Sushi!

Think sushi is something you can only enjoy on a special night out, prepared by a highly-trained sushi chef? Think again! You can make some simple rolls on your own at home for a sushi fix any night of the week!

Now is it authentic? I doubt it. Will you get crazier, more elaborate sushi at a fancy shmancy restaurant? Definitely. But this make-your-own sushi is simple, delicious, oh so easy to make, and sure to impress. All you need to do is pick up a few special ingredients and you're ready to go! 

First thing you need is nori sheets, which are the seaweed wrappers. I got mine at Fresh Market but I've seen them at Wegmans and other regular groceries stores as well. If you don't have any luck, an Asian specialty market is sure to have them. The next thing you need is the sticky rice. I got mine at Wegmans and a friend of mine found it at the local health food store. It's important, though, to get sticky rice or rice marked specifically for sushi; if you use regular rice, you'll have a tough time getting your rolls to stay together. Beyond that, you just need whatever you choose to put in your sushi. If you know of a store that sells sushi-grade raw fish, by all means go for it. If not, or if raw fish just isn't your thing, you can use cured salmon, often called lox. In addition, I also used cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, asparagus, and zucchini. Of course don't forget the soy sauce! And wasabi if that's your thing; I'm personally not a fan.

Actually making the sushi is simple. My nori package said to swipe the sheet over a hot burner several times until it turns bright green (be careful not to burn yourself!). This makes it pliable so you can roll your sushi without breaking the sheet. Then spread out your cooked sticky rice lengthwise in a line on the nori sheet (my sticky rice came precooked but if yours isn't, just follow the instructions on the package). Right alongside your rice, add the ingredients of your choosing in whatever combination you'd like. I chose to do avocado and cucumber, salmon and cream cheese, zucchini and asparagus (precooked), and salmon and avocado.

Now roll it all up and use a few drops of water to seal. Carefully use a sharp knife to slice the roll into pieces. I found that a serrated knife worked best for getting through the roll with all ingredients intact. And there you have it -- sushi at home! 

Make-Your-Own Sushi

No recipe for this one... Just get creative! 

Spinach and Garbanzo Bean Tapas

¡Delicioso! ¡Sabroso! ¡Mmm! Google translate tells me that's Spanish for Delicious! Tasty! Yum! All words that describe this Spanish dish, not to mention hearty and healthy. What more could you ask for?

Well, it's quite versatile as well. The original Smitten Kitchen recipe suggests serving it as a tapas with toasted bread (pita bread or chips would work too!). I have quite the affinity for tapas so that is certainly not a bad option! But you could also use it as a side dish, laying the foundation for a protein of your choice. Or serve it on top of a bed of spinach with some feta cheese for a light lunch. 

I followed the recipe fairly closely with this one, and I will warn you, it is a somewhat time consuming recipe. But plan to make extras so that you'll have some leftovers and it'll definitely be worth your effort, I promise. So grab your maracas and pour yourself (and me!) a glass of sangria because we're ready to party!

On a different note, I wanted to explain why my posts have slowed down just a bit lately... for those of you who don't already know, I'm going on a mission trip to Thailand in just over 6 weeks! (For more info, check out my site.) Fundraising, researching, planning, and preparing for this trip has taken over a good chunk of my free time. But I'm still committed to posting regularly so stick with me! Plus, one of the things I'm considering doing while over there is taking a cooking class, so I'll definitely have at least one amazing Thai food recipe for you at the end of all this. So get excited -- I know I am!! 

Spinach and Garbanzo Bean Tapas

(very mimimally adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

2 15oz cans of chickpeas, drained

4-5 tbsp olive oil

Large bag (11oz) of spinach

1 large slice of hearty bread, cubed

1/2 cup tomato sauce

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste

Lemon juice, to taste

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan. Add spinach and a pinch of salt and stir. Cook until tender and then set aside. 

Heat 2 more tablespoons of oil and toast the cubed bread until golden brown on all sides. Add cumin, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic. If needed, add another tablespoon of oil. Cook for another minute.

In a food processor, blend toasted bread with vinegar until it forms a paste. Return to the pan and mix in chickpeas and tomato sauce. Stir until warmed through and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in spinach and stir again. If the consistency is too thick, slowly add a little bit of water. 

Top with smoked paprika and serve as you please! 

