Red Potato, Green Bean, and Cherry Tomato Salad

YUM! This is my new favorite salad. It is easy to make, delicious, and very Summery. Okay I do realize that it's only January but it has been so nice out lately that I feel like Summer or at least Spring has come early. Ahh, the delights of living in Arizona. But I digress...Back to this salad. It's crunchy, fresh and the colors look beautiful together. It goes well with practically anything you can grill and comes together very quickly, so it's easy even for a quick weeknight dinner. Try it once and I'm confident that you'll like it as much as I do! You can find the original recipe here.
In my version I quartered the potatoes so that they'd be easier to eat, added a bit more mustard than was called for, noticed that you need a little less olive oil, and my best idea was to add a smallish bag of cherry tomatoes carefully sliced in half. In my humble opinion the tomatoes make the salad. They taste great, don't get me wrong, but I think the color is what really makes the salad pop! See for yourself...happy cooking!

Hmm...as I was eating leftovers, I had a sudden inspiration for this recipe. Maybe too much though...I'll have to try it in a scant amount and report back. The proposed addition? Bacon. Oh yeah. :)

2010!

Happy New Year! As is customary in January, I'm resolving to eat healthier and work out more this year. Eating healthy is the easy part- I like food. It's the exercising that'll take some work! Maybe these, easy yummy recipes will inspire you too!

5 Ingredient Chicken Recipes

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Recipes (We're trying to eat meat free once a week)

Go here for some good tips on how to stock your pantry- since sometimes eating healthfully is more about forming good habits than obsessing over any one meal.

Enjoy these tips for now- I'll hopefully be back soon with some new recipes and updates. I've been inspired my good friend Rachel's Fashion Blog, so it's possible I might actually get serious about this cooking one after all. Until next time!

Pumpkin Bars

Before I post this recipe, I want to give full credit to Dr. Deborah Dean, a professor of mine from BYU who first introduced me to these delightful treats! I hope she won't mind my re-posting the recipe here. I just made these again the other day, and think that they are a wonderful fall dessert.

4 eggs
1 16oz. can pumpkin
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda

Mix ingredients thoroughly. Pour batter onto large, greased cookie sheet (similar to a jelly-roll pan). Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. When cooled, frost with the following cream cheese frosting. (We make ours with Tofutti cream cheese, and no one has ever been able to tell the difference, a fact I'm fairly proud of!)

1 package cream cheese
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-5 cups powdered sugar depending on your sweetness preference. (we use 3-4)
2-3 tablespoons milk (if needed to thin the frosting to spreadable consistency. We don't usually need it, but the Tofutti cream cheese may not be as stiff as the real stuff...)

Rich Buttermilk Waffles

Now I know that waffles aren't especially hard to make, but they can be especially delicious with the right recipe and waffle maker (waffle makers from your friends always help the treats taste more delicious- thank you Hardys!) This recipe is from a delightful cookbook called How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Like most of the other recipes I've been using lately, it's cheap and delicious!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (or a little more) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 3/4 cup buttermilk OR (and I prefer the substitution) 1 1/2 cups sour cream thinned with 1/4 cup (I used a lot more) milk.
2 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
canola or other neutral oil for brushing the waffle iron

1) Combine dry ingredients. Mix together the buttermilk(or sour cream/milk) and the egg yolks. Stir in the butter and vanilla (if you are using it).

2) Brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat it. Stir the wet into the dry ingredients. Beat egg whites with whisk or electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Fold them gently into the batter.

3) Spread about 1/2 cup of batter onto the waffle iron (depending on the size of your iron) and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3-5 minutes. (ours cook faster) Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in a low oven.

Real maple syrup (a splurge, but worth it) sets off the tanginess of the waffles and takes them from good to great. Serve with fresh fruit and bacon and you are good to go.

Delicious Sauce

I'm still working out the ratios on this one, so for the time being just add things to taste. You can make it as limey or spicy as you want! Yum! We had this on chicken.

Lime juice (We used 4-5)
Olive oil
Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (be liberal here people)
Brown Sugar (not too much)
Minced Garlic
Salt and Pepper

It could probably be used as a marinade. We cooked our chicken in it and then once the chicken was done we boiled the sauce for a few minutes until it thickened (and de-chickenified) and it was pretty good for such an easy sauce. We served it with rice and a sald with blueberries and grapefruit. Yum!

Teriyaki Sauce

Very tasty on chicken, beef, salmon, tofu, burgers, vegetables, etc.

* 1 cup soy sauce- low sodium is fine (recommended in fact)
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon minced ginger
optional:
* 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Dissolve sugar in shoyu while stirring. Add ginger. Bring just to a boil, then turn down heat to low, and continue stirring constantly until sauce has thickened and becomes glossy. Remove from heat and enjoy!

Bean Tostadas

This isn't really a recipe, but it is really delicious. We eat this...more regularly than I'd like to admit. Still, it's easy, cheap, and we nearly always have all the ingredients on hand!

Basic Version:
*Corn Tortillas
*Vegetable Oil (for frying tortillas)
*Refried Beans
*Chopped/Shredded Lettuce (preferably not iceberg but anything else works fine)
*Salsa (We like Herdez) or at the very least some good hot sauce (Valentina)
*Corn
*Green Chiles (canned are fine)

Deluxe Version:
same as above, but add the following ingredients if you have cash to spare! :)
*Shredded Cheddar Cheese
*Non-fat plain yogurt, or sour cream (you really can't tell the difference).
*Shredded grilled or poached chicken
*Fresh tomatoes

Fry the tortillas in oil until just crisp. They should be flat and round. If you like them soft, don't fry them as long! Let tortillas drain on paper towels until ready to eat. Pile tostadas with beans and then add whatever other ingredients you have on hand. Then sit down and eat. These are very filling (more than you might think) and delectable. If you're on the deluxe budget, you could serve some calabacitas and watermelon with this. Otherwise, everything you need is piled on top. :) We love this dinner and hope you will too!