Dinner
This post is sponsored by Foodie.
I’ll give you a minute.
Yup, a FOOD post.
I gave up on recipe posts awhile back because I wasn’t really cooking anything delicious that the general population would want to read about. {See: allergies.} Then there’s the whole cooking-while-there’s-still-daylight and the keeping-grimy-toddler-hands-out-of-pictures things. It just lost it’s appeal.
BUT. Perhaps with the longer spring days {SPRING!} it may – may- happen once in awhile.
To re-kick things off, here’s a fun recipe from one of the Foodie app’s gluten-free recipe edition. You’ve probably seen a couple posts I’ve done with Foodie – if not, Foodie is like a food-lover’s Pinterest– a visual collection of recipes in a variety of user-created categories. Every once in awhile they feature a special collection on their app. It’s a virtual cookbook of sorts. It’s like having a swipeable cookbook in the palm of your hand at the grocery store, which makes being flexible about doing dinner shopping easy. {Just don’t be like me and try to download the edition while you’re walking out the door. It takes a few minutes. But once it’s downloaded it’s fast and you don’t have to have internet connection to look at the recipes.}
Foodie tasked me with making one of the recipes from the latest collection, the Gluten-Free edition. Perfect, right? While a bunch of the recipes looked downright delicious, I opted to go for what could become a dinner staple: maple-roasted chicken.
Now, mine looks nothing like the picture because I opted for a few shortcuts. Namely, using chicken breast tenderloins and cooking it on the stovetop. Hey, when a toddler wants dinner, he WANTS DINNER NOW! I love slow-cooking whole chickens so that would’ve been a good option to, had I had my act together before dinner time rolled around.
I served it with wilted garlikcy greens, onions, and roasted {unpictured} cauliflower on the side. It would’ve been really good with the rosemary sweet potato fries {also in the app} or sauteed sweet potato noodles {I’m obsessed with veggie noodles}.
Next up, I’m making the ginger spice cookies listed in the edition. I have an unhealthy obsession with crystallized ginger in sweets.
Have you checked out Foodie or tried the app?
Speaking of spring, it’s the official first day of spring!
Here are some spring-related posts to get you in the mindset.
Plant an Athlete’s Garden with spring veggies
6 Spring Workouts to get you summer-ready
How to fake spring – because let’s be honest, it’s not really spring even if the calendar says it is
This post is sponsored by Foodie.
Recipe
The Asian slaw recipe I posted yesterday is certainly packed with enough veggies and flavor to make it a meal, but it’s missing one thing.
Enough protein!
But I have an easy solution to make this into an easy, simple weeknight meal that tastes like you put a whole heck of lot more time into than you did.
Enter the peanut satay sauce.
Drizzle over slices of roast chicken for the meat lovers in your family.
Or over chickpeas for your veggie lovers.
Simply serve with a side of slaw…
…or get creative and stuff it all into a pita.
Two thumbs up from the husband means this will definitely be served again. Although any time I serve chicken to him I tend to get thumbs up…poor deprived boy. 
Recipe
The most common question I get from new readers, aside from “Have you figured out what’s wrong with your hands & feet?” {No.}, is “Are you vegan?”
The simple answer is “No.”
The longer answer is no, but that’s how I usually eat.
That’s usually followed by “Is your husband?” That answer is easy: definitely not.
Sometimes it gets complicated because we always want two different things for dinner; but it’s a lot easier than most people think. I try to make meals that can easily satisfy us both.
For example, one of my favorite vegan dishes is eggplant parmesan (minus the parm). All I do is leave a couple spaces for some chicken for the husband, top it with real cheese, and I’m done: we both have almost the same dinner, in the same pan, and we’re both happy.
Eggplant Parm
1 eggplant, sliced into rounds
large bunch kale
handful almonds, ground in food processor
salt & pepper
Sauce:
1 can (28oz) whole tomatoes
1/2 can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
handful of basil leaves
Vegan béchamel:
1/4 c almond butter
1 1/2 T nutritional yeast
1/8 c almond milk
1/8 c vegetable broth
1/2-1 T cornstarch
Optional: cheese & chicken (sear chicken a few minutes on each side first)
Dry eggplant.* I did a scientific experiment for you to determine whether this step was necessary. It’s not, but it makes it taste a heck of a lot better. It’s worth the extra time.
*To dry: slice, coat in salt, layer in colander. Top with heavy items and place over sink or bowl. Let sit for as long as you can stand (ideally a couple hours). Some brownish liquid should drain out. Rinse salt off and pat dry.
Stir sauce ingredients together and simmer for 15 minutes, breaking up tomatoes as you stir occasionally.
Add béchamel ingredients to food processor. Blend until thick sauce is formed.
Season eggplant with salt and pepper.
Fill 9 x 13 baking dish with a thick layer of kale. Top with half the eggplant. Spread a layer of marinara followed by a layer of bechamel. Repeat eggplant and sauce layers. Top with almonds.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. After baking, broil on high for a few minutes to brown almonds or cheese if using.
Serve by itself or over angel hair pasta.
How do you handle different eating styles when you’re cooking?
Foodbuzz
Imagine the moment when you hear “And now introducing the bride & groom for the first time as Mr & Mrs SoS!” It should be a moment you remember forever. You’ve been planning for months- down to every detail including the number of petals on each flower on the centerpieces. Not to mention the menu- ahh the wedding menu, one of the most important pieces of that special day. Brides agonize over picking the perfect dishes- their favorite foods, foods the guests will enjoy, what dishes will complement each other, how you will eat them- hors d’oeuvres or full course meal?
