Let's Do Brunch

A good friend of mine is a Noonday Ambassador. Noonday is a pretty amazing company, and you should check it out here: Noonday Collection

I hosted a Noonday party, and wanted to do a brunch. Above you see the spread I had for all of the ladies to enjoy. I had a little bit of everything for everyone there. We had yogurt parfaits (pictured to the left), muffins, mimosas, frittata, and a toast bar. Below, I will go through what each part of this brunch bar consisted of.

Yogurt Parfaits:
Large containers of: plain greek yogurt and vanilla greek yogurt
Fruit: sliced kiwis, sliced strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries
Granola
I put the yogurt into a dish filled with ice, so that it stayed cold while on the table. I put out glass dessert bowls and guests could layer their yogurt parfaits as desired.

Toast Bar:
Sliced sourdough bread--I spread it on a cookie sheet and baked it at 350 until it was toasted but not crunchy
Spreadables: nutella, avocado, ricotta cheese
Toppings: 
For avocado toast: bacon, tomato, chili flakes, sea salt, TJ's balsamic glaze, pepitas, extra virgin olive oil
For ricotta toast: fresh culinary lavender, lemon zest, pistachios, honey
For nutella toast: bananas and strawberries
>>Guests combined these flavors as desired, which is always the fun of a build-your-own bar


Muffins>>I bought them. :)

Mimosas:
Several bottles of chilled dry sparkling wine
Juices to mix: cranberry, orange, fresh-squeezed grapefruit

Frittata: 
I had potatoes and asparagus in my produce box, so found this recipe on epicurious.

Ingredients: 
2 lbs potatoes (I had purple potatoes) peeled and grated
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp pepper
2 TB veg. oil
3 TB unsalted buttter
4 medium shallots, sliced
6 eggs, room temp.
1 1/4 c half and half
1 tsp mustard powder
pinch of grated nutmeg
1 TB finely chopped tarragon
5 oz. grated Fontina cheese 
4 oz fresh goat cheese crumbles
1/2 lb asparagus, ends trimmed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

1. 2. Toss shredded potatoes with 1 tsp of the salt, and 1/2 tsp of the pepper in a bowl. Then, place potatoes in a towel and wring out excess liquid, then set aside potatoes.
2. 3.  In a 10 inch cast-iron skillet, heat oil and 2 TB butter over medium-high heat until butter melts. Add potatoes and start forming into a crust by pushing the potatoes against the bottom and up the sides of the pan. The website suggests using a 1/2 cup dry measuring cup to press the potatoes (a spoon can slip and break the crust). Continue cooking for about ten minutes, continuing to press potatoes up the sides of the pan if they shrink down during cooking. Cook until the potatoes start to bind together and the crust begins to brown. Turn off heat and set aside.
3. 4. Melt remaining butter in another pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent, for five to six minutes.
4. 5. Whisk eggs, half-and-half, mustard powder, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Stir in tarragon and set aside.
5. 6. Sprinkle Fontina cheese, goat cheese, and sautéed shallots evenly over bottom of crust, then pour in egg mixture. Arrange asparagus on top, you will be able to see it so you can decorate with it as you like. 
6. 7. Bake until quiche is set and crust is well browned, 30-35 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before cutting into wedges and serving from the pan.
1. Enjoy! 

**A note from this former-picky-eater... I still am not an egg fan. But I tried this. And I loved it. The flavors of the onions, herbs, and cheese take over and it is so good. 

Colorful Cauliflower and Fresh Peas with Garlic, Pancetta, and Creme Fraiche

This is a creamy, flavorful, and definitely decadent vegetable dish. I prepared it this year for Easter, and the colors and flavors were perfect for the special meal. I had made something similar with gnocchi instead of peas for dinner one night, and so when I saw fresh peas at the market a lightbulb went off and this dish was born.







