Here's my recipe for just a basic and quick little hummus. Today I ate some for lunch; I served it with baby carrots and cucumbers (dressed with seasoned rice vinegar and salt/pepper) as dippers and with sides of spinach salad and some leftover couscous salad.
You pretty much need a food processor for this, but you could probably use a blender too (especially if you are fancy and have a Vitamix or something).
Hummus
Ingredients
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 T. tahini (sesame butter)
about 3 T. lemon juice
3 big cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
about 1/4 c. olive oil
In the bowl of the food processor, dump the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt and pepper. Turn on processor.
Once the beans start to get smashed, start drizzling the oil in slowly through the top opening. Stop as soon as the hummus starts looking creamy and smooth.
If your oil likes to pour fast, drizzle a bit then stop and judge before adding more incrementally so you don't over-oil your yummy hummus.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Bell Pepper Antipasto
I made some impulse purchases at Costco this week. I went with my mom, mostly for the conversation, and left with $50 of crap. How does this happen?
Anyway, one of my purchases was a big old bag of bell peppers. I'm not a pepper fan usually, but these looked good.
I made antipasto for the first time with them. You could use these on pizza, with crackers and cheese, gulped down by the handful ... trust me, I'm not a bell lover but these are tasty. Just don't over cook.
Oh, and these were especially lovely on a little turkey sandwich I made on a pretzel slider bun (also spontaneously purchased at Costco).
Bell Pepper Antipasto
Ingredients:
3 bell peppers (I used one each of ref, yellow, and orange), seeded and chopped into thin strips
1.5 T. coconut oil (olive would be fine)
Salt and pepper
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. garlic powder (or 2-3 garlic cloves, minced)
1.5 T. red wine vinegar
Heat a big pan over medium, add the coconut oil. When it's hot and melted, add the peppers, herbs and garlic powder, then salt and pepper to taste.
Sautée until peppers are just cooked. Turn off heat, stir in the vinegar.
Let peppers hang out, preferably at room temperature, for about an hour. Eat or cover and refrigerate to serve later.
Anyway, one of my purchases was a big old bag of bell peppers. I'm not a pepper fan usually, but these looked good.
I made antipasto for the first time with them. You could use these on pizza, with crackers and cheese, gulped down by the handful ... trust me, I'm not a bell lover but these are tasty. Just don't over cook.
Oh, and these were especially lovely on a little turkey sandwich I made on a pretzel slider bun (also spontaneously purchased at Costco).
Bell Pepper Antipasto
Ingredients:
3 bell peppers (I used one each of ref, yellow, and orange), seeded and chopped into thin strips
1.5 T. coconut oil (olive would be fine)
Salt and pepper
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. garlic powder (or 2-3 garlic cloves, minced)
1.5 T. red wine vinegar
Heat a big pan over medium, add the coconut oil. When it's hot and melted, add the peppers, herbs and garlic powder, then salt and pepper to taste.
Sautée until peppers are just cooked. Turn off heat, stir in the vinegar.
Let peppers hang out, preferably at room temperature, for about an hour. Eat or cover and refrigerate to serve later.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Cottage Cheese Salad
Sounds funky, right? This is an adaptation of a Moosewood recipe. It's good, and it's a great way to get some protein without eating meat, if you so desire. You can sub in whatever veggies sound good to you (or whatever you have on hand), just make sure to dice them small.
Cottage Cheese Salad
Ingredients:
About 4 c. cottage cheese
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 green onion, chopped
About 3 T. lemon juice
1/3 c. craisins (dried cranberries)
1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 hard boiled eggs, salted and diced
Combine all ingredients, adjusting lemon juice, salt, and pepper to your liking. Cover tightly and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Salt and pepper to taste
Cottage Cheese Salad
Ingredients:
About 4 c. cottage cheese
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 green onion, chopped
About 3 T. lemon juice
1/3 c. craisins (dried cranberries)
1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 hard boiled eggs, salted and diced
Combine all ingredients, adjusting lemon juice, salt, and pepper to your liking. Cover tightly and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Salt and pepper to taste
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Cherry Rhubarb Pie
Holy cow, my local grocery store had a huge cherry sale this week! Believe me when I tell you that this never happens. I may have overbought. So ... I made this. And it was GOOD.
Ingredients:
2 pie crusts
3 large rhubarb stalks, chopped
3 cups of cherries, pitted
1 c. sugar
1/2 t. almond extract
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
2 T. tapioca
1/4 c. lime juice
Preheat oven to 375.
Mix everything but the crust together in a large bowl, let it sit for 15 minutes.
Place one crust in a large pie pan, and fill it with the contents of your large bowl. Lattice the top (or just make a full 2-crust pie if you don't want to deal with a lattice).
Cover the edges with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool and serve.
Ingredients:
2 pie crusts
3 large rhubarb stalks, chopped
3 cups of cherries, pitted
1 c. sugar
1/2 t. almond extract
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
2 T. tapioca
1/4 c. lime juice
Preheat oven to 375.
