Southwestern Mini Meatball Salad

For a couple of years, I was in the habit of buying pre-washed salad mixes. You know, the kind that come in a bag or plastic box. This lead to the donation of our OXO salad spinner to the Good Will, because it was just sitting there collecting dust and taking up precious kitchen storage space. Well, that turned out to be a big mistake, because you guessed it, shortly thereafter I started buying a greater variety of greens and cutting them up myself! Drying lettuce without a spinner is such a pain, so I eventually caved and bought a cheap knock-off from IKEA for something ridiculous, like $3. I use it a couple times a week now and whenever I get it out, I’m reminded of my donation mistake.

I’ve been buying romaine hearts and eating a lot of side salads lately. But I also recently made this main dish Southwestern salad packed with corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocados, and crunchy blue tortilla chips. I drizzled a lovely lime vinaigrette on top and added in some mini meatballs spiced with Ancho chile powder, cumin, and oregano – yum! They elevated the salad to a whole new level.

We enjoyed this salad for several days in a row. I assembled it with everything except the vinaigrette, avocados, and tortilla chips, which I added as we went during the week so the avocados didn’t brown and the tortilla chips stayed crispy. I hope whoever picked up that donated salad spinner is using it to make yummy salads like this one!

Southwestern Mini Meatball Salad
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Mini Meatballs:
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 large egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon salt

Lime Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

For Assembly:
3 hearts of romaine, chopped
1 cup cooked corn
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 pound grape tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, pitted, peeled, and chopped
1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed blue tortilla chips

Directions:
To make the meatballs, heat oven to 375˚F. Place ground turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, chile powder, cumin, oregano, and salt in a large bowl and knead with your hands until well mixed. Shape into 50 mini meatballs and place on a large cookie sheet. Bake at 375˚F for 13-15 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

To make the vinaigrette, place canola oil, lime juice, honey, mustard, cumin, and salt in a small container and whisk until smooth.

To assemble the salad, place lettuce in a large bowl and place strips of mini meatballs, corn, black beans, and grape tomatoes on top. Top each serving with fresh avocado, crushed tortilla chips, and the desired amount of dressing. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 653 calories, 40.8g fat, 11.6g fiber, 32.2g protein per serving
Cost: $2.48 per serving

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S’more Snacks

Today’s “recipe” is a bit of a pregnancy cliché. It all started when we were discussing the annual Boston area Fluff Fest at lunch one day. Marshmallow Fluff, also known as marshmallow crème, was invented in my town and is still made in Massachusetts. It’s probably most famous for being paired with peanut butter in fluffernutter sandwiches.

I’d actually never had Fluff before, so I was very curious about it. I’m happy to report that it doesn’t contain any artificial ingredients – just corn syrup, sugar, egg whites, and vanilla. So I picked up a jar and started dipping graham crackers in it – yum! Then I was craving ice cream one night (hence the pregnancy cliché) and had the idea to top my Fluff covered graham crackers with chocolate ice cream and chocolate chips. I may or may not have stood in the kitchen assembling and devouring these one by one with a huge grin on my face. You don’t really need a recipe for these treats, but I still wanted to share the idea because they are so addicting. Just be sure to enjoy them quickly before the ice cream melts!

S’more Snacks
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
Graham crackers
Marshmallow Fluff
Chocolate ice cream
Chocolate chips

Directions:
Top graham cracker squares with the desired amount of marshmallow fluff, chocolate ice cream, and chocolate chips. Enjoy! Makes way too many servings.

Nutrition: would rather not know
Cost: priceless

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French Onion Phyllo Squares

Sometimes you have to milk an idea for all it’s worth. My French Onion Mac & Cheese is by far the most popular recipe on my blog, so I was recently thinking about what other way I could highlight the same flavors. How about layers of flaky crispy phyllo dough piled between caramelized onions and gooey fontina and asiago cheeses?

Uh huh, these French Onion Phyllo Squares are as good as they sound. Caramelized onions are really one of those ingredients that just make everything better. Yes, I definitely say this every time I mention them on my blog, but it’s just so true! I served the squares with a simple salad for dinner and they reheated really nicely as well. Yay for another fun spin on a classic!

French Onion Phyllo Squares
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Caramelized Onions:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large yellow onions, sliced (9 cups)

Assembly:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons olive oil
30 13×9-inch sheets of thawed phyllo dough (I cut mine from these 18×14-inch sheets)
1 cup shredded fontina cheese
1 cup shredded asiago cheese

Directions:
To make the caramelized onions, heat butter and olive oil over medium low heat in a large nonstick skillet until butter is melted. Add onions, cover, and cook 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove lid and cook an additional 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until caramelized. Cool completely to room temperature, about an hour.

