Roasted Pepper Vinaigrette

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope your week is off to a great start.  First off, I would like to apologize for posting so late...I actually was under the weather a bit and wasn't quite feeling like me all weekend.  None the less, that's should not be an excuse but I hope you understand.  Anyway, on to today's recipe...this is a great recipe that takes your salad to the next level; it's sweet & tangy and can be whipped up in a snap.  Now what could be better than that?!

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper, roasted (directions to follow)

1/4 cup of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) 

1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar

Roughly 1/4 tsp of salt

Roughly 1/4 tsp pepper 

2 TSP honey 

1 tsp of basil (or any fresh herb of your choice)

Directions:

1.  To roast bell pepper, place over an open flame and grill until it's charcoaled all the way around.

2.  Once the pepper is charcoaled all over, place in a ziplock bag, zip, & let stand for about 5 minutes.

3.  After 5 minutes, remove the pepper from the ziplock & place in a plate.  Using a cloth dish cloth or towel, gently scrub until skin comes off (the pepper will smell very sweet as you're doing this).  Cut in big strips and scoop out all the seeds & veins from the inside of the pepper.  

4.  In a blender or food processor, place chopped peppers, basil, EVOO, vinegar, & remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

5.  Chill for at least an hour before serving but it is best made a day ahead of time so that the flavors really have a chance to meld.

6.  Enjoy with your favorite salad! 

  

 

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

I love baking! This is one of my favorite cake recipes to make, it looks really impressive but it's so easy to put together! What sets this cake apart from other chocolate cakes is the raspberry preserves in the cake batter and onto of the cake. It is so good! If you are not a huge raspberry fan, no worries you can substitute it with strawberry or any mixed berry preserves. I also made milk chocolate and white chocolate curls to garnish the cake at the end, but you can use mini chocolate chips instead. Hope you enjoy this cake as much as my family did!

Ingredients

- 1 box of Betty Crocker milk chocolate cake mix

- 1 container of vanilla greek yogurt

- 3 TBSP vegetable oil

- 3/4 cup water

- 2 TBSP + 3 TBSP raspberry preserves

- 2 cups cool whip or fresh whipped cream

- 1 pint of raspberries

- 2 oz of white chocolate

- 2 oz of milk chocolate

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350.

- In a medium bowl mix water, yogurt, vegetable oil and 2 TBSP raspberry preserves until well combined.

- in a large mixing bowl, empty contents of cake mix and add liquid mixture and mix.

- Pour batter in a round 9 inch cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely 

- Spread remaining 3 TBSP of preserves on top of the cake, then add cool whip and spread all over top of the cake. 

- Garnish with fresh raspberries.

- For chocolate curls make sure chocolate is at room temperature, peel curls of chocolate using a vegetable peeler (try not to touch the curls as they will melt!)

Savory SKM Lasagna

Happy Sunday! Hope y'all had as great of a weekend as I did.  My weekend was filled with some much needed R&R, followed watching the world cup, followed by some good food & hanging out with my family (and spoiled rotten dog).  Now I don't know about you, but I can't imagine a more perfect weekend than that.  I call today's recipe SKM because it's packed with Spinach,  Kale, & Mushrooms...3 of my all time favorite ingredients.  This recipe is pretty healthy (well as healthy as lasagna can be) and delicious.  I hope you try it at home and enjoy it with your family as much as I enjoyed it with mine!

Ingredients:
1/2 box of lasagna noodles, cooked
3-4 cups sauce (click here for a similar recipe)
1 cup spinach
1 cup kale
1 regular size package of baby bella mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 tsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
crushed red pepper flakes
black pepper
dash of Italian Seasoning
8 oz of fat free ricotta cheese
1.5 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1.  Cook lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package.  Rinse with cold water and let them dry for a while (I actually left mine in a strainer and covered with a dish for about an hour).
2.  In the meantime, heat EVOO, add spinach, kale, pepper flakes, Italian seasoning & sauté for roughy 2 minutes or so unit it starts to wilt.  Remove from heat & mix in a bowl with ricotta cheese.
3.  In a separate pan, sauté mushrooms using just a bit of EVOO until they are thoroughly cooked and all the water has burned off.  Remove from heat and mix in a bowl with the diced bell peppers.
4.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Directions to ensemble the lasagna:
1.  In a baking dish, first place a spoon full of sauce and a drizzle of EVOO.
2.  Place a cooked noodle on top.
3.  Spread a good amount of the kale, spinach, and ricotta mixture on top.
4.  Place another cooked noodle on top.
5.  Place a spoonful of the mushroom and bell pepper mixture on top and spread it.
6.  Place another noodle on top & continue to layer following the steps above in order.
7.  On the very top layer, add sauce on top of the noodle, and sprinkle with mozzarella.
8.  Place foil on top and bake for roughly 20 minutes.
9.  Remove the foil after 20 minutes and cook for another 15.
10. Broil for  another 5 until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown on top.
11. Cut the lasagna once it has cooled & enjoy!!!

Sweet and Spicy Asian Noodles

This is one of my favorite Asian inspired recipes, it is packed with flavor and because I use a pre-made sweet and sour sauce it is super quick! I used the veggies I had on hand, but feel free to use your favorite veggies or whatever is in your fridge. On a spicy scale of 1-5 I made the dish a 4 so if you like it less spicy do not add as much chili paste. I also used rice noodles, which are fairly simple to cook and use. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients
- 1 lb rice noodles (cooked and drained)
- 12oz extra firm tofu cut into 1" cubes
- 3 TBSP vegetable oil
- 3 cups veggies cut into 1" pieces (I used red bell pepper, mushroom, zucchini, broccoli, carrots)
- 1/4 cup La Choy Sweet and Sour Duck Sauce
- 2 TBSP fresh grated ginger
- 2 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
- 2 TBSP Sambalal chili paste
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup salted peanuts

Directions

- In a small bowl combine, fresh ginger, duck sauce, soy sauce, chili paste and fresh cilantro.

- Heat 2 TBSP oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add tofu and cook until water is drained and tofu in browned on all sides about 7-9 minutes. Place cooked tofu in a small bowl to the side.
- Add additional TBSP oil and add veggies and peanuts and sautee until slightly tender but still crisp about 3-4 minutes, add cooked tofu to the veggies and turn the heat to high. Add duck sauce mixture to the veggies, bring to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes (Sauce should thicken slightly).
- Place noodles in a large bowl and add the veggie and duck sauce mixture and mix until noodles are coated with sauce and veggies are distributed evenly. Garnish with extra cilantro.
- Serve hot!

Serving size
- Serves 4-6