Recipe: Kale and Apple Salad

My boyfriend has started his annual garden. Filled with herbs and growing vegetables. This year we are trying tuscan kale. Right now, we had enough to harvest to make this amazing salad. Is it weird that fresh vegetables from the garden taste so much better?!

This recipe is so simple, yet so flavorful!

Direction/Ingredients

1 medium granny smith apple, stripped with a mandolin or julienne peeler
10-15 kale leaves, sliced long (medium sized)
1 handful of roughly diced walnuts or pecans

Dressing

2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 small lemon, juiced

Add the kale and apple in a large bowl. Add a pinch of salt and mix. Add all the dressing ingredients in a bowl, mix with a whisk, and add to the salad. Toss and then add some freshly cracked pepper! Top with pecans and/or walnuts. I love the extra crunch it gives!

Recipe: Coodles with Organic Turkey Bolognese

I love trying to eat healthy and "paleo". Coodles are my go-to these days! I feel like zucchini noodles get a little too watery. Coodles are sweet and just hold up better!

I have found many turkey bolognese recipes, but the flavor always falls short. I have finally concocted my own seasoning that makes excellent bolognese

Recipe

2 lbs of ground turkey
3 packs of Pomi Tomato Sauce
2 medium onions, diced
1 large carrot, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced small

Seasoning 

1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt (add more if needed)
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp crushed red pepper (add more or less)
1/2 tsp ancho powder
1 tsp aleppo powder (or crushed)
1 tsp granulated onion powder
1 tsp granulated garlic powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp red bell pepper powder (can be purchased at spice shop, optional)
1/2 tsp spanish chorizo seasoning (can be purchased at spice shop, optional)

Mix all of these in a small bowl.

3 basil leaves, torn
1 tsp worcestershire sauce

Directions

In olive oil, cook the onions, carrots, and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add the turkey and 1/2 of the seasoning blend till browned.

Once browned, add the tomato sauce, worcestershire and remaining seasoning blend. Simmer for 20 minutes and then add the torn basil leaves. If you feel as if you need more tomato sauce, add some! It's all preference.

Simmer for another 10-20 minutes.

Coodles

I used a julienne peeler for the coodles. Mix coodles in with the sauce for the "pasta" to get warm. Toss for about 10-20 seconds and serve immediately.

Recipe: Chicken Pozole

My boyfriend love "Diners, Dives, and Drives". We basically spend most of our weekend nights watching it in bed trying to find recipe ideas or vacation food spots.

Today they aired an episode where pozole was featured in cooked. We didn't have hominy, so we basically made our own variation

Chicken Pozole Recipe

Ingredients

1 tbs mexican oregano
1tbs cumin
1 tbs dried hatch chili (optional)
4 chicken breasts
4 32oz of chicken broth
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 tbs of canola oil
2 cans of corn
3 small russet potatoes, diced (optional - but so good)

Sauce

1 lb of tomatillos,
1 dried chipotle pepper, rehydrated (basically means bringing it back to life in boiling water)
2 poblano peppers, grilled
3 jalapenos, grilled (optional, can add less or more)
2 small onions, grilled
1 handful of cilantro sprigs
2 romaine lettuce leaves

Get a stockpot hot, add canola oil and wait till it becomes hot. Once sizzling, add your onions and garlic with all the dried seasonings until translucent. Add the broth and uncooked chicken breasts. Let the chicken breasts boil (probably 20 minutes, but this depends on your stove, so keep checking until they are boiled completely) Once, the chicken is cooked, remove them from the soup, shred, and toss back in.

Meanwhile, blend the sauce ingredients until it has a salsa consistency. Put the sauce aside, and get two cans of corn, drained to be put in the soup.

This is optional, but we also diced 3 small russet potatoes (peeled). It adds a great consistency to the soup and makes it heartier (since there aren't any beans in it)

Add the corn and potatoes with 2 tbs of the sauce. Let cook for 10-15 minutes and then add the remainder of the sauce. We added 3 jalapenos because we like our food spicy, but it's really all about preference. Add a dash of salt and pepper and let the soup summer for another 10-15 minutes.

Garnish

1 radish, thinly sliced
1 handful of cilantro
1 avocado, diced
1 slice of lime

Once the soup is done, pour into a soup bowl and add the garnishments. Serve immediately.

