TRUTH: I always have cilantro, limes and pepper jack cheese in the house just in case I’m jones-ing for a little Mexican grub. I’m not ashamed to tell you that I’m a little addicted to these flautas and that I may have put down 3 or 6 of these in ONE sitting. I just love Mexican food and I never know when to stop. I’m sure it’s because Mexican food is usually so simple, fresh and uh-duh deeelicious… yup, I’m positive that’s why.

After making a batch of cilantro pesto, the wheels where turning on what I should actually do with it. One Friday went out to our favorite Mexican restaurant and my eyes spied flautas on the menu. Even though I never stray from the fish tacos, I knew exactly what I was going to make. Flautas. Traditionally flautas are fried {which I’m pretty sure why they are so incredibly delicious} but I have this deep rooted fear of deep frying and thought I would play it safe and bake them. You know, to make them healthy. Never mind the copious amounts of cheese… that’s just for calcium right?

So here is yet another Mexican inspired recipe… I hope you don’t mind because obviously we’re still celebrating Cinco de Mayo in our house.

What I love about these baked flautas is that they double as an easy dinner or can be whipped up in a pinch for an app at any shin-dig. There are many different options for filling these flautas; beef, Monterey Jack cheese… or make them vegetarian by stuffing them with black bean and corn salsa or keep it simple and just load them with a collaboration of different cheeses.

Feel free to prepare the chicken however you like. But a little olive oil, cumin and your favorite all purpose seasoning is pretty much all you need.

Toss them around until coated and they’re good to go.

Here’s where you could grill them… or do a quick sear and then pop them in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.

Once cooked, let the chicken cool before chopping them up into small chunks.

Remember this cilantro pesto… yeah the one I promised you I could eat it plain with a spoon. It’s so unbelievably yummy.

Shred up some cheese; Monterey Jack, pepper jack, Colby jack… whatever you have.

Spoon a little of the pesto into the center of a small 8 inch flour tortilla and spread it out. Sprinkle it with some of the chicken, top with a little {or a lot… let’s be real} and roll into a cigar like shape.

Place the pre-flautas, seam-side down on a rimmed sheet pan and bake for 10-12 minutes until crispy and golden brown.

Really it’s just that easy. The flour tortilla gets extremely crunch while the cheese melts all over the chicken and then the pesto brightens it all up and adds a ton of flavor and of course there’s the cheese. They’re even still crispy and delicious the next day making the perfect leftovers for lunch boxes.

Make sure you get an array of goodies to dip these in {I only had guac} and start shoveling. 

Make the pesto. Make the flautas and enjoy!

Okay, so it was and it wasn’t. For me they both were intense and at first I didn’t like either of them at all. Then after a few sips and a certain Pico recipe I realized I could get use to them. On the reals, cilantro tasted a lot like dish soap. ACK… I was never going to be a fan, ever!! And if I was going to eat it, even a sprinkle of it… then it had to be chopped up to smithereens. Dramatic? Maybe, but I could only handle so much… in small doses {I mean it tasted like dish soap you guys!}.

I really wanted to like cilantro. SO badly that I kept making myself eat it. How can I have a food blog and not like cilantro? It’s like a baker not liking sugar. Then after a few attempts I started to notice that I was actually not minding the flavor of cilantro… especially in pico de gallo and in marinades. Then my “like” progressed to more of an obsession… it definitely doesn’t taste like soap to me anymore.

I’m not gonna count how many recipes I have on here that call for a “handful of fresh cilantro” because I’m sure there’s a bunch. I’m just glad I can cross this off of my “to make list”… but with saying that I now have 100+ recipes brewing in this brain of mine of different ways in which I can consume this easy cilantro pesto.

Recipe one… will be tomorrow

What I really like about this pesto is that it doesn’t call for basil. Ha-ha… I know why would it? But what I mean is that when making a basil pesto you need A LOT of basil and well unless you grow it… you’ll be spending mucho dinero… and this way it’s like two bucks for two bunches of cilantro. I like that, I like it a lot!

Throw in about 2.5 ounces of blanched, slivered almonds into a dry pan.

Toast over medium heat until the almonds start to toast and smell nutty and you’ll notice they are turning a little golden.

Once your house smells amazing and you’ve snagged a few of those warm toasty nuts… remove them to a small dish and out of the pan so they don’t continue to toast.

