Quinoa Tabouli Salad

Posted in Eat by Alexis

This past week we packed up our house, moved everything into storage and moved in with my parents. We’re closing on the new house on Monday (if we can avoid the hurricane) and will hopefully be moved in before we head to Boston next Friday. Basically, I haven’t had much time to think about blogs, let alone what we are going to do while we’re in Boston (if anyone has any suggestions, please share!) but I managed to take some pictures of the quinoa tabouli salad I made recently so here’s the recipe! It’s delicious and will be stay just as delicious all week for lunch.

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups quinoa
– 1/2 english cucumber, cut in pieces
– grape tomatoes, cut in half
– 1 can of beans (garbanzo beans are best but I didn’t have any so I used northern beans), rinse and drain
– green onion
– fresh mint
– parsley
– feta cheese

Dressing:
– 1/2 cup olive oil
– balsamic vinegar
– 2 tbsp lemon juice
– minced garlic
– salt and pepper
*(mix everything together in a mason jar and set aside)

1. Make quinoa according to the package and set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine cucumber, tomatoes, beans, green onions, mint, parsley and quinoa.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir.
4. Add feta cheese on top.

I followed [this recipe] but made adjustments based on what ingredients I had. You could easily switch it up with a different dressing or add in other veggies you have in the fridge!

12Jul2015

Sunday Dinner: Simple Fresh Pasta Recipe

Posted in Eat by Alexis

One of my favorite easy recipes is fresh pasta with a light sauce. It’s a great dinner for Sunday nights when you aren’t necessarily up to making something elaborate after a long weekend!

I picked up some fresh pasta from the farmer’s market (you can find some in a health food store, don’t settle for dried pasta!) Cook it according to the instructions. Make the sauce in a separate pan by heating up some oil and adding diced garlic, cherry tomatoes cut in half and salt. Let that simmer for a bit on low-medium heat. I added some white wine (optional) and a lot of basil and oregano from the garden.

When the pasta is done and drained mix with the sauce and top with parmesan cheese. Pour a glass of wine and enjoy your Sunday night!

24Jun2015

Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Posted in Eat by Alexis

Stuffed peppers make for a hearty meal with great leftovers! My grandma used to make stuffed peppers all the time and although I don’t have her exact recipe, this one is definitely reminiscent of it. It’s always extra special when a meal is not only delicious but has memories that go along with it!

Ingredients:
– 4 peppers (any color, just make sure they can stand up well on their own)
– 2 cups brown rice (I just use a box)
– 2 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce
– 1lb. ground beef
– Mozzarella cheese
– 1tbsp. worcestershire sauce
– 2 garlic cloves minced
– Italian seasoning

Instructions:
1. Cut off the tops of all the peppers and clean out the seeds and membranes
2. Preheat oven to 350 degress
3. Cook brown rice according to instructions to make 2 cups
4. Cook garlic for one minute in oil
5. Add beef in skillet over medium heat and cook until brown
6. Place peppers in a baking dish
7. In a large bowl mix together: beef, garlic, rice, worchestershire sauce, one can of tomato sauce, salt and pepper
8. Use the mixture to stuff each pepper evenly
9. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over each pepper and sprinkle with italian seasoning
10. Bake for 45 minutes
11. Add mozzarella cheese over the top and bake for another 15 minutes, until cheese begins to brown.
12. Enjoy!

stuffed pepper

Do you have any recipes connected to good memories?