Recipe: Avocado Chicken Salad in Romaine Cups

I'm not the healthiest eater, but when I go to the gym, I need to eat something healthy to feel that my workout made a difference. I wasn't sure what I wanted to make today, but saw my rotisserie chicken in the fridge and decided on avocado chicken salad.

A lot of people ask me if it's as creamy as mayo and/or yogurt. If you get a well ripened avocado, you should have no problem reaching that consistency.

Avocado Chicken Salad

Ingredients - makes about 8 romaine cups

1/2 avocado
1 1/2 cup of chopped rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 handful of cilantro
1/2 lime
1/2 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
1/2 tsp of red onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced small
Dash of salt and pepper to taste
8 romaine lettuce leaves

Directions

Add all of these ingredients (sans romaine) in a bowl and mix well! I tend to use my hands to get all the avocado mixed in well with the chicken. Lay out each romaine lettuce leaf and add a spoonful of chicken salad. I rolled my lettuce to eat like a wrap. Way less messy!

Recipe: Sautéed Mushrooms

Sometimes there is just not enough items in the fridge except white button mushrooms! I have always had sautéed mushrooms on burgers, but have never cooked them myself. I googled some recipes and took the best pieces from each to create this side dish!

Recipe

1 package of white button mushrooms, sliced medium
1 small onion, diced
1/2 small shallot, diced
3 small cloves of garlic (or 2 large), diced and smashed
1/2 tbs of butter
1 tbs of olive oil
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs chicken broth
pinch of salt
freshly cracked pepper

Note: I would begin using a damp cloth or a vegetable brush to wash the mushrooms. I don't really recommend washing them under water as the moisture quickly goes into the mushrooms and will make them soggy!

Directions: Add the butter to the pan. Once warm, add the onions, garlic and shallot. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté until translucent.

Once translucent, add olive oil and the mushrooms. Quickly add the soy sauce and toss. Let the mushrooms sit for about 5-6 minutes unstirred so the caramelization process can begin. Once soft, add the broth on high heat to cook. Once the broth has been soaked up by the mushrooms, turn down the heat, add a little salt and pepper (if desired) and cook until desired caramelization (really your preference) Once done, throw in the fresh thyme. Serve immediately (or over polenta, couscous, rice, etc...)

Recipe: Moroccan Stew

In celebration of festival season, I wanted to keep on trend with some bohemian moroccan stew!

It's just like any chili or stew but with the addition of the moroccan paste: harissa! Harissa is a hot chili paste with chilis, red pepper, garlic, etc... it's necessary for the strew and helps elevate all the flavors. If you can't find this at the grocery store (like us), you can easily make this by rehydrating dried chilis (recipe here)

Recipe

2 packages of ground turkey
1 small can of harissa
2 medium onion, diced
8 carrots, diced
5 celery stalks, diced
3 32oz box of chicken broth
1 small can of crushed tomatoes
2 cans of garbanzo beans
1 can of corn
1 handful of chopped fresh parsley

Note: Add more or less of the onions, carrots, and celery. It's really your preference! This is just how we like it at our home.

Spice Mix

1 tbs cumin
1 tsp salt (add more or less)
1 tbs harissa spice (you can buy this at whole foods at the ground spices section)
1 tsp panch phoron (it's a Bangladeshi spice from my mother land, and can be easily re-created with the following ingredients)
1 tsp cracked pepper
1 tsp fresh tumeric
1 tsp fresh ginger

Directions

Brown the turkey first. Add half of the spice mix blend and 2 tbs of harissa (if you want to add more, wait till later when the broth is in). Once browned add the mirepoix (fancy name for onions, carrots, celery) and cook down for 10-15 minutes.

Add the broth and tomatoes. Let cook for 5-10 minutes. Once completed, add the garbanzo beans and corn (feel free to add other ingredients if you are adventurous. Kale, squash, potatoes, etc... will all taste great in this!) Add the remaining spice blend and harissa and let simmer for about 30 minutes.

Serve immediately (garnished with parsley) with your favorite loaf of bread (sourdough is our favorite) if you are craving carbs!

Easter Sunday: Deviled Eggs

Easter always makes me crave deviled eggs! I like to keep mine healthy with very little mayo and have other spices accentuate the flavor.

