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Avocado, Grapefruit and Spinach Salad

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I threw this salad together from things I happened to have in the fridge. It turned out so well and looks so pretty I now pull it out when I want an impressive looking salad that’s quick to put together when I’m entertaining. Although most of the time I make it just for myself.

Avocado, Grapefruit and Spinach Salad

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Avocado, Grapefruit and Spinach Salad
Recipe type: Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 1 bag of baby spinach leaves
  • 1 grapefruit segmented (or a grapefruit fruit cup which are awesome)
  • 1 avocado
  • almonds (sliced for sprinkling)
  • ⅛ cup grapefruit juice
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper (freshly ground is nice)
Instructions
  1. Whisk together the dressing ingredients: grapefruit juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
  2. Cube the avocado (and slice the grapefruit if necessary).
  3. Put the spinach in a large salad bowl and toss with the dressing. You will probably have made more than you need so go easy.
  4. Top with the avocado, grapefruit and almonds and serve.

Avocado, Grapefruit and Spinach Salad Recipe

7-11 Lasagna – Mexican Lasagne Recipe

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This recipe was inspired by a joke cookbook that my husband and I got for our wedding called Mini Mart a la Carte. The cookbook’s premise is recipes that you can make while shopping only at a convenience store. In general, the recipes are things that I (or most anyone else) would not even dream of making, but the one for “Lowrider Lasagna” actually looked pretty good. I tweaked it a little and the result is below. It’s a big hit at my house and it’s something I can whip up even if I don’t have a lot of time to cook or badly need groceries.

7-11 Lasagna - Mexican Lasagne Recipe

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7-11 Lasagna – Mexican Lasagna Recipe
Recipe type: Easy Meal
 
Ingredients
  • 1 can refried beans (I like the ones with green chiles you could also use pinto beans)
  • 1 large can diced tomatoes drained
  • 1 cup frozen corn (or a can of corn)
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 6 whole wheat tortillas
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Rip half the tortillas into pieces so they cover the bottom of the baking dish. Any size is fine. I usually do 2 whole tortillas and then rip a third into a few pieces to fill the gaps. Spread half of the refried beans on half of the tortillas and arrange half in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish to cover the bottom. Top evenly with half each of the corn, tomatoes and cheese.
  3. Cover the rest of the tortillas with the remaining refried beans and layer on top and cover with the rest of the corn, tomatoes and cheese
  4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese begins to brown, about 15 minutes longer.

7-11 Lasagna - Mexican Lasagne Recipe

Whole Grain: Farro & Balsamic Farro Salad Recipe

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I’m a sucker for trying different kinds of whole grains. So when I saw a bag of Farro when I was at Costco the other day even though I had never heard of it before I didn’t hesitate to pick it up. It turns out that Farro is an ancient type of wheat that is now regaining popularity in Italy and with health conscious cooks. It’s great in soups and salads and can be used in place of barley or rice. Balsamic Farro Salad Recipe This was my first attempt at cooking Farro. I found that there was still quite a bit of water left in the pot when I cooked it according to the package directions (3 cups water to 1 cup Farro for 15 minutes), so I cooked it a little longer and ultimately drained it. After some internet research, I found out this is actually normal. Unlike rice all the water is not supposed to be absorbed when it’s finished cooking. It’s chewier than rice but it did soften a bit after the salad had sat in the fridge overnight. Trying a grain all by itself is kind of boring so I put together this salad which I think is pretty good. Balsamic Farro Salad Recipe

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Whole Grain: Farro & Balsamic Farro Salad Recipe
Recipe type: Salad
 
Ingredients
  • Dressing
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • pinch salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • Salad
  • ½ cup mild onion diced (red onions, shallots, chives, green onions)
  • 1 yellow or orange pepper chopped finely
  • 2 medium tomatoes chopped and seeded
  • 1 diced avocado (coat in lemon or lime juice if you’re not using the salad all right away)
  • 1 cups farro (Cooked barley or brown rice can also be substituted.)
Instructions
  1. Cook Farro according to package directions (they should be al dente when done)
  2. Chop onion, tomatoes and peppers.
  3. Add all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
  4. In a small bowl mix dressing ingredients.
  5. Add dressing ingredients to the salad ingredients and mix well.

Balsamic Farro Salad

Baby Smashed Potatoes

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I’m starting to think that just about every vegetable should be roasted at 400F for 30-60 minutes with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. This is now my third recipe in a row that follows this logic. You’d have to really hate potatoes to not like these. I liked these so much I made them for Christmas dinner last year – there wasn’t a single one left over!. They also provide a lot more nutrients than a lot of potato dishes because you leave the skins on. They take a little bit more time than some methods, because they are boiled and then baked but the result is amazing. If you want, you can boil and smash the potatoes ahead of time just refrigerate until you are ready to use them.

Baby Smashed Potatoes

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Baby Smashed Potatoes
Recipe type: Side Dish
 
Ingredients
  • 2-2.5 lbs baby potatoes
  • 2 TBSP oilve oil
  • salt, pepper and rosemary (I use dried but I’m sure fresh would be lovely)
  • 2 garlic cloves minced (shortcut – buy pre-minced, look in the refrigerated section by the salads as they are much better than the shelf stable variety you get by the spices)
  • ore it hits the heat. Squishing the potatoes is also pretty fun.
  • The kids can:
  • put the potatoes in the pot
  • squash the cooled potatoes
  • .paint the potatoes with olive oil
  • flip the potatoes
  • sprinkle the salt, pepper and rosemary
  • Directions
Instructions
  1. Put the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
  2. When the potatoes are tender, drain the pot and let the potatoes cool (if you are in a hurry you can grab the potatoes with a tea towel and smash them while they are still hot).
  3. Preheat the oven to 400F
  4. Get a (clean!) tea towel and put it on the counter. Place the potato on top. Fold the tea towel over and press down on the potato with your palm.
  5. Place the smashed potatoes on a baking tray.
  6. Brush each potato with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  7. Flip the potatoes and repeat on the other side.
  8. Add a couple pieces of minced garlic to each potato and sprinkle with rosemary.
  9. Put the tray in the over and flip the potatoes after 15 minutes. Continue to bake for 15-20 minutes more. When they are done the skins of the potatoes will be brown and crispy but the centre will be soft.

