Healthy Caesar Salad Dressing

Like my Snapware?  I keep it classy up in here...  For instance tonight me & E ate our salsa verde chicken enchiladas on paper plates.  We even used coated paper plates with gaudy flowers on the edges, which nearly requires we break out the stemware.  We're pretty impressive.  Really though... I actually do have nice serving bowls and platters, but those are reserved for when we have dinner guests.  Therefore, when I'm making myself Caesar salad for tomorrow's lunch it will be in Snapwear, and I will photograph it.  Hopefully one can look past the Snapwear to appreciate the deliciousness of Caesar and the fact that this dressing doesn't deliver fat content in the double-digits.  That way, if you like to eat some lettuce with your dressing, you don't need to feel guilty about it :)  

Lemon Chicken

The sir in my life is trying to eat healthier,  so we have been eating a lot of salad.  Today, in celebration of Thursday, we decided it was time to fry something.  (But it's totally justified because we ate it with like a gallon of steamed veggies...)  If you have more discipline than I do, feel free to sub in baked chicken.  My baked sweet & sour chicken (less the chinese five spice) would work great with this lemon sauce.

Honey Tahini Dressing

I'm currently facing a dilemma--an utterly disastrous dilemma.  I have no bread. [Unless you count the soft pretzels I made on Sunday as bread... but let's face it I can't really make a PB&J with a soft pretzel...]  I also don't have much other food, since my time in Bloomington is coming to an end I'm trying to let my pantry dwindle (and it's taking a serious amount of self-control at the grocery).  I do have lettuce, lots of freezer food, and some incredibly stale pita bread, which lent itself perfectly to a deconstructed felafel salad :)  This creamy dressing tied it all together, the rich tahini harmonizes perfectly with the sweet honey and acidic lemon striking a refreshingly satisfying balance.  I found myself scraping the left over salad dressing off my plate with the pita chips and tomatoes--it was that good.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Aside from Ketchup and Barbeque sauce, I basically despise condiments.  I find mustard unappealing, and mayonnaise practically repulses me.  Seriously, egg salad, potato salad, and cole slaw- basically the staples found at every picnic and potluck- kind of make my skin crawl.  I have had a life of discarding half of my sandwich because the waiter didn't hear my clear qualification of "NO MAYONNAISE".  It's a pathetic existence.  This inexplicable hatred was quelled this weekend however, when I made Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches.  All the recipes called for mayonnaise, but I couldn't bring myself to allow my dinner guests to spread that nasty goo on such perfectly good sandwiches.  The thought of it was almost insulting, so instead of giving them a jar of hydrogenated oil, soy lecithin, and preservatives, I decided to make my own.  And- It. Was. Good.  Call Channel Five News, folks, this hater has been converted.  Not only was it good- but super entertaining to watch.  I think I'll give mayonnaise for Christmas this year, just so I can make a ton of batches and observe the magic unfold, over and over.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

 This speedy hummus is wonderful with pita chips, piped onto cucumber slices for a quick appetizer, or used as a spread on sandwiches.  Feel free to mix it up, utilizing different ingredients to flavor such as- sun-dried tomatoes and basil, cilantro, or roasted garlic.
 

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas (15 oz) drained
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 whole roasted red peppers
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• pinch of cayenne pepper

1. In a food processor, add garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, and lemon juice.  Process until smooth, then add roasted red peppers, basil, paprika, and cayenne.  Pulse until desired consistency is achieved.  Transfer to a container and chill until time to serve.  Store in the refrigerator.

Yields ~ 2 cups.

Carrot Lemon Soup with Ginger

This morning I had a strange craving for avgolemono soup, but I was out of eggs.  Further my poor little food processor hadn't seen much love lately. 

So I devised this quick, refreshing soup recipe.

Only the greatest addition to my kitchen, ever.

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 3 large carrots, shredded (~2 cups)
• 1/4 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• Zest of ~1/2 lemon
• 1/3 cup rice
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• Salt
• lemon wedges

1. In a large pot, over medium heat soften the onion in olive oil for about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, and cook another 2 minutes.  Add ginger, carrots, rice, lemon zest, and vegetable stock.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, or until rice is fully cooked.
3. Transfer contents to a blender (or use an immersion blender) and carefully pulse 3-5 times.  
4. Return to pot, stir in lemon juice, salt according to taste, and serve with lemon wedges.

Notes:

• Fresh ginger makes a big difference- what isn't used can be tossed in the freezer in a zip lock bag and used later.

