Mexican Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Kelli

I happen to love sweet potatoes- and I love things with a little spice- so this dish looked right up my alley.

Pretty Easy- Just cut up a sweet potato in 1/2 inch cubes and mix with a little oil and spices.

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This gets spread on a cookie sheet and baked for about 25 minutes until a little browned around the edges.

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Meanwhile, you can make your dressing- Among other things, it has a chipolte chili for a little heat, some thai sweet chic sauce for some sweetness and lime to brighten.  Quite lovely no?

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Give that whirl (can you tell I’m addicted to my immersion blender?) seriously- one of those tools I had forgotten was as handy as it is!

By now our potatoes are done-

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They are mixed with some black beans, corn, cilantro, green onions…

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It already looked so good I nearly forgot the dressing!

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Plate and voila!

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Tasty!  I liked the sweetness and the spice.  I will say it did remind me of fall a little bit due to the sweet potato action- but was no less delicious.

We had some left overs and I rolled them the next day in a tortilla with some spinach- Also yum.

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Thai Quinoa Salad

Posted on May 1, 2013 by meeganders

(posted by Ashley H.)

I’m always looking for ways to use up my big bag of quinoa that I bought in bulk at Costco a while back. This Thai Quinoa Salad (pg. 190) was a good start.

First, combine all your chopped veggies – red pepper, carrot, cucumber – in a large bowl.
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Prepare your quinoa.
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6 tablespoons fresh lime juice for your dressing.
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Some sugar to sweeten things up.
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And some fish sauce. A new ingredient for me. Not too “fishy” tasting at all.
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Some red pepper flakes. Note: I used only half the amount the recipe called for as I don’t care for a lot of heat in my food. This dressing was still crazy hot!
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Combine veggies, quinoa, and dressing. Gently mix in fresh mint and cilantro.
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We served along with Ina’s Asian Grilled Salmon. Delish! Would definitely make again.
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Also. . .I sadly lost all of my pictures for the first two salads I attempted from our book. They were both worth mentioning though. The Lentil Salad with Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette (pg. 179) was amazing. Like Kelli said in one of her posts, I wish I would have doubled the recipe so I could have had leftovers for lunch all week. The raisins along with the hint of maple syrup in the dressing made it just a little sweet, and the walnuts gave it a yummy crunch. I also tried the Couscous Salad with Roasted Vegetables (pg. 151) which was also really good.

So far, the most important thing I am discovering from this cookbook is how EASY and DELICIOUS homemade salad dressings are! I have totally been cursing myself under my breath for all these years of buying store-bought dressings loaded with chemicals and preservatives!!

Would definitely make all three of these salads again!

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Chicken Tortilla Salad

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Kelli

Last night we tried the Chicken Tortilla Salad.

I had tortilla chips on hand that I was tempted to use in place of making my own strips.

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I didn’t think that these little strips with a hint of oil would be as tasty.  I was incorrect.  They were thicker than chips and had a really nice crunch.    I would do that again- especially if I had extra tortillas lying around.

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The recipe said 10-12 minutes.  These were 16  minutes before they were adequately crispy.

The dressing came together easily- I just put everything in my immersion blender jar-

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It’s pretty thick, but a lovely green.  I may have added too much cilantro- fine on the flavor- but probably accounted for it’s thickness.

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This salad is going to look most attractive on the platter served family style.  For my daily purpose, I just heaped everything on our plates.

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Still looks tasty… no?

Though I can see why she recommends serving dressing on the side- the salad isn’t as attractive once dressed-

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I was tempted to add the chipolte chili to the dressing (one of her variations) but I was worried that the color of the dressing would be ugly- Next time.

AND there WILL be a next time.  This was delicious- and I really liked that it didn’t taste like a “taco salad” It had a great light mexican-esc flavor without slapping you across the face.

Yum.

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Romaine and Cucumber Caesar Salad

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Kelli

I don’t make my own Caesar salads very often.  I find the dressing to be a little intimidating to make-  but a classic Caesar goes so well with such a wide range of dishes, it seems like  I should get over it- so here goes.

Intimidating you ask?  Might not be the right word- may be more disturbing.

It’s not the raw egg yolk.

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It’s not the lemon juice (even when I have a paper cut)

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It’s definitely this that I have a hard time with:

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The good news is, I can easily forget about it when it gets whirled up in an immersion blender.

