Quinoa Quinoa Quinoa! Fun to say isn’t it? KEEN-WAHH!!!
I’ve had my eye on this salad for a week now. Doesn’t it look good? I saw it posted at the kitchn and immediately saved it under the MAKE SOON file in my brain.
I am sucker for all things lemony so this lemon-cumin vinaigrette was a nice treat! The fruit and the almonds kick some serious ass too!
And let’s direct our attention now to the star of this salad- the AVOCADO!
I’ve been holding onto the summer issue from Everyday Food for awhile now….I have A LOT of the recipes marked but haven’t gotten around to making anything UNTIL tonight. This is one of those recipes that required very little and fortunately I had all of the ingredients! Boy do I love when that happens.
I even got to use some of my tomato harvest from today too!
This meal was very very tasty. Casey and I agreed that we could have easily eaten EVERYTHING on the table. Everything is so light and refreshing that it takes awhile to feel full. Which I guess is a dangerous thing… But it’s all pretty healthy so why feel guilty?
I paired the chicken & tabbouleh with some grilled Lavash bread & some feta. They were excellent pairings!
I like to put a bit of every ingredient on a piece of the lavash bread and gobble it up!
I think you’ll like making this too. It’s super simple and very good for you!
Grilled Chicken with Tabbouleh
(recipe EVERYDAY FOOD)
- 1/2 cup bulgur
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 English cucumber, halved, seeded, and chopped
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for grill
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds total)
Directions
1. Heat grill to high. In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water to a simmer. Add bulgur, season with salt and pepper, and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 10 minutes; fluff bulgur with a fork. In a medium bowl, combine bulgur, parsley, cucumber, tomato, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon oil; toss tabbouleh to combine.
2. In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Clean and lightly oil hot grates. Season chicken with salt and pepper; grill until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Brush chicken with lemon mixture and serve with tabbouleh.
I am not sure why I made this this afternoon. I had 2 lbs of asparagus in my fridge that I planned to use for an asparagus soup … I JUST cleaned up my kitchen, made it all sparkling clean and decided that I needed to bake something! I guess it was like the equivalent of needing a cigarette break…but in baking form. I can seriously destroy a clean kitchen within seconds!
I find that focusing on executing a recipe really helps clear my head…. Because I am a mother, my thoughts are consumed with WHAT DO I NEED TO PACK IN THE DIAPER BAG? BABY LAUNDRY! NAP TIME! FEEDING TIME! not to mention working, maintaining a household and a marriage! I find that in these 20 minutes or so of baking and measuring, I am at complete peace. It is the calm to my storm.
The best part of it is that I have something to show for it!
This tart was DELICIOUS. It would be a great appetizer…a main course paired with a nice salad…could be a hearty snack….shared with someone special. It also could be a decoration on your kitchen counter that you slowly pick at throughout the afternoon…I might have some experience with that.
The lemon really makes the asparagus pop! It has a nice tang to it and the cheese makes it super creamy. Pair that all with a crispy puff pastry and we are getting down to business. I am excited to make this again and experiment! I’m thinking of adding some mushrooms…or swapping cheese with something else like pesto?
Also must mention how happy the symmetry of asparagus makes me!
and I get dibs on the end piece!
(adapted from an Everyday Food Recipe)
-1 sheet frozen puff pastry dough
-5 oz. shredded Gruyere cheese
-1 lb. asparagus
-zest of 1 lemon
-1 tablespoon of lemon juice
-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-Salt & pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork, pierce dough inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
2. Remove pastry shell from oven, and sprinkle with Gruyere. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over Gruyere, alternating ends and tips. Mix lemon juice, lemon zest & oil together in a small bowl. Brush the asparagus with the oil mixture oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Looks so cute all cut up huh?
There’s been a bunch of buzz on this recipe lately, and I wanted to get in on the action! On a whim, I decided to pick up a whole chicken on our afternoon walk. I’m so glad I did.
This recipe was super easy. The prep is a snap! If I can do it with a teething baby in the background, then anyone can.
The results are fantastic. It will be in your rotation in no time. It’s officially on mine!
The sauce is SOOO good. And the best part is that there is A LOT OF IT. We actually brought the pot up to the table and dipped our pieces right in (gross I know, but come on!). If you make this, you will know exactly why.
The major herbal/flavor ingredients- Garlic, Lemon & Sage (cinnamon not pictured)
After browning, I put it in the oven with the lid on for the first 30 minutes.
Then I took it off for the rest of the time.
Chicken in Milk
(recipe from Jamie Oliver)
-1 3 lb. organic chicken
-salt and freshly ground black pepper
-1 stick butter
-1/2 cinnamon stick
-1 good handful fresh sage, leaves picked
-2 lemons, zested
-6 garlic cloves, skin left on
-1 pint milk
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken. Season it generously all over with salt and pepper, and fry it in the butter, turning the chicken to get an even color all over, until golden. Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, and throw away the butter left in the pot. This will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan, which will give you a lovely caramel flavor later on.
