Italian Chicken Sausage & Veggie Wrap

On occasion I like to treat myself to a grocery trip to Treasure Island–a Whole Foods meets European grocer meets typical chain store.  It’s a blend of all three because I can still find my standard name brand items like Quaker oatmeal but with a pretty price tag attached to it.  Hence why this is an occasional trip.

My latest excursion to Treasure Island involved me circling the pita/flatbread/wrap table for several minutes comparing ingredients and calories until I came across something I’ve never seen before….Mrs. Olson’s Norwegian Potato Lefse. It’s a traditional Scandinavian, potato based soft flat bread.  To my knowledge, it was one of the healthiest choices I’ve ever seen for flat breads.  Just because we’ve become a carb-hating society, doesn’t mean we should hate on potatoes.  They are good for us and have plenty of health benefits.  They are low in fat and packed with fiber and vitamins.

So for a filling lunch, I cooked up some Italian chicken sausage and veggies and served it on the potato lefse.  It was delicious.

Key Ingredients:

• Mrs. Olson’s Potato Lefse
• Italian Chicken Sausage (or whatever kind of meat you might have in the freezer)
• Frozen or fresh assorted veggies. I had frozen bell peppers, onions and mushrooms
• Garlic

1. Heat 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil onto a pan with a little bit of garlic for about a minute.  Then throw in your frozen veggies.

2. Meanwhile, heat up your frozen sausage in the microwave.  Make sure to cover your sausage and when it softens, poke a few holes in it with your fork to let the heat out.  When it’s soft enough to cut, throw the pieces in your pan to simmer with the veggies.

3. Warm up your wrap in the micro for a few seconds.  Pour your meat and veggies on the wrap and serve!

I’ve even brought a sandwich bag full of frozen veggies and a frozen sausage to work and made this in the microwave.  It’s a wonderful alternative to the frozen dinner rut.

Happy Eating!

Kara

Citrus Vinaigrette

Before I began this post I had to look up how to spell “vinaigrette.”  Doesn’t that look wrong?  That’s because most people spell it “vinegarette.”  When googling, I read that “naive diners and restaurant workers alike commonly mispronounce the classic French dressing called ‘vinaigrette’ as if it were ‘vinegarette’”.

I guess I’m a naive diner.  C’est la vie!

Now back to business…citrus vinaigrette.  I was inspired to try this after dining at one of my favorite Chicago brunch spots, Uncommon Ground. Their New Year’s Eve menu has a salad with a clementine dressing that sounds delicious! So I tried to whip up something of my own for my pomegranate, goat cheese and pecan salad.

Key Ingredients:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Garlic
• Honey
• Clementines
• Grapefruit
• Sugar

1. Mix 1/2 cup of olive oil with 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. Squirt about 1 tablespoon or 1 1/2 tbsp of honey and stir with spoon.
2. Add about 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
3. Cut 3 clementines into halves and squeeze juice and some pulp into the mixture and 1/2 of a ruby red grapefruit.
4. Add sugar to taste. I added about 1 1/4 tablespoons. If the vinaigrette still tastes a bit heavy then add a few more splashes of apple cider vinegar.

Happy Eating!

Kara

Shrimp Coconut Curry Noodles

Tonight I made my first Thai Curry dish!  I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing, but it turned out mighty tasty.

Key Ingredients:

• Cooked Shrimp
• Red Onion
• Light Coconut Milk
• Thai Kitchen Panang Curry Sauce
• Glass Noodles
• Coriander Powder
• Sugar
• Cayenne Pepper

1. Defrost several large shrimp in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and let it simmer for about three minutes. Meanwhile, boil water for your glass noodles and cut up 1/4 of a red onion or more. I only had 1/4 in the fridge!