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Add Olive Oil and don’t think about the smelly canned fish that are chopped up inside.

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I digress…

Moving on to the croutons.  This is also something I don’t make often.  I have some that I like at metropolitan market and they suit me just fine when I need a crouton fix- but why not try my own

Dice up some bread and toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, minced garlic…

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Throw in the oven for about 14 minutes in my case-

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They are a little soft, and tasty.  The first one I tasted had WAY too much garlic on it, bit it seemed to be a fluke.  The rest were quite nice.

So the dressing and the greens and cucumber get tossed together- I had some rotisserie chicken I threw in for good measure- and some left over watercress-

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Lastly, topped with parmesan and croutons- no thought of smelly fish.

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YUM.  The dressing was super good.  Will definitely make again- and question my own sense when I purchase dressing from the store.

It’s really the dressing that made the salad.  Croutons were good too- but I would have been satisfied with some quality store bought croutons (insert gasp here)

I do wish the dressing would save- we only used half- but I’m not sure with the egg yolk how long that is recommended.  No chances here…  garbage disposal.  May be someone can give me a definitive answer on that?

Yup- I see this salad in my future.

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Chickpea, Watercress and Mango Salad with Lime-Curry Vinaigrette

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Kelli

The other night we were feeling the curry vibe and paired this salad with a Curried Wheat Berry Salad.

This salad has some of my favorite salad ingredients- roasted red peppers, mango, chickpeas, cucumber…. and a delicious vinaigrette that was super easy to make and delicious.

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All of the colors made it especially attractive on the plate-IMG_3617

 

It was quite tasty and I would definitely make it again as a side with other  Indian flavors.

It’s also great because it’s supposed to be served at room temperature- which makes it a super easy make ahead dish.

I still think the Wheat Berry was more successful- but this was great as well.

Two for two.

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Curried Wheat Berry Salad

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Kelli

My first foray into Raising the Salad Bar– I wasn’t sure where to start- lots of good looking things.  I decided to try something I have never used before- the wheat berry.

Wheat berries cook for about an hour and a half- so plan accordingly, but once they are cooked, this salad comes together in a snap- and could be made earlier in the day (or earlier I suspect) and keep quite well.  IMG_3601

Wheat berries, raisins, scallion and celery all combine in a bowl.

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Dressing is just lime, curry, olive oil, and salt.

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It goes on top and get mixed together.

On the plate sprinkle with pistachios or toasted sliced almonds- which is what I used because we had them on hand.    You can also throw some unsweetened coconut on- but we didn’t have that so I didn’t bother.

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Now I will be the first to admit that this is not a beautiful salad.  I told Mark it looks like a potluck salad I would be avoiding- but let me tell you- it was delicious.

delicious.

So simple and satisfying.  The wheat berries add a nice chew and the almonds a crunch.  I wish I had doubled this recipe- at least.  I could have had it for lunch for days.

Next time.

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Posted in Kitchen Diaries, Salad | 1 Comment

Foolproof Afternoon

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Kelli

We got together a couple of weeks ago to discuss and sample all things Ina Garten Foolproof.  Below are some of our thoughts:

  • Very easy to use- not a lot of page flipping.  Two thumbs up.
  • Solid recipes.  Indeed, they were “foolproof.”
  • Lovable Ina… please have us over for a cocktail, we could be friends.
  • Too much lobster for our Northwest food selections
  • Not necessarily inspiring to cook from- but everything is delicious.
  • Pretty substantial portion size.

Here are some of the dishes that we sampled:

Ashley brought the caramelized bacon. IMG_3512

 

She also brought the Tuscan Mashed Chickpeas

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The other Ashley (Ash V) Brought the delicious and lovely endive orange and roquefort salad.

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Heidi brought the Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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Bev brought the Mushroom and Leek Bread PuddingIMG_3521

 

 

Kathy brought Raspberry Crumble Bars (we fought over these at the end of the night)

 

 

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Ashley V. Also brought these delicious if not aptly named chocolate peanut butter blobs.  I believe these did not have whole nuts…

 

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Randie brought Israeli couscous and tuna salad.