Ingredients:
2 heads of cauliflower (clearly I used two different colors, but any cauliflower works just fine) cut into smaller florets
1-2 cups fresh peas (shelled)
1 TB minced garlic
4 oz. diced pancetta
1 container (7.5 oz) creme fraiche
grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. In a large pan over medium heat, saute pancetta until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, and saute for another minute.
2. Add cauliflower florets and saute for 5-7 minutes. I let the cauliflower mix around in the pancetta drippings and then covered it for about 2 minutes (let the steam start cooking it), then uncovered it to let the steam out and finish, letting the cauliflower caramelize a bit.
3. Add the peas and stir for a minute, and then add creme fraiche, stirring to coat all veggies and warm both the peas and creme fraiche for another minute or two. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper.
4. Serve alongside anything you'd like. We chose pork tenderloin. Top the veggies with parmesan if desired.

Ramen with a Hot and Sour Twist

It was a dark and stormy night. Friends were gathering at our home for dinner--but what to make on this wet, chilly night? Ramen! I did not have a ramen recipe, so I improvised.

1. To begin, I made this broth:
Must Love Artichokes: Hot and Sour Soup
I love this broth so much, it seemed like the natural choice. I left out the bamboo, snow peas, and tofu.


2. I prepared the toppings (again, improvising a bit, not trying to say this is super authentic):

• shredded chicken (I used a pre-roasted chicken from the grocery store)
• six minute eggs
• shredded carrots
• sauteed bok choy
• kimchi
• sauteed mushrooms
• sauteed bamboo shoots
• sliced green onion
• nori sheets
• sesame seeds
• Sriracha

3. I cooked the ramen noodles according to the package directions.

4. Everyone assembled their ramen! We put a scoop of noodles in the bottom of a bowl, and topped them with a ladle (or two) full of broth. Then everyone went to town on what went in their bowls. My kids went basic with noodles and broth. The bowl shown at the very top belongs to my friend Christel who tried just about everything.

And yes, those are homemade dumplings at the bottom of the picture. They were good, but that recipe needs some perfecting before a post!

Thai-Style Chicken Satay

When I was a teenager, I could not get enough of chicken satay. As a formerly picky eater, getting to eat a skewer full of juicy, flavorful chicken (and not much else) was a dream. Now that I'm older, I enjoy this recipe alongside plenty of colorful, crisp veggies, for a fresh, healthy meal.

This recipe is pretty simple, the main thing is you need to marinate the chicken ahead of time. Usually I skewer the chicken, but most recently I did not, and it worked out just as well (we just needed to use forks). I use the un-skewered chicken in salad bowls, as well.

In this case, I served the chicken with steamed edamame, rice, and a crisp salad of cucumbers, carrots, red bell peppers, and red cabbage, tossed with toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, and sesame seeds.


Ingredients: 

1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp sambal oelek
3 TB soy sauce
2 TB coconut oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp nut butter (I actually used sunflower seed butter, as our house has jars of it for school lunches).

1-2 lbs boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except for chicken in a bowl or large pyrex type dish (I use one that has a lid to make the future steps easier). Whisk well until the honey and nut butter are mixed into the rest of the ingredients.
2. Add chicken and toss in the marinade to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, if not overnight.
3. If you're using wooden skewers: soak bamboo skewers in water for about 30-60 minutes before you need to use them. Then, put 4-7 pieces of meat on each skewer.
4. You may choose to bbq these skewers, or if you aren't using skewers, use a grill pan inside to cook the pieces of chicken.
5. Grill the chicken over medium/ medium-high heat for 6-10 minutes, or until cooked through, flipping once halfway through cooking.

Serve as an appetizer with a peanut dipping sauce, or put over a bowl of rice and veggies for a healthy, hearty bowl.

Enjoy!

Eat more veggies!! Let's add them to our tacos...

