Sausage and Italian Barley Salad

While visiting my parents, my Mum awakened Justin's passion for barley. Since then, he'd been asking for me to make barley salad, so I finally did! Barley is a great source of fiber and a little protein. To cook barley, cook one cup of barley in 2 1/2 cups of water for 35-40 minutes.
Once the barley is fully cooked, toss with olive oil and red wine vinegar (to taste). Add salt, freshly chopped garlic, and basil. Throw in some tomatoes, I prefer the baby heirloom tomatoes because they add a sweetness. :)
I paired the barley with a mild Italian sausage so the acidity of the barley will be cut by the richness of the sausage. Any marinated meat would work as well! :)
Just an easy dinner tonight!

Jazzed Up Steaks

I was trying to come up with what I wanted to eat this week - and read Justin's mind about what he felt like eating. I don't know about you all, but trying to get Justin to cough up what he feels like eating is harder than getting him to close cabinet doors after himself. His reply is always "I don't know. Whatever sounds good." and then I end up having to come up with a couple options and if I'm lucky he'll be pretty decisive on just one!
So naturally, being out of food and since it's the weekend - it was time to do our little ritual of picking out this week's meals. It's been a little while so I decided to treat Justin to some red meat! I found this recipe for steak that has a summery touch and as Justin likes to refer to "fancy". This is a steak over bruschetta with a tossed spinach salad in vinaigrette and crostini.

Your first priority is to find your steak! They had a pretty good quality steak on special at a local market so I got about 1 lb of steak which makes enough for 3 slightly large servings. Remember that your steak is the star of your dish so if you can, throw in a bit of extra money for a really good quality steak! The original dish called for pesto but since I was unable to find a dairy-free pesto (and I decided I was gonna be too lazy to make one - too many other things competing for my attention this weekend!) so I just replaced it with bruschetta. And since Justin is in love with bruschetta, it was a win-win situation. :)   Also pick up your favorite green for a tossed salad, I picked spinach because it has a great source of iron but others work just as well like arugula.
Here is a total list of your ingredients:

Steak

Bruschetta

Greens (Spinach)

Your favorite bread (Ciabatta)

This meal is super fast and easy - but you need to have everything going all at once! First, slice your bread into about 1/2" slices and place them on a baking pan. Spread a small amount of olive oil on each bread and sprinkle a small amount of salt. These go into the oven at 350 degrees F for about 5-6 minutes to get the bread just crusty. After putting your bread in the oven, put your pan on the stove to heat. Once it is warmed up, place your seasoned steaks in the pan, I seasoned my steaks with a sprinkle of sea salt and minced rosemary. I don't really cook my steaks via time, so if this helps, flip your steaks once they are cooked almost halfway through the steak. Cook the steaks on the opposite side for about 1 minute less than the other side, turn off the heat, and leave the steaks to finish cooking. After flipping your steaks, take your greens and toss a mix of 2/3 olive oil and 1/3 balsamic or red wine vinegar with a sprinkle of sea salt. If you are nervous about the simple flavors of a vinaigrette, any flavored vinaigrette can be substituted.

Once you have all your components prepared, smear about 2 tablespoons of bruschetta/pesto on your plates, top with your rested steaks, and a nice bunch of greens with a crostini. Enjoy!

Thai Green Curry

Thai Green Curry is one of my favorite Thai dishes, besides yellow curry, because its sweet and spicy with a wonderful blend of kefir, lemongrass, and thai pepper flavors. It's actually pretty simple to make a good thai curry - although your flavors won't be truly authentic, you will make a very delicious meal!
You will need:
Chicken or tofu
Green curry paste (you can also use yellow quite similarly but the recipe for red curry is a bit different)
Coconut milk
Ginger or galangal
Kefir leaves (from a Kefir Lime tree) - this is optional but it gives a great flavor
Garlic
Vegetables: I always use onion but carrot, potatoes, spinach, and peas are great additions to Thai alternatives. For a traditional green curry, there's usually Thai eggplant which is slightly larger than a pea but pretty similar.
Oil of your choice

I warmed up my largest pan with a good amount of oil to sautee two large chicken breast. I used flaxseed oil instead of my usual vegetable oil, as I try to include it in my cooking about once a week. If you didn't know, flaxseed oil is a great source of omega-3 and fiber which is suspected to help with inflammation, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Cook your chicken about halfway and then add your garlic, ginger, and vegetables, unless you are cooking potatoes and large chunks of carrots. Continue cooking until about 3/4 of the way done, then add green curry paste and coconut milk to taste (you want to create a nice thick sauce for your meat and vegetables). Let simmer until your chicken is fully cooked. If you have kefir leaves, add them to your curry while you are simmering.
Serve over rice and enjoy!

Coming up next week: an Italian barley salad :)

Pizza Night

If you are like me, you are also disappointed with frozen pizzas. The crust tastes like cardboard, it doesn't have enough cheese or it has too much cheese, or there isn't a pizza with just your favorite toppings. However - frozen pizza is a convenience. But if you have an hour of time one night, you can make your own pizza exactly the way you want! :)
Since my s/o has a milk allergy, his pizza must be dairy-free. Obviously this means no cheese, but if you get enough toppings you won't even miss the usually essential part of a pizza. For the dairy-free pizza, Justin usually has a ton of pizza sauce, then a layer of veggies, topped with at least two sausages and 1/3 lb of pepperoni. I'll give you some tips about making homemade pizzas, especially when it comes to the dairy-free variety!
What you will need first, is to find fresh dough. You can find these at higher-end supermarkets but double-check that it is dairy-free! I prefer the whole wheat dough for fiber. :) One way to really flavor up your dough, especially if you don't care for the taste of whole wheat, finely mince garlic and herbs (like rosemary) and knead it into your dough to mask the taste. Let your dough rest for about 20-30 minutes while you prepare your toppings. For the dairy-free pizza, sausage is a great alternative to cheese (or so Justin tells me). To ensure that your pizza isn't drowning with fat from the meat, remove sausage from the casing and drain the fat after cooking.
I take my risen dough and split it in two to make two personal pizzas. Use a rolling pin, or your hands to stretch out your dough. Top off your pizzas and place in a greased pan at 425 or 450 degrees F. To brown your crust, brush olive oil over the pizza crust. For a thin-crust pizza, cook for 12-15 minutes but for a thick-crust pizza, cook for 15-18 minutes.

