Tag Archives: Vegetables

Broccoli Salad

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You know those recipes that just instantly remind you of your childhood, family gatherings and summer BBQ’s?  Well, this is one of those for me.  I hadn’t eaten this in years and actually had never made it in my own kitchen, until a while ago, one of my girlfriends hosted a summer BBQ and served this salad.  I went nuts for it and ate WAY more than my fair share.  Since then, I have been making batches of this salad to keep in the fridge for weekday lunches as it is so satisfying and nice to have on hand for a quick and easy lunch.

The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the caloric value in the recipe, because lets face it…mayo, bacon, cheese…three delicious items, but when put together, not exactly the healthiest when consumed together in a “salad”. So, I wanted to revamp it a little.  First things first, there was no way I was going to eliminate the bacon…well, because bacon is delicious.  BUT, I could attack the mayo and omit the cheese.  So, I tweaked the mayo by using 2/3 greek yogurt and keeping 1/3 the mayo.  This still gave us the mayo “taste”, but allowed me to add a good source of protein in the form of greek yogurt, not to mention reducing the calories and fat.  Omitting the cheese is a case-by-case decision – if you are serving this for company, I suggest including it, but if it is a weekday lunch salad, I don’t think the salad absolutely needs it to be delicious!

I can’t wait to whip-up another batch of this salad soon…and I know it won’t last long!

Enjoy.

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Broccoli Salad

Yield:  6 servings, 1 cup each
Prep Time:  15-20 minutes
Cook Time:  5 minutes for the bacon

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup low-fat greek yogurt (or fat-free)
  • 1/4 cup  mayo/Miracle Whip Spread
  • 2 TBSP sugar (you can also substitute Splenda for the sugar – just use a touch less)
  • 2 TBSP white vinegar
  • 6-8 cups fresh broccoli florets
  • 6 slices bacon (whatever your family favourite is!)
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 1.5 cups of raisins or craisins, whichever you prefer
  • 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:

Prepare bacon according to package directions or using your favourite method (I love baking my bacon in the oven, on a baking sheet.  So easy to do and clean-up is a breeze!)  Once bacon is cooked and cooled, crumble bacon into bite-sized pieces and set-aside.

In a bowl, mix together the greek yogurt, mayo, sugar and vinegar and stir well.

Wash and dry the broccoli florets.  Cut into smaller bite-sized pieces.

In a large bowl/container (with a lid is a great option, to make storage/clean-up easier!) mix together the broccoli florets, the dressing, bacon, onion, raisins and cheddar cheese (if you are using it).  Mix well.

Place the salad in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, or longer, to allow the flavours to develop.

Serve and keep cold.

Enjoy.

Recipe adapted from Kraft Kitchen (and from my friend NP!)

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Filed under Appetizers, Healthy, Mains, Salads, Side Dishes

Spinach & Goat Cheese Dip

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It’s been a while, eh?  Life definitely got the best of me over the past 6 months and unfortunately something had to give.  It was truly not my intention to stop blogging, but it happened, and without going on-and-on, I truly missed it.  I’ve still been cooking, not as much as I would like, but that is changing too!

So, I will leave it at that.  I am SO happy to be back blogging, back making amazing recipes, back taking photos (especially with my new amazing light box!) and of course, sharing recipes with you all.  Thanks for sticking with me – the best is yet to come (and I promise on a more regular basis).

This dip is a recipe that showed up many times over the holiday season.  It is an amazing appetizer, it is quick to prepare and it is actually reasonably healthy.  It came to be as a pasta sauce and then I envisioned the recipe as a dip and the rest is history!

Definitely whip-up this dip for your next appetizer party, Friday night snack or just because – you won’t be disappointed.

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Spinach and Goat Cheese Dip

Yield: Appetizer for About 6 People
Prep Time:  5 minutes
Cook Time:  15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 – 3 cloves of garlic, minced/grated
  • 5 – 6 cups of fresh spinach
  • 3 – 4 TBSP water
  • 1/2 cup goat cheese
  • 3 TBSP parmesan cheese
  • dash of lemon juice or white wine vinegar
  • dash of hot-sauce
  • dash of yellow mustard
  • S&P

Directions:

Over medium heat, heat the olive oil.  Add the onions and sautee until soft/translucent.  Add the garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant (30 seconds).

Add the fresh spinach to the pan and cook until spinach is soft and wilted.  Place the entire mixture into a blender and add the water to help with the puree process (or use a hand blender and puree in the pan).   Puree until smooth and no clumps remain.

Return the mixture to the pot over low heat, add the goat and parmesan cheese and remaining ingredients and whisk until incorporated and smooth. Season with S&P to taste and serve with fresh bread, crackers or whatever you please.

Recipe from the JBean Cuisine Kitchen.  Enjoy!

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Filed under Appetizers, Bread, Healthy, Mains, Side Dishes, Vegetarian and Vegan

Spicy Bean Burritos

Growing up, we didn’t eat a lot of beans. Sometimes we’d have chili and they’d show up there, but other than that, they were limited.

Now that I have my own kitchen (and have had for some time!) beans are a frequent guest at our dinners. I am so lucky that CH will eat almost anything and he happens to love beans, so it’s a win-win. Nothing will beat the Tuscan white beans we had while traveling in Italy, but I will keep trying recipes until I get it right.

This meal however is one of my favourite go-to quick dinners, and it has even been made many upon many times – I was just lucky that I planned ahead a little and managed to take a photo this time around.  I even made these while living in France last year.  They are healthy, very budget-friendly and the bottom line – they are delicious.

Like I said above, this is an easy weeknight dinner that is ready in about half an hour and is absolutely delicious for lunch the next day (or two!). Feel free to fill them with whatever toppings you like – just be careful not to over-stuff them or you will have burrito explosion :)!  Oh, and if you don’t like spicy, kick back the amount of chili powder to your liking.  One final note – feel free to use whatever canned beans you have on hand – I’ve used only black beans, a mixture of white beans/black beans, and straight pinto beans – use what you like and they will be delicious.

Enjoy!

Spicy Bean Burritos

Yield:
about 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes (prep while the beans cook!)
Cook Time:  20 minutes

Ingredients:

 For the bean filling:

  • 2 tsp. olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. minced chipotle in adobo sauce
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 small pinch of cayenne pepper
  • S&P to taste
  • 1/3 cup water, vegetable broth or chicken broth
  • 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  • 6 TBSP of your favourite store-bought salsa

 For serving:

  • 6 (9- or 10-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
  • Shredded cheddar cheese
  • Diced cherry tomatoes
  • Shredded romaine lettuce
  • Diced red onion
  • Diced cucumber
  • Low-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt
  • Diced cilantro

Directions:

To make the bean filling:

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and sauté until translucent and slightly brown. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, salt and cayenne; stir, cooking just until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.

Add the beans and the water or broth to the skillet.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the salsa.

Spoon about a third of a cup of the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Top each serving with a pinch of shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, cucumber cilantro and sour cream.  Roll the tortilla up tightly, burrito style, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Recipe slightly adapted from Annie’s Eats, as seen on Pink Parsley Catering, originally from Cooking Light

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Filed under Healthy, Mains, Mexican, Vegetarian and Vegan