Recipe

AUTUMN HARVEST SALAD

December 1, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

A colleague of mine brought a huge grocery bag full of persimmons and oranges to the office the other day. He and his wife had an abundance of fruit from their trees this year and didn’t want it to go to waste. I grabbed a couple of each fruit from the bag and went back to my desk. At the end of the day there were still quite a few left so I grabbed a couple more. I hate seeing fresh produce go to waste.

About nine years ago I went through some challenging times; I left a marriage that was toxic. Divorce alone can be a huge financial burden. Getting divorced when already strapped for cash can nearly put a person under. My monthly budget was planned down to the penny and with just $63 per month for my groceries, I cried any time I went over that budget. I am thankful that I worked in an office that often had lunch brought in at no expense to the employees. Still, breakfast and dinner were up to me. Did you do the math? That’s right, I had approximately $2.25 per day to cover those meals. I was determined to still eat a relatively balanced diet off of that budget and there were times when I got creative (this doesn’t necessarily mean creative in a delicious way). I ate a lot of eggs and a lot of pasta during this phase of my life. I also learned how to really scour the grocery ads for what was on sale. In terms of produce, I chose sale items rather than what I might have actually been craving. I didn’t eat fresh fruit and vegetables everyday but I did manage to get some on my plate each week. It probably would have been cheaper to buy boxed/processed foods but the reality was that I needed to take good care of myself. There is no question, I would have needed financial help if I had gotten really sick or injured. The best way to stay healthy was to eat well and get exercise. Because of this experience, I still see fresh produce as having a huge value. I will always be incredibly thankful when a colleague/friend brings in extra fruit fresh from his own trees.

This dish was created with the persimmons and oranges that were brought into the office as well as a beet I already had sitting in my fridge. I added a few “splurges” with the arugula and toppings but the oil and vinegar were already in my pantry. My budget has far more wiggle room than it did nine years ago but I think I will always have an appreciation for creating a dish out of what is inexpensively available.

Tips:

Add the pepitas to the salad just before serving so they keep their crunch.
The creamy ricotta gives a nice mix of texture among in this salad but feel free to leave it out if you’re making it for a vegan crowd.

Print Recipe

AUTUMN HARVEST SALAD

A vibrant salad that takes advantage of seasonal produce.

Course: Salad

Keyword: Salad

Ingredients

2 cups Arugula
2 Large red beets cooked, sliced and quartered
4 Persimmons sliced
4 Small oranges peeled, halved and sliced - be sure to remove any seeds
2 Tablespoons Ricotta cheese
Salt to taste
Olive oil for drizzling
Apple cider vinegar for drizzling
1 Tablespoon Curly leaf parsley chopped
2 Tablespoons Roasted pepitas

Instructions

Spread arugula on a serving platter then top with beets, persimmons and oranges. Place pea-sized bits of ricotta throughout salad. Sprinkle salt and drizzle oil and vinegar over salad. Top with parsley, and pepitas.

POMEGRANATE BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE

November 24, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

I went, I ate, and I ate some more. I swear I tried to take small portions so as to have room to try every side dish. I didn’t succeed. The problem (truly the ONLY problem) with spending Thanksgiving with friends who love to cook is that you can’t possibly eat as much as you would like to. Every single dish was delicious. I walked away with a happy heart, a full belly, and arms full of leftovers to take home. Now that our leftovers are dwindling, I need a break from the comfort food. Did I really just say that?!? I love those traditional holiday dishes but moderation is a must.

In order to give my body a day or two of recovery, I’m trying to keep things lighter and healthier. I’m also embracing pomegranate season for this delicious smoothie. Pomegranate has become one of my favorite smoothie ingredients. Part of the allure could be that fresh pomegranates are hard to come by through most of the year – you want what you can’t have. But I actually really do love the flavor and find that they add a natural sweetness without the tartness that some other fruits can bring to a smoothie.

