I whipped up a batch of this rice to go with the chicken enchiladas I made for Mike. Because, you know, a carb-heavy entree needs a carb-heavy side dish to go with it. Ok, truth is, I made this rice because the enchiladas smelled so good and I couldn’t eat them. So I made a bunch of rice and ate that instead. Now, this rice is obviously not the same as a chicken enchilada, but it was enough to satisfy my craving. This is my favorite go-to recipe for a quick and easy dish to accompany any Mexican-inspired entree that might find its way onto our table.
Quick & Easy Mexican Rice
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups uncooked long grain rice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced, optional
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
cilantro and lime wedges to garnish, optional
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is lightly toasted. Sprinkle with garlic powder and cumin and stir to combine.
Add in onion, garlic, and jalapenos and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent. Stir in diced tomatoes and broth and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 20 – 25 minutes or until rice is fully cooked. Fluff with a fork before serving. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a lime wedge if desired.
This soup is my take on Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana without all the dairy. This soup is one of the few things I actually like from OG. I was worried that it wouldn’t taste as good, but it completely met all my expectations. I got the idea to make this soup when a reader suggested that I make a kale and bean soup with my leftover kale.
Dairy Free Zuppa Toscana
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 medium russet potatoes, cubed into 1/2 – 3/4″ pieces
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 – 15 ounce can white beans (such as great northern or cannellini), drained and rinsed
4 cups dino kale leaves, washed, dried and chopped (or spinach)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
6 pieces crisp cooked bacon, crumbled
Brown sausage in a dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. When sausage is browned, add in onions, garlic, black pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook until onions are translucent, about 3 – 5 minutes.
Add in potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are almost fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Add in beans and kale and cook for an additional 5 – 10 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender.
Stir in almond milk and allow to heat through. Serve hot with bacon sprinkled on top.
I’ve been hunting for quinoa dishes ever since my co-worker picked up the world’s largest bag of quinoa from Costco for me. I’ve come across some seriously drool-worthy dishes laden with cheese and other delicious dairy-ness. While I’ve been able to introduce dairy back into my diet with some success, I’m still wary – one bite too many is bad news.
Fortunately, this super easy maple balsamic quinoa salad is 100% dairy-free. As an added bonus, the ingredients in the recipe are fridge and pantry staples for me. I found the original dressing proportions of oil, vinegar and syrup to be way too sweet, so I decreased the amount of syrup and oil. If you prefer a sweeter dressing, use a 1:1 ratio of oil, vinegar and syrup.
Maple Balsamic Quinoa Salad
1 2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup raw unsalted almonds, roughly chopped
4 to 5 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp sea salt, plus additional to taste
Cook quinoa according to package directions. Refrigerate until completely cooled, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, prepared the dressing by whisking oil, vinegar and maple syrup together in a small bowl.
Add dressing to the cooled quinoa. Stir in cranberries, pecans, scallions and salt until well combined. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Ok, so there isn’t any “L” in this BLT salad. It should probably be called BKT or BKaleT. As it turns out, raw kale isn’t really my jam. It tastes like what I think grass might taste like. But, raw kale covered in dressing with bacon? Right up my alley.
My coworker gave me three huge bags of kale – two curly kale and one dino kale. The curly kale went into this salad and I’m still contemplating what to do with the dino kale. I might just make another BKT salad because I’m seriously lacking in the kale recipe department. My coworker kindly included a recipe for this salad along with the kale. A little internet searching led me to the original source – Vegan Yum Yum. Needless to say, I completely un-veganfied it. Not only did I use mayo and bacon, I went and ate my salad with some grilled chicken, too. No regrets 🙂
Kale BLT Salad
2 heads curly kale
12 strips bacon, cooked and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
for the dressing:
1/3 cup low fat mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Wash and dry kale. Remove the stem from each leaf with a pair of scissors, a knife, or your fingers. Stack leaves on top of each other and slice into thin strips. Place kale strips into a large bowl and toss with bacon, cherry tomatoes, and red onion.
To make the dressing, whisk all ingredients together. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.
Mike and I have had more bacon over the last month than we have over the last year. We’ve gone through two packages (gasp). I’m normally not a huge fan of bacon. When I go out to eat and get a sandwich or salad that customarily comes with bacon, I ask for it without. Or, I pick it out and give it to Mike.
