Finger Food Friday!

One of my favorite things about being a mommy to a toddler (wow...where did the time go!) ...is watching Lily discover new foods. My biggest fear is that we are going to have a picky eater. So, to push her to being a lover of food like her parents, we are having fun introducing new colors, textures and tastes. Her reactions are the BEST! The only heart breaking experience we have had so far...she hates avocados! No matter how we dice it or spruce it up...she isn't fooled!

She loves to eat but hates being fed...she wants to do it all herself. Miss Independent already. So, finger foods it is! Since we are having so much fun stuffing her little sweet cheeks, I'll start sharing our experiences...the good, the bad, and the adorable!

This week...Black Bean & Corn Salad...success!

I got the recipe from one of my go-to sources of baby food fun...Weelicious. They have such creative ways to spice up the everyday lunch box...which I'm all about! This salad was a no-brainer to try because it is completely vegetarian, so no need to tweak too much, and it's so much fun! Not too messy, very colorful and healthy...win, win, win! Here ya go...

2 ears of corn, husked, cleaned and ready to go!
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed1 red bell pepper, dice it up...remember, small fingers need to grab it!
2 tbsp cilantro, same thing, dice it up!
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt

We had every intention of grilling the corn to spice it up...but there was a hungry little girl running around my feet, so off the grill the ears of corn came and into the pot! It was just as tasty...and Lily didn't seem to mind too much!

So, bring about an inch of water to boil and add your corn. Cover and steam for 5 minutes and then remove and let cool. While your corn is getting ready, go ahead and mix all of your other ingredients in a bowl.

Once your corn is cooled, add it to your party...stir and serve! So easy!

Doesn't that look so tasty? Trust me...it is! Lily LOVED it! Black beans are one of her favorite things right now so she ate all the black beans first...and then dove head first into the bell peppers and corn. 

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! There is so much going on around town so have fun!

Sweet Strawberry Spinach Salad!

Sweet Strawberry Spinach Salad...whew, say that five times fast!

We have been trying to eat more salads and I fell upon this recipe. This salad isn't necessarily healthy but yum, tasty! If you are in the mood for a sweet treat that you won't entirely regret, I highly recommend this dish! Enjoy!

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 bunches fresh spinach - chopped, washed and dried

1 pint strawberries, halved

Whisk together the sugar, sesame seeds, sesame oil, poppy seeds, paprika, oil and vinegar. Then, refrigerate until chilled.    

In a salad bowl, combine the spinach and strawberries. Drizzle with dressing, toss lightly and serve.               

I topped with a little feta cheese when serving...and that really made me a happy camper!

Watermelon Salad

Skip to my Lou recently sent me this recipe and I thought it sounded a little odd at first...but my goodness, it is refreshing! This Watermelon Salad, adapted from Paula Deen, is the perfect addition to any summer meal. Chris and I enjoyed it as a little snack before enjoying Uncorked Baton Rouge (which I'm going to post about later...so stay tuned!).

Watermelon Salad

8 cups cubed watermelon
1 small Vidalia or other sweet mild onion thinly sliced
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 - 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
mint sprigs for garnish



In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, salt, and pepper. Whisk until salt is dissolved then slowly whisk in the olive oil. Add in the chopped mint, taste, and adjust seasonings.

In a large bowl, combine the melon, onion, and feta. Pour the dressing over the melon mixture and toss gently until everything is coated and evenly mixed. Garnish with mint sprigs.

So easy yet so impressive...and tasty!

Let me know if you try it!

Massaged Kale Salad

I was being lazy Sunday afternoon, flipping through the channels when I got all caught up in Aarti Party on Food Network. She is just adorable! I don't watch The Next Food Network Star, but apparently she won and I'm glad she did because she introduced me to an amazing new salad! When I was watching her make this Massaged Kale Salad, I kept thinking "I could do that and I could eat that! Perfect!" 

This salad combines the goodness of kale with the sweetness of mango and the crunch of toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds). She paired this dish with Sloppy Bombay Joes but since we don't eat meat and it was already pretty late....we had this dish solo. I could see it winning "best supportive cast member" next to some grilled portobellos or maybe a nice spicy pasta or rice dish...YUM!

Massaged Kale Salad

1 bunch kale (she suggests black kale but Whole Foods only had green...it was still tasty!)
1 lemon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
1 mango (diced small)
Small handful toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Discard the stems and thinly slice your kale then toss in a large serving bowl. Add 1/2 of the lemon juice and a drizzle of oil with a pinch or two of kosher salt. Then get ready to get your hands dirty! Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, around 2 to 3 minutes. This is really fun because your can feel the kale succumb to the lemon and olive oil. Plus the kale goes from a bright crunchy green to a darker smooth green.

(DISCLAIMER: Please make sure your hands are clean!)

Set that aside and start on your dressing. In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.

Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.

I hope you enjoy...we sure did! Kale is such an awesome leafy green!

If you try it, let me know what you served it with!

Happy Little Vegan's Fried Chickpea Salad

Another new recipe that Chris and I tried this week was Fried Chickpea Salad from Happy Little Vegans. I was pretty skeptical when it mentioned frying the chickpeas...but they are little pieces of heaven and you need to try them RIGHT NOW! Enjoy!