To make the squares, heat oven to 350˚F. Prepare and handle phyllo dough according to package directions. Mix butter and olive oil in a small bowl and place 1 sheet of phyllo dough in a 13×9-inch pan; use a pastry brush to lightly evenly coat the sheet of phyllo dough with the butter/olive oil mixture. Repeat until 15 layers of phyllo dough are stacked. Evenly spread cooled caramelized onions on top, then layer 5 more sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with the butter/olive oil mixture. Evenly sprinkle fontina and asiago cheese on top and layer remaining 10 sheets phyllo dough on top, brushing each with the butter/olive oil mixture. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into 6 squares. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 528 calories, 32.0g fat, 4.2g fiber, 16.0g protein per serving
Cost: $1.30 per serving

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Caprese Bulgur with Chicken Sausage

Apolinaras is like a kid in a candy store at any establishment that sells tools or hardware stuff. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful he’s so handy and likes to do all the maintenance on our cars and tackle home improvement projects. But, the other weekend I was so painfully bored following him around the aisles of Harbor Freight Tools, that I decided to check out the store next door, Ocean State Job Lots. I’d never been there before and probably won’t be back, because it was kind of a depressing discount store, but I was happy to stumble upon a large selection of products from Bob’s Red Mill. I ended up buying two new items to play with – bulgur and chickpea flour.

If anyone has suggestions on what to do with the chickpea flour, please let me know. We tried the bulgur right away and quickly fell in love. It’s nutty and very tasty and actually has less calories and fat than quinoa, but the same amount of protein and double the fiber per serving. It was nice to mix things up a bit! One of the first meals I made was a twist on a traditional caprese salad, inspired by beautiful summer heirloom tomatoes.

I mixed the bulgur with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then mixed in a hefty dose of chicken sausage, fresh mini mozzarella balls, mini heirloom tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh basil. I will definitely be buying more bulgur from amazon, but if you don’t have any around, I think this dish would also be great with couscous or quinoa.

Caprese Bulgur with Chicken Sausage
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups quick cooking bulgur
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound chicken sausage, sliced
8 ounces mozzarella balls, sliced in half (ciliegine, mozzarella balls in salt water from TJs)
1 pound mini heirloom tomatoes, sliced in half
1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup packed chopped fresh basil (0.8 ounces)

Directions:
Prepare bulger according to package directions. Briefly, add bulger and chicken stock to a medium stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt. Place bulgur in a large bowl.

Place remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and sauté chicken sausage for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned; place chicken sausage in the bowl with the bulgur, along with the mozzarella balls, heirloom tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, and basil, and mix well. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 521 calories, 24.6g fat, 11.3g fiber, 24.6g protein per serving
Cost: $1.66 per serving

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Mango Coconut Muffins

Today is Apolinaras’ birthday! He actually doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth and is one of those weirdos who will take all the frosting off his cupcake before eating it. He also prefers fruity ice creams instead of the over-the-top decadent versions I enjoy (Chubby Hubby, peanut butter and chocolate, mint Oreo, etc), so we always have to have several flavors in the fridge. The good news is that he never dips into my stash. The bad news is that we can never share an ice cream sundae when we’re out!

Anyway, I’ve mentioned before that he really likes pineapple and coconut together, so this year I mixed it up a bit and made him celebratory mango coconut muffins. He loved them and not only immediately let everyone know by tweeting, but also insisted I post the recipe today, even though I just whipped these golden muffins up this morning – success! Oh, and if you have more of a sweet tooth, like myself, I think these would be fabulous with some coconut cream cheese frosting on top!

Mango Coconut Muffins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
24 ounces frozen mango chunks, thawed and drained (from Trader Joe’s)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Directions:
Place thawed mango chunks in a food processor and pulse until smooth, about 1 minute. Place mango puree in a small nonstick pan and cook over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until reduced to 1 cup, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 10 cups of a 12 cup muffin tin with papers. Mix cooled puree, sugar, oil, and egg in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in coconut. Scoop muffin batter evenly into the 10 prepared muffin cups, so they are 3/4 full. Bake at 350˚F for 24 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each muffin comes out clean. Makes 10 muffins.

Nutrition: 267 calories, 14.3g fat, 1.9g fiber, 2.4g protein per muffin
Cost: $0.56 per muffin

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Salmon over Coconut Broth with Baby Bok Choy, Snow Peas, and Mushrooms

I have to admit that even though I consider myself a “foodie,” sometimes hearing about the local/organic food debate tires me out. Ideally, we’d all get all our food from farmers in our state who use no pesticides, right? But it’s not really economical for most people at this point, and for now, we’re compromising a bit so our grocery budget doesn’t get too out of control. What do you think is most important to buy local/organic?

We’ve settled on buying all organic fruits and veggies that are part of the dirty dozen (I keep the list on my phone and check it regularly when I’m shopping for produce). We try to only buy cage-free eggs, nitrate-free bacon and sausages, and organic beef. I think eventually we’ll do this with other meats as well, although we go through so many chicken breasts that it makes me wince when I think about the price difference. I’m sure we’ll splurge on organic milk for our little one too, once she’s ready for it. We’ve also switched over from buying frozen farmed salmon fillets to getting fresh wild salmon at Costco, for both health and environmental reasons. The taste alone is worth the difference in price actually! The wild salmon is so much better and it comes with the skin on, which makes me feel like a real chef in the kitchen. It’s pretty easy to make a restaurant quality salmon dish at home when you start with such a fresh ingredient.

Today I’m sharing the first dish I made with the wild salmon. I nestled a five spice powder (a mix of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and ground fennel seed) and lime zest crusted salmon fillet over a bed of baby bok choy, shitake mushrooms, and snow peas surrounded by a coconut milk broth. This meal took a bit of effort and we ended up eating dinner very late, but it was worth the wait – delicious!

