DoughSeeDough

a balanced plate with room for dessert

Tag Archives: quick and easy


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Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp

I love fruit crisps. They’re pretty idiot-proof, meaning I don’t need to rely on a recipe to make it taste good. I was so excited to use the first batch of rhubarb that my in laws’ garden yielded*, especially since the rhubarb that we transplanted into our garden was looking pretty pitiful.

I kept waiting for a nice day so I could take good pictures, but Wisconsin decided to rain on my parade. Literally. Our sump pump has been running 24/7 and our yard is a lake. We now have water-front property, folks.

I love the simplicity of this recipe – it takes so little effort and time, and it’s so delicious!

Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp
makes 9 servings 

Filling:
4 cups chopped rhubarb
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved
1/2 cup sugar

Topping:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Mix filling ingredients together and let sit.
  3. Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients of topping together. Pour in butter and stir until large crumbs form.
  4. Pour filling into an 8.5″ square pan and top evenly with topping.
  5. Bake 40 minutes, or until done.
  6. Eat as soon as it’s cool enough to shovel into your mouth.

*Grass may or may not have made its way into this dish. I will neither deny nor confirm this. I kid. I think I picked most of it out from the rhubarb 😉


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Sweet and Spicy Chicken

I love spicy foods and I’ve found out that my spice tolerance is a lot higher than 99% of the people I know. That said, I try to stay away from making spicy dishes since I”m a horrible judge of spice levels. What I think is medium spiciness ends up being a light-a-normal-person’s-mouth-on-fire spiciness. Oops.

This dish turned out to be a tolerable amount of spice for Mike, though. At least I think it was. I mean, he wasn’t chugging down glasses of water, so that’s a good sign, right?

That said, if you’re not so good with heat, use a little less ginger and Sriracha. I served this dish with some steamed rice and some vegetables. It was a quick, filling meal and clean up was a breeze. Enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken
serves 4

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2 inch strips
whole wheat flour
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced

  1. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge in flour. Spray pan with cooking spray and cook chicken until lightly browned on all sides. Add in onions and cook, stirring frequently, until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk together honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, Sriracha, ginger and garlic. Pour into pan with chicken and lower heat to medium. Cook until sauce has reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately with rice.


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Spinach and Feta Pasta

This dish is really similar to the penne dish I posted about last Monday here. The taste was completely different though. Funny how a switch in cheese and a couple additional ingredients can make such a big difference, huh?

Spinach and Feta Pasta

8 ounces whole wheat pasta of your choice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until onions are translucent.
  3.  Stir in tomatoes and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are tender. Stir in spinach until wilted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  4. Mix with cooked pasta and top with feta cheese.


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Goat Cheese and Spinach Penne

This dish is super filling and easy to make. I mean, what could be easier than cooking up a dish in less than 10 minutes? Not to mention it only used 2 pots (and one colander). Ever since it warmed up I’ve been craving dishes with fresh ingredients. I can’t wait to make this again with fresh tomatoes from the garden!

Goat Cheese and Spinach Penne
serves 4 

1 pound whole wheat penne
1/4 cup garlic extra virgin olive oil, or plain olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped or torn
1 pint grape tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces goat cheese

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes and spinach and cook until wilted.
  3. Add cooked pasta and goat cheese to vegetables in pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine. Serve immediately.


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Israeli Couscous and Grilled Vegetable Salad

Mike and I took advantage of the nice weather we had on Friday and decided to grill out! Yes, for the first time in what feels like months we had a gorgeous day. No rain, snow, hail, or wind. This salad really hit the spot. It was light, filling, and super easy to make. The charred vegetables? To die for. I loved that we were able to cook this meal together, too. I cut, marinated, and cooked the couscous, and Mike did the grilling. The only thing I love more than cooking in my very own kitchen is cooking in my own kitchen with my husband.