But sometimes, sometimes, bacon is exactly what you need. I mean, can you imagine a BLT without bacon? I can’t. To be honest, BLTs are one of the very few ways I will actually eat bacon. I’ve been tossing around BLT variations in my head for a while, but never acted on it. Then, the BLT fairies took pity on me and assigned me this Southwestern BLT sandwich for our “lunch food” recipe swap! This recipe is from fellow Wisconsinite Ashley over at Cheese Curd in Paradise.
Bonus: I bought most of the ingredients for this sandwich at the farmers’ market! Win-win-win.
Southwestern BLT serves 4
for the chipotle mayo:
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/3 cup low-fat mayo
1 chipotle pepper in adobo + 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
for the BLT:
8 strips thick-cut bacon
8 slices of sourdough bread
4 romaine lettuce leaves, ripped into sandwich-size pieces
1 large yellow tomato, sliced into 8 pieces
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced into 8 pieces
Make the mayo: combine cilantro, mayo, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and lime juice in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy. Move to a paper towel-lined plate to drain the fat.
Lightly toast the bread, if desired.
To assemble: spread chipotle mayo on 4 slices of bread. Top the bread with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Spread remaining 4 slices of bread with mayo and place, mayo-side down, on the sandwiches.
Once in a while I dream of “san bei ji”, or three cup chicken. It’s a Taiwanese dish I associate strongly with my mom. She gave me her recipe for three cup chicken and I’ve tried to recreate it. Even though I follow her directions exactly, it never tastes right. It’s mystifying – there are so few ingredients. Literally no room for error. I’m not sure what her secret is, but I’ve given up.
Luckily, I can create a little magic of my own. Specifically in the form of three cup tofu. It follows her basic three cup chicken recipe, but with a few adjustments. And folks, this is good. Even if you’re not a tofu fan, you have got to give this a try. I fell in love with the texture of the tofu in this dish – it’s silky, but not mushy. The sauce is rich, but not heavy.
This may be my ultimate comfort food.
Three Cup Tofu
14 ounce container firm tofu, drained
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1.5-inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
3 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon corn starch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves, ripped into large pieces
cooked brown rice, for serving
Press tofu with paper towel to soak up excess moisture. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Fry tofu on both sides until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Place tofu on paper towels to drain.
Reduce heat to low and add in sesame oil. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Stir in cooking wine, soy sauce, brown sugar, and water. Increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer sauce for 5 minutes. Stir in corn starch mixture and cook until sauce thickens, about 1 minute.
Gently stir in tofu and Thai basil and cook for 1 more minute.
I’ve been a little scattered lately. I wrote up a menu plan for the week, made a grocery list, and set off to the store with Mike. We finish shopping and go back home only to find out that I had been shopping off a partially completed grocery list. This meant that I didn’t have enough ingredients to make any of the meals that I had planned on. Oops. Thankfully, I had some garden zucchini and a cute little eggplant from a coworker to work with. I whipped this up with what we did have on hand and it ended up being not only edible, but pretty darn good!
(P.S. It’s really, really good with a health drizzle off sriracha 😉 )
Curried Chicken with Zucchini and Eggplant with Pearl Couscous serves 4
for the couscous:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/3 cup pearl couscous
1 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth, hot
for the chicken:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 medium eggplant, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 large zucchini, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups cherry tomatoes
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add couscous and cook until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is tender. Set aside and keep warm.
While couscous is cooking, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken to a bowl and keep warm. Add eggplant to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes. Add in zucchini and onion to the pan and saute for an additiona 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, curry powder, garam masala, and red pepper flakes. Taste, and add additional salt and pepper, if desired. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Add chicken and cherry tomatoes to pan and cook until chicken is cooked all the way through and tomatoes burst, about 5 minutes.
This meal is so easy it’s ridiculous. Like 15 minutes from start to finish. Avocado, spinach, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whirl in food processor. Toss with pasta… Dinner is served.
It’s good served warm. It’s good cold the next day. It’s so good that Mike is still talking about it, a week later. Who knew it would be so easy to impress that man?
I ate mine on top of a huge bed of spinach. Mike had his with extra bacon on top 😉 Vegan or vegetarian? Skip the bacon and you’re good to go!
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
While pasta is cooking, make the sauce: heat a medium pan over medium heat and lightly spray with olive oil. Add in garlic and jalapeno and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in spinach and saute until wilted, about 2 minutes. Place spinach into the bowl of a food processor. Add in avocados and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.
Mix the avocado sauce with cooked spaghetti and toss to coat. Add pasta water as needed to thin sauce to desired consistency. Top with bacon if desired.
Surprise, another recipe with tomatoes! I really shouldn’t complain about our abundance, because I know in a few short weeks winter will be here and a beautiful, tasty tomato will be pretty much impossible to find. Sigh. Wisconsin winters, I love you and hate you all at the same time.
