Tiny Things are Better

Mostly. The only time this sentiment is untrue is with dogs. Big dogs are better.

Okay, maybe tiny things aren’t always better, but when it comes to food… they usually are.

Cupcakes > Cake

Mini quiches > Regular quiches

Chicken fingers > Chicken breast

They taste better. They’re more fun. There’s less clean-up. You have an excuse to lick your fingers. The tiny serving size means you don’t have to share. And usually, they mean less calories. (That last one might be a stretch.)

Enter: Tiny Pizzas! This is a really fun, fast meal that you can make with ingredients you have on-hand. It’s great for busy work nights or lazy Saturdays. We make ours on pocket-less Pitas, which provide just enough crust, with enough density to support allllll that cheesy, saucy, vegetably goodness. Load it up! If your pita can’t support it, you can use a fork. I won’t tell the other tiny foods you needed a hand with this one.

• Enough pitas for each person to have (at least) one. I use whole wheat.
• Marinara or pizza sauce – you can go home made here, but for a quick meal I use store bought
• Mozzarella cheese
• Bleu Cheese
• Feta Cheese (are you catching on? CHEEEEESE!)
• Onion
• Green pepper
• Turkey sausage
• Whatever you want! Tiny pizza doesn’t discriminate.

What You Do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. Put 2-3 tablespoons of sauce on each pita.
3. Load up with toppings!
4. Bake at 350 until cheese is melty, about 10-15 minutes.
5. Switch your oven from bake to broil (high) and broil for 2-4 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.
6. Cut into quarters and enjoy!

 

Acorn Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

You guys. I told you. I have an addiction.

I can’t stop making soup. And therefore I can’t stop eating soup. I’d say it’s bad, but it’s really just so, so good.

This recipe is adapted from Tartlette. I’m sure I’ll be making it again, although I will admit it was missing… something. I still can’t put my finger on it. More maple syrup? Apples? Bacon? Probably bacon. But I don’t eat pigs anymore, so that idea’s shot. Suggestions, please?

But other than the missing ingredient, this soup was pretty good. I ate it for about a week after I made it, so it couldn’t have been terrible, right? It did pack a lot of flavor. Squash based soups are always so deliciously creamy without all the extra calories. Plus, they’re chock-full-o-nutsvegetables so they’re like, healthy or something.

What You Need:

• 2 mini acorn squash, peeled and cubed (about 3 cups)
• a little more than 2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
• 1 sweet onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock 
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• dried spices to taste (thyme, rosemary, oregano, nutmeg, whatever you can find!)
• coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

What you Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. Put cubed squash in a baking dish, drizzle with one teaspoon of olive oil (or use your handy dandy MISTO!!!) and roast until soft – 20-30 minutes.

3. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a large soup pot over med-hi heat. (le sigh, someday I will have my Le Cruset cookware…). Add the onion and curry powder and cook until onion is soft and almost translucent.

4. Add sweet potatoes, stock, syrup, spices, and cooked squash. Bring to a boil for a moment, then simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are soft. (This should take about 30 minutes.)

5. Let the soup cool a bit, and then blend the ish out of it with your immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a blender or food processor.

 

What’s your favorite winter soup? Any I should try to recreate here?

 

Chicken Schnitzel and Brussel Sprouts

Growing up, we had a pretty standard list of dinner options that we cycled through weekly: Spaghetti (with sauce from a can usually), Stouffer’s Lasagna, meatloaf, baked chicken with bar-b-que sauce, and my favorite – chicken schnitzel. I’m pretty sure that traditionally, schnitzel is made with pork, but my dad grew up in Israel, where pork is hard to come by. Jewish schnitzel = 100% chicken.

This is one of those recipes that you could make your own, this is just my family’s take on it. It’s still one of my favorites, and is up there with spaghetti as one of my go-tos in the kitchen.  It’s one of the only ones I make regularly that I don’t use a recipe for 🙂 This is alllll from my memory baby. This meal can be made in about 30 minutes, and tastes like it’s out of a restaurant kitchen. (Maybe it’s all the oil? Who knows.) I dip mine in honey. I have no idea why, but it’s delicious. Dan uses ranch. My brothers have been known to use ketchup. Whatever you do, it’s okay to make it your own!

