Southwestern Sloppy Joes is one of those recipes that I've been making for almost a decade now, and yet still it love as much as I did the first time I made it. It's zesty and messy and downright delicious. It's the type of meal where you should probably use paper towels instead of napkins, but opt for neither, so that you have an excuse to lick your fingers. I wish I could take credit for coming up with this recipe, but I actually found it in a Cuisine Tonight magazine, the "Sandwiches & Salads" edition. Whatever you do, do NOT skip the coleslaw. It's the best part!
I've been craving egg salad like mad during this pregnancy. Years ago, when I studied abroad in England, I literally ate an egg salad sandwich on a baguette every single day for lunch. Across the pond they call it an "Egg Mayo Sandwich", which is a more truthful name for this delicious sandwich. Unfortunately, it's also a reminder that perhaps it isn't the most healthy of concoctions. Since I'm trying to stay as healthy as possible during this pregnancy, I decided to make a more nutritious version of egg salad; using predominately avocado instead of mayonnaise. Of course, seeing as how avocados are the fruits of the gods, it was absolutely delicious. Now I can guiltlessly give in to my cravings. Now if only I could find a healthy version of Almond Snickers...
A few years ago, I was traveling up to Canada to attend a good friend's wedding. I flew into Buffalo, NY and from there planned on taking a train the rest of the way. I had a few hours to kill before my train departed, so I decided to explore the city. I soon found myself at the famous Anchor Bar, also known as the birthplace of Buffalo Wings. This, my friends, is the moment where my obsession with buffalo sauce begins. Oddly enough, while I love the sauce, I'm not a huge fan of eating chicken wings (too much work!), so I'm always looking out for other ways to indulge my obsession. Recently, I stumbled upon a recipe from Skinnytaste that looked so alluring that I had to make it RIGHT THEN. I altered the recipe just a bit to suit my tastes, by substituting red bell pepper for the carrots, and changing a few other things to make it a bit easier to prepare. So, what was the verdict? My husband took one bite, looked at me, and said "I'm so glad you are my wife".
As you have likely noticed, I'm a big fan of Pinterest. When it's time for me to do my meal planning for the week, I look at my "Healthy Food" board on Pinterest, and make whatever recipe photo catches my eye. This week, Kitchen Confidante's picture of their Cilantro-Sriracha Turkey Burgers was what made my stomach growl. Since my tummy had spoken, I made these Zesty Turkey Burgers, and they were fabulous. Easy to make, healthy to ingest, heaven to eat. Win, win, win.
My favorite Southern food (other than Buttermilk Pie), has to be Pimento Cheese. It saddens me to think that this delicious concoction is not easily available to such a huge portion of our country! Okay, I'm being just a tad dramatic, but for real, y'all, Pimento Cheese is the bees knees. Some folks like to eat with crackers as a dip, where others prefer it between two slices of Sunbeam white bread. As for me? I'm a big fan of making it the "cheese" part of a cheeseburger: just spread it on your bun cold, and the warm burger will make it gooey. My newest favorite way to eat it is to make a sandwich of it--grilled or cold--with a topping of pepper jelly. I can't take credit for this idea; I had it served to me at a local restaurant (Em's Kitchen) and have loved it ever since.
I kind of love it when I realize that I have no idea what I'm going to make for dinner, and it's too late to run out to the grocery store to get supplies. The situation forces me to be creative, and come up with a dish using only the ingredients I already have on hand. It's like I'm a contestant on Top Chef! This is what happened to me last night. I had leftover diced chicken, a few limes, an avocado that was about to be over-ripe, and an unopened bag of raw cashews. As usual, my fridge was stocked with cilantro, sour cream, and mayonnaise, and so I created....Avocado Chicken Salad with Cashews. I topped the finished product with a hefty drizzle of Sriracha Sauce, and found myself fan-girling over my own recipe.
Tuna Melts have always been one of my ultimate comfort foods. Growing up, my dad could only cook two things: omelets and tuna melts, and he made both of those things better than anyone else in the world. I'll never know all my dad's tricks for making a stellar tuna melt, but I'll spend my life trying to replicate it. So while the recipe below is no "Dad's Tuna Melt", it's a pretty tasty (and skinny) rendition.
