Avocado Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons!

So quite often I go through these phases where I just crave something every single day and have to have it.  Most recently, I went through a cheese and pickle sandwich phase.  We literally had to load up on cheese, pickles, and bread and I had one every single day.  Right now, I'm going through a Caesar salad phase.  Every time I'm hungry, I just want a Caesar salad!  So I've been eating these things non-stop for the past few weeks, but absolutely hate store bought croutons, so I make my own of course.  These are so good and really does the trick.  Tonight, I added avocado, because I can.  And it was good!

Avocado Caesar Salad

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 bundle of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped

1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 avocado, sliced into cubes

drizzle of Caesar salad dressing (we used Newman's Own, it was delicious!)

1 cup homemade croutons (recipe below)

Directions:

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl and dig in!

Home Made Croutons

Ingredients:

5 cups cubed ciabatta bread

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbs of oregano

2 tsp of garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Place the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Pour spices over cubes and drizzle with olive oil.  Toss until bread is evenly coated.  Pour onto a baking sheet and spread out.  Place in preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes.  Take out and toss bread cubes.  Return to oven for 5 more minutes.  Remove and cool.  We store ours in a Ziploc bag in the pantry.  Good for at least 2 weeks (if they last that long!)

Gluten Free Egg Rolls

I love egg rolls, but they are kind of unhealthy and deep fried and all... Since we have a ton of rice papers (from a previous recipe), I decided to make baked egg rolls with rice paper instead of the deep fried unhealthy rolls. 

Gluten Free Egg Rolls
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
3 cups diced white cabbage
5 green onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs grated ginger
1 tbs garlic chili sauce
1 tbs white wine vinegar
2 tbs gluten free soy sauce
salt & pepper as needed
1 tbs brown sugar
grapeseed oil (or cooking oil of choice)
4-6 sheets of rice paper

Directions:

Heat a pan on medium heat and add the oil and then the cabbage. Fry for about 4 minutes or until cabbage is soft, set aside. Add the garlic, ginger, chili sauce, soy sauce, and sugar to pan. Add the cabbage back in and toss.  Add vinegar and fry for about 3 more minutes.  Towards the end, add the diced green onions, toss and remove from heat.

Soak rice sheet in a plate of warm water until soft, about 30 seconds to a minute.  Add cabbage mixture to the middle of the rice paper.  Fold the top and bottom of the rice paper over, and roll up the sides.  Place rolls on an oiled parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Spray oil over the tops of the rolls. 

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until crispy. 

Vietnamese noodle salad

I've made this salad before, but it seems like it just keeps getting better and better.  It's so refreshing after a nice run or when you feel like you've been eating junk.  It's still filling enough so you don't feel like you have to eat later.  Delicious! Serve with gluten free egg rolls!

Vietnamese Noodle Salad

Ingredients:

1 pkg tofu, rinsed and pressed and baked for 30 minutes at 350 (or you can use 2 chicken breasts)

1 pkg small sized rice noodles, (boil for 3 minutes and drain immediately)

4 cups Napa cabbage, finely sliced or shredded

2 carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks

1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

Dressing

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons fish sauce (alternatively soy sauce)*

4 tablespoons water

2 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons honey

Directions: 

Cube the tofu and fry in oil until crispy.  If using chicken, grill until cooked and shred. 

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for the dressing.  

Just before serving, combine shredded cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, red pepper, and herbs in a serving bowl. Pour enough dressing over, so it's well coated. Add tofu and cooked rice noodles to the salad, then sprinkle with roasted peanuts. Add more dressing to the salad if needed. Serve immediately.

Gluten Free Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta

When I'm making up a recipe, I usually add everything but the kitchen sink.  I've learned over the years that I get this from my dad.  We can't just stick to a recipe, we have to add at least 10 more things to make it perfect.  Sometimes, it doesn't go so well and we end up ordering pizza, but most of the time, it turns out amazing.  Like this creamy avocado pasta that I concocted tonight. I'm actually not including the way I made it tonight, because I don't even remember all of the millions of ingredients, but I will put the recipe up of how I'll make it next time, because it's much simpler.  Definitely high up on the recommendation list.  I can't wait to make it again!

Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 pkg rice noodles or gluten free noodles (I used spaghetti, but anything would work)

1 10oz container of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

splash of white wine

olive oil

2 ripe avocados

4 leaves of mint

4 leaves of basil

2 cups fresh baby spinach

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/4 cup toasted almonds

1 bulb of roasted garlic

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add noodles.  Cook for about 10 minutes or whatever the package says. 

In a large saute pan, drizzle some olive oil and add the tomatoes over medium heat.  Cook for about 2 minutes until skin is softened.  Add a splash of white wine and cook until wine is reduced, about 2 more minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, add spinach, basil, mint, avocados, vegetable broth, garlic, and toasted almonds.  Puree until smooth.  Add mixture to tomatoes and stir. Add cheese and stir until mixed.  Add noodles to the sauce mixture and toss. If you feel that the sauce is too thick, you can thin it out with some starchy pasta water.  Salt & pepper to taste.

Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese over top. Enjoy.

Penne with a Roasted Beet Sauce

Beets are one of those things that you either love or don't love.  I used to eat dirt as a kid, so I like beets.  They remind me of my grandpa's garden.  You know when you eat a freshly picked carrot right out of the garden, still full of dirt. It's a magical experience.  That's kind of what beets remind me of.  Okay I'm rambling.

I wanted to make something unique with beets because it seems like they are always the same ole, roast them with butter and serve as a side dish, boring...  This beet pasta sauce will jazz up your life and is perfectly pink for Valentines day!

On a side note, our grocery store always manages to be out of one thing on our list when we go.  This time it was beets.  Really? Ug... So I used canned.  I know I know, canned shouldn't even be in my vocabulary, but it was a last resort.  While this sauce was awesome and delicious, I don't advise using canned beets.  Use fresh and roast them.  The flavor will be amazing!

Penne with a Roasted Beet Sauce

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 8 oz box of organic penne noodles (avoid the gmo's, buy organic!)

3-4 medium sized beets

1 bulb of garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup of cream (I just used whole milk)

4 fresh mint leaves

4 fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Slice the beets and place them on an oiled baking sheet and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Slice the top of the garlic bulb off, drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper, wrap in tinfoil and roast alongside the beets. Let cool.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add penne noodles and a handful of salt.  Boil for about 10-15 minutes, until al dente. 

Place the cooled beets and garlic in a food processor with the mint and basil leaves.  Process until smooth adding vegetable broth as needed.  Transfer to a large saute pan and add cream and Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.  Add the drained penne noodles and toss in sauce.  

Place on serving dish, garnish with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh mint leaves.  

NOTE:  While this was amazing, I think I'll make some changes next time.  I think I'll add about 2 oz of creamy goat cheese to the sauce to add a little zing.  I'll also add a couple of splashes of white wine to the pan and cook off.  YUM!  Can't wait to make this again with the changes! Enjoy!

Minty Pesto Pasta with Artichokes

I have a cat story.  Last week, I was home sick lying on the couch with my kitty Max.  We were watching an episode of Rachel Ray and she was cooking this chicken with pasta meal.  I was kind of dosing in and out, but I noticed Max was watching very intently.  He wouldn't take his eyes off the TV, even when I waved my hand in front of his face (yep, visualize).  I laughed and he watched.  Then a commercial came on and he glanced away and looked over at me.  When Rachel’s voice came back on the TV, he quickly stared up at the screen again!  It was so funny.  He watched the whole episode!  Since I didn't want to disturb his TV watching, I kept the show on and decided to recreate what I learned, in a way. 

Rachel made this to go with Chicken; I just made it as a vegetarian pasta dish.  I was kind of weary about using mint in a pesto, and I probably would have bought basil at the store anyway, but since we already had mint in the fridge, I decided to give it a try.  Man this pesto was delicious! There is a subtle hint of mint flavor, but it’s not over powering.  It reminded me of Greek flavors so I think next time I make this, I might add some kalamata olives too!  So much flavor.  Enjoy!

Minty Pesto Pasta with Artichokes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

For the pesto:

1 pkg small baby spinach

1/4 cup mint leaves

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup toasted almonds

1/4 cup olive oil

1 can of artichoke hearts (not marinated in anything)

1 red bell pepper, roasted and sliced

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 pkg linguine noodles

1 cup starchy pasta water

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add noodles.

In a large saute pan, add the artichokes and cook until liquids are released and they start to brown, about 10 minutes.  Add the roasted red pepper.  

Meanwhile, to make the pesto, combine spinach, mint, garlic, and almonds in a food processor, slowly drizzle the olive oil in.  Pour pesto into the saute pan with artichokes.  Turn heat off and let the pesto simmer for about a minute just so the garlic releases its flavors.  Transfer the noodles to the saute pan with the sauce and toss. Slowly add starchy pasta water to help coat the pasta. 

Pour pasta into serving dishes and grate Parmesan cheese over the top.

Eggnog French Toast

Well I'm a little out of season for this post.  We did make it after Christmas when organic eggnog was on sale for 25 cents a carton.  That was pretty awesome.  We didn't even need eggnog, but if you see something in the organic section of the grocery store for 25 cents, you buy it.  No matter what.  This was delicious.  It's definitely something to make the guests for a holiday breakfast.

Eggnog French Toast

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 loaf of Challah bread (we also used Ciabatta the second time we made it)

4 eggs

1 cup organic eggnog

1 pinch cinnamon

1 pinch nutmeg

Directions:

Beat the eggs, stir in the eggnog, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Slice the loaf of bread and dip both sides into the egg mixture.  Cook on a griddle or in a fry pan over medium heat until toasty on both sides, maybe 3 minutes per side?  I never keep track, it's french toast. Enjoy!