Shakshuka

Shakshuka is an Israeli dish where eggs are poached in a spicy tomato sauce. Since I had some leftover chunky tomato sauce, I opted the next morning to make some shakshuka for breakfast and it was the perfect way to start the morning. But you could opt to serve this any time of the day.

Shakshuka

• 2 tbsp ghee (or butter)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup tomato sauce (I used this leftover sauce)
• 1-2 eggs
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Basil (optional)
• Zoodles, cauliflower rice, or paleo-friendly pita bread. 

Heat ghee in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic in ghee until fragrant. Pour in tomato sauce and stir to combine. Bring to a little simmer. 

Once simmering, crack eggs over the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and cover the skillet until the yolks set, about 5 minutes. You can leave it covered longer for a harder egg yolk but I like them runny. 

Top with fresh basil and serve. I used the Shakshuka on top of leftover cauliflower rice but you could serve with pita bread for dipping into the sauce. 

Basil-Lemon Chicken

Simple marinades are something everyone needs to have in their back pocket. Usually, I never have time to marinade as I don't give myself enough thought the night before but when my mom handed me a bag filled with basil, I knew I needed to come up with something quick and easy for us to enjoy.

Basil-Lemon Chicken 

For the marinade:

• 1 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 large lemon, zested and juice set aside
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.

Put chicken into ziplock bag. Pour marinade over and cover all the chicken. Let marinate in the fridge anytime between 2 hours and 12 hours. Longer than 12 hours and the acid has some effect on the chicken.

Prepare the chicken as you wish - we opted to roast the chicken based on time but it would be tasty grilled as well!

nom nom :: Stuffed Salmon with Sriracha Cream Sauce

So typically, Joe doesn't like teriyaki sauce. He says he can taste the ginger and it's just not his thing. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't like ginger either (unless its with sushi) but I'm so use to the flavor, it isn't something that sticks out to me. I was a little hesitant to try this recipe for that reason but decided that it looked too delicious to pass up. I adapted it from this recipe but made a few changes like swapping out the sweetend condensed milk for almond milk (it's what we had in our fridge) and wouldn't have even known the difference. After we finished dinner, I asked if he was okay with that teriyaki sauce and he said he didn't even realize that was what I used. Guess I know this is going to become a repeat dish in our house... YES! 

Start the Stuffed Salmon with Sriracha Cream sauce by marinating it in your favorite teriyaki marinade. I used Trader Joe's Island Soyaki since I noticed the original recipe called for a bit more pineapple flavors. Let it marinate for at least 30 mins.

After it is done marinating, slit the sides of each filet and create a long pocket to stuff. Insert about a tablespoon of cream cheese - I used whipped cream cheese as it was easier to push into the pocket. 

Heat a medium sized pan on low-medium heat. Add about a tablespoon of oil. Set the fillets in there skin side down and cook for 10 minutes. I put the cover on and let it steam for a bit. I did not flip it since I wasn't sure if the cheese would spill out but it turned out just fine. Drizzle with the Sriracha cream sauce (recipe below) and ta-da!

Stuffed Salmon with Siracha Cream Sauce
adapted from The Boogie Blog
Ingredients
1 cup teriyaki marinade (Trader Joe's version is a fave)
2 salmon filets
2 tbsp whipped cream cheese
1 tbsp oil

for sauce
2 tbsp Sriracha sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp almond milk, vanilla

Directions:
1. Marinate salmon filets in teriyaki sauce of your choice for at least 30 minutes.
2. Slice sides of filet to create a pocket
3. Stuff salmon pocket with cream cheese, do not overstuff. I used 1 tbsp for each filet.
4. Heat a medium sized pan on low-medium heat. Add oil to coat. Set the fillets in and cook for 10 minutes with cover. Serve once salmon is cooked
5. For sauce, mix all ingredients together. Add more sriracha for more spice.

nom nom :: skillet lasagna

Hate to say it but I have been slaaaaacking the last couple of weeks to get some blog posts up. But even when I wasn't updating, I did try and do my best to snap some photos of the meals we've been cooking up and I will slowly make my way to posting them here. The last couple of weeks have been plenty busy: celebrating a bride-to-be, basketball games, friends visiting, getting sick (ew) and some much needed shopping! Yes, after twelve weeks of no shopping, I finally was able to make a few purchases to add to my spring wardrobe! Win for me (and my wallet).

Another new year's resolution was to cook more at home and spend less meals dining out. I thought we were actually doing a pretty good job of this until I started tracking my spending and realized we spent a ridiculous amount of dollars out on the town. The number was up there, and I was a little disappointed that it was so high but I learned alot from monitoring my budget -- this month's goals is to stick to my budget (yay for being an adult).

