another summer friday

Dip dinner happens when you've got a bunch of ripe avocados and several half bags of chips leftover from the holiday weekend.

Featuring:

guacamole

bean dip (refried beans from a can)

salsa

sour cream

jalapenos

fajita chicken

summer dinner, charcuterie edition

Friday nights all summer long we've had something like this for dinner:

Plop a bunch of (cold) things, leftovers, snackies, etc. on a tray and call it charcuterie. 

And it's been the best. No cooking or heating up the kitchen, and if I make it ahead of time, it's ready whenever we get hungry. No two are the same and it helps clean up the random odds and ends that are in the fridge at the end of the week. It's perfect for those times when you're working in the heat and your body is hungry but you're too hot for an appetite.

You might think dinner like this won't fill you up, but there's always a couple different protein options, and we often have trouble finishing it. 

travel dinner: Mediterranean snacks

Felt a little snacky for dinner.

Hummus, veggies, crackers, & dolmas... yum. I need to learn how to make those.

Basically grabbed anything from the deli section that looked good.

travel meal: burrito bowl

Today's travel meal:

Frozen Healthy Choice Unwrapped Burrito Bowl, salad greens, cooked chicken, avocado, & chips. Made enough for 2 meals.

It would have been better if it had salsa.

Oven burgers

Oven burgers: Because making burger patties is a pain in the ass, and so is firing up the grill. I know this one is a little weird, but it works. Got the idea from my sister.

Flatten ground beef into a square/rectangle on a cookie sheet lined with foil. It will shrink as it cooks so make it a little larger than you want the patties. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Cut into squares. 

The burgers come out juicy and delicious. 

Travel meal: quesadillas

Fun fact: Did you know that the Mission Street Taco tortillas fit perfectly on the Dash mini griddle?

Makes for a pretty decent travel meal.

Refried beans + taco seasoning + greens. Sandwiched between 2 tortillas and topped with avocado.

Not bad for cooking without a kitchen.

Sheet pan chicken and broccoli

My go-to dinner for when I'm busy, tired, worn out, cranky, etc = a sheet pan lined with foil + meat + veggies. 

This version had:

chicken thighs + ground thyme, paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper

frozen broccoli + a spray of olive oil, salt, and pepper

Baked at 350 for 30 minutes. Or until the chicken is 165.

The broccoli cooks in the chicken juices and also gets a little charred on top... so good.

potato soup, sans dairy

Can you believe that I haven't made potato soup since cutting out dairy?

Well, it's possible. P.S. use up any sad veggies in your fridge by cutting them very small and tossing them into the pot.

Potato Soup

4 small potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

2 T olive oil

1 stalk of celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1/4 sweet onion, chopped

2 mushrooms, chopped

1/4 zucchini, shredded

3 thick slices of ham, cut into cubes

1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, removed from the stem

1 T. fresh parsley, chopped

1 T. nutritional yeast

1/2 c. almond milk

optional to thicken: 2 T. cold almond milk + 1 t. gf flour mix

salt and pepper to taste

Put the potatoes in a medium sized pot and fill with water. The water should be about an inch above the potatoes. Boil until a fork can be inserted easily into a chunk of potato. DO NOT DRAIN.

In the meantime, put the veggies, oil, and ham into a large pot and sautee until the veggies are soft. Add the potatoes + water. This step is important because the starchy potato water will help the soup thicken. Mash some of the potatoes with the back of the spoon and stir frequently while the soup comes to a rapid boil. Add in the fresh herbs, nutritional yeast, and almond milk.

As the soup boils, keep stirring. It will thicken. If it needs to be thicker, mix 2 T. cold almond milk with 1 t. gf flour into a small bowl and mix that slowly into to the boiling soup. Let it boil for a minute while stirring, then remove from heat.

Top with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast and a dash of smoked paprika.

Travel meal: Sausage, spinach, and rice

Hi, Hi, Hi-ya! (bonus points if you know what movie that's from.)

Today I walked through Whole Foods with a slightly cranky belly that was craving something real and gentle. 

I bought some Applegate Farms chicken sausage, cooked it on the dash mini griddle, paired with spinach and rice. Plus I got some watermelon because it looked good. And some oat-free granola for my yogurt tomorrow morning. Because you can't get out of Whole Foods with only what you came for.

But dinner. Dinner was ready in 

Three,

Two,

One.

Stuffed acorn squash

This dish was so good.

You need:

1 acorn squash
1 chicken breast
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 chopped onion
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1/2 c. chopped kale
1/4 c. cranberries, fresh or dried
1/4 c. cooked brown rice
1/4 c. chopped mushrooms
2 Tbsp slivered almonds
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp ground thyme
dash of cinnamon
salt and pepper

Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Bake at 400 degrees, cut side up, for 40 minutes.