What You Need (Schnitzel):

• 1 lb of chicken breast, thinly sliced 
• 1-2 eggs, beaten
• 1-2 cups of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil

What You Do (Schnitzel):

1. Heat oil in large skillet on med-hi heat.
2. Lightly beat the chicken with a meat tenderizer. (If you don’t have one of these, or if you’re lazy like me, it’s okay to skip this step.)
3. Dredge chicken first in egg, then in bread crumbs. Be sure to thoroughly – this is what gives your chicken that beautiful brown crispiness!
4. Place chicken (carefully!) in HOT oil, it should sizzle as you put it down, and cook until golden brown on one side. Flip and repeat on the other side.
5. Place on a plate with a paper towel underneath to catch the excess oil.
6. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes with a vegetable.

What You Need (Brussel Sprouts):

• As many brussel sprouts as you can eat, quartered
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp of Olive oil

What You Do (Brussel Sprouts):

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Place quartered sprouts on a baking sheet – I line mine with tin foil for easy clean up
3. Mist or pour olive oil on sprouts, coating evenly – I use my Misto and I LOVE IT IF YOU DON’T HAVE ONE GO GET ONE RIGHT NOW!
4. Salt and pepper to taste – you can play with the spices. I also use garlic powder occasionally
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until edges start to turn brown and crispy

My New Obsession

Does it count as an obsession if I’ve only made it twice?

I think at this rate, I’m well on my way. I simply cannot stop making and eating soup. Not like from-a-can-Campbell’s-condensed-crap. Good, hearty, home made soup. I think it all started with making Lasagna Soup at Gretchen’s a few weeks ago. Last week I made this delicious Broccoli, Cheese and Potato Soup from SkinnyTaste.com. And it was. So. Good. Plus, it gave me a good excuse to use my immersion blender for the first time in forever, so, win for kitchen gadget usage! It wasn’t even that hard! The most time consuming bit was the chopping – other than that it could have been ready in less than 45 minutes. Not too shabby for a weeknight meal. And then for lunch a few days as well.

One quick note about reheating – it does get pretty thick in the fridge from all the potato starch, so adding some milk or water when reheating is not a bad idea.

Recipe from Skinnytaste.com

What You Need:

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 1/2 cups fat free chicken or veggie broth
• 1 cup fat free milk
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced small
• salt and fresh pepper
• 4 cups (about 2 heads) broccoli florets, chopped into small pieces
• 1-1/2 cups 2% shredded sharp cheddar
• 2 slices 2% American cheese
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese

What You Do:

1. Chop onion, carrot, celery, garlic in a chopper or mini food processor.
2. In a large soup pot, melt butter.  Add chopped vegetables and sauté on low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add flour, salt and pepper to the pot and stir until smooth.
4. Add broth, milk and potatoes and set heat to high until it comes to a boil, then cover and cook on low until potatoes are soft, about 10-15 minutes.
5. Add broccoli florets, parmesan cheese, and stir well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.Cook uncovered until broccoli is cooked, about 5 minutes.
6. Add cheddar and American cheese, stir well and remove from heat.
7. Using an immersion blender, quickly blend part of the soup for a quick second or two. If you don’t have an immersion blender, remove about 1-2 cups of potatoes and broccoli, place it in your chopper, then add it back to the soup. This helps thicken it a bit.

**Note: The broth adds a lot of salty flavor, so go easy on the salt!

Fall Is Here

Fall is here and I could not be happier. It is time for jeans and boots, sweaters and scarves, and all things pumpkin. Pumpkin, and squash, and sweet potato, and… well, I think it’s clear that I love fall for its fashion statements, weather, and food. So let’s get right to it shall we?

Last night, something amazing happened.

You probably can’t tell how amazing, because the lighting in my kitchen sucks so my pictures usually do too.

But trust me. Pumpkin. Macaroni. And. Cheese.

You heard (read?) that right. There aren’t even enough words to describe how happy this made me, so I’ll just say I ate it for dinner, and then lunch, and then lunch the next day, too.

This recipe adapted from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body.

Pumpkin Spinach Mac and Cheese

What You Need:

For the pasta:

• 16 oz noodles (I used shells, you can really use whatever you want)
• 15 oz can of pumpkin (If it’s not fall and the cans of pumpkin aren’t in the front of the store, they’re usually found in the baking aisle underneath the pre-made pie crusts with the cherry pie filling.)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 3 1/2 cups milk (I actually didn’t have enough milk, so I used about 2 cups milk and about a cup of chicken stock I had stored in ice cube form)
• 3 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
• 3-4 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

For the topping:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

What You Do:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

1. Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Rinse and drain well.
2. Heat the milk (or combination of milk and chicken stock) in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it. Add the mashed pumpkin and cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring. Let cook until it starts to thicken a bit, about 5 minutes, stirring periodically. Remove the pot form the heat, add the cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, brown sugar and spinach.

1. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish or 2 8×8 inch baking dishes.

1. Melt the 2 tbsp of butter and combine with the bread crumbs and brown sugar; sprinkle on the top.

1. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the top is browned.

*Note: You can also freeze this dish before cooking*

Bandwagons

Let’s talk about bandwagons for a minute. Do you jump on them? Stay off? I’m undecided. Some bandwagons are awesome and you should totally climb aboard. (Hunger Games anyone?!) Others, like quinoa, I keep trying to get on board with, and I just can’t. Maybe I’m just not making it right, but every time I try it it’s just… meh. I don’t hate it, but it would never be my first choice.

Blah blah blah healthy grains blah blah blah. I’ll keep trying it, but for now? Not my go-to. Anyway, for those of you who are totally on board with the whole quinoa thing, here’s my turkey bacon and cheese quinoa cups. (I have about 10 left if anyone wants one…)

This recipe originally brought to you by Iowa Girl Eats.

What You Need:

Ingredients (makes 12 cups)

• 2 cups cooked quinoa (about 3/4 cup uncooked)
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1 seeded and diced jalepeno
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup diced turkey bacon
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

What You Do

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix to combine.

• Liberally spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick spray and spoon mixture to the top of each cup.

• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges of the cups are golden brown. Let cool for at least 5 minutes in the tin before eating. Do not underbake or they won’t come out of the pan. (I did… not pretty).

In true Lara fashion, I didn’t take any pictures of the finished product. Whoops.

Hello Kitchen, I’ve Missed You

I’ve been in a bit of a slump. Not just a blogging slump, but also a cooking slump. Which probably partially explains the blogging slump. But I’m back, baby!

Enter Shrimp Burgers with Chipotle Cream and Peach Salsa. From where else? One of my favorite blogs, How Sweet Eats. Seriously, if this girl knew how often I re-blogged her recipes she would either (a) hug me or (b) sue me. I can’t decide. I hope she knows I give credit where credit is due – this is all her genius. I’m just a copy cat!

This meal. This meal was so good. And pretty easy. A tiny bit time consuming, but I have a great Sous Chef. (Thanks D!)

Without further ado. Shrimp Burgers with Chipotle Cream and Peach Salsa.

For The Burgers

What You Need:

makes 6 burgers

• 1 pound raw, peeled and de-veined shrimp
• 2/3 cup seasoned Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I used regular yellow because I didn’t have Dijon)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 6 whole wheat buns, toasted
• 1 avocado, sliced for topping

For the Chipotle Cream:

• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 2 teaspoons chipotle sauce
• 1/2 lime, juiced

What You Do:

Add shrimp to a food processor and pulse until chopped. (Mine kind of got pureed, but it still worked out.) Transfer to a bowl and add egg, panko, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder and basil. Mix until combined, then form shrimp into patties (form tightly with your hands, trying to prevent cracking). Heat a skillet oven medium heat and add half of the olive oil, then cook patties until golden on each side, about 3-4 minutes. Repeat with remaining burgers.

In a bowl, stir together sour cream, chipotle sauce, lime juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread on top of burgers, then layer with avocado and peach salsa!

For the Coconut Peach Salsa

What You Need:

• 2 ripe peaches, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• salt + pepper to taste

What You Do:

Stir ingredients together and serves on top of burgers. This originally called for toasted coconut, but Dan hates coconut so I was going to put it just on mine. I ended up forgetting and it was still amazing.

Thanks, Jessica!

Chicken Tikka Masala

So, my sister and I have this joke that Dan, my boyfriend, doesn’t really have tastebuds. He’ll eat pretty much anything (save a few key veggies like tomatoes or mushrooms), and everything is “okay”, or “fine”.

Except this.

Dan said that this was “really good.” He even took the leftovers for lunch the next day. And texted me to ask what it was called. And then told me it was good again. Success? I think so.

Anyway, I’m glad he liked it. I sure did. This is actually the third time I’ve made this dish, and I’ve cooked the chicken slightly differently each time. Every time it was delicious, if I do say so myself. This time, for the sake of time (and therefore my sanity), I decided to broil the chicken. This is probably how I’ll do it from now on because it (a) took about 6 minutes and (b) was delicious.

