Browsing Tag

salad

Party

Picnic Party

April 7, 2014

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One of my biggest pet peeves is when the weather report reads that the weather is going to be amazing all week, EXCEPT Saturday and Sunday.  Luckily, this particular weekend was just the opposite.  After some showers and clouds, the skies parted for sunny, 80 degree weather.  And what better way to celebrate than with a picnic?!

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We grabbed some of our favorite people and made our way up to our favorite, local winery – Testarossa. We were able to wine taste, sun bathe and picnic… all at the same time!! Does it get any better?

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Here was our menu:

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I am a HUGE proponent of no dairy/mayo based foods at picnics.  Between the sun and lack of refrigeration, the whole thing freaks me out, so we did a lot of olive oil based items. Even the sandwiches went sans mayo, using pesto instead!  In warm weather the key is having light yet satiating menu items.

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Tasty

Vegan/GF BBQ Salad

March 17, 2014

IMG_8002 This week is all about getting Spring Break ready!  While being a college grad/adult, I may not get an actual “Spring Break” on my calendar anymore.. but I am lucky enough to get to tag along on my family’s annual vacation – thus gifting myself a “Spring Break” each year.

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That being said, working 8-10 hour days everyday takes a toll on your body, and getting spring break ready is a lot of work… so this week is going to focus on some key points.  First up – health.

The past few weeks I have been focusing on clean eating – a lot of produce and fish, and minimal red meat/gluten, and no processed foods.  That being said whole eating is a priority, and here is one of my go-to salads (great for dinner or lunches for the week).

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BBQ Veggie Salad

  • 1 head of Romanesco cauliflower (or regular cauliflower)
  • Lentils or black beans
  • Radishes
  • Carrots
  • Red Onion
  • Avocado
  • 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
  • Vegan Ranch Dressing
  • Tortilla Chips (optional)
  1. Cut cauliflower into florets and roast at 350 degrees for 7 minutes.
  2. Brush BBQ sauce onto cauliflower and bake 3 minutes more.
  3. Assemble salad with ingredients of your choice.
  4. Top with more BBQ sauce and/or ranch dressing.

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* Disclaimer: The joy of this salad is it doesn’t really need a recipe – you can add (or not add) whatever you would like – other ideas include cilantro, corn, celery, cheese (if you don’t want to go dairy free), etc.

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Tasty

Sunday Dinner

December 2, 2013

Goat Cheese Tomato Biscuits

I hosted a family dinner yesterday and was excited to spend the afternoon whipping up some comfort food for my favorite people.

Menu 

Kale Cherry Salad

I have spoken praises of Deb from Smitten Kitchen for quite awhile now and her blog is always at the top of my reading list, so when she came out with a cookbook, I knew I had to get my hands on it.  It is filled with an amazing line-up of yummy dishes and they are the types of meals you want to share with loved ones.  So get yourself a copy and start working your way through her amazing creations!

Tomato Glazed Meatballs

Tomato Glazed Meatballs (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Glaze

Ingredients:

  • 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, and whisk constantly over low hear until well combined.
  2. Remove from heat and set aside while preparing meatballs.

Meatloaves

Ingredients:

  • 2 slices sandwich bread, torn up
  • 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 1 medium stalk celery, coarsely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt, and more to taste
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • 2 1/2 pounds ground turkey or beef
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

  1. Set the oven at 350 degrees.
  2. Put torn bread pieces into a food processor and pulse until breadcrumbs are formed.
  3. Transfer breadcrumbs to a large bowl.
  4. Pulse the veggies (onion, garlic, celery, and carrot) in the processor until finely chopped.
  5. Coat a large pan in olive oil and heat over medium heat.
  6. Add the vegetable mixture, salt, and pepper.
  7. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes – until the vegetables begin to brown.
  8. Mix the vegetables into the breadcrumbs.
  9. Add the meat, tomato paste, paprika, mustard, and Worcestershire.
  10. Use your hands to thoroughly blended mixture (don’t over mix!).
  11. With wet hands, form the mixture into meatballs (about 2-3 inches wide – whatever your preference is)
  12. Place meatballs in a 9×13 baking dish.  Make sure they are at least an inch away from one another.
  13. Brush each meatball with a generous brush of tomato glaze.
  14. Bake for 20 minutes or until they are cooked through.
  15. Serve with additional glaze, atop browned butter mashed potatoes.

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

  • 2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (8 Tablespoons)
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp table salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  1. Peel potatoes and chop into 1/6ths.  Immediately transfer to a large pot filled with salted ice water.
  2. Once all potatoes are peeled and transferred to the pot, boil them over high heat until tender (about 20 minutes) – you should be able to easily pierce them with a fork.
  3. Drain potatoes and transfer to a Kitchen Aid bowl.
  4. Brown butter and transfer final product to potatoes.  Also add buttermilk and turn Kitchen Aid on at a low setting.
  5. Stir until combined and add salt/pepper to taste.
  6. Enjoy the most decadent mashed potatoes ever!
Tasty

Lacinato Kale Salad

November 13, 2013

Lacinato Kale Salad

I came across this salad a few months ago and have been addicted ever since.  I can’t believe I haven’t shared it yet, because my routine as of late, has been to go to the farmer’s market and get 3 bunches of kale for $5 and whip up this salad Sunday night for work lunches for the week.

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I love this salad for many reasons… mainly because a. it tastes great, b. it’s easy to make, and c. you can make it days before you eat it (how many salads can you do that for!?).

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So make sure to head on over to MarinMamaCooks.com and check out my favorite salad recipe!  I also like to use ricotta salata instead of Parmesan to mix it up!

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*It is also recommended that you don’t use any paper-like leaves in your salad… so tune in next week to see what you can do with that leftover kale!

Tasty

Farmer’s Market Salad

September 12, 2013

Fig Cataloupe Blue Cheese Almond Salad

The end of the summer has made me go crazy at farmers markets lately, and I can’t get enough of summer produce!  Figs

 I wanted to whip a fun appetizer with my finds – here is what I did:

  • Sliced figs (I used green ones)
  • Sliced cantaloupes
  • Shaved Maytag Blue Cheese
  • Slivered Marcona Almonds

Drizzle honey over everything… Drizzle HoneyAnd voila! And voila! Fig Cataloupe Blue Cheese Almond Salad