Mix everything but the crust together in a large bowl, let it sit for 15 minutes.
Place one crust in a large pie pan, and fill it with the contents of your large bowl. Lattice the top (or just make a full 2-crust pie if you don't want to deal with a lattice).
Cover the edges with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool and serve.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Dinner Tonight
What's for dinner tonight? We did a quick and easy one, with lots of fresh veggies that are starting to hit our local produce aisle.
Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Salmon
Corn on the Cob
Sautéed Zuchini
Salad
Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Salmon
Corn on the Cob
Sautéed Zuchini
Salad
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Creamy Tomato-Chard Pasta
This is an easy vegetarian (though not vegan) recipe. It's nice and light and fresh-tasting and perfect for summer. You can sub any green leafy for the chard; just remember, the "woodier" the green (like chard or kale) the longer it will need cooking. Delicate leafies like spinach don't take long at all, so start the onions in advance with those. Substitute fresh tomatoes if you have high quality ones available to you.
Creamy Tomato-Chard Pasta
Ingredients
About 1 pound of pasta, cooked al dente per package instructions
1 T. oil
1 package (or bunch) chard, washed, de-stemmed, and chopped
1/4 large onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, semi-drained (the tomatoes don't have to be bone dry, just not swimming in juice)
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/2 t. dried basil
salt and pepper
While your pasta is cooking, add the oil to a large pan. Add the onion and saute a minute or two, then add the chard and garlic. Saute until the chard is tender, maybe 7-9 minutes. This will take a lot longer if you didn't get all the stems out. Add the tomatoes, basil and cheese, stir, and cook until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in the yogurt. Salt and pepper to taste, then mix in the pasta.
Thanks to food.com for the inspiration for this recipe.
Creamy Tomato-Chard Pasta
Ingredients
About 1 pound of pasta, cooked al dente per package instructions
1 T. oil
1 package (or bunch) chard, washed, de-stemmed, and chopped
1/4 large onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, semi-drained (the tomatoes don't have to be bone dry, just not swimming in juice)
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/2 t. dried basil
salt and pepper
While your pasta is cooking, add the oil to a large pan. Add the onion and saute a minute or two, then add the chard and garlic. Saute until the chard is tender, maybe 7-9 minutes. This will take a lot longer if you didn't get all the stems out. Add the tomatoes, basil and cheese, stir, and cook until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in the yogurt. Salt and pepper to taste, then mix in the pasta.
Thanks to food.com for the inspiration for this recipe.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
So I'm still on the springtime slough and I had Mother's Day on the horizon. Eeps, what's a girl to do? I needed to save some calories for cupcakes and champagne, so I found this super yummy recipe on Skinny Taste. It was good. The Buffalo flavor was very mild; if I was making it at home for just my family I think I would add a bit more buffalo sauce. The best thing about it was it was sooooo easy--just toss everything in the crockpot in the morning, no fussing over food on Mother's Day. Yay! I tweaked the recipe just a bit, mostly to accomodate a crowd. I also didn't offer blue cheese or blue cheese dressing--again, priorities! I wanted a cupcake BAD. If you read the recipe, you can see why.
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 celery stalk
1/2 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
about 2 c. chicken stock/broth
1 c. Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce (or Buffalo sauce of your choosing)
1 bag baby carrots
4 stalks celery
1 head lettuce
Spray some Pam around your crockpot and add the chicken. Lightly salt and pepper it, then cover with broth. Add the onion, garlic, and celery stalk and cook on high for four hours.
Remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred with two forks. Keep about 1 cup of the liquid in the crockpot and return the chicken to it (don't throw the rest away--use it to make an amazing soup later in the week or freeze it for later. I'm doing crock pot chicken and dumplings with mine).
Add the Buffalo sauce and return the lid to the pot, cook an additional 30 minutes.
Run the carrots and celery through the food processor grater (or grate by hand if you prefer, but mind your knuckles). Remove lettuce leaves as best as you can to keep them big. To serve, have guests choose their leaves, top with chicken and with the carrot/celery mix. Enjoy!
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 celery stalk
1/2 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
about 2 c. chicken stock/broth
1 c. Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce (or Buffalo sauce of your choosing)
1 bag baby carrots
4 stalks celery
1 head lettuce
Spray some Pam around your crockpot and add the chicken. Lightly salt and pepper it, then cover with broth. Add the onion, garlic, and celery stalk and cook on high for four hours.
Remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred with two forks. Keep about 1 cup of the liquid in the crockpot and return the chicken to it (don't throw the rest away--use it to make an amazing soup later in the week or freeze it for later. I'm doing crock pot chicken and dumplings with mine).
Add the Buffalo sauce and return the lid to the pot, cook an additional 30 minutes.
Run the carrots and celery through the food processor grater (or grate by hand if you prefer, but mind your knuckles). Remove lettuce leaves as best as you can to keep them big. To serve, have guests choose their leaves, top with chicken and with the carrot/celery mix. Enjoy!
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