Read Your Recipe!
Sometimes I come up with “perfect meals” in my head. These are meals that taste good (obvi), but then contain only beautifully healthy ingredients and have that balance of whole grain, veggies, lean protein, dairy, and healthy fat. This is one of those meals. As my husband was eating it he said “If I ate this every day I’d live to be 100″.
Who doesn’t love Caprese salad? No one. And once again without the double negative, EVERYONE loves this amazing combo. And really, it’s beautifully healthy in that it’s a balanced mix of carbs, protein, and healthy fats. Don’t just make this as a summer side with burgers – I tupperwared this for several work lunches and looked forward to it all morning!
A friend was due over with her kids for lunch. What was my problem, then, that I didn’t remember that I had to make lunch until about 11 am? Take out is always an option, but baby girl was sleeping. THIS, friends, is why it’s SO IMPORTANT to always have puff pastry in your freezer. It can bail you out of any forgotten meal.
It was Monday afternoon. I had no fresh meat or vegetables. It was too late to thaw meat. Husband called and said he would be home at seven and was STARVING. Hmm. Pantry? If you have canned beans and tomatoes on hand, and you can always make a homemade dinner.
OK, more of an idea than a recipe, and you might already know about this. I do this every two weeks and always keep a stack in my freezer, since my husband loves peanut butter and jelly sammies and eats them as snacks. PS, if we ever find out that peanut butter is toxic, he’s a goner – I think he eats at least a jar a week.
I once worked for a neighbor/family friend who had a little cafe. I was probably sixteen, and she intended me to waitress. Turned out I was a really, REALLy bad waitress. The neighbor actually had to tell me, “you’ve got two strikes, one more and you’re out”. And I got the third strike. They moved me back to the kitchen. The silver lining is that I learned how to make a mean tuna salad. The dark stormy cloud is that sucked as a waitress (my time at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House further supported this sad fact). What’s the connection to this sandwich? I’m getting there.
I really wish there was a way to make this picture better. I’m sorry. Story goes like this; I made the recipe, took just the “finished” picture, then ate away, not really planning on saving the recipe on homebeccanomics. Turns out I can’t get this out of my head! All of the ingredients are on my current food shopping list because I cannot WAIT to eat it again. It’s ridiculously good for you, easy as can be (just need to know how to use a knife), and truly one of the most pleasing things I have eaten in a while – something about the surprising apple-y sweetness with the fresh lime – YUM. The picture is bad, though.
This is one of those recipes that’s really more of an idea. It takes like, two seconds to make. When pb and j or turkey and cheese fail to turn your wheels, try something like this! The wrap provides whole grain, the ricotta and yogurt our protein, the nuts our healthy fats, and the apple provides the fruit! It’s sweet, creamy, and pretty low calorie to boot.
A salad like this is the PERFect thing to have in your fridge for the sticky summer nights. So many people opt to just grill chicken or fish for dinner, but that makes for a pretty boring plate. Who wants to steam broccoli or bake a sweet potato when it’s 98 degrees outside? Instead, throw this together and not only will your plate be muy colorful, it will healthier and tastier to boot!
I love when other people bring food to my house and then leave it here – thanks, Kate, for the brie! Brie is something I almost never buy, so it was fun finding it in my cheese drawer today! If I’m at a Christmas party and someone makes a baked brie, count me out for interesting (or even coherent) conversation. I’ll stay by the brie, thanks. Brie comes wrapped in paper, but then you open it and it seems like it’s wrapped in MORE paper. This is actually edible, but it’s weird so you might just want to slice some of it off. That’s what I do, anyway.
Since I don’t have a lot of storage in my little house, I’m not a fan of kitchen appliances that serve only one purpose. I don’t have a waffle maker, a popcorn machine, an ice cream machine or a pan to poach eggs. I did, however, receive a non-requested panini press from a wedding well-wisher. One might think a panini press is only used to make paninis, but one would be wrong.
I was going to tell a long winded story about my reason for making this tart, but I’ll save you from it; everyone has rough days and there is no need to lament. The bottom line of the story was this; always keep puff pastry in your freezer. It’s made by Pepperidge Farm, it’s cheap, and it’s at every single grocery store.
Why should you have this on hand? Because you can put just about anything on top and in thirty minutes you’ll serve a meal that makes people think you’re a ridiculously awesome cook. You can top it with fruit or sweet stuff and make a dessert, or even with cheese and sauce and have a pizza. It’s versatile and delicious.
Homebeccanomics got a face lift! My baby projectile vomited all over me at 6:10 AM this morning, so it’s nice that SOMETHING is looking good.
Still me, though, and still working out the kinks so bear with me.
Hummus. Yes, you can buy hummus really easily. It’s tasty when you buy it. It’s tastiER when you make it. It’s also way cheaper if you will make it a few times. To make it yourself you’ll need a fresh lemon, a can of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), some garlic and a bit of cumin and cayenne. You will also need something called tahini. Know how you grind peanuts to make peanut butter? Well you grind sesame seeds to make tahini. It’s high in healthy fats and vitamin E. You can buy it at any grocery store. It keeps at room temperature for months (years?).
This has always been one of my favorite soups; when I see it on menus I always order it. I do this because it tastes fantastic but ALSO because it’s good to start heavy Italian meals with a salad or a broth-based soup. This soup is crazy good for you with all the beans and veggies. If you start a meal with something “voluminous” you have less room in your belly for pasta!
Healthy yet somehow indulgent and addictive. I mean, vegetable indulgent, not chocolate cake indulgent.
There aren’t many things better than a grilled cheese sandwich. I think it was the first thing I perfected in the kitchen. I was about ten, armed with seeded rye bread and cooper sharp cheese – heaven. The white bread and kraft singles version is pretty ridiculous as well, though completely devoid of real food. Gourmet grilled cheeses have been popular for a while and usually involve a bunch of ingredients you don’t have on hand. Not this one. All the ingredients used should become staples in your fridge because they’re amazing for you.
Reaaallly struggled to name this one. I came home from Wegmans (which, by the way, is AWESOME) with some turkey cutlets. I went to epicurious.com and searched around a bit. I found a recipe for “Shawarma” which is a Middle Eastern dish in which the name more accurately describes the cooking method than the overall taste. I used the basic idea of the dish but changed enough that it’s not a copy paste situation. Regardless, the name was tough for me so you might need to really scan through this to get the whole idea.
On my mini-getaway I asked my mom what I could make that would be the most helpful for her (and if I baked something then the two of us would be the only ones to eat it all.. bad idea). She is having some friends down for a few days and said I could make their Thursday lunch.
When my mom knows I’m coming to the shore, she stocks up on fruits and veggies because she knows how much I love them. Only problem is, she then worries about them and reminds me every day that I need to use them up so they don’t go bad. As she jetted out the door yesterday her last words were.. DON’T FORGET THE CORN!
I heart yeast. It’s super fun. I’ve recently reignited my passion for toasted, lightly buttered rye bread. I’ve made french bread before and other yeast breads, but I’ve never tried rye.