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Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette

Food, Grilling, Recipes, Sides, Vegetarian, , , , , ,

Spring is in the air! It’s time to get out the grill. Grilling is one of my favorite ways to prepare veggies, or anything really. It makes food taste great and there’s so much less to clean up.

Asparagus is a great vegetable for the grill.  You can wrap them in tin foil or just throw them right on. Skewing the asparagus makes it easier to flip and prevents them from falling down into the grill.

asparagus

tips&tricksWhen removing the woody ends of the asparagus, hold the spear firmly in each hand.  Bend the asparagus and it will naturally snap at the perfect spot.

asparagus

Vinaigrette Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • ½ teaspoon rice wine vinegar, or any white vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon dried tarragon

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh asparagus with stems removed (see tip)
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Heat grill over high heat.  
  2. In a bowl, coat asparagus with olive oil and salt and pepper. Skewer asparagus on metal or wooden skewers.  If using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them first so they don’t catch on fire.  
  3. Place skewered asparagus on the grill and cook on each side for about 3 minutes or until desired tenderness. They will start to caramelize and turn brown.  

For the vinaigrette  

  1. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk and set aside.  
  2. Place grilled asparagus in serving bowl and top with vinaigrette.  

Enjoy!

Avocado Egg Salad

Food, Game Day Recipes, Recipes, Salads, Sandwiches, Sides, Vegetarian, , , , , ,

What to do with all of those hard boiled eggs? My friend from the gym told me she made egg salad using an avocado and they loved it so of course, I had to give it a try. Who would have thought pairing an avocado with eggs would taste so yummy? It’s also much healthier than using traditional mayo.

Just make sure you only make what you will be eating right away, since the avocado will brown if it sits in the fridge for too long. This egg salad comes together so easily, you won’t mind.

Avocado Egg Salad

tips&tricksWhen buying a ripe avocado make sure it is almost black in color and it should give a little bit when you gently squeeze it. Also, you can pop off the stem at the top, if it green on the inside then it is ripe.

Ingredients

  • 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled
  • 1/2 ripe avocado
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon
  • 1-2 tablespoons of greek yogurt (optional, this makes it a little more creamy)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Remove yolk from egg and place in a bowl with avocado and mash together. 
  2. Chop egg white and add all ingredients to the bowl. Mix well until coated.

Quinoa Pizza Bites

Food, Game Day Recipes, Recipes, Snacks & Appetizers, , , , ,

Did I ever mention that I’m a snacker?  Alright, a huge snacker! I like to think it’s because I exercise a lot and work up an appetite, but no, I really just love to eat. Since I am constantly snacking on something I need to make sure it is healthy, and these quinoa pizza bites do the trick. You can add any of your favorite pizza toppings, which makes these a great appetizer for parties.

quinoa pizza bites

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa, cooked
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, save extra for topping handful fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
  2. Cook quinoa according to package directions, let cool for a few minutes.
  3. In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.
  4. Scoop into muffin pan and press until flat on top.
  5. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until nice and brown. Take out of oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the muffin pan, otherwise they will fall apart.
  6. Top with fresh grated parmesan cheese and serve with side of warm marinara sauce.

Enjoy!

“Irish” French Onion Soup

Food, Recipes, Snacks & Appetizers, Soups, Vegetarian, , , , , , , , ,

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Nothing says Irish more than a Guinness, so why not add it to one of my favorite soups. French onion soup is easy to make, but it does take some time to caramelize the onions to perfection. But it is so worth it! Usually at a restaurant, french onion soup is loaded with cheese. Don’t get me wrong I love cheese, but I am trying to avoid extra calories.  You control the calories by the amount of cheese you use for the topping.

Irish French Onion Soup

tips&tricks To caramelize the onions, they must cook for about 40 minutes. Stirring about every 10 minutes to help them turn a golden brown. If the onions start to stick to the pan, simply add some Guinness to deglaze the pan.

Irish French Onion Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 large onions sliced thinly, about 8 cups (this looks like a lot, but they will cook down)
  • 4 cloves of garlic, pressed
  • 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 can of Guinness
  • 4 cups of beef or vegetable broth (used organic beef, but vegetable would work for vegetarians)
  • splash of Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • French baguette, sliced into 1/2 inch slices, brush lightly with olive oil and toast in the oven
  • shredded cheddar or swiss

Directions

  •  Add olive oil to a heated large pot or sauce pan of over medium heat. Add the sliced onions to caramelize. To caramelize the onions, see tips.
  • Add the brown sugar, garlic, thyme, and butter cook for  a few minutes.
  • Meanwhile whisk the flour and water until smooth. Add to pan and cook for about 3 minutes.
  • Add the Guinness and increase the heat to get it nice and bubbly. Reduce the Guinness by half.
  • Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
  • Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls. Top with toasted baguette and cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Broccoli Bites

