Kale Chip Nachos with Chipotle Garlic Sauce and Sriracha

I was enjoying some kale chips with chunky salsa the other day, thinking about how much I loved that combination, precarious as it was to eat, when, as always, my mind drifted to other thoughts about food- particularly that I like chips and salsa, but that I love nachos more. Before I knew it, the two thoughts bouncing around in my head had found each other- I love kale chips.  I love nachos.  Surely, I would love kale nachos?

Boy, did I!  Now, I'm sure it doesn't take any explaining for you to know that if kale chips won't support chunks of onions, they certainly won't support all this madness.  But, hey- that's nothing a fork and knife can't fix.  

Nutritional yeast creates a baked in cheesiness that will keep you coming back for more

Chipotle Garlic Sauce takes these nachos to a whole new smoky level

Note:  I've been seeing a lot of blogs lately that advise to use dinosaur kale when making chips, as it has flat leaves and therefore, cooks more evenly.  This is true- but curly kale is so much tastier.  Every time I've used dinosaur kale I've ended up adding loads of salt to take away the bitterness, and the outcome still didn't hold a candle to curly kale. 

Kale Nachos

For kale chips:

1 bunch curly kale, washed, well-dried, center ribs removed

1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

Massage all of the ingredients into kale and bake in 400F oven for 6-8 minutes.  There is a very thin line between crispy and burnt, so if they aren't crispy after 6 minutes, check back every 30 seconds.  

For the nachos, use whatever ingredients you prefer.  I used black beans, which I heated in the microwave first.  Then I added avocado, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, olives, green onions, sriracha, and Chipotle Garlic Sauce (below.)  Make sure you have all ingredients chopped and ready to go so the kale chips stay warm.   

Chipotle Garlic Sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise (vegans use vegannaise)
1/4 cup sour cream (vegans use coconut milk)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp milk (vegans omit)
1 tsp ground chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt


Whisk to combine. 

Fruity Pecan Salad

Would you believe it if I told you that my workout routine is dependent on this little girl?

And yes, I make her wear those wings at all times!  Joking.  Meet Babydoll.  She's a dainty thing- only 10 inches tall, but she can run 3 miles no problem- with me huffing and puffing behind her.  Lately, though, we've had a little dent put in our routine.

 

Lily Loo

 

Momma's a little out of shape, so we had to take it easy today.  At least that's what I keep telling myself.  

It was a beautiful day outside, and the walk was followed by my favorite salad of all time.  I've been working on this dressing for years, every since I had something similar at my cousins wedding.  I've finally got it just right- it's tangy, nutty, sweet and garlicky.  It's full of fiber, so it keeps you satiated, but still feels light and fresh.  

This dressing is a serious multi-tasker.  It's great on just about everything.  My husband uses it as a marinade for steaks, and I put it on Roasted Brussels Sprouts, tofu, roasted tomatoes- you just can't go wrong with this.  

Wishing you a gorgeous day!

Fruity Pecan Salad

Yield:  One large salad

3/4 cup pecans

8 dates

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup olive oil

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

dash of sriracha (optional)

pinch of salt

pinch of pepper

3 cups lettuce (spring mix is best, but our store was out)

1 apple, chopped

1 cup grapes

1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced

Toast your pecans in a pan with no oil over medium heat until fragrant- 1-2 minutes.  Set aside 1/4 cup to be added to salad later and add rest to blender, followed by dates, vinegar, oil, garlic, sriracha if using, salt, and pepper.  Blend well.  Mix rest of ingredients in a bowl, drizzle dressing over it, and serve.

Dill Spinach Hummus Wrap

Hello, hello!  Did you have a happy Mardi Gras?  Did you eat lots of yummy fried foods?  I did- and boy, was I paying for it today!  My body was just screaming for something light, fresh, and green.  This wrap had me feeling like myself again in no time, and was delicious, to boot!

Dill Spinach Hummus Wrap
For Hummus:
1 can garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp water
pinch paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)
 
Add all ingredients except for pine nuts to food processor, streaming in olive oil as you go to help it come together.  Blend well, then stir in pine nuts.


For Wrap:
1 large flour tortilla
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 medium red onion, sliced
1/4 tsp seasoning of choice (I used Cajun)
pinch each of salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped lettuce
1 tbsp capers (optional)

Bring medium sized frying pan to medium high heat and swirl a little olive oil in pan to coat.  Add peppers, onions, and seasonings and stir fry until softened.
Heat tortilla in microwave for 30 seconds to soften.  Spread with as much hummus as you like, then layer with other ingredients, roll up like a jelly roll, cut off ends to pretty it up, and serve.  

Curried Dill Couscous with Slow-Roasted Grape Tomatoes and Pearl Onions

I woke up this morning with the words "curried dill" repeating on a loop in my mind.  I knew that nothing would satisfy me today unless it contained those two ingredients.  

And oh, my, was I satisfied!  Please, please don't dismiss this because you see the word slow-roasted.  That doesn't mean loads of work- it simply means it will take a while, and that the flavors will be super-concentrated and amazing.  You could make the onions and tomatoes ahead of time, or the couscous ahead of time, whatever you do- just make it!  I think you'll be glad you did :) 


Curried Dill Couscous with Slow-Roasted Grape Tomatoes and Pearl Onions

For Tomatoes and Onions:
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
1/4 tsp salt, divided
1/8 tsp pepper, divided
1/4 tsp dried thyme, divided
olive oil, to coat


Preheat oven to 225.  Place halved grape tomatoes and pearl onions in separate bowls (if pearl onions are larger than tomatoes, you may have to halve them as well.  Have to halve :)  Drizzle just enough olive oil over each to coat, then sprinkle equally with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Place on foil-lined baking sheets in oven.  Remove onions after 2 hours, tomatoes after 2 1/2 to 3 (tomatoes should be dried but juicy inside, but you want your onions nice golden and plump.)