Baby Smashed Potatoes

Leftovers can be eaten cold straight from the fridge or reheated in the oven or toaster oven.

 

Roasted Butternut Squash

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I took another crack at the butternut squash today. It turned out quite a bit better than the last time. I think the problem before was that the squash wasn’t as fresh as it needed to be. Not that it was bad, it just didn’t have the right consistency anymore – it was a little too mushy around the edges. So if you (like I usually do) buy pre-cut cubes (Costco’s are great) make sure you get the furthest away best before date and check to make sure they are nice and firm when you go to cook them. If they’re not, maybe make soup instead.

This isn’t the lowest calorie vegetable dish you can make but it’s a crowd pleaser and makes a nice side dish for special occasion dinners (or just for snacking!) Unless your kids are going through a really picky stage, they’ll like this dish. And you will like making it! The prep work is minimal and once it’s in the oven you don’t have to do a thing.

Roasted Butternut Squash

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Roasted Butternut Squash
Recipe type: Side Dish
 
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs butternut squash cubes (shortcut – buy pre-cubed)
  • 2 TBSP oilve oil
  • ¼ cup shredded Parmesan Cheese (or white cheese blend)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves minced and 2 Tbsp parsley chopped (both optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Put all ingredients into a large resealable plastic bag and combine (you can also mix in a bowl).
  3. Spread evenly on a single layer on a shallow baking dish. I've found that lining a cookie tray with parchment paper works really well. The cubes pop right off. Whatever you do, don't put them directly on the cookie tray – trust me it will never be the same.
  4. Cook for 40-50 minutes. The edges should be carmelized and golden. You can flip one of the cubes over to check the bottom, but otherwise leave them alone.
Notes
Based on <a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Garlicky-Baked-Butternut-Squash/Detail.aspx">Garlicky Baked Butternut Sqush</a>

I completely forgot the garlic, but they were still great. Adding the parsley makes for a nicer presentation, but I was all out.

If you have leftovers, you can mash up the cooked squash with some pasta water to thin it out and use it as a pasta sauce.

Making Icky Food Good: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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My mother-in-law is a big fan of Brussels sprouts and they are chalk full of vitamins but she wasn’t making any converts at home. I figure that just about anything can be appealing if you cook it the right way, so I set out to find something that everyone would enjoy. This is what I came up with.

Making Icky Food Good: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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Making Icky Food Good: Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Recipe type: Side Dish
 
Ingredients
  • 1.5 pounds Brussels sprouts (shortcut - buy prewashed and bagged)
  • 1.5 tablespoons oilve oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt (do not skip the salt, you need it to counteract the bitterness of the sprouts)
  • 0.5 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375F (you can do 400 if you are in a hurry but you'll need to watch it near the end)
  2. Wash and trim the Brussels Sprouts if necessary. Cut each Brussels sprout in half.
  3. Place the Brussels Sprouts, olive oil, salt and pepper in a resealable plastic bag. Seal it up and mix well. (Obviously you could also use a bowl if you'd rather).
  4. Put the Brussels spouts on a baking tray and bake for 40-50 minutes. Turn them every 7-10 minutes so they cook evenly and don't char.
  5. When they are finished they should have a nice brown color but still have some green visible. The loose leaves may be blackened but nothing else should be.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts - talkinginallcaps.com

If you have leftovers you can put them in a container in the fridge and eat then reheated in the oven/toaster oven or I actually like the leftovers cold, straight from the fridge. They store best if you let them cool down to room temperature first.

You could lighten the recipe up by using a cooking spray or olive oil mister to coat the Brussels Sprouts instead of the olive oil.

 

Hard Boiled/Devilled Eggs

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I used to be able to cook a hard boiled egg properly. Then one day I couldn’t. I’m not sure what happened. I was using the same recipe I have used since I was 12.

Whatever the reason, after much frustration I finally figured out how to prevent them from being a disgusting ooey mess. The key was just turning up the heat a little when it was simmering.

How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

1. Fill a pot with cold water to just cover the eggs. Bring to a boil. If you manage to remember that you are cooking and notice when they first start to boil you can avoid getting that grey skunge around the yolk by turning the heat down right away (make sure it is just above low).
2. Simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on and then run cold water over the eggs. Its best to peel them while they are still a little warm and if you roll them in your hands before you start to peel, it’s even easier to get the peel off nicely.

Since we’re talking about Hard Boiled Eggs I might as well share my Devilled Egg Recipe too. My family loves them. I’m pretty sure if I showed up to a family function without them I would be asked how long it was going to take me to go pick up the eggs that I obviously forgot at home.

Devilled Eggs - talkinginallcaps.com

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Devilled Eggs
Recipe type: Appetizer
 
Ingredients
  • Devilled Eggs
  • 12 Hard Boiled Eggs, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp mustard
  • 2 tsp vinegar
  • paprika
Instructions
  1. Scoop the yolk out of each egg and put into a bowl. Mash up with a fork.
  2. Add the mayo, mustard and vinegar and mix well.
  3. Put a big scoop of the egg mixture into each egg half and sprinkle with paprika.

 

In case you were wondering, no I do not own a deviled egg tray. I own four. Seriously. I typically have to bring 3 or 4 full trays to a family party – they are that good.