Tag Archives: healthy

Shrimp and Roasted Pineapple Quesadillas with Simple Peanut Sauce

4 Replies

More quesadillas!

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These ones are quite different from the first. But equally as delicious. I’m in love with both.

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I recently had a strong craving for peanut sauce. I think I have made it once or twice before, but it’s not a regular thing I eat. So when I got a craving for it, I decided to give it a try.

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You know how a lot of Asian-inspired dishes and sauces call for a bunch of ingredients that you never have on hand? That is how it is for me. Well, I decided to try a very simple peanut sauce, using just ingredients that I probably already had or would use the entire thing of in this recipe. I hoped the sauce would still taste delicious without buying all the extra things, and guess what? It did!

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This sauce is amazing. It is simple and uses few ingredients. If you’re looking for a delicious peanut sauce that you can simply whip up any night of the week, this is it!

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Let’s talk about the shrimp and pineapple. Greg and I once made shrimp and pineapple kabobs on the grill. They are the perfect combination for peanut sauce. Juicy, plump shrimp + sweet, tangy pineapple + slightly salty peanut sauce = the best ever. And, roasting pineapple takes it to a whole new level of deliciousness.

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Now let’s talk about the cheese issue. Or, in this case, the non-cheese issue. Nope, I did not put cheese in these quesadillas. That is definitely not a usual situation, but if these are done right, it works so well. I promise!

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Greg is the biggest cheese lover ever, so I made him one with cheese. After he tried one with and one without, he agreed that this quesadilla does not need it. There is already so much amazing flavor going on, cheese is not needed!

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So, the only problem with having no cheese in a quesadilla is the sticking together part. They key is the texture of the peanut sauce and being sure to cook the quesadilla long enough.

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Let me explain. If you make these, this is important, or your quesadillas may not stick together! So, the first time I made the sauce, I used 1/2 cup of water to thin it out. The sauce was delicious and a nice texture, but not for these quesadillas. Using 1/2 cup of water made the sauce way too thin for these. It would be a great texture for making peanut noodles or a peanut dipping sauce, but not for these. These quesadillas require a thicker sauce. 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons of water was the right amount. I started with 1/3 of a cup and needed just a bit more. Now, I will say this. Depending on the thickness/texture of your peanut butter, you may not need that extra 2 tablespoons of water. Or you may need more. My peanut butter was fairly thick but yours may be thinner or thicker. Start with 1/3 cup of water and go from there. I tried to show you the texture of the sauce in the picture right below.

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The other important detail to making these “eatable” is to cook the quesadilla until just crispy. You don’t want it to be crispy to the point of being a hard taco shell but you want it to bend and stick in place once it’s folded over. You want it to be slightly crispy, to hold everything together.

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I made these one night for dinner. The next day, I made them again so I could confirm the recipe and photograph it. When I made them the second time, I only had intentions to take one bite, so that I could get some photographs with a bite taken out of the quesadilla. I had already had lunch. These are so good, that once I took that bite, I thought, there is no way I’m not eating the rest of this. Help! 🙂

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Ingredients
*This is what I used to make two quesadillas. These are easily doubled, tripled, etc.
2 tortillas (I used rice tortillas (gluten free))
Olive oil
6 large shrimp, peeled, deveined and cleaned
1/2 cup pineapple chunks, sliced into thin pieces
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 large garlic cloves, divided, one in the peanut sauce and the other for the shrimp
1 lime, divided, one half in the peanut sauce the other with the pineapple
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons hot water

Preheat the oven to 400*. In a bowl, mix together pineapple, a drizzle of olive oil and the juice from 1/2 of the lime. Transfer the pineapple to a parchment lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

In a blender or food processor, combine the peanut butter, 1 clove of garlic, the juice from the other half of the lime, soy sauce, brown sugar and hot water. Blend on high speed until the sauce is completely smooth.

Once the pineapple and sauce are done, begin the shrimp. In a saucepan over medium heat, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add a minced garlic clove and cook for a minute or two, to flavor the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the shrimp. Let cook on one side for about 2-3 minutes and then flip. Add a couple of spoonfuls of peanut sauce to the pan. Let the shrimp cook completely through. Once the shrimp is done, transfer it to a plate and cut it into small chunks.