That being said, when I came home from work yesterday, cooking dinner was not on my mind. I had all the ingredients ready and had even did some prepwork the night before, but all Joe and I both wanted to do was head to Costco, grab a few things and  get cheap Costco hotdogs. And we werethisclose to doing just that but decided we shouldn't waste a meal pre-prepped and to be good and eat at home. So Skillet Lasagna it was. Comfort food, a delicious meal and easily cooked in less than 30 minutes!

Skillet Lasagna

1 tbsp olive oil

1 jar pasta sauce

1 lb ground turkey

4 lasagna noodles 

6 oz fresh mozzerella, sliced

1 cup cottage cheese

2 tsp dried parsley

heat oven to 425 degrees F.

1. In a medium-large oven safe skillet, brown ground turkey with dried parsley  salt and pepper in the olive oil. Cook until brown, 6-7 minutes. Drain excess liquid.

2. In a separate pot, prepare water for pasta and bring to boil. Once water is boiling, drop in the lasagna noodles. You can break them apart but I left them whole. 

3. Now that the turkey is cooked through, pour in the jar of pasta sauce and heat until bubbly. 

4. At this point, noodles should be cooked. Remove from the water and set aside. 

5. Scoop half of the warm sauce mixture into another bowl. 

6. Time to assemble the lasagna  Add two lasagna noodles over the remaining sauce mixture. Spoon scoops of cottage cheese and half of your sliced mozzarella on top of the noodles. Cover with the remaining two noodles. Take the rest of the sauce and pour over the noodles. Add more sliced mozzarella on top. 

7. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes and serve! 

nom nom :: turkey-quinoa stuffed peppers

On Mondays, my friend and I usually make dinner together and watch the Bachelor. Last night, we had these awesome stuffed red peppers filled with lean turkey and protein packed quinoa! We thought of this on our drive home from Des Moines two weekends ago and wanted to make our peppers a bit healthier. In the end, we watched Catherine and Sean get engaged and enjoyed some delicious turkey-quinoa stuffed peppers. 

Pre-bake:

Turkey-Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

3 red peppers

1/2 lb ground turkey meat

1/4 cup quinoa

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup shredded cheddar, extra for sprinkleing 

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp oregeno

1/2 tsp basil

salt and pepper to taste

Set oven to 350 degrees

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Halve the peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 mins and drain. On the inside of each pepper, sprinkle salt, pepper and a little bit of cheese. 

2. Brown turkey, drain fat and set aside. 

3. In a medium pot, cook quinoa as directed. When the quinoa is cooked, stir in the tomatoes, basil, oregano  cooked turkey and Worcestershire sauce. Once warmed through, remove from heat and stir in the cheese. 

4. Spoon filling halfway into each of the peppers. Add a bit of tomato sauce over the filling, spoon in the rest of the filling and then top with tomato sauce again. Repeat for each pepper. 

5. Bake covered for 25 minutes, uncovered for the last 5 minutes. 

nomnom: fried quinoa

i usually cook up a batch of quinoa on Sunday and sprinkle it in my salads throughout the week (extra protein!). Sometimes at the end of the week, we have some leftover quinoa and have to find creative ways to use it. this is where fried quinoa was born. just like fried rice-- same basic recipe, but instead of using rice we used the protein packed grain QUINOA! it's best to use leftover quinoa (just like leftover rice when making fried rice) but if you don't have any on hand, just boil up some quinoa and use as is. 

Fried Quinoa
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen carrots
1/2 cup baby corn, optional
2 cups cooked and chilled quinoa
1 tsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce (or to taste)
1/2 sesame oil
black pepper

1. Heat pan or wok over high heat. Pour in vegetable oil and then stir in vegetables; cook about 30 seconds.
2. Add eggs and scramble with vegetables.
3. Add quinoa and stir fry for about 2 minutes.
4. Pour in sauces, sesame oil and add in black pepper. Toss everything together for a min or so.
5. Taste and add more soy sauce, sesame oil, etc... as needed.

I love the flexibility of fried rice/quinoa. Growing up, we always had fried rice when we did leftovers for meals -- typically we ate just white rice. Optional things to throw in could range from meats (ham, shrimp, chinese sausage, chicken) to more veggies (onions, broccoli, mushrooms, etc...). Enjoy!

simple pasta

angel hair pasta

italian parsley

red pepper flakes

garlic

olive oil

parmasen cheese

salt and pepper

i could eat this all day. seriously. 

--

it has been lots of boxes moving and still settling. im starting to feel restless (i really want to just get things done!) but i know if i start 3 projects at once, i won't finish anything. last weekend, we spent our time in des moines. we ran a colorful 5k, ate bags of pop chips, shared a large boot of beer and dined at my favorite sushi place! it's always nice to be back and see my best friends.

