slice one end off. Then, spiralize away. After you spiralize all 3 zucchini, set aside.

Pour your crushed tomatoes into a pot and heat up. When heated, mix in some pepper, garlic salt and basil. (It's really easy to make your own pasta sauce by seasoning it yourself, rather than buying whatever's on the shelf). Heat, stir, simmer.

Slice the chicken sausage. Pour a little bit of olive oil into a pan, press a garlic clove and heat up your garlic. When oil is hot, put in the slice of sausage and brown them. Even though they're already cooked, I think this gives them a bit of added flavor and texture and makes the sauce better. When they're browned to your liking, stir them into the sauce.

Serve and enjoy, hot on the table within 30 minutes and barely any mess to clean up. #kitchengoals

Watermelon Margaritas

I'm always looking for a reason to make a good cocktail or eat a juicy watermelon. Nothing quite says summer like mixing the two together.

Most recipes I've seen tried to make this too complicated, but who has time to do that when all they really want is a drink? Let's get this summer started. 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

1 - 1.5 shot of tequila
2 c. watermelon, diced
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. simple syrup (optional)
Lime

First things first, salt your rim. I always use a lime slice instead of water to give it even more flavor.

Pro tip: don't fall for "margarita salt." Instead, grab some coarse kosher sea salt and save your bucks for something else.

I think the right amount of watermelon per drink is about 3 small triangles. Dice them in small chunks. Side note: still obsessed with these discontinued Anthropologie plates.

Rose's sweetened lime juice is the perfect amount of sweet for this cocktail. I don't think it needs any additional sugar, but add simple syrup to your taste. Lime, however, is necessary. Slice off a large slice to squeeze in to your drink.

In a cocktail shaker, combine the diced watermelon, tequila, lime juice and some ice. Then...

shake, shake, shake!

Pour into a mason jar and cheers to summah!

Let me know if you like what you sip!

A St. Patrick's Day Meal For the Irish at Heart

Today's the day when most Americans dig through ancestry records to find their excuse to drink like an Irishman. I'm pretty sure all those girls wearing the "Kiss Me I'm Irish" shirts are not, in fact, Irish. Whether you're two percent or 92 percent Irish, use today as an excuse to celebrate like I would - with a delicious meal!

If you can't get to the Old Storehouse in Dublin for a true taste of Irish fare, try making your own "traditionally irish" meal of corned beef casserole and Irish champ at home. If you have 20 minutes and want to see me chop a bunch of vegetables, I can show you how in the video I hosted/produced for the University of South Carolina's student television station, SGTV, in March 2013.

But if you don't, here are the recipes I followed.

Adapted from BBC's recipe for Corned Beef Casserole:

Ingredients:

• Packaged puff pastry (found in the frozen section), at room temp
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, 1/2 inch pieces
• 5 potatoes, diced
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 can corned beef
• Stick of butter
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 egg
• Olive Oil

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375. 
• Melt 1 oz. butter and a little olive oil in large saucepan. Pour in chopped celery, carrots, potatoes and onion. Cook over low heat, stirring, around 15 minutes.
• Stir in ketchup to cover vegetables, then stir in corned beef. Mix well and remove from heat for about 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle flour on a flat surface and lay out puff pastry. Line the bottom and sides of your casserole dish. 
• In a prep bowl, whisk egg. Brush pastry with whisked egg.
• Spoon in filling mixture, pack down and lay the second pastry sheet over the top, sealing the dish.
• Brush remaining egg on the top of the pastry. 
• Use a knife to cut an "x" on the top of the pastry. 
• Bake for 40 minutes. 

AllRecipes' Irish Champ recipe and this super easy Food.com Shamrock shake recipe.

And, of course, wash it all down with a Guinness, Harp or Irish whiskey.

Kiss the cook? Or, kiss me I'm (cooking like the) Irish? Let me know if you like what you eat!

My Top 8 to Eat in Amsterdam

For those who know me, it comes as no surprise that I ate as much as possible during my travels. I always made sure to do my research and choose the dishes that were most authentic to the place -- but sometimes cheated with some comfort food.

In just the four days we spent in Amsterdam, we sampled a little bit of everything in Dutch (well, Amsterdam dutch) cuisine. Here are the top things I recommend you try during your visit:

CHEESE

The dutch are known for their cheese and it's everywhere. We ventured into a cheese museum in downtown Amsterdam and got to sample plenty of different types of homemade cheeses. Gouda, goat, truffle oil, young, old and so many more.

Whether you go to this specific store or any others, I'm sure you'll find something to take home (these were specifically sealed to be airplane-travel approved). Also, if you need a little snack from walking up and down the beautiful canals, you can fill up on some cheese samples ;)

NACHO'S at HARLEM
I would be lying if I said we chose this restaurant for any other reason than it was directly across the street from our Hostel and we were all a little hangry from a long day of class/traveling.

Yeah, so this restaurant says it's a southern / soul food restaurant. Being from the south, I'm going to strongly argue with that claim and just label this dive a bar with THE most outstanding nachos I've ever eatien

BAM.

VISIT A DELI
Our second day in the city, we wandered into a small deli looking for a cheap, more authentic meal. We filed in line with other locals as they made their sandwich choices. Luckily, there were some attractive Dutch boys waiting in front of us that spoke english, so we asked what they would recommend and how we should order.

When you get to the counter, you simply tell the worker which kind of bread you would like and choose your toppings. They can go ahead and assembly your sandwich for you, or you can buy everything a la carte. At this deli, I chose a crab salad and a few ounces of "young" cheese. Other people in my group opted for salami and cheese. This lunch cost us less than 5 euro.

PANCAKES

These aren't your IHOP or Bisquick pancakes. They're so, so much better and I love that the dutch consider them a dinner. The most popular is the bacon and apple pancake, and we grabbed them at the place that claims to have "the best pancakes in town!"

With a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a drizzle of syrup, they're perfect.

(Try also these: poffertjes.)

STROOPWAFELS

Again, NOT Waffle House. These are small, crunchy cookie-like waffles that are soaked in syrup. They're sold in grocery stores and at various store counters.

Or, at this market we found in Volendam.

POMMES FRITES
French fries are not just for the french. These fry stands are perfect for a late night snack after you've been out on the town. I was overwhelmed by the choice of sauces. Each stand has around 30 different sauces to choose from, so PLEASE don't get ketchup! My recommendation: garlic aioli.

HAGELSLAG
I thought my friend Ellen was crazy when she told me to sprinkle some of the "chocolate sprinkles" on my toast. Boy, was I wrong. This is delicious.

For more information, please see this "Stuff Dutch People Like" blog post.

BEER

No secret here, Meredith loves beer. And I try to drink locally when I travel -- it's part of the experience, right?

This windmill brewery is legit. Visit Brouwerij't IJ for some authentic local beer and people.

What'd I miss? More importantly, what do I need to eat when I go back?

You can see more pictures from my weekend in Amsterdam here and read about the full experience here.