Salmon over Coconut Broth with Baby Bok Choy, Snow Peas, and Mushrooms
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Baby Bok Choy, Snow Peas, and Mushrooms:
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
12 ounces shitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
6 ounces snow peas
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound baby bok choy, ends trimmed and chopped
1/4 cup chicken broth

Coconut Broth:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
2 3-inch pieces lemongrass
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Salmon:
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1 teaspoon five spice powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 skin-on salmon fillets (ours were 4.5 ounces each)

Directions:
To make the baby bok choy, snow peas, and mushrooms, heat 1/2 tablespoon canola oil over medium heat in a large pan or wok. Add mushrooms and sauté 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Remove mushrooms from pan and place in a large bowl. Add snow peas to the same pan and sauté 4 to 6 minutes or until tender; place in the same bowl with the mushrooms. Add remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil to the pan and sauté ginger and garlic for 1 minute or until lightly browned. Add baby bok choy and mix well. Add chicken broth, cover pan, and steam for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Use a slotted spoon to remove the baby bok choy and place in the bowl with the mushrooms and snow peas; mix well.

To make the coconut broth, heat canola oil over medium high heat in a medium stockpot. Add ginger and sauté 1 minute or until golden brown. Add coconut milk and lemongrass and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove lemongrass and stir in lime juice and soy sauce.

To make the salmon, place lime zest, five spice powder, and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Sprinkle spice mix evenly over the salmon fillets and rub into the fish. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and place the salmon skin side up in the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown; flip fillets over so they are skin side down and cook an additional 4 minutes or until salmon is firm and cooked through. Remove skin, if desired.

To serve, evenly distribute coconut broth into 4 shallow bowls. Place baby bok choy, snow peas, and mushrooms in the center of each dish and top each with a piece of salmon. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 461 calories, 34.2g fat, 1.5g fat, 32.4g protein per serving
Cost: $4.78 per serving

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Who else looooves the Olympics?! I’ve been doing my best to avoid the web and twitter during the day so I don’t accidently read any spoilers before the broadcasts at night. I just love tuning in and watching all the events, and I want to cheer along and be surprised by the winners, especially in the swimming races since I grew up in the pool.

In honor of the games, I decided to decorate some Team USA cupcakes with my eggless sugar cookie dough decorations and used the opportunity to make a little video demonstration of the recipe. I originally posted about this recipe over 2 years ago, so it may be new to many of you.

Since fondant isn’t very delicious and can be intimidating to work with the first several times you use it, I decided I needed to develop more tasty cake decorations that were also easy to whip up. Since I sort of love eating raw sugar cookie dough (yes, I totally look forward to eating all the scrap pieces after cutting out cookies!), I decided to develop an eggless sugar cookie dough that can be colored and rolled out like fondant. You can then simply use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes that you’d like to use to decorate your cupcakes or cake. Really easy and oh so good.

Here’s the video and I’ll post the recipe again below too – I hope some of you try this recipe out and let me know what you think! Go USA!!

Sugar Cookie Dough Decorations
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Food coloring

Directions:
Mix butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamed. Add milk and vanilla and mix until smooth; stir in flour and salt and knead with your hands until well mixed. Mix dough with desired food colorings. Roll dough out with a rolling pin and use cookie cutters to create cute shapes or mold dough into desired shapes by hand. Top cookies or cupcakes with your decorations! Store all decorated cookies in the refrigerator.

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During the winter months, I love to curl up on the couch with a big mug of hot chocolate. I always crave a little something sweet after dinner, but try not to have any heavy desserts on weekdays since I have a hard time resisting snacking on treats at work like those crazy addicting Trader Joe-Joe’s Vanilla Sandwich Crème Cookies. Sometimes I enjoy a bowl of sugary cereal instead, but during the summer, it’s all about a tall refreshing glass of lemonade. There are so many delicious kinds available now – mango, strawberry, pomegranate, mmm. I recently had one that tops all the others. It was a delightful cherry lemonade that I picked up on a whim because it was on sale at Whole Foods.

We really only shop at Whole Foods when I need an ingredient that I can’t find anywhere else though (in this case I needed ground chicken), so to get my fix, I decided to make a batch of cherry lemonade at home. Fresh lemon juice, sweet cherries, and sugar are all you need. I even kicked it up a notch by making ice cubes that each contained a cherry in the center and stirring in some lemon slices!

Cherry Lemonade
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Lemonade:
5 cups water, divided
4 cups pitted sweet cherries (24 ounces)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice (I used 4 huge lemons)

Garnish:
12 pitted cherries
1 lemon, sliced

Directions:
Place 2 cups water, cherries, and sugar in a large pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour, then pulse in a food processor or blender for 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth. Strain with a sieve into a large pitcher, if needed (I used my Vitamix, so I didn’t have much pulp, but I’m sure I would have needed to strain it if I had used my food processor). Stir in lemon juice and remaining 3 cups water and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or until well chilled.

Meanwhile, to make the garnish, place 1 pitted cherry in each well of an ice cube try and fill with water. Place in the freezer until the ice cubes are set, about 2 hours. Stir ice cubes and sliced lemon into the chilled cherry lemonade and serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 150 calories, 0.1g fat, 1.6g fiber, 0.9g protein per serving
Cost: $0.69 per serving

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I thought it would be fun to share a little pregnancy update today! I’m somehow already 34 weeks along – how crazy is that? Our little girl is very active and loves to kick and squirm around, especially after dinner when I’m relaxing. Apolinaras’ voice always seems to calm her down when he’s talking or singing to my belly though. I think she stops wriggling because she’s intently listening to him, and I’m hoping this will continue well into her teenage years, haha. I can’t believe we’ll be meeting her so soon!