To assemble the quesadillas, start with a cast iron or regular skillet. I made mine in my cast iron and it worked perfectly. Place the skillet over medium heat on the stove. Add the tortilla to the pan. Add about 2 tablespoons of peanut sauce to one half of the tortilla. Place half of the shrimp and half of the pineapple on the peanut sauce. Let this cook until the tortilla begins to get crispy. Top the shrimp and pineapple with additional peanut sauce, if desired.

Once the tortilla is slightly crispy and the peanut sauce on the bottom has slightly thickened, fold the tortilla over. Using a spatula, press down on the folded over tortilla to mesh everything together.

Cut in half and enjoy!

Notes:
-The amount for the peanut sauce made one cup of sauce. I had leftover sauce after making the quesadillas. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days. I tossed some leftover sauce with sauteed veggies and soba noodles and it was excellent!

Heirloom Tomato + Pesto Quiche

14 Replies

More quiche for you!

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This one was good. I think the best one ever. Pesto + cheese + heirloom tomatoes = an unbelievable combination. One that I would put in pasta. Why not in a quiche?

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I’ve said it before but I just love making quiche and having it around because it is good for any meal.

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Serve it with some form of potato for a nice weekend breakfast, on it’s own for lunch or with a big green salad for dinner.

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It just works!

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I usually make two quiches at a time and eat them for various meals all throughout the week.

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And, I use frozen store-bought crust. I wish I was making my own, but I’m just not there yet. Does anyone have a super simple homemade crust recipe? Please share — I’d love to give it a try.

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Now, for this quiche, you definitely have to like pesto to enjoy it. I made this once and put 1/2 cup of pesto in it. The pesto flavor was prominent. I did enjoy it, but the next time I made it I put 1/3 cup of pesto in it, just to see how that would turn out. It was good too and much less strong on the pesto taste. So, in the ingredients list I said to add 1/3 – 1/2 cup of pesto, depending on your taste for it! It’s good either way, just choose how strong you want it to be!

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Also, as far as assembling the quiche. The first time I made it, the order I went in was first crust (obviously), pesto, tomatoes, cheese, egg. The second time I went crust, pesto, cheese, egg and then tomatoes. I reversed the order of egg and tomato. I definitely enjoyed the second try better as far as order, with the egg going before the tomatoes — the tomatoes on top. That is what I put in the directions.

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I hope that you get to make and enjoy this simple, delicious quiche!

Ingredients:
*This is what I used for one quiche. Can easily be doubled, tripled, etc.
1 9-inch pie crust (I used a frozen store-bought one)
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I used coconut)
1/3 – 1/2 cup pesto
3/4 cup mini heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350*.

Start by slicing the tomatoes. I took each mini heirloom tomato and sliced it lengthwise into thirds.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Whisk the eggs well. Add the coconut milk (or regular milk) and whisk well again until the milk is incorporated.

Spoon the pesto into the bottom of the pie crust. Using the back of a spoon, gently smooth it over the bottom of the crust. Sprinkle the cheese over the pesto. Pour the eggs over the cheese. At this point, I took the whisk I used to mix the eggs and very gently stirred the egg mixture in the crust. I did not want to incorporate all of the ingredients, just wanted to make sure they cooked together a bit. Last, place the tomatoes slices over the eggs. The tomatoes should cover the entire top of the quiche.

Place the quiche in the preheated oven and bake at 350* for 10 minutes. Increase the heat to 400* and bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

*This will be best if you let if cool for about 20 minutes before eating. It will be watery/runny straight from the oven. The longer you let it cool, the better it will be. It makes excellent leftovers because once you warm it up in the microwave, it doesn’t get runny again.

Enjoy!

Notes:
-I made this once and used 1/2 cup of pesto and another time I used 1/3 cup of pesto. It was good both times. The pesto amount is definitely flexible — the point of it is to add flavor — so add as much or as little depending on your love (or not) of it.

