Note: I was sent a box of various Bob’s Red Mill products to make the below recipe. Opinions are mine alone.
Lentils are one of those foods that I wish I had experimented with earlier in my cooking. They are easy to cook, really tasty, and packed with nutritional goodness. Just one serving (1/4 cup) of red lentils has 14g of fiber and 13g of protein. Red lentils in particular are great for soups and stews because they cook really quickly and break down when heated, making for a nice thickened base.
This Lemony Red Lentil Soup is adapted from a New York Times Cooking recipe. I mostly kept to the original recipe, but increased the spice and lemon and added in another carrot.
The half chunky half smooth soup is super comforting and makes for a really satisfying lunch or dinner.
My friend and I made this during our cooking day and froze it for future meals.
Ingredients:
3tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1tablespoon tomato paste
1teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground chile powder, plus more for garnish
1quart chicken broth (or vegetable broth to make vegetarian)
Note: This post is sponsored by Moyer Beef. All opinions are mine alone.
One of the biggest bummers of cooking a lot (and, boy do I cook a lot) is that the dishes are never ending. I can basically fill up my entire dishwasher with some meals! But some weeknights, you just do NOT want to deal with all those dishes. Which is why it’s great to have a couple of one pot, or in this case, one sheet pan recipes.
Fajitas work really well as a sheet pan meal. You just add the onions and peppers to a pan, broil until they begin to brown, and then add your protein of choice.
For these Sheet Pan Steak Fajitas, I decided to use Moyer Beef’s London Broil to make steak fajitas.
Ingredients: (serves 4)
Seasoning: (or can use Mexican seasoning mix)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Other ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
the juice of 3 limes, divided
1 (~3 lb) London Broil
4 medium-sized bell peppers, multi colored if desired, thinly sliced
To make, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt, pepper, coriander, smoked paprika, and chili powder in a small bowl (Note, if you don’t have all of these spices on hand, you could use a Mexican seasoning mix as well. You’d need 3 1/2 tablespoons).
Add the olive oil and the juice of two limes to a large gallon zip top bag. Add the spices, seal, and move the mixture around in the bag to evenly combine.
Add the London broil to the bag, seal, and evenly coat in the mixture. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, turning the bag over at least once. (You could also add this to your fridge overnight to marinate. Just let come to room temperature before cooking).
Thinly slice your bell peppers and onion and add to a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, toss to combine.
When ready to cook, preheat your broiler. Add the pepper and onion mix to a sheet pan in a single layer. Broil for approximately 8 minutes or until some of the mixture begins to brown.
Move the mixture to each side of the pan.
Remove the London broil from the ziptop bag and add to the pan, discarding the marinade.
Broil for approximately 5-7 minutes per side, or until the meat is browned and cooked through (135 to 140 degrees F for medium rare). Be sure to watch your veggies in particular, they can burn really quickly when using a broiler. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, thinly slice the beef, or cut into bite sized pieces.
Add to the tortillas and top with pico de gallo, sour cream, and fresh cilantro. Squeeze the remaining lime over top of the fajitas and serve.
If you like heat, I’d suggest also topping with jalapeno, or adding a bit of hot sauce on top.
This is a really satisfying dinner that’s really simple to make!
The little bit of char on the veggies adds a bit more flavor to the seasoned beef and sweetness of the onions and peppers.
After a yummy meal, it’s even better knowing that you only have one sheet pan and two bowls to clean!
To make, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt, pepper, coriander, smoked paprika, and chili powder in a small bowl (Note, if you don’t have all of these spices on hand, you could use a Mexican seasoning mix as well. You’d need 3 1/2 tablespoons).
Add the olive oil and the juice of two limes to a large gallon zip top bag. Add the spices, seal, and move the mixture around in the bag to evenly combine.
Add the London broil to the bag, seal, and evenly coat in the mixture. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, turning the bag over at least once. (You could also add this to your fridge overnight to marinate. Just let come to room temperature before cooking).
Thinly slice your bell peppers and onion and add to a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, toss to combine.
When ready to cook, preheat your broiler. Add the pepper and onion mix to a sheet pan in a single layer. Broil for approximately 8 minutes or until some of the mixture begins to brown.
Move the mixture to each side of the pan.
Remove the London broil from the ziptop bag and add to the pan, discarding the marinade.
Broil for approximately 5-7 minutes per side, or until the meat is browned and cooked through (135 to 140 degrees F for medium rare). Be sure to watch your veggies in particular, they can burn really quickly when using a broiler. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, thinly slice the beef, or cut into bite sized pieces.
Add to the tortillas and top with pico de gallo, sour cream, and fresh cilantro. Squeeze the remaining lime over top of the fajitas and serve.
If you like heat, I’d suggest also topping with jalapeno, or adding a bit of hot sauce on top.
This Freezable Ratatouille is another recipe my friend and I made last weekend during our cooking marathon. This time of year is perfect for making a huge batch of ratatouille and freezing it!