Yields 4 servings

Citrus Buddies

I stumbled upon inspiration for this recipe on Pinterest, only to go buy all of the ingredients and realize that the original idea belongs to Chex... and is on the back of their box.
And I thought I was on to something...  I however, am incompetent at actually following a recipe, so I tweaked it just a little.  And in my humble opinion- I improved it :)

• 9 cups Chex cereal
• 1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips
• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 4 tsp lemon zest (~3/4 of a large lemon)
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 2 generous cups powdered sugar

EVERYTHING you need (+1 lemon..)

1. In a microwave safe bowl heat the chips, lemon juice, zest, and butter for 1 minute.  Stir well, and heat in 20 second increments, stirring between, until the mixture can be stirred smooth.

2.  Pour the mixture over the cereal in a large bowl, and stir gently until evenly coated.  Then transfer to a gallon storage bag and add powdered sugar.  Seal the bag and shake gently until pieces appear evenly coated- I always add additional sugar because I like mine to be uniformly white.

Notes:

• Rice or corn chex will do- or the off-brand chex cereal.
• Mix it up with lime, orange juice, or whatever you have on hand! 
• This makes cute gifts- fill a cellophane bag and tie with cute ribbon- to really jazz it up you could coat some with colored vanilla candy coating instead of white- in happy citrus colors like orange, yellow, and green.

Yields 9 cups.

Turkish Lamb Kebab

• ~ 1 1/2 lbs lamb leg fillet, cubed
• 1 lemon
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried mint, or 1 tsp fresh mint
• 3 Tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Oil for grill

1.  In a bowl add the olive oil, and zest the lemon into the bowl.  
2. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, thyme, mint, and pepper.
3. Mix the lamb cubes in and marinate for at least four hours, or overnight.
4. Heat the oven to 350°F.  Put the lamb cubes on bamboo skewers.  Also heat a grill pan and brush with oil, or the grill and place kebabs on until grill marks develop on all sides, and then transfer to oven for about 8 minutes to finish cooking.  
5. Serve with rice pilaf.

Notes:

• Soak bamboo skewers overnight so they don't char when grilled.
• If you choose to use a grill, you can cook the lamb the whole time on the grill and eliminate the oven step.

Yields 4-6 servings

Avgolemono Soup

• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup long grain rice, or orzo pasta
• 4 eggs, seperated
• Juice of 3 lemons
• Black pepper, to taste

1. In a large pot bring stock to a boil, and add rice. Simmer about 20 minutes, or until tender. For orzo the cooking time will be shorter, refer to package directions for exact time.
2. When the rice is near tender, in a medium-large bowl whisk the egg whites until medium peaks form. Add the egg yolks and lemon juice, continuing to whisk.
3. When the rice is tender, slowly add 2 cups of the hot stock to the lemon-egg mixture, continuing to whisk.
   
4. Once the stock is incorporated, begin to slowly add the lemon-egg mixture to the pot of stock and rice, stirring constantly, so scrambled eggs don't form.
5. Stir in the black pepper, and serve.

Notes:

• If you find the eggs scrambling when you add the two cups of stock you can strain the mixture before transferring it to the soup pot.

Yields 8 servings.

Fluffy Lemon Ginger Pancakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger, or 1/2 tsp dried ground ginger

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and ginger, gently stir.
   
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Notes:

• This recipe makes for a fluffy batter, be sure to create thin enough pancakes so the center cooks completely, nobody likes a raw pancake.
• To make classic pancakes simply don't add the ginger or lemon zest.
• These are wonderful with a simple fruit sauce, as pictured, recipe coming soon!

Yields ~8 servings.

Easy Lemon Cookies

Cookies

• 1 box Lemon cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3-1/2 cup oil (whatever the cake mix calls for)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of half a lemon

Icing

• 2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• ~2 Tbs lemon juice
• zest of the other half of the lemon
• ~1 tsp corn syrup

1. Heat the oven to 350*.
2. Mix the cake mix, oil, eggs, vanilla, and zest.
3. Form into golf ball sized cookies and place ~2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet, and bake 8-12 minutes, or until golden on the bottom.
4. While baking, make the icing by mixing lemon juice and confectioners sugar, Add the juice little by little, and stop adding liquid as soon as desired consistency is reached.
5. Then stir in corn syrup and zest.
6. Allow cookies to cool, ice, or drizzle with icing, and enjoy!

Notes:

• There are so many variations of this cookie possible, chocolate cake mix, spice cake, yellow cake, etc.

Yields approx 2 dozen cookies.