Food, Game Day Recipes, Recipes, Snacks & Appetizers, Vegetarian, , , , , ,

Going green for tonight’s St. Patty’s festivities! That’s right, we’re finally going out for St. Patrick’s day. We have an overnight sitter and we’re ready to party! Back to the broccoli bites. We’re having some friends over before our big night on the town, and I needed a quick and easy snack. These are not only festive, but really good. They’re full of veggies and make a great healthy snack. I think I may just need to make some extras for a snack later this week.

broccoli bites

did-you-know

Did you know broccoli contains high levels of both calcium and vitamin K, both of which are important for bone health and prevention of osteoporosis.  This is great news if you’re not a fan of milk.  Click here for more great health benefits from broccoli.

broccoli bites

Ingredients

  • 1 medium head of broccoli, cut into very small pieces
  • 1 small carrot , peeled and shredded
  • 1 garlic clove, pressed
  • 3/4 cup cheddar cheese
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup of panko or bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  • Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Steam broccoli pieces for a few minutes, until they turn a nice bright green. Let cool.
  • In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.
  • Shape into bite size broccoli balls.
  • Bake on parchment paper for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

nutritional fact - broccoli bite

Last Minute Skillet Pasta Recipe

Food, Main Dishes, Recipes, , , , , ,

Another crazy busy week night and I’m starving. Luckily, I had taken some sun dried tomato chicken sausage (free range chicken of course) out of the freezer recently. Now what to do with it?

I found some whole wheat bow tie pasta in the pantry and diced tomatoes. That’s a start! Of course I never made it to the store this weekend for fresh veggies. I’m really missing the local produce stands to quick stop at on my way home from work.

While digging through the fridge I found a jar of leftover sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and capers. I know, who keeps that stuff laying around in the fridge?  I like to buy that stuff in bulk so I always have a meal to throw together.  Of course fresh veggies would work wonderfully in this dish. Fresh peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, just about anything!  Oh well, next time.

Considering the circumstances, the dish came out great!

Skillet Pasta Recipe

did-you-knowSun dried tomatoes contain many antioxidants that help fight many types of cancers and also help boost immunity. Just one cup contains 9 percent of the daily value for vitamin A and 35 percent of the daily value for vitamin C.  Click here to learn more about the benefits of sun dried tomatoes.

Skillet Pasta Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 package Italian chicken or turkey sausage (or no meat at all!) This recipe would also work with ground meat or shrimp.
  • 1/2 to 3/4 pound of pasta, cooked (I used bow tie)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced1 large roasted red pepper, sliced into strips
  • 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced into thin strips
  • 1/4 cup capers
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed
  • 1 can petite diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 jar pasta sauce
  • parmesan or mozzarella cheese

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Cook sausage in a pan with a little bit of water until no longer pink and cooked through. Drain water and saute until nice and brown. Cut into bite size pieces and set aside.
  3. Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside.
  4. Heat olive oil in cast iron skillet (or a skillet you can put in the oven) over medium high heat. If you do not have one, cook in a regular skillet and transfer to a baking dish.
  5. Saute onion for a few minutes. Add roasted red pepper, sun dried tomatoes, capers, and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until garlic is cooked.
  6. Lower skillet heat to medium low. Add can of diced tomatoes and pasta sauce. Cook until nice and bubbly.
  7. Add cooked pasta and sausage and stir.
  8. Top with cheese and put the skillet right into the oven, or transfer to baking dish and bake for about 15-20 minutes.

    Nutritional facts coming soon.  I Promise. 🙂

Enjoy!

Thai Peanut Chicken Pasta with Vegetables

Food, Main Dishes, Recipes, , , , , , ,

So you’re probably thinking…Peanut butter and pasta, really? Don’t be fooled, it really is a great combination!  In fact, this is one of the most requested meals by my husband. It’s not very spicy and the peanut butter sauce adds a nice sweetness to the dish so if you’ve never had Thai food before, this is a great recipe to start with.

peanut chicken pasta

tips&tricks

Ginger root is typically large and most recipes call for only a few teaspoons. Don’t let that ginger go to waste. Freeze it. When you need to use it again no need to defrost, it actually is easier to grate while frozen. Just simply peel away the skin and grate. Ginger root will last about 6 months in the freezer. Click here for more information about ginger root.

