Crispy, garlicky, and full of flavor, these Garlic Herb Potato Stacks are an easy to make crowd pleaser! One of my new favorite ways to eat potatoes, you really can’t go wrong with them. Continue reading “Garlic Herb Potato Stacks”
I love snacking. Who doesn’t?! Hummus is one of my favorite foods. Since the first time I tried it in college, I was in love. Recently, S (my 2 year old) has also been snacking on hummus. And my hubs too. This is just one of those foods where I like to add it to everything. A great snack for S with some carrots and broccoli, or on a sandwich for my hubby, or in a wrap for me. The versatility of hummus is amazing.
Most hummus recipes have a key ingredient – tahini, which is a paste made of sesame seeds. Well, I didn’t have any around but I was craving hummus so here is my versions of tahini free hummus. Hope you enjoy it!
That’s my little helper. She loves helping me cook in the kitchen and makes me so proud!
Drain the garbanzo beans and reserve the liquid – you’ll be using it later. I used canned beans but you can use dried beans and soak them and cook them. If you do, reserve the water that you cooked it in. It’ll be used later.
In a blender, combine the garbanzo beans, garlic, salt, pepper, Sriracha, lemon juice, half of the reserved liquid and olive oil.
I just love Sriracha! The kick it adds at the end of each bite when you eat this hummus is the perfect touch!
Blend it so it becomes a good chunky paste. This picture is deceiving – it really is chunky!
Serve it with your favorite veggies! S’s current fave is carrots as she gets a kick out of dipping them in her hummus. Hope you enjoyed this as much as our family did!
Ingredients:
1 ½ cans garbanzo beans, drained
½c liquid reserved from the garbanzo beans
juice squeezed from 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp Sriracha sauce
4 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp EVOO
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and grind into a chunky paste. Serve with your favorite veggies and crackers. Enjoy!
Palak paneer is one of my husband’s favorite dishes, and recently becoming one of my daughter’s favorite dishes too. This is a win-win recipe for me because it’s full of iron. calcium, protein, and fiber. The fact that my toddler will gobble it up…. score for Mom!
Here’s my quick and easy version. Hope you enjoy it!
Blanching spinach is pretty easy (though I have to admit, I was intimidated the first time I heard of the process). Simply dunk the spinach leaves in boiling water for about 3 minutes and using a slotted spoon (so there’s not much excess hot water tagging along with the spinach), pull out the spinach and again dunk them in a bowl of ice water. This blanching process cooks the spinach without wilting it and keeping intact it’s beautiful, vibrant green color. Pretty cool, huh!
Tomatoes and onions are part of most Indian dishes. I love using this duo to test out various spice combinations for new or upgraded recipes!
Ingredients:
For the Spinach Puree:
9 oz fresh spinach
1-2 green chilies (depending on your spice level)
3 garlic cloves
½” ginger knob
3c boiling water
For the Gravy:
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small tomato, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½tsp cumin seeds
¼tsp turmeric powder
½tsp cayenne pepper
½tsp garam masala
pinch of hing
1 bay leaf
7oz paneer, cubed
1Tbsp EVOO
Salt to taste
Directions:
For the Spinach Pureé:
Blanch the spinach and make sure to drain it of any excess water. Add it to the blender with garlic cloves, ginger, and green chilies. Blend to a smooth puree and set aside.
For the gravy:
In a nonstick pot, heat oil and add cumin seeds. Once they start to splutter, add the hing (asafoetida) and bay leaf, and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the onions and sauté until they are lightly golden. Add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Make sure you don’t brown the garlic as the aroma and the taste will cook off. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the water starts to separate. At this point, add in cayenne pepper, garam masala and turmeric and mix well. Add in the spinach puree and mix well. Add in the salt and mix well. Cook for about 8-10 minutes to make sure the spinach is cooked, and the gravy thickens. Add in the paneer and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes so the paneer cubes can become softer.
Serve hot with Naan or Rice. Enjoy!
Recently, we’ve been eating a rotation of mostly the same foods as at least 50% of our household has been taking shifts getting sick. Well, I’m happy to say, we’re (hopefully) finally getting to the tail end of it so that means no more soup or tea! My hubby recently picked up some Udon noodles for me (he knows I like them a lot!) and I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to do with them. Sure they taste great on their own but let’s get real, they taste even better paired with a delicious filet of salmon.
