Tag Archives: fast meals

POMEGRANATE, KALE, AND WILD RICE SALAD

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POMEGRANATE, KALE, AND WILD RICE SALAD

Ummmm, seriously you guys, this is one of the best things on planet earth. It caught my eye at first just becuase of how pretty it was but then once I made it, ohhhh maaaaannnn oohhh mannn. Probably could’ve eaten the whole thing myself. The dressing to this is amaze-balls and I’m gonna make it for my regular salads all the time!

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INGREDIENTS
For the salad
1 cup pomegranate seeds
2 cups chopped(not tiny)baby kale
2 cups cooked wild rice (you can use leftover rice or buy precooked)
¼ cup toasted walnuts
¼ cup feta or crumbled goat cheese

For the dressing
½ cup minced onion or shallot
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons honey
½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
1 squeeze lemon or orange juice

INSTRUCTIONS
Prep the salad ingredients (chop, rinse, toast, etc). Chill the ingredients in the fridge while you’re making the dressing if you want a cold salad.

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This is more walnuts than I used for the salad, but I toasted about a cup to use for various things, while I was at it anyway 🙂

Mince the shallot or onion and saute in ½ tablespoons olive oil to reduce the ‘bite’ of them. When soft and fragrant, remove from heat and transfer to a food processor. (If you want a stronger flavor for your dressing, skip the sauteing altogether. The shallot in particular works well for not sautéing method as they are milder)
Pulse the onions or shallot with the remaining olive oil, water, honey, apple cider vinegar, salt, and orange juice until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust. Add additional olive oil or water to keep the mixture moving through the food processor.
Toss the salad ingredients together with the dressing just before serving. I prefer to serve this at room temperature or chilled slightly.

Then: Eat. It. All

Please tell me you guys like this one as much as I did!!!!

xoxo669058772380712020613

Beef Yakisoba

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Beef Yakisoba

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Ingredients
½ head green cabbage
1 medium yellow onion
2 medium carrots
1 small crown broccoli
2 inches fresh ginger
1 # beef flank steak
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 (3 oz.) packages ramen noodles- season packets discarded
seasoning packets discarded
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp ketchup
1-2 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce (depending how hot you like it!)
1 Tbsp sugar

Instructions
Before you begin, prepare the meat and vegetables for stir frying. Peel the ginger with either a vegetable peeler or the side of a spoon and then grate it with a grater or zester. Peel and grate the carrots or just cut them up like matchsticks. Remove the core from the cabbage and cut into thin strips. Slice the onion into thin strips. Cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Slice the flank steak into thin strips.
Begin boiling a medium pot full of water for the noodles. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the grated ginger, saute for about 30 seconds to one minute (its okay if it sticks to the pan but don’t let it burn). Add the beef strips and cook until they are no longer pink (about five minutes).
Once the beef is cooked through, add all of the vegetables. Stir and cook until wilted (about 5-10 minutes). Meanwhile, once the water boils, add the noodles and cook just until tender (2-3 minutes). Drain, return to the pot (with the heat turned off) and toss with the sesame oil to keep from sticking.
In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, ketchup, sriracha, and sugar.Stir until the ketchup and sugar are dissolved. Pour the sauce into the skillet with the chicken and vegetables with the heat still on medium high. Add the noodles, stir to coat everything in the sauce, and heat through (just a few minutes).

Soooo delicious and mildly healthy, LOTS of veggies. Hope you enjoy!

xoxo669058772380712020613

 

Creamy Spinach & Sausage Pasta

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Creamy Spinach & Sausage Pasta

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This picture could definitely use some better lighting but you get the idea 😉

Ingredients

  • 1 package smoked sausage of your liking
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes w/chiles
  • 2.5 cups chicken broth
  • 1 lb pasta (any shape you want)
  • 1 package fresh spinach
  • 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded monterrey jack
  • 1 bunch green onions

Instructions

  1. Thinly slice the smoked sausage and add it to a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the sausage over medium heat until it is nicely browned (about 5-7 minutes). Drain off the excess fat.
  2. Dice the onion and add it to the skillet. Continue to saute until the onion has softened (about 5 minutes). Add the can of diced tomatoes with chiles and the chicken broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet.
  3. Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet and make sure it is all submerged under the liquid. Place a lid on the skillet and allow the mixture to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir once or twice while the pasta cooks to keep it from sticking.
  4. Stir in the fresh spinach, one cup at a time, until wilted. If you add it all at once, the skillet will be too full to stir. Keep the heat on while adding the spinach, so the liquid will continue to simmer and thicken.
  5. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top, replace the lid, and let it sit for a few minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Slice the green onions and sprinkle them over top. Serve hot!