Tips:

You can portion out the fruit and spinach ahead of time, place them in a bag in the freezer. When you’re ready to make your smoothie, empty the contents of the bag into your blender and add the almond milk, flax seed and chia seeds.
See video below for my method of removing seeds from pomegranate.

Print Recipe

POMEGRANATE BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE

Satisfy your sweet tooth with a healthy option.

Servings: 2 smoothies

Ingredients

seeds from 1 large pomegranate
1 frozen banana
2 cups frozen blueberries
2 cups spinach (loosely packed)
1 cup almond milk
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed (optional)
1 Tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a high-power blender and blend on high until smooth.

FORBIDDEN PASTA

November 8, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

This pasta dish is a total exception in our house, we just don’t make pasta veryoften. I honestly relate it to my middle school and high school years. My mother would make spaghetti twice a week and I eventually just got tired of it. I totally get it, pasta is easy and can feed a crowd on the cheap – everyone will walk away with a full belly. But too much of anything will make me tired of it. What dish did you eat as a kid that you tend to avoid even years later?

For me, the game changer in eating pasta at home is the sauce. Again, I totally understand the ease of sauce from a jar but this homemade sauce is next level. The addition of goat cheese gives this tomato based sauce a creamy zing. We devoured this to the point of discomfort the first time I made it (hence the name Forbidden Pasta). We have since learned to pace ourselves.

Tips:

For those looking to add a protein to this dish, shrimp would pair beautifully
Feel free to adjust the amount of red pepper flakes to your liking. Add more for more heat in your dish or eliminate it altogether if you’re feeding folks who prefer a no heat at all.

FORBIDDEN PASTA

Serves 6-8

16oz penne pasta

1 Tablespoon olive oil

½ medium yellow onion, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

28oz crushed tomatoes, drained

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

4oz goat cheese

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

14oz vegetable broth

Grated parmesan cheese (optional garnish)

Directions:

Cook pasta according package instructions. As pasta is cooking, work on the sauce. Heat olive oil in a large, 2” deep sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook down for about 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook down for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and spices then crumble in goat cheese. Stir until paste and cheese are fully incorporated. Stir in vegetable broth and simmer over low heat until pasta is ready. Add pasta to sauce and stir until pasta is fully coated in sauce. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese if desired.

FORBIDDEN PASTA

Save Print

This creamy pasta sauce will have you going back for seconds and thirds.

: Slice Of Honey

Recipe type: Entree

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

16oz penne pasta
1 Tablespoon olive oil
½ medium yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
28oz crushed tomatoes, drained
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
4oz goat cheese
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
14oz vegetable broth
Grated parmesan cheese (optional garnish)

Instructions

Cook pasta according package instructions. As pasta is cooking, work on the sauce. Heat olive oil in a large, 2” deep sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook down for about 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook down for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and spices then crumble in goat cheese. Stir until paste and cheese are fully incorporated. Stir in vegetable broth and simmer over low heat until pasta is ready. Add pasta to sauce and stir until pasta is fully coated in sauce. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese if desired.

SOFT BATCH CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

October 29, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

The other night we were invited to a friends’ house for an impromptu dinner – with no need to bring a contributing dish. What?! These friends were just wanting to love on our family and spend time together in community. How awesome is that??? An evening filled with conversation, kids running around playing and adults catching up on life. This is what sharing a meal is really all about. That being said, I struggle to just show up at someone’s house for a meal without having some sort of food in hand. I looked through the pantry, found some basic baking ingredients and whipped up some chocolate chip cookies.

A classic, simple dessert that is always a crowd pleaser. One of the neat things about chocolate chip cookies is how many variations are out there. And people have strong opinions on what they prefer. Soft batch (like this recipe), chewy or crisp. The way to vary the outcome is through changing the flour, the sweetener and the leavening agent. The other thing I like to do is use more than one kind of chocolate in my cookies just to add a little more depth to each bite. If you’re ever creating your own recipe, play around with these variables and see what you come up with!

