This recipe from Cooking Light is actually supposed to be a side dish. But I thought this Farro Berry and Walnut Salad would make a great summer lunch! I have been looking for something that can be made the night beforehand and transports easily so this salad seemed perfect. I added in some blueberries because my boyfriend is allergic to cherries and I wanted him to still be able to enjoy a fruit within the salad (he’s fine with cherries being in something, he just has to pick them out).
Ingredients:
5 cups water
1 1/2 cups uncooked farro
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 pound sweet cherries, pitted and halved (about 2 cups)
I have to admit, kale is really not my favorite green. It tends to, well, taste like a leaf. So I was intrigued when I came across this recipe for Crispy Coconut Kale on Food 52 by Ashley Couse of Bloom & Nourish. The recipe pairs the kale with oven-roasted salmon, spicy sweet potatoes and creamy coconut rice. I couldn’t wait to try these flavors together!
Note: This recipe for Crispy Coconut Kale with Roasted Salmon Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Rice is gluten free and is thisclose to being Paleo. To make it Paleo-friendly, just do not make the rice.
Ingredients:
1 cup jasmine rice, uncooked (omit to make paleo)
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 tablespoon Sriracha
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
1 bunch lacinato kale, ribs removed and sliced into strips
I’ve never fully understood traditional potato salad. Mayo on potatoes just doesn’t appeal to me, especially on hot summer days where you always seem to find it as a side at barbecues and picnics, which is why this recipe for Whole Grain Mustard Potato Salad appeals to me!
I came across a whole grain mustard based potato salad from 1st & Fresh Catering a while back that had no mayo and was absolutely delicious. I’ve been meaning to try to make my own version ever since. So when our friends said they were having people over this weekend to barbecue, I knew exactly what I was going to make! (These poor friends of mine are always my taste testers for new recipes, from Cornbread to Brownies with Grilled Fruit. Hopefully they don’t mind!)
This recipe does include some Greek yogurt to keep the dish creamy but is fairly minimal. To kick the flavor up a notch, I included some of Healthy Solutions Spice Blends’Salmon with Dill Spice Blend. The spice blend includes dill (of course), onion powder, and garlic powder along with some other spices that I thought would really complement the whole grain mustard. The result is a spicy potato salad that is sure to be a hit!
Note: Healthy Solutions Spice Blends sent me samples of some of their blends including the Salmon with Dill.
Now that Lent is in full swing, I thought I’d add even more salmon recipes to my blog. (If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I love salmon. I would eat it every day if I could.) This recipe from Cooking Light has a bit of a Mediterranean flare to it: a simple seared salmon filet over orzo pilaf with kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, and dill.
Ingredients:
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
3/4 cup uncooked orzo
1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 cup bottled roasted red bell peppers, thinly sliced
It can be tough to prepare a side dish to go with your dinner on busy weeknights. It’s just one more step you probably don’t want to deal with when you get home and you just want to eat. But this recipe for Asparagus with Tomato and Feta is so simple, you can easily make this delicious side to go with sauteed chicken breasts or seared salmon in no time!
This side can be made in about 15 minutes and cooks in the oven, leaving the stovetop free for you to cook the rest of your meal.
I am seriously starting to think that Cooking Light has a way to read my thoughts. It’s like they know exactly what ingredient I want to work with next, or a particular product I might be craving, like this recipe for Stuffed Chicken and Herb Gravy. And I don’t mind that one bit.
The latest issue has a recipe for Stuffed Chicken and Herb Gravy with Creamy Polenta that upon seeing in the magazine, I immediately put on my boots, coat, hat, scarf, gloves, etc. etc. and headed for the supermarket, despite the slippery and freezing walk I had ahead of me (it’s a whopping 5 blocks away, but I still managed to almost fall a good 3 times). And I have to tell you, it was worth it.
(I posted this photo to Instagram before I left for the supermarket. hehe)
Chicken breasts stuffed with prosciutto and provolone, over creamy polenta, topped with an herb gravy… What’s not to like? The recipe suggested making it with bacon green beans, but we had some Brussels sprouts in the freezer that I wanted to use so I substituted them in instead.