2. Add 1/3 of a can of Light Coconut Oil to the sauce pan.

3. Add 1/4 cup of Thai Kitchen Panang Sauce (I found this sauce at Whole Foods)

4. Throw in a teaspoon or so of sugar and about a teaspoon of Coriander Powder.

5. Stir it up. When I tasted it, it didn’t have enough kick so I added in a few shakes of Cayenne Pepper.  But it all depends on how spicy you like your dishes. Let it simmer.

6. Heat up the glass noodles for 30-40 seconds, drain and toss into your pan.

You can serve as is, it’s kinda soupy or you can let it simmer on low heat for a more noodle-based dish.  I’d say for my first try, this dish was delish!

Happy Eating!

Kara

Cute little orzo with asparagus and tomatoes

Last night for dinner, I made a delicious meal – ACCIDENTALLY! I know, I know… crazy.

Out of the random groceries I had at home today, I had the following key ingredients:

• two tomatoes
• garlic
• green onions
• three spears of asparagus
• orzo
• olive oil

I started the orzo, and in the meantime, peeled and cut up the tomatoes. I cut up the asparagus and steamed it, and then put it aside. Then, I sauteed the garlic, onions and tomatoes in olive oil. When the garlic was browned and everything was fully heated, I stirred in the asparagus, and I added in the orzo. After I turned off the heat, I added pepper and basil, and squeezed some lemon on top. There’s nothing better than a quick, delish one-pan meal!

Next time, I’d definitely use more asparagus and tomatoes – and maybe add some chicken. But overall, it was GREAT in a pinch!!

Happy Eating,

Ash

Mushroom, Tomato and Eggplant Pasta

I made this delicious eggplant pasta from a recipe in Giulia Melucci’s book, I Loved, I Lost, I Ate Spaghetti.  Of course, I ate all the “good stuff” and left very little eggplant in my frozen leftovers.  So I found half a tomato, a bag of brown mushrooms (that don’t have much time left), and an open bottle of red wine with just enough for my pasta and a glass to enjoy with dinner.  And I got to cooking!

Key Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• Brown Mushrooms
• Tomato
• Garlic
• Red Wine
• Splenda
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Dried Oregano
• Dried Basil
• Eggplant (optional)
• Fresh or Leftover Pasta like mine!

I poured a few tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan on medium heat.  Then I added half a teaspoon of chopped garlic.  I buy the pre-roasted garlic in a bottle from Jewel. It’s wonderful to have on hand.  Then I added about 1 1/2 cups of brown mushrooms and let them simmer.  

Meanwhile, I crushed half a tomato and poured it into the pan with about 1/4 cup of red wine.  Then I added some red pepper flakes and a few pinches of dried oregano and basil to taste.  Per author Giulia Melucci’s advice, I added sugar to the mix.  She seems to add red wine and a bit of sugar to all her pasta sauce recipes! Instead of using sugar, I added one pack of Splenda.  And voila!  The perfect compliment to my leftover eggplant pasta.  If you’re making yours from scratch and plan to cook eggplant, give yourself more time.  Cubed eggplant takes about 40-50 minutes to cook and soften.  

 

Buon Appetito! 

Kara

Lemon breaded tilapia with asparagus

Tonight I made a DELICIOUS dinner, completely by accident. I was out walking, doing some errands, and decided to indulge in a trip to Whole Foods, my grocery store heaven. I spent over an hour browsing the aisles, and picked out food as it struck me. I love Whole Foods because it’s so nicely laid out – everything is very visually appealing, and they have a ton of stuff that I’d normally never think of getting. It’s awesome.

When I was in the fish section, I saw some pre-breaded Lemon tilapia patties, and decided that rather than buying them pre-made, I would attempt to make them myself, without a recipe! I bought the tilapia filets and a lemon, and used what I had at home for the rest of the ingredients, which included:

Key Ingredients:

• fresh tilapia filets
• lemon
• green onions
• garlic
• asparagus
• breadcrumbs
• fresh and dried oregano, salt and pepper
• olive oil

I chopped the fresh oregano, a clove of garlic, and a green onion very finely and mixed them in with about a cup of breadcrumbs, and shook in some dried oregano (didn’t have enough fresh), salt, and freshly ground pepper. I then squeezed a couple slices of lemon into the mix, and took some of the flesh out and put it in the bowl and mixed it really well.

