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Posts Tagged ‘easy’

Sweet Potato, Chickpea, and Spinach Red Curry

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on February 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I’ve also made this with butternut squash instead of the sweet potato, pumpkin might also be a nice substitute.

Ingredients

  • 2 Sweet Potatoes (sub with 1 small butternut squash), peeled and cubed
  • 2oz red curry paste
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 can chickpeas (or 1.5 cups homemade), drained
  • 3-4 cups spinach
  • 1/4 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped with stems (optional)
  • olive oil
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat about 1T of olive oil in a heavy bottom pot over med-high heat. Add sweet potatoes and cook until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add red curry paste and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add coconut milk and bring to a simmer, reduce to low, cover, and cook 10 minutes. Sweet potatoes should be soft.
  4. Add drained chickpeas and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3-5 more minutes (longer if you like really mushy chickpeas). Salt to taste.
  5. Add spinach (adding in batches if needed) and cook until wilted. Remove from heat.
  6. Serve over rice and/or with roti and sprinkle with cilantro.

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Eggs for Dinner

Posted in Dinner, easy, tagged , , , , , , on February 2, 2012| 1 Comment »

This fast and hearty dish was inspired by a recipe for fried eggs topped homemade chive olive oil from one of my latest cookbooks. However I wanted something more substantial that I could eat for dinner, so after rummaging through my fridge this is what I came up with. The chickpeas become nice and crunchy, the kale gives a great salty flavor, served with thinly sliced and lightly toasted french bread you have yourself a fantastic meal in less than 30 minutes!

Eggs for Dinner

Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 2-4 eggs (depends on how hungry you are)
  • 1 bunch kale or chard, washed and roughly chopped
  • 2 shallots, diced
  • 1.5 ounce pancetta (or bacon), roughly chopped
  • 1 cup chickpeas
  • olive oil
  • herb blended/infused oil* (optional)
  • French bread, sliced and toasted for serving

Directions:

  1. Heat a large pan (preferably cast iron) on medium high heat and add the pancetta. Give a few good stirs and add shallots. After 1-2 min, before shallots start to brown add the chickpeas and cook for another few minutes until shallots and chickpeas start to brown. If pancetta is not fatty enough add a little bit of olive oil so that the chickpeas have a bit of crunch.
  2. Once everything starts to brown add the kale (or chard) and a little more oil if needed. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Cook until kale is throughly cooked, about 6-8 minutes. Divide between two plates.
  3. Add oil to the pan and coat. Crack eggs into pan and cook until desired firmness (I prefer mine sunny side up, but you might like your flipped). Drizzle with herb oil while cooking.
  4. Top the chickpeas and greens mixture with eggs and serve immediately.

Notes:

*While you can buy herb infused oils at the store you can also make your own, just combine 1/2 extra virgin olive oil with 1 cup chopped herb of your choice and some salt in a food processor until well blended. (I made my herb oil with chives!)

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Peanut Chicken Satay

Posted in Appetizers, Chicken, Dinner, Poultry, tagged , , , , , on June 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This is a great dish that you can prep ahead (up to 24 hours in advance) and then assemble and grill in less than 30 min. It is a bit different from most satays where the sauce is on the side, I prefer to marinate the chicken in the sauce which renders it both flavorful and juicy. I serve this accompanied by a salad for a light dinner or as an appetizer for a larger group.

Peanut Chicken Satay

Makes about 10 large skewers (or 15 smaller ones)

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
  • 1/2 cup Lemon or Lime Juice
  • 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Curry Powder
  • 2 cloves Garlic, chopped
  • 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (can use breast instead if desired), cut in chunks.

Directions:

  1. Combine all but the chicken in a mixing bowl and throughly mix. Place the chicken in the bowl to marinate. (Or even better I put everything in a ziplock bag.) Place in fridge and marinate for 2 to 24 hours.
  2. Preheat grill to high heat.
  3. Skewer the chicken, and then gill until done.

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Fruit and Nut Granola Bars

Posted in Breakfast, Snack, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

These granola bars make a great quick snack on the run or a fast and tasty breakfast. Out of all the recipes I have found for granola bars this one has the least amount of sugar (and whole wants mounds of sugar for breakfast!?!) They are very easy and you can substitute different dried fruits or nuts, and even add mini chocolate chips, to suit your taste.

Fruit and Nut Granola Bars

Makes 20 bars

Ingredients

  • 4 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup almond silvers
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9×13 pan or cookie sheet.
  2. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter, honey and brown sugar. Then stir in almonds, raisins and cranberries.
  3. Press mixture into pan using wax paper, you finger tips and palms to
  4. Bake 25-30 min, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 min then cut into squares and remove from pan to continue cooling. (Note, you wan to cut while still warm as the granola hardens while it cools.)