Ingredients:
CHICKEN AND GRAVY:
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 very thin prosciutto slices (about 1/2 ounce), halved
4 (2/3-ounce) slices reduced-fat provolone cheese
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock, divided
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
POLENTA
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1/3 cup unsalted chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked polenta (I just used yellow corn meal)
Have you ever started a recipe only to find that you are missing an ingredient? And not just any ingredient, but a key ingredient? This happens to me more than I’d like to admit. Recently, I wanted to make Cooking Light’s Spanish Chicken and Rice with Saffron Cream, went and bought the ingredients, and came home to realize the person who checked me out never put the chicken in my bag! Blargh. so. Here’s a recipe for Chicken-less Spanish Rice with Saffron Cream
I was pretty annoyed, but we still had to eat. So this rice became more of a paella without the crispy bottom. And because of the chorizo, it still felt like it could be a complete meal. Anyways, this Spanish Rice with Saffron Cream was still tasty despite my grumbling for wanting some chicken.
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I wanted to do a post about Traveling with Food and Drinks for Thanksgiving. My family meets in North Jersey for Thanksgiving, with most of us bringing a side or dessert along with us. My aunt and uncle who host Thanksgiving still get stuck with a lot of the work, but every little bit helps. This year, I am still trying to decide what dessert I will bring. Although my number one job is still to mix up my grandpa’s famous recipe for Bloody Mary’s; priorities! 🙂
Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Target.
My friends and I also met for a “Friendsgiving” last year. It was potluck, with the hosting house making the turkey and the rest of us signing on to do sides, drinks, and desserts. It was so fun to see a spectacular Thanksgiving meal come together as people brought in their creations, dish by dish.
Keeping cold foods cold and warm foods warm while traveling is crucial and can be kind of difficult. Also trying to choose what to bring can be tough too; you don’t want to bring something that requires a lot of assembly when you arrive. I have included some of my favorite past recipes below that would be perfect for Thanksgiving, along with how to pack up the food for travel. As a member of the Target Influencer Network, I thought it would be helpful to include some Target products that help make transporting the food and drinks a lot easier as well!
Drinks:
I brought this Applejack-Spiked Hot Apple Cider to Friendsgiving last year and it was a hit! Just prepare at home and fill a Thermos (like this 40 oz Thermos). If you want, you can bring a carafe to transfer the cider to for serving, or for short distances you could just use the carafe to transport as well.
Pumpkin Eggnog is the perfect way to enjoy the flavors of fall. This is served cold, so be sure to store it in the Thermos already chilled. You can stir in the pumpkin vodka before leaving, or keep it separate so that you also have a non alcoholic version to serve.
Every year around Christmas, my aunt and uncle serve Wassail, a mulled wine that is just so comforting. So why not extend its usage to Thanksgiving as well? This is best warm so keep in the Thermos. You may want to warm it up when you arrive as well. It works great kept in a slow cooker on low; this 2 quart Crock Pot would be great and not take up a lot of room!
Sides:
Every Thanksgiving dinner needs cranberry sauce! And there is nothing wrong with the canned version. But, if you want to add some pizzazz to your cranberry sauce this year, this Slow Cooker recipe is really tasty and makes a bunch.
The best part is that it is really easy to transport. Just spoon the cranberry sauce into a 24 oz. Ball jar, screw on the top tightly, and you’re good to go. Cranberry sauce should be kept refrigerated, so just pop it into a cooler, like this Igloo Roller Cooler, with some ice packs and it will stay cold while traveling.
This Green Bean Casserole with Mushrooms replaces the traditional canned mushroom soup and tops it with homemade onion rings. This can surprisingly travel pretty well! You just might need to reheat it when you arrive. I’d suggest putting it under the broiler for a minute or two before serving to crisp up the onion rings as well. The Anchor Hocking Bake ‘N Take is perfect for transporting this meal and any other casseroles you may have; the 6-piece set has 2 baking dishes with lids, a hot-or-cold pack and an insulated carrying case. You can cook the casserole in the baking dish and then transport it inside the case.