Chipotle Chicken + Quinoa

If Joe could go to Chipotle every day, he definitely would. So instead of visiting the delicious mexican restaurant each and every day, I thought it would be smart to try and recreate what he loves the most -- the grilled chicken. Now, Chipotle uses chicken thighs and I opted to use chicken breast, but the marinade turns any chicken smokey and spicy. I paired it with quinoa that had a chipotle honey-lime dressing that added to its deliciousness!

Chipotle Chicken

2 oz dried ancho chiles

1 can of chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, just the liquid (save 1-2 peppers for the quinoa recipe) 

1 tsp black pepper

2 tsp cumin powder 

1 tsp dried oregano

6 cloves garlic

1 small red onion, roughly chopped

2 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

4 chicken breasts 

Soak ancho chilies overnight in water. Remove seeds.

Add all ingredients except for chicken into food processor. Puree until smooth. 

Rub the marinade all over the chicken and marinate for at least one hour, up to 24 hours.

Grill chicken on medium high heat, about 5 minutes per side. 

Quinoa with Chipotle Honey-Lime Dressing

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 cup cooked black beans

1/4 cilantro, chopped

Chipotle Honey-Lime Dressing

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tsp honey

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp seeded and minced chipotle pepper (canned in adobo sauce)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 olive oil

Combine quinoa and water in medium saucepan over high heat

Once water boils, cover and reduce heat to low, cook until all water is absorbed (15-20 minutes)

Stir in black beans and then fluff with fork

In a separate bowl, whisk together all ingredients for Chipotle Honey-Lime Dressing and set aside

Add dressing to quinoa and gently toss to combine

Stir in cilantro and enjoy!

you could probably eat this quinoa dish on its own. over and over again. it was just that good. 

kale with white beans

last week I bought a bag of kale with plans to make kale chips but that didn't end up happening. instead, i found this recipe and decided to give it a go. it was a great healthy meal for dinner and I even used the leftovers for lunch. yum!

Kale with White Beans

4 slices of bacon
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup uncooked onion, diced
1 pound of kale, stemmed and chopped
1 cup chicken broth
15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

cook bacon over medium heat to desired crispness.
remove back from pot/skillet and set aside.
add onions and red pepper flake to bacon drippings, cook until soft (about 10 mins)
add garlic and kale, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes
pour chicken broth into pot, cover and simmer over low heat for 8-10 minutes
add beans and simmer uncovered until liquid evaporates
stir in salt, vinegar and sugar.
sprinkle with bacon and serve.

Last Night's Dinner: Lemon Dill Salmon

I have found a new love in fish.

Before, I thought fish was stinky. Maybe it's the way it was prepared, but the only fish I ate ever growing up would be walleye and salmon. Everything else-- pass! I really liked seafood (shrimp, crab, scallops!) but fish - ick!

But now, I'm making it on my own and really enjoying it! It's easy to prepare and quick to cook... and it tastes delicious!

Lemon-Dill Salmon

Ingredients

• 4-5 Salmon Fillets


• 1/3 cup melted butter


• 5 tablespoons lemon juice


• 1 tablespoon dried dill weed


• 4-5 thin slices of lemon


• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt


• ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking dish.

2. Place salmon in the baking dish (if it has skin, skin side down)



3. Mix butter, dill, garlic salt and lemon juice in a bowl. Drizzle over salmon. Season with pepper.



4.  Place a lemon slice on each piece of salmon.



5. Bake 20 minutes

6. Remove lemon slice before serving

While it was in the oven baking, I heated up some green beans and cous cous

These Green Giant steam fresh bags have made eating veggies a breeze! I usually keep a couple in the fridge for those nights where I think we're a little too meaty!

So tender yet still a little crisp. I seasoned it with garlic salt and oregano to add some flavor.

Helloboyfriend really wanted to try cous cous. "I want to know why it's so nice they had to name it twice" oh silly.

This brand was really easy to make -- just boil some water and throw the cous cous in and let it sit. By the time the cous cous and beans were done... the salmon was ready to be taken out of the oven.

Everything together made for a great meal (& healthy to boot!). I used olive oil in the cous cous and next time, I think I'm going to try butter - I just kept getting the olive oil flavor. On the other hand, the lemony flavor of the salmon was deeelish.

Ok, well I'm off to figure out what I'm doing tonight. Hbf and I were suppose to be making lasanaga soup, but now he wants to go get Ghost Chili wings. Scccarry! We did it once before and while they were nummy, they were SO HOT! Even the guy who served us said "good luck" and walked away with a smirk! Yikes.

Have you ever had super spicy food? ever tried ghost chili wings?

Cheers,

Natalie