We recently had our maternity pictures taken by the extremely talented Theresa Moore of Garnick Moore Photography. Apolinaras tends to just want to goof around during things like this, and both of us have a hard time acting natural in front of the camera, so I was impressed with all the amazing shots Theresa coaxed out of us. I will do my best to just share a handful!

We’re feeling pretty prepared for our little one’s arrival. We’ve taken all the pregnancy/newborn classes on our list, and our nursery is almost complete. The baby’s dresser is full with clothes organized by size, and we just have to get another lamp and finish hanging some decorations. I will try to share a picture soon!

I am having frequent heartburn now and keep a stash of Tums with me at all times, but I would much rather deal with third trimester heartburn over first trimester nausea any day! I’m also thankful to still be sleeping well and feeling energetic enough to exercise. I managed to jog until 29 weeks, but now that it’s way too hot for me to run outside, Apolinaras and I are taking long walks on cooler nights, and I’m still lifting weights and chugging along on the elliptical a couple times a week.

I also had two amazing baby showers. I had a lovely brunch shower at Gaslight Brasserie. It was just perfect – very relaxed with great food and friends. I got lots of advice since most of my friends are already moms or are expecting too – the main message was that every baby is different, and you just have to figure out what works best for your baby and family. My labmates also surprised me with a really sweet shower at work. They tricked me into thinking we were having a meeting and then it was really a shower – very sneaky!

The only food I’ve really been craving besides popsicles are French fries. I just can’t resist them whenever we go out to eat. And you know what goes perfectly with French fries – this CABLT sandwich (nice transition, huh?).

BLTs with avocado are pretty popular, but sometimes still leave my tummy grumbling, so I added a delicious pecan crusted chicken breast to the mix. I also mashed my avocado and spread it all over the tops of the buns so I could enjoy it in every bite. Our sweet little girl loved these – she kicked a ton after we enjoyed them for dinner. Just 6 weeks to go!

CABLT (aka Chicken, Avocado, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato) Sandwiches
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Crispy Chicken:
1/2 cup ground pecans (I pulsed mine in the food processor)
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into half lengthwise so you have 6 pieces of chicken
2 large eggs, beaten

For Assembly:
1 large avocado, pitted and peeled
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 whole wheat sandwich buns, split
6 beefsteak tomato slices
6 slices lettuce
6 slices cooked applewood smoked bacon

Directions:
To make the chicken, heat oven to 350˚F. Mix ground pecans, breadcrumbs, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt in a shallow pan. Put the flour in a shallow dish and lightly dredge both sides of the chicken pieces in it. Place the beaten eggs in another shallow dish and dredge both sides of the flour coated chicken in the egg mixture; place chicken pieces in the pecan mixture and coat well on all sides. Place coated chicken on a large greased cookie sheet and bake at 350˚F for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

To assemble the sandwiches, place avocado, vinegar, and salt in a small bowl and mash until smooth. Place chicken pieces on top of the bottom buns and top with tomato, lettuce, bacon. Spread avocado mash evenly on the cut side of the top half of the buns and top each sandwich with this bun. Makes 6 sandwiches.

Nutrition: 463 calories, 20.2g fat, 6.1g fiber, 38.3g protein per sandwich
Cost: $1.72 per sandwich

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Banana Mascarpone Mousse Trifles

I’ve been on quite the popsicle kick lately. This unbearable heat wave means our oven hasn’t been turned on in weeks, so I haven’t baked any desserts. My sweet tooth still needs to be satisfied though, and popsicles are just the perfect low calorie refreshing treat! I actually can’t remember the last time I had a popsicle before this summer, but when our friend and amazing photographer Theresa offered me one after our maternity photo shoot (I’m hoping to share some pics soon!), I immediately became addicted, and now I enjoy one almost daily. My favorites are the Fruit Frenzy Bars from Trader Joe’s, which have layers of raspberry, lemon, and strawberry, mmmm.

Sometimes I like to mix it up though and have something a bit more indulgent, so I recently made these no bake refreshing trifles. I whipped up a banana mascarpone mousse and layered it with crumbled gingersnap cookies and banana slices in mini trifle dishes. These treats were the perfect size to split and just delicious! And now I’m off to…get another popsicle!

Banana Mascarpone Mousse Trifles
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Banana Mascarpone Mousse:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces mascarpone
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe brown-black bananas (I used 2 bananas)

For assembly:
4 ounces coarsely crushed gingersnap cookies (I used 3/4 package of Anna’s)
2 bananas, sliced

Directions:
To make the banana mascarpone mousse, place heavy cream, mascarpone, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a well-chilled large bowl and beat with a mixer with whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Fold in mashed bananas with a spatula.

To make the trifles, evenly distribute a layer of crumbled gingersnap cookies, followed by some banana mascarpone mousse, a layer of sliced bananas, more crumbled gingersnap cookies, and a final layer of banana mascarpone mousse into 4 individual trifle dishes. Garnish with extra crumbled gingersnap cookies and banana slices. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 348 calories, 25.7g fat, 1.7g fiber, 4.0g protein per serving
Cost: $0.90 per serving

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Blackened Chicken Breasts with Gorgonzola Sauce

My recipe for Blackened Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Blue Cheese and Bacon is one of my favorite main dishes on my blog, but pounding out chicken breasts and stuffing them takes more time than I want to put into a meal during the week. So, I recently decided to streamline the dish and simply made blackened chicken breasts served over a quick gorgonzola sauce.