I rubbed the filets with a tiny bit of olive oil and breaded them with the mixture. I put them in a pan lightly covered with olive oil, and squeezed on more lemon for flavor. I had preheated the oven to 350 degrees F, and popped them in there.

While they baked, I washed the asparagus and broke off the ends. I lightly drizzled olive oil over them, cracked some salt and pepper, and then sprinkled some left-over garlic and green onion over the top. And then I squeezed some lemon over it all (keeping with my theme for the night)! I put those in the oven as well, shaking them around a bit every once in a while, until I could stick them with a fork and they were tender.

After about 17 minutes, the tilapia filets flaked and pulled apart nicely when stuck with a fork, so they were done as well!

DELISH.

Happy Eating!

Ashley

Kung Pao-ish Chicken

There’s a grocery store in Chicago called Stanley’s, and it’s known for its fresh produce.  It was my first time there, so I got overly excited by all the beautiful vegetables that I purchased too many items.  Stir fry is a great route to go to enjoy and not waste your veggies.  Plus it freezes well, so don’t be afraid to cook extra.  

Key Ingredients:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Chicken
• One Egg
• Pea Pods
• Canned Baby Corn
• Green Onion
• Yellow Onion
• Bean Sprouts
• Kikkoman Kung Pao Seasoning
• Cashews
• Almond Slices
• Soy Sauce
• Red Chili Garlic Sauce
• Brown Sugar

Brown the diced onions in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, add baby corn.  In a separate pan, cook three chicken breasts.  Add seasoning, several dashes of soy sauce and about two tablespoons of brown sugar to the stir fry.  Let the ingredients simmer on medium heat.  Meanwhile, steam the pea pods.  I did mine in the microwave for a few minutes.  Then add the pea pods and bean sprouts to the stir fry.  Once all the veggies are in the pan, add a few dashes of red chili garlic sauce and crushed up cashews and almond slices.  I only included almonds slices because I didn’t have enough cashews!  But it tasted great.  Then add the scrambled egg and let the stir fry simmer.  I kept mine covered to cook a bit quicker. 

This is a delicious meal and tastes even better with a glass of red wine!

Happy Eating!

Kara

Inaugural Accidental Dinner

When considering the birth of this blog, Kara and I planned a couple of get-togethers to brainstorm its direction, drink wine, and eat good food. 

Clearly good food was the key ingredient.  And yes, Ashley was kind enough to host our first blog soiree.  And I willingly admit, that I stood and watched her cook as I munched on her roommate’s chips and queso dip, like a good friend should.  

I moved to a new apartment that month, so my pantry held lots of random food. But I had been to the grocery recently, so I had some produce, and decided to go from there… which brings us to our…

Key Ingredients:

• Red Peppers
• Mushrooms
• Garlic
• White Wine
• Olive Oil
• Buitoni Riserva Ravioli in Spicy Beef and Sausage

As the scrutinizing bystander, I was a bit concerned as Ashley poured what looked like 1/2 cup of olive oil into her pan, but it served as a good base for the absorbent mushrooms.  But I still think you can go a little lighter on the E.V.O.O.  :)

I’m a huge fan of olive oil. So sue me. 

Anyway, I chopped up all the veggies into tiny pieces, sauteed them in the pool of olive oil, and let it simmer until the red pepper was soft. Then, I added some white wine and let it simmer for a few minutes longer, until it reduced to a nice glaze. 

I sprinkled on some pepper, dried basil, and salt to taste, and we put the mix on top of our scrumptious ravioli (which are truly amazing, and a great staple to keep in the freezer). 

It’s a delicious meal as evident by the photos below. 

Happy Eating!

Ashley & Kara