Golden Beet Salad with Cotija and Pepitas

An upcoming trip to Mallorca and Portugal has motivated us to tweak our eating habits a bit -- gotta look good when visiting those beautiful, sun-kissed beaches! This means we’re stocking the fridge with plenty of fresh fruits and veggies and eating LOTS of salad. I like that there’s a lot going on with this salad, between subtly sweet golden beets, sharp onion, creamy avocado, salty cotija cheese, snappy pepitas and a citrus-y balsamic vinaigrette. It leaves you feeling happily full but not weighed down.

Golden Beet Salad with Cotija and Pepitas 
1½ pounds golden beets, roots and stems trimmed
½ cup unsalted pepitas
¼ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice (from half an orange)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ medium red onion, sliced thin (I used a mandoline)
2 large avocados, halved and sliced
8 cups spring mix
1 cup crumbled cotija cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap each beet loosely in aluminum foil and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Put the beets in the oven and roast until tender when poked with a fork, 60-90 minutes (depending on how big your beets are). Remove beets from oven and set aside to cool.

Put pepitas on a separate baking sheet and place in the oven for 4-5 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant. Remove pepitas from the oven and set aside to cool.

Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, orange juice and balsamic vinegar.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, remove them from the aluminum foil. Peel the beets (wear gloves if you don’t want the beet juice to stain your hands). Cut the beets into a large dice.

Divide vegetables, cotija and pepitas evenly among four plates, drizzle with salad dressing, and serve.

Barbecue Chicken Burritos with Cabbage Slaw and Avocado Dressing

Have you made barbecue chicken in your slow cooker yet? Why not? It’s super easy and mighty delicious. Put it on top of a baked potato, mix it up with some fresh veggies to make a great dinner bowl, or try it my new favorite way by rolling it up into a burrito with some tasty slaw.

Barbecue Chicken Burritos with Cabbage Slaw and Avocado Dressing 
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup barbecue sauce, plus extra for drizzling
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup avocado
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons lime juice
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
4 cups shredded green cabbage (it’s about half a head of cabbage)
½ red onion, thinly sliced
4-6 burrito-sized tortillas

Place chicken in slow cooker, add barbecue sauce and cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker, shred with a knife and fork. Return chicken to the slow cooker and add pinto beans, stirring so everything is coated with sauce. Cook for an additional hour on low. Remove from heat. 

To make the dressing, add avocado, yogurt, cilantro, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, lime juice, water and white wine vinegar to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Make the slaw by tossing the cabbage and onions in a bowl with enough dressing to lightly coat everything. Add chicken and slaw to the middle of your tortillas, drizzle with extra barbecue sauce and avocado dressing, roll 'em up and enjoy!

Make-Fast Mondays: Mango Macadamia Chicken Lettuce Wraps

These lettuce wraps are fresh, fast and packed with flavor!

Make-Fast Mondays: Mango Macadamia Chicken Lettuce Wraps 
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 pound cooked chicken breast, cubed or shredded
1 cucumber, seeds removed, peeled and diced
1 mango, peeled, cored and diced
1 avocado, stoned and diced
¼ cup diced red onion
1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated
¼ cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Make dressing by blending first five ingredients in a blender until smooth. Combine chicken, cucumber, mango, avocado and red onion in a large bowl. Add dressing to the bowl and stir gently to mix. Spoon the chicken mixture onto lettuce leaves and sprinkle with macadamia nuts.

Make-Fast Mondays: Farro Salad with Shrimp and Corn

My local supermarket’s selling 5 ears of fresh corn for a dollar right now. What better time to take advantage of this seasonal favorite with a quick salad packed with chewy farro, succulent shrimp and sweet, summery corn?

