Easy Dish

EASY SKILLET STYLE STREET CORN

July 4, 2020 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

It has been a month since my last blog post. A full month. My brain has been overwhelmed lately. I know I’m not alone in that. When there is so much going on in our world, it can be difficult to focus on the lighter things in life.

COVID19

As COVID19 shut things down and people started losing their jobs, I felt like food just wasn’t important enough to explore or share. Even when creativity did hit, I had a hard time getting ingredients I wanted.

Black Lives Matter

After the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, my focus shifted to my own friends and neighbors of the Black community. Free time became researching Black history, signing petitions and educating myself on how to raise an anti-racist child. I did not have the capacity to also think about food in creative ways for this platform.

Food

A lot of thought and re-evaluation has gone into this blog and what I want it to provide for others. As budgets have become tighter for a lot of folks, affordable food is more important than ever. Not only that, but sharing recipes brings people together – something we desperately need right now. You can learn so much about a person by exploring the foods they grew up with, who they ate with and what went into creating those meals. Our country needs so much healing right now, so much change. We can’t gather around tables to get to know one another right now but we can still share recipes.

I’m sharing my version of street corn on this post. A recipe I never would have created without the cultural (Mexican) influence within my city of San Antonio. Ingredients required for this recipe are affordable and you likely have most of them on hand already (seriously). Use it as a side dish as you’re grilling out or add it to your #TacoTuesday meal. I know you’re going to love this one!

Easy Skillet Style Street Corn

Sarah Baade

All the flavor you love from street corn, no grill required.

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Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 6

Ingredients

4 cups frozen corn
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
1/4 cup queso fresco
garnish with cilantro (optional)

Instructions

Add corn to a large dry skillet over medium heat. Cook corn until it starts to char, stir frequently as it cooks.
Once corn is cooked, remove from heat and add mayonnaise, lime juice, and spices. Stir until evenly distributed.
Top corn with queso fresco and cilantro (if desired).

Notes

I used 1/4 teaspoon cayenne but this might be too much heat for those sensitive to spice.
This dish can be enjoyed hot or cold.

Keyword Corn, Mexican Street Corn, Skillet Street Corn, Street Corn

If you are able to make financial contributions to positively impact your community, I highly encourage you to do so. Here are some links to causes I donate to: NAACP Legal Defense Fund , San Antonio Food Bank , Snack Pak 4 Kids SA

Easy Pasta Salad

April 29, 2020 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

At the beginning of the year, I set three food goals for myself. 1)Cook a meal for another family once each month. 2)Buy from my local farmers market at least once per month. 3)Bake a bread recipe of one sort or another each month. Friends, COVID-19 has seriously interrupted these plans! Social distancing, businesses (and the farmers markets) closed, and difficulty finding flour in the stores. I will revisit these goals when I am able to but in the mean time, I have been focusing on simple recipes.

Fancy ingredients and complicated cooking techniques are not prerequisites to a good meal. In fact, some of my favorite dishes are made quickly with just a handful of ingredients. With this in mind, along with my yearning for farmers market produce, I’ve created my easy pasta salad. There is also some versatility in this recipe. You can use whatever small pasta you can get your hands on. Eat it as a side dish, or add your favorite protein to make it your entree. And once you can go to your farmers market again, be sure to show your support and buy your ingredients for this one from your local farmers.

Easy Pasta Salad

Sarah Baade

An easy to make pasta salad that can be used as a side dish or an entree.

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Course Dinner, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

1 lb small pasta such as orecchiette, shells or elbow noodles
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (divided) olive oil
15 oz canned chickpeas
12 oz small tomatoes – mixed variety, halved
1 medium cucumber, cut into 1/4" slices then quartered
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional: protein such as tofu, grilled bratwurst, or grilled chicken

Instructions

Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain pasta then rinse with cold water until cooled.
Transfer pasta to a large bowl and stir together with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber and red onion then toss to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, Italian herb seasoning and salt. Pour over pasta and gently stir until pasta is evenly coated. Top with protein of choice if desired.

