vegetarian

Pears Poached in Cranberries with Salted Sour Cream

February 29, 2016 by rachelle 44 Comments

Pears Poached in Cranberries with Salted Sour Cream

Hi, friends! Happy Leap Year Day! It’s always so weird to me when there’s a February 29th. It’s kind of a bummer too because March is the lead into spring for me with all kinds of things to look forward to. Having an extra day of February is just dragging out the winter blues!

At least today it looks like spring here in Charlotte, so that’s a positive thing for a Monday! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and it’s supposed to get up to the high 60’s. Thank goodness!

Even though it looks like spring and sunshine here, the produce department is still stocked with winter items, so I thought I’d share these pears poached in cranberries with salted sour cream while it’s still technically winter. I made these several weeks ago and there were still fresh cranberries available at the Publix. If you can’t find them anymore, just use frozen ones and give thanks that it means spring is almost here.

And enjoy the pretty pink and red colors because I have a feeling that starting tomorrow we are going to be seeing a lot of green!

Have a fantastic week!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:148]

Adapted (slightly) from Martha

Easy Weeknight Meals Recipe Roundup

February 19, 2016 by rachelle 20 Comments

Happy Friday, friends! I thought we would end the week with a special Easy Weeknight Meals Recipe Roundup.

What are we waiting for? Let’s go!

Skirt Steak Skewers with Sofrito from No Spoon Necessary

Farfalle with Peas and Prosciutto from Ciao Chow Bambina

Shrimp Diane from Tasty Ever After

Garam Masala Chicken Wraps from Spiced

One Pot Chicken Enchilada Skillet from Life Made Sweeter

White Wine and Garlic Shrimp from yours truly

Pasta e Fagioli from Hungry Healthy Happy

Mini Stuffed Turkey Meatloaves from The Beach House Kitchen

Chicken Cutlets with Mushroom Cream Sauce from Fashionable Foods

Cheesy Rice and Beans from Show Me The Yummy

Mushroom Stroganoff from yours truly

Vegan Whole Wheat Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce from Whisk and Shout

Easy and Fast Spaghetti with Vegan Bacon and Peas from Veganosity

BBQ Chicken Quesadilla from Pumpkin ‘n Spice

Roasted Butternut Squash & Beet Salad from My California Roots

Bacon and Spinach Bow Tie Pasta from Food Fashion and Fun

Almond Herb Crusted Salmon from Lou Lou Biscuit

Orange Chicken from Beyond The Chicken Coop

Mushroom Stroganoff

February 15, 2016 by rachelle 46 Comments

This post contains affiliate links.

Happy Monday and Happy President’s Day, y’all! Thank goodness for federal holidays and three day weekends! How was your weekend? Did you have a fantastic and romance-filled Valentine’s Day? We did! We originally planned to go to our favorite one man show hole in the wall Ethiopian restaurant, but when it got so dang cold and we realized we had to go to Costco for dog food, we just decided to grab some scallops and a filet and stay home in front of the fireplace.

Nothing says romance like yoga pants and a ratty old university sweatshirt. It’s cold and I had to leave my house, otherwise it would have been flannel jammies. Don’t judge me.

Moving on. Let’s talk about easy weeknight meals. This is one that we originally made because we had a vegetarian guest for dinner and not only did it turn out to be amazingly delicious, but it’s super simple! It takes about 40 minutes or so to make, but it doesn’t require a lot of attention, so you can get dinner started and do other things like change out of your work clothes and into some comfy flannel jammies or yoga pants, let the dogs out, get the kids stated on their homework or fix yourself a dang martini. No judgments here and you deserve it! I would totally start with the martini .

Anyhoo, the point is that this is an easy option for a weeknight hassle-free dinner. You can get your water going for your noodles while the mushroom sauce is doing it’s thing, toss together a salad, and Wham-BAM-Thank You, M’am! Dinner is served.

Keeping in the spirit of easy weeknight meals, do you plan out your meals for the week or just wing it? We do a bit of both here, but when we had little people in the house that wanted to know what’s for dinner the minute you walk in the door, it sure was a lot less stressful when we had planned out our meals for the week and had everything on hand and ready to go.

I want to tell you about my friend Raquel (not to be confused with Rachelle since that is me). Raquel is a blogger from My California Roots and she wrote an ebook Guide to Meal Planning. She gave me a copy to review (and I’m totally going to put it to good use) and I’m super excited about it.

