Tag Archives: dairy

March 10, 2011 · 3:27 pm

Avocado Tahini & Chickpea Salad

I love salad, but I feel as though I get into a salad routine and have the same one, over and over.  It’s either Greek or caesar for me.  So, when Oh She Glows posted this Tahini Avocado Chickpea Salad, I knew I had to try it.  Not only did I try it, it is now in my salad rotation!

Oh She Glows is fellow Canadian blogger (yeay!).  Her blog has excellent content, she is very inspirational and her recipes kick butt!  She focuses on vegan/vegetarian meals, which is great because I try to incorporate vegetarian meals into our rotation probably 3-4 days a week.  I am sure you will see more inspiration from her as my blog develops!

Speaking of inspiration, you probably want to know what I did with the original recipe! I simply added some turmeric powder and to make the dressing a little creamier, I added plain yogurt.  Not life changing adjustments here, but it turned out well.  CH came home and thought I had made avocado hummus (to be posted soon!) and started eating it with pita chips before I told him it was salad dressing.

This salad ended up really flavorful and had a delicious blend of spices, which gave it a unique taste!  Two boys ate this for lunch and both of them seemed to really enjoy it!  I am a huge fan, I love combination of avocado with tahini and this salad is SO healthy!  Avocados are so good for you and the tahini is a great source of calcium, protein and B vitamins, not to mention a good source of essential fatty acids!

All around this salad is healthy, delicious and quick.  Sounds like a perfect meal to me!

Also, be sure to check out Oh She Glows for more inspiration!!

Enjoy!

Avocado & Tahini Salad

Yield:  1 large salad (for about 4 people)
Dressing Yield: About 1 cup
Prep:  5 minutes

For the Dressing:

  • 1 avocado, cut in half and flesh removed
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 3 tbsp tahini
  • 1/3 cup plain yogurt (or Greek yogurt)
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the Salad*:

  • 1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped finely
  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
  • 1/4 red pepper, chopped
  • 1/4 green pepper, chopped
  • 6 mushrooms, sliced
  • 10 baby carrots, chopped
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1/4 medium cucumber, chopped

* Of course, you can use any salad ingredients you like/have on hand!

Directions – Dressing:

Using your food processor, fitted with the small bowl & blade (if you have this), combine all of the dressing ingredients.  Give it a whirl until well incorporated.    You could also do this by hand, but be sure to mash the avocado really well, so your dressing is nice and smooth!

***Yes, this is the avocado dressing.  Please do not mistake this for an espresso with some weird foam on top!!***

Directions – Salad:

Prepare and chop all of your salad ingredients.  Place salad ingredients in a large, new-from-the-box, kitchen-sized plastic garbage bag, add the dressing to the bag and shake well (this is a trick I learned from my Mom!).  This allows all of the salad to be evenly coated in the dressing, plus, easy clean-up.  Alternatively, place in a large bowl and mix well!

Oh She Glows mentions that this salad dressing only lasts for a few days, maximum, so be sure to adjust the quantity of the dressing to fit your needs.

Enjoy!

Recipe Slightly Adapted From:  Oh She Glows

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March 8, 2011 · 10:54 am

It’s Not Delivery, and It’s Definitely Not Delissio: Chicken Ranch Pizza

This was good, oh so good!

Every Sunday one of our friends comes over and I teach him how to cook because he wants to learn! It is always something new for him, but this week it was something new for me too (the pizza dough!).   I really enjoy having a friend in the kitchen, I love teaching and it’s nice to have a ‘sous’ chef (that doesn’t complain like CH does!).

Pizza was one of my friend’s favourite meals, so we decided to tackle it from scratch, dough and all.

I absolutely love Annie’s Eats, she is an amazing baker and cook and I almost always start my search for recipes with hers.  Of course, I came across Annie’s Perfect Pizza Crust and knew that would be the recipe we’d tackle.

We got creative with our toppings, making three pizzas (for three people!).  We made Annie’s Chicken Ranch, an original Salmon Pesto and our spin on the traditional Canadian.  Stay tuned for the other two posts soon!

All three were incredible, we all had leftovers for lunch today (or breakfast in my case!) and the dough/pizza toppings have been put on our make again list.  Like, as in make again this week!

Give one (or all) a shot, I bet picking up the phone to call for pizza won’t happen as often now!

Enjoy!