Wash and pat dry a couple bunches of fresh cilantro. I used a knife but you could use your hands and just tear off the tops.

Throw the smashed clove of garlic…

…and add the cooled nuts into the bowl of your food processor.

Pulse it until the nuts break up a little bit. BREAAAAATHE this in… oh-muh-lord it’s a delicious smell.

Throw in all of the cilantro tops.

Squeeze in the lime.

Add in the cotija cheese {or parmesan if you can’t find the cotija}…

Lastly season with kosher salt and replace the lid.

Turn that beast of a thing on until it’s all ground up and looks like this ^.

With the food processor still… um, processing… slowly drizzle in a half cup of olive oil.

Shazzzzzam!

I promise you.. it’s not to0 cilantro-y… it’s a little cilantro-y but the toasted almonds, the garlic and the cheese really balances it all out and will have you eating it by the spoonfuls like I wanted to… but couldn’t because I had this um-uh recipe I HAD to share with you.

Until tomorrow, feast your eyes on some green…

Can we tap into the 80′s for a little taco salad love? I’m only saying the 1980′s because that’s what Catalina dressing reminds me of… my childhood. Actually it reminds me of my sister Julie… it’s her favorite dressing. Which turns out she shares that love with my oldest daughter, both blond, blue-eyed and Catalina dressing lovahs! In fact my daughter loves it so much she always pours a good cup of it over her salad… so it’s more of a soup… than a salad. Bless her calories-don’t-matter-I-have-a-high-metabolism-because-I’m-eleven heart.

Kidding aside… this is the perfect summertime salad.  It’s a quick, easy if you want a light weeknight dinner or you could make a big batch and take it to the beach or a barbecue. What we like to do is make our own individual ones. I like mine loaded with olives, peppers, onions and sometimes jalapenos. While my girls would just go for cheese and maybe peppers. But the sky is the limit here… go crazy and get creative… but first you must make this dressing!

I’m not sure if your mom ever put Catalina dressing on your taco salad… but it’s a total must. It’s slightly sweet and tangy and for some reason… it just works.

My mom’s been making taco salad since I can remember, like before they started putting high-fructose corn syrup in salad dressings. And to my knowledge she never made her own Catalina… but I could be wrong. It’s just so  simple why wouldn’t you just make it yourself? I mean sure you could easily just whip up a taco salad and pour a bottle of store-bought dressing over top. But I just can’t bring myself to do it… so naturally I didn’t.

*NOTE: My mom just texted me to tell me she DID make her own Catalina dressing and has been making it for years and supposedly it’s in “Our Families Treasured Recipes” binder  she gave us for Christmas one year… oh-snap!

Start by throwing in half of a medium-sized yellow onion that’s been roughly chopped into the bowl of your food processor.

Then throw in everything else except the olive oil. The ketchup, honey, light brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt and black pepper. Am I forgetting anything?

Give it a couple, 5 or 6 pulses to get everything blended.

Then slowly drizzle in the extra-light olive oil in a thin, S-L-O-W stream while the food processor is running.

And lookie-lookie… you’ve just made yourself a big fat jar of homemade Catalina dressing. And that color is amazing is it not?

Brown up a couple pounds of ground beef in a little olive oil until fully cooked. Drain off all but two tablespoons of the grease.

Add in the taco seasoning, I of course am using this recipe… because it’s the bees knees. Did I just say that?

Stir in the seasoning until it’s evenly distributed through out the meat. Smells HEAVENLY!

Then sprinkle in a heaping tablespoon of flour over top of the meat, stir until all of the flour is absorbed.

Then pour in a half cup of water.

Stir it all around until it’s nice and saucy.

Now I’m going to share a little trick with you. Earlier I popped a large bowl into the freezer to get all chilled and frosty. SO when I dump in the ground beef it instantly starts bringing the temperature down of the meat. Stir it around every once in a while so any trapped heat can escape and cool down completely.

So I still have a few picky eaters in the household. I have NO idea where they get it from… I mean when I was little I ate everything *wink* and never turned my nose up at anything. You could say I was a perfect child… right Mom?

So this is my bowl. I like it all… so in. it. goes!

Toss.

Pour in a little or in my case… A LOT of homemade dressing.

And DO NOT forget the crushed tortilla chips.

