Spring is my favorite time of year to grill in Georgia. We've had some perfect grilling weather this month. In the past couple of weeks, I've cooked most of our meals on my Big Green Egg - chicken, fish, pork, burgers, steaks, you name it. Throwing some marinated chicken on the grill is easy - coming up with healthy and delicious side dishes to compliment my grilled meat - not always as easy. I found this recipe for Cranberry Almond Broccoli Salad in my newest Cooking Light magazine. It is a great complement to almost any grilled meal. I added my own little twist on the recipe and you can do the same - change out the nuts or the fruit to make it your own. This broccoli salad is super simple to put together - it can be made ahead of time AND it's delicious. Cranberry Almond Broccoli Salad 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup light mayonnaise 3 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar 1 Tablespoon honey 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 4 cups broccoli florets 1/4 cup slivered almonds 1/3 cup dried cranberries 4 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled Stir together mayonnaise, yogurt, honey, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cut broccoli head into florets. Add onions and dressing to broccoli. Stir in bacon, almonds and cranberries. Enjoy! Grilled chicken, broccoli salad and a few freshly picked strawberries - Springtime meal perfection.
Ciao!
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The running joke in our house is that when there is food on the counter that looks really good - its almost always intended for someone other than my family. Sadly -- there's a lot of truth to it. I spend a lot of time making the food that I sell to other people look pretty but I invest very little time making the meals for my family look presentable. Pretty sure I will never work as a food stylist. Typically, I make one pretty plate which I affectionately call the "picture plate" and all the pictures that go on my website - typically come from that single plate. It's become a nightly competition to see who will get the prized picture plate for dinner. It's nights like last night that I'm thinking that feeding ordinary looking food to my family has worked to my advantage. I pulled a recipe off of Pinterest for the CUTEST ham and cheese puffs and lets just say - MY puffs were less than Pinterest worthy. (Like most of my Pinterest recipes really --- tasty but not really picture worthy.) But like I said earlier - my family isn't accustomed to pretty food - they just want delicious food. Because of that - these puffs were a huge hit. Not too pretty but SUPER yummy. My family raved about how good they tasted and their weird appearance didn't stop me from posting them on my blog either. They were so delicious that I couldn't bring myself to eliminate the recipe just because of how they looked so please excuse the pictures and trust me when I tell you - they tasted better than they looked. Ham and Cheese Spinach Puffs
For the bechamel sauce
Stir and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and continue to boil until thickened. Stir in spinach. Cook 1 minute. Stir in ham and cheese. Fold corners into center. (If you want more closed squares, make sure to overlap the centers.) Bake 20 minutes at 400. This recipe came about because we had a little bit of leftover ham in the frig and all sorts of little pieces of cheese. This is the perfect leftover recipe to use up some of those bits and pieces that you have in the refrigerator. Next time that I make these, I will secure the centers of the dough with a little dab of egg wash before baking. Maybe that will help make them a little cuter - not that it matters to my family.
Ciao! It's Meatless Monday!!! Yea! Despite the resistance that I get from my family - I persevere in my pursuit to find really great meatless meals that my family will love. (A task that I once thought to be impossible.) I am beyond thrilled to share with all of you - the meatless meal that has single-handedly converted my carnivorous family into meatless meal lovers. Introducing - Southwest Spaghetti Squash!!! Southwest Spaghetti Squash 1 medium spaghetti squash 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1/2 red onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 jalapeno pepper, minced (leave seeds in for more heat) 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin 1/2 Tablespoon oregano 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed 1 cup frozen corn, thawed 1/2 cup freshly torn cilantro, plus more for garnish Juice of 1 lime 1 cup grated cheddar cheese Choose a squash that is bright yellow and firm. Cut in half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake 50 minutes at 375. Heat oil in skillet. Add red pepper, jalapeno, onion and garlic. Saute 3-4 minutes. Stir in cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir in lime juice, corn, beans and half of the cilantro. Scrape spaghetti with a fork to make spaghetti. Add to vegetable mixture. Spoon into empty squash shells. Sprinkle with cheese and broil until melted and crusty. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve. This dinner is super easy to make and really delicious. I loved all of the yummy Southwest flavors and believe it or not - my family liked this too. OK - So in the interest of full disclosure - Courtney ate her Southwest Spaghetti Squash with corn chips but I was totally good with that. It was still a meatless meal AND she didn't hate it! (Huge accomplishment for this momma.) Who says meatless meals are boring? These Southwest Spaghetti Squash pack a powerful punch of flavor AND vegetables. Win-Win.
Ciao! It's Spring and things are changing. There are plants popping up all over the yard. I've got tomatoes planted in my garden and I just picked my first 2 buckets of strawberries of the season. Even our breakfast table is changing this Spring. Smoothies, granola, fresh fruit and yogurt is replacing the heartier pancakes, waffles and casserole breakfasts that we ate all winter. Nutty, crunchy granola sweetened with a touch of honey and dabbled with a few plump, juicy cherries is the perfect way to kick off a beautiful Spring day. This Cherry Almond Granola recipe came from my Baking with Less Sugar cookbook. I love it - I hope that you will too. Cherry Almond Granola 1 1/2 cups dried cherries 1/2 cup canola oil 1/4 cup honey 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups slivered almonds 1 1/2 cups rolled oats 1/2 cup almond flour 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup flaxseed 1/4 cup sunflower seeds 1/2 cup millet Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat. Place dried cherries in a bowl. Cover with boiling water. Let sit 30 minutes. Drain cherries, reserving 2 Tablespoons juice. Combine almonds, oats, almond flour, coconut, salt, cinnamon, flaxseed, sunflower seeds and millet. Stir processed cherries and whole cherries into mixture. Spread onto prepared baking sheet. Serve granola with yogurt or fresh fruit ... or both. This recipe is easily adaptable to your own tastes. Switch out the cherries with another fruit that you love. Swap out the coconut or almonds for foods that you like. Change it up and make it unique to you.
Ciao! It's officially is Spring Break week! Even though we didn't take a beach trip or travel to some far-away, exotic island - Courtney and I are still managing to fill our week with fun and adventure. It's only Wednesday and I'm already feeling like the week is slipping by so fast that we won't be able to squeeze in all the activities that we wanted to accomplish this week. Even though I didn't officially take the week off from cooking, I simplified our dinner menu for the week to give myself a little bit of a break. Yesterday I threw some ribs in the crock pot before we headed out the door for our stay-cation fun. When we got home at 5:00 - the ribs smelled FANTASTIC and they were nearly ready to eat!! Gotta love the slow cooker. These ribs were super tasty and so easy to make - even with the homemade barbecue sauce! Slow Cooker Memphis Style Ribs Ribs 2 Tablespoons paprika 1 Tablespoon brown sugar 1 Tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons pepper 2 teaspoons onion powder 2 teaspoon garlic powder 5-6 pounds of St. Louis Style spareribs Barbecue Sauce 3/4 cup ketchup 6 Tablespoons apple juice 2 Tablespoons molasses 2 Tablespoon cider vinegar 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard 3/4 teaspoon pepper
Arrange ribs vertically in slow cooker with thickest part of rib down. Cook on low 6-7 hours. Remove ribs from slow cooker and let rest for 10 minutes - uncovered. Place ribs on a foil lined baking sheet and brush with sauce and put under broiler for 3-4 minutes until lightly charred. Remove ribs from oven. Cover and let rest 15 minutes before serving. Cut ribs apart before serving. No time to linger on the delicious Slow Cooker Memphis Style Ribs that we had for dinner last night. It's another beautiful day in Atlanta and we're not about to miss a moment of it. Happy Spring!
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