So I’ll just get on with it then. This dish was a Pinterest find (aren’t they all?) and originally came from Favorite Family Recipes. As always, I slightly tweaked a few things, but this was a pretty solid recipe. Definitely go check out their site!

What You Need:

For the Marinade

• 1 cup yogurt (any kind will do – I even accidentally used Vanilla before and it was still delicious. Though I’d stick to plain if you can.)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger. Here I used about a tablespoon of ground ginger instead of fresh
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

For the Sauce

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 8oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream

What You Do:

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, pepper, ginger, and salt. Stir in chicken, cover, refrigerate up to 1 hour. I only had time to marinate for about 25 minutes, but I’m sure the longer the better.
2. While the chicken is marinating, make the sauce: Melt butter in a large skillet. Saute garlic for 1 minute. Season with cumin, paprika and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
3. About 10 minutes into the simmering, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the chicken under a broiler set to High. They really only need about 7-10 minutes, so check at about 5 and flip if you want some browning on both sides.
4. Once your chicken is cooked (no pink center), and your sauce has been simmering for 20 minutes, add chicken and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Transfer to a serving platter and serve over rice.

Super Late 4th of July Recap

I know, the 4th of July was more than a week ago. I’m behind the times, okay?

My 4th was pretty sweet. I started out by going on a sweltering hot trail ride with Laura. It was our last ride together, since she’s moving to Newport News next month to go back to school. Ambitious chick! It was an awesome ride, I’m so glad we did it!

After a very hot ride, and a very cold shower… well… I had no plans. I know, what 20-something living in the outskirts of D.C doesn’t have plans for the 4th of July? This one! And you know what? it was awesome.

My best friend, Katie, came over with her parents’ dogs, Brynn and Dozer, and the pups had some play time and naps. Shortly after, she and Patrick (her boyfriend, my room mate. Go figure) left for a cookout at one of his friends houses, so Dan and I took it easy, made dinner, and watched way too much Battlestar Galactica. (We’ve recently finished the series. Bittersweet, and also, WHAT THE WHAT?!)

So, what does a girl who doesn’t eat red meat or pork eat on the 4th of July? Glad you asked. I got this recipe for Double Bean Burgers with Avocado Basil Cream from one of my favorite blogs, How Sweet It Is. I’m usually impressed with her recipes, and this one did not disappoint. Even Dan liked them! (He didn’t try the avocado cream though.) So, here’s the scoop:

What You Need:

For the Burgers:

• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 whole grain buns, toasted if desired

For The Avocado Basil Cream:

• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 10 medium basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pinch of pepper

What You Do:

For the Avocado Basil Cream:

Add basil and avocado to a food processor, blending to combine. Once somewhat smooth, add in sour cream and blend again until combined. Add in salt and pepper, taste, and season more if desired.

For the Burgers:

Mash beans with a potato masher or fork. Add in garlic, paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper, mixing to combine. In a smaller bowl, lightly beat eggs and add in 1 tablespoon olive oil and breadcrumbs, stirring to mix. Add the egg mixture to the beans, and mix thoroughly to combine, bringing it together with your hands if needed. Separate the beans into 6 equal sections and form patties.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil (or as much as you need). I used my spiffy olive oil spritzer. It’s awesome. Add burgers and cook on each side until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove and serve with avocado cream on whole wheat buns!

My Favorite Go-To

When I’m in a pinch for time, or just feeling slightly lazy, my favorite go-to meal is spaghetti with marinara sauce. It’s quick, easy, and you can make it exactly the same or insanely different each time you make it.

My variation shown here is pretty similar to how I normally make it, give or take a few spices and vegetables here and there:

What You Need:

• 1 Green Pepper, diced
• 1 Onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 small can tomato paste
• a few fresh basil leaves, chopped or whole
• a few fresh oregano leaves, chopped or whole
• a sprig of fresh rosemary, chopped or whole
• a sprig of fresh parsley, chopped

What You Do:

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan or wok, and sautee your onions and peppers until onions are slightly translucent.

Add your garlic and continue to cook for about 30 seconds. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste and stir to combine. Add your herbs, and any other spices you want, and simmer.

Cook the desired amount of pasta (I use spaghetti). Serve with Parmesan cheese and garlic bread!