Double Chocolate Doughnuts

Ever since Faschnaut Day (Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday for all you non-German folk) I have had a serious hankering for doughnuts! A faschnaut is a doughnut that is eaten on the day before Ash Wednesday. The tradition began because folks needed a way to rid their pantry of sweets in preparation for Lent so they decided to make and consume the faschnaut. Readily available in my Pennsylvania-Dutch hometown, faschnauts have not caught on yet in DC... 

Doughnuts, however, are apparently next "cupcake." In other words, they're the latest trend in the foodie world. News of doughnut shops soon to be popping up all over DC dominates my blog roll... But the key word there is "soon." Many of these places don't actually have a brick and mortar store yet. So photo after photo of delicious-looking doughnuts tantalize me like one of those dollar bills on a string.

Therefore, I was left with three options: 

Option 1) Skip out of work to metro downtown to one of the "pop up previews" where the doughnuts were being given away at other establishments to create buzz. My craving was intense, but not worth losing my job over so option one was a no go.

Option 2) Order them online. Online orders generally began at two dozen. Being that I don't have a family of five to feed, this did not seem practical so scratch that off the list as well. 

Option 3) Make some myself to hold me over. Option three it is!

Luckily, I purchased a doughnut pan on after-Christmas clearance at Target so I was prepared to fight this craving head on! I found a recipe for baked chocolate donuts with chocolate glaze that was perfect for this chocoloholic. And with whole wheat flour and applesauce in the recipe, these aren't half bad for you! Are they as amazing as the fried glazed fluffy bites of heaven you can get from a doughnut bakery? No. But they definitely are tasty, cute, and crave-worthy.

A few notes, I found these keep best when stored in a Tupperware container in the fridge. Even still, after a couple days the glaze got a little weird. All the more reason to eat these a few at a time!

Also, I realize not everyone has a doughnut pan. Unfortunately, I think the batter is too liquidy to make doughnuts or even doughnut holes without something to contain it. Some thoughts on alternatives - you could try baking this in ramekins. Or if you have metal cookie cutters, place them on a baking sheet, pour the batter into the shape and bake directly in the cookie cutter. Please understand, though, that I haven't actually tried either of these methods so if you end up with just a blob that barely resembles a doughnut, I apologize. If you're like me and enjoy a good doughnut with glass of milk (or for you weirdos out there that actually like it, with your coffee... yuck!) you may just consider purchasing a pan. Mine was under ten dollars, and trust me - when fall rolls around and you're busting out apple cider or pumpkin spice doughnuts, you'll thank me. 

Lastly, do not, I repeat, DO NOT forget the sprinkles. Look at how darn cute these little buggers are!

Double Chocolate Doughnuts 

Doughnuts: 

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1/4 c. sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 c. almond milk (regular milk should work fine as well)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce

Glaze: 

1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp canola oil

1 tbsp corn syrup 

1/4 tsp vanilla

Sprinkles!

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray doughnut pan with cooking spray. Mix flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add egg, milk, oil, and applesauce and mix until well combined. 

Fill each cavity of the doughnut pan halfway with batter. Bake approximately 7 minutes until fully cooked. 

While doughnuts are cooling, slowly melt the chocolate chips by microwaving for approximately 20 seconds at a time at a low power level. Be sure to do this carefully to avoid burning the chocolate. Once the chocolate is melted enough that you can stir it, add in the corn syrup and oil and microwave on low for another few seconds at a time until you reach a glaze consistency. Add in vanilla and stir. 

Dunk the cooled doughnuts in the glaze (I found twisting them worked best) and top with sprinkles. Allow the glaze to set before storing. 

Parmesan Rosemary Crackers

Who would have thought crackers were so dang easy to make!? These literally took about 15 minutes to prepare and under 15 minutes to bake (and those are accurate times; my pet peeve is when recipes say it takes 20 minutes and 50 minutes later I'm still slaving over a hot oven starving...). They're really tasty -- rich and a bit thicker in texture rather than thin and crispy, but they still have a crunch to them. 

Just imagine showing up to a party with cheese and crackers platter and being able to say, "Yea, I made the crackers... no big deal." What could be more impressive? 

All you need to do is mix grated parmesan cheese, flour, butter, and salt in a food processor and pulse until mixed. Then add in milk (I used 2%) and run the processor until a dough forms. Roll out the dough on a floured surface; it should be no thicker than 1/4". Sprinkle the top with rosemary and sea salt (or if you prefer other spices, go to town!). Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into equal square pieces, approximately 1" x 1". Place the crackers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and use a fork to score each cracker. Put into a 400 degree preheated oven and bake until they start to turn golden brown, approximately 10-12 minutes. 