Chop the chicken breast up into small pieces and sautee in olive oil with the onion and celery until cooked through. Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook until the kale is wilted and everything smells nice.

Spoon the mixture into the squash and bake at 375 for another 15 minutes.

Tuscan chicken

Adapted from this recipe, here's my dairy-free take on Tuscan chicken.

What you need:

olive oil

3 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 bag of sundried tomatoes

2 c. chopped spinach

1 c. chopped kale

1 c. almond milk

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oil, chicken, seasonings, and tomatoes until the chicken is browned and cooked. Add the spinach and kale and cooked until it's wilted. Stir in the almond milk and let it simmer until the sauciness is to your liking. Top with lemon juice and parsley.

Serve with your favorite GF pasta. 

Breaded baked white fish

This fish was so delicious. We both kept going back for a little bit more.

All it is, is fish + cornmeal + seasonings:

1 c. cornmeal

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

Mix that all up on a plate. Take a piece of white fish (tilapia, sea bass, cod, whatever is on sale at the grocery store) and lay it on top of the mixture, flipping it and patting the cornmeal onto each side with your hands. Place the fish on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Serve with carrots and a simple cabbage/ zucchini slaw. 

Shrimp Scampi with mussels

This is such a good, simple dish. Shrimp, mussels, garlic, wine, and parsley. A few sweet peppers for a flavor boost, and some peas because that's how I like it. Served with some GF pasta. 

Ingredients:

12 frozen mussels

1/4 lb raw shrimp

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T. olive oil

3 small sweet peppers, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes

white wine (I don't drink a lot of white wine so I used those little single serving bottles of pinot grigio)

1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley

1 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper

1/4 c. frozen peas

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. In the meantime, heat a pan to medium-high heat. Sautee the peppers and oil until they are soft and have a little char. Add in the garlic and heat that for a minute. 

At this point the pasta water should be boiling. Add your favorite GF spaghetti noodles. 

Pour the bottle of wine in the pan with the peppers and add in the mussels. Cover the pan. Set a timer for 10 minutes. When 3-4 minutes are left, add the shrimp and leave the lid off. Stir in the red pepper flakes, parsley, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When the timer goes off, it's done. At this point I like to add frozen peas. Drain the noodles and toss them into the pan with everything else. 

Discard any mussels that did not open. 

Serves 2.

red beans and rice with sausage

We accidentally used up the green bell pepper that I had bought to use in this recipe. You know what was in the fridge? Half of a poblano pepper. Ooh, cuz. That kicks up red beans and rice real nice.

Red Beans and Rice

1/2 chopped onion

1/2 chopped poblano pepper

1 stalk of chopped celery

1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley

cayenne pepper

rubbed sage

salt and pepper

1 bay leaf

1 can of red beans

1 link of andouille sausage, sliced at an angle

Sautee the onion, pepper, and celery in a little bit of olive oil. When the veggies are soft and charred, add in the spices, herbs, and beans. Simmer on low heat while the rice cooks, about 15 minutes.

My pan got full and I like my sausage nice and charred, so I heated that in a separate pan and added them in at the end.

Yum.

beef quesadillas

You know what's good? These quesadillas. 

I'm all about quick and easy lately, and these happened when I had some ground beef thawed with no idea what to do.

Here's what you do:

Heat some chopped onion in a pan with the ground beef until it's brown. Add in taco seasoning. 

Spread some Kite Hill Cream Cheese (the best dairy free cream cheese I've tried) onto a corn tortilla and top with the ground beef and some sad spinach. Place another tortilla on top and cook on a hot pan until each side is crispy. 

Serve with mexican rice, black beans, and sliced avocado. Instead of sour cream I tried Forager plain yogurt. It was a little runny but the taste was good.

Black bean enchiladas

I am in the process of cleaning out some of the older stuff in the pantry. A can of enchilada sauce caught my eye and it's been a while since I've had enchiladas, so I put them on the menu.

I really thought I would miss the cheese in these dairy-free enchiladas, but I didn't! They have lots of flavor and texture and I will be making these again.

Black bean enchiladas

1 can of black beans

1/2 c. frozen corn

1/2 of a shredded zucchini

1 can of enchilada sauce (I used Hatch)

Put the beans, corn, zuccini, and 1/4 c. of the enchilada sauce into a pan. Heat until the mixture has thickened. Smoosh some of the beans with the back of a spoon if you like.

Spoon some of the mixture into a corn tortilla (I use these) and roll them up. Place them seam-side down into an oven-safe dish sprayed with cooking spray. I used a 7-inch square glass pan. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until everything is heated and bubbly. 

Top with some shredded kale for crunch and color.

Makes 5 enchiladas that are sooo good. 

Grilled steak with broccoli and potato

I was so hungry and excited about dinner that I did not take a picture of my plate. I did take a picture of the leftovers, though!