Ratatouille is a produce-heavy dish, using eggplants, zucchini, onions, and peppers. My friend doesn’t really love eggplant, so I used fairy tale eggplants which are smaller, with thinner skins and are a bit sweeter than regular eggplants.
This Freezable Ratatouille also allows you to do a lot of the prep work ahead of time. The vegetables are cooked separately, so prep work does go into a bunch of bags, but it makes the cooking process much easier. We used a recipe from The Kitchn as our base.
Ingredients (makes 8 to 10 servings):
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
3 medium green bell peppers, chopped
6 to 8 medium zucchini, cut into bit sized pieces
4 large tomatoes, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 fairy tale eggplants
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup basil, sliced into ribbons, plus more for garnish
Note: I was sent a box of various Bob’s Red Mill products to make the below recipe. Opinions are mine alone.
This past weekend, a friend and I got together to stock our freezers. The fall is a super busy time of year for most, so we wanted to have a variety of meals ready to make some nights (and mornings) easier. We settled on eleven (11!) recipes, organized a shopping list split between the two of us, and set up prep work (chopping veggies for the most part) for the night before. The next morning, we met at my place and got to cooking!
Chili is a go-to freezer recipe. Not only does it freeze well, but it works great on its own, with cornbread, over polenta, as a “dip” with corn chips, with eggs for breakfast, etc. This recipe originally began as a vegetarian chili, but we had more ground beef leftover, so in it went!
I am a firm believer that dried beans make for a tastier dish than canned beans. There is some prep work needed, but it is very much worth it. I used Bob’s Red Mill Red Kidney Beans and Cannellini Beans for this recipe.
source: bobsredmill.com
We made a LOT of this chili, somewhere around 20 servings, so I’ve scaled it down for this post to make it more appropriate. Feel free to double if needed.
Note: I will share and link all of our recipes below. It was quite a successful cooking day!
Ingredients (makes 8-10 servings):
12 oz dried Bob’s Red Mill Red Kidney Beans (~1/2 bag)
12 oz dried Bob’s Red Mill Cannellini Beans (1/2 bag)
Note: This post is sponsored by Moyer Beef. All opinions are mine alone.
Last weekend, I stumbled upon a farmer’s market while walking around my neighborhood and picked up a bunch of veggies: peppers, tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. I didn’t really have plans for the vegetables, but then I realized these ingredients would make a really tasty hash!
I had been planning on making a steak and eggs recipe using Moyer Beef’s Angus Top Sirloin, so after my bounty at the farmer’s market, that morphed into a steak and eggs hash!
This recipe is a great sharing recipe with friends and family. You can serve the meal right out of the skillet (just add a towel to the handle so you don’t burn yourself)!
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 Moyer Beef Angus Top Sirloin Steaks
1 pound yellow potatoes, diced into small bite sized pieces (can substitute sweet potatoes to make paleo)
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
4 large eggs
1 cup small heirloom tomatoes, halved or quartered (if larger)
Note: This post is sponsored by Moyer Beef. All opinions are mine alone.
It’s definitely still summer weather for the most part, but this past week, we’ve had a bit of a cool down in Philly. Which got me thinking about more fall inspired dishes.
Hashweh, or rice stuffing, is a wonderfully flavorful ground meat and rice dish that is perfect for fall weather (or honestly, any weather, it’s really tasty!)
The dish originates in the Middle East and is typically made with lamb or beef seasoned with spices including allspice and cinnamon, served with rice.
Most recipes also include toasted pine nuts with some also having a sweet dried fruit.
This dish is a nice comfort food option that comes together in roughly 30 minutes. The spice profile makes it really crave worthy!
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups white rice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 cups chicken broth
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 whole cloves
2 whole cardamom pods, smashed
1 lb ground beef (I used Moyer Beef’s 81% lean ground beef chuck)
Note: This post is sponsored by Moyer Beef. All opinions are mine alone.
This past weekend, we had my parents over for dinner. I had a hankering for Lamb Kofta, which is a dish of ground lamb with spices formed into meatballs and grilled.
My dad isn’t exactly the most adventurous eater, and doesn’t like lamb, so I instead decided to adapt the spices added to kofta into a marinade for beef kebabs. Kofta can be made with any ground meat, but I had some beautiful Moyer Beef’s Rib Kebab meat on hand, so kebabs it is!
Kofta can be made with quite a range of spices, so this recipe is very adaptable. This version uses fresh parsley as well as dried spices to add a different dimension of flavor. I also served it with some tzatziki for dipping.
Ingredients:
Tzatziki (omit to make dairy free):
1 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cucumber, seeded, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
the zest of one lemon
the juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Kebab:
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 lbs kebab meat (I used Moyer Beef’s Rib Kebab meat)
Note: This post is sponsored by Moyer Beef. All opinions are mine alone.
One of my favorite parts of working with Moyer Beef this summer is that I am trying cuts of beef I’ve never had before, like a T-bone steak. T-bone steak is a bone-in steak and includes the strip loin and tenderloin; it’s named a T-bone, because, well, the bone looks like a T.