This is a true 30 minute meal. It just takes 10 minutes to mix up the spice rub and heat the oven, and then 20 minutes to cook the chicken. While the chicken is in the oven, the sauce comes together in about 10 minutes. I even chopped up some zucchini and summer squash and sautéed it up while keeping my eye on the sauce. The same flavors, but half the work – yes, please!

Blackened Chicken Breasts with Gorgonzola Sauce
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Blackened Chicken:
4 large boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 tablespoon ground thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt

Gorgonzola Sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
To make the chicken, heat oven to 350°F. Mix thyme, allspice, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle chicken evenly with seasoning mix and rub into both sides of each chicken breast. Place chicken breasts in a greased 13×9-inch pan and bake at 350˚F for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

To make the sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one more minute or until mixture starts to brown. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and mix in gorgonzola cheese and salt. Heat 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth, whisking occasionally. Serve chicken over the sauce. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 462 calories, 18.4g fat, 0.7g fiber, 65.0g protein per serving
Cost: $2.05 per serving

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Individual Breakfast Pot Pies

I’ve been waking up a couple hours earlier than Apolinaras on the weekends lately. My grumbling tummy and earlier bed time (pregnancy can be exhausting!) are to blame. I’ve been putting the time to good use though. First, I devour a bowl of cereal or some yogurt and fruit while catching up on one of my favorite reality shows that Apolinaras can’t stand. Then I head into the kitchen and cook up a special breakfast for the two of us. Sometimes it’s French toast or pancakes, but more often than not, eggs are on the menu.

Last weekend, my little French onion soup bowls caught my eye, and I decided it would be fun to attempt to make individual breakfast pot pies. This was a bit of an experiment, because I was worried the eggs and puff pastry tops would need to be baked for different periods of time, but luckily they turned out beautifully! I filled the dishes with onions, mushrooms, red pepper, and spicy Andouille chicken sausage, and then poured a cheesy egg mixture on top. Then I topped them with buttery flakey puff pastry dough. Apolinaras was pretty happy to wake up to such a yummy breakfast, and they also reheated wonderfully the next day. Time to start thinking about what to make this weekend!

Individual Breakfast Pot Pies
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Filling:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 yellow onion, chopped
10 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 pound Andouille chicken sausages, chopped
12 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Puff Pastry Topping:
1 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed according to package instructions
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet and sauté onions, mushrooms, and red pepper for 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat or until tender; drain well and place in a large bowl. Add sausages to a clean pan with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute sausages for 6 to 8 minutes over medium heat or until browned; add sausages to the bowl with the veggies and mix well. Evenly distribute filling among 6 oven-safe greased individual pot pie dishes (my dishes held 1 3/4 cups water each, and they were about half way full when I distributed the filling). Place eggs, milk, and salt in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir in cheese. Evenly pour egg mixture on top of the filling in each pot pie dish (my dishes were about 3/4 full).

Heat oven to 350°F. Roll out puff pastry and cut to fit over the 6 dishes (I used 3/4 of the package). Place cut puff pastry on top of the dishes. Whisk egg and water together in a small bowl; brush egg wash evenly over the puff pastry and poke a few holes in the top of each puff pastry with a toothpick. Bake at 350˚F for 25 to 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown and eggs are set; let rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 613 calories, 40.5g fat, 1.6g fiber, 35.8g protein per serving
Cost: $2.13 per serving

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Peach Salad with Pecan Chicken and Gorgonzola

“Movin’ to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches, I’m movin’ to the country, I’m gonna eat me a lot of peaches….If I had my little way, I’d eat peaches every day”…especially now that they’re in season! There’s nothing quite like a fresh peach that is so ripe the juice dribbles down your arm or all over your shirt. When summer arrives, I go all in with peaches!

Today’s recipe is inspired by this beloved stone fruit. I was craving a salad and decided to toss crispy pieces of oven-baked chicken coated in ground pecans and panko with peaches, spring greens, and a nice dose of crumbled gorgonzola. My peaches actually weren’t quite as ripe as I would have liked, so I went ahead and sautéed them in a little brown sugar and butter to soften them up, but feel free to skip this step if your peaches are already super juicy. I also added a bit of peach jam to my vinaigrette so the theme carried all the way through the dish. I originally was going to mix in some jicama for a little extra crunch, but Trader Joe’s didn’t have any, and I was feeling way too lazy to head to another market – next time though. Yay for peaches.

And, now that song is totally stuck in my head…again! Anyone else?

Peach Salad with Pecan Chicken and Gorgonzola
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Pecan Chicken:
3/4 cup ground pecans (I pulsed mine in the food processor)
3/4 cup panko
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks
2 large eggs

Peaches:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
3 peaches, pitted and sliced

Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon peach jam
Pinch of salt

For assembly:
1 5-ounce package spring greens
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola

Directions:
To make the pecan chicken, heat oven to 350˚F. Mix ground pecans, panko, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt in a shallow pan. Put the flour in a shallow dish and lightly dredge all sides of the chicken in it, working in batches. Place the eggs in another shallow dish and beat well with a fork and dredge all sides of the flour coated chicken in the egg mixture; place chicken pieces in the pecan mixture and coat well on all sides. Place coated chicken pieces on a large greased cookie sheet and bake at 350˚F for 8 to 12 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Cool to room temperature.