Toss this glorious mess together one last time before you start shoveling it in.

This makes enough to feed a family of 6.. maybe even 8 depending on how much everyone can consume. I had enough for lunch the next day… I just kept the chips and salad dressing off to the side and just added it in before eating.

I love this salad… so simple, so flavorful and so 1980′s… just minus the big hair, leg warmers and all that.

As in 1…2.

As in uno…dos…

As in… not a lot.

That was until my beautiful friend Lauren came out with her eCookbook: Everyday Ingredients Extraordinary Meals which is wall-to-wall or should I say page-to-page with mouth watering yet simple recipes. I absolutely LOVE Lauren, I haven’t actually met her… yet, but someday we will meet and I swear it will be like a slow-motion-run-into-each-others-arms sort of deal. Well at least in my head that’s how it’ll happen.

Okay, back to Lauren’s simple vanilla ice cream. By now you all know how I love the word simple. If my blog had a word counter it’d be tied with words like… quick and delicious at a million and still counting. So with Lauren’s book filled with all sorts of simple recipes… obviously it was super hard for me to pick a recipe to make first. But my eyes {and sweet-tooth} kept coming back to her vanilla ice cream. It didn’t call for making any sort of custard base… it was just cream, milk, vanilla and sugar… oh and sea salt and I do love me some sea salt.

I thought 4 ingredient ice cream? Sign me up, hand me a spoon… I’m goin’ in.

Start by measuring 3/4 cup of sugar and place it into a large bowl.

Pour in the two cups heavy cream and the one cup whole milk.

Then add my most favorite ingredient in the whole wide world, vah-nillah!

Sprinkle in a good pinch of sea salt… I busted out the good kind for this recipe! Nothing but the best for ice cream!

Whisk until the sugar dissolves…a bout three minutes or so.

For my Kitchen Aid mixer, the bowl has been in my freezer for a looooong time now, so I just turn it on and pour the creamy-vanillay-y ice cream base mixture into the frozen bowl and let the beast do all the work. But please follow your ice cream maker’s instruction manual.

Pour the semi-frozen ice cream into a freezer safe container… taste testing is a must at this stage. Pop it into the freezer for 4 hours or up to overnight so the magic can happen and ice cream can be made.

I was surprised how easy it was to scoop straight-out of the freezer. I guess I was expecting it to have to sit and warm up a tad, but nope it was good to go! So I scooped myself an obnoxious portion… I was thinking I should have just eaten it straight out of the carton, but I kept it classy and used this beautiful bowl instead.

I have no words.

Just kidding, I always have words. This is such a delight! I feel old just saying that… but it’s what popped into my head. I ate mine plain, as is… but my girls topped theirs, one with toffee bits and the other with mini chocolate chips. No matter what you top this with… it’s darn delicious. And crazy easy to whip up.

Looks like I’ll be adding more notches to my ice cream making belt and every other belt I own .

Thanks Lauren for sending me an advanced sneak peak of your new and beautiful eCookbook! I’m so thrilled for you!

You guys stop by here and grab yourself a copy, it’ll stay on your computer, laptop or reader and you don’t have to worry about taking up any cupboard, or desk space storing it! There’s so many recipes in there I’m not sure what I’m going to make next…

Happy Friday!

The mothers and farm workers are an essential part to the farming equation. With Fair Trade those mothers have been able to emerge as leaders in their community. They serve as board members, lead committees and are working hard to improve education for their children. When you buy Fair Trade, you’re making a huge difference by ensuring that those moms receive safe working conditions and paid maternity leave.

If you head on over to Fair Trade USA and read about the mother’s featured you’ll be amazed and I bet you will connect with at least one of them.

For me it was Elvia Alamachi. Although our lives are not total mirror images, we both are 32 and have two daughters that are 12 and 9. Elvia packs those gorgeous roses at the Agrogan flower farm in Cotopaxi, Ecuador. When she’s not doing that she’s studying alongside her daughters earning her high-school diploma!

Elvia is a part of the Fair Trade committee and she, along with her co-workers, have invested in the Fair Trade premiums to build a children’s reading program, health clinic and a shopping club for inexpensive groceries. What an amazing woman she is and all made possible by the Fair Trade organization and those who buy and support them!

