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Baby Bella Shepherd’s Pie

March 13, 2018 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

I’m not Irish, not even a little bit. I know this because my dad has written not one but TWO books on our genealogy. What a treasure those books are. To know where you’ve come from and to have stories (some first-hand) about your family members is such a unique gift. Despite my lack of Irish heritage, my parents have always encouraged exploring cultures through food. What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than by taking a new twist on a classic Irish dish?

Shepherd’s pie is one of those ultimate comfort foods. Am I right? It is so rich, warm and flavorful. Traditionally, this dish is made with lamb but as a vegetarian, I had to make my own version. I subbed the meat with a ton baby bella mushrooms but kept the basics for the sauce. To make this a bit healthier and to add a level of sweetness, I swapped the potatoes for sweet potatoes. The result turned out to be glorious! I could have eaten half the casserole dish by myself!

Tips:

To save time the on the day you plan to make this, chop all your vegetables the night before.
Be patient. It takes some time for the liquid to reduce but give it the time it deserves so you don’t end up with soup under the sweet potatoes.

Baby Bella Shepherd’s Pie

A vegetarian twist on a classic Irish dish.

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Ingredients

Topping

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup half & half

Filling

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 large carrots, cut into 1/4" slices
2 lb baby bella mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups peas
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup dry red wine
2 Tablespoons tomato paste

Instructions

Place sweet potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Boil potatoes over medium high heat until they are fork tender. Drain potatoes and move them to a large mixing bowl. Mix on low speed with butter and half & half until potatoes are smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add carrots, cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, salt & pepper. Cook until mushrooms start to sweat. Sprinkle flour over vegetable mixture and stir until evenly coated. Add peas then pour in vegetable broth and wine. Stir in tomato paste and increase heat to bring pot to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until liquids reduce to a gravy-like texture. Stir occasionally so that the vegetables don't burn on the bottom of the pot.
Pour vegetable mixture into a greased 9”x13” casserole dish. Spread sweet potatoes over vegetables, making sure potatoes reach the edges of the dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like Barley Soup.

Chili Lime Roasted Cashews

March 7, 2018 by Sarah Baade 1 Comment

I am a grazer – I tend to eat smaller meals and add in snacks throughout the day. In theory, this is a healthier way to eat. But that theory goes out the window if you’re reaching for chips or candy all day long. I need something new that isn’t over-processed. A snack like cashews is ideal because the protein helps me feel full without eating a huge portion.

The biggest issue I have with the seasoned nuts I find in my local stores is that the salt and seasoning tends to be over the top. Yes, I want flavor but I don’t want to still taste my snack an hour after eating it. I kept the spice mild so you won’t get overwhelmed here but you can easily take things up a notch if you want to.

Tips:

These are full of flavor but not necessarily spicy. If you want to add more heat, increase the amount of cayenne pepper into the blend.
Don’t skip out on stirring the cashews periodically during the roasting process – this helps to give them an even roast.

Chili Lime Roasted Cashews

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Ingredients

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 lb raw, unsalted cashews

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
In a medium bowl, whisk together lime juice and honey. Add in all seasonings and whisk until well blended. Stir cashews into spice mixture until they are evenly coated.
Spread cashews on lined baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes. Cashews will take on a golden, reddish color but should not blacken.
Spread roasted cashews on paper towels and allow to fully cool before eating.

Five Spice Citrus Salad

February 25, 2018 by Sarah Baade 1 Comment

It has been such a long and rainy winter here in San Antonio. I’m not used to needing a heavy coat for more than a day or two at a time, let alone weeks at a time. I find myself daydreaming about bright colors and warmer climates. I won’t be going on a tropical vacation any time soon so my next best bet is eating bright, flavorful fruit.

We are currently right in the middle of prime orange and grapefruit season. There are so many varieties of citrus available and I took full advantage of that for this recipe. I love the variety of colors as well as flavors from these fruits. Given the tartness that sometimes comes along with citrus, I wanted to contrast that with a little bit of sweet and a little bit of spice. The result is a perfect dish to serve with brunch or eat as a snack.

Tips:

Place some paper towels under the edges of your cutting board, this will help to catch any juice that runs off the edge as you’re cutting the fruit.
Feel free to mix and match your citrus fruits to your liking or based on what is available seasonally. The main idea is variety.

FIVE SPICE CITRUS SALAD

The perfect salad to take advantage of seasonal citrus.

