Shakshuka (or shakshouka) is an Israeli breakfast dish of eggs poached in a chunky tomato sauce with spices. It’s a favorite of mine, and easily works as a “breakfast for dinner” option for a busy weeknight.
This recipe can be easily customized to suit your tastes. My version below, adapted from a Cooking Light recipe, has a bit of a Middle Eastern take to it, but could also be made more Mediterranean by adding in olives and fresh basil.
Shakshuka is awesome on it’s own, but is even better with pita or crusty bread, or spooned over rice to soak up the flavors of the dish.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper cut into thin strips
1 yellow or orange bell pepper cut into thin strips
1 red onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1 (29 oz can) tomato puree
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
a few drops hot sauce, or to taste
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese (omit to make dairy free)
2 cups prepared white rice (optional)
pita or crusty bread for dipping (optional)
(note: this recipe is gluten free if served with rice rather than bread)
Messaging below is intended for ages 21+ and is intended to be enjoyed responsibly, in moderation. This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #OktoberOnTheFarm #CollectiveBias
I’m celebrating Oktoberfest a bit late on my blog, but the weather has just starting feeling fall-like this week! Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival held in Munich, Germany at the end of September/beginning of October that is famously known for its beer drinking and accompanying eats.
When I think of Oktoberfest, I immediately imagine beer, pretzels, and yummy wursts (or sausages). One of my favorite sausages (although it’s not German) is Kielbasa, especially when grilled.
Hillshire Farm® Polska Kielbasa is made with beef, pork, and turkey with a blend of natural spices to really bring the flavor. I wanted to play off of the smoky flavor as well as pay tribute to Oktoberfest with a Beer and Cheddar Soup to pair with the Grilled Polska Kielbasa. I found Hillshire Farm Polska Kielbasa in my local Walmart.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 leek, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup flour
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
12 oz Oktoberfest beer
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon smoked hot sauce (can also use liquid smoke)
I live in Philadelphia, and last week I was kind “stuck” at home because of the pope’s impeding arrival. So I used the opportunity to cook up a storm! (Seriously, I managed to make Saucy Chicken Over Rice, Chicken Tacos Bowls, Tomato Sauce, this recipe shared below, and a bunch of other yummy freezable dishes. My slow cooker and stove had quite the week!)
Here’s one of my favorite “freezer friendly” meals, with directions on how to store in your freezer and how to reheat when ready.
These Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells are easy to make, and are great to pack away for future meals (or eat immediately, that’s totally allowed too).
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SimplySpecialMeals #CollectiveBias
We all have those nights where dinner is the last thing on your mind. On busy days (especially Mondays), I just don’t want to think up something for dinner, and I don’t want to spend the money on delivery.
Having a main dish in the freezer, like Barber Foods Stuffed Chicken Breasts, is a lifesaver for busy days. I picked up a 6-pack of Barber Foods Chicken Cordon Bleu from my local Superfresh (you can find them in the freezer section) so that I’m set for future dinners. Look for their new snazzy packaging!
The stuffed chicken breasts are individually wrapped so you can make as many or as few as you want at a time. Barber Foods’ Chicken Cordon Bleu is a chicken breast stuffed with savory ham and Swiss and American cheese which is then breaded — they recently updated the recipe to go along with their new packaging, yum! The frozen raw chicken can go right in the oven from the freezer, so no preparation is needed. This allows me to get dinner going as soon as I walk in the door, so helpful!
I like to make a quick side dish to serve while the chicken is cooking, so for the Chicken Cordon Blue I decided to make sauteed green beans with garlic and toasted almond slices.
Ingredients:
4 Barber Foods Breaded Stuffed Chicken Breasts (I used Cordon Bleu)
I don’t think I’ll ever have enough 30 minute weekday recipes, especially healthy ones! Here’s another one from Cooking Light, that includes salmon, brown rice, snow peas, and quick pickled radishes for a bunch of flavor, crunch, color, and a little tanginess.
Have you ever made an Armenian-style pilaf? This style of pilaf adds toasted spaghetti or other noodles to the rice. This recipe for a Browned Butter Hazelnut Pilaf is really stellar. The cod recipe that goes along with it is also tasty, but the real star is the pilaf. The recipe, from the latest Cooking Light, is a quick meal, so it’s great for something a little different for a weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 ounces uncooked thin spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KingOfFlavor #CollectiveBias
The countdown to the football season is almost over! As a Philadelphian, I am very much in Eagles territory, where Sunday (and Monday night) schedules revolve around the birds. A huge part of watching the game (at least for me) is obviously the food!
