Archive for ‘Quick ‘n Easy’

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September 13, 2012

The Dessert Salad :: Spiced Cocoa-Candied Almonds with a Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

by Stephanie

You know I’m all about eating healthy, but sometimes girlfriend just needs to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Veggies don’t always have to be savory.  And I’m here to proclaim that good news.

I bring you The Dessert Salad.

Oh yes.

Dessert.

Salad.

Hallelujah!

The Dessert Salad

{vegetarian}
{gluten-free}

Prep time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 salads

Ingredients:

Salad

  • 8 C mixed greens
  • 4 large roasted beets, sliced
  • grilled asparagus
  • 4 oz goat cheese {or feta, or blue cheese… really any cheese you like}
  • any other veggies {mushrooms, artichokes, beans}

Spiced Cocoa Candied Almonds

  • 1/4 C sliced almonds
  • 1 Tbs butter
  • 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
  • 1/2 Tbs cocoa powder
  • 1/8 tsp chili powder
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

  • 1 Tbs finely chopped/smashed blueberries
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbs honey

Instructions:

  1. In a large pan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat.  Mix in cocoa, chili powder, and cinnamon.  Add sliced almonds and toss well to coat for about 5 minutes.
  2. Remove almonds from heat, spread out and let cool on a piece of tin foil.
  3. In a small bowl, or salad dressing shaker, add all ingredients for Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Shake well.
  4. Combine salad ingredients, sprinkle with candied almonds, cheese, and drizzle vinaigrette on top.  Enjoy!

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I love the spicy kick to the almonds.  If you are more daring, add a little extra chili powder.

Try not to eat them all before they get on your salad…

Sweet, but not too sweet.

Just right for those afternoons when you need a little treat!

{Poet status.}

Have a great Thursday!

Peace Out!

Posted in Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Quick 'n Easy, Recipes, Salads, Vegetarian | 4 Comments »

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August 15, 2012

Garden Tomato Cucumber Mint Salad

by Stephanie

What do you do when a lovely neighbor comes to your door with a beautiful bowl of tomatoes and cucumbers, freshly-picked-from-the-garden?

You make a salad, of course!

Garden Tomato Cucumber Mint Salad

{vegan}
{gluten-free}

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 5 medium-sized tomatoes
  • 2 small cucumbers
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh mint
  • juice from 1/4 of a lemon
  • 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

  1. Chop tomatoes and cucumbers in to bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl.
  2. Add mint, lemon juice, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar and toss.
  3. Chill for at least half hour before serving and enjoy!

_____

Such a refreshing addition to your summer dinner plate.

And so easy to make, which I of course love.

Enjoy with a little moozarell on the side.

Go ahead, you know you wanna talk in an Italian accent when you eat this.

Muah! Perfetto!

Posted in Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Quick 'n Easy, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian | 3 Comments »

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July 27, 2012

How To :: Quicky Corn

by Stephanie

Teacher: Please raise your hand if you hate shucking corn and picking silk.

Class: [raising hands] Me! Me!

Teacher: Then do I have a tip for you!

_____

{Thank you for appeasing my inner theater geek… ha!}

This cooking tip comes from dear old dad, who read it somewhere or other, and wasn’t quite sure if it would actually work, so we did a science experiment {because I was sure it would work – I microwave sweet potatoes – so I was certain the starch in the corn would cook}, and lo and behold, it worked!

{Please bring that teacher back for a lesson on correcting horrendous run-on sentences.}

So here’s what you do…

  1. Place corn in microwave, husks and all.
  2. Microwave for 5 minutes.
  3. Cut off the larger end of the corn {caution :: this ‘ish is hot}
  4. Squeeze out corn cob and enjoy! Husk and silk free!

_____

Could that not be easier?

Seriously clean corn.

Teacher: Okay class, for your homework, try this out at your next barbeque for quick, no mess, fresh and juicy side dish.

Have a great weekend!

_____

And don’t forget!  You still have time to enter the contest for a free kitchen scale!

Posted in Dinner, Gluten-Free, How To, Lunch, New Things, Quick 'n Easy, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian | 5 Comments »

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July 20, 2012

Chunky Carrot Guacamole

by Stephanie

As promised, I bring you…

Chunky Carrot Guacamole

Adapted from Alton Brown’s Guacamole recipe
{gluten-free}

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 C baby carrots
  • 1/2 medium onion (cut into 1 inch pieces)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 Tbs cilantro
  • 3 avocados
  • 2 Roma tomatoes
  • 1/4 C lime juice (about 1 lime)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne

Directions:

  1. Place baby carrots, onion, garlic, and cilantro into a food processor, pulse until chopped.
  2. Add avocados, tomatoes, lime juice and spices and pulse until just mixed.
  3. Cover and place in refrigerator to cool for about an hour before serving.

_____

Oh you guys, this is just so, so, so easy.

And more importantly, delicious.

You may be wondering, why the hell would you add carrots to guacamole?  Well, the idea was spurred from my product development class (yes, that would be the same class where my GF Carrot Cheddar Biscuits and Post-Workout Energy Bites were developed).  When we worked with Bolthouse to develop a line of creative carrot products/recipes to utilize the shavings and extra carrot material from production of baby carrots, my friend Emily developed Carrot Guacamole.  I ate the lion’s share of the guac she made each class, and have craved it ever since.  So I decide to give it a go.  Needless to say, the results were delectable.  And who doesn’t need a little extra veg in their life?

So go on, gather up your ingredients!

And get to food processor-ing. {I just made up that word.}

Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

Enjoy!

Posted in Quick 'n Easy, Recipes | 3 Comments »

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June 17, 2012

Homemade Cashew Butter

by Stephanie

Oh yes.

I’ve done it!

I’ve made my very first batch of homemade nut butter.

I hate calling it nut butter.

It doesn’t bother Vegan Vinniee tho…

Nice neck tat.

{Trying my best to keep my commentary pg-rated here.}

But before we go in to the recipe…

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Have you given your dad a hug yet today?

[I have not, yet. He is still snoozing away.]

Hopefully you figured out what to get him.

And if not, check out yesterday’s Cherry Oatmeal Pancake Cookie idea. A crowd pleaser, for sure.

______

Okay, on to the nuts!

So Dad and I picked up this ginormous container of cashews at Costco, so I could make my favorite post-workout energy bites.

There were a ton left over.

And I thought to myself… “what to do, what to do with all these lovely cashews?” [poet status, man.]

Fancy cashews, at that.

What makes one cashew fancier than another?

The world may never know..

So anyways, {tangent there…} I thought I’d try my hand at creating my very own homemade nut butter! I looked at about a million recipes online, and with the access to my parent’s hand little food processor, I thought, I can do this!

Why not give it a whirl? Literally. {Oh, man, I crack myself up sometimes.}

_____

Stephanie’s Homemade Cashew Butter

{Vegan, Gluten-Free}

Yield: 1/2 C

Ingredients:

  • 1 C roasted, salted cashews*
  • 1 tsp canola oil
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

*You can use unsalted too, just add about an 1/8th of a tsp of salt

Directions:

  1. Place all ingredients in a food processor.
  2. Blend, blend, blend until mixture reaches desired consistency.

_____

HOW SIMPLE!

I mean, seriously, it does not get any easier than this.

Behind the scenes.

Look Ma! No mess!

And the results?

Delicious to say the least.

Lunch is served.

And no, I did not just have cashew butter for lunch, as my sly grin may suggest.

Happy Father’s Day!

Posted in Breakfast, Gluten-Free, Lunch, New Things, Quick 'n Easy, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian | 4 Comments »

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