These Horseradish Cheddar Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Apples are a great spin on traditional potatoes. The sweetness of the apples balances out the flavor from the Horseradish Cheddar cheese making this one people will come back for seconds (or thirds)! To transport, keep the mashed potatoes separate from the topping. Store each in an airtight container, such as containers from Sterilite’s Ultra-Seal line. You can make this a day or so ahead and just reheat when you arrive at your destination. After heating each component separately, top the mashed potatoes with the bacon and apple mixture.
Desserts:
These Mini Preserves Tarts can be made a couple of days ahead of time. My family sets up desserts buffet style, and everyone goes down the line taking a little bit of everything. These mini tarts are great for our set up, allowing us to have a tiny bite without taking up too much precious space on our plates. We can always come back for more if we want!
Because the crust can be a bit delicate on these, the best way to store them would be in a shallow container with a lid so that they can be arranged flat. I love using my Pyrex Storage Set to transport tarts and the like; I usually use the square containers and just line up the tarts inside. This Rubbermaid Food Storage Container would work great as well if you’re making a few batches!
Trifles can be a bit more difficult to transport but this Gingerbread Chocolate Pumpkin Trifle is worth the extra care. Be sure to get a sturdy trifle bowl like this Luigi Bormioli Footed Trifle Bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Be sure to bring some extra crumbs and pecans in case you need to fix the top when you arrive. If you are traveling a relatively long distance and need to keep it cold, put it in your cooler first and fit the ice packs around it. Add in a towel in the empty spaces to keep it from moving around too much.
These Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars are one of my favorite desserts I’ve ever made. They are that good! Traveling with them is easier than you’d think. You can either keep them in the container you baked them in, cover with plastic wrap, and cut when you arrive, or you can cut them up and place a layer in a container like the Ziploc Versa Glass Container. To stack additional bars, add a layer of wax or parchment paper on top of the bars, add more bars, and repeat.
Do you have any other tips for transporting food or have a specific food that you are trying to transport and don’t know how? Leave a comment below!
Melt Buttery Spread is made of virgin coconut oil, flax seed oil, palm fruit oil, and canola oil — all healthy cooking oils and “good fats.” The coconut oil doesn’t make Melt taste like coconut butter though, the flavor is more mild. Typical buttery spreads are made of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, which have been liked to obesity, heart disease, etc. Melt is also organic, gluten free, soy free, kosher, and has 50% of the saturated fat and fewer calories than butter, so it is a healthy butter alternative. The melting point of the buttery spread is also close to butter’s (unlike most buttery spreads) so it is easy to use as a butter substitute in baking.
Melt has recently developed two new spreads: Honey Melt and Chocolate Melt. I was sent coupons so that I could try these new spreads so I picked up some of the Honey Melt. The spread would be great on its own, just on waffles or on a dinner roll, but I wanted to highlight how great Melt is when baking.
Blueberry Mushroom Risotto. Hear me out. I know you read the title of this post and probably thought I’ve officially lost it. But I promise you this is amazing. I first heard about this bizarre combo in a book called The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook. This book is fantastic. It lists pairings, common and strange, to help make your cooking a bit more adventurous. I page through it all the time, and have learned some yummy pairings. But the one that has stuck out to me the most is the mushroom and blueberry combination.
Apparently northern Italy cooking commonly pairs fruit with mushrooms according to the book. Who knew? My fellow Philadelphian (and internationally known chef) Marc Vetri also has a porcini and blueberry lasagna in one of his cookbooks: Il Viaggio Di Vetri: A Culinary Journey.
So when I found myself the proud recipient of a bunch of mushrooms from To-Jo Mushrooms, I knew it was finally time to try it out. It has been a really crummy, rainy day so I was craving comfort food. Risotto is a perfect rainy day food: hearty, creamy, and absolutely delicious! I’m a huge fan of mushroom risotto so I was excited to try this spin on it. In the past, I’ve made a traditional Mushroom Risotto, as well as a Wild Mushroom Farro Risotto.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup shallots, sliced
3 slider mushrooms, sliced (or 2 large portobello mushrooms)
1/4 cup assorted dry mushrooms, optional (I used a mixture of morel, chanterelle, and trumpet mushrooms)
I’ve mentioned on here many times, I really stink at getting an entire meal on the table. I can usually handle making the main dish and then I just scramble to throw a salad together and call it a meal. So when Cooking Planit told me about their app, it was like they had made it with me in mind!