One of my favorite game day foods is a rack of ribs. I don’t have a grill, so my go-to method to get fall-off-the-bone ribs is to use my slow cooker.
The best ribs have a little bit of heat to them, don’t you think? This recipe brings both some heat and smokiness with the use of two El Yucateco hot sauces: Red Habanero Hot Sauce and Black Label Reserve Hot Sauce.
I actually picked up three of El Yucateco’s hot sauces at Walmart (you can never have too much hot sauce on hand!) I found them in the Hispanic Food Section.
El Yucateco Red Habanero Hot Sauce is a combination of red habanero peppers, tomato, spices and seasonings. What sets El Yucateco apart from other hot sauces is that it has less vinegar, so the flavor (and kick!) of the pepper comes through more. The red habanero sauce is a great pantry hot sauce and is a great addition to everything from a Bloody Mary to wings. The tomato flavor in the red habanero hot sauce also makes it a great addition to a barbecue sauce!
El Yucateco’s Black Label Reserve Hot Sauce is made from fire roasted habaneros and has an awesome smoky flavor without being overpowering. This hot sauce works great with red meat, chili, and even chocolate! The Black Label Reserve Hot Sauce adds the smoky flavor of barbecued ribs to my slow cooker version!
El Yucateco also has a Green Habanero Hot Sauce, which is a combination of green habanero peppers, garlic, spices and seasonings. This hot sauce is perfect with lighter foods — chicken, seafood, veggies, etc.
I’ve included two methods of cooking these ribs, based on if you’re watching a day or night game. I’m not going to lie, the results are best when you can cook the ribs at a lower temperature for a longer time, but are really delicious both ways!
Ingredients:
3 lbs baby back ribs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
2 cups ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons El Yucateco Black Label Reserve Hot Sauce
I haven’t posted a beef recipe in quite a while, so I’m happy that the one I’m sharing is absolutely delicious! It’s really simple to make as well! This recipe is from the latest Cooking Light and works great as a weeknight dinner. I paired it with the suggested side, Cilantro-Cumin Quinoa, which was also really tasty.
I found the portion of my steaks to be too big, so the below ingredients is a smaller cut than is shown. The beef tenderloin steaks are topped with a simple bell pepper saute and chipotle butter, so a flavorful dinner is ready in no time!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/4 cup sliced onion
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
1 small orange bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
2 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks or 1 (8-ounce) sirloin steak
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce
Late August delivers some of the best produce! I’ve been using a lot of zucchini and yellow squash lately because it’s so darn plentiful right now.
This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light and makes the most of summer squash. I added some lemon juice to the dish to brighten it up a bit, but in general kept the recipe in tact.
Ingredients:
1 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces)
1 medium yellow summer squash (about 8 ounces)
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine (I used spinach fettuccine)
It’s probably no secret that I love pasta. My fiance and I eat it every Sunday night. But its so darn hot in Philadelphia right now and I’ve been craving something a bit less heavy to eat.
OXO must have known my pasta-loving dilemma because they sent me their new Hand-Held Spiralizer, which turns veggies into long thin spaghetti-like strands in no time!
Zucchini noodles (or “zoodles”) seem to be all the rage at the moment, so I was excited to try them out myself!
The OXO Hand-Held Spiralizer creates curly noodles from long vegetables like zucchini, carrots, and cucumbers, while it’s open blade design accommodates round vegetables like beets, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. The food holder keeps hands safe from the blade and the easy non-slip grip container makes it simple to turn the Spiralizer. It is also BPA-free and dishwasher safe.
For this recipe, I decided to make a tomato sauce out of the fresh tomatoes I had in my house, so this recipe for Zucchini Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce is a very summery meal!
Note: I was sent an OXO Hand-Help Spiralizer to try for this post. Opinions are my own.
This post is sponsored by Door-to-Door Organics. All opinions are my own. #MyFarm2Table
These Zucchini Boats were my favorite part of my Farm-to-Table Meal last weekend. Stuffed with mushrooms and mozzarella cheese, the boats were nice and hearty and had great flavor!
