Easy Olive Tapenade

This is a super easy recipe. I threw together 5 ingredients I had on hand into a food processor and that was it! Can be eaten with crackers and cheese, or as a marinade (which I ended up doing for my cod)

Ingredients-

1/2 of small onion

1 roasted red bell pepper

1 cup of green olives

1 clove of garlic

handful of cherry tomatoes

Steps:

1. Finely chop onion, bell pepper, green olives, tomatoes and garlic and place in a mixing bowl

2. Mix all the ingredients

3. Add some of the liquids from the container of green olives (about 1 tablespoon)

4. Add mixture into a food processor and pulse for a few seconds. You do not want it completely blended.

5. Place mixture into bowl and serve cold or room temperature*

Enjoy!

XOXO

* the longer the mixture sits, the better it will taste, but you do not have to wait for a couple of hours….eat it whenever you feel like it!

Chicken Curry

I have no idea why, but the other night I was in the mood for chicken curry……and I have never had Indian food, or curry for that matter, in my life before. It was a random craving but I was determined to make it. This recipe is something I made up as I went along, so whether it is a true, authentic, Indian curry, you will have to be judge of that….but it tasted good to me!

[ If any of you have a recipe for any kind of Curry, please share! Would love to try it out 🙂 ]

Ingredients-

5 chicken breasts

3 carrots (peeled)

½ cup frozen peas

1 small yellow onion

3 garlic cloves

½ cup of cashews (chopped)

1 inch of fresh ginger (grated)

2 cups of chicken broth (plus a splash…1/3 cup)

1/3 cup of full fat coconut milk

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

1 ½ teaspoon of curry powder

1 teaspoon of fennel seed

¼ teaspoon of cardamom

Steps:

1. Using a separate cutting board, cut chicken breasts into 1 ½ inch pieces

2. Season the pieces of chicken with salt and curry powder

3. Finely chop onion and carrots, make them the same size and set aside

4. Finely chop garlic and set aside

5. Take the one inch piece of fresh ginger and use a hand grater, and grate the ginger and set aside

6. Once all vegetables are prepped, preheat a large sauce pan (or dutch oven) over medium heat. Add tablespoon of coconut oil

7. Once pan is heated, add pieces of chicken

8. Cook chicken for 6 to 7 minutes (you are not fully cooking the chicken right now, so don’t get scared if it is still raw!)

9. Take chicken out and place in a separate bowl and set aside

10. Discard any liquid in the pan

11. Bring the pan back to the heat, and add onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger to pan

12. Sprinkle 1 ½ teaspoons (or more depending on your mood) of curry powder and 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds to the mixture and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes on medium heat (if it looks dry, then you are doing it right)

13. Once the onions and carrots have softened, add in 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. About 5 minutes

14. Once the sauce is simmering, take out about ½ cup of liquid and place into a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the ½ cup of liquid and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved (will get thicker…that’s OK)

15. Add the ½ cup of sauce thickened with cornstarch back into the large sauce pan and stir to incorporate

16. Once the sauce has overall thickened, add in 1/3 cup of full fat coconut milk. Stir

17. At this point, the sauce may be too thick for your liking, that’s when you can add in a splash or so more of the chicken broth (I ended up adding about 1/3 cup more)

18. Once the sauce is at its desired thickness, sprinkle in ¼ teaspoon of cardamom and cashews. Stir to incorporate

19. Add chicken back into the sauce and let it simmer for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until it is fully cooked (All depends on how long you cooked it for step 8)

20. Once the chicken is fully cooked, add in ½ cup of frozen peas and stir until they are warmed through (wont take long- 2 minutes tops)

21. Serve with white rice, or by it self

Enjoy!

XOXO

Potato Pancakes- GLUTEN FREE

I remember years ago when I was much younger, my dad and I tried Rachael Ray’s recipe for potato pancakes. But for some reason we did not like how it came out- which was very odd because we loved her and were always pleased with her dishes.

Since then, I kind of forgot about it and never really tried making potato pancakes again, because I didn’t want to go through all the trouble. But last week I had a random craving for them. It was Labor Day, I had to babysit until well after dinner time and my family was a good family friends house for a BBQ.

Being home alone is great for me. I can create recipes and try things out without everyone coming into the kitchen asking me what am I doing, or sneaking a taste of whatever I might be making. So I decided to run to the store and grab 2 ingredients- Idaho potatoes and onions.