Elvia is just one of the six amazing mothers spotlighted on the Fair Trade USA website. Click on over and read about the others and their amazing stories and/or watch this short yet sweet video it will melt your heart for sure.

So in celebration of Mother’s Day, Fair Trade USA and I want to spotlight the wonderful and hardworking women and mothers behind the farms by sending one of you a glorious box of Fair Trade goodies right to your doorstep!

I’m absolutely in LOVE with everything in this goodie box! Here’s what you’ll get:

·      Rishi Tea: Rishi’s Jasmine Tea is an organic green tea blended with jasmine blossoms, using a traditional tea-scenting process. It’s also Fair Trade Certified to boot!

·      Allegro Coffee: The Los Niños Blend is from Fair Trade Certified cooperatives in Latin America. Allegro partnered with an organization called Coffee Kids to help enable 80 families improve the quality of their land by applying better land management techniques. The end goal is to help coffee farming families learn the proper tools to increase their food sovereignty.

·      Alter Eco Thai Sticky Purple Rice: This unique purple grain is glutinous when cooked and has a delicate, sweet palate. Due to its rich taste and beautiful color, this traditional rice is used by local communities for feasts and celebrations. It is grown exclusively in the fertile soil of the Esan Plateau, in the East of Thailand, situated close to the Cambodian border. If you like this, we also recommend giving Alter Eco’s other rice products a try!

·      Alter Eco Cane Sugar: This sugar has all the versatility of everyday granulated sugar, plus an amazing depth of flavor that makes it the ultimate secret ingredient. Try it in your coffee, in your favorite baking recipes, or sprinkled on fruit, yogurt or morning toasts.

·      Chocolove: Tucked away in Boulder, Colorado is Chocolove – a company dedicated to creating a delicious chocolate bar, paired with the romance of love. Inside each bar of Chocolove you’ll find a classic romantic poem you can keep or share with loved ones. What does yours say?

·      LARABAR: Made from whole foods, each flavor of LARABAR contains no more than nine ingredients. The cocoa and coffee used in LARABAR is Fair Trade Certified, meaning your afternoon snack or treat not only tastes good, but does good too!

·      Bhakti Chai: Don’t miss the coupon for a FREE 16 oz Iced Bhakti Chai inside your box of goodies! Get your spice on with this delicious brew of Fair Trade Certified black tea, fresh-pressed organic ginger, fiery spices and non-GMO soy milk. Check out www.bhaktichai. com/find-bhakti for retail stores near you.

To Enter: Simply leave a comment below and you’re entered to win! This giveaway will go on until Wednesday May 15 at midnight and the winner announced Thursday morning. All I ask is that you spread the word about buying Fair Trade… share this with all of your friends, family and neighbors! Oh and 1 entry per person please! Good luck!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers all over the world.

Yup, a thing I’m totally down with. Can’t you just picture it: A group of friends gathered around a too-small-of-a-table and then a big plate of these gorgeous beauts are delivered right under your noses? All of a sudden people are knocking elbows, pushing these burgers into one another’s faces… ahhh yes, I’d definitely order these cute little delicious burgers… but all for myself, ‘cuz I’m not sharing.

But I can guess what you’re thinking… ummmm Laur, aren’t these sliders? Well yessss and no. Yes they are small and technically sliders… but to me a pub burger is something you aren’t quite sure how you’re going to wrap your mouth around it… of course without looking completely ridiculous and making a huge mess. It’s a burger that’s simple… but has a little somethin-somethin that you just can’t put your finger on. Oh and they have a fancy bun… and they’re too big for your face. Did I already say that?

For these pub burgers, it’s the mayo. I made a quick homemade aioli… with a little ranch-y goodness. And of course there is not a single ranch packet, are you kidding me? I took a few things from this recipe and stuffed it into mayo.

I thought about calling it mayoli but I didn’t want to get laughed at.

The aioli is pretty basic; one whole egg yolk plus an egg yolk, a heaping teaspoon of grainy mustard, half a lemon {minus the seeds of course}. Turn the lid on and s-l-o-w-l-y drizzle in a cup of light olive oil or grapeseed oil.

Now here comes the add-ins. Fresh parsley and dill… a handful of each. Give them a rough chop…

And throw them in along with the kosher salt, oregano, onion flakes, paprika and of course… a big fat clove of garlic.