I love fresh, easy dishes like this one. It makes me feel like I’m doing something good for my body. In my mind it cancels out all the Sour Skittles I eat and all the booze I drink. So, go for it – do your body some good and eat a dish with some super-grain quinoa and fresh summer veggies.
Shrimp and Vegetables in Lemon-Garlic Sauce
3 cups low sodium chicken broth, divided
1 cup quinoa
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 large bell peppers, chopped
2 medium zucchini, seeded and chopped
2 lemons, zested and juiced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
chopped parsley to garnish, optional
In a medium pot, bring 2 cups of chicken broth to a boil. Add in quinoa and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has been absorbed and quinoa is cooked through.
While quinoa is cooking, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add bell peppers, zucchini, and lemon zest and cook until vegetables are tender-crisp, about 4 – 5 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and keep warm.
Heat remaining teaspoon of olive oil in pan. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in shrimp and cook for 1 minute. Stir in remaining 1 cup broth and lemon juice and cook until shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and serve over cooked quinoa. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Today’s Feeding America prompt: “We know that low-income Americans have to make choices between groceries, prescriptions, gas for the car, utilities, and other household necessities. After living on a limited food budget this week, how has your perspective changed about the decisions families facing hunger must make?“
Simply put? I can’t imagine it. Even thought I have limited our food budget, our scenario in no way even compares to what millions of families deal with on a daily basis. We were hungry, but we didn’t go hungry. I had the comfort of knowing that I could fail out of the challenge and get something to eat if we did run out of food. These families don’t have that option.
While Mike and I try to stick to a budget, we realize that sometimes things happen. We might need more gas one week. I might get sick and need to see a doctor or pick up some meds (Mike never gets sick…). Or my car brakes might decide to die. Or my car wipers might decide to stop working…. Yeah, my car is a trouble maker. But, we deal with these unexpected expenses. I honestly don’t know what I would do if I had to choose between gas to get to work or a meal for my family. Would I walk? Try to catch a ride from a coworker? What if someone got really sick? Do we go to the doctor? Do we pay for their medication? Having to choose between life essentials doesn’t seem right.
All these “what ifs” make it clear to me that programs like SNAP are essential for low-income families. It’s a good reminder to be thankful for what I have in life.
This Challenge is bringing about a lot of emotions. Mike and I talk a lot about food insecurity and poverty on the way to work. It’s a really intense way to start the day. Things are getting a little easier for me now. We only have 2 more days left of the Challenge and I can tell that we will have enough food. It’s still hard not having the luxury of eating whatever we want, whenever we want, but I’m starting to adjust.
Unfortunately, I think I’m also getting sick. All I wanted to do after work is eat a bowl of mango sorbet and go to bed. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t even skip making dinner because if I didn’t cook dinner that would mean I wouldn’t have lunch the next day. Blargh.
What we ate today:
Breakfast: savory oatmeal with an egg (me) and peanut butter toast with sliced banana (Mike)
Snack: peanut butter toast with 1/4 banana (me) and a cookie (Mike)
Snack: peanut butter toast with 1/4 banana (me) and turkey sandwich with mustard (Mike)
Dinner: chicken fajitas with guacamole, tortillas, and sauteed zucchini (Mike also had cheese and sour cream)
Snack: raisins
Easy Chicken Fajitas
for the chicken:
1 lime, juiced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 teaspoon canola oil
for the vegetables: 3 onions, halved and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 bell peppers, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
salt and pepper, to taste
to serve: flour tortillas
sharp cheddar cheese, grated
light sour cream
guacamole (see below for recipe)
In a shallow bowl, combine lime juice, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper*. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, Brown chicken and cook until cooked through and meat is no longer pink in the middle. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Using the same skillet, add vegetables and saute until tender-crisp, about 10 minutes. Slice chicken into 1/4-inch pieces and toss with vegetables. Serve immediately with tortillas and garnishes, if desired.
*I made a double batch of this marinade and mixed half of it in with my garden zucchini! I seeded the squash, quartered it, and then sauteed it with the marinade over medium heat for about 15 minutes until tender. Delish 🙂
This guac made not being able to have cheese and sour cream on my fajita a little more bearable. I ate a ton of it. Splurging on an extra avocado during the shopping trip was totally worth it!
Guacamole
2 medium avocados
1 lime, juiced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
In a medium bowl, mash avocados with a fork. Mix in lime juice, tomatoes, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
DoughSeeDough 