They're great the day you make them and were still tasty the day after (I stored them in a ziploc bag with air removed). Unfortunately, I can't speak to how long they stay fresh after that because they didn't make it past the two day mark in my apartment... yum yum! 

Parmesan Rosemary Crackers

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

1 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

1/4 c. 2% milk

Dried rosemary, to taste

Sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix grated parmesan cheese, flour, butter, and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add in milk and run processor until a ball of dough forms. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to an even thickness, no more than 1/4". Sprinkle the top with rosemary and sea salt. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1" squares. Place the crackers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and use a fork to score each cracker. Put into oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 10-12 minutes. 

Baked Plantain Chips with Guacamole

Every time I buy bananas at the grocery store, I see the plantains sitting there and I'm intrigued. They're so often passed by, ignored in favor their smaller but far more popular cousin. Well just like in high school, popularity doesn't always equal greatness. Perhaps the plantain has more to bring to the (cafeteria) table than we all assume. Maybe like they'd add a new dimension to our palate just like the slightly-off emo musician who went on to be the 'star of his record label' hottie that the new crop of high school girls swoon over...

Ok I think I've officially beaten that metaphor to death. So anyway, I bought a plantain. And I had to decide what the heck to do with it. I had thought about making this recipe (which I still intend to try out one day.. do I smell a future blog post?) but when I found myself with a ripe avocado, I decided to go in a different direction - baked plantain chips and guacamole. 

I've had fried plantain before at restaurants but lacking a deep fryer (and fearing getting burnt by splattering oil), I decided to bake them, which results in a crunchy chip rather than the tender inside you'd find with a fried plantain. Equally delicious if you ask me. 

It's incredibly simple (as many of my recipes have been lately, perhaps a reflection of the fact that it's not the dead of winter anymore and there's more incentive to actually leave my apartment rather than stay in and cook all day...). Slice an unripe plantain into thin, equal slices. Place the slices onto a sprayed baking sheet, spray with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Put into a 375 degree preheated oven. After 15 minutes, flip the plantains. After an additional 5 minutes, test one of the chips. If it's sufficiently crunchy, remove. If not, pop it back in for just a few more minutes. 

While the chips cool, mix up your guacamole. Now everyone has their own preferences when it comes to guacamole, but I use ripe avocado, chopped red pepper, tomato, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro. I also mix in a squirt of lime juice and season with red pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. And it's delicious. So delicious that I forgot to take a picture before digging in, hence the somewhat pathetic photography in this blog post. But there you have it: now you're ready to dig in!

Baked Plantain Chips with Guacamole

Plantain Chips:

Unripe plantain

Olive oil

Salt 

Pepper

Chili Powder

Slice plantain into equal pieces, approximately 1/4" thick. Spray with olive oil and season with spices. Bake 15 minutes. Flip. Bake another 5-10 minutes until desired crunchiness. 

Guacamole: 

Ripe avocado

Red pepper, diced

Tomato, diced

Onion, diced

Jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed (if desired) and finely diced

Lime juice

Red pepper flakes

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Salt

Pepper

Cut avocado in half and remove pit. Scoop out avocado into bowl. Mix in all other ingredients and mash with fork until desired texture. 

Wonton Hor D'Oureves: Taco Bites and Apple Cheesecakes

In need of a good hor d'oeuvre? Wonton wrappers to the rescue! I have done so many fun things with won ton wrappers -- from crab ragonnes to baked mozzarella sticks to sweet potato raviolis to your traditional chicken dumpling -- and I've never been disappointed. But wrapping up all those teeny tiny wontons can be time consuming and quite frankly, bit annoying. Solution? Wonton cups!

Simply insert the wonton into a mini muffin tin and bake to create a cup which  you can fill with any number of different options to make a cute little hor d'oeuvre. Or you can use a regular sized muffin tin and two wonton wrappers to create a larger cup for an appetizer or light meal - sized portion. I'm telling you -- people are really impressed by things that look fancy! Your dish may be incredibly tasty but its often the presentation that wins people over at potlucks. 

So what can you fill these cups with? I choose to do one savory -- taco dip -- and one sweet -- cinnamon cream cheese mixed with yogurt and topped with apples and walnuts. But the possibilities are virtually endless: spinach and artichoke dip; shrimp salad; strawberries and chocolate sauce with fresh mint; brie and jam; tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil; shredded steak with sautéed onions and peppers topped with provolone; pumpkin pie filling and a dollop of whipped cream... Have another idea? Share it in the comments!