Farro Salad with Shrimp and Corn 
Serves 6 

1 cup farro
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 ½ pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kernels from 2 ears of sweet corn
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 cup diced red onion
½ cup fresh chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water and farro to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the farro is tender, about 30 minutes. While farro is simmering, make the dressing by blending 5 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons lime juice, red wine vinegar, garlic and jalapeno in a blender until smooth. Set aside. Heat remaining tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan. Add shrimp and cook until pink. Remove from heat and drizzle with remaining tablespoon lime juice. Drain the farro and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the shrimp, corn, pepper, onions, onion, cilantro and dressing. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Adapted from Greens + Grains: Recipes for Deliciously Healthy Meals.

Make-Fast Mondays: Merguez Pita Pizzas

Have you ever tried merguez? It’s my new favorite sausage and one I recently discovered thanks to a vendor at our local farmers market. This spicy lamb sausage tastes great grilled, and it’s also fabulous on these single-serving pita pizzas.

Merguez Pita Pizzas 
½ pound merguez, casings removed
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons garlic powder
½ cup thin-sliced red onion
½ cup feta
4 pita rounds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is heating, brown sausage in frying pan over medium heat, using spatula or large spoon to break meat into crumbles. Remove from heat drain fat from pan. Place two pita rounds on two baking sheets. Combine tomato sauce, oregano and garlic powder in a bowl and whisk with fork until blended. Divide sauce among the four pita rounds, followed by the red onions, feta and merguez. Bake pizzas for 15 minutes, remove from oven and serve.

Get these barbecue chicken bowls in your life

One of the many reasons why I love my slow cooker? Throw some meat in with a little sauce, simmer for a few hours and BAM! Shredded, meaty goodness. I recently revisited the barbecue chicken aspect of this recipe and crafted up some seriously delicious bowls.

Barbecue Chicken Bowls 
You’ll want the following ingredients per serving: 
1 cup shredded barbecue chicken
½ cup fresh, raw corn
½ cup diced red bell pepper
½ cup cooked pinto beans
Garnishes including finely diced red onion, chopped cilantro and sliced avocado

Combine ingredients in large salad bowl and enjoy!

A soup with plenty of spuds and spice

We’re not big potato eaters but every once in awhile I’ll spot a ginormous bag of spuds at the grocery store, see that it costs mere pennies, and before you know it I’ve hoisted a bag into my cart.

This is what happened during my most recent trip to the supermarket, when I spent a whopping $2 on 10 pounds of white potatoes (this soup was the result of my last cheap-as-dirt potato deal). I also picked up some end-of-season corn for 25 cents per ear.

It’s finally cooling down and feeling like fall, and these super-cheap ingredients were the basis of one of the first of many soups and stews I plan to make in the coming months. I like the sweet flavors of the corn and the cooked red onion mixed with a little bit of kick from the jalapeno, diced green chiles and cumin.

Spiced Potato and Corn Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 pounds white potatoes, cleaned and cut into small cubes
2 ears of corn, husked, kernels cut from cobs
7 cups chicken broth
4 oz. can diced green chiles
Salt and pepper, to taste
Green onion, for garnish

Warm oil in a large heavy pot. Add jalapenos, red onion, garlic and cumin and cook mixture, stirring occasionally, for just a couple minutes. Add potatoes, corn and broth to pot, cover pot and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Use two-cup glass measuring cup to scoop six cups of soup into blender. Puree soup mixture and pour back into the pot. Stir in the green chiles and simmer for just a couple more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

What makes Friday fun when you’re 31

Oh, how Friday nights have changed.

While I fondly recall the Fridays of my younger days, rushing home to get ready for a big night out, I must say that I’m equally fond of the much more relaxed approach we now take when kicking off the weekend.

Happy hour? Sometimes.

Meeting up with friends for dinner/drinks/trouble? It still happens.

I find that more and more that the energy I used to dedicate to prepping for a blowout night I’m now redirecting into firing up the stereo when I get home, cracking open some beers or a bottle of wine, cooking a great Friday night dinner and relaxing with my sweets. Yes, this might seem a little sleepy compared to what some you have got going on, and yes, I’m only 31, not 101, but sometimes it feels really good to get home and just chill. And, all this relaxing on Friday night means we’ve got plenty of energy for weekend shenanigans Saturday and Sunday.