Turn your mini food processor on and blend until the herbs and garlic are blended through the aioli errr mayoli.

Pour it into a small dish with a tight fitting lid and pop it in the fridge for a few hours {over night would be best}. There will be leftovers of this magical aioli so feel free to slather it on a sandwich or wrap. Maybe even dunk these or this in it?

Here are our toppings: Peppered bacon {if you can find it, otherwise any slab bacon would work}, pretzel rolls… are the bomb!, crisp lettuce, a roma tomato, cheddar cheese and that ranch aioli.

I cooked the bacon first. Strike that… I cut the bacon in half first THEN I cooked it until crispy.

Then I threw two pounds of ground chunk into a big-o bowl.

Season it with your favorite all purpose seasoning.

I just want to show you what I’m so madly in love with lately. My friends at Simply Organic totally hooked me up with this most amazing salt-mix. Just check out the ingredients… simply and so-SO good. So far I’ve put it on chicken, eggs and now in my burgers and I LOVE IT!

I divvy out the meat into 8 equal portions before making them into patties.

Keep them thick and a little bigger than what you think would fit on one of those pretzel buns as they will most definitely shrink a bit. Ps… I feel pub burgers require a thick patty. Amen.

Hello pretzel rolls… I love you. I cut these rolls in half horizontally, and toasted them on the grill for only a minute or two.

Preheat a grill to medium-high. Cook the burgers for 5-7 minutes a side or until fully cooked.

Stack…

Then top with some bacon… oh sweet Jesus.

Stack on the tomato and lettuce and then swipe a little of that mayoli on the top bun.

I couldn’t stop taking pictures of these. Even my daughters took my camera and snapped pictures, they are truly something to stare at no?

All you have to do is figure out a way to unhinge your jaw and cram this baby in… heck if I can do it, so can you. Just please try to ignore that bacon grease drip… thank you.

See proof… I’ve got a big mouth… HA! umm-wait.

I love everything about these… the mayoli {look what I’ve started}, the bacon and the gooey cheddar. These pub burgers are now on a permanent rotation in our house… and your house too, soon… I can feel it.

Enjoy!

Well I’m happy to report spring has finally sprung here in the mitten! It’s been in the 70′s and going strong so this weekend I decided to dust off my grilling recipes. First up is a Thai inspired grilled satay. Chicken marinates in a delicious concoction of coconut milk, lemongrass, lime juice and garlic… just to name a few. I could totally drink the marinade, for reals.

SIDE NOTE: Since I worked all day Saturday, I asked Pat to pick up a few things for me at the grocery store… I thought it would be a disaster, ya know… asking a guy to pick up things like lemongrass, cilantro and coffee creamer {praying he didn’t pick the sugar free kind} can be a little stressful… but he got everything I asked and only needed a little help from our girls to navigate him around and show him where things were at. It’s times like these I’m so happy I had girls .

So you guys, this easy chicken satay recipe was one I’ve been working on for a while now and I know you’ll like it. Ever since I had made these beef skewers last year I wanted to make a chicken version… but with a little Thai flair. I wasn’t sure how these would go over with my family, one isn’t a coconut fan and the other isn’t a fan of peanut butter anything {WHAT?} she’s obviously adopted… JUSSSST KIDDDING! … but once I saw everyone’s empty plates I knew it was a hit. Pat said they were REEEALLY GOOD and my youngest told me “I’m totally diggin’ the chicken Mom”… so you see, you’re destined to love these.

Start by finely chopping up one to two lemongrass stalks. The ones Pat picked up were only 5 inches long.

Then mince up 4 cloves of garlic.

Add those to a large dish and squeeze in about a quarter cup of fresh lime juice.

Drizzle in the honey…

…Tamari…

Fish sauce… honestly, I understand this sounds disgusting… but it really gives it that umami thing or whatever it’s called.

For a little kick, I add a teaspoon of chili sauce aka Sambal Oelek, this stuff is good {and not too spicy}.

Then pour in a couple tablespoons of coconut oil that has been heated so it’s liquefied.

Lastly pour in a third cup of coconut milk.

Whisk all those goodies together until smooth.

Throw in the chicken tenders. This is not quite two pounds of chicken tenders, 1.80 l-b’s to be exact… which fed us four perfectly.

