Entree

ROASTED VEGETABLE BISQUE

December 9, 2018 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

Lately I’ve been realizing just how busy my weekdays are. A typical day means I’m up at 5:45am to get ready and help our daughter get ready for the day. After working a full day at the office, I pick our daughter up from school then head home. We have just a little time to play before needing to get dinner going. Soon after dinner, we put our daughter to bed and then I rush out the door to get a workout in. Around 8:00pm I am finally able to relax and catch up with my husband on how our day was. I know my schedule isn’t all that unusual, lots of families have a similar (or crazier) routine. To be honest, I also have TONS of help from my husband, he is my ultimate teammate in life! However, reflecting on my schedule has emphasized the importance of easy meals in our household. I do prefer to cook homemade meals but I definitely have days when those chicken nuggets in the freezer are all I can muster. On the days when I am cooking, I try to fix healthy meals and expose my daughter to a variety of foods and flavors (with an emphasis on vegetables).

My daughter has been really eager to help in the kitchen lately which provides an opportunity to share a wider variety of foods with her. She might not end up eating what we fix (she is only two years old, after all, and I’m realistic) but the exposure is still there. If she sees us prepping and eating healthy foods, those options won’t be strange to her as she gets older. This bisque recipe is actually a perfect one for her to help with. I chop vegetables and then let her put them into a bowl, season them and pour them out onto a sheet pan for roasting. We have also been finding ways to incorporate other lessons into our cooking routines. “How many eggs did we put in the bowl?” “What colors do you see on the pan?” Not to mention she is learning how to follow directions. All of this learning is happening while helping to get dinner on the table. This is what we call a Win-Win situation, my friends!

Tips:

You can absolutely roast these vegetables the night before you plan to serve the bisque and then blend everything together when you’re ready to eat it. Store those veggies in a sealed container in the fridge. However, since the vegetables will be cold rather than hot from the oven, you might need to pour the blended bisque into a pot and warm it over the stovetop or in a crockpot before serving it.
If you’re making this for a bigger crowd, double the ingredients. You can still roast all the vegetables at the same time but it won’t all fit in the blender at once. Blend what you can then pour it into a large pot and repeat this until everything is in the pot. Stir it all together with a large spoon or whisk until fully incorporated.

ROASTED VEGETABLE BISQUE

The perfect dish to warm you up on a cold evening.

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Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup Raw cashews
1 large head Cauliflower, cut into florets
4 cloves Garlic, unpeeled
2 Medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
1 Medium yellow onion, sliced
2 Large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into large pieces
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt & pepper to taste
3 Tablespoons Red miso paste
1/2 teaspoon Ground cumin
1 Tablespoon Sriracha
2 cups Vegetable broth (more if you want to thin the bisque out a bit)
Croutons & chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F. Place cashews in a bowl of water and let soak. While cashews are soaking, put cauliflower, garlic and carrots in a large bowl. Drizzle bowl of vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix until evenly coated then spread evenly on a sheet pan. Place onion and peppers in the bowl used for vegetables then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix until evenly coated then spread evenly on a second sheet pan. Place both sheet pans in the oven and roast vegetables 20-30 minutes or until they are tender and edges start to brown. Note that the onion and peppers are likely to be done earlier than the other vegetables.
Drain and rinse cashews then place them in a high-powered blender. Peel roasted garlic cloves add them to the blender along with all of the vegetables. Add miso, cumin, sriracha and vegetable broth to blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Garnish with croutons and parsley.

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

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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.

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.

Veggie Wrap With Homemade Jalapeño Hummus

September 9, 2018 by Sarah Baade 1 Comment

I have to say that I’m fortunate to have a cafeteria available to me at work. It really is convenient when I don’t have any leftovers to bring in for lunch. However, the meatless options in the cafeteria aren’t stellar. I often default to the veggie wrap but it seems like half of the filling options typically aren’t available for one reason or another. This can result in a lettuce and tomato wrap with a little bit of hummus and/or cheese. Not filling. Not flavorful.

With just a little bit of meal prep at the beginning of the week, I’m sure I can provide myself with a better wrap for lunch. My plan is to chop and slice all of the vegetables then place them into individual bags that I can quickly grab out of the fridge as I head out the door for work. By assembling the wraps at work, the wrap/tortilla won’t get soggy. This homemade jalapeño hummus provides so much flavor and can easily be used for dipping veggies, crackers, etc. as a side dish or snack.

Jalapeño Hummus

Sarah Baade

A healthy snack with a kick.

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Course Condiments, Snack

Ingredients

15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 Tablespoons tahini
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh Jalapeño, chopped
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. You may need to scrape the sides of the processor partway through in order to fully incorporate the ingredients.
Enjoy as a spread for a sandwich or wrap as seen in next recipe. Or enjoy as a dip for veggies, pretzels, pita chips, etc.

Notes

If you want to add more spice to your hummus, add more jalapeño. If you prefer a milder level of heat, remove the seeds from the jalapeño before chopping and adding it to the hummus.
To avoid getting the jalapeño oils on your hands (and potentially in your eyes if you rub them) wear plastic gloves while chopping it.

Keyword Hummus, Jalapeño, Jalapeño Hummus

Veggie Wrap

Sarah Baade

A color wrap that offers great flavor.

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Course Dinner, Lunch, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 1 wrap

Ingredients

1 large tortilla or wrap of choice
¼ cup jalapeño hummus
1 handful kale, rinsed and stemmed
1 handful red cabbage, chopped
4 slices cucumber
4 rings sliced red onion
3 slices tomato of choice
1 handful zucchini noodles
3 slices bell pepper of choice

Instructions

Spread hummus on 1/3 - 1/2 of the wrap. On top of thehummus, layer the kale, cabbage, cucumber, onion, tomato, zucchini noodles andbell pepper. Fold the wrap around the vegetables and enjoy.

Keyword Vegan Recipe, Vegetables, Vegetarian Recipe, Veggie Wrap

Veggie Wrap with Homemade Jalapeño Hummus