Red Pepper Italian Dressing

I love salad, the only thing I hate is making it! I know it's just me being lazy, but cutting lettuce and veggies feels so tedious. So I usually home made salad dressing, which in turn motivates/forces me to make salad (Nobody wants to waste good salad dressing, especially after you've taken the time to make it!) This dressing is perfect with cool crisp lettuce and veggies and it's home made so it has no artificial flavors or preservatives like the ones in the grocery store. Make a batch of this and it will stay good in the fridge for up to two weeks, which might motivate you to eat some salad everyday...or every other day! :)

Ingredients

- 2/3 cup olive oil

- 1/4 cup vinegar (white, red wine, balsamic-whichever you like)

- 2 TSP dijon mustard

- 1 TSP of honey

- 2 TBSP finely diced red pepper

- 1/2 TSP dried oregano

- 1/2 TSP dried basil

- 1/2 TSP dried parsley

- 1/2 TSP crushed red pepper

- 1/2 TSP celery salt

- 1/4 TSP ground black pepper

Directions

- In a bowl whisk together vinegar, mustard, dried herbs, salt and pepper until well combined.

- Place the herb mixture in a food processor, slowly drizzle olive oil from the opening (in the lid) and mix on low speed until olive oil and ingredients are well combined.

- Store dressing in a glass jar/container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Avocado Cream Sauce

Hello friends. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and enjoyed spending time with loved ones.  This was an exceptionally exciting weekend for both Krishma and I because both of us celebrated milestones in our lives.  Krishma got ENGAGED!!! CONGRATS & YEAY! We (all of her girlfriends) couldn't be more excited for her!

And my husband and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary - or the wooden anniversary as it is more commonly known.  To celebrate this monumental event in my life, we celebrated by eating LOTS & LOTS of food.  Matter of fact, I am going to have to workout extra hard this week because I'm pretty sure I packed on some major LBS from all the goodies I devoured!  One of the biggest hits of the weekend was spinach & mushroom enchiladas with an avocado sour cream sauce.  It was the perfect blend of creamy & spicy goodness.  I don't say this often but it is a must try!!! Try it at home and do let me know what you think of this awesome-sauce!

Ingredients:
1/2 - 3/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
3/4 cup half & half
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup water
1 & a half serrano peppers
Salt
Dash of lime juice
1/2 - 3/4 avocado (I used a little over a half but not quite 3/4)

Directions:
1.  Blend serrano peppers, cilantro leaves, avocado, & lime together in a blender or food processor.
2.  Mix in sour cream, water, half & half, salt, & lime juice until smooth and thick in consistency.**
3.  Pour in a container, cover, and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before using.  The longer the sauce sits, the better because it will give the flavors a chance to really develop. 

Yields roughly 2 cups (slightly more). 

**You may have to add more or less water depending on how thick you prefer the sauce.  It should be the consistency of gravy.  Keep in mind the sauce will thicken up as it cooks.

Below is a picture of the final product. Oh & don't worry folks, the recipe for the enchiladas and the salsa will follow soon. #YUM! :)

Herby Sandwich Spread

This recipe was one of those that you kind of just make up on the spot. Throw some things in the food processor and hope for the best! Thank god it was delicious, now I get to share it with y'all! The good thing about this is you can use whatever herb you want to use and its still really good. A bunch of us  went to a Texas Rangers game recently and thought sandwiches would be perfect. I didn't want them to get soggy by the time we ate them, so this was excellent! It's pretty versatile, you can use this as a dip for fresh cut veggies, pita chips, crackers or as a spread for wraps! These are approximate measurements, but feel free to add more olives, jalapeños and herbs! If mixture gets too thick add a couple extra TBSP's of sour cream.

Ingredients

- 8oz reduced fat cream cheese at room temperature

- 1/4 cup sour cream

- 1/4 cup cilantro

- 1 TSP fresh oregano

- 1 TSP fresh tarragon 

- 1/3 cup black whole olives

- 1/3 cup jalapeños

- salt and pepper to taste. 

Directions

- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and mix until herbs, olives and jalapeños are combined with the cream cheese. (Mixture should be slightly chunky)

Serving size- Yields about 1-1/2 cup.