Pizza Dough

Please see Annie’s Eats (Click Here: Perfect Pizza Crust)

Chicken Ranch Pizza

Yeild:  1 medium pizza
Prep Time:  20 minutes (without dough – add additional time for dough preparation)
Cooking Time:  20 minutes chicken + 12 minutes pizza

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 batch of pizza dough crust
  • 1/4 cup ranch dressing (I used fat-free)
  • 1/4 cup Frank’s Hot Sauce (or to taste – we like fairly spicy)
  • 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 4 grilled chicken thighs, cooked and chopped into strips
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, diced into quarters
  • 3 green onions, minced
  • 1/2 red pepper, diced
  • 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 3 tbsp diced cilantro

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees (and if you have a pizza stone, preheat that as well).  It is good to allow your pizza stone to pre-heat in a 500 degree oven for at least an additional 15 minutes.

If you have a pizza peel, lay that on the counter.  Otherwise, prepare a sheet of parchment paper (either square or cut to shape of your dough).

Now, prepare your dough. On top of your parchment paper or your pizza peel, roll out the dough into a round pizza shape.  Leave an edge around outside for the crust. Once you’ve achieved the shape you desire, pinch the outside of the crust and then pierce the crust with a fork all the way around (this will prevent large air bubbles from forming in your crust while it bakes!).

While your oven is pre-heating, prepare and cook the chicken.  I grilled mine using a cast-iron skillet.  Simply pre-heat your skillet, add oil of your choice (I used sunflower) and cook the chicken until no longer pink.  Once cooked, set aside and let cool.

Now, it’s time to assemble!  Pour the ranch dressing over the unbaked pizza dough and spread with a spoon. Then, top with the hot sauce and spread again using a spoon. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the ranch and hot sauce mixture. Then, layer the cooked chicken, tomatoes, red pepper and green onions.  When layering, try to think of the end product…you want every piece of pizza to have a bit of every topping!   Finally, sprinkle the top of your pizza with the cheddar cheese and cilantro!

Carefully move the pizza to your preheated oven/pizza stone.   Bake for 12 minutes or done to your liking (I like mine quite crisp and I added a minute of broiling at the end to make my cheese a little crispier!).

Let cool for 5 minutes.  Then, slice and devour.  Mine didn’t make it to the table!

Adapted from Annie’s Eats

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March 6, 2011 · 6:09 pm

A Quick, Easy Foundation for the Day – “Egg McMuffins”

Good Morning!  This is an easy recipe, it is Sunday after all!

Breakfast is such an important meal, but it definitely isn’t my favourite – I don’t like a lot of the typical sweet breakfast items (pancakes, oatmeal, cereal or granola/granola bars).  Thus, this is my go-to breakfast – we have these at least 4 days a week and I am always well fueled for the day after I have one!  They give you a good portion of your daily recommended servings of protein, carbohydrates and, depending on what you put inside, vegetables.  Not to mention that they are extremely quick to prepare.

These are so versatile too!  Feel free to add whatever you like or omit whatever you like.  In our house, I prefer cheddar cheese, while CH prefers goat cheese.  I like avocado in mine, CH prefers tomato!  The options are endless!

A fellow blogger, Smells Like Home, has a great tutorial for making English Muffins from scratch, if you are ambitious.  It is definitely on my list to tackle, one day!  Try it out by clicking HERE.

I hope you start your day off with one of these soon!

Enjoy!

JBean’s “Egg McMuffin”

Yield:  2 “Egg McMuffins”
Prep Time:  5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 English muffins, halved
  • 2 fried eggs
  • 2 slices of prosciutto (can be substituted with ham or bacon)
  • 4 slices of cheddar cheese, thinly sliced (can be substituted with goat cheese or your favourite cheese)
  • Handful of fresh spinach
  • 2 – 3 slices fresh tomatoe
  • 1/2 sliced avocado

Directions:

Pre-heat your broiler to medium heat.  Have the English muffins halved and read to go.  (Note – if you are only doing one egg mcmuffin, you can use your toaster for the English muffin!). Toast until done to your liking.

While the English muffins are toasting, heat a non-stick pan (or a green pan like mine – see ‘My Kitchen’- so you don’t need any fat to cook the egg) and melt a tsp of butter (or cooking spray) over medium to medium-low heat. Add the eggs and cook sunny side up (or however you prefer them).

Once the eggs are cooked, remove from heat and set aside.  Place your non-stick pan back on the heat and add the prosciutto slices.  *Turn your hood fan on*.  Cook the prosciutto until crisp and brown.  Note – the prosciutto will smoke, especially if your pan is quite hot.  It is normal, but be sure to have your vent fan on.

Now, assemble!  Layer the cheese on top of the toasted English muffin, then the cooked egg, then your prosciutto.  If you are using tomatoes, spinach or avocado, add it now too!

Enjoy!

JBean Original

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