Israeli Couscous and Grilled Vegetable Salad

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
2 green zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1 yellow zucchini, quartered lengthwise
6 spears asparagus, trimmed
2 green bell peppers, seeded and quartered
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and quartered
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1/4 cup basil chiffonade
2 teaspoons olive oil (I used garlic olive oil from a local store)
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
8 ounces uncooked Israeli couscous (also called pearl couscous)

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, mustard, and garlic. Slowly add olive oil, whisking until incorporated.
  2. Arrange vegetables in a 9×13 baking pan and pour vinaigrette over. Let sit for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove vegetables from vinaigrette, and set vinaigrette aside. Grill vegetables until tender-crisp.
  4. Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add couscous and cook, stirring frequently, until a light golden-brown color.
  5. Add stock to pan and bring couscous to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until couscous is tender. Remove from heat and transfer to a large serving bowl.
  6. Cut grilled vegetables into 1/2 – 1 inch pieces and place into serving bowl. Mix couscous and vegetables together with basil and vinaigrette. Serve immediately.
After we had grabbed a couple bowls, I decided to toss some feta cheese on top. It was pretty darn good. Next time, I’ll probably mix some feta in with the rest of the salad.


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Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

I’m not a huge chocolate fan, but fruity desserts are some of my favorites. And there’s nothing like some oatmeal in a dessert to make it seem a little healthier…

If only, right??

These bars were a hit – the first pan disappeared in just a little over a day. They are definitely in my “keep” recipe pile.

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
from allrecipes.com

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup instant oatmeal
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup raspberry jam

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8 inch square pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
  2. Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, and oatmeal. Rub in butter with your fingers until crumbly. Press  3/4 of mixture into bottom of pan.
  3. Warm jam up slightly in microwave. Spread over crumb layer in pan. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture on top, gently pressing into the jam.
  4. Bake for 35 minutes in oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool before cutting into squares.


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Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

I was skeptical about these cookies at first since they contain no flour. In fact, I was pretty sure they were going to be a major flop right up until I pulled them out of the oven and tried one. These were delicious, peanut-buttery bites of goodness. They were simple to make and contain only three, yes three, ingredients.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
from allrecipes.com

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Combine ingredients and drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from cookie sheet.


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Easy Hummus

Hummus is one of my favorites. I can eat it with pita chips, veggies, Wheat Thins, on sandwiches, with a spoon (I’m kidding – maybe)… the list goes on and on. The one thing I hate about hummus? Having to buy tahini. I came up with this shortcut version that doesn’t require any tahini at all. Woo!!

Easy Hummus

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and liquid reserved
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon olive oil
Paprika to garnish, optional

  1. Place garbanzo beans, lemon juice, salt and garlic into a food processor. Blend, slowly adding in sesame oil and olive oil. Add in reserved liquid from the garbanzo beans until desired consistency.
  2. Place into a serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika to garnish.


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Spaghetti with Spinach, Tomato, and Bacon

I had leftover bacon and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. I’m not a huge fan of bacon (yeah, yeah, don’t hate me), so having it for breakfast wasn’t really an option. I threw this together for dinner and it turned out pretty tasty. It was simple and I was able to use up the leftover bacon! Win-win.

Spaghetti with Spinach, Tomato, and Bacon

1 pound spaghetti
6 slices bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch fresh spinach, torn into pieces
Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Drain most of the fat off and add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add in tomatoes and cook until warmed. Add in spinach and cook until just wilted. Toss with cooked spaghetti until well incorporated. Serve immediately with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top.


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Peanut Butter Bars

I whipped these bars up for a work get-together. They were super easy and I had all the ingredients on hand already. This may be a go-to dish for parties when I’m short on time.

Let me give you a little nudge to try these out… Short on time for Valentine’s Day? Don’t have a dessert for your dinner? Not planning on making anything at all? Try these! They are so simple and sure to please. 🙂

Peanut Butter Bars
adpated from allrecipes.com

12 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons peanut butter

  1. Mix melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and 1 1/2 cups peanut butter together in a medium bowl until well combined. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 pan. Refrigerate for 10 – 15 minutes.
  2. Melt chocolate chips and 4 tablespoons peanut butter in the microwave until smooth, stirring occasionally.*  Pour over refrigerated crust and smooth with a spatula.
  3. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

*Be careful not to burn the chocolate. Microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring carefully after each one.