Keyword Easy Pasta Salad, Easy Recipe, Pasta, Pasta Salad

EASY VEGETABLE FRIED RICE

September 20, 2019 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

A friend of mine was recently asking about recipes that use frozen vegetables. It occurred to me that I have always used fresh produce in my recipes here. Fresh is great but there are some huge advantages to using frozen veggies when you can. Frozen vegetables are actually less expensive than fresh ones. I did a quick price check at my local grocery store and a bag of fresh broccoli florets was priced at 21c per ounce. Meanwhile, the bag of frozen broccoli florets was priced at 11c per ounce. That is nearly HALF the price! If you’re on a budget, frozen veggies are a great way to get healthy foods on the cheap. Speaking of being budget friendly, frozen vegetables won’t go bad in a few days which means you’re not tossing anything out at the end of the week. You’re getting your money’s worth! Finally, frozen vegetables are already chopped. Let’s be honest, chopping vegetables sometimes takes longer than actually cooking a dish. Precut vegetables are a huge time saver! So, have I convinced you to buy frozen vegetables yes?!

Now, let’s get down to this recipe. I started making fried rice a few years ago because I was simply wanting to use up some leftovers from the fridge. I have a habit of cooking more rice than we need when using it as a side dish. Rather than tossing out the leftovers or even eating plain rice again later in the week, I chose to repurpose it. The thing about fried rice is that it is actually easy to customize with whatever vegetables or spices are your favorites. Here, I’m giving you a super easy base recipe for vegetable fried rice. From here, feel free to get creative with what you add in. I’d love to hear how you adapt this to make it your own!

Tips

It is critical to use rice that was cooked earlier and then cooled. If you use freshly cooked rice, you will end up with a pan full of mush.
This is a basic vegetable fried rice recipe but don’t let that limit you. Feel free to add a protein of your choice or a wider variety of vegetables such as snow peas, bell peppers or edamame.

Easy Vegetable Fried Rice

An easy base recipe for vegetable fried rice.

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Servings 4

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups cooked, cold brown rice
1/2 cup frozen peas & carrots
1/2 cup frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon tamari sauce or low sodium soy sauce
1 large egg, beaten

Instructions

Heat vegetable oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Add rice and vegetables to the pan and cook until tender. Mix in garlic, sesame oil, onion powder, and tamari sauce.
Push rice mixture to one side of the pan. Pour the egg into the other side of the pan and stir with a rubber spatula until curds form. Stir egg into the rice mixture. Add additional tamari sauce if desired.

Notes

4 servings is based on using this recipe as a side dish. If you prefer to use it as your entrée, double the recipe.
It is critical to use rice that was cooked earlier and then cooled. If you use freshly cooked rice, you will end up with a pan full of mush.
This is a basic vegetable fried rice recipe but don’t let that limit you. Feel free to add a protein of your choice or a wider variety of vegetables such as snow peas, bell peppers or edamame.

SHEET PAN SHRIMP FAJITAS

October 12, 2018 by Sarah Baade 6 Comments

When I graduated from college I had a semester off before starting grad school. Rather than stick around Kansas (I graduated from K-State – Go Wildcats!), I took the opportunity to head out to California for a few months. I grew up super shy but for whatever reason, God gave me wanderlust and the bravery to explore new places. At 22 years old, I drove halfway across the country to find out what coastal living is like. I lived with my cousin and his now wife while working a part time job at the local YMCA. Coming from a land-locked state, it was incredible to see the ocean every day even on days when I was just driving to work. I learned a lot about myself during that time. Post college, pre-real world is an awkward stage of life. You’re somehow both younger than most people and older than most people you encounter. This can create a level of loneliness but for me, it also created a greater level of independence.

While I was in California I was also scoping out local food trends. I’m generally willing to at least sample a dish I’m not familiar with but, looking back, maybe I wasn’t so adventurous at 22 years old. I kept seeing fish tacos and shrimp tacos and I just couldn’t get myself to try them. Clearly, there was something to it because I saw them on menu after menu. Truth be told, though, I didn’t end up trying seafood in a taco until several years after leaving California. Fast forward to today and fish or shrimp in my Mexican food has become an absolute favorite of mine. They are part of the reason I don’t go full out vegetarian. Combine this with busy mom life and I give you sheet pan shrimp fajitas!