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Ingredients

6 oranges (I used blood oranges, tangelos, sumo citrus)
3 grapefruit (I used one large and two small)
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 Tablespoon fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Cut citrus fruits into ¼' slices, removing seeds as they are found. Cut rinds off of slices then place slices on paper towels to absorb excess any juice. Move citrus slices to a serving platter and top with pomegranate, feta and mint. In a small bowl, mix together honey, Chinese five spice and vanilla. Drizzles honey mixture over citrus salad as desired.

Curried Chickpea Salad Sandwich

February 19, 2018 by Sarah Baade 1 Comment

I’m generally good about eating dinner leftovers for lunches at work but lately we haven’t been making big meals for dinner. We’ve been keeping it light with smoothies or salads. Frankly, these don’t make good leftovers. So, I’ve been needing to come up with easy dishes to make on the fly for my lunches.

Since going vegetarian, chickpeas have become a staple in my pantry. I’ve added them to soups and salads, made hummus. I’ve tried a few chickpea salad sandwich recipes but found them to be a little bit bland. I want flavor! If you can’t find what you’re looking for create it yourself, right? I created my own sandwich and added curry to kick it up a notch. No more boring sandwiches in my brown bagged lunches!

Tips:

If you’re needing to take the gluten free option, use your favorite GF bread, turn it into a lettuce wrap or just skip the bread altogether. Frankly, this is just as delicious eaten by the fork-full.
I used a hot curry powder for a stronger flavor but feel free to use whatever curry powder you happen to have on hand and then reduce or add amount based on your desired flavor.

CURRIED CHICKPEA SALAD SANDWICH

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Servings 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 1/2 teaspoons hot madras curry powder
15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
salt & pepper to taste
8 slices whole grain bread
optional garnishes: lettuce, red onion

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix together yogurt and curry powder. In a medium mixing bowl, mash chickpeas with a fork until they are a bit crumbly, some chunks are okay. Add carrots, bell peppers and curried yogurt to chickpeas, stir until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scoop equal amounts of mixture onto 4 slices of bread. Add desired garnishes and then top with remaining slices of bread.

Boozy Truffles

February 7, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Let’s talk Valentine’s Day. Whether you love it or hate it, this holiday is great for making and eating sweet treats! It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone but food is definitely my favorite way to celebrate a holiday. My typical go-to is cake or cookies but I wanted to change it up this year. One of the things I love about these truffles is that you can customize them just by changing up the flavor of liqueur. I know we just finished up Christmas and all of its peppermint glory but who says we can’t use that flavor all year round? I absolutely love peppermint with dark chocolate so I went for it! I also wanted to do something more unique for a white chocolate flavor which brought me to horchata. You could make these truffles as a gift for your valentine but you could also just treat yourself – you deserve it!

Tips:

If you aren’t much of a drinker, don’t invest in a full-size bottle of liqueur. Just skim the section of single serving bottles (you know, like the tiny bottles they have on airplanes or in hotel minibars).
The white chocolate filling is a bit sticky and challenging to work with. Do yourself a favor and leave them in the freezer right up until you are ready to dip them in the dark chocolate coating. You could even pull just a few out at a time as you go. Trust me, they are worth the extra effort though!

Boozy Truffles

Dark Chocolate Filling:

¾ cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons liqueur – I used a peppermint coffee flavor

White Chocolate Filling:

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons liqueur – I used an horchata flavor

Dark Chocolate Coating:

1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips

1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil

Decorative garnish – I used crushed peppermint pieces and gold colored sugar sprinkles

Directions:

For dark chocolate filling, place chocolate chips in a medium heat safe bowl. In a heavy saucepan, bring cream to a low boil. Pour cream over chocolate chips and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk liqueur into cream and chocolate mixture until mixture is blended together and smooth. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 1 day. Repeat this process for the white chocolate filling.

Once fillings are chilled, shape into 1 inch balls then place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place in freezer for 1 hour.

For the dark chocolate coating, place chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.

One at a time, dip chilled ball of filling into coating mixture, making sure each one is completely coated. Place each truffle back onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with decorative garnish. Once all truffles are garnished, refrigerate until coating is set or you are ready to serve them.

Wild Rice Bowl With Tahini Sauce

January 29, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Meatless Monday has developed into a meatless few months for me. To be honest, I’m still deciding if this will be a permanent change or not but I am enjoying the challenge of cooking differently. It would be all too easy to just dive into lots of pasta or cheese but I don’t think my stomach would appreciate that. Instead, I’m trying to focus on new flavors to complement a vegetable based menu.

