Homemade Dill Dressing

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Ever since Sonia posted the flies and swims recipe, I’ve had cravings for dill. Weird, I know. I’ve never given dill a second thought (why would I?). But it was so refreshing, I want it in all the recipes! So it got me thinking, how hard could it be to make a dill dressing? I got a little “epicurious” and found a simple recipe for it, but my own spin on it is below. It’s the perfect compliment to our kale and quinoa salad (recipe coming soon!).

*Makes about 2 cups of dressing.

  • 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise (please don’t use Miracle Whip. I usually love the stuff but it def doesn’t work for this. Trust me, I tried it with the first batch.)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Whisk the mayo, sour cream, and heavy cream first, then blend in the rest of the ingredients. I stored mine in a cute mason jar so it will last a little longer. And who doesn’t love mason jars these days?!

Happy Eating, XO.

Pear Salad

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So all my lamenting about it feeling more like fall & winter than Spring finally paid off! This was the first time we had nice weather and it lasted all weekend long! I mean we had to turn on the AC that’s how nice it was! Having said that, its time to eat lighter and more spring like now. So below is my quick and easy salad. I served it with the are you too chicken last night. Yum-o!

  • 2 Bartlett pears (fairly ripe)
  • 1/2 of a medium yellow onion (Vidalia works, but so does a Spanish onion)
  • 1 bag of the Sorrento Salad Mix from Trader Joes (it just has arugula, baby spinach, and lettuce in it. I also throw in a fist full of shredded raddicho just because I had some in the fridge and I like the purple color).
  • 1 cup of sesame sticks (photo below & also bought from Trader Joes-sorry that’s where I grocery shop, but I will say most stores will have them in nuts & snacks aisle, look near trail mixes)
  • 1/4 cup of champagne pear vinaigrette with gorgonzola from Trader Joe’s (I know homemade dressing is better, but I was hung over so I did a short cut, big deal, its yummy nonetheless).
  • Optional is to add some crumbled gorgonzola on the top but I was trying to keep it light so I left out, the vinaigrette is creamy and silky enough you shouldn’t miss the added cheese.

Slice the pears in long, Julienne strips. Do the same for the onions and toss with the sesame sticks, salad packet and dressing. Serve immediately and a good tip is to make sure the pears and onions are cold from the fridge when serving, I don’t know what it is about a cold salad on a warm afternoon! Oh and the peppery arugula coupled with the sweet pear and the sharp onion and crunchy sesame sticks is the perfect combo of different taste bud pleasers we try to achieve in all of our sultry salads 🙂

photo

Happy Eating, XO.

So Kale and Quinoa Walk in to a Bar…

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…a salad bar! Get it? Yeah, yeah I know, stick to my day job…

Anyway, the other day I whipped up our fruit parfait for breakfast and made way too much quinoa. I couldn’t just throw it out so I got to experimenting. This is how it went down: Quinoa’s healthy, so what else is healthy? Hmm, throw in some cucumbers, beets for some color, kale of course, and fresh dill! (Only because I’ve acquired an obsession with it since the flies and swims recipe). Top it all off with the quinoa and you actually get a pretty filling salad. I also paired it with our homemade dill dressing (I told you, obsessed) and it was damned refreshing, perfect for spring.

*Makes 1 personal sized salad.

  • 2 cups fresh baby kale
  • 1 cup of sliced cucumbers
  • 1 small can of beets
  • 1/3 cup of finely chopped fresh dill
  • 1/4 cup of homemade dill dressing
  • 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa

Toss together everything but the quinoa (I mean you can if you want to, but I prefer not to). Once the dressing is evenly coated on the salad, top with the quinoa and garnish with a bit of dill.

Kale & Quinoa saladHappy Eating, XO.

 

Grilled Artichokes

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If you’re an East coaster like we are, I’m sure you headed outside last Sunday and stuck your face to the sun to soak up the warmest day we’ve had all year! I didn’t throw on my bathing suit just yet, but I did break out the flip flops and fired up the grill. (And popped open a bottle of Pinot Grigio, of course…).

Grilled veggies are one of my favorite sides, so I took advantage of the beautiful sunny day and grilled some artichokes. If it’s still too cold where you are (I heard Michigan got 8″ of snow last week?! Our condolences…) you can also roast them like we mention in our Eat Your Vegetables post.

  • 2 artichokes, cut in half down the middle
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 tbsp of olive oil (enough for coating the artichokes)
  • 2 tsp of garlic salt or Adobo
  • 1 tsp of  parsley (dried or fresh)

Fill a pot with enough water to cover the artichokes, or use with a steamer. While the water is boiling, drop in the garlic cloves to infuse the artichokes with a bit of the flavor. Boil or steam for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, mix together the olive oil, 1 tsp of the garlic salt and parsley.

When the artichokes are done, coat them well with the olive oil mixture. Place them on a hot grill flat side down and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp of garlic salt. Grill each side for 8-10 minutes. They go great with our Sherry Vinegar Hanger Steak or Omega 3.

Grilled artichokes

 

Happy Eating, XO.

You like us! You really really like us!

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In honor of our 100th damn post (can you believe it?!) we want to dedicate this to all of you, our followers!

Time to get a little mushy here kids. When Sonia and I started this blog, we did it because we know how hard it is to work a full day and have to make dinner when you come home (we’re groaning right along with you). We know it’s hard to find simple recipes that taste good and don’t require too much effort. We hope we have delivered and would love some feedback on this important milestone for the blog. Trust us, we get giddy over the comments section and love trying new recipes, restaurants, and food.

Anyway, we can’t believe we are at the big HUNDO. Especially since this little pet project was culminated from a simple Saturday afternoon chat that took flight, with a hope and a dream.

We’ve really had the best time, not only testing and creating recipes, but connecting with all of you!

Thanks again for being our followers and cheers to at least 100 more delish posts! (and maybe 500 followers by June? C’mon guys Jess & I have a little bet going, help us do it! Spread the word.)

photo (4)

Happy Eating, XO.