04 Wednesday Mar 2015
Did you know today is National Pound Cake Day?
Well, twist my arm into making something sweet AND with booze. I have had my eye on this Amaretto Almond Pound Cake from Southern Living for awhile. If you like Amaretto and Almond flavored pastries in general, you are going to love this pound cake.
This reminds me of the fancier version of our favorite Rum Cake recipe. It looks a little classier, is completely from scratch, and Amaretto just sounds a little less (drunk) than Rum.
24 Saturday Jan 2015
Today is…National Peanut Butter Day! Before you leave in a rage, know this is the last “National Food Day” post I’ll give you in awhile. And this recipe may barely suffice for peanut butter day. While there is peanut butter in these snack bars, there are tons of other delicious ingredients too – pretzels, almonds, rolled oats, marshmallows, chocolate rice cereal…These bars come together so well you can’t really say peanut butter is the star…All of the ingredients compliment each other.
These are like rice crispy treats on crack. Or I guess you could say an even better version of the classic no-bake cookie. I found the original recipe in Cooking Light, and they call them Snack Bars so you can almost justify that they are totally healthy! One of the ingredients is rolled oats! But of course, I added a little bit more butter and used Cocoa Krispies instead of “chocolate oat” cereal.
05 Monday Jan 2015
Posted in Easy, Entertaining, Salad, Side Dish
Tags
almonds, apple cider vinegar, bacon, broccoli, currants, green onion, honey, lemon, mayo, red onion, salad, stone grain mustard
One of the things in life that I really excel at, seriously, I don’t even have to try – is making healthy things not so healthy anymore. But I am also dangerously good at convincing people (mostly myself) that the un-healthified meal in question is basically like eating plain lettuce.
The real moral of the story here is that for this ridiculous dialog to be happening, there has to be a sliver of healthy goodness in there. I don’t scream out, “HEY, IT’S VEGGIE!” when I’m shoving my face at Burgerville eating my favorite Spicy Anasazi Bean Burger. I usually know when to shut up and just enjoy it. But at least I don’t get the double bacon cheeseburger….
So anyways, this broccoli salad, yeah. It’s pretty good. No, we aren’t eating plain broccoli here, we are throwing on some creamy dressing and bacon. But broccoli is going to steal the show no matter how much we try to trash this up.
This is a riff on those broccoli salads you have at Bridal Showers, Summer BBQ’s, and the stuff you pick up for lunch from the deli counter. Since first making this, it’s been requested by Jordan for his work lunches several times. However, if you are bringing it to work, you may want to leave out the garlic in the dressing and those red onions out of the salad…Broccoli + garlic + onions can be pretty potent, if you know what I mean. Your call though, it’s really tasty either way!
Recipe
Broccoli Crunch Salad
Serves 6 to 8
by Baked Northwest
Ingredients
for the dressing:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
for the salad:
2 heads broccoli, cut into bite sized florets (you can also trim and cube the stems for use in this salad)
8 ounces (about half of a regular sized package) bacon, cooked and chopped into bit size pieces
1/2 cup slivered almonds (can substitute peanuts or cashews)
1/3 cup Zante currants (can sub dried cranberries)
1/4 cup diced red onions (optional)
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Directions
1. Place all dressing ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Base amounts on how thin you like your dressing. If you like a thicker dressing, add 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar. Like it thinner? Add about 2 tablespoons. If you want a sweeter dressing, add more honey, if you need a little zing, add some lemon juice! We eyeball ours and it comes out a little different each time, but it’s always delicious.
2. Place broccoli florets and all other salad ingredients into a large mixing bowl and top with dressing. Fold together until fully combined.
3. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.
4. Toss salad before serving. This salad is great to make ahead and save for work lunches, but it’s always a hit at parties too!
