i heart food

Grilled Peach Walnut Salad

ingredients:

• 1 peach
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• honey
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• mixed salad greens (dark)
• goat cheese

Slice peach in half and place face-down on a grill until it starts to get soft. For about a minute, place walnuts on the grill and take off when you can start to smell them (make sure not to burn them). 

Mix together honey and balsamic vinegar (i did about 1.5 tbsp honey to 1/4 cup balsamic). Heat in saucepan to thicken. Add about 1/2 tbsp olive oil, stir, continue to heat for 45 seconds to a minute, then take off heat. 

In a bowl, toss greens, walnuts, crumbled goat cheese, and honey balsamic. Top with slices of grilled peach.

you can eat this as a taco too, i just decided to cut out some of those yummy starches and replace them with more protein and vegetables

ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp - deveined 
• salsa of your preference
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 limes 
• 1 jalepeño - or less depending on your preference
• plain greek yogurt
• red & green cabbage - buy pre-shredded if you can
• paprika
• chili powder
• cayenne powder
• salt & pepper 
• avocado & cheese - for toppings 
• corn tortillas - or flour 
  

Thaw shrimp according to instructions and make sure all veins and tails are removed

In a bowl, marinade shrimp with olive oil, juice of 1 lime, 1 or 2 spoonfuls of salsa, and refrigerate for 15 minutes

While the shrimp is marinading, mix some greek yogurt, juice of 1/2 a lime, chopped jalepeño, and dashes of cayenne, chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper

i have zero tolerance for spicy foods so i cut out the inside of the pepper and made sure all the seeds were out

Mix together shredded cabbage and yogurt sauce to make the cole slaw. Refrigerate slaw until ready to assemble the tacos/taco salad

you can add some salsa to the cole slaw too, if you’re feeling fiesty

Grill the shrimp - they cook/heat up fairly quickly, so a couple minutes on each side should do

In a bowl, combine cole slaw and shrimp and top with some more salsa. If desired, add slices of avocado and shredded mexican cheese blend and some slices of tortilla. Enjoy :)

i had bought two beautiful avocados and completely forgot i had them until after i devoured this. talk about tragedy 

to catch a glimpse of this dish in taco version, click here

and for dinner… 

sometimes nearly always, the simplest meals are the tastiest

ingredients:

1 tomato

nonstick spray

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 oz spaghetti 

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Slice tomato into 1/4-inch thick slices, spray cooking sheet with pam, lay slices on baking sheet, spray again with pam, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove and roughly chop.

Cook pasta in boiling water for 6-7 minutes. Strain and place in a heated pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Add garlic and tomatoes and toss for about 2 minutes until pasta is coated.

easy. simple. very flavorful. 

Mushroom-Artichoke Risotto w. Spinach and Feta

i had bought a tub of arborio rice a little while ago to make risotto-stuffed mushrooms and now that it’s the end of the year i am trying to use it up so i don’t waste the entire thing

with a little produce-shopping at my local cafeteria (so convenient) i made mushroom-artichoke risotto with spinach and some feta i had leftover from the fettucini i made

Risotto is really simple to make, it just takes a while. I’ve only made it that one other time and felt like I already had gotten the hang of it. So I suggest follow a strict recipe at least once and then start switching things up to make it just how you like it :)

ingredients: 

i’m not sure about the exact measurements, i just winged it 

• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup arborio rice
• 2-3 cups vegetable broth (or any other broth)
• 2 tbsp butter
• chopped mushrooms — as few or as many as you prefer
• chopped artichoke hearts — as few or as many as you prefer
• spinach leaves — as few or as many as you prefer
• crumbled feta — as much or as little as you prefer
• salt and pepper to taste
  

Total time to cook rice: about 30-40 minutes

Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan and add rice. Add 1/2 cup broth and stir until about 3/4 is absorbed. [perhaps following the instructions on the rice is the best idea, but this is what i did]. Stir frequently on medium heat and keep adding broth by the half-cup. You may end up using more or less than suggested amount — just keep an eye on it. 

Keep stirring — the rice should nearly double in size and become thick and creamy. Add butter and stir until completely melted into risotto.

In another pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and saute mushrooms and artichoke hearts. 

Once everything is nearly done, add spinach and feta to risotto — allowing the spinach to wilt and the feta to get mixed in. Then add the sauteed mushrooms and artichoke hearts.

Serve in a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste (it needs salt, trust me) - (or add it while you’re cooking)

Hope that was about as straightforward as the inter-continental alliances during WWI! Happy Finals Week! 

i also have much better step-by-step pictures from my camera but my camera is alllllll the way at my boyfriend’s apartment (down 5 flights of stairs and about 30 ft away) - i’ll put them up later. maybe. if i survive finals

have I mentioned how much I love sweet potatoes?