Tips:

If you want to make this vegetarian/vegan rather than pescatarian, you can swap out the shrimp for cubes of tofu.

You can cut the vegetables a day ahead to make meal prep even faster on the day you cook the fajitas.

SHEET PAN SHRIMP FAJITAS

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: Slice Of Honey

Recipe type: Entree

Ingredients

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 medium orange bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 medium jalapeños (optional), seeded and thinly sliced
½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Flour or corn tortillas
Optional toppings: shredded cheeses, sour cream, avocado, guacamole

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F. Place all bell peppers, jalapeños, onion and shrimp in a large bowl. Coat with olive oil and lime juice. Add all spices and stir until vegetables and shrimp are evenly coated in spices. Spread ingredients out on a sheet pan and bake for 14 minutes, stirring halfway through. Wrap a few strips of vegetables and pieces of shrimp in a tortilla, adding optional toppings as desired.

Market Couscous Salad

April 28, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

The weather is finally getting warm again and I am looking forward to scouring my local farmers market for my favorite summer produce. In particular, I’m already craving fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. I feel fortunate to have access to most produce all year long at my local grocery store but there is something special about meeting your local farmers and buying their fresh from the farm products.

With warm weather also comes outdoor potlucks. The great thing about this dish is that it can be served warm or cold (I actually prefer it cold). With just ten ingredients, this dish is easy to put together and you can make it ahead of time.

Tips:

Don’t feel limited by the grape/sweet tomatoes I used here. Grab whatever is freshest at your local farmers market or grocery store. Even better would be homegrown tomatoes!
Make sure you add that 1 teaspoon to the water as you’re cooking the couscous – it helps to keep it from turning into one huge blob as it cools.

Market Couscous Salad

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon + 1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 cup uncooked pearl coucous (I used tri-color)

¼ cup red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh thyme

1 cup cucumber, chopped

1 cup tomatoes, chopped (I used a mix of sweet tomatoes)

¼ cup red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

In a medium pot, bring 1 ½ cups water and 1 teaspoon olive oil to a boil. Add couscous then reduce heat and simmer for 7-9 minutes or until water is absorbed and couscous is tender. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients to couscous and stir until ingredients are evenly dispersed. Salad can be served warm or cold.

Fruit Bruschetta

August 5, 2017 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

I love hitting up my local farmer’s market for seasonal produce and I love hosting friends at my house for tasty eats. The best is when these two loves come together with an easy recipe that is dressed to impress. When hitting up the farmer’s market, I often browse for what looks enticing and create a dish from the ingredients found rather than coming in with specific ingredients to find. This has resulted in me being more creative in the kitchen but has also expanded my palette. When you find a golden baguette and perfectly ripe berries you can’t walk away empty handed. For this recipe, I ultimately combined fresh finds with what I already had in my kitchen – goat cheese, mint, plums and honey. Listen, I like fresh but I also hate to waste so I’m all about using what is already on hand too.

This fruit bruschetta is light and flavorful but it is also so easy to make. It is ideal for entertaining and could be used as an appetizer, a dessert or even a snack.

Tips:

This recipe highlights using seasonal fruit. If you can’t find plums, substitute them for blueberries, pomegranate seeds, or whatever seasonal berry you can find.
Watch the bread slices closely in the oven, it is all too easy to accidently burn them. The goal is for the bread slices to be lightly toasted on each side.

Fruit Bruschetta

Ingredients:

Ciabatta baguette

8oz goat cheese (softened)

1 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

1 cup raspberries, washed

1 cup blackberries, washed

1 cup plums, washed and sliced

Honey for drizzling

Directions:

Set your oven to Broil.

Slice baguette diagonally into ½” thick slices. Lay out the slices of bread on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 1 minute or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven, flip each slice of bread over and place back in oven for 1 minute or until lightly golden. Remove cookie sheet from oven and let bread slices cool completely.

In a bowl, combine goat cheese and chopped mint leaves. Spread goat cheese onto bread slices (be generous, it’s delicious!). Top with fruit as desired then drizzle with honey.