I love Mexican and Tex-Mex food. Unfortunately, in the hot summer months, the cuisine's heavy and spicy character can be a turn-off. So when the temperature soars, and I'm craving some Mexican food, I like to make Santa Fe Chicken Salad. It's packed with protein, and is a great way to sneak some veggies into your diet. If you serve it on a lettuce wrap, it is a very diet-friendly yet filling meal. It's especially good when it's topped with cool, creamy avocado. Yum!
Happy first day of Spring! Okay, I know Spring technically started yesterday. But today is my birthday, and until recently, the Spring Equinox was almost always on the 21st of March, so I still celebrate it then. In honor of the first day (ahem) of Spring, I decided to make the Spring-iest of foods, a Chicken Salad Sandwich. I hadn't made the recipe in a long time, mainly because it was too high in calories for my diet. However, I decided to play around with the recipe a bit, and lo and behold, I was able to create a delicious, healthy, low calorie, guilt-free chicken salad! I served it on lettuce wraps, and I swear to you, I didn't miss the bread at all. I also pinky swear that my guilt-free chicken salad tastes just as good as the guilty kind.
Ever since I started making Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken, I've been trying to come up with different ways to eat the huge amount of chicken the recipe yields. So far my favorite way to serve the buffalo chicken is by making Buffalo Chicken & Avocado Lettuce Wraps. It's quick to make, tastes phenomenal, and is very low carb. You don't have to do the slow cooker method to make the buffalo chicken part of this recipe if you don't want to. Feel free to cook and shred the chicken any way you please. I do have some product recommendations though. First of all, Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce is the tastiest buffalo sauce I've tried at my local grocery store. I highly recommend it. Secondly, if you are looking for a healthy, low calorie blue cheese dressing, I cannot say enough good things about Bolthouse Farm's Chunky Blue Cheese dressing. It's made from yogurt, has only 35 calories per 2 tablespoons, and tastes eons better than any other low calorie dressing I have tried. It's good stuff!
This year I have striven to eat at least fifty percent vegetarian. Breakfast and dinner have been a breeze, but lunch has proven more difficult. I have a feisty toddler for a boss who only allows very short lunch breaks. I had been eating Applegate Farm's hot dogs for lunch, because they only take a few minutes to cook and eat, working with my tight schedule. I had a lot of trouble finding a comparable vegetarian substitute; either it was low in calories but took too long to prepare (i.e. decent salads), or it was quick to make but high in calories. Or it was too expensive, or plain and tasteless. So many issues! So I decided to create my own vegetarian lunch: Mexican Tofu Wraps! I sauteed up some tofu and black beans, spiced it up with some seasonings, and put it in a low carb wrap with cream cheese, salsa, and spinach leaves. It took less than ten minutes to make the bean-tofu mixture, and it made enough for the whole week. So that means I only have to spend ten minutes (tops!) cooking the tofu-bean mixture on Sunday, and then I only need 2 minutes to prepare a Mexican Tofu Wraps on subsequent days of the week. So now when her Royal Toddlerness allows me my short lunch break, I can get my lunch prepared swiftly. But more importantly? It's delicious!
Behold, one of the best sandwiches ever created: The BLAT: Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Tomato. The combination of these four ingredients might be the most amazing creation of all time. The sweetness of the tomato, contrasted by the saltiness of the bacon, next to the creaminess of the avocado, paired with the crunchiness of the lettuce...absolute perfection.
As I have previously mentioned, I love sandwiches. I consider a good sandwich one of the greatest joys in life. The Sweet & Spicy Ham Panini embodies everything I love in a sandwich: simple ingredients, easy to make, and cheese. Mmm, cheese...
Anybody that knows me is fully aware that sandwiches are my one true love. I firmly believe that everything tastes better between two slices of bread or rolled up in a wrap. Out of all the awesome sandwiches out there, one has always stood out as my absolute favorite: a Caprese Sandwich. It's simply the ingredients of a Caprese salad put on ciabatta bread. Sometimes I like to add prosciutto to the sandwich, but it isn't necessary. The key to making a good Caprese Sandwich is using FRESH ingredients. This is a must. Please do not use a block of Kraft mozzarella; there is a huge difference between that type of mozzarella and actual fresh mozzarella. Almost as much of a difference as between dried and fresh basil. Just don't do it. Trust me!