Tips:

If you have left your cookies out too long when cooling them and they end up dry, put them in a zip lock bag with a slice of bread. You’ll be amazed at how much moisture those cookies will absorb!
If you don’t need three dozen cookies at one time, you can scoop the dough into individual servings and freeze it. Later on, you can pull out what you need and bake just a few at a time.

SOFT BATCH CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients:

2 cups bread flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter (softened)

2 large eggs

½ cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12oz semisweet chocolate chips

4oz 70% cacao extra bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar with butter. Add eggs, maple syrup and vanilla. Ingredients will not fully combine just yet. Mix in dry ingredients 1 cup at a time, until all ingredients are fully combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Scoop heaping tablespoon-sized mounds of cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheet. Leave 2-inches between the cookies. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove cookie sheet from oven and transfer the cookies from the parchment to cooling racks.

CREAMY CHAI SPICED POPSICLES

September 22, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Fall in Texas is not like other places I’ve lived. We’re still hitting 90º temperatures on the regular which makes it hard for me to fully get in the swing of the season. But I’m beyond ready for the smells and flavors of fall. Growing up, my mom would simmer a pot of hot water with spices like cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. These beautiful scents would waft through the entire house and make everything seem just a bit cozier.

I’m ready for fall spices but I also want to keep cool in these crazy warm temperatures. Why not combine the two? My answer to this is a creamy chai popsicle. With just three ingredients, this recipe is one of my easiest to make. Oh yeah, and it tastes so good I’d be willing to be you can’t eat just one 😉

Tips:

After heating everything on the stovetop, I transferred the mixture to a 2-cup measuring cup for easier pouring into the popsicle molds

If the popsicles are sticking to the molds, briefly run them under COLD water, they should loosen right up without actually melting.

CREAMY CHAI SPICED POPSICLES

1 ¼ cup whole milk

2 chai tea bags (paper tags removed)

14oz can sweetened condensed milk

In a medium pot, over low heat, bring milk and tea bags to a simmer. Gently stir constantly for 5 minutes so that milk does not burn. Milk will turn darker in color as the tea steeps – (almost looking like chocolate milk). Remove tea bags from pot. Remove pot from heat and pour sweetened condensed milk. Stir until milks are fully combined. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze overnight.

CREAMY CHAI SPICED POPSICLE

Save Print

Fall spices in a sweet dessert

: Slice Of Honey

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 6 Popsicles

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup whole milk
2 chai tea bags (paper tags removed)
14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

In a medium pot, over low heat, bring milk and tea bags to a simmer. Gently stir constantly for 5 minutes so that milk does not burn. Milk will turn darker in color as the tea steeps – (almost looking like chocolate milk). Remove tea bags from pot. Remove pot from heat and pour sweetened condensed milk. Stir until milks are fully combined. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze overnight.

Rainbow Fruit Salad

August 28, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

My husband and I are pretty active in our church and this naturally leads to potluck meals a few times per year. My husband’s answer to bringing a dish is always “Let’s just pick something up from the store on the way to the party.” I, on the other hand, never even think of this as an option until he mentions it. Instead, I go through my mental rolodex of easy recipes and some sort of cookie usually wins out. I’m honestly not sure why I feel obligated to bring something homemade. I don’t expect it of others and I’m pretty confident others don’t expect it of me. Then again, homemade always tastes better than store bought, even with a simple recipe.

This weekend we attended a pool party and you guessed it, it was a potluck situation! I’ve been obsessed with fresh fruit lately so cookies didn’t even make the short list of ideas for once. Instead, I made my rainbow fruit salad. Guys, this is so easy and so delicious! I promise, the hardest part of this recipe is cutting some fruit and there isn’t even very much to cut. This fruit salad is so refreshing but it will also satisfy your sweet tooth – this counts as a win-win in my book!

Tips:

Don’t be afraid to swap out some of the fruits for whatever is seasonal. Ultimately, the goal is about 8-10 cups of FRESH fruit.
I always like to add a few berries to my fruit salad because they don’t require cutting. Just wash and toss them into the mix!