-If you can’t find mini heirloom tomatoes (I feel like I was lucky!) just used grape or cherry tomatoes. Or any tomatoes you have!

-You can use any type of milk that you like! It doesn’t have to be coconut.

-It seems to me that the time in the oven for quiche is very variable. The first time I made this quiche it took 35 minutes total. The second time it took 50 minutes total. I bake it on on a lower temperature at first, just to get it started without being too hot right away. Once you increase the heat to 400*, I would start checking it after 30 minutes.

-Again, this is best if you let if cool before eating. It is watery/runny right out of the oven. It reheats in the microwave very well.

Salmon + Veggie Salad

5 Replies

I’ve got another salad combo for you.

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Juicy tomatoes.

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Creamy avocado.

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Salty capers.

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Pickled red onions.

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And fresh, delicious salmon.

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Piled high on a bed of greens.

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This salad is amazing. Everything goes so well together. Also great for these warm days. It requires very little cooking and prep work.

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In the directions, I tell you how I prepared my salmon for this salad. But you should definitely prepare it your favorite way. If you have a grill, I am sure that would be perfect {dreaming of the day I can have a grill}.

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I suggest an oil-based dressing for this salad, but again, use what you love. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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Oh, I have to mention! This salad was inspired by a delicious meal we ate the The Tomato Bistro.

Ingredients
*This is for two salads. Double, triple, etc., as you please.
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 avocado, sliced
4 tablespoons capers
1/4 of a red onion, sliced
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
2 fillets of salmon, whatever size you like to eat
Juice from one half of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Mixed greens (or your favorite lettuce)

First prep your veggies. Cut the grape tomatoes in half. Slice the avocado. Slice 1/4 of a red onion. Place the onion slices in a bowl and completely cover with red wine vinegar. Let this sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan over medium-high heat. Let the oil get hot and then add the salmon fillets. I cooked mine for about 2 minutes on each side. Once the first side was done, I sprinkled salt and pepper on each fillet, squeezed some lemon juice into the pan over the salmon and then flipped them. I cooked the other side for 2 minutes and squeezed the rest of the lemon juice on the salmon.

To arrange the salad, I would suggest tossing the greens with dressing first. You can do this in a big bowl and then transfer the dressed greens to smaller serving bowls. In each serving bowl, arrange the tomatoes, 1/2 of an avocado, 2 tablespoons capers, one half of the red onions and one fillet of salmon.

Enjoy!

Notes:
– Letting the onion sit in red wine vinegar is sort of a really quick pickling process. It takes the bite out of the onion, makes them soft and almost sweet. You can let the onion soak in the vinegar as long as you want, even overnight!

Coffee Banana Date Smoothie

17 Replies

My new favorite thing!

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(^^ No, that date is not my new favorite thing.) It’s the smoothie that the date goes in.

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I had so many titles to choose from for this post.

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First, I didn’t know if I should call it a shake or a smoothie. It is creamy in texture, almost like a shake. But, I thought, it’s too healthy to be called a shake. Let’s go with smoothie.

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I wanted to call it amazingly-simple-four-ingredient smoothie. Because really? Four ingredients made this cup of deliciousness? They did! Coffee, bananas, dates and frozen almond milk.

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And really, should I have just added almond milk to the title? That’s the only ingredient I used and didn’t add to the title. It just didn’t sound right.

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Also, I wanted to add the word vegan. Because I made a vegan smoothie sort of milkshake-y thing. If I were vegan (or on days that I feel like being one) this would be the perfect drink for a creamy milkshake/sweet tooth craving.

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Now, I don’t want to scare you away, but do you know how much I love coffee ice cream? Ice cream that tastes like coffee? That most people won’t go near? Yes, I love it. If you love it too, you will love this smoothie. There is a subtle flavor in this smoothie that reminds me of the ice cream. But! If you don’t love it, I think you will love this too. You probably wouldn’t even think of it if I hadn’t mentioned it. 🙂 Every ingredient pulls equal weight in this. All the flavors are noticeable, and just enough of each.

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This would be so good in the morning as a way to have morning coffee and breakfast all in one delicious and healthy smoothie. Or great as an afternoon snack (using decaf coffee, because if you know me, you know that I can’t drink caffeine past 10 or 11 a.m.).

