Avocado, Corn and Tomato Salad

Ingredients
2 cans of corn or 1 bag frozen corn, thawed
2 avocados, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion, diced
1 large cucumber, diced
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

For the dressing:

6 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbs fresh cilantro, minced
½ tsp salt
10 grinds of fresh ground pepper

Directions

Combine all vegetables in a large bowl.  You can either add the dressing to the whole batch (as I did), or set it aside and add only when serving.

I found this was a great addition to our fish tacos!

Adapted from this recipe. 

Avocado Salsa for Cinco de Mayo!

There are few things I love more in life than delicious fresh salsa.  This is a fantastic, simple salsa recipe I've been making for years, and it seemed appropriate to share it on Cinco de Mayo!

INGREDIENTS

3 ripe avocados, chopped
5 large roma tomatoes, chopped
1 sweet red bell pepper, diced
1 banana pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Hot peppers, as desired, diced*
Large handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Mix it all together and enjoy with tortilla chips and a nice cold Corona!

*A note on the hot peppers: I like to experiment, and try a different assortment of hot peppers just about every time I make this.  It really just depends on how spicy you like your salsa!  A couple of jalapeños are a pretty safe choice to start with.  I tried adding an orange habanero once - that was a little too hot for me.  Just be careful and wear disposable gloves whenever you handle them!  I had an unfortunate incident once where I handled some hot peppers with my bare hands.  Hours went by, and I washed my hands numerous times, but I discovered there was still some hot pepper oil on my hands when I went to take my contacts out later that night.  It wasn't fun...

Potatoes and Onions

This recipe is ultra simple, but surprisingly yummy!  The onions give the potatoes a really great flavor.  I made it a few times as a last-minute side dish with dinner, but just recently discovered it also works great with our weekend brunch (kind of a hash browns substitute). 

INGREDIENTS

2 large russet potatoes, chopped [the perfect amount for 2 people - double the recipe if you need to feed more]

1 medium-sized onion, chopped

2 Tbs cooking oil

Salt, black pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning as desired

DIRECTIONS

1.  Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add potatoes and onions and cook over medium heat, covered, for about 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. 

2.  Add seasonings (I go pretty light on the salt - you can always add more at the table if necessary).  Cook for another 10 minutes or so, uncovered, until potatoes are tender and browned.   

Pesto!

How did I manage to live for 27 years before trying pesto?  I'm not sure, but man have I been missing out!  This was super delicious - Mike said it's way better than any other pesto he's tried.  And with how quick and easy it is to make, I think it's about to become a regular menu item!

You can do a lot of things with pesto.  I mixed about 3/4 of this with 1 box of pasta of whole grain pasta and two breasts of cooked and diced chicken.  Then I mixed the remaining 1/4 to of the pesto with two cans of tuna and a little mayo, which turned out to be the best tuna fish sandwiches we've ever had!  So with this recipe, we got dinner for two nights AND lunch for two days!  Not bad for a night of cooking. :)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 artichoke heart
1/4  cup sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

If your sun dried tomatoes are really dry, you may want to soak them in the olive oil for awhile first.  Then just toss everything in a food processor and pulse until smooth.  That's it!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This yummy soup is the perfect comfort food for a dreary winter day!  Ready to eat in just 15-20 minutes too!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 block of Velvetta cheese (1 lb), cubbed (the reduced fat kind works too)
10 oz frozen bag of broccoli, thawed (this can be accomplished just by running under hot water; I'd also advise chopping up any large pieces of broccoli) 
1 small-medium sized onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbs flour
2 Tbs butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS

1.  Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until translucent.

2.  Add flour to the onion and stir well.

3.  Gradually add milk to the pan, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly.

4.  Bring milk to a boil, then reduce to medium low.

5.  Add broccoli and cheese.  Stir until cheese is completed melted.

Inspiration recipe found here.

Sweet Potato Fries

I was a little skeptical about these, because I've never been a huge fan of sweet potatoes.  But I heard they were good, and good for you, so I decided to give them a try.  Since the first time I made them about a month ago, I've made them at least three times!  What can I say, they're delicious!!!  They make a great side dish to just about anything, but I especially love them with hamburgers.  And I don't have to feel as guilty about eating them because they're so healthy!  

INGREDIENTS:

5 sweet potatoes (try to find long skinny straight ones - it makes the slicing much easier!)

