Baked by Melissa

11/13/2026

15 min. Dinner for tired parents 🫠

2 teaspoons avocado oil
4 chicken sausages, sliced
4 oz baby shiitakes, stems removed, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, cut into ½” half moons 
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons broth (any kind, or water)
Za’atar
Rice, to serve

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and let cook while you prep the veggies.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms, then slice them. Chop the bell pepper and cut the zucchini into ½” thick half moons.
Add the veggies to the pan and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and sweet paprika. 
Try to keep the chicken and zucchini touching the pan so a sear can form. Cook for a few more minutes for the aromatics to bloom, then pour in the broth to deglaze. Toss everything in the pan to combine and serve over rice.

11/12/2026

Available now 🌈✨

11/11/2026

Carrot Fennel Soup

2 leeks, dark green leaves and root cut off
1 tablespoon avocado oil
3 celery stalks, trimmed
1 large carrot, peeled
2 fennel bulbs (fronds cut off)
5 garlic cloves, grated
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons white miso paste

Slice the leek lengthwise, then chop. Rinse off any sand.
Heat the avocado oil in a large pot and add the leeks.
Let the leeks cook while you chop the celery, about 2 minutes, then add the celery to the pot.
Chop the carrot to be about the same size as the celery and add to the pot.
Cut the fronds off the fennel and peel off the top layer (like you would an onion). Chop the bulb and add it to the pot.
Let everything cook for about 5 minutes, then stir in 5 cloves of grated garlic, salt, a few turns of pepper, cumin, turmeric, and garlic powder.
Add the chickpeas to the pot, then pour in the broth.
Cover and bring to a low simmer.
Add the miso to a small bowl and ladle ½ cup of broth into the bowl. Whisk the miso together into the broth (you just want to break it up), then pour the miso mixture into the soup along with the parsley.
Grate one more garlic clove into the soup, then cover again and cook for 15 more minutes over medium-low heat. Keep covered on low until you’re ready to serve.

11/10/2026

Melted Taco Beef & Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower
½ green cabbage
Salt & pepper
1 tablespoon avocado oil
2 shallots, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
5 garlic cloves
4 cups bone broth
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric

Cut the cabbage into quarters and the cauliflower into 1” steaks, you want both to have flat edges so they’re seared.
Season the veggies with salt and pepper.
In a large oven-safe pan, heat the avocado oil and add the cabbage and cauliflower. Sear for 1-2 minutes on all of the flat sides, just until golden, then remove it from the pan. You may need to work in batches!
Once the cabbage and cauliflower are seared, add the shallot to the pan. Let cook for a minute, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan as you go.
Add the beef to the pan and break it up with a wooden spoon.
While the beef cooks, chop the cabbage and cauliflower into 1” pieces and grate 3 garlic cloves on top of it.
Return the cabbage, cauliflower, and garlic to the pan and stir everything together. Add the taco seasoning. Let everything cook to absorb the flavor and deepen in color, about 5-7 minutes.
Pour the broth into the pan and stir.
Season with ½ teaspoon salt and a few turns of black pepper. Bring the liquid to a simmer and cover the pan.
After a few minutes, grate 2 more garlic cloves and add them to the pan with the sweet paprika and turmeric.
Cover the pan, lower the heat, and cook for 10 more minutes on the stove. Preheat the oven to 300F.
Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 2 hours. Serve over rice.

11/09/2026

Steak Dinner

1 lb. steak (ribeye, filet mignon, etc—whatever you have—at room temperature)
1 baked Russet potato (bake at 450F for 45 minutes)
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 bunch asparagus, ends cut off

For the sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 garlic clove, grated
½ teaspoon salt
Black pepper

Cut the steak into 1” cubes and season with salt.
Whisk together 3 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 grated garlic cloves.
Split the potato in half and spread some of the garlic oil on top.
To the heated frying pan, add the baked potato, oil side down. Cook for 5-7 minutes, just until lightly golden.
To the grill pan, add the steak and cook for 5-7 minutes, until cooked to your liking. Remove from the pan and add the asparagus.
Cover the asparagus with any garlic oil you have left and cook for 5 minutes, until bright green.
To make the sauce, stir together the lemon juice, yogurt, garlic, salt, and a few turns of black pepper.
Serve the steak with the potato, asparagus, and a spoonful of sauce.

11/08/2026

1 Russet potato, washed
3 tablespoons potato starch
Avocado oil
Salt
Use a Y-peeler to cut the potato into long, thin strips (comment PEELER and I’ll send you the one I use). 
Place the potato slices in a bowl and coat with potato starch. Mix with your hands to evenly coat.
In a deep frying pan, heat about ½” of avocado oil. Once the oil shimmers, add the potato slices in an even layer. 
Cook each potato for 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden. 
Carefully remove the potato from the oil with tongs and set on a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Eat with your favorite dip.

11/07/2026

11/06/2026

Sesame Tofu Slaw

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks (mandolined, then chopped)
3 mini cucumbers, sliced with a mandoline then chopped
1 red pepper, sliced and then chopped (everything should be the same size)
¼ green cabbage, shredded
¼ red onion, thinly sliced with a peeler
1 handful cilantro, chopped
1 handful parsley, chopped
1 block extra firm tofu, cut into 1” cubes
Sesame seeds, to garnish

For the dressing
Juice of 2 lemons
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 inch k**b peeled ginger, grated
1 tablespoon tamari
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons white miso paste

Add the carrot, cucumbers, pepper, shredded cabbage, red onion, cilantro, and parsley to a large bowl.
In a blender, add the lemon juice, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, tamari, rice vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, nooch, and miso. Pulse until smooth.
Dress the slaw with ¼ cup of the dressing then mix it together to get everything coated.
Press the liquid out of the tofu and cut into 1” cubes. Place in a medium bowl and toss with the rest of the dressing. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and spray with avocado oil. Add the tofu and cook for 7-9 minutes, until the tofu is seared on all sides.
Return the tofu to the bowl with the dressing and toss while it’s still warm. Sprinkle the tofu with sesame seeds.
Serve the tofu over the slaw and garnish with more sesame seeds to serve.

11/05/2026

Crazy Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground lamb
1 tomato, grated with wide holes, about ¼ cup
2 inches of a zucchini, grated with the small holes, water squeezed out, about ¼ cup
¼ onion, grated with the small holes
½ teaspoon salt
Black pepper
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ onion, grated with the small holes
1 egg
2 tablespoons avocado oil

For the sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
½ zucchini, chopped
½ teaspoon salt, divided
2 garlic cloves, grated with a microplane
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika, divided
3 cups bone broth
3 tablespoons cornstarch
⅓ cup water

In a large bowl, combine the beef, lamb, grated tomato, zucchini, and onion, along with the salt, a few turns of black pepper, grated garlic cloves, paprika, and egg.
Mix together with your hands untill well combined. (Try not to overdo it, but you do want everything to be incorporated.
Let sit for 5 minutes at room temperature, then roll into 2” balls.
Heat the avocado oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until seared. Don’t crowd them; work in batches so all the meatballs have space around them. They’ll finish cooking in the sauce, so they don’t need to be fully cooked through. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
In a large pot, add the olive oil, onion, and zucchini and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt.
Add the garlic and 1 teaspoon paprika to the pot, then pour in the bone broth and bring to a simmer.
Blend the sauce with an immersion blender and add ½ teaspoon more paprika and another pinch of salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. While whisking the sauce, slowly pour in the slurry, stirring until it’s completely incorporated.
Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook, covered, for 30 minutes, until you’re ready to serve.
Serve with rice and spoon sauce over everything.