If you choose to do one with cheese, I'd recommend popping the filled cups back into the oven under the broiler for a bit to melt the cheese as I did with my taco dip ones. Check out the recipes below for details.

And one last thing for today -- Happy Birthday Dad! (There's gotta be some benefits to having your own blog... getting to give personal shout outs is one of them!) 

Wonton Hor D'Oureves: Taco Bites and Apple Cheesecakes

Preheat oven to 375. Spray mini muffin tin. Press wrappers into muffin cavities. Bake for 5 minutes. Re-press wrappers into cups to make sure they are all "cup-shaped." Bake for another 3-4 minutes until hardened and light golden brown. 

Taco Bites: 

Put a small dollop of cream cheese into the bottom of the cup. Top with salsa and shredded cheddar. Bake until cheese is melted. 

Apple Cheesecakes: 

Before baking the cups, sprinkle with cinnamon and a bit of sugar. 

For each dozen cups, mix two triangles of Laughing Cow cinnamon cream cheese with 1/3 c of plain greek yogurt. Put small dollop into the bottom of the cup. Top with finely diced apple (granny smith works well) and chopped walnuts.

Two-Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies will probably not be the best cookies you'll ever eat. So why, you might ask, am I posting them? Who starts a post with a statement like that? What kind of food blogger am I!? 

Well, I'm a time-strapped, health-conscious blogger who believes in the value of honesty and dessert. That's who I am, and that's why I'm posting this recipe. Because these cookies, while not mind-blowing, are certainly good, and incredibly easy, fast, and healthy. And when I recently whipped up a batch for some friends I had over to my apartment, they all disappeared from the plate within minutes. So I'd say they're worth sharing!
The two basic ingredients of these cookies are oats and very ripe bananas. Never, ever throw away over-ripe bananas -- there's SO many options for what you can do with them: smoothies, baked goods, "ice cream" (I'm sure I'll share this recipe at some point), etc. If you don't feel like doing something with them right away, just pop them in the freezer for later. Anyway, in addition to the oats and bananas, you can add essentially whatever you like to these cookies. I chose to add some cinnamon and a little salt (which I recommend) and then mixed in some walnuts and chocolate chips. Raisins or any other kind of dried fruit, pomegranate seeds, and peanut butter would probably all be delightful as well! 

The recipe couldn't be simpler: mix everything together and scoop "cookie" sized balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. And that's it! Serve warm, perhaps with some ice cream. Then have a handful of the leftovers with some yogurt and fruit for a tasty breakfast.

Two-Ingredient (plus mix-ins!) Oatmeal Cookies

(makes approximately 16 cookies)

1 c oats
2 very ripe bananas (small/medium)
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
2 tbsp chocolate chips
Sprinkle of salt
Dash of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together in a medium bowl. Scoop cookies onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or just spray your sheet well). Bake for 15 minutes.

Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Yogurt Sauce and Crispy Chickpeas

Secret confession: When I made this dish, I scaled the proportions to what (according to the recipe) should have been two servings, assuming I'd have half for dinner and half for lunch the next day. Well I ate half of it... and then three-quarters... and finally just threw in the towel and devoured it all. It was that good. Plus hey, eggplant's good for you, right!? I did, however, have some of the tahini yogurt sauce leftover, which made a perfect dressing for a salad of spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, onion, chickpeas, and feta (I just added in a tiny bit more water to it to thin it out). And I made extra crispy chickpeas which I used for a creative version of ants on a log: celery with garlic herb laughing cow cheese spread topped with crispy chickpeas.

But on to the main attraction -- roasted eggplant with tahini yogurt sauce and crispy cumin chickpeas. Whenever I make eggplant, I cut it in the morning, sprinkle some salt on it and then press it in between paper towels while I'm at work. Supposedly this gets rid of any bitter taste the eggplant can have. Is it absolutely necessary? I'm not sure, but it's always resulted in delicious eggplant so I never want to risk it to find out what would happen if I didn't. In this case, the eggplant I had was quite large, so I cut in half and then sliced each half into slices about 3/4" thick.