Jake seriously loved this! He snuck a bit before I sat down and was like ” this is so good! What is in here? Seriously this is really delicious”. That always makes me super happy when he loves what I cook. Now you can share this with your loved ones 🙂 Enjoy!

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Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

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Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

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Hi All!!

With Thanksgiving coming up soon you will probably have a little extra turkey hanging out in your fridge 🙂  I love finding fun things to do with leftovers because we always seem to have so many each year. Last year we (my mom and I) made a turkey and pumpkin soup and it was delicious!!! Of course there is nothing wrong with cold turkey sandwiches also(personal fav). This recipe is very simple and takes almost no time at all to whip up, which is nice after slaving away for Thanksgiving. It’s also sort of refreshing that it’s a totally different taste combination than all of the traditional flavors we all will have just had! Hope you enjoy!!!

Ingredients

  • 1 can (19 oz) mild enchilada sauce
  • 4 cups shredded chicken(or leftover turkey)
  • 1 bag (8 oz) shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • 2/3 cup Neufchatel cheese (or 1/3-less-fat-cream cheese)
  • 10-15 small flour tortillas
  • Sliced fresh jalapeño peppers, fresh cilantro leaves and diced fresh tomato for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat one 4-quart or two 2-quart baking dishes with nonstick cooking spray. If using 1 dish, spread 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce in bottom. If using 2 dishes, spread half of the 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce in bottom of each dish.

2. In a bowl, combine chicken, 1 cup of the shredded cheese and 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce.

3. Spread about 2 tsp of Neufchatel on a tortilla. Spoon 2 to 3 tbsp chicken mixture in a strip in center of tortilla. Roll up tightly to enclose filling; transfer to prepared dish(es). Repeat with remaining tortillas, cream cheese and chicken mixture to yield 16 enchiladas. I used toothpicks to secure each tortilla so that they stayed closed.

4. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas, dividing evenly between dishes(if using two). Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Increase temperature to 400 degrees and bake an additional 5 minutes, until cheese begins to brown slightly. Garnish with whatever toppings you like: jalapeño slices, avocado, and cilantro. Enjoy!!!!

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Thanks for checking out my blog fellow foodies!

669058772380712020613

Roasted Vegetable Stacked Enchiladas

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Roasted Vegetable Stacked Enchiladas

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Ingredients:

1 large red pepper, chopped, seeds removed
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium yellow squash, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet potato chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups red enchilada sauce
9-10 small corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

*This is optional but I added the zest and juice of 1 lime to mine 🙂

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato, and onion on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss until vegetables are coated. Season with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 30-40 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove vegetables from oven and let cool to room temperature. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

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2. Grease an 8×8 square baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine roasted vegetables, black beans, cumin, chili powder, garlic, jalapeño, lime zest and juice(if using) and cilantro. Stir and season with salt and pepper.

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3. Spread 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce into the bottom of the baking pan. Add a layer of tortillas, to completely cover the bottom of the pan(See my picture before for a trick!). Top with 1/3 of the vegetable/bean mixture and 1/3 of the cheese. Make a second layer of tortilla, enchilada sauce, vegetables/beans, and cheese. Top with with a layer of tortillas, enchilada sauce, vegetables/beans, and cheese. Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover the pan.

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My mom taught my this trick to cut off two sides of the round tortillas. This makes them fit perfectly in the corners of pans with minimal overlap so you have a perfectly even layer. She’s a genius 🙂

4. Bake enchiladas for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the enchiladas are bubbling. Remove enchiladas from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm.

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This is another beautiful meal. I served this with some Salsa and chips and we had a delicious light meal. Hope you enjoy and of course thanks for reading my blog. I’m blown away at how many views and comments I get in a day. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that so many people would visit my site when I started this. Seriously you all make me so happy! 🙂

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