T-bones are considered pretty high-quality steaks, and as such, don’t need much effort to make them taste amazing. They are also huge (in my opinion), usually 16-24+ ounces. So I invited over some friends to help my husband and me enjoy our bounty (they didn’t seem to mind too much).
For these steaks, I decided to add a simple dry rub and top with gremolata to add some freshness. Because it was absolutely beautiful this weekend, there was no way I wasn’t grilling them outdoors! The result was this Grilled T Bone Steak with Gremolata.
Ingredients:
2 t-bone steaks (I used Moyer Beef’s T-Bone Steaks)
It’s been a little while since I shared a cocktail recipe! I’ve been meaning to make this Blackberry Gin Fizz cocktail since I saw a version of it in the June issue of Cooking Light.
A “fizz” is a cocktail that includes an acidic juice (lemon or lime usually) and carbonated water. Fizzes typically also use egg whites in the recipe to add some extra froth on top.
I absolutely love gin fizzes, they are a perfect warm-weather drink. I used the Cooking Light recipe for a Blackberry Gin Fizz as a starting point, but adapted it slightly.
Note: This post is sponsored by Moyer Beef. All opinions are mine alone.
I’m excited to share that my blog is about to get considerably more beefy! For the next few months, I’ve partnered with Moyer Beef to share some awesome beef recipes. Moyer Beef sources beef and angus beef locally from small family farms in the Northeast. I’ve been sent a bunch of different cuts, so I can’t wait to share some recipes!
Source: moyerbeef.com
First up, I decided to make a grilled meal using Moyer Beef’s Angus New York Strip Steaks. New York Strip Steak is also known as Kansas City Strip Steak or Ambassador Steak in the US and Sirloin Steak or Porterhouse Steak in Europe. This cut is particularly tender and flavorful. Angus New York Strip Steak, known for their marbling, are even more flavorful (marbling = flavor). This cut of steak comes from the short loin, along the back of the cow. (Fun fact = a T-bone steak is a New York Strip Steak with the bone and tenderloin still attached.)
So, in my opinion, the flavor of a New York Strip Steak should be allowed to mostly shine on its own. Adding a bit of fancy butter on top won’t hurt though, right?
Playing off the flavors of the Honey-Tarragon Blue Cheese Butter, I also made Grilled Tarragon Potatoes to go with the steak. The result is these crave worthy recipes for Grilled New York Strip Steak with Honey-Tarragon Blue Cheese Butter & Grilled Tarragon Potatoes!
I have the unnecessary “skill” of setting off my smoke alarm almost every time I use my oven or stovetop. I’m going to blame it on my house having an overly sensitive smoke alarm (which I guess is better than one that doesn’t work at all). So in the summer, I basically turn every recipe into a grilling recipe so I can cook outdoors.
This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light. Making it on the grill means I didn’t get as crispy skin on my red snapper (mainly because it stuck to the aluminum foil), but that’s ok. Feel free to check out the original recipe to make indoors.
Excuse the lack of posts, my husband and I went to Montreal and Quebec City last week, so no cooking for me! Both Montreal and Quebec City are pretty amazing food cities, and I definitely made to eat my way through both. (And yes, we somehow managed to have poutine four times!)
Needless to say, when we returned to Philly, we both were looking to eat a bit… lighter.
This recipe adapted from Cooking Light for Shaved Cucumber Greek Salad is a simple but different take on a traditional Greek salad. It looks fancier than it really is, the only special tool needed is a veggie peeler.
Ingredients:
2 cucumbers
1 large heirloom tomato, cut into wedges
2/3 cup pitted Castelvetrano olives
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled (I suggest using French feta)
We were recently heading to a friends house for dinner and were asked to bring a salad.
I didn’t necessarily want to bring a traditional lettuce-based salad, so I went in search of something that made the most of what’s in season at the moment, like this Peach and Tomato Salad.
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GetGrillingAmerica #CollectiveBias
Can you believe it is almost Memorial Day? Since the first relatively nice day we had this spring, I’ve been dreaming of warm weather and outdoor grilling; I cannot wait to kick off the unofficial start of summer with a true backyard barbecue! To break in my grill for the season, what better choice than to get some ribs on the grill?
I have a few recipes on my blog for Slow Cooker Ribs, dripping in yummy homemade barbecue sauce. But when it comes to ribs on the grill, I like mine smoky and seasoned with a flavorful dry rub, like this recipe for Memphis Style Grilled Ribs. Grilling ribs takes some time but is a pretty simple process. Cooking them low and slow results in a wonderfully tender meat that is nice and juicy on the inside, with a beautiful crust on the outside.
I picked up a rack of Smithfield Fresh Pork Back Ribs from Walmart, as well as some charcoal, and hickory wood chips. Smithfield Fresh Pork ribs are hand-trimmed and have no added hormones or steroids. They are extra tender and juicy, making them perfect for grilling.
(As a said above, smoky ribs are a favorite of mine!) I love love love the flavor that charcoal imparts on grilled food.
Adding some chips on top of the charcoal adds another level of smoky flavor to the ribs.
