Tag Archives: make-ahead

Asian Simple Salad and Dressing

Posted in 30 minute meals, asian, dressing, salad, vegan, vegetarian by

I was on the hunt for an easy and tasty Asian Salad Recipe and stumbled upon this one from Fit Foodie Finds. This is one of my new favorites! Take a peak below or go to link https://fitfoodiefinds.com/asian-salad-dressing/

Prep: 20 minutesCook: 0 minutesTotal: 20 minutes

SERVINGS 4

Asian Salad Dressing

This Asian Salad Dressing is made with garlic, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and a little soy sauce. It’s the perfect healthy salad dressing to top on your favorite kale salad or use as a chicken marinade!

Prep: 5 minutesCook: 10 minutesTotal: 15 minutes

FAT 15 CARBS 3 PROTEIN 0

YIELD 4

Dressing Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, roughly minced
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

Asian Kale Salad Ingredients

  • 4 cups shredded kale, packed
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
  • 1 large red pepper, minced
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
  • 1/2 cup onion, minced (any kind)
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds


    INSTRUCTIONS
  • Start off by making your Asian Salad Dressing.  
  • Prepare Asian salad by placing kale into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
  • Massage the olive oil into the kale with your hands for 2-3 minutes or until kale is soft and broken down.
  • Add the rest of the kale salad ingredients to the bowl and mix.
  • Pour entire dressing on the salad and toss until all ingredients are combined.

TIPS & NOTES

Nutrition includes Asian Salad dressing.

NUTRITION FACTS

  • Serving Size: 1/4 Calories: 249 Sugar: 6 Fat: 19 Carbohydrates: 18 Fiber: 4 Protein: 4

Date Coconut Mixed Seed Bites

Posted in AP's Favorites, dessert, Snacks, SP friendly, Standard Process Friendly, sweet treat, vegan by

Treat yourself to these crowd-pleasing guilt free goodies when you are craving something sweet. Clean eating doesn’t mean you have to skip dessert.

Raw Date, Coconut, & Mixed Seed Fiber Power Bites | Makes 12-13 Bites – Serving size 2 Bites

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup pitted dates
  • ½ Cup of Tahini Paste
  • ½ Tablespoon chia seeds
  • ½ Tablespoon pumpkin seeds
  • ½ Tablespoon sunflower seeds
  • Unsweetened, dried shredded coconut (to cover outside of bites)

Directions

  1. Place dates and tahini into the bowl of food processor. Pulse ingredients gently until a paste-like batter is formed (this may take 1-5 minutes).
  2. Add chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds. Gently pulse mixture to incorporate, but do not blend completely (pieces of the seeds should still be visible and will provide texture to the finished product).
  3. Remove mixture from mixing bowl, and using your hand, gently shape mixture into 1 oz. size balls.
  4. Place coconut on a plate or flat surface, and gently roll the ball in coconut to cover exterior.

Package in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Here’s to a healthier you,

Roasted Vegetable and Orzo Salad

Posted in entertaining, pasta, salad, side dish, vegetarian by

Orzo Salad with Roasted VegtablesOrzo Salad with Roasted Vegetables

This make-ahead recipe is a perfect addition to a summer BBQ and is also a great dish to compliment greek roasted chicken.

 

  • 1 eggplant, peeled and 3/4-inch diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, 1-inch diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, 1-inch diced
  • 1 red onion, peeled and 1-inch diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/3 cup good olive oil
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 pound orzo
  • 32 oz. Chicken Broth
  • For the Dressing:
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
  • 1/3 cup good olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Finishing touches:
  • 4 green onions, minced (white and green parts)
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 3/4 pound good feta, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
  • 15 fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. combine the chopped eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large baking sheet or jelly roll pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.

While vegetables are cooking, bring salted chicken broth to a boil in a medium pot . Add orzo and  cook for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl to cool.

Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.

IMG_2521

For the dressing, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature or refrigerate.

