Tag Archives: tomatoes

Chilled Zoodle Salad with Herby Buttermilk Ranch

26 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by in Healthy, Main Dish, Meatless Monday, Salad, Vegetarian

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When I wasn’t making loaf after loaf of my new go-to zucchini bread, we were eating this salad. On a hot summer day, the last thing I wanted to do was make zucchini lasagna or stir frys…and this zoodle salad is so adaptable it solved all of our problems. Here we have the basic version with a homemade, herby buttermilk ranch, but we ate this salad many times with store bought dressing (don’t tell anyone) and it was still amazing. Add different toppings, throw on some grilled chicken, just about anything works!

I found the secret to this salad was chilling the zoodles for at least an hour. It made them extra crunchy and took out some of the moisture so you didn’t have a soggy zoodle salad. Move over, lettuce…zoodles make summer salads more fun.

Recipe
Chilled Zoodle Salad with Herby Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
By Baked Northwest
Serves 2

Ingredients

For the Salad:

  • 1 medium zucchini, spiralized into “zoodles”
  • 1/2 cup sliced black olives
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup red onion, sliced
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper

For the Herby Buttermilk Ranch Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup of buttermilk, shaken
  • 3/4 cup mayo
  • 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 tsbp siracha (if you want to add some spice)!

Directions

Make your zoodles:
Using a spiralizer (I have the Paderno Spiralizer), make your zucchini noodles: I use the small spaghetti-sized blade for this salad, but the thicker noodle blade works great too! Lightly blot dry your zoodles with paper towels and place them in an airtight container, and refrigerate for at least an hour. I find refrigerating the zoodles takes some of the moisture out and ends up giving your salad a nice crisp crunch. You do not want a soggy salad! You can make your zoodles the night before and store in the fridge until you are ready to use them.

Make the herby buttermilk ranch:
Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer the dressing to a container, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors develop.

Assemble your zoodle bowl:
   Place the red onion in a small bowl and add the tablespoon of white wine vinegar. Add a little bit of salt and pepper and let stand while you assemble the rest of the salad.
Divide the zoodles in half and place on 2 bowls or plates. Add half of your toppings to each bowl; the carrots, olives, tomatoes, feta, and onions. Serve with the herby buttermilk ranch and enjoy!

 

Chinese Chicken Salad

19 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by in Chicken, Easy, LuLu's Classics, Main Dish, Pasta, Weeknight Meals

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Chinese Chicken Salad

This Chinese Chicken Salad is one of our favorite 90’s throwback recipes. First of all…it’s called Chinese Chicken Salad. It’s not even a real salad, but I just couldn’t call it by a different name. If I am going to live in a world where this is considered salad…I’m ok with that. We can continue to discuss why this salad isn’t very PC…but instead I’m just going to stop there and say…Long live the 90’s.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Years later, I can see why my mom made this “salad” all of the time. It’s super easy to throw together, it only gets better after a day in the fridge, and it’s a cure-all for the famous “there’s nothing to eat around here.” Work lunches? Check! Late night cravings? Check! It really is the quintessential salad to eat while standing in front of an open fridge door. Chinese Chicken Salad is a classic for a reason!

Chinese Chicken Salad

We haven’t made many changes since the 90’s, because it’s pretty darn good just the way it is. These days I make it with whole wheat pasta, and after taking the photos we realized sesame seeds were a pretty necessary addition. And Sriracha, did it even exist in the 90’s?!? My mind wants to think it did exist before internet memes and before the obsession got a little out of control, but of course, nobody really remembers life before the internet, or Sriracha. Wait…

Chinese Chicken Salad ADD SRIRACHA

Recipe
Chinese Chicken Salad
by Lulu
Makes about 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 (12 oz) package whole wheat angel hair pasta
  • 3-4 chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup diced green onions
  • 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (cherry tomatoes also work well here)
  • 1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes (I used ones that weren’t packed in oil, if that’s all you have, that’s ok – just drain them well)

for the dressing:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup sesame oil
  • 2/3 cup rice vinegar

optional add-ins:

  • sriracha to add to the finished salad for some kick
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • baby corn, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • if anyone has any other add-in ideas, let me know!

Directions

Prepare the chicken: Do whatever way is easiest for you. I preheated the oven to 400F and added some salt and some asian spice seasoning I had to the chicken and baked them until they were done, about 20 minutes. You can poach the chicken, use rotisserie chicken, whatever works! Just make sure the chicken is cooked. This would not but good with raw chicken.

Add all of the dressing ingredients to a jar, close the lid, and shake! I suppose you could whisk everything together, but vigorously shaking this dressing in a jar is the only way we have ever done it. Make sure you give the dressing enough time to marinate, you want to make sure all the sugar gets dissolved.