peanut chicken pasta 02

Ingredients

  • 2 carrots, peeled
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided (you can use olive oil if you don’t have sesame)
  • 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup of peanut butter (creamy or chunky, whatever you have)
  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar (white vinegar will also work)
  • 1 teaspoon of chili garlic sauce or sriracha (you can find this in the Asian section of the grocery store)
  • 1 cup canned lite coconut milk (found in the baking isle or Asian section)
  • 1 lb chicken breasts cut into strips
  • 1 large red pepper cut into thin strips
  • 1 pound green beans or snow peas
  • 1 box of whole wheat spaghetti or linguine, cooked
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 cup peanuts for topping (optional)

Directions

  1. Shave carrots with a vegetable peeler and set aside in a bowl.
  2. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and 1 teaspoon of the oil. Add ginger and garlic, saute for about 30 seconds. Add broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and chili sauce. Stir together until peanut butter is smooth. About 5 minutes. Add coconut milk and stir until heated. Remove sauce from heat and keep warm with a lid on top of pan.
  3. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add peppers and green beans or snow peas, saute for about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
  4. Add chicken strips. Cook chicken strips until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.  Turn off heat.
  5. Add the carrots, sauted vegetables, pasta, and peanut sauce to the cooked chicken in the skillet. Toss well so everything is covered with the sauce. I found that using tongs worked best.
  6. Top with fresh cilantro and peanuts.

nutrional facts - thai peanut pasta

Enjoy!

Cheddar Vegetable Chowder

Food, Recipes, Snacks & Appetizers, Soups, , , , , ,

Between work, the gym, and dance classes for my daughter, it’s tough to find time during the week to make dinner. So on Sundays I like to make a few meals to prepare for the busy week.  I try to keep them simple and healthy. You may want to double this one though, since most of it was gone by lunch.

vegetable chowder

vegetable chowder 02

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped or shredded
  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (low sodium)
  • 2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 2/3 cup of milk (I used almond coconut)
  • 2 cups broccoli, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 cup of cheddar cheese

Directions

  1.  In a large pot heat olive oil and add onion, carrots, and celery. For easy prep I used the food processer attachment from my immersion blender to chop this veggies quickly. Saute veggies for a few minutes and add pressed garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add salt and pepper.
  2. Add vegetable or chicken broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender.
  3. In a small bowl mix water and flour and add to soup. Bring to a slight boil and heat for a few minutes until thickened.
  4. Add milk and broccoli. Cook until broccoli is tender about 5 minutes.
  5. Add cheese and stir until melted. I used my immersion blender to make the soup a little smoother, but this step is not needed.

nutrional facts - veg chowder

Roasted Chickpeas

Food, Game Day Recipes, Recipes, Snacks & Appetizers, Vegetarian, , , , ,

Perfect guilt free Friday night snack. Roasted chickpeas also make a great afternoon snack when you are craving something salty. They are much healthier than grabbing something at the vending machine and it only cost me about $2 to make this batch.

Roasted Chick Peas 01

Roasted Chick Peas 02

Ingredients

  • 2 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • dash of garlic powder
  • dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • dash of sea salt

Directions

  • Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.  After draining and rinsing the chickpeas, place them in a single layer on a paper towel and dry by layering another paper towel overtop.
  • Place dry chickpeas in a bowl and mix in olive oil, and spices, and stir.
  • Place chickpeas in a single layer on a baking sheet with sides since they need to be shaken a little during cooking.
  • Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, shaking the baking sheet about every 10 minutes. They do brown quickly so keep an eye them during the last 10 minutes of baking.

nutrional facts - chick peas

TGIF!

Black Bean Brownie Bites

Desserts, Food, Recipes, Vegetarian, , , , , , , ,

I have heard of making black bean brownies, but never actually tried them until my friend made these delicious little bites for a snack at the beach last summer.  Why didn’t I try this sooner?  Yummy!  They are super easy and no one will know there is black beans in them. You have to give them a try!

Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients

  • 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • About 1/3 cup of water, to moisten black beans
  • 1 package of your favorite brownie mix (I try to buy organic or Trader Joe’s to avoid the additive junk in regular brownie mix)


Directions

  1. In a food processor or blender,  puree black beans and add water to moisten beans. Make sure beans are completely smooth. They actually turn a purple color.
  2. Add brownie mix to a large bowl and pour in pureed beans. Mix until a batter is formed.
  3. Spray muffin tin or pan with cooking spray. I make them in a mini muffin tin for portion control, but can easily be made in a pan.
  4. Bake according to brownie box directions. In a mini muffin pan I baked at 350 for about 18-20 minutes.
  5. Serve with a side of fresh berries.

Nutrition Facts

Enjoy!