When you're ready to start preparing the dish, the first thing you'll want to do is get your chickpeas in the oven to crisp up. If you only want enough chickpeas for the recipe, you can just do about 2/3 of the can, but these suckers are a delicious snack, so I'd recommend just doing the whole thing. Spray (or toss) generously with olive oil and then sprinkle on cumin, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 30-35 minutes at 425 degrees until nice and crispy.

As soon as you get the chickpeas in the oven, prep your eggplant. Spray the eggplant with olive oil (you shouldn't need anymore salt if you pre-pressed the eggplant) and pop that in the oven as well, roasting for 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through. 

While the chickpeas and eggplant are roasting, you can mix the sauce. Combine plain greek yogurt, tahini (which is sesame paste; most grocery stores carry it but if you can't find it check your local health food store), garlic, and lemon juice. Then slowly stir in water until the sauce is your desired consistency (you want it thick enough that you can dollop it on to the eggplant without it running off the sides). For me, this was about 1.5 tablespoons. 

After your eggplant is done roasting, top each slice with a generous amount of yogurt tahini sauce, several crispy chickpeas, and a sprinkle of parsley. Mmm mmm mmm... another winner inspired by the Smitten Kitchen cookbook! Consider making this amazing recipe as a vegetarian option for Lent or Meatless Monday or use it as a side dish if you want a heartier meal. 

Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Yogurt Sauce and Crispy Cumin Chickpeas

(Makes 1 large serving; 2-3 side dish servings)

1 large eggplant, halved and then cut into 3/4 inch slices
3/4 tsp garlic
1/4 c yogurt
1.5 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp lemon juice
1.5 tbsp water
2/3 can of chickpeas
Cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Parsley

Press salted eggplant slices in between paper towels for at least 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 425. Spray or toss chickpeas with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cumin. Roast approximately 30-35 minutes until crispy. 

Lightly spray or drizzle eggplant with olive oil. Roast for 25-30 minutes, flipping once halfway through. 

Mix yogurt, tahini, and lemon juice. Slowly add water until you've reached the desired consistency. 

Assemble by topping each eggplant slice with a dallop of tahini yogurt sauce, several chickpeas, and parsley. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. 

Homemade Granola

Back in high school and college, cereal was pretty much my breakfast of choice everyday. My all time favorite has got to be raisin nut bran but I'm also a big fan of banana nut crunch, the mini wheats with fruit inside, apple cinnamon cheerios, great grains... yea, I like a lot of cereals. But nowadays, I don't eat it nearly as much simply because I find that whenever I have cereal for breakfast, I can barely make it to my 10 AM meeting without my stomach growling... I need more substantial and nutritious breakfasts to start off my day. 

One of my go-to breakfast is plain Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey topped with lots of fruit and granola. The protein from the yogurt plus the vitamins in the fruit help start my day off right and granola helps fill me up while adding some delicious crunch to the mix. You have to be a bit careful with granola though. Sometimes it's sneakily not so good for you, loaded with sugar and empty calories. While there are plenty of good choices on the market out there, I've also been toying around with the idea of making my own for a while now, and the other day I finally took a stab at it. While I would tweak it a bit next time around (which I'll write about below), I think it turned out well! And the possibilities for customizing this recipe are endless so I'll definitely be making my own granola again! 

The basic parts of granola are the dry base (this makes up the majority of the recipe, generally oats and sometimes other grains), mix-ins (most often dried fruits and nuts but feel free to get creative), a sweetener (brown sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, etc.), and some sort of liquid binder to hold everything together (sometimes the sweetener pulls double duty and also acts as the binder). 

Because I'm obsessed with peanut butter, I wanted to try giving my granola a hint of a peanut butter taste, which I thought would pair nicely with maple flavor as a sweetener. I also had some extra Kashi seven grain cereal that I found to be a bit bland on its own but worked perfectly to bulk up this granola, so that's where my recipe began.

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium/large bowl, combine oats with the puffed grain (if you don't want to go out and buy Kashi just for this recipe, just sub in another similar cereal or double the oats) and add-in your nuts. Now at this point, I also added in my dried fruit -- golden raisins and chopped dates. However, while the raisins held up just fine in the oven, some of the smaller pieces of dates got burnt and I ended up having to pick them out by hand and throw them away. So I'd suggest putting in the raisins but holding off on the dates and adding them in a few minutes before the granola is done. If you decide to use another dried fruit mix-in such as apricots, bananas, apples, cranberries, etc., just do a quick google search to see how it will hold up in the heat to decide whether to add now or later. Of course chocolate chips would also make a delicious (if not quite as nutritious) mix-in but that you obviously wouldn't add until the granola is done and completely cool.

