Alina's Rosemary Lemon Peel Quinoa Stuffed Chicken

After a brief hiatus, I'm back with a savory lemony dish, and I'm hoping to begin posting at least monthly from here on out.

This recipe was the result of playing in the kitchen, and so it's fitting that it tastes so fun! I stuffed this quinoa in chicken breast, but you could easily stuff it in a variety of other bases, such as a bell pepper.

Homemade Nicaraguan Tortillas

My best friend Cassidy just got back from a service trip in Nicaragua, and while she was there some of her friends taught her to make Nicaraguan tortillas. Being a great friend, she taught me how to make Nicaraguan tortillas as soon as she got back to the States. Each country has their own tortilla style, so this is the distinctly Nicaraguan way to make them.
The recipe is simple: mesa (corn flour) and water. I served these as a side with yummy buffalo chili, but you can serve them in any way your taste buds desire.

A's Sausage, Pesto, and Pepper Pizza

I like LOVE cheese, so the fact that a cheese-free pizza gets me so excited is a miracle! This recipe originates from the June 2012 issue of Every Day with Rachel Ray and was applauded by all who devoured it. I made some slight updates based on the ingredients I had on hand and to make it a little healthier, but I stayed pretty close to the recipe. It requires relatively little active cooking time (20-30 minutes), which is great for those of us who are super busy. And perhaps more importantly, the result is divine.

If you're not into meat, don't dismay. This recipe could easily be turned vegetarian/vegan by substituting well-seasoned tempeh or any other suitable substitute for the sausage.

A's Easy Mashed Cauliflower

Potatoes are deceiving. You buy them in the produce section, so you feel like you're eating something healthy. I have news for you though... potatoes are a starch bomb making a beeline straight to your bloodstream in the form of simple sugar. Bad, bad news.
"But I looooove potato dishes like mashed potatoes," you say.

Who doesn't? They're delicious. I believe that mashed potatoes are too iconic of a food to mess up with a so-so substitution. That's why I like making cauliflower mashed potatoes. They are so much healthier (low fat, low carb, high fiber) and you can barely tell the difference! This recipe is husband approved too, because Adam really likes these.

A's Herbed Tofu with Mushroom Marsala

This delicious recipe comes from The Farm restaurant in Portland, Oregon. I knew when I saw this that I had to try it. After all, there's a video that explains how to make it, which is fun. Plus, it has that hearty fall flavor that I crave this time of year. Plus, it stars fried tofu, which I heart.

This recipe seems complicated, but it's really not too hard to make. And it's delicious. Really, really delicious.

I mounded my tofu and mushroom marsala on a pile of cauliflower mashed "potatoes." They were super yummy. I'll post that recipe later this week, so keep your eyes peeled.

A's Easy Tofu Potpie

Potpie is one of Adam's favorite meals. Luckily, it can be stinking easy to throw together.
And while some versions can be quite loaded with sodium and super high in calories, with a little tweaking potpie can be quite healthy. This veggie and tofu version is made simple because it uses Pillsbury pizza crust as the topping. It's delicious (and also vegan). Potpie is amazing because it is an entire meal in a single dish, so if it's also healthy, delicious, and easy to make what's not to love?
Feel free to switch up the ingredients as you see fit. Don't like celery? Omit it. Want to throw in some broccoli? Go for it. This is a really flexible and fool-proof recipe. If you don't want tofu, swap in some chicken, tempeh or beef instead. Or go 100% veggie. The world is your playground with this simple recipe.

I drew inspiration from a variety of potpie recipes, including theKitchn's tofu potpie, Meet the Shannons vegan chicken potpie, and the Curvy Carrot's vegetarian potpie.

A's Steak and Mushroom Fajitas

You know what they say: Everything is okay in moderation.

I love steak. Man, oh man, do I ever love steak. So this week I decided to make delicious fajitas and throw in my favorite: steak.

Of course, this is a healthy cooking blog, so I recommend going easy on the steak (that makes it better... right?). We're really not talking about a lot of steak here. I cut the steak into tiny strips and put 3 small strip pieces on each fajita, which I found to be sufficient to give me my steak fix without making the dish overly unhealthy. If you're not into steak you could easily replace the steak with a more lean option like chicken or even tofu. As for me... this week I'm eating steak.

This recipe comes from myrecipes, so pop over to myrecipes for the deets. I followed it exactly, except I used multi-grain tortillas instead of corn tortillas and I topped my tacos with cheddar cheese. 

A's Lima Bean Soup

 

 

I'm sending another slow cooker recipe your way this week. I've been too busy to cook, so I've been throwing ingredients together at night and letting them slow-cook while we're sleeping. Isn't it amazing? The crockpot is doing the work for me while I sleep. So this recipe goes out to all of the stressed people in the world. :)

 

  Most kids hate lima beans (and many adults too). I love them. Always have. Always will. This recipe brings lima beans front and center. They're cooked to a buttery-soft consistency and intermingled with all kinds of other good-for-you veggies.

A's Vegan Slow-Cooker Chili

Adam and I love chili all year around, but this time of year it's especially attractive. This chunky chili is loaded with healthy veggies and can please any palate, even if you're not vegan.

This recipe is all about being healthy, flexible, and time conscious.