Fried Chickpea Salad

15 oz of cooked chickpeas (or 1 can of chickpeas)
2-3 tsp flour
2 tsp of yellow curry powder (we couldn't find it so we used a little red curry powder)
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
2-4 cups couscous (depending on how much you want, we were good with 2 cups)
6-8 Heirloom or Exotic tomatoes (we had Roma on hand, so that is what we used)
3-4 green onion stalks
1/4 cup fresh cut basil
Juice of 1 lemon
Your favorite leafy salad greens
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix the flour, curry powder, ground ginger, and Cajun seasoning and dust the mixture over the chickpeas. Saute in a bit of olive oil in a hot pan until nice and crispy. Sprinkle with a little salt while they are cooling and voila...hard part over!

Next, prepare your couscous. The brand that we use suggested one cup water to each cup couscous, so just pay attention to the instructions on the label. I boiled two cups of water, stirred in two cups of couscous and removed from heat. Let sit for 4-5 minutes and then fluff with a fork.

Finally, slice your veggies and begin to layer your salad. First, dump your favorite leafy salad greens in the bottom of your fabulous salad bowl. Then add your couscous and then your veggies. Top with your chickpeas, lemon juice, salt and pepper and finally, the basil.

Holy wow, this salad is fabulous! The chickpeas, the basil and the tomatoes...PERFECT combination! We had leftovers for lunch the next day and it was still delicious! This is a perfect summer meal, so enjoy soon!

VeganLoveLie's Asian Salad...YUM!

As I was planning the meals for this week, I did some blog-searching for recipes. I wanted to cook meals that were simple, colorful, healthy and of course, tasty! My first find was this amazing Asian Salad from VeganLovelie. We had this over the weekend for our "date night". So yummy...enjoy!

Asian Salad

Asian Stir-fry Noodles (boiled until soft then rinsed in cold water to prevent sticking)
(VeganLovelie used sweet potato noodles, but I couldn't find any!)
1 medium sized carrot (finely sliced with a vegetable peeler)
Mixed pepper slices (red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are perfect!)
1 frozen bag of snow peas (immersed in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drained)
4-5 radishes (sliced)
A handful or so of raw green beans (sliced)

Toss everything in a large salad bowl...then add:

Fruit Butter Asian Salad Dressing

1 tablespoon fruit butter (the recipe from yesterday is PERFECT!)
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon (or to taste) fine chili powder
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fruit syrup (or maple syrup/agave nectar)
Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together (a fork is easiest to break up the butter and wasabi paste) then pour over salad before serving.

Aren't all those colors just pretty! This was such a tasty meal and I really encourage all to try it!

This was part of our "date night" so we had a fun little set up:

For dessert, we had fresh pineapple and it complimented the salad so well. We also had a really tasty white wine. I love Riesling...mainly because I'm a big girly-girl and I love the fruitiness and sweetness. Oddly, this Riesling was a great pairing for the salad...light and refreshing...not to mention, made with organically grown grapes!

Sunday BBQ

Well, it has been CRAZY lately! With weddings and work revving up, I haven't had time to blog...let along cook! Let's just say, the Fresco Bean Burrito at Taco Bell has been served at my house more than once these past two weeks! So sad, I know...but quick, easy and I don't have to get out of my car to enjoy it!

Yesterday, I was determined to have a nice Easter Sunday BBQ...and that is exactly what we had! Chris put his outdoor grill to work with Veggie Kabobs while I whipped up Baked Beans and Potato Salad. Yum, Yum, Yum!

For the Kabobs, Chris chopped up bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. After marinating in a little olive oil/salt/pepper/garlic mixture, he popped them on some bamboo skewers and had a good ol' time grillin' outside again. We both thought our investment in a nice outdoor grill was wasted when we gave up meat...we were so wrong!

Now, I'll admit I got a bit lazy with the baked beans. Alicia Simpson has a tasty recipe in Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food but it served 12-14 people and I got a headache when I tried to redo the recipe for just two. SO, I found a can of Bush's Vegetarian Baked Beans, popped it open, dumped them in a pot and put it on the stove! I added some garlic, chopped onion, and a little salt/pepper and voila...yum!

I actually put effort forth for the Potato Salad. Alicia's recipe was easy and tasty! I tweaked it a bit, but enjoy!

5 new potatoes (cubed with skin left on)

1/4 cup chopped red onion

2 tablespoons chopped celery (I just chopped up two sticks)

1 cup vegan mayo (if you can't find the mayo and don't mind if it isn't vegan, ranch dressing is a decent sub)

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1/2 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons sweet relish

Salt/Pepper to taste

Paprika to style

Place your potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Boil until tender (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat, drain and let cool completely. Once cool, add the rest of your ingredients (minus the paprika). After moving to your serving dish, sprinkle the paprika across the top for presentation. Best served cold!

After lunch, I can attest that this dish is an awesome next-day leftover!

Tasty Pasta Salad

I made this tasty, tasty pasta salad this weekend for a party Chris and I hosted and WOW...yummy! It was difficult selecting a menu for the shindig but we tried to keep it as vegan friendly as possible. There was definitely a cheese role in some of the dips but the chili (recipe in an earlier post) and the pasta salad were vegan! Check out the recipe from Food Network, that I tweaked a bit:

Garden Pasta Salad
1 (16 ounce) package uncooked spiral whole wheat pasta
1/2 cup grated carrots
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 (16-ounce) bottle Italian-style salad dressing

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water until al dente. Rinse under cold water, and drain. Mix carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, and green onion together in large bowl. Add the cooled pasta and mix together. Pour the dressing over mixture and chill before serving.

I actually doubled the recipe and made WAY too much but it was actually better the next day! Can’t wait to make this again!

Enjoy!