Kale Salad with Olive Oil, Lemon and Parmesan

I was very apprehensive about trying raw kale.  I heard it really doesn't taste good at all.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I found a similar recipe to this one and I tried it.  Believe me, this kale salad is DELICIOUS!  I found the original recipe at http://www.themeaningofpie.com/2011/09/kale-salad-with-lemon-and-parmesan and then made some adjustments.

1 bunch curly kale
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
1 lemon
1/2 olive oil
1 tbsp honey (optional)
Cherry tomatoes (optional)

1.  Wash the kale and dry either with a salad spinner or paper towels.  Remove the stems and chop into fine strips.
2.  In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and honey, if using.  Whisk together until combined.
3.  Add the pine nuts, cheese, tomatoes and toss.  Add the dressing and toss again.
4.  Season with salt and pepper.
I made this last weekend as well. I was out of Parmesan cheese so I substituted Feta cheese.  Markus also brought back some pumpkin seed oil from Austria from our last trip there and I used some of that.  It really kicked up the taste!  If you can ever get your hands on pumpkin seed oil, GET IT!  It's fantastic on salads.  For those of you wondering if kids will like this, my son couldn't get enough and he is 10 years old.  Last weekend, I also made cubed steak in the crockpot with brown gravy and pearlized couscous.  He was more interested in this salad and even asked for seconds.

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Football Night Taco Bar

 On Sunday night, we had a football party at Markus' house.  I made a yummy Buffalo Chicken Dip for an appetizer served with tortilla chips, carrots, celery and bell peppers.  Then I prepped the table for the tacos.  We had raw onions, tomatoes, cilantro, salsa, tobasco sauce, cheese, lettuce, and roasted bell peppers with onions.  Then I cooked different meats.  We had seasoned ground beef, lime and cilantro shrimp, and chicken with BBQ powder.  We also gave everyone the option of hard shell or soft tacos. 

 

I stole the idea of using a muffin pan to hold some of the toppings.  I found it on Pinterest and it worked like a charm.  On think on that site, they had used it as a condiment holder for a hot dog party or something.

The party was a success even though I forgot to have sour cream on hand but nobody asked for it so I guess I was the only one who noticed.  I would love to try this idea again with some other foods...cupcake bar, sundae bar, hot dog bar, pasta bar...!

Chickpea Salad...So Refreshing!

One 7-oz. can of chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
6-7 cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
2 oz. crumbled feta cheese

1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas.
2. Place chickpeas, tomatoes, basil, parsley, and feta in a bowl.
3. Squeeze juice of lemon over the salad, drizzle in olive oil, add a pinch of salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

This was filling and delicious enough on its own but I decided to serve it over a bed of fresh baby spinach.

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Location:East Hartford, CT

Baked Tilapia with Homemade Tomato and Avocado Salsa with Roasted Asparagus

I seasoned the asparagus with a little bit of lemon infused olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. For the tilapia, I sprayed the bottom of a baking sheet with cooking spray and seasoned with some salt, pepper, minced garlic, parmesan cheese and lemon juice. I baked at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. After it was done cooking, I topped it with salsa made with chopped tomatoes, avocado, lemon juice, garlic salt, fresh black pepper and drive parsley flakes. It was so good!


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Location:East Hartford, CT

Chicken Stir-Fry

I had Gavin help me make this super easy dinner tonight.



I cut up some red and green bell pepper and onions and steamed them in the vegetable steamer that goes on top of my rice cooker. I love that thing. It's so easy and steaming vegetables is such a better alternative to frying.

We sprayed the frying pan with non-stick cooking spray instead of using cooking oil and then added the chicken strips. When they were done cooking on one side, we flipped them over and then added soy sauce and a little toasted sesame oil. When the chicken was done, we took the steamed vegetables and tossed them with the chicken and sauce. We played up the food. Gavin had soy sauce on his rice but I used rice seasoning instead. In total, dinner took us 20 minutes and it was delicious!

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Tortellini With Edamame and Smoked Sausage!

Tonight, I made this delicious dish from www.ziplist.com.



Ingredients:
1 pound frozen cheese tortellini
1 cup shelled edamame
1 cup diced red pepper
1 pound smoked sausage
1/2 cup Italian dressing

Instructions:
1. Boil 6 quarts of salted water in a large pot.
2. Chop red pepper and slice the smoked sausage into 1/4 inch-thick rounds.
3. Stir-fry red pepper and sausage together until heated through--about 5 minutes.
4. Add tortellini to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add edamame to water and boil for another 2 minutes. Drain tortellini and edamame well.
6. Toss everything together with the Italian dressing and heat through one final time.

It turned out great and I can't wait to enjoy the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

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Pizza Pizza!

With my foot still sore, I can't cook like I normally do and I can't take Gavin on hikes. So how can we still bond while we're still together? We can cook together! Tonight, we made homemade pizzas!



Gavin's favorite food is pizza so we were both really excited.



The pizzas turned out great. He eats really weird though. Gavin eats all the pepperoni first. Then he picks off the cheese but doesn't eat the cheese. He just leaves it on the side of the plate. We are so different in that respect. I love cheese!



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