For the liquid binder, I whisked together peanut butter and water and poured this over the dry ingredients along with the maple syrup I used as my sweetener. My syrup was sugar free and relatively thin. If yours is thicker, you may want to use less so its not too sweet and increase the amount of water you use. 

Now just spread your mixture out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or wax paper, keeping some clusters but breaking up any really large clumps so it cooks evenly. Sprinkle on some cinnamon and put it in the oven, stirring every 5-10 minutes. My granola was done in about 20 minutes - nice and toasted and yummy! Store in an airtight container or a ziplock bag with all the air squeezed out of it so it stays fresh. 

One last thing for today: a quick product review/shout out about these Barry's Bakery French Twists. I randomly came across these in the health food aisle of my grocery store and decided they'd be my impulse buy for the day. I'm really quite impressed! They contain no butter, eggs, yeast, or dairy so naturally, they've got to be gross right? Wrong -- these babies are good! They taste kind of like a lighter churro. They're great on their own, but I've also broken them up and sprinkled on top of yogurt for a healthy snack. If you're looking for more of a treat, you could pair them with frozen yogurt or dip in chocolate sauce. There's several flavors but so far I've only tried the original cinnamon kind. You'll have to let me know if you try another!

Homemade Granola

1 c. oats
1 c. puffed cereal (such as Kashi 7 Whole Grain Cereal Puffs) 
1 tbsp almonds, chopped
2 dates, chopped
1.5 tbsp golden raisins
1.5 tbsp peanut butter 
3.5 tbsp water
3 tbsp sugar free maple syrup 
Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Combine oats, puffed cereal, nuts, and golden raisins. In small bowl, whisk together peanut butter and water. Pour peanut butter mixture and maple syrup over dry ingredients while stirring. 

Spread granola on baking sheet covered with wax or parchment paper. Sprinkle on some cinnamon to taste. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Add in dates and bake for another approximately 5 minutes until toasted. 

Grilled Bok Choy

Whenever I'm out at the grocery store and I come across a fruit or vegetable I've never made before, I consider it a personal challenge. It's pretty much a guarantee that I will buy it and immediately go home and look up a million recipes. A few weeks ago, this happened with a persimmon. A what?! It's a Chinese fruit that's really soft when ripe. When I tasted it, I found it to be really sweet, so I ended up putting it on crackers with cream cheese to tone down the sweetness with the salty cracker; turned into a most delicious snack. This happened again with parsnips, hence the parsnip fries and rosemary parsnip puree. Most recently, it was baby bok choy that caught my eye! 

If you've never tried bok choy, I highly recommend you hunt some down. Also of Chinese origin, it's kind of like cabbage and is full of vitamins! And I think grilling it is definitely the way to go. It resulted in a tender yet still crunchy texture with a crispy top, mmm mmm! 

Start by trimming off the very bottom of the vegetable, but don't cut off too much -- you want it to still be intact. My bok choy was of the baby variety so it was quite small. A few of the larger ones, I cut in half lengthwise, but the others I left as is. However, if you have the regular-sized ones, you'll want to cut them all in half so they cook all the way through. Spray or lightly drizzle the bok choy with olive oil; you don't need much or it will get oily. Then toss with seasoned salt, paprika, garlic powder, and pepper. I also put some Mrs. Dash on there, but if you don't have any, I'm sure it'll still taste fine without it. Now just toss them right on the grill on medium heat. 

Grill for about five minutes until there's grill marks on there. Then flip, and grill for another five minutes or so. This may take longer if you're not using baby bok choy. Just keep an eye on it so the tops don't get too burnt. I like it best when the bottom white/light green part is tender but still crunchy. 

And that's it! Super simple and super tasty! I used this as a side to go along with some cured salmon on toast with cream cheese, a recent obsession of mine. But bok choy could really go with anything; feel free to experiment: change up the spices or brush with some soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, or even sriracha. If you find something you like, leave a comment so we can all try it out! 

Grilled Bok Choy

Bok choy

Paprika

Seasoned salt

Garlic powder

Pepper
Mrs. Dash

Olive oil

Preheat grill to medium. Trim white end of bok choy and slice large ones in half lengthwise. Spray with olive oil and toss with spices to taste. Grill approximately 5 minutes. Flip and grill another approximately 5 minutes. 