Toss them around to coat, cover and pop them into the fridge to marinate for 2 hours.

Mean while I got moving on this quick peanut sauce. It’s basically; peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, green onions, cilantro and a little more of that chili paste. Issss ssssoooooo goooooood.

I also soaked some wooden skewers in an extra tall glass of water. This will help them from catching on fire while on the grill. They’ll char a bit… but won’t ignite, which is a good thing. Make sure you flip these so all of them are soaked evenly.

I also made the coconut ginger rice. My sister passed this recipe on to me {from this cookbook} and I’ve adapted it to feed my fam. It’s most definitely my favorite rice dish! Slice up a good-size piece of ginger {about 2 to 4 inches} into 5 or 6 thick coins. Hit them with the handle of your knife so they’re bust up a bit and drop them into your rice cooker. {I’ll give you both rice cooker version and stove-top version in the printable at the bottom of the post}.

Add two cups of Jasmine rice. Jasmine is a KEY ingredient… plain white rice just won’t do here, promise. Throw in a teaspoon and a half of kosher salt as well.

Pour in 10 ounces of coconut milk…

And then I add just enough water to reach a certain line in my rice cooker. If you were making this in a pot on your stove, add enough water to the coconut milk to equal four cups total. Put the lid on a flip a switch is all I do…

And *poof* the rice is perfectly cooked. You could also toss in some cilantro for an extra punch of freshness!

NOTE: Pat likes his rice, and this make 8 cups {give or take} so feel free to cut this recipe in half if you don’t want the extra rice.

After the chicken was done marinating, I wove the chicken onto the skewers and preheated my grill to medium-high.

Grill for about 4-6 minutes a side or until they have a beautiful char…

…and most importantly, they’re fully cooked.

Ta-daaaa! Satay!

Here they are in all their glory. I like to remove the chicken off of the skewers and then drizzle copious amounts of the peanut sauce over top. Can you say HEAVEN?!

I’m so excited for the leftovers… just kidding, I’m eating them right now!

And I still have a couple recipes rollin’ in. Heck it’s always Cinco de Mayo in our house as we love Mexican food! Okay, now so far I’ve given you the beans, crispy pork, tostadas and ummm who could forget the margs? But Cinco de Mayo can’t be complete without some guac.

This simple guacamole is for all you garlic lovers out there, or for all you married peeps… because after a few bites of this garlic-loaded-guac you definitely won’t be landing any sort of mate in the near future. So it’s best you consume this if you already have someone sworn to love, honor and cherish you for all time. Ummm hello.. TWO heads of roasted garlic are smashed into this to make it garlicized to the max, you see what I mean right?

This dip is dope.

Grab two pretty good size heads of garlic. Pick ones that are free of any cracks, dents or suspicious spots.

Using a pretty sharp knife, lob off the top third of the head to expose all those purty cloves inside.

Place in a small oven-safe dish, drizzle with olive oil…

Sprinkle with a couple pinches of kosher salt and black pepper, cover with aluminum foil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. This is my standard way to roast garlic, it’s easy and your guaranteed perfect roasted garlic jewels every time.

Moving on to the avocados. You’ll want to pick up two LARGE avocados… or 4 small ones. Make sure they are ripe by pressing gently… if the skin is dark-ish black color and there’s a little give when you press your good to go.

Cut in half from top to bottom and remove the pit…

Armed with a spoon simply scoop out the luscious insides and plop them into a large bowl.

Squeeze in the juice of two small limes, or 1 good sized lime… enough to equal about 1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh lime juice. This will keep the avocados from oxidizing so they can stay that beautiful bright green color!

Now the garlic cloves are out of the oven… they’ve cooled a bit, you wouldn’t want to burn those fingers of  yours.

With a fork, or feel free to squeeze the garlic heads to extract all of the cloves… and throw those into the bowl with the avocados and lime juice.

Mash it all up with a fork or wooden spoon. Should still be pretty chunky.

Throw in a tablespoon of chopped cilantro…

1 clove FRESH garlic… for ummmm freshness. FYI roasted garlic and fresh garlic taste nothing alike… promise.

A couple of healthy pinches of kosher salt and then just stir that all together.

A ton of garlic… a couple of avocados, all mashed together with lime juice, cilantro for a delicious dip for your chip!

