appetizers
Showing posts with label appetizers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label appetizers. Show all posts

Natural Cranberry Relish




What holiday plate is complete without a little cranberry relish?!  I love the sweet and tart flavors as a sidekick to balance all the heavier foods, as well as the gorgeous pop of color! As a true "relish" the texture should be course and chunky, which also intensifies the zesty flavor! I use turbinado, or "raw cane sugar", which is less processed than refined white sugar, so it's a little healthier but just as sweet!

Natural Cranberry Relish

Ingredients:
  • 1 bag fresh cranberries, washed 
  • 1 large naval orange, washed and quartered
  • 1 cup turbinado sugar
Note: I find that freezing the bag of cranberries first results in a nicer texture, but this is not strictly necessary.  

Instructions: 

To get the right texture, add the ingredients in portions throughout the process.

First, add turbinado to food processor and blend for 20 seconds to create a finer grain.  (Do not blend longer or you could burn the sugar).  

Add 1/2 of the naval orange and blend for 10 seconds

Add 1/2 the cranberries and blend for 5 seconds

Add remaining orange and blend for 20 seconds

Add remaining cranberries and blend until desired consistency, about 20 seconds. 

Refrigerate overnight or as long as possible for flavors to marinate and meld together.  






     

Read More

Clean Chicken Salad



This chicken salad recipe is my go-to for lunches all week long!  The creamy texture from the Greek yogurt gives it an extra boost of protein, while the sweetness of the Craisens and the savory seasonings give it a light complexity!  Serve on a bed of baby spinach and or roll it up into a whole wheat tortilla!

When I'm making any kind of chicken salad, I have two go-to methods for the cooked chicken:

#1 - CLEAN rotisserie chicken from a health grocery store like Fresh Thyme or Earth Fare. Trust me it matters. Don't believe me? Read more in my chicken story!

#2 - Crock pot method at home. Seriously, this is sometimes faster and easier than driving to the grocery store for a rotisserie! 
  • 8 frozen boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins tossed into the crock pot
  • Cover about 1/3 of the way with low sodium chicken broth
  • Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion power (powder, not salt!), fresh ground black pepper, and sea salt or pink Himalayan salt.
  • Cook on HIGH for 3 hours.
  • Remove and Shred
Once you have the cooked chicken you can mix it up with any ingredients you like, but my fave is the chicken salad recipe above!  
Enjoy! 
Read More

Mexican Seasoning





You know those little 1 oz packets of Mexican seasoning?  The ones loaded with tons of sodium and possibly a few other unwanted ingredients?  Well, this recipe will rival anything you can pour out of a packet, but this time you'll know exactly what you're getting - a ton of flavor without all the salt!  Whew!  
Read More

Chipotle Mayo...without the mayo!








Chipotle is definitely the trending flavor these days, and man it packs quite a punch!  But typically these sauces are full of yucky mayo and who wants all the fat and calories?!  How bout if you could still get that amazing smokey flavor, but it counted as a protein instead?!  Almost too good to be true, my friends!  The secret is in the Greek yogurt.  I was terrified of Greek yogurt for ages.  I think I let carton after carton expire in my fridge for about six months before the light in my head clicked on and I realized I'd been thinking about Greek yogurt all wrong!  It wasn't like candy-flavored yogurt that satisfied my sweet tooth...no, it was SOUR CREAM!  Ding!  Now I was ready to try it!  And boy was it a game changer!  I use it as a sour cream substitute now and get an extra dose of protein!  Win!


CHIPOTLE MAYO

Ingredients
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 canned chipotle chili peppers in adobo
  • 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
  • 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 
  • 1/4 teaspoon Mrs Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning Blend


Instructions

Add the garlic cloves to a food processor or blender, and pulse until evenly chopped. Blend in chipotle peppers next, then all other ingredients and blend until smooth. 

It is the most mild in heat immediately after, and will intensify the longer it sits so beware!
Read More

Humina Humina Hummus




This hummus recipe is tried and true!  I've been making it and bringing it to gatherings for years and it has always been a hit!  My original recipe called for slightly different ingredients, but I "cleaned" it up with less processed options and guess what?  It tastes equally amazing!  I have tried many other store bought brands of hummus and none of them compare with this homemade version.  It only takes a few minutes to make, so why not?  I love to bring a simple tray of mini bell peppers surrounding a bowl of chilled hummus to parties - it's fast, easy, colorful, and healthy!  Who doesn't love that?!  

I will be posting a recipe next week that uses my humina humina hummus in a new way, so stay tuned!

     Humina Humina Hummus

     Ingredients
  • 2 cans organic garbanzo beans, (also called chickpeas), drained and rinsed (I even shell most of them)
  • 1/3 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 large cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 T mild olive oil
  • 1 t ground cumin
  • ½ t cayenne pepper
  • pinch freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 t salt
  • 1/3 c water
  • ½ c Greek yogurt
  • Whole wheat pita bread or mixed raw veggies for dipping 

     Instructions

Put ½ the lemon juice & all ingredients except chickpeas into the blender and blend for 5 seconds.  Add chickpeas & blend on high until it reaches the consistency of sour cream, but granular…about 10-15 seconds.  Blend in remaining lemon juice to taste...I usually use it all.  If it’s too thick, add a little water slowly and keep blending until the consistency is right.

Pour into a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

[It can be eaten immediately, but it becomes more flavorful if left to chill well.]

Sprinkle with cayenne pepper to garnish.



 Serve with whole wheat pita wedges or mixed raw veggies for dipping.
Read More
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)