Spice up Your Weekday Meals with Chimichurri Sauce

I am always looking for healthy easy ways to spice up dinner to make it a little more fun and exciting. The answer: Chimichurri sauce. Originated from Argentina, this is the perfect way to dress up any meal time. I love making a simply grilled chicken, fish, or steak and throwing this sauce on top; hello easy weekday meal!

What you will need:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 cloves of garlic
1 shallot
1/2 to 1 jalapeno (depending on how much heat you like)
2 cups cilantro
1 cup parsley
1/3 cup fresh oregano
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt

Directions:
Combine vinegar, garlic, shallot, jalapeno and salt in bowl of food processor and let sit for 10 minutes. Add in cilantro, parsley and oregano.

 
Pulse to blend. Add in olive oil and blend again.

 

Taste and feel free to add more of the above ingredients as you feel are needed. You can add more jalapeno for heat or more cilantro for a citrusy flavor.

 

Top any grilled meat with your chimichurri sauce and enjoy. You can also use this sauce to spice up salads or dip bread in. You can store sauce in fridge and use through-out the week.

 

Bon Appetit!



Eggplant Brushetta

What you will need

2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
1 medium eggplant (sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds)
1 loaf of your favorite bread
8 ounces mozzarella
olive oil
Salt and pepper
Marinara sauce (store bought or you can make your own with this recipe)

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. In a shallow bowl, whisk two eggs together with a dash of salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, pour in your bread crumbs.

Dip your eggplant rounds into egg then into breadcrumbs ensuring your coat thoroughly. Transfer to greased baking sheet. Repeat till all eggplant slices are done. Place baking sheet in over until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

While eggplant are cooking, slice bread loaf lengthwise and place cut side up on baking sheet. Press slightly in middle to make a well. Place in oven for 2-5 minutes just to get a light browning on bread otherwise your bread might get soggy in the middle.

Top lightly toasted bread with marinara sauce, baked eggplant slices, and mozzarella cheese. Put back in over for about 6-9 minutes until cheese is melted and bread is toasted.

Once baked, you can cut into slices and serve. If you have fresh basil, it would be great to add a rough chopped basil on top.

 

Bon Appetit

Thai Coconut Curry Soup



My husband and I have been obsessed with Thai food after we traveled there a few years ago. This dish is one of my weekday go-to-meals as it can be made under twenty minutes but doesn't lack any flavor.

What you'll need:

2-3 chicken thighs, deboned and cubed

1 bell pepper any color, cut into this long strips

1 carrot cut into thin long strips ( I used a mandolin for this)

1 egg plant cubed

1 Jar Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste

1 can coconut milk

1 cup chicken broth

olive oil

Rice noodles

Cilantro

Optional if you have in your kitchen:

Thai chili

Coconut sugar

Fish Oil



Directions:

Cook rice noodles based on package instructions. This normally consists of boiling water-removing pot from heat and submerging noodles in water. Make sure you keep an eye on them and don't over cook.

Next, take a wok, or any large frying pan will do, and drizzle a little olive oil in pan on medium heat. Empty red curry paste jar into pan and stir. Let this slightly caramelize for about a minute.

 Add 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 cup of water to pan and stir to low boil. Add diced chicken and simmer until cooked (approximately 7-10 min). Add eggplants to pan, let cook for 2 min minute. Add carrots to pan, let cook for a minute. Add bell pepper to pan, cook for a minute.

From here you are going to add can of coconut milk and stir. If you have fish oil, add a dash at this point. Add Thai chili peppers for additional heat to your liking. If you want to sweeten the soup, add a pinch of coconut sugar.

To serve, add a decent serving of noodles to bowl and spoon soup and veggies over noodles. Top with a pinch of cilantro.

Here are a few pictures of our Thailand adventure.

Bon Appetit

Greek Quinoa Green Salad

This has become my favorite thing to make lately in different varieties. It is healthy, super easy and quick to make, the flavors are so fun for summer!

What you will need:

1 cup dried Quinoa (cous cous or bulgur wheat; whatever your favorite grain will work)

zucchini

onion

tomatoes

salad greens

Dressing:

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/4 cup white vine vinegar

2 tablespoons of tarragon

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

pepper to taste

Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend well. Scrap down the sides as needed to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Set aside or put in fridge to keep cool.

Combine quinoa with 2 cups of water in a pot and bring to simmer. Cook over low heat till all the water has been absorbed.

Preheat BBQ on low. Slice onions into rounds and slice zucchini in half longwise. Drizzle with olive oil and place on hot BBQ. Cook until little browned and vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and slice into bite size pieces. Mix vegetables with quinoa and salt and pepper to taste. From here, you can serve warm or put in fridge to serve cold. I like a hot salad and my husband likes a cold salad so whatever you choose!

Place a hand full of greens on a plate. Top with quinoa and veggie mixture. Drizzle with your dressing and serve! Easy, healthy, meatless, and fast to prepare! Have fun and play with different veggies. Add some avocado or grilled bell pepper. Let me know what you choose to add to yours!

Bon Appetit!

Mexican Chicken Rice Bowls

Rice Bowls are my easy go to dinner. Its simple and most of the ingredients I normally have in my kitchen already.

I defrosted 4 boneless chicken breasts. Put in a bowl and and squeeze 1 full lime into the bowl.

Add a tablespoon of chili powder and 4 cloves of diced garlic to bowl. Cover and put in fridge to marinade. I let my marinade for about an hour while I did some other chores.

Put some rice on to cook. I used brown rice and put in my rice cooker...again, easy!

Take chicken out and cut into cube bite size pieces. Put a large pan on and pour about a tablespoon of olive oil in pan and heat. Once pan is hot, add chicken and cook till brown.

Meanwhile, cut 1 whole onion in rounds. Put another pan on stove and heat a tablespoon of oil. Add onions and a 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. Cook on low heat and let reduce down. Your onions should caramelize.

While the chicken is cooking, prep your other ingredients. I grated cheddar cheese, cut cilantro, cooked some canned black beans, and pulled out some greek yogurt and salsa. Once rice, chicken and onions are done cooking put in the assembly line of toppings and let everyone build their own mexican rice bowl.

This is a huge hit in my house, super easy to make.

Let me know what other ingredients you like to use! 

Bon Appetit!