My favorite dinner lately was also one of the easiest. I made ground chicken burgers (added my favorite chicken rub, garlic, and s&p) and topped it with leftover french onion soup, Gruyere cheese, and a bit of parsley. Baked sweet potato fries (from the freezer), and Salad de Maison finished off this easy yet delicious meal. There are so many ways to use leftovers!
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We’ve been lighting everything on fire over here with my new Brûlée torch. This mornings oatmeal was a favorite! Trader Joes frozen oatmeal Slice bananas and apples, cover in sugar and torch away! Other brûlée favorites: Marshmallows Prosciutto Sweet potatoes Macaroons Oranges Cinnamon sugar toast I bought my torch on Amazon for $19.99 but don’t forget to buy the butane gas too. It’s a great Christmas present and very easy to use. My kids have loved bruleeing everything in the kitchen!
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Last nights dinner turned into lunch all week. I don’t make tuna very often, but when I do I love it! You can make this your own with whatever ingredients you have on hand. Here is one of my favorite combinations: Albacore in water Light mayo Spicy mustard Relish Diced purple onion Diced Clauson pickles Diced cucumbers Diced celery Lemon juice Lemon zest Kosher salt &pepper (I add Sriracha sometimes which adds a nice kick) Serve with bib lettuce instead of bread for lower carb. And I love avocado and toasted almonds on top.
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My idea of the perfect salad comes in 3’s. You don’t have to have specific ingredients and you can be creative with it! 1. Toss in your favorite kind of cheese. What do you have on hand? Goat cheese, feta, or parmesan..are all great ideas. 2. Add fruit or veggies. Pear, apple, leftover asparagus? They all work! Cut them into different shapes and sizes for look and variety. 3. Add any nuts or seeds that you have in your freezer or cabinet. Cashews, pecans, or pistachios are all great ideas (make sure to toast them). Nuts keep great in the freezer so I always have at least four varieties on hand (same with cheeses). Finally, I always use at least 2 kinds of lettuce. I love the different texture and flavors it gives to the salad. In this case I used 3; spinach, arugula, and baby bibb lettuce. Your perfect salad can be done in 1,2,3!
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I stole this idea from one of my favorite caterers. It is one of my favorite light, EASY appetizers that has great flavors but won’t fill you up. Layer- Dried apricots Cinnamon cranberry goat cheese (or your favorite flavor) Almond (I used honey roasted vanilla but salty/smokehouse would be good too) Honey (I’m lucky and my fabulous neighbors are beekeepers so we have real “local” honey!) Bon appetite!
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Who feels like cooking tonight? Not me, we’re doing takeout. If you’re home for the night preparing for Christmas, my favorite clean out the fridge/no hassle cooking is “fancy” scrambled eggs. I add leftovers, lunch meat, produce, whatever I can find to make it healthy, filling, and pretty darn tasty! I started with sautéing ham, leftover asparagus, tomatoes, fresh spinach, and green onions. I then added the eggs and topped with parmesan. Dinner and done!
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Are you having a dinner party or guests over for the New Year? If so, there is so much you can do ahead of time. Plastic bags can be your best friend when entertaining. When I’m throwing a party or having friends over, my refrigerator is full of party food in plastic baggies. They’re disposable when it’s “go” time and keep things fresh and ready to go. This is one of my favorite salads lately: Mixture of spinach and arugula Orange sections Grapefruit sections Pistachios Feta cheese Avocado.
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A new year calls for Vegetable soup to help keep all those New Years resolutions. I love this soup because it’s so healthy, versatile, and keeps in the freezer. I made a huge pot and plan to eat it for most lunches over the next couple of weeks and we just had it for dinner last night. Anything goes for this soup so don’t be exact, throw in any fresh ingredients you have around. Heat EVOO in a large pot. Add diced onions, garlic, and leeks- stir until softened Add carrots, celery, zucchini, and bagged cabbage- stir until cooked through Add fresh tomatoes and 3-4 cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes- continue cooking Add 2 cartons of your favorite stock and your favorite herbs. I added basil, thyme, bay leaf, garlic powder, onion salt, and s&p. Simmer for 2-3 hours My favorite part about this soup is the add-ins. Today we did kielbasa, parmesan, basil, and red pepper flakes. Other favorite add-ins are pasta, brown rice, chicken, beans, beef, anything goes! Keeping you healthy and happy in 2015.
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This is one of my favorite Brussels Sprout recipes and I only wish I had pistachios instead of Marcona almonds last night. Quarter Brussels sprouts and toss in Evoo, garlic, and S&P. Lay out on a cookie sheet and roast for 10-15 min on 450. Add lemon juice (1 whole lemon) and almonds or pistachios and broil for another couple of minutes. Take out of oven and add lemon zest and more S&P if needed. I like to serve this as a side dish or on brown rice with grilled chicken and a little extra evoo and lemon juice on top.
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Yum! I just devoured this beautiful bowl of Blood orange chia seed pudding and Greek yogurt! Combine chia seeds and fresh squeezed blood orange juice. Let sit in refrigerator until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add honey if using plain Greek yogurt or as is if using vanilla Greek yogurt. Top with mint (YUM) and slices of blood orange.
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