Lotta kale going on around here lately. Lots and lots of kale. Creamy kale stuffed into toasty roasted mushrooms. Cheesy kale stuffed into sweet, earthy spaghetti squash. It just seems useful at this point to share my favorite thing to do with all the leftover kale stems. I freeze mine so I usually have a bag waiting for me whenever I need an easy meal or a quick, convenient appetizer. Here is my favorite “recipe”, if you can call it that. It is spicy, garlicky, and served on toast. Plus, it takes less than 10 minutes to make, so… yes, we’re on the simple track to easy town.
Continue reading “What to do with kale stems”Category: Appetizers
Stuffed Mushrooms with Kale and Cream Cheese
High five for little roasty mushrooms stuffed with onion-y kale and cream cheese, topped with toasty breadcrumbs! These were my recent addition to a family Christmas get-together where I was tasked with bringing some kind of vegetable appetizer. I’m not a crudités kind of girl, I refuse to bring something raw to the party. I’m here to cook and make things creamy and roasted and crispy on top. Can’t stop me. So, vegetables? No problem – earthy, meaty mushrooms + kale. Appetizer? I gotcha – bite-sized + finger food. Let’s party.
Miso Deviled Eggs
Just in time for last minute holiday entertaining: Miso Deviled Eggs! Deviled eggs, without fail are the one thing I can whip up last minute, without having to make a trip to the store and they’re great for a crowd. Disclaimer: I’m saying “whip up” but this is the mess I make every time I make deviled eggs. Whatever.
Fresh Butterbean Hummus
The most important thing to note about this creamy, earthy, garlicky Fresh Butterbean Hummus recipe is… WE GOT A PUPPY!
OMG, we got an English Mastiff puppy and his name is Bear, in honor of our sweet Caesar Bear we said goodbye to in April. He is our cute little butterbean and we are crazy about him💕.
Back to food. Let’s discuss other wonderful things, like how this hummus takes about 2 seconds to make, all in the food processor. This is the one I love because it has everything (big ‘ol work bowl and cheese grating/veggie-shredding blade? yep!) and it’s easy to use and clean. Here, it’s giving you a lush hummus, with a whipped-like texture, full of lemony-garlic flavor, and punched up with earthy spices and a bite from half a jalapeno (optional, but delicious).
Jalapeno Feta Beer Bread
Anyone else have jalapenos growing like weeds this summer? Me too and daaaaang they are spicy ones. Thankfully, Joey and I are best friends with the creeping heat of a jalapeno. He prefers them dipped in salt, followed by a shot of tequila on a Friday afternoon. I will take them any way I can get them.
For example, in this Jalapeno Feta Beer bread, brimming with salty, cheesy goodness, sweetness from honey, and punctuated with little bursts of spicy heat. Not to mention, the beer adds a nice tang.
Continue reading “Jalapeno Feta Beer Bread”Coconut Fried Rice Balls with Spicy Peach Dipping Sauce
We’re doing everything right today with this recipe: Coconut Fried Rice Balls with Spicy Peach Dipping Sauce. Joey and I enjoyed these two nights in a row this week because we have no limits on crunchy fried starchy things with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce. Yeah, that sauce… today is its first appearance on the blog but it won’t be its last; it’s definitely going to pair up with some fish and/or chicken soon. It’s two fresh peaches, 1/2 a jalapeno, and a little coconut cream, in a blender. Coconut cream is kind of a specialty ingredient, I know, but the good news is, it’s also an ingredient in pina coladas, which pair amazingly well with these Coconut Fried Rice Balls. Sooooo… you’re welcome?
Vegetable Samosas
Vegetable Samosas: the result of a hungry prowl around the kitchen. Scratch that – the flaky, spicy, delicious, veggie-packed result of a hungry prowl. Mashed red potatoes, sweet peas that were on the verge of frostbite in my freezer, and spinach. And the requisite (for me) sauteed onions, garlic, ginger, serrano peppers, and spices. (OMG -the spices, you guys… this is the best use of cumin seed I’ve found in a long, long time. We’ll get there in a sec.) The flavors in this recipe are a total win for me but you could really, truly, probably work any vegetables (or meat) into these bewitching little hand pies. Basically, use this recipe as a guide, blend in whatever you have on hand, love yourself, and eat some samosas.
Goat Cheese Sweet Potato Empanadas
The universe has been speaking to me in empanadas lately. My mom and I discovered 2 amazing empanada places on our road trip to Greensboro the other week. I have zero problems with eating empanadas two lunches in a row, so, I definitely did that. Cut to this week, we’re organizing our plans for a Cinco de Mayo cooking class for the shop and we decided on an empanada class to fit the theme. Then yesterday, I see a picture of some empanadas from Topolobampo, the Rick Bayless restaurant, where the filling was this yummy-sounding white sweet potato with the flavors of chorizo. Ok, you don’t have to tell me 4 times, I’m making empanadas.
Didya see me make these on my instagram story this week? We have some stuff to break down here, empanadas from scratch are slightly involved… but guess what your reward is? Perfect little hand pies of spicy/sweet nutty goodness dipped in a chipotle crema. Mmmmkayyy? Worth it! You can do this! We can do this! Let’s do this!
Easy Meatballs with Chimichurri Sauce
‘Tis the season for party food! Let’s be real, New Year’s Eve is a long night. Midnight? That is more than a couple hours past my bedtime… We need a lot of food to keep that party going! I am so ready to ring in 2019 with friends, family, a glass of champagne in one hand, and a meatball in the other. These Easy Meatballs with Chimichurri Sauce are a snap to make and that bright, herby sauce paired with juicy, roasted meatballs might just be the best bite of food ever.
Continue reading “Easy Meatballs with Chimichurri Sauce”Broccoli Feta Fritters
Here’s a fun way to turn a healthy thing into an unhealthy thing:) Broccoli Feta Fritters! I love a fritter – sweet, savory, cheesy, any kind of fritter – I’ll take it. Are you thinking, “Frying at home: No thanks.”? I promise, this isn’t difficult or too messy. You only need a 1/4″ of oil in the pan, we’re not deep frying anything here. Clean-up will be no big deal. And really, you won’t be thinking about it anyway because you’ll be digging into these crispy outside, tender inside, veggie-loaded fritters. Crunch into the big chunks of broccoli and feta, surrounded by a wafer-thin fried batter, with a little savory bite of onion here and there… so good. Dip them into a little horseradish mayo while you’re at it.
Continue reading “Broccoli Feta Fritters”