The app, available for the iPhone and iPad (android coming soon) can also be accessed online. Your usage is synced up through your login, so you can browse on your computer, iPhone, and iPad seamlessly. (The app is currently on sale for $0.99 for iPhone and $1.99 for iPad)
The overall goal of Cooking Planit is to get a meal, sides included, on the table at the same time. The app includes tons of recipes that come already packaged as meals, but you can also mix and match to suit your tastes.
Once you choose your recipes/meal, you can add it to “My Cookbook” to store for future use. When you’re ready to go food shopping, just add the meal to your grocery list. The app gives you the option of planning for 2, 4, or 6 servings which I absolutely love! The grocery list can be viewed as a list by aisle (produce, dairy & eggs, canned goods, etc.), images (in case you have no idea what a leek looks like), or by recipe so you can see what you need for which recipe. Once you find and purchase your ingredients, just check them off and remove them from the list.
When you’re ready to get cooking, just bring up the recipe and click get started. The app will walk you through the meal, step by step, so that all parts of the recipe will finish at or around the same time. The app even shows you which cooking equipment, kitchen supplies, and appliances you need to make your meal, almost foolproof! It also lets you know how long it will take to make from start to finish. I liked being able to browse the recipes online at work, get the grocery list up on my phone at the supermarket, and then use my laptop at home to view the directions while I cooked. Super easy! The iPhone/iPad app also has voice control, so if you’re elbow deep in cooking, you can give voice commands like “Move On” or “Go Back.” When parts of the recipe need a timer, automatic timers show up at the top of the screen for you. The app will also tell you when to slow down so that all parts of the recipe finish at the same time.
So I decided to try it out and give the results below! I (of course) messed with the recipe slightly so my version is below. I chose “Sunday Supper” but changed it to Baby Back Ribs instead of Short Ribs and used my slow cooker instead of the oven.
East Passyunk Avenue is hosting “Flavors of the Avenue” this Saturday, an event where 25 restaurants will be handing out samples from their menus. I was given the opportunity to go to a media tasting for this event a few weeks back and have been unable to think about anything else since! I am SO excited for this event!
I must not be alone, pre-sale tickets are completely sold out, although some limited tickets will be available at the entrance to the tent on Saturday. During the media tasting, I was able to sample food from 7 of the participating restaurants.
The weather in Philadelphia decided to take a break from the cold and give us two days of summer! We hit temperatures above 80 degrees so I wanted to prepare a light meal that didn’t involve much time over a stove. This Vegetable Couscous Salad from Cooking Light is perfect for summer dinners. It also travels well, so it would be a great addition to a barbecue, just make it ahead of time and bring it with you!
Ingredients:
Dressing:
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (.6 ounce envelope Italian dressing mix) or Italian spice blend
Salad:
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked couscous
2 cups chopped red bell pepper (I used two peppers)
2 cups chopped tomato (I used two beefsteak tomatoes)
I tend to make a lot of mistakes when cooking. I won’t read the directions entirely through or will completely forget to pick up an ingredient and then at the last minute need to improvise. This time around, I actually read through the directions beforehand and had everything I needed, except I waited to long to use the Lobster and it had already gone bad. What an expensive mistake! So this recipe was originally a Lobster Corn Risotto, sigh. Anyways, it was still delicious and worth sharing!
After all the pasta, meat, and desserts I’ve had over the past, oh, month, I think it’s about time to switch back to some seafood recipes.
This is actually two different recipes from Cooking Light but I thought they’d be fantastic together. The Sweet Orange Salmon recipe is so easy and quick to make and the Browned-Butter Orange Couscous can be whipped up in no time as well!
Ingredients
Salmon:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
Cooking spray
Orange wedges
Couscous:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