I’ve also been playing around with my version of a teriyaki sauce. Most of the recipes I found online included a sake but since I was going to experiment on my toddlers as well as my hubby, I decided to leave that one out. I have to say, this sauce turned out pretty delicious – I even dipped my brussels sprouts in the leftover as if it were a dipping sauce. Try it out and tell me what you think!
The best part about this sauce is that it is very simple and most people have these ingredients at home! In a little mixing bowl, add the soy sauce, brown sugar, ground ginger, and minced garlic. I also added a little flour, some chili pepper flakes and EVOO to the bowl.
This is my favorite part of the recipe – sesame seeds. The nutty flavor and crunch adds just the right note of balance.
Whisk everything really well. You want all the ingredients to blend well and make sure there are no lumps from the flour added. They won’t cook and trust me – it can ruin the taste.
In a large bowl, line 2 6oz salmon filets and cover with the teriyaki sauce. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Coat the bottom of a cast iron skillet with EVOO and heat on high until it starts to smoke. Reduce the heat and place the salmon skin side up and let it cook for 4 minutes. Do Not Touch the salmon for the next 4 minutes. I know people get anxious and want to check if it is cooking properly, is it burned, there’s a char type smell coming, etc, etc. I assure you nothing is wrong with it. In fact, the more you try to check it, the more it will not cook properly.
Once your 4 minute timer goes off, flip the salmon the other side and cook for another 3 minutes.
Serve with noodles or rice and enjoy!
Teriyaki Salmon:
Ingredients:
2Tbsp Soy Sauce
1Tbsp Brown Sugar
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4tsp ground ginger
1/2tsp chili flakes
1Tbsp sesame seeds
1/2Tbsp flour
2tsp EVOO
2 6oz Salmon filets (can be replaced with tofu or any of your favorite veggies)
Directions:
In a small mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients and whisk to combine everything.
Coat a cast iron skillet with EVOO and heat on high over the stove. When it starts smoking, add salmon skin side up and cook for 4 minutes.
Flip and cook another 3 minutes.
Serve hot with noodles or rice.
Enjoy!
I haven’t cooked Indian food in a while because it needs some good time and attention to come out perfect and those are two things I don’t have in abundance these days. So I decided that needed to change and I needed to create something easy but vibrant and delicious, with lots of flavor. The spices in this red chicken pack a great punch with an array of flavors and the meat is nice and tender from being marinated even for just a short time. The best part, the spice mix I used is the Butter Chicken spice mix you get at any Indian grocery store – so easy and time saving!
One of my favorite ways to prep meat is to marinate them. Did you know that marinating meats helps slow down the growth of bacteria? Also, based on the ingredient you’re marinating you’re meat with, it affects in a different way. For example, I’ve used citrus which is known to tenderize the meat and lock in the moisture when you’re cooking it. Hope your chicken turns out juicy like mine did!
Chop up a boneless, skinless, chicken breast into cubes. Set them in a container and add in a little spice mix, a splash of lemon juice, and some water. Mix the chicken well, cover it, and let it marinate for at least 1 hour. Doesn’t that just look gorgeous?!
When you’re ready to cook the chicken, heat a little oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add some red onions and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Add in some grated ginger and minced garlic. Oh, the smell of that garlic!
Sauté all of the above for a couple of minutes, then add in the tomatoes.
Mix well, and cook everything for 5-10 minutes. You’ll notice the tomatoes softening and the oil separating. They should look something like this:
Finally, add in the marinated chicken and mix well. Cook it for about 7 minutes or until done.
For the chicken marinade:
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, chopped into 1 inch cubes
2Tbsp lemon juice
1Tbsp spice mix
1/3c water
To cook the chicken:
1Tbsp EVOO
1/3c finely chopped onions
1 garlic clove, minced
2tsp grated ginger
2 tomatoes, chopped finely
In a bowl, mix together the chicken, lemon juice, butter chicken spice mix, and water. Toss well to coat all the chicken pieces evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
To cook the chicken, heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add in the garlic and ginger and cook for another couple of minutes. Finally, add in the tomatoes and mix well. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the oil separates from the tomatoes. Add in the marinated chicken with all the juices and cook for another 6-7 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through.
Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Roti, Naan or Rice. Enjoy!