The best thing about this recipe is that you can really do anything as long as you have your two major ingredients, yolks and mayo. If you want a healthier alternative, I recommend using avocado instead. You still get that creaminess, but it's less fat!

Other options: sriracha, bacon, and/or jalapeños :)

Recipe

4 eggs

Boil these eggs for 15 minutes and let sit for another 15 to cool. Once cooled, peel and slice in half to take out the yolks. Put the whites nicely on a plate into the fridge to harden. I like to harden my eggs before I put the mixture in it so everything sits nicely.

Mixture

4 egg yolks
1 1/2 tbs of light mayo
1/8 tsp of paprika
1/2 of a small lemon, juice
1/2 tsp mustard
1/8 tsp smoked spanish chorizo spice - can be bought at wholespice.com (or any asado seasoning)
freshly cracked pepper
1 green onion stalk, diced small
1/8 tsp roasted red bell pepper powder - can be bought on wholespice.com

Mix the mixture in a small bowl and then move into a small ziplock bag. Make the ziplock into a piping bag while cutting a small hole at the edge. Take the eggs out of the fridge and put the mixture in each shell.

Top with some extra green onions and/or paprika

Chill for another 15-20 minutes before serving.

Recipe: Turkey Bolognese

I have found many turkey bolognese recipes, but the flavor always falls short. I have finally concocted my own seasoning that makes excellent bolognese

Recipe

2 packs of ground turkey
3 packs of Pomi Tomato Sauce
2 medium onions, diced
1 large carrot, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced small

Seasoning 

1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt (add more if needed)
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp crushed red pepper (add more or less)
1/2 tsp ancho powder
1 tsp aleppo powder (or crushed)
1 tsp granulated onion powder
1 tsp granulated garlic powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp red bell pepper powder (can be purchased at spice shop, optional)
1/2 tsp spanish chorizo seasoning (can be purchased at spice shop, optional)

Mix all of these in a small bowl.

3 basil leaves, torn
1 tsp worchestershire sauce

Directions

In olive oil, cook the onions, carrots, and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add the turkey and 1/2 of the seasoning blend till browned.

Once browned, add the tomato sauce, worchestershire and remaining seasoning blend. Simmer for 20 minutes and then add the torn basil leaves. If you feel as if you need more tomato sauce, add some! It's all preference.

Simmer for another 10-20 minutes to serve with your favorite pasta or zoodles!

Recipe: how make your own tomato sauce for chili

My boyfriend and I have been on a natural kick lately (well mainly him... I can not give up potato chips!) We decided to make a typical turkey chili but thought it would be good idea to make our own tomato sauce instead of using cans. There are just so many preservatives and chemicals in them that it doesn't make sense to keep using cans. Granted, we are still using canned beans, but we are taking this one step at a time!

Recipe

5-6 of your favorite dried Mexican chilis
2 cups of water
10 tomatoes (vine ripe sized)
1 garlic clove
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp sugar

Directions

Rehydrate the Mexican Chilis in boiling water for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely dice 4 of the tomatoes, and put aside. The remaining 6 should also be roughly chopped to be put in the blender.

Once the chilis are done, add them to the blender with the tomatoes, salt and sugar. Blend. Add water if need be.

The recipe is for two packages of ground turkey, but add more tomatoes if you want more sauce. We prefer our chili chunky so we don't add as much. Add 1 tbs cacao powder to the actual chili for more depth. If you want it to be sweeter, add more sugar.

Recipe: Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

So it's officially Taco Sunday at our home. Particularly, "Barbacoa Sundays". My boyfriend has been obsessed with rehydrating chilis to make sauces, so we just eat this all the time now! I have posted the recipe on multiple occasions, but this time we decided to pickle red onions and radishes for a nice garnish. I'll tell you now, it's amazing. The spiciness of the beefs with the bitterness of the pickled vegetables really provide a great juxtaposition of taste.

Recipe

1 medium red onion, sliced different sizes (mostly thin)
6 radishes, sliced thin
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
2 tbs salt
2 tbs sugar
5-6 black peppercorns
1 habanero (optional)
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
3 cups of hot water

Mix everything but the onions and radishes in a large mason jar. Put the onions and radishes in a colander and dump the hot water on it. Then put them in the mason jar. Refrigerate over night for best results.

