by Lisa | Feb 21, 2018 | Appetizers, Gluten-Free, Side Dishes, Snacks, Snacks (Kid AND Inner-Kid friendly)
Who loves chips like me?! Don’t be shy! As much as I love them, I know I shouldn’t eat them all the time. So instead I make these eggplant chips! Yes, you heard me- eggplant! Not only are they already round, so they look like a chip, but they crisp up nicely when baked! Yay! No more guilt! This simple eggplant recipe is wonderful to have when you are going to a potluck or a tailgate party. You know there will be those tempting chips, but now you can bring your own healthy version and a yummy smoked paprika dip too! Eggplants vary in size and you can always cut them to the correct shape and size you need for your chips. So don’t worry too much if you have a huge one from your garden or a cucumber-shaped one from the store. They will both taste delicious! I always use my food processor to slice the eggplant. It is so easy and it makes them uniform in thickness. If you don’t have a food processor just use a sharp knife and try to be as consistent as possible to get uniform thickness. After slicing lay them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. This is where you have to be patient. Let the slices sit for at least an hour. Sometimes I leave them for several hours just because I get busy and forget about them. I like to make the smoked paprika dip at this time because it is best if it sits in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Or if...
by Lisa | Feb 19, 2018 | Desserts, Gluten-Free
These gluten free coconut macaroons are deliciously sweet and so easy to make! You will wonder why you didn’t make them sooner! When I made these coconut macaroon cookies for the first time I was amazed at how easy they are to whip up. All you do is combine all the ingredients (there are only three!) and then bake. It was amazing! I wanted to keep this recipe simple, but you could totally make these super fancy by dipping them in chocolate and adding some orange extract. Chocolate and orange go so good together (I even made scones with those flavor combos!) Or you could add vanilla extract and then melt down some Andes mints and dip them in there! Or you could keep them simple and just whip up the easy recipe above! The possibilities are endless! For this recipe I used unsweetened coconut flakes and you may be wondering why not use sweetened? I personally try to avoid sweetened coconut flakes because a lot of manufactures use propylene glycol to sweeten it and that’s a compound that is in antifreeze. Anyways, you won’t even miss the sweetness in these coconut macaroons- the sweetened condensed milk will take care of that! Since these coconut macaroon cookies are held together by the sweetened condensed milk they can be pretty sticky. However, they are oh so delicious and not to mention full of coconut flavor! I did notice after they were done baking that some of the condensed milk had come out of the macaroons and wasn’t the prettiest, but this was easily wiped away and no one was the...
by Dana | Feb 16, 2018 | Chicken, Recipes, Salads
Chicken Salad with Grapes, rotisserie chicken, sliced grapes, walnuts, and celery. Simple, easy, and delicious! Chicken salad, in general, is one of my all-time favorite lunches. It is super versatile, but yet light and refreshing… the perfect lunch! I’ve been asked a lot how to make chicken salad. The answer is easy, just chop up some cooked chicken, add any veggies you like, toss them in a yummy mayonnaise-based sauce and you are good to go! I made this version extra special by making this a chicken and grape salad. You can make chicken salad with red grapes, but this time I decided to use green. They were on sale at the grocery store, so I thought why not! You can serve this chicken salad with grapes on a bed of lettuce, with crackers, or even in sandwich form. The possibilities are endless! Chicken Salad with Grapes Recipe Directions: Dice cooked chicken, place it in a large bowl. Add sliced grapes, scallions, walnuts, and celery. In a small bowl make the creamy dressing including mayonnaise, parsley, dijon, and more. Stir to combine. Pour the dressing on top of the chicken salad ingredients and stir to combine, try not to break up the chicken too much. Serve and enjoy! I personally like my chicken salad more on the chunky side, with bigger pieces of chicken. If you like it more of a smooth spread consistency, I suggest shredding the chicken instead. Alternatives and Add-Ons: Again, this is one of those amazing recipes where you can make it your own. Add whatever grapes you want, if you like red grapes, add...