Lime-Cilantro Shrimp and Couscous Foil Packets with Mango-Avocado Salsa

Guest Blogger: Camille Wingo

Janna has most graciously allowed me to do a guest post for Gourmet, My Way.  For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Janna’s roommate from Memphis, TN, so my favorite dishes typically come in casserole format and are covered in cheese. A few weeks ago, Janna blogged about hosting Bachelor Night, and this past week was my turn to host. Because of Janna’s newfound interest in seafood and another close friend’s lactose intolerance, I’ve decided to highlight my absolute favorite thing to make: Shrimp Pockets!  This is a recipe introduced at one of our Bachelor viewing parties several years ago by Lauren Dyer.  It was inspired by one in a Self Magazine e-newsletter, but has sense been tweaked and incorporated into everyone’s rotation of healthy and yummy dinner options.

Step One:  Marinate the shrimp.

Run the frozen shrimp under cold water to defrost.  Toss shrimp with olive oil, cilantro leaves, the juice of one lime, salt, and pepper to marinate.

Step Two: Assemble foil packets.

Combine 2 cups of dry couscous with 1 cup of water in a measuring cup and stir until it becomes a wet sand consistency.  Pull out about 18 inches of foil for each packet.  Take a LARGE handful of fresh spinach leaves and place in the middle of the foil packet.  Cover with 3/4 cup of the couscous/water mixture, and top with 1/4 of the marinated shrimp.  Roll up all four sides so that the foil packet is enclosed.  Repeat with other 3 foil packets and pop in the oven at 375 degrees.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until shrimp are all pink.  (Alternative cooking method: these foil packets can also be placed on the grill over medium-high heat for about 15-20 minutes until shrimp are fully-cooked.)

Step Three: Prepare the salsa.

While the foil packets are baking, chop the mango, red pepper, avocado, and red onion into small pieces.  Stir in the juice of one lime, remaining cilantro, and finely chopped jalapeno.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step Four: Enjoy.

Once the foil packets are ready, scrape the contents onto a plate (or eat directly from the foil packet for easy clean-up) and top with a plentiful amount of salsa.  Enjoy your delicious and healthy meal, have a glass of wine, and watch the newest episode of the Bachelor or the Bachelorette with a good group of friends!

Lime-Cilantro Shrimp and Couscous Foil Packets with Mango-Avocado Salsa

(makes 4 servings) 

1 pound frozen shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 bunch of fresh cilantro, divided into two parts

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large mango, peeled and diced

2 medium ripe avocados, diced

½ red onion, diced

1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 limes

1 bag fresh baby spinach leaves

2 cups uncooked couscous

1 cup water

Salt and pepper

Lots of tin foil

Toss defrosted shrimp with olive oil, half the cilantro, juice of one lime, salt, and pepper to marinate. 

Mix uncooked couscous with water. Place large handful of fresh spinach in the middle of a piece of foil. Top with 3/4 c of couscous and 1/4 of the shrimp. Wrap foil so all sides are enclosed. Bake in 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until shrimp is cooked. 

Mix avocado, mango, red onion, jalapeno, juice of one lime, half the cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. Top contents of the shrimp pocket with the avocado-mango salsa. 

Chocolate Chip Red Velvet Cupcakes with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting

I've got a yummy one for you all today! Despite the fact that I eat dessert pretty much every single night, I noticed that this blog has a definite lack of recipes to satiate your sweet tooth. So we will just have to fix that, won't we?! 

These cupcakes are delicious and easy! I made them for my friend's birthday, so I made a few big ones for her and a bunch of little ones for people to snack on at the party. And of course, brightly colored sprinkles were necessary! 

I used a cake mix for this, which some might call cheating. I, on the other hand, call it time management :) While I'm certainly capable of baking from scratch, it's also nice to have some quicker recipe options. However, I did use some swaps in place of the oil and eggs to make it a little healthier... and then proceeded to essentially cancel that out by icing them with nutella cream cheese frosting, mmmm! But this was a celebration, and special occasions call for special desserts! 

To make, combine red velvet cake mix -- I used Duncan Hines Signature Red Velvet -- with plain greek yogurt, egg whites, and water. Then mix in some chocolate chips (optional, but suggested!). Pour into cupcake liners and bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven until a toothpick comes out clean. For my full-sized cupcakes, which I filled quite generously, this was 27 minutes. For the baby ones made in the mini-muffin tin, it was 15 minutes. 





