Posts Tagged ‘olive oil’

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Pesto Sauce with a Twist

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

I have wanted to share this recipe with you all for a while now. Two things happened that provoked me to finally share it. First off the basil in my garden is ready to rock. And secondly I was stoked to find organic, gluten-free penne pasta at Costco. The brand they carry at my Costco is truRoots and check out this ingredient list: brown rice flour, corn flour, quinoa flour, and amaranth flour. All organic! I have been missing pasta soooo much since going gluten free several months ago. Discovering this package of penne pasta at Costco made me giddy! And I wanted to enjoy them in various special ways…not just with a traditional marinara sauce. Pesto sauce is a fun alternative to marinara…plus you can make it in mere minutes!

Most of you know I adore kale and am always looking for new, interesting way to prepare it (however a simple raw kale salad remains my favorite way to enjoy kale!). This pesto sauce uses kale in it! And no pine nuts. Don’t get me wrong…I love pine nuts. Love them! But man, those little dudes are pricey! Plus they are not really a staple in our diet so it is hit or miss if I will actually have them on hand when I crave pesto. However the ingredients in this Pesto Sauce with a Twist are almost always readily available in my kitchen/garden. 🙂

Ingredients:

1/2 cup walnuts

1 – 2 cloves garlic

1 large bunch of kale, de-stemmed

generous handful of fresh basil leaves

3/4 cups olive oil

juice from 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

salt and pepper to taste

1 + tablespoons of water (if needed to thin out sauce)

Directions:

Add all ingredients to food processor and pulse until desired constistancy. Add water as needed.

ENJOY!

Sarah
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Tasty Tuesday: Cilantro Lemon Hummus

Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

Hummus is one of my all time favorite snacks! I love it as a veggie dip, with pita chips, as a sandwich spread, or on a bagel. I used to make it myself all the time….that is until I discovered the best hummus in the whole universe at Trader Joe’s. Their Mediterranean Hummus is out of this world delicious! Even people who don’t like hummus, like it. 🙂 I fell into the habit of buying our hummus from Trader Joe’s to the point that I stopped making it myself all together.

We go through a lot of hummus in our family; at least two 16oz containers a week. At $4 a container for our favorite Trader Joe’s hummus, that equates to a large chunk of grocery money spent on hummus! Especially when you consider that hummus is super easy to make and sooo much cheaper to make at home. So I recently reverted back to making my own hummus and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Here’s one I made the other day and scarfed down with some carrot sticks and cucumber slices. It was a perfectly delicious and nutritious little snack!

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked garbanzo beans (avoid using canned beans whenever possible!)

2 tablespoons tahini

1 lemon, juiced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons water

¼ cup fresh cilantro

½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. Enjoy!

-Sarah

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Tasty Tuesday: Black Bean and Rice Salad

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012

This Black Bean and Rice Salad is a favorite dish of ours to bring camping, on a picnic, or to a BBQ. I made it recently for a family gathering we had at our house and my sister asked me for the recipe. I told her “it’s on the blog”.  A few days later she informed me that it was actually NOT on the blog…WHAT?!? How could I have failed to share one of my top favorite recipes with you all? Seriously! Well here it is! Now next time someone asks me for the recipe I know FOR SURE they can find it here. 🙂

Ingredients:

2 cups cold cooked basatimi rice

1.5 cups of cold cooked black beans, or 16oz can of black beans drained and rinsed

1 to 1.5 cups of corn (frozen is fine, fresh off the cob is better)

1 red pepper, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1 jalapeno, diced

1 avocado, diced

1/4 cup (or more to taste) chopped cilantro

3 green onions, chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 tablespoon oregano

1/2 tablespoon cumin

juice of 1 lime

2 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

salt and pepper to taste (you could also sprinkle a little garlic salt)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients from rice to green onions in a bowl. Mix remaining dressing ingredients in a small bowl or cup. Pour dressing over rice mixtures and stir to evenly coat. Refrigerate about an hour before serving.

Enjoy!! 🙂

– Sarah

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Tasty Tuesday: Portabella Mushroom Burgers

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

With Labor Day weekend just around the corner many of you are likely hosting or attending a BBQ. Sometimes BBQs can be tricky for vegetarians, however these portabella mushroom burgers offer a yummy meat alternative for your vegetarian/vegan guests. Skip serving those over-priced, heavily processed, pre-packaged veggie burgers and serve these yummy portabella mushroom burgers instead! They are sure to be a big hit with your vegetarian/vegan guests!
 

Ingredients:
4 portabella mushrooms
4 buns
1 red pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Marinade:
3 tbls olive oil
2 tbls rice vinegar
1 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls sugar or preferred sweetener
1 tsp sesame oil
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ tbls fresh grated ginger
 

Directions:
Gently wash portabellas and poke with a fork. Mix all marinade ingredients and pour over portabellas. Allow to marinade for 3 hours occasionally pouring marinade over portabellas. Saute peppers and onions in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside. Grill portabellas for 2-3 minutes per side on medium high heat. Serve topped with peppers and onions on a toasted bun. Enjoy! 🙂

-Sarah

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Kale and Sweet Potato Stew

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012

Did you know that Kale and Sweet Potatoes are a deliciously wonderful pair? They go so beautifully together! The sweetness of the potato compliments the robust flavor of the kale. Plus the bright orange against the dark green is quite a lovely color combination. This particular recipe is a quick and simple way to enjoy these two nutritious and delicious vegetables together! In fact this dish comes together so easy with minimal prep time that I sometimes even make it for the kids and myself for lunch.

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 small onion, diced

4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed and torn into bite size pieces

water

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil. Add sweet potatoes and enough water to the top of the sweet potatoes. Cover and allow to gently simmer until soft, about 15 minutes. Add kale, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook for about 1o more minutes until kale is bright green and soft. Serve over cooked brown rice. Enjoy!

-Sarah

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