Pizza Sauce

I don't make pizza sauce from scratch as much as I should, but when I do, this is my go to recipe. It's really zesty, a little sweet and has a little kick from the red crushed pepper! I usually make the sauce and freeze whatever is left for next time. You can skip the cherry tomato part, and used canned petit diced tomato if you're short on time, still tastes just as good!

Ingredients

- 3 TBSP Extra virgin olive oil

- 3 cups grape/cherry tomatoes (peeled and chopped)

- 3 cups tomato sauce

- 3 TBSP tomato puree

- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

- 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil

- 1/4 tsp oregano

-  salt and pepper

- 1 TSP crushed red pepper

Directions

- To peel the grape/cherry tomatoes, bring a pot of water to a boil and add cherry tomatoes. After a minute or two drain tomatoes and place straight in some iced water to stop them from cooking. Peel the skin (the skin should come off really easily). Chop tomatoes up into little chunks.

- In a pot heat olive oil over medium heat and add the chopped cherry tomatoes or petit diced tomato (careful it will splatter), basil and sautee for 2-3 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and oregano. Let cook for a minute then add tomato sauce and puree. Simmer about 15-20 minutes.

- Taste for salt and pepper, add accordingly. 

The end product is so good!

Heart Healthy Pancakes with Blackberry Reduction

I love breakfast and all the yummy food associated with it.  Last week, I got a wild hair and decided I wanted pancakes but I wanted to make them as healthy as possible while still keeping them tasty. I've tried using several different types of flour to make pancakes healthy but this has been the best variation that I have tried.  The blackberry reduction is sweet and pairs perfectly with the pancakes.  Try it at home and let me know what you think.

Ingredients for pancakes:

1 cup HeartSmart Bisquick

2-3 TBSP flax seed meal

2/3 cup skim milk 

Ingredients for blackberry reduction:

1 small container of blackberries (6 oz container)

2 TBSP sugar

1 tsp corn starch

Directions for pancakes:

1. Heat up a griddle on low to medium heat and put a little butter on it.

2. Mix flour, milk, & flax meal.

3. Using a ladle, place some batter in the middle of the griddle and spread out batter in a circular manner.

4. Once the pancake is done, the batter will start to bubble around the edges; when this happens, flip the cake and cook on the other side.

5.  Repeat until all of the batter is used up.

Directions for reduction:

1.  Heat a small pot over medium heat.

2.  Put all of the blackberries in the pot until they start to release the juices.

3.  Add the sugar and mix.

4.  In a separate bowl, mix the corn starch with some water until it is smooth without any lumps.

5.  Add corn starch mixture to the berries.

6.  Cook until desired consistency. 

7.  Place on top of the pancakes and enjoy! 

Basil Pesto

I love Italian food. What makes Italian food so good?! The different sauces they use. This is one of my favorite sauces- basil pesto! Although the sauce itself has only 5 ingredients (which I love!), each ingredient brings something special to the recipe. The basil is super fragrant and fresh, the parmesan gives the sauce a good punch of saltiness and flavor, the walnuts/pine nuts give so much richness, the crushed red pepper gives it that little kick and the extra virgin olive oil brings everything together! The ways you can use this pesto are endless. Mix with your favorite pasta and veggies, have it with some really good Italian bread, spread it on sandwiches, mix it in your tomato soup. One sauce- SO many options. All of them, delicious!

Ingredients
- 2 cups packed fresh basil
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 TSP crushed red pepper
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts

Directions
- Heat a small pan to medium heat and toast walnuts or pine nuts for about 3-4 minutes. Let cool.
- Place basil leaves, crushed red pepper, parmesan and walnuts/pine nuts in a food processor.
- Process, and at the same time drizzle the extra virgin olive oil until all ingredients are fully combined.
- Taste for seasoning, if salt is needed add 1/4 TSP at a time.

Serving size- makes about 1-1/4 cup of pesto.

Storing suggestions- if you haven't used all the pesto and want to keep it for another day, store in a air tight container and drizzle a couple of TBSP of extra virgin olive oil to preserve. Refrigerate.