To make the peaches, heat butter and brown sugar in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the peaches and stir to coat well. Sauté for 5 to minutes or until peaches are soft. Cool to room temperature.

To make the vinaigrette, whisk olive oil, vinegar, peach jam, and salt in a small bowl.

To assemble the salad, toss spring greens with the vinaigrette, then stir in the cooled chicken and peaches, and crumbled gorgonzola. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 557 calories, 29.3g fat, 5.4g fiber, 40.6g protein per serving
Cost: $3.08 per serving

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Basil Quinoa with Chicken, Eggplant, Zucchini, and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Apolinaras has quite the green thumb. Our apartment has a Juliet balcony, which is basically a huge sliding glass door that opens to umm, the bars of the balcony like this one. So as you can imagine, there’s really not much room for plants, but Apolinaras is quite the resourceful gardener and has managed to hang a couple flower boxes. He filled them with basil, rosemary, hot peppers, and snow peas, and they’re already sprouting. He also has a tomato plant hanging off the satellite dish that pipes Lithuanian TV into our place, which sort of cracks me up. I already have to routinely drag him out of the plant section of Home Depot, and I can’t imagine how much time he’ll spend in gardening centers once he has a real yard!

His blossoming basil plant was just begging to be used recently, and I decided I needed to make something that Apolinaras would especially enjoy since I would be harvesting his first crop. Unlike my carb loving self, he always picks quinoa over any other grain (couscous, rice, pasta, etc), so I mixed some quinoa with a basil vinaigrette and then stirred in a healthy dose of chicken, eggplant, zucchinis, sun dried tomatoes, feta, and pine nuts. This was such a nice light summer meal. I’m so glad his plants are flourishing!

Basil Quinoa with Chicken, Eggplant, Zucchini, and Sun Dried Tomatoes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Basil Vinaigrette:
2 cups loosely packed basil leaves (about 2 ounces)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon salt

Quinoa:
2 cups quinoa
4 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 medium eggplant, chopped
1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup crumbled feta
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
To make the basil vinaigrette, place basil, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and salt in a food processor and pulse for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth.

Meanwhile, to make the quinoa, place quinoa and water in a large stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed and quinoa is soft.

Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and sauté chicken for to 7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center; place chicken in a large bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and place zucchini in the pan; sauté for 3 minutes, then add remaining 1 tablespoon olive to the pan, along with the eggplant. Sauté for 6 to 8 additional minutes or until veggies are tender. Place eggplant and zucchini in the bowl with the chicken.

Place quinoa in a large bowl and stir in basil vinaigrette until quinoa is evenly covered. Stir in the chicken, eggplant, and zucchini mixture, and the sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, feta, and salt. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 517 calories, 27.3g fat, 7.2g fiber, 25.9g protein per serving
Cost: $1.68 per serving

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Apolinaras and I recently celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary with a trip to Martha’s Vineyard over Memorial Day weekend! I really can’t believe it’s already been eight years. It was our last vacation before the baby arrives, so there was nothing on our agenda except relaxing.

We spent most of our time wandering around Edgartown and enjoying the gorgeous scenery.

We climbed to the top of the Edgartown lighthouse,

and visited a couple different beaches, including South Beach. The water was actually warm enough that I got in, but the waves were so strong that one knocked me over! So, I spent the rest of the time reading on the beach and watching Apolinaras splash around instead.

He also had fun collecting shells and building me this little present, which was super cute (look carefully at what the shells spell out!). I really can’t wait to see him play with our daughter in the sand!

Our hotel, the Vineyard Square Hotel and Suites, was in a fabulous location within walking distance of everywhere you’d like to stroll in Edgartown. I also loved their large front porch, where we enjoyed treats almost every afternoon – yay for iced chai and carrot cake!

We also had a couple of lovely causal meals, and one of our favorites was at Offshore Ale Company in Ocean Bluffs, which we just visited for the afternoon. We split clam chowder and a pizza topped with duck, leeks, and pancetta. I’m always ready for pizza, but Apolinaras is a bit of a pizza snob and really only enjoys gourmet pies with unique flavor combos. This one hit the spot so much that I was recently inspired to whip up a similar version at home.

I spread the crust with a white sauce featuring asiago cheese and then topped it with spicy Andouille chicken sausage, pancetta, leeks, and freshly shaved parmesan. This pie was incredibly tasty and filling – I can’t wait to make it again.

White Pizza with Sausage, Pancetta, Leeks, and Parmesan
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Toppings:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Andouille chicken sausage, sliced
4 ounces pancetta
1 large leek, white and light green parts only, chopped

White Sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 1/2 cups shredded asiago cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

For pizza assembly:
1 pound of your favorite pizza dough (I used whole wheat from Trader Joe’s)
1/2 cup freshly shaved parmesan cheese

Directions:
To prepare the toppings, heat olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sausages, pancetta, and leeks and sauté 12 to 15 minutes or sausages are browned and leeks are tender.