Cook pasta according to package instructions and drain. Add pasta to a large bowl, shake the dressing one more time, and add about half of it to the pasta and mix well. Dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the pasta. Add the green onion, tomatoes, and sundried tomatoes. Add the rest of the dressing and mix well again. While you can serve immediately, this salad usually tastes better after a night in the refrigerator. Lasts in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Chili, Slightly Revisited

04 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by in LuLu's Classics, Main Dish, Soups, Weeknight Meals

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Chili and Mini Cornbread Skillets

Many of the recipes on this blog could use a good old fashioned makeover – the recipes themselves are in good shape, at least in my mind where I tend to forget to write everything down…it’s the blog posts that need some work. Today, I wanted to revisit my mom’s Chili recipe. In the original, I don’t even put how much ground turkey or sausage to use! That’s because it’s a recipe that always turns out a little different for us each time because we wing it…I don’t ever believe anyone is making the recipes I post, they are mostly a guide for myself for the next time I make something. So today…I’m giving some more specifics. We also made Ina’s Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread and baked it in mini cast iron skillets for about 10-15 minutes (I think…per usual, I eyeballed it).

Recipe
Mom’s Wingin’ It Chili
By Baked Northwest
Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 2-4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 20 oz ground turkey
  • 12 oz ground sausage
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 (10 oz) can rotel tomatoes w/ green chilies
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 1 Tbsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 can of Tecate, or other Mexican beer
  • 1 small can of tomato paste (about 6 oz)
  • dash of Worcestershire
  • about 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • a few tbsp spicy salsa (optional)
  • a few tbsp fresh diced jalapeno (optional)
  • 1 (15 oz) can of corn kernels, drained and rinsed (optional)

Directions

Pour about 2 tbsp olive oil in a large soup pan and add turkey and sausage. Cook until done and then remove to a large bowl.

Add a little more olive oil to the pan and cook the onions until soft. Add chopped garlic and cook another minute or two.

Add the cooked meat back to the pot. Add the the diced tomatoes and rotel tomatoes. Add the spices: the paprika, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, red pepper flakes, and oregano.

Stir together and add the beer. At this point, the sauce might be a bit thin, so add some tomato paste to thicken it up. Sometimes you can use a whole can, sometimes less. Since tomatoes tend to be acidic, add a little sugar to tone them down. Start with about a tbsp. and then taste. If you’d like, add a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

If  you want more kick, add some jalapenos and/or some spicy salsa.

Let simmer for about 30 minutes and taste again.

Drain the beans in a strainer, rinse them, and add them to the chili. Stir, let simmer for a bit longer to let the flavors blend together and serve. This chili always seems to taste better the next day.

Bouillabaisse

30 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Entertaining, Holidays, Main Dish, Seafood, Soups

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Bouillabaisse

Here is what I know about Bouillabaisse: I don’t remember a Christmas Eve dinner where we ate something else. Sure, I know in my tyrant child days I wouldn’t touch the stuff, and I honestly probably ate dinner rolls and chocolate…but luckily I don’t remember those days all too well. I seriously can’t remember anything else we ever made for the day, and it’s time the recipe lives on.

Another thing: It’s always called Bouillabaisse, not Cioppino, not “Seafood Stew.” All are about the same thing, and my mom just chooses to call it the most fun and hardest to spell name of all.

Bouillabaisse

Typically, people throw scallops into their Bouillabaisse, but we have never been big on them in our family so we always leave them out and add more of the “good stuff.” Shrimp, Crab, Clams, and either halibut or salmon are usually our picks. You can treat this recipe as more of a guide than anything. We tweak our recipe a little bit each year – especially the time my dad dumped an ENTIRE jar of red pepper flakes into the soup…The lid wasn’t on tight enough…and some of our guests ended up eating Kraft Mac N Cheese. Shit happens…Especially on Christmas Eve. Continue reading →

Quinoa Tabbouleh

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Entertaining, Healthy, Meatless Monday, Salad, Side Dish, Weeknight Meals

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Quinoa TabboulehHave you ever found yourself with an abundance of an herb, and you don’t quite know what to do with all of it? Have you ever decided to plant something, thinking you would probably kill it, when all of a sudden you have too much of one thing?Quinoa TabboulehI feel like this has happened to a lot of home gardeners with mint. You imagine you are going to have some mojitos, maybe throw it in some tea, and that’ll be it. However…many times you are left with so much mint you just don’t know how you will EVER use it all.

This Tabbouleh salad is a great solution to your mint problem. Here we use 3 cups (!!!) mint to make a refreshing and healthy summer salad. Of course, if you don’t quite have that much mint in your garden you can easily use only 1-2 cups and you are still going to have a GREAT tabbouleh. The quinoa and cabbage really mix things up too.Quinoa Tabbouleh

Recipe
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Adapted from Bon Appétit
serves 8 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1/4 – 1/2 medium head green cabbage, cut into 1”-thick wedges, then very thinly sliced crosswise (about 2 cups)
  • 1/4 – 1/2 medium head purple cabbage, cut into 1”-thick wedges, then very thinly sliced crosswise (about 2 cups)*
  • 1 small sweet onion (such as Vidalia), finely chopped
  • 4 cups assorted small tomatoes, halved, quartered if large (we used red and yellow cherry tomatoes)
  • 3 cups coarsely chopped fresh mint
  • ¾ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt, to taste

*NOTE: you can use only green or only purple cabbage – just make sure you have about 4 cups chopped cabbage total.