The guide includes:

Templates for meal planning
Recipe Keeper Spreadsheet (which is awesome and helpful!)
Meal Planning Toolkit
A mini book on tips for creating the best meal plans ever
Extra goodies!

The guide is just released today and is only available for 5 days. I honestly love this Guide to Meal Planning and would totally recommend it even if it wasn’t published by my friend! I am 100% confident that it will be a life-saver for anyone with a family to feed and for people who want to keep to a healthy diet – which is always easier when you have your meal plans in place so that you’re not hitting the drive-through on your way home from work because you didn’t plan.

I highly recommend you go check out Raquel’s Guide to Meal Planning. To do that, click here: Guide to Meal Planning

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:141]

Note: If you want to make a vegan version, simply substitute vegan butter and vegan sour cream.

This post contains affiliate links. I received a free copy of the product to review and all opinions are my own. The only additional compensation I will receive is if you click on the affiliate link and purchase the Guide to Meal Planning, I will receive a commission.

Coconut Milk Breakfast Smoothies – Two Ways

February 1, 2016 by rachelle 13 Comments

Well, good morning, sunshine! Did everyone have a fantastic weekend? It was so weird to be hanging out on Sunday with no football! Charlotte is crazy excited about our Cats being in San Francisco for the Super Bowl next weekend! I think they’re actually already there.

Can y’all believe its February already? Where in did the time go? Now we’re gearing up for the big game AND Valentine’s Day! I say, thank goodness, because that means that spring is right around the corner. Woot! Although February is usually when we experience our worst winter weather. Fingers crossed for smooth sailing into March with our trees and power lines intact.

So we had a pretty awesome football-free Sunday and a pretty fun event-filled Saturday. Saturday morning Chris picked up his dad and took him to lunch. Jennifer and I went to a really fun cooking class – more will be coming on that later. Then I met up with Lisa and the gang for some ~~day drinking~~ manicures and pedicures. Seriously, it’s a total event when we do this and we have to call ahead to let them know we’re coming. This time Chris and his dad came along too and had a blast! (As a side note – if you live in the Charlotte area totally go check out Kevin and Anna at Apple Nail Spa – tell them Beer Girl and Lisa sent you! This is not a sponsored post. We just love them!)

#KeepPounding #PanthersNation

Since we had such a fun and relaxing weekend, I’m not really in the mood to go back to work or deal with anything complicated. So we’re just going to roll into this Monday with something so dang easy it won’t hurt my head. Smoothies 2 ways. I always say that options are good.

For some reason I apparently thought that there was going to be a shortage of coconut milk and found it necessary to fill my pantry with no less that 42.789 cans. So that’s the direction we’ve been going the last couple of weeks with some smoothies. I never actually thought to use coconut milk in smoothies until there was a ridiculous amount on my shelves.

I made some at night, put them in mason jars, then had a grab and go breakfast smoothie to take to work. I just took off the lid, stuck in a purloined Starbucks straw, and went to town. Don’t judge me. If I pay 5 bucks for a coffee, I should have a lifetime supply of free straws available to me.

So next time you find yourself with an end of the world supply of coconut milk, bust out that blender and make yourself a smoothie – or two.

P.S. Come back tomorrow for a special post because I’ve got some really cool buddies and we are giving away a $1000 Amazon gift card!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:136]

Roasted Vegetable, Kale, and Quinoa Salad with Clementine Vinaigrette

January 4, 2016 by rachelle 47 Comments

Happy New Year, friends! How were your holidays? Did you have an exciting New Year’s Eve and a wonderful New Year’s Day? Did you have souerkraut, black eyed peas, and greens? We did. I do not love any of these things, but I’m not willing to take any chances, so I ate them all. We need all the luck we can get around here!

Surprisingly, we had just four experiences with stomach bugs, a bit of doggie drama with bathing and furniture eviction, and only one middle of the night holy crap I’m in trouble with the law and need a criminal defense attorney phone call.

I know. Good times.

And trust me. I know that it’s totally cliche to start out my first post of 2016 with a salad. I also know that cliche should have one of those sexy punctuation things over the top, but I’m not technologically savvy enough to figure out how to put one there. Don’t judge me.

Any-hoo, after all the indulgences I’ve been guilty of giving and receiving, it’s time to add some hearty, healthy detox food to my life. I actually love the combo of kale and quinoa in a salad. Throw in some roasted beets, carrots, and BS with a citrus-y dressing, and it’s totally my jam!