24 Tuesday Jun 2014
Posted in Appetizers, Easy, Entertaining
Tags
almonds, brown sugar, butter, cashews, mixed nuts, nut, nuts, pecans, salt, sriracha
These mixed nuts are one of my favorite things to make when we are having guests over…they’ve always gotten rave reviews. A lot of recipes call for roasting nuts in the oven, but I like doing these in a large skillet on the stovetop, it gives me a little more control. Always make sure you start with raw, unsalted nuts. They are quick and easy to make even though you have to keep an eye on them, but they can be made days in advance before your guests come over.
I typically use almonds, cashews, and pecans because I can buy them in bulk and they lend themselves to many other recipes and snacking for later. Feel free to do walnuts, macadamias, or any other nut you prefer.
These nuts usually turn out different every time, but they are always awesome! (as long as you don’t burn them or over-season them). I usually experiment with different hot sauces each time I make them. But for starters, Tabasco or sriracha (or both, in my case) work really well. But if you don’t like hot sauce, you can go for Worcestershire, or what about sweet chili sauce? Really, there are lots of possibilities!
Recipe
Party Nuts!
by Baked Northwest
makes about 3 cups, enough for a small crowd
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir to get it dissolved a little. Add a little salt to the mixture, then add all of the nuts at once. Roast for several minutes, turning up the heat if necessary. Toss the nuts around, making sure they aren’t burning! When they become nice and browned, remove from heat and add a few dashes of Tabasco or sriracha, any hot sauce works great! Be careful when you do this – the hot sauces may flare up and slap you in the face! I tend to add the hot sauce with the butter and brown sugar, just to get it all incorporated. Just be careful when you put hot sauce in a hot skillet! I like to add some chopped rosemary or parsley, when the nuts are done and off the heat, but it’s totally optional.
To cool, spread nuts out on a plate or sheet pan to in the thinnest layer possible. We don’t want the nuts sticking together! Cool via a quick blast in the freezer, about 20 minutes. Break any big nut chunks apart before serving. These can be made days (even weeks) in advance and stored in an airtight container in the freezer. I usually make them a few days before having people over and store them in the pantry. However, sometimes they disappear before the party even starts…
11 Wednesday Jun 2014
Posted in Easy, Entertaining, Meatless Monday, Side Dish, Vegetarian
Tags
almonds, broccoli, garlic, ginger, lime, sasame oil, sesame seeds, soy
I have been looking for a go-to broccoli dish that can easily be paired with Asian dishes. This, my friends, is it! Really simple and easy, I know I’ll be making this again.
17 Wednesday Apr 2013
Posted in Bloggerific, Easy, Healthy, Main Dish, Salad, Vegetarian, Weeknight Meals
Tags
almonds, avocado, black beans, carrot, cilantro, garlic, lemon, spinach, tomato, wheat tortillas
Compare my photo to the one at Thug Kitchen, and you will laugh.
I recently found out about Thug Kitchen and couldn’t be more thrilled with a vegan recipe blog that simultaneously enriches my life with its wonderful teachings on not being an idiot about what you eat.
I highly recommend you go over there and check things out. If I swore as much on this blog as I do in real life, it would probably be close to what’s over at TK.
Thug Kitchen was recently nominated for Saveur’s Food Blog Awards as Best New Blog. Head over there and check things out, lots of blogs way better than this one are nominated!
Recipe
Black Bean and Cilantro Pesto Wrap
adapted from Thug Kitchen (Sorry TK, I’m not Vegan but sometimes I try to eat really healthy)
Ingredients
For the Wrap:
Put all the ingredients for the pesto in a food processor and blend until desired smoothness/chunkiness. You can dice everything if you don’t have a blender or food processor.
This recipe makes about 1 cup of pesto. You can mix the pesto with about 1 or 2 15 oz cans of black beans. Mix the beans together with the pesto and wrap it up with whatever vegetables you like: I took a whole wheat tortilla and added a little cream cheese (sorry vegans), spinach, tomatoes, carrots, and avocado. Other tasty options include cucumbers, red onion, lettuce, corn, salsa, black olives, lime juice.
The black bean pesto makes for an excellent next day lunch: I just mixed the leftover pesto with tomatoes, bell peppers, and then added fresh sliced avocado on top before diving in. Yum!
