Tag Archives: olive oil

Beat the Beet

Posted on by

Beet Salad with Fried Goat Cheese. Oh right, like I wasn’t going to trash up the health benefits of a salad by pan frying cheese. Puhlease. I don’t eat to live, I LIVE to eat. I need it to be tasty! Now, some of you a) don’t want to take the time to fry the goat cheese b) hate goat cheese and its strong flavor. Don’t fret, my pet: use gorgonzola or mozzarella instead! Be your own boss. Anyway, I was jamming out to some beats on the way to work this morning and told myself I was going to make a salad for dinner tonight (you know more time for a dance party when there is no hard cooking involved). Hmm what do I have lying around that could make my salad awesome, yup canned beets. Now I know you are thinking “ew canned veggies” gross on the preservatives etc etc. BUT, I don’t have the time or energy to deal with real beets so get over it. Plus “lipstick” as I used to call it when I was younger (you know because of the way beets stain your lips with that gorgina red/purply color). Anyway, “lipstick” doesn’t need to be fresh, if anything the fresh stuff requires tons of work with either boiling or pickling and listen here, Id rather focus my prep time on my cheese, so there. Oh and now I am going to be a total “Cheeseball” and play MJ’s “Beat It!” for my beet salad. LOL #nerd #corny.

  • 16 oz. log fresh goat cheese
  • 1 can of the DelMonte sliced beets (14.5 oz. and drain them obvi).
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 teaspoons of Italian blend seasoning (I added a pinch of red chili flakes since goat cheese has such a sharp flavor)
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 8 cups of mixed baby greens (or the Sorrento bagged mix at Trader Joe’s)
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup of candied pecans, if you don’t like the sweet some toasted walnuts would work too

Freeze the goat cheese for about 30 minutes until its solid but not totally frozen. While the cheese is hardening, mix together panko bread crumbs, seasoning, salt, pepper, set aside. Set up a breading line in the following order: flour, egg, bread crumbs, parchment/wax paper covered large wooden cutting board. Remove cheese from freezer and slice into 1/2 inch rounds by using plain dental floss or a knife. If using a knife make sure to wipe it off after each cut to stop it from crumbling. If any of your pieces fall apart just pat it together and try to keep a somewhat round shape. It does not have to be perfect. Take goat cheese rounds and dip in flour, then egg and then goat in panko/herb mixture. Lay onto lined cutting board. Continue until all slices have been coated. If your cheese is really soft pop it into the freezer for about 5 minutes to chill. Take a large high-sided skillet, cover the bottom with olive oil and add to range over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, fry goat cheese rounds until crispy on both sides. Gently remove fried goat cheese from the skillet onto a paper towel lined plate to help soak up any remaining olive oil.  Serve fried goat cheese warm. Toss greens with the nuts and balsamic vinegar, add the beets before laying 1-2 goat cheese rounds atop the salad.

Happy Eating, XO.

Patriotic Summer Salad

Posted on by

Ok guys, it’s theme party time – everything red, white, and blue! I’m a total sucker for these kinds of parties and love creating new recipes for them. Usually I would do some kind of cupcake, but those are sooo last year. (Although, I’ll never rule them out completely. Cupcakes hold a special place in my heart. Cupcakes forever!) Anyway, rather than putting out a boring ol’ salad – lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes – show some USA spirit with this fruity patriotic salad.

Salad

  • 1 bag of mixed greens (or spinach, whatever your choice of greens are)
  • 2 cups of chopped strawberries
  • 2 cups of blueberries
  • 3/4 cup pine nuts

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3/4 cup grapefruit juice
  • 1 tbsp herb mixture or just a salt and pepper mix

Toss the salad and mix the dressing separately. Pour the dressing on right before serving.

Patriotic summer salad

 

Happy Eating (and Happy 4th of July!), XO.

Roasted Chick Peas

Posted on by

The other day I was cleaning out my cabinets and I found a can of chick peas in the back. (Calm down, it was still well within the expiration date when I used it.) Anyway, I figured I should prob use it before I forgot about it again.

I used half of the can to make our chic pea salad. And the other half I decided to roast as a yummy “pop-in-your-mouth” treat.

1 can of chick peas
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp dried rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350. Drain and pat dry the chic peas, then toss in the olive oil. (Don’t try to use the liquid that’s in the chic pea can in lieu of the oil. They’ll dry out in the oven if you do.) Spread the chic peas on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the salt and rosemary. Bake for 30 minutes or until they look crispy and brown.

20140524-125504-46504476.jpg

Happy Eating, XO.

Crispy Kale Chips

Posted on by

Over the weekend I had kale chips for the first time. I fully expected not to like them (bitter greens as chips? Palease).  But, I loved them! (Surprisingly my husband did too. This is so far from normal for him, but they were THAT good.) Seeing that we both liked them so much, I of course wanted to make them myself and share the wealth with you lovely readers. So here they are!

  • 1 bunch of fresh kale (remove leaves from the stalk and cut in to bit sized pieces)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (you could also use a teeny tiny bit of truffle oil if you’re feeling adventurous)
  • 1 tsp course sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss kale in olive oil until fully covered, and spread out on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until edges of the leaves are brown.

Kale chips

Happy Eating, XO.

Squash It

Posted on by

I have a fellow foodie that is just my spirit animal when it comes to trying new dishes and eating out together. Not only is she just as adventurous as me, but she is a phenomenal cook. One day when we were discussing different recipes we both came to the conclusion that we are obsessed with autumn vegetables and summer fruits. Those are the best seasons for the respective produce and you should go crazy making dishes that incorporate those seasonal ingredients. Now I know I am a long shot away from Fall, but with the recent flurries we experienced in the Philadelphia area, it sure feels more like autumn than spring. Check out this lovely butternut squash (one of the shining stars of the Fall veggie scene) recipe, it even re-uses the maple syrup you bought for this chicken recipe and the squash from the Fall Stew. Plus, eating it should help me “squash” my feelings of missing Fall. Oh what a wordsmith I can be.

  • 1 package of the pre-peeled and cubed butternut squash from Trader Joes (I am obsessed with TJ and lazy, perfect combo).
  • 1 tbsp. of olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. of the maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. of cayenne (although I did equal parts of cinnamon & cayenne, since I like the heat)
  • 1 tsp. of course sea salt
  • Optional: 2 tbsp. low fat sour cream & 1 tsp. chopped fresh chives.

Set the oven at 400 degrees and toss the ingredients with the squash. Spread out on baking sheet and cook for 20-30 minutes. I do the fork test and prick the larger piece to check for done-ness. If it slides out and the squash is soft, you can shut off the oven & let it cool. I also serve this with a dollop of cold low fat sour cream which I sprinkle with chopped chives. I adore the yummy mild onion flavor it adds to the dish. Plus any potato chip lover knows that sour cream can’t breath without onion/chives.

Happy Eating, XO.