Put your chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and cook in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Baste with the cooking juice when you remember. The lemon zest will sort of split the milk, making a sauce, which is absolutely fantastic.
To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide it on to your plates. Spoon over plenty of juice and the little curds. Serve with wilted spinach or greens and some mashed potato.
I served it with some smashed potatoes & a salad with a lemon-poppy seed vinaigrette. I took some of the garlic from the pot of chicken, squeezed it out of the skins and mixed it with the smashed potatoes. Scrumptious! This is how Friday night dinners are supposed to. A good way to start the weekend, don’t you think?
Let me start my telling you that it was never my intention to make this Orzo for Casey’s Birthday dinner. I waffled with the idea of Mashed Potatoes (even bought some potatoes) or a Creamy Pasta. But the morning of the dinner, I was flipping through a magazine cutout that had a recipe for Lemon Orzo and decided I’d wing it and make some.
It turned out to be a GREAT idea. Having a 4 year old and a 5 month old in the house made it tough to time dinner. It’s such a tricky thing when everyone is on different schedules…or engrossed in a movie. I had to get Cooper fed before we sat down to eat, so it was really easy to make this Orzo before I started cooking the steaks. If I had made Mashed Potatoes or a Creamy Pasta, the results would have been GOOEY and gross. The Orzo held up well, and was still really good at room temperature. I have to say that it was EXCELLENT the next day too. I ate it cold. Freshened it up with some lemon juice and added feta. It was a very satisfying lunch. (see picture above)
(inspired by a Rachael Ray Mag)
-1 lb Orzo pasta
-3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
-1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1 10oz. package white mushrooms
-1 10oz. package shitake mushrooms
-juice of two lemons, plus the grated peel of 1 lemon
-handful…or more grated Parmesan cheese
-salt & pepper to taste
1. Cook Orzo pasta according to package.
2. While Orzo is cooking, heat up a skillet with 1/4 cup olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned. Should take 7-10 mins.
3. Drain Orzo and return to the pot. Stir in lemon juice, lemon peel, parsley & pine nuts. Add two tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil…stir it up! Season with salt & pepper to taste. Add mushrooms to the top and serve!
So I’ve never made cheesecake before. It’s one of those baking things that terrifies me. What if I do all the work and then I pull it outta the oven and the top is all cracked??? That would suck. I get really discouraged when things don’t work out. That doesn’t mean I don’t keep trying…there’s just a long period of time before I put my fork back in the socket again.
A few baby steps later, I tried this simple recipe from EVERYDAY FOOD.
Three words:
-Creamy!
-Dreamy!
-Easy!
It will make those of you (like me) get over your hang-ups about making cheesecake. I think I might be ready to be a big girl and try an authentic NY cheesecake. Perhaps I will do when I lose the 5lbs I gained after eating it!
I think my unborn fetus looooved it.
Lemon Cheesecake Squares
Ingredients:
Makes 16
FOR THE CRUST:
– 8 graham crackers (each 2 1/2 by 5 inches)
– 2 tablespoons sugar
– 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE FILLING:
– 2 bars (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
– 3/4 cup sugar
– 2 large eggs
– Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (2 to 3 teaspoons zest and about 3 tablespoons juice)
1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Crimp overhang under rim of pan.
2. In a food processor, blend graham crackers with sugar until finely ground; add butter and pulse until moistened.
3. Transfer crumb mixture to prepared pan, and pat in gently (wipe processor bowl clean, and reserve for making filling). Bake until beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. While crust is baking, make filling.
4. Make the filling: Place cream cheese in food processor; blend until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice; blend until smooth.
5. Pour mixture onto hot crust in pan; smooth top. Return to oven, and bake until set (filling should jiggle only slightly when pan is gently shaken), 30 to 35 minutes.
6. Cool completely in pan. Cover very loosely with plastic wrap; chill until firm, at least 2 hours (and up to 2 days). Use foil overhang to lift cheesecake out of pan. With metal spatula, lift cheesecake from foil; cut into 16 squares. (I think I ended up with less. The bigger the better!)
***If the top was all crumbly and cracked I would have put a layer of glazey blueberry spread on top….or some powdered sugar? Looks like I lucked out—and didn’t have to use an alternative. Hope you enjoy it too! ***
i ripped this recipe out of the magazine a LONG time ago-but it wasn’t until i saw Christine’s post that I remembered I wanted to make them! I had leftover cream cheese frosting from the coconut cupcakes so I decided to make sandwiches. Delish. My house smells like lemons. Yum.
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