Sunday Dinner: Barbacoa Tacos

The recipe is exactly the same as the Beer and Shot Taco. Just sub in with beef and add 1 lime to the beef once cooked. Also, you can follow the Barbacoa Recipe I posted before from around the blogosphere

Recipe: My Favorite Bolognese

I love making bolognese during the winter months. It's hearty and you can put it on top of pasta or zucchini noodles (if you are going for a healthier/paleo option). The flavors are so rich and the sauce is so vibrant. Most importantly, it serves great as a leftover dish for the week.

Recipe

1 tbs olive oil
1 lb of ground beef
1 medium onion
3 garlic gloves, minced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 handful of fresh basil, roughly copped
2 tbs of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 tbs Worcestershire sauce

Seasoning Blend

1/2 tbs salt (add more or less to your liking)
1 tbs cracked pepper
1/2 tbs crushed red pepper (we like our sauce spicy, but this can be optional)
1/2 tbs cumin
1 tbs roasted granulated garlic
1 tbs granulated onion
1/2 tbs dried oregano
2 bay leaves

Directions:

In a large, deep pan, add olive oil. Once hot, add your onion, garlic, carrot and celery (mirepoix) and cook for 8-10 minutes (until somewhat tender)

Add your ground beef with salt and pepper and saute for about 10 minutes till the pieces become slightly browned. Add the crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning blend and let cook for about 20-25 minutes. You want the meat to absorb as much flavor as possible. Add 1 tbs of fresh parsley with the basil and continue to cook for an extra 5 minutes.

Serve with the remaining parsley.

Recipe: Damn Delicious - Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup

I have been sick for about a month now. This Lemon Orzo Soup I found on Damn Delicious is amazing. I added bouillon cubes to mine for extra taste and used rotisserie chicken, but it's up to you. I think adding tomatoes and corn would be excellent too



Recipe (courtesy of Damn Delicious)

2 tbs olive oil
1 pound of boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped
Kosher salt and pepper (to your liking)
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, diced (I used 4)
2 celery stalks, diced (I used 4)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
5 cups of chicken stock/broth
2 bay leaves
3/4 cup uncooked orzo
1 sprig rosemary
1 juice of a lemon (I used half)
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the stockpot. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Whisk in chicken stock, bay leaves and 1 cup water; bring to a boil. Stir in orzo, rosemary and chicken; reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve immediately.

Recipe: Thai Fried Rice

I had some basmati rice leftover in my fridge for about a week now. I hate throwing things away so I thought to make a vegetarian thai fried rice (mainly because I had no poultry at home)

Recipe

2 cups of cooked basmati rice
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 tbs of fresh cilantro, diced
4 pieces of basil leaves, teared
2 stalks of scallion, diced
2 tbs of sesame oil
2 tbs of soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbs of thai chili
1 egg

Heat up your wok or frying pan with the vegetable oil. Fry the onions in the oil until translucent and then cook the egg (scrambled).

Add the tomatoes and half of the scallions and cilantro. Cook till the tomatoes are mushy! Add 1 tbs of the sesame oil and 1 tbs of soy sauce to it.

Once cooked, add the rice, remaining sesame oil, soy sauce and toss. Add the basil leaves, salt, pepper, cilantro, scallion, and the tbs of thai chili sauce. Toss and stir and add more soy sauce, if desired.

Recipe: Bon Appetit's Chicken Khao Soi

Tonight we decided to make Bon Appetit's Chicken Khao Soi (see recipe). We modified it a bit by adding more chilis and adding two ancho chili pods. We also added kaffir lime leaves (dried) and sriracha for taste. Feel free to modify this recipe to your liking! We loved it!

Photo courtesy of the same recipe featured on Epicurious

Recipe: Mahi Mahi & Mango/Pineapple Slaw

Recipe

Serving size: 2

2 5-6 oz Mahi Mahi
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1/2 cup chopped mango
1 tbs cilantro
1/2 tsp crush red peppers
Dash of salt and pepper
2 corns

Season Mahi Mahi with your favorite seasonings. I love the whole foods seafood seasonings (comes in Jamaican jerk, thai curry, habanero chili, etc... ) Put on the grill for 5 minutes per each side.