This post is sponsored by Door-to-Door Organics. All opinions are my own. #MyFarm2Table
I have been using Door-to-Door Organics for a while now, receiving a Little Mixed Box every other week, and I absolutely love it. Each box is always filled with great quality produce that I can customize a few days prior to ensure I get exactly what I want each time.
This week, I will be sharing a bunch of recipes that I made for a Farm-to-Table Dinner using a Local Farm Box plus a curated selection of local foods, courtesy of Door-to-Door Organics. I had plenty of ingredient to choose from, look at all these goodies!
These products are sourced locally when possible and come from a number of different local farmers.
Interested in trying out a farm box for yourself? Enter code ICanFarm2Table to receive 40% your first delivery!
I used this as an opportunity to bring some of the “farm” into my little city condo. We typically eat dinner on the kitchen island, so I transformed our little space into a picnic! The tomatoes were so gorgeous, the ones not used for the meal became part of the tablescape, along with some of the fresh herbs I used in the recipes as well as a bouquet of flowers.
We had plenty of options to choose from, beginning with Gazpacho and then feasting on Zucchini Boats, Mediterranean Chicken Skewers, and Jalapeno Poppers. Our meal was complemented with a Sparkling Blueberry Pomegranate Cocktail, which was 1/2 oz St. Germain with Club Soda and a splash of Pomegranate Juice topped with Blueberries — so simple and really tasty!
I’m sharing the recipes all week (with the Sparkling Blueberry Pomegranate Cocktail below) so stop back to see what I’ve made!
I served the food on wooden boards to give it a more outdoorsy feel and we drank out of mason jars (which is actually the norm in my household anyways).
This weekend, my fiancé went fishing with a friend and his friend’s father. They had quite a successful trip, and came home with a ton of Rockfish! Rockfish, also known as striped bass, is a mild whitefish that can be prepared many different ways, so I was jazzed!
We had some that night on the grill (yum!), but there was plenty left over, and my fiance’s friend was nice enough to send us home with more fish. I had a hankering for fish tacos, so these Rockfish Tacos are the end result! Rockfish, or striped bass, is the perfect balance of flaky and meaty, so it works wonderfully in tacos.
Ingredients:
1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon cilantro chopped, plus more for garnish
the juice and zest of 1 lime
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large fillet rockfish (striped bass), skin removed (~1.5 lb)
I am kind of obsessed with Zwilling JA Henckel’s knife of the month. It became my favorite knife overnight! The ZWILLING Pro 8″ Ultimate Serrated Chef’s Knife lives up to its name. This bad boy can be used for basically anything. The serrated edge is comprised of large and small scallops, which helps the knife stay share longer than a fine-edged chef’s knife.
From the website: Precision forged from a single piece of high-carbon, no-stain steel, the SIGMAFORGE® blade is exceptionally sturdy yet flexible. The FRIODUR® blade is ice hardened, making it extremely sharp and durable. The knife is hand ground and polished, then the angle of the cutting edge is checked with precise laser technology. The durable ABS resin handle is ergonomically shaped for a comfortable grip and is triple riveted to the blade.
I have been using it for anything and everything; fruits, veggies, meat, you name it! I typically gravitate towards Santoku knifes so I was surprised how comfortable I was using this chef’s knife. It works great to chop and thinly slice, but is super sharp so be sure to take care where your fingers are when using it (as you should when using any knife).
I chose a recipe highlighting this knife’s chopping skills, but it also works great on produce with more delicate out layers like tomatoes, and can even be used to slice chicken breasts with ease.
This recipe is adapted from a Rachel Ray recipe, so you know it’s a quick and simple recipe with tons of flavor. Per her suggestion, you should definitely have a loaf of bread on hand to dip into the yummy sauce!
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken (I used a chicken broken down- 2 breasts, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs)
I’m in another busy period of work, so expect a lot of quick weeknight dinner meals! Seafood is always a favorite quick meal of mine, and this recipe from Cooking Light’s latest issue is ready in no time! I paired it with an adaptation of a Bon Appetit Couscous recipe.
The trout is pan seared and then topped with a chunky warm parsley-caper vinaigrette. I’d suggest doubling the recipe so you have some to toss into the couscous!