Roasting is such an easy way to cook vegetables that I tend to return to that method again and again. This time I added wild rice for a more interesting texture and slightly nutty flavor. Lastly, I’ve started to explore making sauces as an easy but incredibly effective way to change up the flavor profile. I hope you enjoy my first attempt at a rice bowl!

Tips:

If your family is picky about vegetables, season each type of vegetable individually and organize them on your pan by vegetable. It will be easier for everyone to choose more of their favorite or less of their less favorite vegetable.
I realize wild rice can be an acquired taste, feel free to sub out for another type of rice or quinoa if you prefer.

Wild Rice Bowl with Tahini Sauce

Serves 4

Bowl Ingredients

8oz uncooked cups wild rice

2 sweet potatoes

1 lb Brussels sprouts

1 lb white mushrooms

3 teaspoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

2 Tablespoons tahini

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425*F. Cook rice according to package. While rice is cooking, cut sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Cut Brussels sprouts in half and cut mushrooms into quarters. Place all vegetables in a large bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss until vegetables are evenly coated. Transfer vegetables to a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork tender and vegetables are starting to brown in spots.

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well blended. Serve vegetables over rice and drizzle sauce over bowl as desired.

Blueberry and Pesto Quinoa Bowl

January 18, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Alright, it’s confession time. I absolutely ate my way through the holidays. I mean, I went all out with sweets and wine and homemade Chex mix (because we all know the homemade stuff is at least a million times better than the stuff that comes in a bag). No treat went uneaten. I’m not even sure what got into me because moderation with food is typically not a challenge for me. But I did it, and I did it joyfully!

What’s done is done and now it is time to get back on the wagon of eating a balanced diet. I ate salads all last week for lunch because I actually do love vegetables but I was bored by Friday. I was eating the same mixture of ingredients that I always reach for when making a salad. I need some variety if I‘m going to stick with eating healthier. As usual, I also want to make this easy on myself so I looked through my fridge and pantry for ingredients I already had on hand. This quinoa bowl gave me a change of pace in terms of both texture and flavor but was also incredibly easy to make.

Tips:

To make this an even faster recipe, feel free to use a premade pesto from the store rather than making the one included in this recipe.
You can absolutely portion this out ahead of time for lunches. Just hold off on adding the pesto until you are ready to eat it.

Blueberry and Pesto Quinoa Bowl

Serves 2

Bowl Ingredients:

4 cups raw baby spinach

1 cup cooked quinoa, cold

2 Tablespoons pepitas

½ cup feta crumbles

¾ cup fresh blueberries

Pesto Ingredients:

1 ½ cups basil leaves

2 Tablespoons pine nuts

1 ½ teaspoons garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Place spinach in bottom of a large bowl. Top with quinoa then pepitas, feta and blueberries.

For the pesto, combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Drizzle pesto over quinoa bowl as desired.

Lemon Iced Ginger Cookies

December 26, 2017 by Sarah Baade 8 Comments

I used to think sugar cookies were the ultimate iced Christmas cookie. They are certainly a classic but let’s be honest, they are really just sugar on sugar no matter how beautifully they are decorated. Why not add some flavor to the sweetness? Over the last few years I have developed a love for ginger bread. That spice blended with a bit of sweet icing is absolutely delicious. Add in a hint of lemon and I’m hooked; you’re going to have to hold me back from eating the entire batch of cookies!

Tips:

If you prefer a thin glaze instead of icing, add extra milk to the icing until it is the consistency you desire.
If you need to approach this recipe in steps, tackle the cookies one day and ice them the next day.

Lemon Iced Ginger Cookies

Sarah Baade

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 36 Cookies

Ingredients

For the Ginger Cookies

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
3/4 cup molasses

For the Lemon Icing

zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, ginger, cloves, salt and baking soda.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat brown sugar with granulated sugar and butter. Add eggs and molasses. Mix in dry ingredients 1 cup at a time.
Roll cookie dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on the parchment paper. Leave 2-inches between the cookies. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and transfer the cookies from the parchment to cooling racks.
Once cookies are cooled completely, add icing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until powdered sugar fully mixed into milk (there should not be any lumps). Spread icing over cookies as desired.

