Zucchini "Pasta": Fully Loaded!

  It's that time of year! That time when we're not really ready to commit to turning on our outdoor wood boiler to heat the house because it requires filling it with wood, and we're just a bit too lazy yet for such things. Plus the days do warm up (sort of), and if you wear warm clothing it's all good! However, today I am sitting in the freezing "office" (a nook, really) wearing many, many layers of clothes, warm wooly socks, a scarf, and pausing from typing every so often to hold my cup of coffee to warm my hands! The craziest part is that when doing the kids laundry last night, I was folding up shorts & a few tank-tops from last week because it was that warm! Oh, Canada! I really love you! 

   Well, moving on to the recipe for today!  I purchased from Bed, Bath & Beyond a spiral vegetable cutter (to make vegetable "noodles" ) and wanted some awesome recipes! I saw a recipe for Butternut Squash Noodles With Shredded Brussel Sprouts, Walnuts & Caramelized Onions on inspiralized.com and thought, "whaaat? Yumm!".  So now I have been spending a lot of time looking through (and drooling!) at the beautiful recipes that Ali creates! 

   So, believe it or not, this recipe was my wild take-off version of Ali's recipe mentioned above! I used brussels sprouts and onions, and roasted some nuts, but those are the only similarity left, really! 

   I make a roasted Brussel sprouts with bacon recipe, so I knew I would start with that, but wanted to add more flavour and colour, so I decided to roast onions and tomato with it too. And roasted nuts are a delicious idea anytime, so I did that too! So, the end result was a really simple dish that was bursting with flavour,  and full of good-for-you foods. Oh, and cheese on top is optional, but adding the feta (you could also go for some parmesan) is a nice little salty addition! 

Zucchini "Noodles": Fully Loaded
Makes 3 huge servings, or 5-6 smaller servings

Ingredients:

• 5 Zucchinis, spiraled, or thinly julienned if you don't own a spiraler 
• 2 Onions, cut into 1 inch wide strips
• 4 Cups Brussel sprouts, outer leaves peeled if brown, bottoms trimmed, and cut in half 
• 1 Pint cherry tomatoes, washed
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tsp maple syrup
• 6 (or more) pieces of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 Cup whole, raw almonds
• Drizzle of olive oil (in addition to the 2 Tbsp mentioned)
• 1 Tsp garlic powder
• Feta cheese, cut or crumbled (or Parmesan), as much or as little as you please! :) 
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Zucchini noodles turn out a lot better if you've managed to get some of the moisture out of them. So, place a large, clean kitchen towel, or a few paper towels, onto the counter or kitchen table, and lay out your prepared zucchini. A single layer of "noodles" is best, but don't worry if it's not.  Sprinkle with salt and place another clean towel or more paper towel on top, and allow the salt to pull out some of the moisture. Let the "noodles" sit at least 15 minutes before pressing the top towel down to suck up some of the released moister. Leave the zucchini as is until you're ready for them later.
2. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
3. Place the prepared onion, Brussel sprouts, & tomatoes (not the bacon yet!) onto the baking sheet and spread to as flat as possible
4. Drizzle the olive oil & maple syrup over the veggies. Feel free to use your hands to move them around a bit and get them covered well. You could also use a spoon!
5. Arrange the bacon over the veggies
6. Place baking sheet into hot oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, until all the veggies are soft and have some colour, and the bacon is crisp
7. Once the veggies & bacon have been in the oven for 15 minutes, in a heavy large skillet (or a large pot), combine the almonds, olive oil and garlic powder. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until the almonds are golden, about 5 minutes
8. Spoon the almonds out of the pan and onto a plate or bowl and set aside.
9. Place the prepared zucchini into the warmed pan, and gently stir with a spatula, or use your hands to gently toss until the "noodles" have some of the remaining olive oil and garlic powder from the almonds
10. Place a lid over the skillet or pot, and allow the zucchini to warm, tossing occasionally, as the veggies and bacon finish roasting
11. Once the toppings are roasted, remove from the oven and set aside for a moment
12. Divide the warmed "noodles" into dishes (3 large servings, or 5-6 smaller, approximately), and top with the roasted veggies and bacon
13. Add a handful of the roasted almonds (you can chop them if you prefer), and some cheese (if using)
14. Eat up!

Some beautiful, fresh ingredients!

    So, looks good, right? Yeah, I know. Haha, for real though, it does look good! My husband thought it was funny though that you can't even see the "noodles" in the photos because of all the toppings I added! That's how I roll....

   FYI, if you plan on making this with the idea of having leftovers for a lunch, a word of warning! The roasted nuts will get soft and (in my opinion) yucky after cooling and being refrigerated. So, just store the cooled toasted almonds in an airtight container on the counter, then add them once you're ready to eat your leftovers!

   After owning my vegetable spiral cutter from BB&B for a while now, and knowing how much I love making noodles out of veggies, I thought I would bite the bullet and buy a more fancy version that was easier to use, but would do more. However, I hit a snag....Bed, Bath & Beyond didn't offer any other kinds besides the one I'd already bought, and I literally couldn't find any other options in my near-by Belleville. Well, unless I owned a $250-$500 stand mixer I could add an attachment to, but I sure don't own one of those!!

   On Amazon I found only one kind of spiralizer I had in mind, it was around $40, plus shipping, etc., but I wasn't super impressed with it. Then I thought, well, I guess I'll see how much Ali (from Inspiralized) has hers for....?

   Well, not only was I super pleasantly surprised by the very reasonable price, I was amazed by all the thought that was clearly put into The Inspiralizer. So....I ordered one! Gosh darn-it I'm excited for it to arrive, and I will be sure to tell you all about it when it arrives! Woot woot!  

   Ok, I need to get moving! I always have a dread/excitement for my Monday workouts because Sunday is generally my "treat day", so I'm feeling motivated (from eating junk!) to get a good sweat going.....but then the sluggish feelings I have (from the same junk food!) makes getting going a little tricky! And I know if I get distracted at the computer starting new blog drafts or going on Pinterest I'll never get going!

​   So, I'm going! Wish me luck! ;)