Just before serving, add the green onions, pine nuts, feta, and basil. Can be served at room temperature or refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Note: I adapted this delicious side dish recipe from Ina Garten.  I originally found it in my now dog-eared Barefoot Contessa Parties! recipe book.  I love almost every recipe in this publication.  Thank you Ina!

Psst! You can boil the orzo in water instead of chicken broth if you want to go vegetarian.

Grandma’s Make-ahead Mashed Potatoes

Posted in comfort food, entertaining, holiday favorites, Holiday Meals, side dish, vegetarian by


Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Yield: Makes 12 to 15 servings

 

Ingredients:

15 medium (5 pounds) potatoes peeled and quartered
6-8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup  light sour cream
2 teaspoons onion powder
salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
2 egg whites slightly beaten (or one whole egg)
2-4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chopped chives (optional)

Instructions:

Preparing Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes:

In a large pot, add cut-up potatoes and just enough cold water until potatoes are covered; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium; cover and let simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.   Overcooking can cause the potatoes to become gummy.

Remove from heat and immediately drain potatoes thoroughly in a colander.  Return to saucepan; heat over medium-low heat approximately 1 to 2 minutes to dry potatoes, stirring occasionally.  NOTE: Boiled potatoes left in water will start to jellify and may even increase in volume (becoming swollen and watery).  That is why it is important to let the potatoes drain for a couple of minutes in a colander immediately after they are cooked.

In the same cooking pan, mash potatoes with a potato masher or potato ricer until there are no lumps.

TIP: NEVER use a blender, electric mixer, or food processor to make mashed potatoes.Gluey or gooey mashed potatoes are caused by vigorous over mashing, When potatoes are boiled, their starch granules swell.  If those granules are broken too vigorously, the cells release copious quantities of starch, resulting in a potatoes with the consistency of wallpaper paste.

Add cream cheese, sour cream, onion powder, salt, pepper, egg whites, and chopped chives (if desired); blend well.

Spray a large casserole dish with vegetable-oil cooking spray. Add potato mixture and dot with butter.

Cool mashed potatoes slightly, cover, and then refrigerate.

The prepared mashed potatoes may be made up to 7 days ahead of time.  If preparing ahead, remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Place in an ovenproof baking dish if not already stored in this dish.


When ready to heat the potatoes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Take potatoes out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
Bake, loosely covered, 40 minutes or until steaming hot in center.

Crock Pot – Slow Cooker Make-Ahead Mashed Potato Recipe:

Mashed Potatoes in slow cookerYou can use this crock pot/slow cooker version, if you need to free up your oven for other dishes when making my holiday meals.

Take the prepared mashed potatoes out of refrigerator about 3 1/2 hours before serving time.  See Preparing Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes above.  Place the mashed potatoes in the crock-pot/slow cooker.  Cover and use low heat for approximately 3 hours, stirring once or twice.

When you are ready to serve the mashed potatoes, stir, and then add some additional dollops of butter.

Grandma’s Do-Ahead Thanksgiving Gravy

Posted in entertaining, holiday favorites, Holiday Meals by


So much goes into preparing the Thanksgiving meal, especially when turkey is on the menu.  I always love shortcuts and tips on things you can do the day before to help ease the pressure on the big day.  Grandma Peggy’s Do-ahead Gravy is one of them.  You can prepare this up to three days in advance and then just add the final ingredient, the  pan drippings from the turkey, right before you are ready to serve.

Grandma Peggy’s Do- Ahead Gravy

Yield: about 4 cups

Ingredients:

6 T. flour
6 T. butter
4 cups chicken broth or stock
salt and pepper
Turkey pan drippings (added 15-30 minutes before ready to serve)

Instructions:

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and whisk in flour. Cook over medium high heat until flour is incorporated and white bubbles begin to form on the top. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Gradually add broth, whisking constantly. Stir until gravy is thickened and mixture boils. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Cool and refrigerate for up to three days.

To serve:

On Thanksgiving day, heat the gravy. When turkey is done, pour off drippings into a jar or fat separator. Skim or spoon off all the fat and stir the drippings into the gravy.