For the salsa, mix the remaining ingredients (aside from the corn) to put on top of the grilled fish.

Season corn with your favorite seasonings (I used paprika, dried dill, Mortons seasoned salt, fresh pepper, McCormick's garlic&herb seasoning, and Bett's Seasoning). Grill for 10-15 minutes

My Favorite Italian Chopped Salad

My favorite recipe from A Cozy Kitchen is their Italian Chopped Salad. So hearty and a great, filling dinner. I added some beats and green beans to mine to add more flavor, so make it your own!

Original - Beer & Shot Chicken Tacos (Modified - Braised Chicken Tacos)

So my boyfriend and I are on quite a Mexican Food kick due to this cookbook I bought him. Tacolicious has great recipes for tacos and salsas - including the one we made today. We adding some variation to our recipe but it tasted great nonetheless! I didn't add the EXACT recipe because I really want you all to buy this cookbook.

Recipe

3 lbs mix of chicken breast and thighs - browned in a dutch oven with 2 tbs of oil
1/4 cup oil
2 small onions, diced
2 whole jalapeños
4 garlic cloves, smashed
3 ancho chillies, (stemmed and de-seeded) toasted for 30 seconds on a pan for fragrancy
3 chipotle chillies, (stemmed and de-seeded) toasted for 30 seconds on a pan for fragrancy
3 hatch chillies, (stemmed and de-seeded) toasted for 30 seconds on a pan for fragrancy
2 tbs salt
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs mexican oregano
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 1/4 cup of chicken broth
1/2 of a lime, squeezed (optional)
2 tbs of the guajillo chili paste (featured in tacolicious) - optional


Add the oil, onion, jalapeños and cook for 5 minutes after the chicken is browned earlier. The juices will help brown the onions faster. Add the garlic, chillies, seasonings, tomatoes and broth and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. We added some jalapeño chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, chilli powder and fajita seasoning mix for more taste. For a secret ingredient we added the guajillo chili paste featured in the cookbook.



Once simmered, blend the sauce. Put the chicken back in with the sauce and let cook for 2.5 hours. Add more oil if need be and half of a lime (preferable). Shred the chicken at the end and serve with your favorite guacamole and salsa.

I won't post the exact recipe of the guajillo paste because I really think that this cookbook is a great addition to a household. Although, I am sure you can google one ;) I do highly recommended purchasing the book for the correct recipe overall as we modified it to our liking!

We also ending up making homemade corn tortilla. Such a better taste than the processed store bought ones!

Recipe

2 cups Masa Corn Flour
1 1/4 cup water

Knead and roll into balls (should make 9)

Add a splash of water if the dough becomes dry and starts to crack during the rolling.

Flat out by putting sheets of parchment paper in between both sides.

Use a flat heavy surface to flatten the dough and use your hands to thin it out.

Heat for 50 seconds on each side using a skillet. No oil is necessary but we sprayed a little coconut oil at the beginning so nothing sticks.

Barbacoa Tacos

My boyfriend and I decided to make barbacoa tacos tonight mixing two recipes:

1. Serious Eats: Better than Chipotle Barbacoa

2. Gimme Some Oven: Slow Cooker Barbacoa

We used the slow cooker and cooked on high for about 4-5 hours. We added some orange zest, extra lime and habanero powder for spiciness (but that is up to you). 

Add some salsa, lettuce and cabbage to top it all off, and enjoy!

Pad Thai Saturday!

So I found this amazing Pad Thai Recipe on Bon Appetit. So naturally, my boyfriend and I headed 35 minutes the opposite direction to the Asian Market to get all our ingredients to make this for dinner. It's my first time making Pad Thai but this is an excellent base recipe. We added basil, snow peas, etc.... just because we love extra veggies... and subbed in chicken instead of shrimp. You add more spice like us or just keep it simple! We used chili paste.

Update: We realized we had the Pok Pok Cookbook which we purchased earlier this year during our Memorial Day trip to NYC. There is actually a Pok Pok near the NYU campus which has amazing pad thai and drinking vinegar! (Don't knock it till you try it). If you live around the area or are visiting and enjoy thai food, I highly recommend it! Reasonable price and fantastic food!! We ended up cooking up a Pok Pok Bon Appetit Hybrid recipe.