Directions

  • Place rinsed, dried quinoa in a pot and add 2 cups water. Bring quinoa to a boil, then let simmer, covered, on the stove until quinoa has absorbed most of the water. Fluff quinoa with a fork and remove from heat.
  • Toss quinoa, cabbage, onion, tomatoes, mint, oil, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl to combine; season with salt.
  • DO AHEAD: Tabbouleh can be made 4 hours ahead. You can toss with oil and lemon juice just before serving, but I like adding it right away and letting the flavors develop. This salad is great the next day, straight out of the fridge!

Summer is Here: Greek Orzo Salad

08 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by in Easy, Entertaining, Healthy, Pasta, Salad, Side Dish

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You know Summer is in the Northwest when you see Ranier Cherries...And for me it becomes official when I make this Greek Orzo Salad.

You know Summer is in the Northwest when you see Ranier Cherries…And for me it becomes official when I make this Greek Orzo Salad.

This is my, “crap summer is here and my wedding is 70 days away” post. Well, not really…it’s actually more about one of the best summer salads you’ll ever make. I first made this salad years ago, and I can’t quite remember how I found it, or what even gave me the idea to try to find a Greek Orzo Salad. The only thing you need to know is every time I make it people love it! Plus, it’s relatively guilt-free when you compare it to other mayo-laden pasta salads out there.

Greek Orzo Salad

The other great thing about this Greek Orzo salad? It’s easily adaptable. Don’t like onions? Leave ’em out! Prefer black olives over Kalamatas? Go for it! This recipe is so easy, I probably make it a little different each time, but with the same end result: delish. Continue reading →

New York Breakfast Casserole

18 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by in Breads, Breakfast, Easy, Eggs, Entertaining, Main Dish

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Pre-baking, during baking, and after baking! Yum.

Pre-baking, during baking, and after baking! Yum.

A couple of weeks ago, we had some friends in town and decided to hold a wine tasting to try to decide on what wines to have at our Wedding. I had a feeling we were going to be a little foggy the next morning, so I wanted something make-ahead and easy for breakfast the next day. Continue reading →

Tomato Basil Tart

30 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Bloggerific, Easy, Main Dish, Weeknight Meals

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The easiest tomato basil tart you’ll ever make. Ok, it’s more like a pizza.

It’s almost October. It’s fall. Summer is over.

YET

Only a small portion of the bounty. As it turns out, I like to store my “summer” tomatoes in a festive winter bucket.

My tomato plants finally decided to ripen and give me TONS of tomatoes! After spending 2 months thinking all of my tomato plants had failed, Mother Nature apparently decided to give me some encouragement.

It is so ridiculously late in the season and I am little unprepared and blown away. So this super easy cheese, tomato, basil tart was the first thing I made. It’s essentially a pizza without tomato sauce, a spinoff of the classic margherita pizza, if you will.

Recipe

Tomato Basil Tart

from Polwig.com

  • 1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
  •  1 cup ricotta
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbs chopped basil (more for garnish)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper
Directions
Grate the Parmesan Cheese and chop the basil. Place two eggs in a bowl and whisk.
Add 1 cup of ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 2 tbs basil to the eggs and mix well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slice the tomatoes to your liking. Place 1 sheet of puff pastry on a work surface and roll out to get rid of the fold marks. Once puff pastry rolled out to desired size, transfer to a baking sheet. Using your fingers, fold in a crust around the outer edges of the tart, about 1/4-1/2 inch. Use a fork to imprint onto the crust.

Spread the cheese mixture around and top with tomatoes.

Bake in a 400 deg oven for 20 minutes until risen and golden.  Sprinkle with Fresh basil. Then pair with a glass of wine!

Salsa de Chipotle

02 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in Appetizers, Easy, Entertaining, Sauces, Uncategorized

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I think this is the first homemade salsa I have ever made in my life. It is easy, delicious, and SPICY. I may have gone overboard with the amount of Chipotle peppers…Sweaty Betty over here.

This salsa would be good served at a party as a trio – with guacamole and maybe another more mild pico de gallo or salsa. Chipotle has a very distinct flavor that really spices things up a bit, but not everyone can handle the heat!

Recipe

Salsa de Chipotle

From the May 2012 issue of Glamour Magazine

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 6 medium sized tomatoes
  • Salt
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus 1 tsp. for pan
  • 1/4 spanish onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
  • 1-4 chipotle chilies in adobo, plus a little of the sauce (use less if you like things more mild!)

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut tomatoes in half, and place them on a baking sheet lined with foil for easy cleanup. Season tomatoes with salt, and place in oven. Roast for 90 minutes. In a medium pan, heat 1 tsp. oil, and saute onion and garlic until golden brown; set aside. When tomatoes are ready, put them into a blender. Add onions, garlic, cilantro, and chilies. Blend on slow speed, and add salt. Gradually increase speed while adding oil, and process until smooth. Serve with chips or as a sauce on tacos.