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Spring Salad with Avocado, Strawberries and Almonds

Posted in Salad, Side Dishes, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , on May 24, 2011| 1 Comment »

I have to admit it, I am obsessed with this salad. It combines everything I love about spring; strawberries, avocado and crisp lettuce! It’s super easy to throw together and people always go back for seconds. I love making this with dinner, then taking the leftovers in for lunch (either as a side or with a roll and some grilled chicken.)

The photo below is the salad without the dressing, I usually serve the dressing separately so that people can decide how much they want. Also serving the dressing separately makes it easier to serve this the next day as leftovers since salad that sits with dressing is not as appealing.

Spring Salad with Avocado, Strawberries and Almonds

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups Red Leaf Lettuce or Spinach
  • 1 Ripe avocado
  • 1 pint Strawberries, sliced
  • 1/2 cup almond slivers or slices

Directions:

  1. Add Lettuce to serving bowl
  2. Add avocado, strawberries and the almonds

Shallot and Mustard Dressing:

In a small bowl whisk together

  • 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
  • 1 Tablespoon finely diced shallot

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Chicken, Dark Greens and Potatoes One Dish Dinner

Posted in Chicken, Dinner, Poultry, tagged , , , , , on May 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This is such an easy, delicious dinner that only takes an hour from prep to finish. I don’t have a photo yet (took a few but none of them came out well) but wanted to share the recipe while there are still some hearty winter greens in season!

Chicken, Dark Greens and Potatoes One Dish Dinner

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2 Chicken Legs
  • 4 cups (approx.) Braising Mix, you can use any dark green leafy veggies or combination instead (such as kale or chard)
  • 5-6 Fingerling Potatoes, sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices
  • 2 Shallots, sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Paprika
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 450F.
  2. Toss Braising mix, potatoes, shallots, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small roasting pan or baking dish.
  3. Rub chicken with paprika, salt and pepper and place on top of greens, skin side up.
  4. Wrap dish with foil, bake 20 min. Remove foil and bake an addition 30, then serve.

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Super Easy Pancakes

Posted in Breakfast, Vegetarian, tagged , , , on April 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »

MMM, pancakes. So easy from a box, but also so easy from scratch. Even easier than pancakes from a box if don’t have mix and have to drive to the store to get some. Simply serve these with butter and some good pure 100% maple syrup.

Super Easy Pancakes

Makes 4 servings, about 12 small pancakes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sifted or stirred flower
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter

Directions

  1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl.
  2. In a large bowl mix together eggs, milk and vanilla.
  3. Slowly add dry mix to the wet, whisking as you go. If too dry add a little more milk. When throughly mixed add butter.
  4. Heat a griddle on medium, when hot add butter and make pancakes with approximately 1/4 cups of batter. Once bubbles start to form on top of the pancake batter flip the pancakes and cook for an additional minute or two, until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter, using butter first to grease the griddle.

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Spinach Artichoke Dip

Posted in Appetizers, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , on April 3, 2011| 2 Comments »

This dip is a crowd pleaser, and tastes like it takes a lot more work than it actually does. In truth it is very easy and takes less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish. I like to make it slightly spicy, but you can always cut out the jalapeno for a mild dip or add more to up the heat. I also use full fat ricotta and cream cheese, though I suppose for a lower fat version you could use low-fat cream cheese and ricotta. Serve this with fresh French bread.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Makes enough for an appetizer for about 12 people, can be easily halved.

Ingredients

  • 1 package cream cheese
  • 1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
  • 2 cups grated parmesan
  • 2 cans artichoke hearts
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 1 red pepper
  • 2 jalapeno
  • 1.5 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Quarter red pepper and brush with oil, brush whole jalapeno with oil as well, put under broiler until skin is blistered, about 10 min.
  2. Roughly chop spinach and artichoke hearts, add to a large bowl. Mix in cream cheese, ricotta cheese, 1.5 cups of the parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Finely dice the jalapeno, if you want a milder dip discard the seeds, for a spicer dip leave them in. Add jalapeno to the mixture and stir in well.
  4. Transfer mixture to your baking dish. Sprinkle remaining parmesan over the dip. Cut red pepper into strips and arrange on top. Drizzle olive oil on top for some added taste.
  5. Broil until cheese is bubbly, and browned in places, about 12 minutes. Serve with slices of french bread

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