Keyword Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Ginger Cookies, Holiday Cookies, Holiday Recipe, Homemade Cookies, Lemon Iced Ginger Cookies

PUMPKIN PECAN PIE

November 21, 2017 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

Thanksgiving is all about sharing a meal with those you are thankful for. I’ve lived all over the place so spending time with family by blood is not alway an option for this holiday. However, I have been incredibly blessed to make friends who are dear enough to be called family. Some I had known for years before being invited, others I had only known for a few months. Regardless of the age of friendship, it is incredible to gather around a table and express gratitude. Even in years that life has brought challenges, ESPECIALLY when life has brought challenges, there is plenty to be thankful for. A roof over my head, friends/family to lean on or celebrate with, food on the table (even if not in abundance). I hope that this year, you will be spending time with loved ones and celebrating the wins and/or overcoming the losses of the year together.

While I haven’t been a life long pumpkin lover, I knew I needed to try this recipe from my grandmother’s recipe box. What a joy to have her with me in spirit as I made this pie for friends. This pie is the perfect balance of both pumpkin and pecan. For those of you who can’t decide between the two flavors, this is your solution!!! Grandma also gets bonus points for this recipe because it is so amazingly easy. The hardest part is getting it into the oven without spilling the filling. Check out the tips below for help with that.

Tips

If you are using pre-made pie crust that is in an aluminum tin, place it on a baking sheet before pouring the filling in and keep it on the baking sheet even while baking it. The tin is flimsy enough that it is easy to spill the filling while transferring it to the oven if you don’t have the support of the baking sheet.
If you are using a roll-out pre-made pie crust and placing it in your own glass/metal pie dish, go ahead and put a baking sheet in the oven on the bottom shelf. If you happen to have any filling bubble over the edge of the crust the baking sheet will catch it and save you from a mess in your oven.

For those wanting to be more decorative with the pie, you can customize your crust by imprinting the edges with items you can find in your own kitchen. For this one, I used the handle of a measuring spoon so get those cute little dots. You can absolutely sprinkle the pecan pieces all over the top. I chose to make a circle out of the nuts near the crust edge before sprinkling the rest.

PUMPKIN PECAN PIE

Why choose between pumpkin and pecan when you can have both? This pie is the perfect marriage of both flavors and is incredibly easy to make.

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Course Dessert

Servings 8 slices

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9" pie crust
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
15 oz canned pumpkin
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 Tablespoons butter melted and cooled
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. If using a roll out pie crust, unroll it and place it in a pie dish. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, pumpkin, corn syrup and butter. Pour mixture into pie crust. Top with chopped pecans. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until filling does not jiggle. Once cooled, serve topped with whipped cream.

Keyword Dessert, Pecan, Pie, Pumpkin

*Original source of this recipe is unknown. Directions are slightly modified from my grandmother’s recipe card.

Roasted Vegetables with Lemon Dressing

October 7, 2017 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Easy, healthy and delicious. That is what I love about roasted vegetables but let’s get real here, I’m over the boring potatoes or broccoli. I still need easy but I also need variety both for my palette and my sanity. Why not experiment with a variety of vegetables? I really don’t think you can go wrong with roasting any vegetable out there. My latest vegetable obsession is asparagus so I sometimes add extra of it in this dish. Feel free to adjust quantities based on what is a favorite in your household.

Tips:

Watch the pine nuts carefully as you toast them, they burn easily.
Depending on how evenly your oven cooks, you might want to rotate the pan half way through the roasting process.

Roasted Vegetables with Lemon Dressing

Ingredients:

1 bunch of asparagus cut into 1” pieces (discard stem end pieces)

1 large red bell pepper diced into bite size pieces

1 large zucchini, sliced and quartered (or two small zucchini, sliced and halved)

1 ½ cups matchstick carrots

1 medium shallot, chopped

1 ½ teaspoons garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Salt & ground black pepper

1/3 cup pine nuts

Dressing:

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Juice of 1 medium lemon

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Place all vegetables in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir ingredients until evenly coated with olive oil. Spread vegetable mixture onto prepared cookie sheet. Roast in oven for 20 minutes.

While vegetables are roasting, place pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat. Stir nuts in pan until they are slightly brown and aromatic then remove from heat.

In a small bowl, mix all dressing ingredients.

When vegetables are finished roasting, put them back in the large bowl. Pour in the dressing and add the pine nuts. Stir until all ingredients are evenly coated in the dressing.