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So, what do you think? Is this something you would try? Don’t be scared of the color. It’s delicious, sweet, healthy, refreshing, an energy-booster and vegan! I hope that you try and enjoy!

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Ingredients
2 bananas, frozen
4 frozen almond milk cubes (almond milk poured into an ice cube tray and frozen)
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
2 medjool dates, pitted

I started by add the bananas and frozen almond milk cubes to the blender. I blended them up, adding a little bit of the coffee, until it was very smooth. I then added the rest of the coffee and dates, and blended longer, until smooth again.

Enjoy!

Notes:
-Your blender may be strong enough to add all of the ingredients at once. I added them separately because mine is not high-powered enough to handle all at once.
-I froze my bananas a day in advance. I took 2 very ripe bananas, broke them into thirds and put them in a zip bag into the freezer.
-I also froze my almond milk a day in advance. Just pour almond milk into an ice cube tray and into the freezer.

Summertime Pasta Salad

1 Reply

Another cool salad for these hot summer days.

caul

And this pasta is so, so good. And, I just realized, it’s not actually summer yet. This is still summertime pasta salad. 🙂

all

My mom has always made a pasta salad that I like. She uses Italian dressing and salad supreme. I have always enjoyed it. It kind of reminds me of more “traditional” pasta salad compared to this one.

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This idea came from Greg’s mom. Last summer she made some amazing pasta salad with this Gazebo Room Greek dressing on it. I loved it. So did Greg. We made it several times on our own that summer.

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I have made this pasta salad  three times in the last two weeks. It is that good.

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I don’t know what it is about the dressing. It just has the perfect taste. It’s flavorful but not overly Greek-y. Sometimes Greek dressing can be very strong, but this one is just enough.

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And for noodles, any noodle can work in this! Use what you love. We have made it with these spinach linguine noodles, with spiral noodles and, this time, with whole wheat chiocciole noodles (which I also used in this pasta). It has been good with every single noodle we’ve tried.

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Same with veggies. Add what you like. Add a lot or add a little. In this one I used cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes and corn. Also good in this is cucumber and black beans. You have got to try  those too (I just didn’t have them).

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Also, cheese. Try cheese. I didn’t have it on hand, so I left it out this time. It’s just as good without, but cheese is never a bad decision. I would suggest mozzarella, any kind of cubed cheddar or feta. But try any that you like!

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It’s delicious, simple and completely customizable. Pick your favorite noodle, pick your favorite veggies and pick your favorite cheese. Use this Greek dressing. If your store doesn’t have this brand, I would just try another one. I just know that I love using this one for this noodle salad.

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Boil noodles, mix in veggies, pour on dressing, stir well and enjoy! Delicious food can be that simple.

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Ingredients
1 pound of noodles (I used chiocciole noodles)
1 bottle of Gazebo Room Greek salad dressing and marinade 
2 cups of cauliflower, chopped small
2 cups of broccoli, chopped small
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, quartered
1 can of corn, drained and rinsed
Other ideas: chopped cucumber, black beans, cheese, or any veggie that you love (I would love to hear what you would use!)

Chop all of your veggies. I chop the veggies very small for this pasta salad. Use cauliflower, broccoli, tomato, corn, cucumber or any other veggie that you love. Also chop or prepare the cheese, if using.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook noodles according to directions on package. Rinse the pasta with cold water when it’s done cooking so that it won’t be sticky in the salad.

Add the noodles and the chopped veggies (and the cheese, if using) to a very large bowl. Start with once cup of the dressing and give everything a very good stir. If it seems like it needs more, add more dressing until you are satisfied with the taste and “wetness” of the salad. A lot of times pasta salad will dry out as it sits in the refrigerator so it is nice to have some dressing left over to add when you are ready to serve it.

Serve cold and enjoy!

Notes:
-This makes excellent leftovers. Like I said above, if it seems like it needs more dressing after a day or two, add more right before serving. The amount of dressing you use will vary depending on the type of noodle you use, the amount of veggies and how long you have it as leftovers.