To make the sauce, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one more minute or until mixture starts to brown. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and mix in asiago cheese and salt. Heat 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth, whisking occasionally.

To make the pizza, heat oven and a pizza stone to 500˚F. Place pizza dough onto a surface spread with semolina flour and spread dough into desired shape. Place shaped dough onto a greased peel or pizza pan and evenly spread sauce on top; sprinkle evenly with toppings. Either place pizza directly onto the pizza stone if using a peel or place the pizza pan on top of the pizza stone and bake at 500°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown; sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Cool for 5 minutes and cut into slices. Makes 8 slices.

Nutrition: 423 calories, 24.2g fat, 3.2g fiber, 28.8g protein per slice
Cost: $1.33 per slice

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My favorite part of the 4th of July growing up was always trying to spell out my name with a sparkler before it burnt out. I’ve always loved a good challenge, so it never got old! Now it’s all about the food, and this year I dreamed up a festive berry tart that would be just perfect to enjoy on the 4th. The tart has a coconut sugar cookie crust and is filled with a creamy almond pudding and topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries. Notice the cute strawberry star in the center? Decorating this tart was almost as fun as twirling around with sparklers!

Berry Tart
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Crust:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flaked sweetened coconut

Filling and Topping:
1 (3.4-oz.) package instant vanilla pudding
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved
2/3 pint blueberries

Directions:
To make the cookie crust, heat oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Mix in egg and vanilla extract; stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until soft dough forms. Knead in coconut and spread dough over the bottom and up the sides of a greased 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake at 350˚F for 16 to 20 minutes, or until edges are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cookie crust comes out clean. Completely cool the crust, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the almond filling by placing instant vanilla pudding, milk, and almond extract in a large bowl; mix until smooth. Place in refrigerator and allow to chill 10 minutes or until thickened.

Spread almond pudding filling evenly in cooled coconut cookie crust. Decorate the tart with the strawberries and blueberries as desired. Let tart set in the refrigerator for at least an hour, then remove from the tart pan (use a toothpick to gently remove any parts of the cookie crust stuck to the top edges of the tart pan, if needed) and cut into 12 wedges. Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition: 283 calories, 13.5g fat, 2.8g fiber, 4.2g protein per serving
Cost: $0.84 per serving

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Avocado Crab Cake Sliders

I have a huge folder of recipes from blogs that I’d like to try on my laptop (and now also a growing gallery on pinterest!), and pretzel rolls have been on my list forever. A soft sandwich roll that tastes like a pretzel – mmmmm, what’s not to love? I imagine they’d make almost any sandwich/burger better. I still haven’t managed to find the time to bake them though, so when I ran across pretzel slider buns at Costco, I immediately threw a package in our cart. I decided they would be perfect for the summer crab cake sliders I’d been dreaming about since last winter.

I whipped up a delicious batch of crab cakes bound together with avocado instead of mayo and then nestled the crab cakes between the pretzel buns spread with more avocado and a festive corn and red pepper mixture. These just scream summer! Oh, and I used a bit of vinegar in the crab cakes and avocado spread to add a little tang, but I think lime juice would be even better. I just happened to be out of limes!

Avocado Crab Cake Sliders
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Crab Cakes:
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped red onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound lump crabmeat
1/4 cup mashed avocado
1/2 cup panko
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Assembly:
1 cup cooked corn
1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers
1/2 cup mashed avocado
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoons salt
6 pretzel slider buns, split and toasted

Directions:
To make the crab cakes, heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté onions for 5 7o 7 minutes, or until soft; add garlic and sauté one additional minute. In medium bowl, mix together the lump crabmeat, onions, avocado, panko, egg, vinegar, and salt. Shape mixture into 6 crab cakes. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet. Add 3 crab cakes and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and 3 crab cakes.

To assemble the crab cakes, place corn and red peppers in a small bowl and mix well. Place avocado, vinegar, and salt in a small bowl and stir well. Spread avocado mixture evenly on the cut side of the top halves of the buns. Place 1 crab cake on each bottom bun, top with corn and red pepper mixture, and the top half of the buns spread with avocado. Makes 6 sliders.

Nutrition: 518 calories, 27.0g fat, 13.3g fiber, 19.6g protein per slider
Cost: $3.88 per slider

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First, I had to check out the gorgeous new kitchens that were built for her students last summer. Along with money provided from the school district, my mom has written a lot of grants to obtain the funds for these gorgeous facilities. Here’s the demo kitchen.

And just one of the kitchens where her students practice making meals. They have a couple actually, along with a walk-in fridge, freezer, and huge pantry.

They also run a café a couple times a week, which is open to the public, and here’s the line where they prep all the dishes.

And, of course, they compete in a wide variety of culinary competitions, including FCCLA and ProStart. Her students also receive college credit for completing her two year program. It just sounds so fun!

Anyway, for the fundraiser, Chef John Andres graciously opened his kitchen at BOS and let the students prepare a three course meal and also serve all the guests in the restaurant. Then he donated 100% of the proceeds to the program!

There were two options for each course, and I attended the fundraiser both nights so I got to try everything – it was all very delicious! For just $29, diners were treated to either crab cakes with cabbage slaw and wasabi aioli or arugula salad with lemon-balsamic vinaigrette and gouda croutons for the appetizer course, parmesan-breaded chicken with marina and mozzarella atop herbed risotto or pork loin stuffed with gruyere, red pepper, and spinach with glazed yams for the main course, and a caramel apple tartlet with fresh berries or peanut butter cookie dough brownie with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.

