Mediterranean Mac & Cheese

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Georgina

Mediterranean Mac & Cheese

Hello! So I started a thing where every week I’ll ask Jake to look at my food Pinterest board and pick a recipe for me to make during the week. I just get so sick of allllllwwaayyys picking what we eat and when I ask Jake he says ” um, I don’t know. Anything.” I mean doesn’t he browse blogs all day long and have a million recipes just floating around in his head? No? Ok then he needs a little inspiration 🙂 This was one that he picked. Clearly didn’t read anything about it since it contains olives which he ‘thinks’ are the spawn of satan but I adapted and only added those to my plate. Honestly this doesn’t have a TON of cheese in it, really you are creating a yummy creamy sauce from the flour and milk- which sort of makes you think it’s all cheese but it’s not too crazy. You can totally adapt and remove items you don’t like or add ones you like better. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients

1 big (14.5 oz) can fire roasted, diced tomatoes, drained
1/3 cup chopped black or kalamata olives (I used about 1 tbsp of capers too!)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 box pasta(16oz)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 coves garlic, finely minced
3 Tbsp a.p. flour
2 cups milk
6 oz crumbled feta cheese
2 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an oven save dish (I used 9×13) & set aside.
In a small bowl, combine drained diced tomatoes, chopped olives/capers, 1 Tbsp basil and dried oregano, set aside.
Boil pasta to al dente according to directions listed on package. Drain pasta well and return to pot.
Meanwhile, melt butter along with olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and saute until soft and lightly golden, about 3 – 4 minutes, adding in garlic during the last minute of sauteing.
Whisk in flour, and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute. While whisking constantly, slowly pour in milk and bring to a boil, don’t stop stirring!
Once mixture reaches a boil reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly until mixture has thickened, about 4 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in 2 oz feta cheese and the mozzarella cheese then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour tomato mixture over drained pasta and toss, then pour sauce over pasta mixture and toss all to evenly coat.
Pour coated pasta mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining 4 oz crumbled feta cheese. Bake in preheated oven 20 – 25 minutes until edges are bubbling and top is golden brown.
Serve warm and garnished with basil!

Ok see this is an example of a draft I created before I started my new photography initiative. Please excuse my orange ‘blaaaa’ lighting…I promise that it’s equally as delicious as if I’d taken the picture with my Nikon. Just tryyyyy it!

xoxo

Holy Guacamole

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Georgina

Holy Guacamole !

I’ve been told to quit my day job and become a professional guacamole maker….. not kidding. I have this dowwwwwn and could definitely sit by myself and eat an unhealthy amount of this goodness. Just look at it.

“I can’t heeeeellllpp it. It’s sooooo beeeauuutiful”. – and name that movie 🙂

I mean real talk- I’ll eat that all. Kidding I wont. I would if it was socially acceptable and I was able to get my mind to forget how many calories that contains….but I could probably make a good dent in it.

Lets get up close and personal with this stuff.

Ahhhhhh feed me.

Ok so I know you guys totally want some of this. Here is my top secret recipe revealed to you! (you lucky readers you)

I pretty much shoot from the hip with this and of course it depends how much of this you’re making and how many mouths you want to feed. I’ll show you my typical ratio I use for a group of people and keep in mind you can par this down or bumb it up depending on your crowd (or how hungry you are 😉 )

Ingredients:

3 Avocados
¼ cup diced red onion
½ cup diced tomatoes
¼ cup chopped cilantro
½ jalapeno, chopped
Juice of half a lime
1 tsp. ground Cumin
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
½ tsp. Chipotle Pepper Powder
½ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
½ tsp. Salt

Directions:

Peel and cut your avocados into smallish cubes. Use a fork or potato masher to gently mash up the avocados. I don’t mash all the way up because I like some chunks in mine, but that’s up to you.
Juice your 1/2 lime into the avocados and stir to evenly mix.
Dice your onions, tomatoes, jalapeno and cilantro and gently mix in as well.
Then sprinkle your spices into the mix and stir to combine.
Chill and serve! Chilling isn’t necessary but know you can make this ahead of time.