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

Ingredients:

• 2 large bell peppers
• 5-10 pieces of sliced sun-dried tomatoes 
• handful spinach
• handful basil
• 1/4 cup toasted pine-nuts
• 1/4 cup feta cheese (amount can vary)
• olive oil (amount will vary until desired consistency is reached) 
• parmesan (optional)

a complete meal all in one bowl!

This past Sunday my friend Blake invited my boyfriend and I over to his apartment so I could cook them dinner (what a dear). But really, I do love getting to use his pretty and fully-stocked kitchen - mainly the fact that he had a food processor really excited me. 

It’s always a little hard to figure out what to cook for other people - I don’t really eat meat, and …. well… my boyfriend is kind of the farthest thing from a vegetarian..

solution: PESTO - he loves it, i love it, blake loves it 

+ shrimp, mushrooms, and asparagus (gotta add some protein in there)

outcome: great success

and if you time everything right, it’s really easy to keep everything warm and ready all at the same time. especially if you leave out the toppings, all you need to do is cook the pasta, roast the bell peppers, and stick some stuff in a food processor

Turkey Sandwich on sourdough w. pesto, mozzarella, spinach, and red onion

i’m at my boyfriend’s family’s house in Kansas for Easter and it’s been beyond wonderful having a cute kitchen to cook in. Thus far I have cooked a grand total of two things: poached eggs on toast & this sandwich. 

but basically this sandwich was delicious and I’m glad i decided to try to work some lean meats back into my diet 

Wednesday Menu!

tip: save the image to a file on your computer to keep daily menus on hand! 

Dear Anon: here’s your daily menu numero uno! a little late but i should be getting this up i’m a more timely manner from now on

kitchen challenge: try cooking with quinoa!! 

Mini Penne w. Pesto & Oven Roasted Tomatoes

i just sliced some tomatoes, put them in a 350 degree oven, and roasted them for about 40 minutes. 

then cooked the pasta and tossed it with pesto and  stirred in the tomatoes that i had chopped up

for Valentine’s Day i promised to make dinner and decided i wanted to make something special (but simple and healthy!)

this fig balsamic glaze was absolutely delicious, and the whole dinner was ready in about half an hour

Ingredients:

(note: the recipe calls for “fig balsamic vinegar” but i used a heaping tablespoon of fig spread [that is usually paired with cheese] and 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar]

6 (5 ounce) salmon fillets
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white wine
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup fig balsamic vinegar
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray with non-stick cooking spray. 

Coat a small saucepan with non-stick cooking spray. Over medium heat, cook and stir garlic until soft, about 3 minutes. Mix in white wine, honey, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for about 3 minutes, or until slightly thickened. make sure you taste it before putting it on the fish! mine was a little tangy at first so i added a little bit more honey 

Arrange salmon fillets on foil-lined baking sheet. Brush fillets with fig balsamic glaze. 

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 14 minutes, or until flesh flakes easily with a fork. Brush fillets with remaining glaze, and season with salt and pepper. Use a spatula to transfer fillets to serving platter, leaving the skin behind on the foil.Garnish with parsley. 

I served the salmon over a bed of wild rice (courtesy of rice-a-roni) and served sauteed mushrooms and asparagus on the side 

my valentine’s day gift to andrew was to promise not to spend 20 minutes photographing the food. so i took two snapshots with my crappy phone camera and called it a day

Taco Salad Burrito

usually i try to stay away from things that have been modified to be “low carb” or “low cal” but when i saw 80-calorie low carb tortillas at the grocery store last night, next to the 200 calorie regular tortillas, i had to pounce

and i am SO glad i did

because today in the cafeteria they had a taco bar - so i filled my to-go box with refried beans, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, bell peppers, and a little cheese. got home, made a taco salad burrito, and i couldn’t be more satisfied right now (in my post-burrito happiness)

Teriyaki Quinoa Stir Fry

this was such an easy recipe and i bought all of the ingredients in bulk making this the perfect go-to recipe for an easy weeknight dinner. OR i might make a lot of it and have leftovers to pop in the microwave for an even easier lunch or dinner

and quinoa is a complete protein!

- 1 cup (dry) of organic quinoa
- 1 package (227 g, 8 oz.) fresh button mushrooms, sliced
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2 cups of broccoli florets
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 3 asparagus stalks 
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp terriyaki marinade
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt
- black pepper 
- extra virgin olive oil (or pam or canola oil)

Method
1. Cook quinoa according to directions on package making sure to rinse quinoa before cooking. 

2. In a pan, Sautee the garlic and onions with some extra virgin olive oil (i just use a generous amount of pam) until the onions are translucent. Add in the carrots and scallions and stir fry for 10 minutes.

3. Turn the heat down to medium, add in the cooked quinoa, mushrooms, broccoli, and asparagus, and stir fry for an additional 30 minutes. While stir frying, add in the cayenne pepper and terriyaki marinade. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Weeknight Fish Taco w. tilapia