1Apr2015

Crock Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken Recipe

Posted in Eat by Alexis

Since I work from home every Monday I recently started the tradition of “Crock-pot Mondays”. The only issue is that crock-pot Monday only works works if I also take part in “Grocery Store Sundays.” So let’s just say even though it doesn’t happen every week, it’s great when it does! This Monday I wanted to try a new recipe so I went with Crock-pot cilantro lime chicken (adapted from this recipe). It turned out to be very moist (sorry to everyone that hates that word) and delicious and we have eaten it multiple times this week! Here’s how to make some for yourself:

Ingredients:
– 2 chicken breasts
– 1 small onion (or half an onion)
– fresh cilantro
– 3 limes
– 1 can of chicken broth
– garlic salt
– salt and pepper

Directions:
– First lay the chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock-pot
– Squeeze the juice of the 3 limes over the chicken
– Pour the chicken broth over the chicken until it is covering the chicken about half way
– Chop the onion and put in the crock-pot
– Season with garlic salt, salt and pepper
– Place a handful of cilantro stalks on top of the chicken
– Cook on low for 5 hours
– Once 5 hours is up remove the cilantro stalks and discard
– Remove the chicken breasts and shred with a fork, adding in some fresh chopped up cilantro
– Once the chicken is shredded, slowly pour some of the juice from the crock-pot over the chicken until moist (I used a big spoon to scoop out the juice)

Now that the chicken is done you have plenty of options of how to eat it! The first night I made some guacamole and put the chicken in tortilla shells with all the usually taco toppings. It would be great in a salad too or even on it’s own! crock pot lime chicken

3Dec2014

Easy Black Bean Burgers

Posted in Eat by Alexis

black bean burgers

Here’s another one of my easy go to recipes that tastes and looks great! It’s even often requested by my boyfriend who claims he doesn’t like beans (whatever that means). Go try it out for yourself! :)

Makes 4 burgers.

Ingredients:
– 1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
– 1 egg
– 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
– 1 tbls cumin
– 1 tbls chili powder
– 3 minced cloves of garlic
– 1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
– 4 hamburger buns

black bean burger

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Make sure you mash the black beans and everything is evenly mixed.
3. Form into 4 patties and put on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes on each side.
5. Serve on hamburger buns with homemade guacamole (recipe to come) and a side of sweet potato fries!

Enjoy!

18Nov2014

Chicken Curry Recipe

Posted in Eat by Alexis

I often find myself craving to go out for a good curry dinner. This one satisfies my need but doesn’t require me to go outside or spend a lot of money. It’s one of the first recipes I learned to make, back when I had absolutely no idea what I was doing in a kitchen (thanks to my sister for giving me this super simple recipe). It’s easy and great for last minute entertaining. Make it mild or more spicy depending on your taste. For less spicy look for a mild curry paste and add less cumin.

Makes about 4 servings.

Ingredients
– thin chicken cutlets
– white rice
– 1 white onion
– 1 red pepper
– 2 tablespoons curry pasta
– 1 can coconut milk
– cumin to taste
– salt

Directions

1. First cook the chicken with oil in a pan for 3-4 minutes a side. Dice chicken, set aside.

chicken curry

*Start cooking white rice to pour curry over (I use boxed rice, it takes about 20 minutes). chicken curry

2. Dice up onion and peppers and cook together in oil in a sauté pan on medium heat until onions are semi-translucent.

3. Add 2 tablespoons of curry paste.

4. Add one whole can of coconut milk.

5. Stir until combined.

6. Add spices to taste.

7. Let simmer on medium heat for around 10 minutes until onion and pepper is tender.

8. Add chicken for 5-10 min to reheat.

9. Spoon curry onto rice and…

Enjoy!

11Nov2014

The easiest dinner ever

Posted in Eat by Alexis

If you’re looking for something ridiculously easy mixed with something ridiculously delicious for dinner tonight you’ve come to the right place! I adapted this meal from one I learned in home economics class in middle school and it has been one of my go to’s ever since. Without further ado, I give you the tortilla pizza:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Take as many soft tortilla shells as you want to eat (these are great leftover as well!) Place the tortillas on a baking sheet. Add spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese, and anything else you have in the fridge (tomatoes, garlic, onions, goat cheese, pepperoni, bacon etc etc etc) Top with some italian seasoning and parmesan cheese. Bake for 12-ish minutes until the cheese starts getting brown. And voila! – dinner!