 

 

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Carol brought the Amelia’s Jambalaya

 

 

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I brought the Pasta Ala Vodka

 

 

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Somehow I missed photographing the Cosmopolitans and the Meatloaf that Devon brought- Not sure how that happened.

 

May be because I was more focused on this:

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Honestly, have you seen a more ridiculous plate of food?

A wonderful afternoon.  Can’t wait to get everyone together again!

 

 

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Raspberry Crumble Bars

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Kathy Thompson

This was my favorite so far. EASY and TASTY!
Mix room temp butter and sugar till mixed. Add a tsp of vanilla, sifted flour and salt.

Lightly press two-thirds of the dough into a 9×9 pan. Spread some good-quality raspberry jam on top. I used Bonne Maman and it was good. I didn’t quite use the 10-12 oz she called for (as I’m finding she likes her food saucy.)

Take the left-over third and mix with some fruit and nutless granola. I used Bare Fit Granola and picked out the almonds. Once that is done you crumble it on top of the jam. Top with some sliced almonds and bake for 45 minutes.

I made these for Dwane and he liked them. I think I ate about 4 the first night. 🙂 you can see it was a lazy evening with some good tv and treats.

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Pasta a la Vodka

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Kelli

I am WAY behind on posts.

Time to get with the swing of things.

Tried the pasta a la vodka.

a.  Who doesn’t love pasta?

b.  Who doesn’t love vodka?

Seems like the perfect combo.  Plus, the last time Mark and I cleaned out our liquor cabinet we found six open bottles of vodka.  Not sure what that says- either we drink too much- or not enough- why are they all opened?  I digress- back to the dish.

We start with sautéing some onions…

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And then we add the good stuff- or what ever you happen to have open in your cupboard.

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Some crushed tomatoes….

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Get your simmer on…

After a nice simmer, throw it in the blender- it’s hot, so don’t’ explode it everywhere.

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Now this is where it gets good- a little cream.

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ooh- yeah.

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Meanwhile, you’ve been boiling your noodles.  I did them a couple minutes less than package instructions because I knew they would cook a bit more in the sauce.  (cook’s license)  Anyway, throw those into your pot.

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Happy little noodles.

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at this point, I sort of felt like my noodles were drowning in sauce- so I decided to cook the rest of the package and add them in also- I thought this was much better- but to each his own.

This made it into six servings instead of four.  I like to put it in individual vessels so I don’t get carried away and eat it all at once.  What can I say?  I’m a glutton with no self control.

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Sprinkle these babies with some parmesan.

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I actually popped this to broil in the oven for a few minutes to get the top sort of crispy like a baked pasta- but I did try it as is- both are delicious.

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Final product- YOWZA.  This is good.  Mark couldn’t stop talking about it for two weeks. Now, I will say- it has some heat.  I like things spicy and am always adding red pepper flakes to everything- I did not do so in this case- so if you have a delicate pallet, you may want to cut back on the flakes- I enjoyed as is.

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Oh man.  Good stuff- and the best part?

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These went in the freezer.  (they are already gone at this point) but we defrosted them overnight in the fridge, and baked them at 350 until hot and bubbly.

I will definitely be making this again.  And YOU can too- recipe right here.

Posted in Kitchen Diaries, Main, pasta | 1 Comment

Crispy Mustard-Roasted Chicken

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Kathy Thompson

Crispy Mustard-Roasted Chicken

This is my first official post on my own! Thanks Kelli for always posting my posts before. I can’t guarantee that mine will be as funny as hers, but I’ll try. 🙂

First of all, I heard Kelli’s voice in the back of my head when I started this recipe. The first line was “Preheat oven to 350.” 🙂 I never realized that tip before, but yes…it definitely means it will be a fast/easy meal.

I pulsed some fresh thyme, salt, pepper, garlic cloves, olive oil, melted butter and panko in my food processor. Dump that mixture out onto a plate and in a separate shallow dish mix some Dijon mustard and white wine.

Cut your chicken into pieces, which I attempted and didn’t do very successfully. I have not mastered the art of cutting a chicken. My Mom did it effortlessly…I did not get that trait.

Take your chicken, dip in the liquid and then press into the panko mixture (skin down) and not on the bottom side. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake for approx 40 minutes.

This was easy as pie and absolutely delish! I roasted some brussel sprouts and carrots to accompany the chicken and it was a perfect meal. I would highly recommend.

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