Rainbow Fruit Salad

1 large peach, rinsed and cut into bit sized pieces (I left the skin on)

3 kiwi, peeled and cut into bit sized pieces

1 mango, peeled cut into bit sized pieces

12oz raspberries, rinsed

11oz blueberries, rinsed

2 teaspoons agave syrup (or honey if you prefer)

1 teaspoon fresh mint, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Directions:

Toss all fruit into a large bowl. Drizzle with agave syrup then add mint and lime juice. Gently stir until fruit is evenly coated with the syrup and lime juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Rhubarb Bread

August 20, 2018 by Sarah Baade 6 Comments

Rhubarb. I feel like I need to admit that prior to this recipe, I had never eaten rhubarb. I’m not a big fan of celery and it just looks like giant pink celery so why would I want to eat it? What is particularly astonishing about this situation is that strawberry rhubarb pie is one of my dad’s favorite desserts. I grew up with this pie being made in my household somewhat regularly. Still, I never tried it. As I sifted through my grandma’s recipe box I knew I needed to get over myself and give this a go.

I feel like you need to know your fruits and vegetables in raw form before cooking with them. So, I did it. I took a bite of raw rhubarb – BITTER!!! Clearly sugar is needed to balance this out, no wonder I’ve only ever seen it in desserts. I also tasted the batter before pouring it into the loaf pans (I know, I was risking salmonella with the raw egg). I was expecting it to be sweet like a muffin or pumpkin bread but it was actually quite mild. My second confession for this recipe is that I was starting to think this might be my first fail of Grandma’s recipe box. I. Was. Wrong! The brown sugar crumbles on top added just the right amount of sweetness to make this bread completely delightful and the bitterness of the rhubarb subsided as it baked. Alright, rhubarb lovers of the world, I get it and I’m now a member of your club!

Tips:

Sometimes your hands are better tools than anything you can buy. I found it easiest to mix the topping ingredients together by hand.
You can grease your loaf pans if you don’t have parchment paper.

Rhubarb Bread

Bread:

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ cups diced rhubarb

½ cup walnut pieces

Topping:

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, slightly softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and line two loaf pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together all bread ingredients in order listed. Pour equal amounts of batter into each loaf pan.

In a small bowl, mix together topping ingredients. Sprinkle equal amounts of topping over each pan of batter.

Bake 50-60 minutes or until test until a test stick can be inserted and removed clean. Once loaves are baked, let cool 20 minutes before removing from pans. Slice and serve slightly warm or let loaves finish cooling on a wire rack.

Original recipe source unknown. Recipe has been modified from this version for the purpose of this blog.

Watermelon Salad

August 1, 2018 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

I keep wondering if I’m getting wimpier with age or if this summer really has been excruciatingly hot. I’m leaning toward the latter but the honest answer is that it’s probably both. I’ve been thinking back on all those summers I spent working at YMCA camps (shout out to Camp Wood and Camp Cosby!) and wondering how I survived living in little cabins with no air conditioning. I’m confident that I survived by being preoccupied with lots of fun activities and friends. I mean, who has time to think about the heat when you’re guiding a group of kids through a mud hike?! Still, we’ve been hitting triple digit temperatures on a daily basis with not much relief in sight. I give a lot of credit to all the summer camp staffers out there who have pushed through this heat to give kids the best week(s) they could imagine.

When it’s this hot outside, I have no interest in turning on the oven. Simple fresh ingredients are the way to go and summer provides such delicious seasonal produce! Naturally, I had to use this to my advantage. My daughter has been on a watermelon kick lately so I opted to use that as my base. I’m all about use what you’ve already got at home when possible. With just five ingredients, the hardest part of this salad will simply be cutting the watermelon. Other than that, this is as easy as a recipe can get. Enjoy!