by Lisa | Feb 15, 2018 | Appetizers, Breads and Quick Breads, Pork, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks
Enjoy this delicious pork tenderloin with yummy homemade sweet potato biscuits and top it all with melt in your mouth apple chutney! Talk about a yummy comfort food meal. This will make you want to sit next to a warm fire and read a book after dinner. I made this a few days ago and it was so simple and soooo delicious smelling. When the rosemary is cooking with the pork tenderloin it filled my house with such a delicious smell. It felt like fall had finally arrived. My house smelled even better when I made the apple chutney to top the pork tenderloin. I think adding a cinnamon stick to most things will only improve circumstances and thankfully the apple chutney recipe calls for one! This recipe does have three parts so you will want to plan ahead. Start with baking the sweet potato. Cover the sweet potato with olive oil, use a fork to put some holes in it and then wrap in foil and bake in the oven until squishy. Make sure you let the sweet potato cool before you mash or else you will get burned! You could bake the sweet potato a day or two ahead of time. I like to bake sweet potato like this often. I’ll bake several and then store them in the fridge and pull them out as needed. I typically like to just eat them as is, warmed up with a little bit of butter. They are packed with so many nutrients and fiber. You can’t go wrong! And what goes better with pork than sweet potato? And even...
by Dana | Feb 14, 2018 | Appetizers, Desserts, Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes
Easy Waldorf Salad is bursting with fresh fruit in an addictive pineapple yogurt dressing! The original Waldorf salad recipe might have you asking lots of questions. There is fruit.. with mayonnaise… and a whole lot of different things going on. Today’s recipe is slightly different from the original, yes there is still fruit (and celery! trust me… it’s good!), but it’s my version of the Waldorf salad dressing that makes it updated and oh, so yummy! Greek yogurt, crushed pineapple, honey, and a touch of parsley really sets this salad apart! Still sounds a little weird? Believe me, I get it! But, once you try this Waldorf salad recipe you will be hooked! It’s basically a fruit salad with a little extra pop! It’s crunchy, creamy, sweet, fresh, and delicious! A mixture of apples, golden raisins, grapes, celery, and walnuts all tossed in a sweet Greek yogurt dressing… I mean that sounds pretty darn good to me! Waldorf Salad Recipe Directions: Dice Gala apples, slice celery, slice grapes, and toast walnuts if needed. Place into a large bowl with golden raisins and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, crushed pineapple with juice, honey, and parsley. Pour dressing on top of salad ingredients and toss to combine. Serve classically in lettuce cups or eat on it’s own! One of the ingredients that is actually my favorite is probably the one you think is the strangest. The addition of a little chopped flat leaf parsley in the dressing gives the whole salad this super fresh taste that I just can’t describe. Do NOT...
by Kami | Feb 13, 2018 | Appetizers, Dairy Free, Dressings and Sauces, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian
Who doesn’t love guacamole?! It is one of the best and easiest dips ever! With this fresh guacamole recipe you will see just how quick and easy it is to make on your own! Guacamole is a staple where I am from. We eat it with almost everything. And if we don’t have guacamole you can be certain we have avocados, and let’s be honest, avocados are just a good smash and a few tomatoes away from being guacamole! If you are looking for some fancy complicated recipe, then I would look elsewhere. This is how to make homemade guacamole easy. Who doesn’t love that! When I have a big get together I love to whip up some of this easy guacamole and serve it with chips and veggies. It disappears every time! To make this delicious dip simply: Mash the avocados, then add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Easy peasy! And if you wanted a creamier guacamole and can handle dairy you could even add a little sour cream, but honestly you don’t need to! Oh and I’ll let you in on a little secret; in the past when I didn’t have tomatoes, I just added some salsa and that worked just fine! So it really is an easy recipe that can be adjusted to what you have! Let’s just get the guacamole on the chips and in you! It really is a happy place! And you don’t have to limit yourself to chips! Put this tasty guacamole on fries, hamburgers, chicken, fish, and veggies! Seriously good! Is it just me or does guacamole make you...