For Couscous:

2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup butter (vegans use Earth Balance margarine)

1/2 tbsp curry powder
dash of sriracha (optional)
2 cups couscous
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Toast pine nuts in medium frying pan over medium heat until golden and fragrant, shaking the pan a few times to make sure that they don't burn.  In a medium saucepan add vegetable broth, butter, curry powder, and sriracha and bring to boil, then immediately add couscous and garlic, stir quickly, and remove from heat.  Cover and let rest for 5 minutes, fluff with fork and add salt and pepper to taste, and toss with rest of ingredients.  Serve hot or cold.

Cajun Chickpea Jambalaya

A whopping 4% of the restaurants in the town next to us are Cajun.  In other words, there is one Cajun restaurant there.  Needless to say, it's a small town, but bigger than the one we live in, which boasts one Subway and a deli.  So when my parents come to visit, as they are doing today, there is a good chance that they will say, "Hey, let's go out tonight!"  And an even better chance that what that really means is "to that Cajun restaurant whose only vegetarian option is buttered noodles."  I don't think I've ever had Cajun food before, but seeing my parents and husband in such states of food bliss made me wonder what the fuss is about.  So I set about to find out for myself.

 I based this recipe off of Emeril's Cajun Jambalaya, but as you can see, I strayed from it quite a bit.  After all, what does Emeril know about Cajun food?  What makes this so good, in my opinion of course (although I hope you agree) is that each individual element is seasoned- the chickpeas, the peppers, the rice- so you get that wonderful effect of layer upon layer of flavor.  Thank you, Emeril, for a good base recipe.  But you know how it is- sometimes you just have to kick it up a notch.


Cajun Chickpea Jambalaya


2 cups rice
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp cajun seasoning, or to taste
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cans chickpeas
olive oil for frying
2 tbsp taco seasoning
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 medium red onion, sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 cloves garlic


Cook rice according to instructions on package, substituting broth for water and adding bay leaf.  Stir in cajun seasoning, butter, and tomato paste.  Meanwhile, add enough olive oil to coat large frying pan and cook chick peas over medium high heat, stirring in taco seasoning.  Let cook for 5 minutes, then remove from pan, add a bit more oil, and add peppers, onions, celery, salt and pepper to pan.  Let cook until soft, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic, cook for 30 seconds while stirring.  Add veggies and chick peas, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove bay leaf before serving.

Beet Green and Sage Pesto Linguini with Slow Roasted Tomatoes

My husband knows me better than anyone.  He knows that as much as I love to make my own food, there will be days when that frozen pizza that I said I didn't want will be my very best friend.  He knows that I will always, always be in need of new socks.  And he also knows that when I say I don't want anything for Valentine's Day, what I really mean is that I want him to get creative.  This Valentine's Day, he showed up with a gleaming ruby red bunch of beets.  And I almost cried. The man knows how to get to me.  What you should be seeing here is a gorgeous- wait, I'm not going to tell you.  I'm working on that recipe and it will be amazing one day but right now it needs a little tweaking.  Luckily for me, this bunch of beets came complete with greens, and those greens more than made up for the disappointment their roots brought.

There's no use reinventing the wheel here.  Deb over at Smitten Kitchen's got the best recipe for slow-roasted tomatoes, ever.  Period.  So I'll just spare you a sad attempt to recreate it and send you right on down to the master herself.  Or, of course, you may just want to use bottled sundried tomatoes.  (Trust me, you don't.)


Beet Green and Sage Pesto Linguini with Slow Roasted Tomatoes


1  lb linguini
2 cups chopped beet greens, center ribs removed
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup sage leaves
1 cup fresh grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp pepper, or to taste
2 tbsp water
1/2 cup olive oil+ more for frying
1 cup slow-roasted tomatoes


Add enough oil to coat a large frying pan and bring to medium low heat.  Add beet greens and cook until wilted.  Let cool.  Bring large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to instructions on package.  Add walnuts to food processor and grind until fine, then add cooked greens and all other ingredients except for tomatoes, streaming in olive oil at the end.  Drain pasta and return to pot, tossing with pesto and adding in tomatoes.

Roasted Shredded Brussels Waldorf Salad with Maple Cider Vinaigrette

I have to say, I've been loving me some brussels sprouts lately.  This is my 22nd post, 3 of which have been about these little cabbages of the gemmifera sort (there's a new baby name for you, celebrities.  I know you're reading.  Okay, maybe not.)  Anyways, back to brussels- I love this salad.  It's a dream come true for women like me who can't make up their minds.  It's hot, but cold.  It's crisp, but smooth.  It's sweet, but savory.  It's....

All gone :(

Roasted Shredded Brussels Waldorf Salad with Maple Cider Vinaigrette
Yield: 4 servings


2 lbs brussels sprouts, shredded, washed, and dried
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup chopped apples (I used pink lady)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped


Maple Cider Vinaigrette

1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp good maple syrup
1 tsp sriracha (optional but gives it a little something extra)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup olive oil



Prepare vinaigrette:
Whisk together all ingredients, streaming olive oil in at the end.  This vinaigrette is best prepared ahead of time and refrigerated a few hours to develop flavors, but it will still be good if used immediately.  
Preheat oven to 400F.
Pour shredded brussels sprouts and cranberries into a large baking dish and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring a few times.  Toast walnuts briefly in a frying pan with no oil over medium heat for 1 or 2 minutes, or until fragrant.  Pour all ingredients into a bowl and toss with vinaigrette.