I love tacos. My kids love tacos. My husband loves tacos. We. all. love. tacos. So in an attempt to incorporate even more veggies into our diets, I came up with this vegetable mixture to add to our tacos. My husband used the leftovers in a "burrito bowl" at work the next day. You could also fold this mixture into a burrito. Either way, it adds lots of flavor and nutrition to taco night. I prepped all of these veggies on the weekend, attempting to save time during the week.

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini

2 bell peppers (I used one red, one yellow)

1 onion

2 anaheim peppers

Season with Salt and Pepper, unless the accompaniments are salty

Directions:

Sautee veggies in a large pan with one TB of cooking oil (vegetable, olive, or coconut oil) until tender.  Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking. I usually just watch the onions, as when they become translucent they are done, and the other veggies are usually done too. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with your favorite tacos. This time, we had the following:

Carne Asada (the Trader Joe's marinated one that takes only FIVE MINUTES to make!!)

Shrimp (frozen ones from Trader Joe's, defrosted, and tossed with my homemade taco seasoning)

Avocado Cream (I blend about 1 cup nonfat greek yogurt with one avocado)

Black Beans

Lettuce

Salsa

Cheese

Diced Green Onion

Cilantro

Fresh Tortillas

Voila! 

Steak Tacos with Veggies and Avocado Cream

Chicken, Carrot, and Cauliflower Masala

Back to work in the new year means trying to simplify in terms of time and money. For the past two weeks I have tried my best to make inexpensive, quick to prepare meals. This is one of them. This entire dinner took 20 minutes to make, if that. I had already chopped the veggies over the weekend, but it only would have added about five minutes to the whole process. My husband and I enjoyed this meal as shown, and the kids had the rice, naan, leftover roasted chicken from the previous night, and veggie sticks.

Ingredients:

2 jars Trader Joe's Masala Simmer Sauce (the key to affordable and quick!)

1 package chicken breast tenders

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

4 medium carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch discs

steamed rice and garlic naan for serving

Directions:

1. Pour both jars of sauce along with two cups of water into a pot. 

2. Add chicken, cauliflower, and carrots, and cook according to directions.

Twenty minutes later, you're done. Seriously, I realize this is basically following the directions on the jar, but sometimes we (myself especially included) need a reminder that delicious, flavorful, healthy dinner can really be this easy. 

What's for Dinner? October 3, 2016

Alright, so back into the swing of things! Here is my meal plan for the week:

My goal was to use the following produce from my CSA box:
zucchini, tomatoes (and more from the garden), brussels sprouts, delicata squash, corn, kale, onion, garlic, basil, lettuce

Sunday:

• Slow Cooker Cabernet Beef: I bought a 2 1/2 lb pot roast and seared it on all sides. Then I threw it in the slow cooker with some salt, pepper, 1 TB of Italian Herbs, and about 1 cup of leftover red wine, and a cubed. I set it on low and cooked it for 8 hours. It was tender, juicy, and flavorful.
• Sauteed Zucchini
• Polenta Cakes with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
• Changes made: Omitted the herbs and tossed some garlic with the tomatoes; served with fresh mozzarella and basil instead of goat cheese; baked the polenta on a cookie sheet while the tomatoes roasted.

Monday:

•  Oven Baked Chicken Wings
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Delicata squash: Halve the brussels sprouts, slice the delicata squash into wedges. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until brussels sprouts start to carmelize and squash softens.
• Pasta (for the kids) and spaghetti squash for me, all tossed with garlic infused olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese

Tuesday:

• Bean Tostadas: Literally just a can of refried beans heated up, put over a tostada shell. We will use plenty of produce on these tostadas, including lettuce, tomato, onion, and maybe an avocado if one is ready from the trees outside.
  
• Street Corn: The corn grown here is amazing. We have been eating it all summer. For this recipe, I will cut it off the cob (4 cobs), heat it up in a pan, and then toss it with diced red onion, jalapenos from the garden, cilantro, and the juice of a lime, some tapatio, and queso fresco. Yum!