Yes, these peanut butter cookie dough brownies! My mom thought featuring the recipe that landed me on the Food Network might drum up a little extra publicity for her event. I thought this was a crazy idea, but she ended up being right. I did a radio show to help promote the dinner and chatted with some guests about my experience. It was a very successful fundraiser, and I’m so proud of my mom – she is such an inspiring teacher!

The only problem with the weekend was that it was too short! I did manage to squeeze in some shopping with my mom, Scrabble with my dad, and a super fun Saturday night with my good friend Emily and her boyfriend Art. I also checked out the incredible Des Moines farmer’s market. I was looking for sweet corn, but it wasn’t quite in season yet.

I knew that the recipe that went along with this post just had to feature corn – and pork, since Iowa produces more pork than any other state. Since my mom loves pancakes, I decided to run with these ingredients and whip up savory cornmeal pancakes packed with corn, bacon, and sun dried tomatoes. We went ahead and poured syrup on top and devoured them for breakfast. These were such a nice twist on traditional pancakes!

Cornmeal Pancakes with Corn, Bacon, and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Cornmeal Pancakes with Corn, Bacon, and Sun Dried Tomatoes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 strips applewood smoked bacon, chopped
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup cooked corn
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup maple syrup

Directions:
Place chopped bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and sauté for 7 to 9 minutes or until crispy; drain on paper towels.

Mix the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the egg, buttermilk, and butter until just combined. Stir in the cooked bacon, corn, and sun dried tomatoes.

Pour 1/3 cup scoops of batter onto a greased nonstick skillet over medium heat. Flip the pancakes when bubbles start to appear on top, after about 3 minutes. Cook the other side until golden brown and serve with maple syrup. Makes 8 pancakes (4 servings).

Nutrition: 468 calories, 12.6g fat, 4.2g fiber, 12.4g protein per serving
Cost: $1.80 per serving

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Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers

It’s always fun to update a retro recipe. I can’t actually remember the last time I had chicken cordon bleu, which you probably know is a boneless chicken breast rolled around ham or prosciutto and Swiss or bleu cheese and then coated in bread crumbs. But, I was recently brainstorming stuffed burger recipe ideas, and for some reason chicken cordon bleu popped in my head.

I’m glad it did because these chicken cordon blue burgers were scrumptious! I filled ground chicken patties with bacon and gruyere cheese and then covered them in panko for some crunch and melted a little more gruyere on top because doubling the cheese is obviously always a good idea. I had a little trouble finding ground chicken but finally got my hands on some at Whole Foods. The search was worth it though. We inhaled these burgers!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
6 slices applewood bacon, chopped
2 pounds ground chicken
2/3 cup grated yellow onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cup shredded gruyere cheese, divided
1 cup panko
6 hamburger buns, split and toasted

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Place bacon in a medium nonstick skillet and sauté for 6 to 8 minutes over medium heat or until crispy; drain on paper towels. Place ground chicken, grated onion, garlic, and salt in a large bowl and gently mix all the ingredients together with your hands; form 12 burgers that are slightly larger than the buns. Place 6 patties on a large greased cookie sheet and evenly sprinkle bacon and 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese in the centers of the 6 patties. Place the other 6 patties on top to form 6 stuffed burgers. Evenly coat the top and sides of the burgers with panko. Bake at 350°F for 18 to 22 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Heat oven broiler, evenly sprinkle remaining 1 cup gruyere cheese on top of each burger, and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Place burgers on buns and serve. Makes 6 burgers.

Nutrition: 555 calories, 27.6g fat, 1.2g fiber, 47.4g protein per burger
Cost: $2.50 per burger

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Pasta Salad with Avocado Dressing

I’ve slowly been working on reorganizing my recipe index so there are more sub-categories and it’s easier to navigate, and I realized the side dish section is lacking. Poor neglected side dishes. Well, here’s another one to add to the list. Nothing quite says summer side dish like pasta salad!

Pasta salads are just perfect for BBQs, potlucks, and picnics. I grew up always having the one that came in the box – you know, with the seasoning packet and tri-colored noodles? I wonder if I would still enjoy that version. I made the mistake once of trying Spaghetti Os a few years ago and was so disappointed, because I remember loving them when I was little and they were just horrible.

Anyway, this pasta salad has a Latin twist with a creamy avocado dressing that I bulked up a bit with Greek yogurt. It’s packed with goodies like black beans, corn, red peppers, grape tomatoes, and red onions, and is very tasty, although I bet it would have been even better with some fresh cilantro on top. Yay for another side dish!

Pasta Salad with Avocado Dressing
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound whole wheat fusilli pasta
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups cooked corn
2 cups chopped roasted red peppers
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 avocados, halved, pitted, and peeled
1 6-ounce container plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 garlic clove, minced
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Prepare pasta according to package directions, drain, cool, and place in a large bowl along with the black beans, corn, red peppers, tomatoes, and red onion; mix well.

Place avocados, Greek yogurt, garlic, lime juice, and salt in a food processor and pulse for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Pour dressing over pasta and mix well. Serve cold or at room temperature. Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition: 257 calories, 5.1g fat, 9.1g fiber, 9.4g protein per serving
Cost: $0.94 per serving

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