Only you can’t focus on that special moment because you’re starving. After anxiously awaiting the ceremony, then taking a million pictures of every great aunt, uncle, and Grandma, all you want is a glass of wine and big plate of that food you so deliberately chose for this moment.
But one more thing- all those pictures with Aunt Fiona made you miss the cocktail hour, and the first course. The instant you walk into the room, everyone wants to talk to you. Try though you may, you can’t force your way through the adoration to the buffet table. Before you know it, it’s time to cut the cake. Perfect- you’ll finally get to enjoy some of your laborious wedding choices…but they immediately take the cake away to serve the other guests.
The hours you spent specifically picking each dish….gone. You hope everyone else enjoyed it, but you have no idea. You didn’t get any.
The husband and I attended 11 weddings last year. Yup, 11. (And that’s just the ones we could make it to!) When you’ve been to that many weddings, you start to notice things. One of the things we noticed over and over is that bride & groom hardly ever get a chance to eat the food they spent hours selecting for their special day. (I’m sure we took particular notice of this since we were still hurting over our missed chance at fine cuisine at our own wedding!)
If you’ve ever planned a wedding or been along side someone else who’s planning a wedding, you know the work that goes into every little detail. Even the non-foodies spent hours deliberating over food choices and dining styles.
But the moment’s passed; you’ve missed out on the food. What are you going to do about it? Enter Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: 24 meals, 24 hours, 24 blogs. Thanks to 24, 24, 24, we were able to recreate some of those special dishes for our newlywed friends.
Fresh sushi rolls for Emily- the one gluten-free item on the menu that disappeared before she got to the reception. The special apple-goat cheese-pecan salad my step-sister and her now husband created themselves to share their love of fresh food with their guests. The sweet potato bar Courtney and her now husband missed out on due to a stomach bug that pervaded the wedding party at the most inconvenient of times. And let’s not forget the delicious red velvet cupcakes Elizabeth & Joe missed out on- gluten-free for Joe, regular for Elizabeth!
From signature drinks to delectable desserts, I asked each invitee to share with me their favorite and most missed items on their wedding day. When February 27th rolled around, I got set to work recreating those dishes.
The Menu
Salad Greens with Maple Vinaigrette: Elizabeth & Joe
Fresh Sushi Rolls: Emily & Mike
Adobo Marinated Chicken Kabobs: Sara & Robby
Southern Shrimp & Grits: David & Ashley
Mashed Sweet Potatoes: Courtney & Justin
Roasted Asparagus & Assorted Cheeses: Heather & Chris
Red Velvet Cupcakes: Elizabeth & Joe
The Recipes
Salad Greens with Maple Vinaigrette
Mixed greens
Sliced granny smith apples
Candied pecans
Fresh goat cheese; crumbled
Maple vinaigrette:
– 1/8c apple cider vinegar
– 1/8c red wine vinegar
– 1/2c extra virgin olive oil
– 3T maple syrup
– 2T Dijon mustard
– Salt & Pepper
Adobo Marinated Chicken Kabobs
Chicken breasts, pounded thin & cut in long strips
Marinade:
– 1/2c orange juice
-2T lime juice
-1T white vinegar
-1-2 chipotle chiles
– 2 cloves garlic
-1/2t cumin
-Salt & pepper
Marinate chicken 30-60 minutes. Thread on to bamboo skewers (soak in water to prevent burning). Place on hot grill; cook several minutes on each side until cooked through.
Southern Shrimp & Grits
1 cup stone ground grits
2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth + 1/4c for shrimp
1 yellow onion, chopped
1T butter
1/2c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Shrimp
2 T flour
1T lemon juice
Splash hot pepper sauce
Salt & pepper
Stir grits into boiling water & broth. Simmer ~25 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. While grits are simmering, sauté onions. Remove grits from heat; stir in butter, cheese, and onions. Saute shrimp over medium heat with remaining 1/4c chicken broth. Stir in flour, lemon juice, & hot sauce. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Season shrimp & grits with salt & pepper. Top with shredded cheese.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
4 large sweet potatoes
1/2c Milk
1T butter
1/2T brown sugar
Bake sweet potatoes in oven or microwave. Let cool slightly and scrap insides into bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Serve with crushed pecans and shredded cheddar cheese for toppings.
Roasted Asparagus
1lb asparagus
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Coat asparagus in olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Can be served hot or cold.
Sushi
Cream cheese rolls
Assorted Cheeses
Buy cheese. Cut in cubes. I used sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
I used the recipe from the Babycakes cookbook.
[To be honest, they didn’t turn out well- at the last minute I transformed them into cream cheese filled & chocolate drizzled volcanoes by crumbling the cupcakes and mixing them with the icing.)
Drinks
My favorite part: personalized bottles of wine for each of the couples. 🙂
The ten of us enjoyed a great evening, reminiscing about our weddings & talking about upcoming nuptials. The girls were in white; the boys in black. (We’re brides & grooms after all!). The music playing in the background was songs we played at our weddings, and a slide show of wedding photos played on the television. Decorations were themed around each of our bridal party colors- three shades of blue, deep purple, and champagne; candles & flowers throughout.
Wouldn’t you love to attend your own wedding a second time, and have time to soak it all in and enjoy the food this time around?! That’s Wedded Bliss – Take 2. Thank you Foodbuzz for this opportunity!!