What I came up with was delicious and really easy. And only consisted of 4 ingredients (salt & pepper are always given). So here it is:

Ingredients- makes roughly 12 pancakes

1 Idaho potato
2 small yellow onions
6 to 7 tablespoons of GF flour
2 eggs, beaten
Salt to taste

Optional-

Apple Sauce

Fage Greek Yogurt (or sour cream)

1. Grate the potato with a hand grater and make sure to get the excess moisture out. Use a stack of paper towels and lay half of the grated potatoes onto of the stack of towels. Then place another small stack of paper towels on top and press down and squeeze the moisture out. Place the potato gratings in a bowl. Do the same with the other half of potatoes using new clean paper towels.

2. Grate 2 small onions on the hand grater and get the excess moisture out- do the same as the potatoes.

3. Once potatoes and onions are grated and the excess moisture is out- add in 2 beaten eggs. (beat eggs in a separate bowl and then pour into the potato and onion mixture.) Mix until everything is coated.

4. Add in 6 to 7 tablespoons of gluten free flour. I love using Trader Joe’s All Purpose GF Flour, but any all-purpose flour is fine (GF or not).

5. Mix it all up until the flour is coating everything.

6. Heat vegetable oil over medium in a cast-iron skillet. (Just enough is coat the pan)

7. Once oil is ready, place a small handful of potato mixture onto the pan.

8. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Sprinkle with salt when they come off the pan.

9. Serve with applesauce or Fage Greek Yogurt (I like 0% plain)

Enjoy!

xoxo

Homemade Tzatziki

I made some salmon filets for dinner tonight and realized I had all the ingredients for a yogurt sauce. So I decided to throw together my version of a tzatziki sauce while the fish was baking in the oven!

It ended up being reallllly really easy to make and it was perfect for the salmon. If you LOVEEEE garlic, like my family does, keep the amount I used, if you don’t like fresh garlic as much, just use half the amount! Here it is:

Ingredients-
1 cup Fage Greek yogurt
1/2 cup shredded cucumber
1/4 cup of thinly sliced red onion
1 garlic clove, grated *
2 lemons (juice only)
Salt (to taste)
Dill

1. Throw everything into a medium bowl and mix! That’s it!

* I used a microplane to grate the garlic- I found that it was more like paste rather than using a grater which would make the garlic more minced…you want the garlic almost like a paste because then it mixes better and disappears in the yogurt, and you won’t get a chunk of garlic when you take a bite*

xoxo
Enjoy!

Simple Shaved Cucumber Salad

Our good family friends have a garden, and we have been getting lots of fresh, delicious vegetables from them. Tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, you name it!

So this week for dinner, I made a side dish using a large cucumber, half a red onion and shaved parmesan cheese. And that’s it. Only three ingredients- what’s better than that! Here it is:

Ingredients-
Large cucumber
Half a medium red onion
Parmesan shavings (to your liking)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

1. Peel the skin of the cucumber ( in other dishes, I love leaving some skin on, but because we are shaving the cucumber, the skin is too tough)

2. Shave the cucumber with the peeler- I made long shavings (as you would when you shave cheese)

3. Slice the red onion very thinly, and add to the cucumber

4. Shave parmesan cheese over the cucumber and red onion

5. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt and freshly cracked black pepper on top

6. Toss it all together and enjoy!! It’s that simple

Fried Pickles

I’m slightly obsessed with fried pickles. Whenever it is on a menu, there’s a good chance I’ll be ordering it. I always said to myself that I’ll try making them one day, and today I finally did.

My friend is down in myrtle beach this week and sent me a picture of her fried pickles she got a BBQ restaurant. That picture inspired me to make them. Surprisingly, it wasn’t difficult at all. I only used THREE ingredients. Here it is-

Ingredients:

Large jar of dill pickle chips
1 cup of almond meal
1 egg white
Vegetable oil

1. Heat vegetable oil in a cast-iron pan, I used just enough to cover the pan

2. Whisk egg white in a small bowl and set aside

3. Measure a cup of almond flour and place in another bowl

4. Pat dill pickle chips dry with a paper towel

5. By now, the oil should be ready for frying. Place pickle in egg white and then immediately into the flour. Pat flour onto the pickle and shake the excess of.

6. Place the pickles into the pan of hot oil and fry on each side for a few minutes ( just until they’re golden brown).

7. Keep doing this until you have the amount of pickles you want!!!

ENJOY
xoxo

Fried RIIIIIICE

I am obsessed with Benihana’s fried rice. I have YET to master the recipe, but I have one that isn’t that bad- its my go to when I need a fried rice fix. Here it is:

Ingredients-

2 cups brown rice

A quarter of a bell pepper ( yellow, red, orange, green), chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

2 clove of chopped garlic

1/4 cup of frozen peas

1 egg (beaten)

1/2 tablespoon of sesame seeds

soy sauce

1. Cook rice according to box instructions

2. Melt tablespoon of butter in a sauce pan over low heat

3. Add carrots, and allow to cook for 5 minutes (they take the longest to cook)

4. To the carrots, add chopped bell peppers and garlic and cook for another few minutes

5. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the beaten egg and scramble along with the vegetables

6. Add the brown rice to the vegetables & egg, along with a 1/2 a tablespoon of sesame seeds and a few dashes of soy sauce (more or less depending on what you like)

7. ENJOY!!

xoxo

Dipping Sauce for Onion Rings or Potato Wedges- A MUST try!