First, let's talk about being healthy. This recipe has nothing but vegetables and beans in it. Boom. Instantly healthy.
And it's flexible. This recipe was MADE to be customized. If you don't like a veggie, omit it. If you feel like it's missing a veggie, add it. I think that I'll double the spinach the next time I make this and I'm positive that it will turn out delicious. If this recipe was a band, it would be rubber.
And perhaps most important, the crockpot makes it so. stinking. easy. Throw everything together in the morning and let it cook all day. Dinner is served! Or throw everything together at night and let it cook while you're sleeping. It makes a great reheatable lunch to pack for work. This recipe is as healthy, flexible, and speedy as you are busy.

Alina's Simple Chicken Caprese Sandwiches

This recipe is quick, simple, and foolproof. It's been a super busy week for me, so a recipe this easy was a lifesaver!

It's a classic recipe, and if you whip up some of these sandwiches you'll find that you can't go wrong.

Alina's Avocado Curry

I'm excited to announce that this post is our 50th, and a delicious one at that! 

My inspiration from this recipe comes from a recent visit to our favorite take-out Thai restaurant, Curry In a Box. I had their avocado curry and was pleasantly surprised. Instantly I knew that it was time to start searching for my own recipe so that I could make this again, and again, and again, and... You get the idea.

I found a great recipe from the Our Veggie Kitchen blog, which I only altered a little. The result was a creamy, delicious curry. Yum!!

Alina's Healthy Lentil "Coneys"



A "coney" is a Cincinnati-favorite. It's a hot dog piled high with heart-stopping chili, breath-mangling onions, and enough cheddar cheese that it only sort of melts. Check out this coney glamour shot from serious eats (and check out the link if you're curious to learn more-- such as what the differences between the Cincinnati and the Detroit brands of coney are):

This week my mission is to create a healthy dish that takes its influence from the iconic Cincinnati coney.

I know, I know. Two words that should never go together in a sentence include "coney" and "healthy." After all, the quintessential Cincinnati junk food is about as far from health food as you can get. When I was in college at Miami University (OH), I ate a disgusting amount of this Cincinnati favorite. I am fully aware that I might be putting my reputation as a foodie on the line here.... but I love them.

Today I was thinking about chili (a favorite in our house) and had a moment of inspiration. Why not make a healthy dish that pulls inspiration from the uber-unhealthy coney dog? Thus, the lentil "coney" was born.

Alina's Shrimp Avocado Wraps

This is a quick hor dourve with a high-class flair. Delicious, abounding with flavor, and can be enjoyed as finger food! What's not to love?!

As an aside, these are quite rich and should be enjoyed in moderation.
  

Alina's Colorful Beet Hummus "Pizza"

I'm not a huge fan of beets, but I'm a sucker for color. When I saw this beet hummus recipe, I couldn't resist whipping some up because it looked so pretty! I wanted it to be substantial enough for a meal, so I concocted a "pizza" of sorts.
As it turns out, the hummus flavor mellows out the beet flavor for a delicious and satisfying way to ingest such a super healthy (and beautiful) vegetable.

The beet hummus recipe comes from Simply Recipes and the inspiration for the hummus pizza comes from the Sabra website.

Alina's Egg Topped Squash and Lentil Pizza

I love the movie Ratatouille. It has one simple message: "Anyone can cook."

And why not? As the main character Remy said, the right combo of flavors is "like music you can taste, color you can smell."

The trick is finding the right combo of flavors.

That's why I'm really proud of this recipe. Usually when I create a recipe I spend a lot of time brainstorming and planning and finagling, but this recipe just... happened.

I used only items I already had in my cupboard. Almond flour? Lentils? Eggs? Squash? Why not! 

This was one of my favorite creations to date. It had taste and color. There is no question about it. I'll make this dish again.

Alina's Cucumber, Tomato and Avocado Salad

It's been a hot, dry summer, which is perfect for cucumbers. My parents have been sharing cucumbers from their garden, so I've been looking for creative ways to use them. I tweaked this simple recipe on Kalyn's Kitchen.

This salad is fresh and light, marrying juicy cucumbers with avocados and fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes. To me, it's the epitome of fresh summer cuisine.

Alina's Spice Infused Edamame

I've been eating a lot of edamame lately. What's not to love? It's tasty and fun to eat. It's simple to whip up some well-seasoned edamame and it makes a great side for salmon, sushi or stir fry.

Alina's Pineapple Overload Stir Fry

In college I ate at Miami's stir fry bar twice a week. I had my choice of about 30 toppings and so I tried all kinds of different combinations. Eventually I realized that my perfect stir fry always has pineapple in it. It's just consistently mouthwateringly delicious.

My meal this week takes it one step further and uses the pineapple juice as the base for the stir fry sauce. The result is succulent, sweet, and secretly healthy.

Alina's Spanakopita Calzones

I'm a big fan of Greek food and spanakopitas are right at the top of my favorite foods list. This week I decided to make a calzone that pulls its influence from spanakopitas. Spanakopitas are Greek phyllo dough pastries stuffed with cheese and spinach. I decided to stuff mine with tofu and spinach and stuff it all in a calzone crust. The result is a delicious, healthy dish that hints of Greek flavors.

Baked Falafel and Hummus

When I studied abroad in Luxembourg every food joint cost way too much except for the falafel restaurant down the street. My roommates and I ate a lot of falafel sandwiches that semester, and I grew kind of fond of their not-so-healthy goodness. When I stumbled upon this healthier baked version on The Picky Eater trying my own hand at it was a no-brainer. The result was delicious and also managed to be truly healthy! Score!