Loaded Mediterranean Fries

It's french fries. It's a salad. It's dinner and it's delicious!

Loaded Mediterranean Fries
Adapted from Pinch of Yum

Ingredients
1 bag sweet potato fries
tzatziki sauce
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced cucumbers
1/2 cup sliced olives
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
fresh or ground parsley, to taste
a dash of salt
a splash of lemon juice
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
pita chips, make your own or purchase a bag

1. Bake your sweet potato fries according to package directions.
2. Mix tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives with oil, garlic, parsley, salt, and lemon juice.
3. When fries are done assemble your bowl: fries down first tops with vegetable mixture, lettuce, pita chips, and tzatziki.

*I had a chicken cutlet sitting in the fridge that I diced up.  It can be seen in the pictures, but it not an essential ingredient to this dish.

I'd say this is a pretty acceptable way to eat fries for dinner.

I am going to need to come up with more french fry/salad combinations for the future.

Mushroom Marsala Pasta

I don't particularly care for mushrooms, but sometimes I like to do nice things for my husband who is a mushroom lover.  Considering there is a long list of things I refuse to use in recipes (ground beef laden items, beans, raw tomatoes...) I shouldn't really brag about this act of kindness.

Mushroom Marsala Pasta

From Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

8 oz pasta

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 lb slice mushrooms

1 small onion, sliced thin

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup marsala wine

3 tbsp unsalted butter

3 tbsp flour

1 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 oz mozzarella, cut into cubes

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Pro tip: Boil your pasta in an oven safe skillet to make this a one pot meal!

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 400.

3. Heat oil in pasta skillet, add mushrooms and cook until they start to glisten.  Add onions, salt, and pepper.  Cook until mushrooms liquid has evaporated. Add marsala wine and cook until evaporated. Stir in butter until melted. Add flour and stir until it is absorbed. Add broth, a little at a time, making sure it is incorporated before adding more. Let mixture simmer for 2 minutes to thicken.

4. Stir in pasta, mozzarella, half of the Parmesan, and 2 tbsp of parsley. Top with remaining Parmesan and parsley. Bake 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Wow, I am a serious martyr eating this cheesy pasta dish dotted with dreaded mushrooms. KTC, a true American hero!

Wonton Soup

This is not too hard and too complicated for you.  Really, believe me, it isn't.  Plus, when it comes time to eat, you will be so incredibly impressed with yourself.

Wonton Soup
From Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients
3/4 lb ground chicken
1 tsp soy sauce
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp chopped scallions
pepper, to taste
50 wonton wrappers
cornstarch, to prevent sticking

8 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
soy sauce or salt to taste
another dash of ginger
3 oz baby spinach, a few handfuls

1. To make the wontons: Mix chicken, soy sauce, salt, sesame oil, ginger, scallions, and pepper. Place 6 wonton wrappers on a cutting board and fill a small bowl with water. Drop teaspoons of chicken filling into the middle of each wonton wrapper. Use your fingers to dampen the edges of the wrapper. Seal edges in a triangle, pushing out all the air. Then pull the 2 corners on the wide side together. Place on a plate dusted with cornstarch. Do this 50 times!
2. Let your broth come to a boil with the garlic, soy sauce/salt, and ginger. Gently drop in your completed wontons and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cool until the leaves soften. All done!

The whole time I was preparing this meal I just kept thinking I needed a backup food plan.  What was I going to make when this was a total failure? What if all the wontons opened up in the soup?

But guess what!? It just worked. This soup is perfection.

I could really use a bowl of wonton soup on this blizzard day.

Super Bowl Recipe Roundup

Clockwise from the left:

Sliders

Mac and Cheese Bar

Broccoli Cheese Pizza Roll

Cheesy Corn Dip

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Chicken Wings

Vegetable Dip

French Onion Dip

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip

Hummus 5 Layer Dip

Triple Cheese Popcorn

Zucchini Parmesan Sliders

Happy snacking today everyone!

Greek Pan Pizza

You have to make this! Skip straight to the ingredients list and get right to it.  As soon as I took a bite I was already dreaming of the next time I would make this and what topping combinations I could mess around with.

Greek Pan Pizza
Adapted from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
2 envelopes rapid rise yeast
3/4 cup milk, 120-130 degrees
1/4 cup olive oil

4 oz feta cheese
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning, or a dash of each: oregano, parsley, basil

1. Grease an 8x8 pan. Mix first set of ingredients (flour-olive oil) in the greased pan. Yes! In the pan! Press dough evenly in pan.
2. Top dough with feta, spinach, and tomatoes. Then top with mozzarella and herbs.
3. Bake by placing in a cold oven set to 350.  Cook 30-35 minutes until cheese is melty and begins to brown at the edges.

Hello sweet delicious one pan pizza. I love you and can't wait to see you again.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Noodles

Hi, confession: the first time I set out to make this it was a complete failure.  I busted out 2 different spiralizers to noodle a sweet potato.  One just cut the potato to slivers and the other just mushed up the potato and then cut my finger.  In a fit of rage, I regrettably tossed them both 😬😠 .

Then, I remembered that Stop and Shop sells pre-noodled vegetables in the produce aisle. So here I am today, sharing with you part 2 of this recipe.  Was it worth it? Yes.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Noodles
Adapted from Pinch of Yum

Ingredients
12 oz sweet potato noodles
olive oil
1 cup corn kernels
a tablespoon or 2 of fresh or ground cilantro
1 cup or so of fresh spinach

1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp water
a tablespoon or so of chipotle juice from the can, or you can dice up a pepper you decide how much spice you can handle
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp honey
a couple tbsp of orange juice
the juice of a lime
a solid pinch of salt

1. Mix 1/3 cup olive oil through pinch of salt from ingredients list in a large measuring cup.  If you love cleaning stuff, you can use a food processor or immersion blender.
2.. Heat oil in large skillet.  Add corn, and cook until slightly browned.  Add sweet potato noodles and cook 5 minutes or so, until you see them soften. Toss in the spinach and wilt slightly.
3. Mix in the dressing and enjoy!



This is definitely a strange sell, I understand that, but it really was delicious.  I served this as a side to some turkey cutlets and it was really exquisite.

Foodie Dice

Sorry I seem to have taken a bit of a leave of absence from the blog so far this year, but I promise new recipes are in the works as you read this very post!

FYI: This is not a sponsored post.  It's just me showing off a fun gift I got for Christmas.  I present to you, foodie dice!  The idea is you roll the dice to decide what ingredients get included in a recipe.  This version has a different vegetable die for each season.

Above you can see what I rolled, below you can see what the end result looked like. I roasted a rosemary and garlic covered pork loin along with potatoes and carrots.  I tossed in some shredded purple cabbage for the last few minutes of cooking.

This was just the inspiration I needed to come up with something different to cook for dinner. Can't wait to see what the dice have in store for me next time!