We need to be in fighting condition here in the Carolianas anyway ’cause we are 15-1, yo! Our Cats are headed to the playoffs starting out in our own house! Woot!

I think we’re all singing Sweet Caroline down here at this point! #keeppounding

It was a bummer to lose to Atlanta last week and kill our undefeated status, but I’m hopeful to see Cam, Greg, Luke, and the rest of my Cats in the playoffs and we’d love to move onto SUPERBOWL 50. (I don’t understand the Roman numbers and didn’t want to get it wrong).

And now my vacation is over and I’m back at work. #partysover

Roasted Vegetable, Kale, and Quinoa Salad with Clementine Vinaigrette

Ingredients

3 beets
2 dozen baby Brussels sprouts
5-6 carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2-3 tablespoons olive oil plus 1 tablespoon for massaging kale
1/2 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper
6 ounces kale chopped into bite size pieces
1 cup quinoa
1/4 cup roasted and chopped chestnuts

Clementine Dressing

2 clementines juiced and zested
2 garlic cloves minced or pressed (via garlic press)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
pinch each of:
tarragon
basil
fennel pollen
salt white pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425
Make individual foil packets for beets, drizzle beets with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, seal the foil tightly, and transfer to a baking sheet
Roast in oven for 60 - 75 minutes, depending on size
Toss carrots and Brussels sprouts with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a baking dish, roast for the last 30-35 minutes of the roasting beets
Times will vary according to the size of the vegetables, roast until fork tender or texture of preference
While vegetables are roasting, prepare quinoa according to package directions, spread out on a baking sheet or parchment paper to cool
Toss kale in a large salad bowl with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt, and massage into leaves for 5 minutes or so
Combine clementine dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shake vigorously
Add the quinoa to the kale and toss to combine
When vegetables are done set carrots and Brussels sprouts aside to cool slightly
Unwrap beets, peel with a paring knife and cut into 1 inch pieces
Top kale and quinoa with all the roasted vegetables and either toss with dressing or serve with dressing on the side

Cold Summer Soba Noodle and Vegetable Salad

July 27, 2015 by rachelle 48 Comments

I need an intervention, y’all.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this salad in the last few weeks, but the 438 pounds of soba noodles I bought at the Asian market are gone. It’s that good. I’m hopelessly in love….

It’s so dang easy to make that it just feeds my addiction. I hear it calling me every second of every day. It haunts me in my sleep.

And it’s is so pretty, colorful, and festive! And summery! And crunchy! And noodley! And sesame-y!

Of course, Jennifer is the one who got me into this mess. She saw it on i am a food blog and sent it to me. Now I’m trying to make this salad in my sleep and eat it for every breakfast, lunch, dinner, and anywhere in between.

Chris is not as thrilled about it it as he was the first 178.236 times I made it. Seriously dude? Can I get some support here?

Ok. I fixed him a steak. I watched as his eyes rolled back in his head.

Happy Monday, y’all and have a fantastic week!

Adapted from i am a food blog

Cold Summer Soba Noodle and Vegetable Salad

Ingredients

For the Salad

3 bundles of soba noodles - the recipe I adapted recommends 2 bundles I did 2, then 3, but I like things noodley, so I would recommend at least 4 bundles. Up to you
1/4 head red cabbage thinly sliced
3-4 ears of corn
2 small or one large cucumber peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 orange/green or red or combination of bell peppers seeded and chopped
1/2 pint heirloom cherry size tomatoes halved or quartered
1 head romaine shredded or roughly chopped
4-5 green onions sliced

For the Dressing

2/3 cup red wine or rice wine vinegar
2/3 olive oil
Dash of Sriracha - or more if you like this stuff
6 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook noodles according to package directions and transfer to a large mixing bowl
Whisk dressing ingredients until combined
Toss together noodles and dressing in a large bowl and set aside
Heat a large cast iron or non-stick skillet on high heat
Brush corn cobs lightly with olive oil
Char in skillet until desired color
Slice corn from cob
Add all vegetables to dressing and noodles
Chill until ready to eat or serve immediately
Perfect at room temperature or cold and makes a great leftover for lunch or dinner

vegetarian

Roasted Vegetable, Kale, and Quinoa Salad with Clementine Vinaigrette

Ingredients

Clementine Dressing

Instructions

Cold Summer Soba Noodle and Vegetable Salad

Ingredients

For the Salad

For the Dressing

Instructions

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