Olive oil

Lawry's seasoned salt (or desired seasonings)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Slice your sweet potatoes to desired thickness.  Thinner is better (they'll cook faster and turn crispier).  I cut most of mine into eighths, but it all depends on the size of your potato.  If it's too long, you might want to cut it in half first.  Also, a good sharp knife is really important, because they're not easy to cut! (hence why I suggested buying skinny potatoes)

3.  Coat your potato slices in olive oil.  I have a cool Misto oil sprayer that we received as a wedding present, so I used that.  I basically sprayed the pan, arranged the potato slices so they're all laying flat on the pan, then sprayed the other side of the slices.  You could also toss them in a bowl or a ziplock plastic bag.  But I think spraying worked the best.

4.  Arrange potato slices in a single layer flat on a couple of cookie sheets.  Sprinkle with your desired seasonings.  I used Lawry's seasoned salt, and I thought it was perfect!  But feel free to experiment with whatever you think would taste good.  I've heard of people using everything from just salt, salt and pepper, lemon pepper, garlic, paprika, Italian seasoning, and even brown sugar and cinnamon.  I don't think you can go wrong here!

5. Bake for 30-45 minutes.  Some recipes suggest turning them half way through.  If you're really picky about having them evenly browned, go ahead.  I'm kind of lazy and I thought it took way too much time to flip them, and wasn't really worth it.  Do keep an eye on them though.  Check them at 30 minutes, and about every 5 minutes after that.  They go from light brown to black pretty quickly near the end!  

My left over fries stored really nicely in sealed container in the fridge.  To reheat them, I popped them in the toaster oven for a minute or two, and they were just as good as the day I made them!  

Gnocchi with Vegetables

I had gnocchi for the first time while we were in Italy on our honeymoon, and I fell in LOVE!  If you have never tried it, I highly recommend that you do!  It's kind of like ravioli, except it's pasta with potato inside.  I found my package in the freezer section right next to the frozen ravioli.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bag of frozen gnocchi (mine was 24 oz)

1 8oz can of tomato sauce (I got the Hunts brand seasoned with garlic, oregano and basil)

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 zucchini, chopped

1 yellow squash, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Grated Parmesan and Romano cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cook gnocchi according to package instructions.  Be careful not to overcook it, or it starts to fall apart and makes a mess!

2) Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add zucchini, squash and garlic and season with salt and pepper.

3) Cook until squash is crisp-tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.

4) Then add tomatoes to the skillet and cook, until juicy, about 2 minutes.  Finally, add butter.  As soon as butter has melted, remove skillet from heat.

5) Transfer vegetables to a large mixing bowl.  Sprinkle with lemon juice.

6) Drain gnocchi and combine with vegetables.  Add tomato sauce and mix well.

7) Serve, topped with cheese as desired.

Original recipe found here.

Personal Pizzas

Remember how much fun it was to get those little personal pizzas at Pizza Hut when you were a kid?  Well, now you can relive those childhood memories, but in a healthier way!  These little pizzas are just 350 calories (without toppings)!  And they take just 15 minutes to make!!!  Could it get any better?

INGREDIENTS:

1 pita pocket
1/4 cup of pizza sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese made with part skim milk
Toppings of your choice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  If you have a toaster oven, and you're making just one or two pizzas, I highly recommend using that instead.  It heats up MUCH faster and I feel like it uses far less energy than the big one.

2. Place a pita pocket on a cookie sheet.  Spread pizza sauce onto the pita pocket.  Top with the cheese.  Add toppings of your choice if desired.

4. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, just long enough to melt the cheese and toast the pita a little.

Couscous Salad

It's finally spring, so I decided to celebrate by trying a new light, (healthy!), vegetarian dinner.  I kind of made this up as I went, but it turned out great!  It's only about 400 calories per serving (if you divide the recipe below into 4 servings).  And it's super fast too -- takes about 15 minutes to throw together.  This could also be a nice side dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of plain couscous (or 4.5 cups)
1 cucumber, diced
1 can/jar (12-14oz) of artichoke hearts, chopped
2.5 cups of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
40 kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup of feta cheese 
4 tablespoons of basalmic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the box of couscous according to package directions.  Set it aside to cool while you chop the vegetables.

2.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the couscous and stir.  That's it!