When ever I make baked potato wedges, I always make my greek yogurt dip. I LOVE using Fage Greek Yogurt when I cook. I use it whenever sour cream is needed in a recipe. It is a lot more healthy, and honestly, I think it tastes better.

When I made onion rings, I figured my dip would be perfect with it. The recipe doesn’t call for much, just a few seasonings, along with the star ingredient. Here it is-

** Ingredients:

1 cup of plain Fage Greek Yogurt

1/8 a teaspoon of Chili Powder

1/8 a teaspoon of Garlic Powder

1/8 a teaspoon of Onion Powder

1/4 a teaspoon Seasoned Salt

1/8 a teaspoon of Paprika

Just mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and enjoy! Its that simple!

xoxo

** feel free to add different seasonings/change the amount of seasoning. I always do it a little different, so change it up depending on your mood!

Baked Onion Rings….YUM

Tonight I was in charge of making dinner for my younger sister and I. Something I have no problem doing because I volunteer to cook dinner all the time. I’ve been wanting to make onion rings for awhile now, and for some reason when I REALLLLLY want to make them, we never have onions. Of course. This time I made sure my dad got a bag of onions at the grocery store.

So when my parents told me dinner was up to me, I immediately texted my sister and said ill make pasta (cooked pasta, tossed it with homemade pesto, frozen peas, and sausage…came out delicious) and ONIONNN RINGSSSSSSS! (these were even better).

We are an italian family, so we have an insane amount of polenta, or ground cornmeal on hand at all times. I decided to use that as my coating, along with flour. This recipe is so simple, anyone can do it with their eyes closed. Here is how I did it:

Ingredients-

1 large onion

1 cup of polenta (cornmeal)

1/2 cup of flour

2 cups of buttermilk

4 egg whites

1. Cut ends of the onion, and slice the entire onion ( 1/4 inch thick)

2. Place onion rings in a deep dish and pour the 2 cups of buttermilk over them (make sure the rings are covered with the buttermilk). Let this sit for 15 minutes.

3. While onions are bathing in the buttermilk, pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

4. Mix the cup of cornmeal with the 1/2 cup of flour, seasoning with salt and pepper

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the 4 egg whites

6. Grab a large cookie sheet and grease it

7. Take the rings out of the buttermilk, place in egg whites and then the cornmeal mixture. Coat completely and try to get excess mixture off and place on the cookie sheet.

8. Once all rings are coated with the cornmeal mixture, place cookie sheet in the oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping rings halfway through.

ENJOY

xoxo

My Obsession- RISOTTO

Being Italian, I am obsessed with all food. Doesn’t matter what it is, or how it is cooked, I will eat it. The one thing I LOVEEEE more than life is risotto. To me, arborio rice is a blank canvas. I love experimenting with new flavors and different proteins. My go to recipe that I follow is below-

Ingredients:
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic
2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can chicken stock **
1/2 cup of arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine ( I like to use Sauvignon Blanc)
1/3 frozen peas
3 sweet italian sausage links
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
A splash of cream
1 tablespoon of butter

** (might need an extra 1/2 cup of chicken stock)

1. Pour 1 can of chicken stock into a small pot, along with the extra 1/2 cup, and place over low heat

2. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large stock pot and place over medium heat
3. Cook onions and garlic until they are translucent

4. Add the 1/2 cup of arborio rice to the garlic and onions and cook for a few minutes (just long enough to toast the rice)

5. Add 1/3 cup of white wine and reduce to medium-low heat, stirring often
6. Once white wine is absorbed, add 1 cup of chicken stock, stirring often

7. Cook sausage while rice is cooking (I like to use a cast-iron pan) and once it is fully cooked, slice it into bite sized pieces, and put to the side

8. Once the 1 cup of stock is absorbed, continue to add 1/2 cup of stock at a time, or until the rice is cooked fully, roughly 45-55 minutes. Turn off heat

9. Add a splash of cream, a tablespoon of butter and a 1/4 of grated parmesan cheese to the cooked rice

10. Add 1/3 of a cup of frozen peas and stir them in (they will defrost quickly) along with the sliced sausage

ENJOY
xoxo