Last Friday was nice and warm, a prelude to the much warmer (OK, blazing hot) summer days we have ahead of us in Sacramento. It was the perfect night to fire up the barbecue for some delicious lamb burgers. I’ve only made lamb burgers a couple times and knew I wanted to top them with a little bit of red onion, possibly some cucumber too. My good friend Kimmy made the great suggestion to make a “quick pickle” of the veggies, and the result really made the flavor of the meat sing without overpowering it.

Last Friday’s pre-summer vibe also inspired me to mix up some frosty cocktails. I’ve recently developed a love for the sweet, clean flavor of elderflower liqueur thanks to friends Melissa and Mike, who recently hosted cocktail hour during a neighborhood progressive dinner. They served white linens, a drink they originally discovered at the Shady Lady Saloon and that features elderflower liqueur.

I found a couple recipes online and made a couple tweaks, using Hendrick’s Gin (tastes great with cucumber) and opting for agave nectar instead of simple syrup. This just might be my new summer cocktail.

Lamb burgers with Quick Pickle 
1 cup thinly sliced English cucumber
⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt
1 lb. ground lamb
⅓ cup chopped fresh mint
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup crumbled feta
Four sandwich thins or buns of your preference

For the quick pickle: Combine cucumber, onion, rice wine vinegar, salt and sugar in a bowl. Let sit for one hour and drain excess liquid.

 For the burger: Mix ground lamb, mint, cinnamon, paprika, garlic and feta in a bowl to combine. Form four patties. Cooking on the grill for 4-5 minutes each side resulted in some mostly done (not pink) patties. Place patty on bottom half of bun, add a scoop of pickled veggies and top with the other half of the bun. We rounded out the meal with a side salad of green-leaf lettuce, red bell pepper and the best (store-bought) dressing ever.

White Linen 
1 ½ ounces Hendrick’s Gin
½ ounce elderflower liqueur
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
½ ounce agave nectar
Two slices English cucumber, slightly muddled
Soda water
Ice

Combine first five ingredients in a glass (I used a mixer because I made two drinks at a time). Add some ice and some soda water and enjoy!

This non-traditional macaroni and cheese adds color to the holidays

My family doesn’t stick to tradition when it comes to Christmas dinner. We could do game hens one year, a big roast of some sort the next. I like it this way, especially with the memory of a turkey-and-all-the-fixings Thanksgiving feast in the not-so-distant past.

This year we decided to cook up a Mexican feast for Christmas Eve, and it gave me the perfect excuse to add my own twist to a recipe I’d been eyeballing in the December issue of Bon Appetit.

I wouldn’t normally consider eating macaroni and cheese with my chicken fajitas, but it worked. The poblano chiles give this mac and cheese a nice kick that went well with our tacos and burritos. Next time I’ll omit the cheddar and use all pepper jack for a little more heat.

Macaroni and Cheese with a Kick
Adapted from Bon Appetit
2 ½ cups dry macaroni, boiled until al dente and drained
1 tablespoon corn oil
2 whole fresh poblano chiles, plus one cup fresh chopped poblano chile
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
½ cup red onion, chopped
1 ½ cups frozen corn
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint whipping cream
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 ½ cup shredded cheese (I used a blend of cheddar and pepper jack), divided
Salt and pepper to taste

Char whole chiles directly over gas flame or in a broiler until blackened on all sides. Transfer to a paper bag, seal, and let stand 15 minutes. Peel and seed chiles; puree in a food processor until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or bring the temperature down if you’ve already got the broiler on).

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. At chopped chile, bell pepper, onion, garlic and oregano. Sautee until soft, four or five minutes. Add corn and stir for about a minute. Add cream and chile puree and bring to a boil. Stir in 1 cup of cheese and all macaroni. Pour it all into a 9-by-13 glass baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese, cover with foil and bake 20-25 minutes.