Tips:

Although more expensive, you can certainly buy pre-cut watermelon to make this recipe even easier to make.
You can certainly toss the salad together a day ahead. Just be sure to cover and store in the refrigerator and don’t add the salad dressing until you are ready to serve it.

Watermelon Salad

Salad:

8 cups watermelon, cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups blueberries

½ cup feta cheese, crumbled or cubed

1 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

Dressing:

1 cup blueberries

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss together all of the salad ingredients. In a blender, liquefy the dressing ingredients. Drizzle dressing over individual servings of salad, as desired.

Savory Spinach Turnovers

July 15, 2018 by Sarah Baade 4 Comments

Is there actually a better meal out there than brunch? The combination of savory and sweet breakfast items plus lunch is arguably perfect. It is also the only time adding a little booze to your diet before noon is not just acceptable but encouraged. Hello mimosas and bloody Marys! Next month I will be helping to host a baby shower with brunch so I’ve had all sorts of ideas running through my head. The hardest part of menu planning will be narrowing down our options.

I can’t quite decide what I like best about this recipe. It is incredibly easy to make with just 8 ingredients. But the bonus is that it would be great served at a brunch or as a grab and go option on a busy morning. I actually made these on a weeknight and then brought them to the office the next morning to share. My co-workers happily grabbed one to take back to their desks as a mid-morning pick me up.

Tips:

You can make the filling a day ahead and refrigerate it until ready to use.
If you have whole frozen spinach on hand, you can chop it yourself rather than buying the pre-chopped.

Savory Spinach Turnovers

Makes 8 turnovers

10oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

½ cup ricotta cheese

¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ teaspoon garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons shallot, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon salt

2 sheets ready to bake puff pastry dough, thawed

1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Drain spinach of any excess water. In a medium bowl, stir together spinach, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, garlic, shallot and salt.

Unfold sheets of puff pastry. Cut each sheet into four equal squares. Place 2 Tablespoons of spinach mixture into the center of each pastry square. Fold each pastry square diagonally over spinach. Pinch edges of dough together with a fork. Brush the tops and sides of each turnover with the beaten egg.

Place each turnover on the lined baking sheet. Bake 16-18 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

Strawberry Float

July 1, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Happy Independence Day!!! I have celebrated this holiday from all over the country – Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Alabama… I’ve watched fireworks lakeside, mountainside and from my own driveway. However, my favorite memories of this holiday are from my grandparents’ backyard. As a kid, we would drive down from Kansas to Texas to visit my grandparents. They would have what seemed like an endless supply of sparklers and popper for us to light up after it got dark. All of us kids would line up out in the yard, a few feet in front of Grandpa’s giant vegetable garden, and write our names in the night sky with the sparklers. Aside from summer camp, this has got to be one of my all-time favorite summer memories.

This year, I’m keeping the holiday low-key. My little one is too little to play with sparklers and I won’t be staying up late since I’ll need to be at work the next day. But I still want a festive treat. Making the ice cream ahead of time means all I have to do is scoop and pour some soda for this one. I opted for fresh strawberries since they are readily available this time of year. And in the continued effort to keep things simple, this is a no-churn ice cream. You’re welcome!

Tips:

Make sure the strawberry syrup has completely cooled before you add it to the cream mixture.
The homemade syrup is really delicious – it would also be fantastic poured over any vanilla ice cream for a sundae.

Strawberry Float

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

16oz fresh strawberries, de-stemmed and finely chopped

16oz heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

14oz sweetened condensed milk

Strawberry soda (I used a passion fruit & strawberry Italian soda)

Directions:

Place sugar, balsamic vinegar and half of the strawberries in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid has reduced by half. Set aside to let cool.

In a large, cold bowl, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Stir in vanilla, sweetened condensed milk, cooled syrup and remaining fresh strawberries. Pour ice cream into a 9×5 loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Place 2 scoops of the strawberry ice cream into a glass. Fill glass with strawberry soda until ice cream is covered and starts to foam. Serve with a straw or spoon.