Here's what you need to get excited about dinner... and leftovers:

1 petite sirloin steak, cut into 2 pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper. Put it on a hot grill (400 degrees) and close the lid. Flip after 5 minutes, and after another 5 minutes check it with a thermometer. I like mine medium well to well, so 155 degrees is done.

1 potato, washed and pierced with a fork, and microwaved for 5 minutes. Slice into the potato as if you're cutting it into rounds, but not cutting all the way through. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add a dollup of dairy free butter.

1 cast iron pan filled with frozen broccoli, cooked until there's a nice char.

I enjoyed this meal outside on this cloudy, 73 degree Monday. It was awesome.

Sheet pan Salmon and Broccoli

The best part about this meal is that from start to finish, it took about 30 minutes.

Not counting the overnight thaw/marinade.

If you're interested, here's what you do.

Take some salmon out of the freezer and place it into a bowl meat-side-down with the following:

2 T. maple syrup
2 T. gluten free soy sauce
1 tsp fresh ground ginger (keep a peeled knob in the freezer for instant access)
1 minced garlic clove

Let it thaw in the fridge while soaking in the marinade.

When you get hungry for dinner, preheat the oven to 375 and line a cookie sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray.

Place the salmon on the sheet, then dump some frozen broccoli next to it.

Note: Do not pour the extra marinade onto the salmon because it will burn in the oven. Ask me how I know.

Bake it while you watch an episode of Parks and Rec, about 20 minutes or until the salmon is 145 degrees.

So delicious and easy.

Chicken pot pie

I love me some chicken pot pie. It's just so good. Savory filling with lots of veggies, a flavorful crust... yum.

I like putting seasonings into the crust for that extra layer of flavor, and I like being able to customize the filling so that everything I like is in there. Plus, unlike previous versions of this recipe, this one does not contain dairy. It also doesn't use leftover chicken, because I didn't have any.

The only thing I would change for this recipe is to use a smaller diameter pan, so that the pie is deeper and has a higher filling-to-crust ratio. I used a standard 9-inch pie plate but would use a 7-inch round cake pan next time.

Chicken pot pie

Filling:

1 chicken thigh

1/4 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped into small pieces

olive oil

1 big handful of frozen broccoli, thawed in the microwave and chopped into smaller pieces

1/2 c. frozen peas

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp ground thyme

1 sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Put a pan over medium heat and add in the chicken, onion, and carrot. Drizzle in some olive oil and stir. Let cook, stirring every few minutes and flipping the chicken, until the veggies have gotten soft and the chicken is cooked. 

Remove the chicken, cut it into small pieces, and add back into the pan. Add in the broccoli and peas.

Splash about 1/2 c. water in the pan and gently scrape the browned bits from the bottom. 

Whisk 1 Tbsp GF flour into 1/2 c. cold almond milk. Pour it into to the pan and mix well. As it comes to a boil, the mixture will start to thicken. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook until the consistency is right.

In the meantime, prepare the biscuit crust:

1 c. GF flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground thyme

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp pepper

3 T. vegan I can't believe it's not butter

1/4 c. cold almond milk

Mix the dry ingredients together and use a pastry blender to cut in the "butter" until the mixture looks like little pea-sized balls. Stir in the almond milk to make a soft dough.
Split the dough in half and press one half into the bottom of a greased pie plate. Pour the filling into the pan. Gently roll out the other half of the dough on a piece of wax paper and place it biscuit-side down on top of the filling. Slowly peel off the wax paper to leave the dough perfectly placed on top. I used a fork to roughly seal the edges together and poke holes.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Makes about 4 servings.

Chicken and veggies

Y'all know I'm so happy to have a kitchenette in my hotel room. It's lightly equipped, so meals have to be simple, but simple is good!

Tonight I cooked chicken and veggies. I planned ahead and brought the seasonings from home, then today after work I went to the store and bought some chicken thighs and frozen broccoli.

I'm not used to cooking on an electric stovetop, so I tend to get the pan too hot and have to quickly turn it down to avoid setting off the smoke alarms.

Chicken and veggies

Turn the pan to MEDIUM heat. Add in 2 chicken thighs, 1 clove of chopped garlic, and 1/2 of a chopped green pepper. Sprinkle with 1 tsp ground thyme, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, and salt and pepper. Let that cook for a minute before adding in frozen broccoli, straight from the bag, and then throw in some torn kale from the fridge (because there's a huge bunch in there).

Let that all cook merrily for a while. If it starts to look too dry, add in a little bit of water and cover. Again, I'm paranoid I'm going to set off the hotel smoke alarms.

When the chicken is cooked through, shred it into smallish pieces with a fork, and let the veggies get a tiny bit of char on them. I'd let them get more charred at home, but, again, smoke alarms.

There ya go, a simple meal on a Tuesday.