For a cheese pizza, here are some combinations you should definitely try!
Low Calorie:
Skim mozzarella with low fat feta cheese for a tangy combination
Skim mozzarella with fresh sliced tomatoes and basil for a traditional pizza
Not Counting Calories:
Mozzarella with regular feta cheese
Mozzarella with goat cheese

These are some of my favorite combinations! By choosing skim or low fat cheeses you can create a tasty combination without piling on the calories :)

Summer Pasta with Sausage

This is a late post since I've been feeling kinda sick - but thankfully when I'm feeling ill, I love to munch on a light pasta. Talking to my friends, I feel like there is often a misconception about pasta. There is pasta topped with marinara, bolognese, or alfredo and then there is pasta tossed with butter. I get bored with these limited options - especially since alfredo and butter are not possibilities!
This pasta is a refreshing option that lets fresh ingredients like basil and lemon shine.
Take your favorite pasta, I used linguine as a medium between my favorite (spaghettini) and Justin's (any thick pasta). Cook the pasta al dente while you cook your sausage in garlic and shallots. I prefer to remove the sausage from the casing and my favorite is sweet italian because it melts in your mouth like butter. When the sausage is 3/4 of the way cooked, add spinach to your pan to cook. When the pasta is finished, drain and toss with olive oil and a light amount of balsamic vinegar. Toss in your sausage and spinach mixture, add lemon zest, and fresh squeezed lemon juice to taste. Add basil for a refreshing, light summer pasta!

Tonights dinner is homemade pizzas! It seems I've been craving Italian as the past couple meals have been following the theme :)
I'm also looking for a Moroccan or Indian dish thats milk free if anyone has suggestions?

Parents Weekend!

Justin and I headed back home to see our parents this weekend - which means some amazing home cooked food :)

It's kinda nice to not have to worry about planning and cooking sometimes - although I think I have it pretty easy most of the time since Justin helps me out in the kitchen whenever he can! :) And sometimes he will even make dinner for us when I'm out of commission! :)

My Mum made this wonderful dinner, a dairy-free calzone with homemade marinara sauce and an arugula salad. First, my Mum made the dough and let it rest in the oven to raise. You can use any dough recipe you like, and if you don't have the time (like me!) you can pick up pre-made dough in the fresh or frozen aisle at pretty much any nicer grocery market (Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, ect). Check the ingredients in the dough, but all of the stores I've been to have been dairy-free. Next, my Mum cooked mushrooms, bell pepper, and crushed red pepper and put it aside. She then cooked uncased sausage until 3/4 brown and then re-added the vegetables. She then added the mixture to the risen dough and folded the dough to cover the mixture. Stick the calzones back into the oven until golden brown and serve with your favorite marinara or bolognese sauce! The secret to a really great complementing sauce to your calzone is a bold red wine! You can also play on garlic, basil, or your favorite herb :)

Hope you all had a great weekend and enjoy this traditional dairy meal that you can now make dairy-free! This dish also can be made without meat for any vegans out there :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of my favorite meals when I do not have time to stand over a stove and cook! I make my tortilla soup in a slow cooker so if I have an hour in the morning or the afternoon - and no time at night, I can still have a nice dinner ready whenever I want or need! The beauty of this soup, in my opinion, is that you can literally put whatever vegetables you want in it. I kept it pretty traditional when I made my tortilla soup but I had a leftover carrot so I threw that in as well. 

You will need no longer then one hour of prep (I've got a troublesome can opener!) and 3-4 hours on HIGH or 6-7 hours on LOW to cook. I really don't think there's a difference in taste - I feel its more up to when you have time (morning or afternoon).

My recommendation is to chop up all your veggies first:

1 small onion

1 carrot (tossed in a leftover veggie)

1-2 jalapenos (depends on how spicy you'd like it)

1 bag frozen corn (I didn't have enough time to prep fresh corn)

1 can whole tomatoes OR diced tomatoes 

1 large can of tomato paste (not many recipes include tomato paste but I use it to thicken the soup naturally)

1 can black beans (any beans will do and it will add more protein!)

Cilantro

Drain your beans but add the liquid from the can whole/diced tomatoes. Add about 10-12 oz of enchilada sauce (I found an awesome dairy free version at Trader Joes as they usually have some form of milk. At this point you should have a ton of awesome, colorful veggies in your slow cooker with some liquids. Add your chicken (strips, cubes, whatever you desire) to your slow cooker and then add enough chicken broth to cover everything and set to cook!

When your meal is ready, top with crushed tortilla chips, cilantro, and sour cream/cheese! :)

For an easy access list, the following are ingredients needed to make this delicious soup:

1 bag or 1 husk of corn

1 can whole or diced tomatoes + sauce

1 large can tomato paste

1 small onion

1-2 jalapenos

1 can black beans drained

10-12 oz enchilada sauce

Around 4 1/2 cups or 36 fl oz of chicken broth

1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast

Cilantro

ENJOY! :)