For the icing, beat together 6 oz of room temperature cream cheese (reduced fat or regular; not fat free), powdered sugar, milk, and nutella. Make sure your cupcakes are completely cooled before you ice or you'll end up with a mess. Be sure to top with something fun: rainbow sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, crushed oreos, chocolate shavings... whatever your fancy!

Chocolate Chip Red Velvet Cupcakes with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting 

(makes 16 large and 24 little cupcakes)

Cake: 
1 box of red velvet cake mix (18.25 oz)
6 oz plain greek yogurt
1 1/3 c. water
2 egg whites
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Icing: 
6 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp nutella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cake mix, greek yogurt, water, and egg whites. Mix in chocolate chips. Pour into cupcake liners or a sprayed cupcake tin. Bake until toothpick comes out clean (use instructions on the back of the box as a guide for how long this will take). Cool completely. 

Whip together cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and nutella. Spread atop cupcakes. 

Lemony Moroccan Quinoa with Lamb Sausage and Yogurt-Mint Sauce

Bold claim: this is probably my favorite recipe I've posted on this site to date. It may be because I'm secretly proud that I dreamed up an ethnic dish without any inspiration recipes; it may be because I was ravenously hungry when I made it; but I think it's just because it's really darn tasty!

As with a lot of my cooking, this dish was inspired by trying to think of a delicious way to prepare one particular ingredient I had on hand; in this case, lamb sausage. I like lamb but had never actually cooked it before. I could have taken the easy way out and just grilled it and served with some veggies, but I felt like a special ingredient deserved some special attention. So I came up with the idea of pairing it with dried apricots for that sweet/savory contrast I love so much. And from there the ideas just kept on flying... I'll serve over quinoa! With pistachios! And what kind of flavors? Lemon! And mint! And because I was concerned it might be a bit dry and I love yogurt oh so much, I'd top it all off with a yogurt sauce! It was a done deal; all I needed now was to hit up Trader Joe's for the ingredients.


Well, after about two hours of wandering like a kid and a candy store, I finally emerged from the TJ's black hole ready to make my dreams a reality. The dish came together quite easily; the hardest part is just timing it all so it's done at the same time. Here's the game plan I'd suggest:

Get your quinoa cooking on the stove first (just follow the instructions on the package). Then start chopping so you have everything ready to go: onions, spinach, mint, pistachios, and apricots. Next, spray the bottom of a skillet with olive oil or cooking spray and sauté your onions. When almost cooked, add the spinach. Meanwhile, put the lamb sausage on the grill. I used my Foreman, but if you don't have one and it's not outdoor grilling season (which unless I have any Florida readers, it's not...), you could also put it under the broiler or just cook it in a frying pan. No matter which method you choose, be careful not to overcook as lamb sausage can get dry and tough if cooked too long.


Once the quinoa is cooked, add the sautéed veggies, half the chopped mint, the pistachios and apricots, some lemon juice, cumin, allspice, and just a dash of salt. Fluff with a fork.

As your lamb finishes up, mix the yogurt sauce by combining yogurt, lemon  juice, the rest of the mint, and minced garlic. Serve the lamb sausage over the quinoa and top with the yogurt mint sauce. 

The dish really looks and tastes more complex than it is, making it a perfect choice for serving at a dinner party. Or keep this gem all to yourself an enjoy with a nice glass of wine - you deserve it!

Lemony Moroccan Quinoa with Lamb Sausage and Yogurt-Mint Sauce

(Makes approximately one dinner serving plus enough for lunch paired with a side) 

For the quinoa: 

3/4 c uncooked quinoa
20 pistachios, chopped
5 dried apricots, cut into small pieces
6 mint leaves, chopped finely
1/3 c onion, chopped
Handful of spinach, sliced into small strips
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp cumin
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
1 large or 2 small/medium links of lamb sausage (omit for a vegetarian dish)

For the yogurt sauce: 

1/4 c plain greek yogurt
6 mint leaves, chopped finely 
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 - 2.5 tsp lemon juice

Cook quinoa according to directions on package. In a separate pan, sauté chopped onions. When almost translucent, add spinach and cook until wilted. 

Grill lamb sausage until cooked all the way through. 

When quinoa is cooked, add in sautéed vegetables, pistachios, apricots, mint, spices, and lemon juice. Fluff with a fork. Top with sliced lamb sausage. 

Mix ingredients for yogurt sauce. Spoon on top of the lamb and quinoa.