But WAIT?!?!? What about how avocados turn brown and look like something that comes from….well never mind you get the idea- not super appealing. No problem-o, I have toooooootally found the solution to this.

First of all the fact that you just put the juice of half a lime into your guac will really help keep the browning to a minimum. But truth be told even then you can sometimes get the dreaded icky brown. Here’s what you do. If you’re serving it right away, don’t worry. This baby won’t stick around long enough to even begin to brown. If you are making ahead of time and planning on serving later, all you do it follow all the steps above and put into a container. This can be your serving bowl or just a storage bowl. Then you take some plastic wrap and lightly press down and make sure it’s touching the entire surface of the guac(*don’t worry it won’t stick when you take it off*) then pop in the fridge and try not to sneak any of it while you wait! And I swear to you it could last 5 days and it would hardly brown! Not joking.

Thanks for stopping by and by the way, notice how my pictures are umm, how do I say, not taken with my iPhone? I am taking initiative to step up my food photography game, which isn’t to say some drafts I have started already and publish at a later date won’t have the sub-par quality 😉 Inspired by Lindsay over at Pinch of Yum. She is my little mini hero breathing new life into my blog pics! And not to mention I think I’ve noticed about 1/3 of my posts are recipes from her site! If you haven’t looked at her blog- ummmm you need to. ASAP. Like why are you still reading my blog? GO! 🙂 Kidding stay as long as you’d like ❤

xoxoxo

Oven Baked Fajitas

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Georgina

Oven Baked Fajitas

This is one of my favorite fast and easy go-to recipes. You can throw it all together (even ahead of time if you want) and just let it do it’s thing! I’ve made this a few times when we had company coming to visit for Friday night as I don’t really feel like slaving away after a day of work and want to hang with the guests too! 🙂 My only adjustment to this was that the first time I made it added the whole can of Rotel without draining at all and it was reallllly juicy so now I try to drain the tomatoes/chilies as much as possible. I’ll usually accompany this with my special homemade guacamole (to.die.for) and chips and just tortillas for the fajitas. Jake likes a little cheese on his, I don’t- so just pick whatever you want! Hope you enjoy!!!

This is a separate time making this. But just proving you can use any ingredients you have on hand!

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp salt
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Drained as much as possible)
1 medium onion, sliced
2 large bell peppers, seeded and sliced (I use any color I feel like/have. Sometimes I even use those fun little colored peppers too!)
flour tortillas
Toppings such as cheese, sour cream, cilantro and guacamole – if you want

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken strips in a greased 13×9 baking dish.
In a small bowl combine the oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt
Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.
Next add the tomatoes, peppers, and onions to the dish and stir to combine.
Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Serve on tortillas with desired toppings.

See ?!?!? Easssssy Peassssy

xoxo

POMEGRANATE, KALE, AND WILD RICE SALAD

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Georgina

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!

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.

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!!!!

xoxo

Lemony Brussel Sprouts & Corn

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Georgina

Lemony Brussel Sprouts & Corn

Ingredients:

1 lb brussel sprouts
2 ears of corn, kernels freshly cut off of the cob
3 tbs olive oil, divided
1/2 lemons-worth of juice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt & pepper

Directions:
1. In a large pan heat 1 tbs olive oil over medium-high heat. Cut brussel sprouts in half and add to pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and generous pinches of salt & pepper.

2. Shake and stir to coat, continue to shake every so often, to enable a caramelized sear but not an over-cook on one side.

3. After about 10 minutes (adding more olive oil as needed), when brussel sprouts are browned, soft on the outside, but a bit hard n crunch on the inside, add fresh corn kernels to the pan.

4. Drizzle 1 tbs olive oil over the corn, sprinkle with more salt & pepper and stir & shake to fully mix.

5. Cook altogether for another 5 minutes, until corn is warmed through.

6. Eat it!

Soooo good. I could have eaten just these for dinner that night. This is the first time I made brussle sprouts for Jake and I was a little scared because I mean C’mon brussle spouts have GOT TO BE one of the most hated/feared vegitables on the planet. I love them and have been known the just eat them raw, but word on the street is not toooo many people are huge fans. Hopefully you like them! and if not, maybe give them another shot with this recipe?!?!?

xoxo