So go on… grab some corn tortilla chips… a couple lime brew-skis…

…and get to dipping… so darn amazing!

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That’s what this is… and I’m in love with it!

You guys I’m so excited about this slaw because is loaded-to-the-max with veggies and is pretty much calorie free {in my head}. It’s crunchy, flavorful and it’s one of those slaws that can be transformed from side dish to main dish with the addition of some protein aka grilled chicken or shrimp.

I made this recipe for a few of my girlfriends last weekend when Pat was up north hunting wild turkeys. And you know what they say; “when the man’s away… the girl will invite her girlfriends over for a feast of a dinner”. Or something like that.

I originally was going to make this recipe I found in Bon Appétit magazine… but then I started changing things. I just couldn’t help myself… it’s what us foodies do. Between my girlfriends and me we proudly polished off the whole bowl of slaw on top of eating ourselves silly with these and big fat slices of this cheesecake.

By the end we all were in a food coma. Mission accomplished.

This is a one bowl sort of deal. Unless you’re a blogger then it’s several bowls, but it’s practically a cinch to whip up. Start with the dressing by adding 3 tablespoons of basil infused olive oil into a good-sized bowl.

Squeeze in a few limes. Mine were small so I used two… about 2 tablespoons, give or take.

Now grab a few measuring spoons, measure and pour in the tamari…

..honey {check out that drip}…

…fish sauce…

And grate in a teaspoon of fresh ginger root. I’m so addicted to this lately… I’m putting it in urrrvrythang.

Give it a good ol’ whisking and move on to the veggies.

Finely dice up half a {seeded} jalapeno… watch out for flying juices, I had a close call with some juice to the eyelid. It’ could’ve been bad… real bad.

Now quickly throw the diced jalapeno in to the bowl with the dressing and go wash your hands thoroughly.

Grab a half a head of purple cabbage, quarter it and slice it thin.

Stack a few baby spinach leaves, trim off the stems and slice thin… to match the cabbage of course.

Add those to the same bowl.

Add in a half cup of carrots… just by the bagged kind and save your fingertips. It’s way easier.

Take a “cheek” off of a red bell pepper and trim off any of the white-membrane-rib stuff. Cut it in half lengthwise and slice thin strips… to match the cabbage and spinach… you got it!

Slice up three green onions and a huge handful of cilantro…

And add it to the bowl with the rest of the rainbow.

Give it a toss… watch yourself the slaw tends to start jumping ship at this point!

Serve with a few chopped peanuts on top for a little more added crunch.

I could really make a meal out of this healthy slaw. It’s packed full of nutritious goodness and makes putting down a slab of that cheesecake totally worth it.

Enjoy!

Think about it; there’s oatmeal, jam and almonds… which are the makings for a great start to the morning. These homemade breakfast bars fooled my kids into thinking they were having a treat, awesome! Who has two thumbs and is the coolest Mom like evah? This girl.

Believe it or not, I made these bars at midnight Thursday night/Friday morning. I was editing the photos and writing the post for the roasted rhubarb jam recipe for the next day when I suddenly was craving the jam. I like reeeally needed to have it and so I thought why not make a quick basic crumble crust and spread the rhubarb jam over top and bake it for a fun breakfast in the morning?

So I set up my table top light and a white board and started shooting. The whole thing took 35 minutes and filled my house with a mouth-watering aroma.

Start my measuring out the oats, flours, coconut and salt into a medium sized bowl.

Give it a good stir.

Pour in the third cup of melted butter.

Stir until the butter has absorbed the flours and crumbles have formed.

Press about two-thirds of the oat mixture into a lightly greased and foil-lined 8×8 baking pan.

Spread a cup of the roasted rhubarb jam over the top of the oatmeal crust.

Sprinkle with the remaining crumble topping and pop it into a preheated 350 degree oven to bake for 15 minutes.

Remove and sprinkle with sliced almonds. I add these halfway through baking so they don’t burn. Now place the bars back into the oven for 10 to 15 more minutes.

Remove and let cool completely before cutting.

The coconut and the rhubarb jam add just the right amount of sweetness without making these bars too sweet. And then there is the chewy texture of the oatmeal crust and the crunchy almonds which is absolutely heavenly.

Grab yourself a fork, a cup of coffee or oj and a giant piece of the breakfast bar and dig in.

Amen.