Creamy Garlic Dill Sauce

We eat salmon about once a week. Just straight up oven-baked, salt and pepper seasoned salmon. I had major doubts when it came to a sauce for salmon. Good thing I don't trust myself because this was delicious. It is almost more of a dip than a sauce but once you spread it on shot salmon it thins out.  

When I first tasted the dip by itself, it was meh. But once it's on the salmon it enhances the salmon and sauce flavor.  We dipped our vegetables in it too. It was easy and quick to make and took the meal up a level.

Creamy Garlic Dill Sauce
Adapted from Simply Whisked
Serves 2 with leftovers

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 mayonnaise
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon onion, chopped as tiny as possible
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon horseradish
• 2 tablespoons dill
• 1/4 tablespoon salt
• A couple of grinds of pepper

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and stir together. Refrigerate until you ready to serve.

Summer Pizza

It has rained the entire week last week and we have been cooped up in the house. On Friday it finally cleared up so we took in what sunshine there was left and played in some puddles.

Our dinner paired perfectly with the evening. This pizza tastes like summer and sunshine.  Its very light because it doesn't have a sauce or meat on it so it would probably be better as an appetizer. Maybe its a 'flatbread'. I've never really understood what those were anyway.

The best part of this pizza is the next day- heat it up and throw a fried egg on it. Overeasy of course.  It was so gooey and good I couldn't shut up about it.

Summer Pizza

Adapted from Shutterbean

Pizza is supposed to be customizable but this is what I used. Change it up or you're doing it wrong.

• Pizza dough
• 1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 cup corn
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 jalapeno thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
• couple squeezes of lime juice

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Stretch out/toss the pizza dough to fit your pan or pizza stone.  Add all the ingredients but the lime juice. 

Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool to a point where you don't burn your mouth off.  Slice and add a squeeze of a lime wedge to each slice. 

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I love wings but nothing pisses me off more than Buffalo Wild Wings.  The closest one near us has the worst service. We have waited 20 minutes for waters. If we weren't incredibly timid people we would have walked out. Or at least complained. I also have tried to make wings but nothing great has come out of that. It's on the to-do list. 

This salad by Well Fed is spicy enough to hit that buffalo wing craving but it's still healthy. Full of protein and vegetables.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Serves 3 - 4

Adapted from Well Fed

Chicken:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 jalapeno, cut into rings
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoon butter or ghee
• 1/4 cup or more of hot sauce. I like Frank's buffalo sauce.

Salad:

• 1 small head iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 3 ribs of celery, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

For the chicken, place all the ingredients, except butter and hot sauce, in large saucepan. Bring to a boil, the cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Turn off the heat but keep the pot covered for another 20-25 minutes.  Remove the chicken from water, shred with two forks.  Toss in a bowl with butter and hot sauce. If the chicken is not warm when you go to add the butter, melt the butter first.

For the salad, toss all the ingredients in a large bowl (really large), and top with chicken.  Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Spaghetti Squash with Bolognese Sauce

I grew up eating spaghetti with ground beef and Prego sauce from a jar. It was quick, cheap, easy and too good to worry about chopping and sauteing all of those vegetables for my busy parents. When I got into college my taste buds matured and coupled with a stint with vegetarianism, I would often make spaghetti and ...Paul Newman sauce from a jar.  

In my attempt to make meat sauce myself, my hypothesis has been confirmed. Homemade is better but harder. As is life. Fortunately more is more! I think this sauce will freeze well so I'm making a double batch next time and freezing the sauce for a quicker meal on a busier day.

I have lost negative one pound on my diet so I quit. I paired this sauce with spaghetti squash in hopes of breaking even.  Embrace your body 2015.

Spaghetti Squash with Bolognese Sauce

Adapted from Simply Whisked

Serves 4

• one large spaghetti squash
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 16 ounce can crushed tomatoes, NOT drained
• 1 16 ounce can diced tomatoes, NOT drained
• 2 tablespoons italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese (for a paleo version skip this)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthways, and scoop out seeds with spoon. Coat the inside with olive oil and place on a baking sheet insides down.  Bake for 45 minutes.

While the squash is baking, start the bolognese sauce.  In a medium or large skillet, heat olive oil to medium-high.  Add the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot. Stirring occasionally, saute the vegetables  for about 10 minutes until they are translucent and tender.   

Add the ground beef or turkey, salt, and pepper. Break up the meat while it cooks. Once the meat is browned, add in the canned tomatoes, and italian seasoning.

Simmer the sauce while the squash cooks. The sauce will reduce and get thicker the longer it simmers.  Remove from heat when desired consistency is reached. I like it thick (yeah I said it) so I let mine cook down for around thirty minutes on medium-low heat. Right before serving stir in the cheese.

Back to the squash! Once the squash is done cooking you should be able to push on the outside skin and the squash will sink down.  Remove from the oven and and hot baking pan onto a cutting board to let cool for around 10 minutes. These suckers are hot.

Take an oven mitt and lift the squash from the outside skin, squeezing it to get a good hold.  Use a fork to pull out the 'spaghetti' of the squash and separate onto plates. Top with the bolognese. Top with more cheese to live a little.

Next time: Double it as a favor for my future self.

Tuna, Kale, and Egg Salad

Sometimes I love eating healthy foods because I want big bites and huge portions without feeling guilty or getting odd looks from strangers. Salads are great because I try to get a little (or a lot) of each ingredient on my fork for the biggest best bite. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

A salad with 'best bites' needs lots of ingredients.  Making salads with lots of ingredients is a pain in the ass. This salad is no different. 

There is egg shelling, vegetable cleaning, chopping, slicing, and even grating.  But its good and kale is like a superfood or something so thats nice. I like kale, it bites back.

Tuna, Kale, and Egg Salad

Joy the Baker did it first

Serves 2 Adults 

• 4 cups chopped kale
• olive oil
• rice vinegar
• 2 5-ounce cans white tuna, drained
• 3 tablespoons green onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
• 1/3 cup celery, sliced
• 1/4 cup roasted shelled sunflower seeds
• 1/4 grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained

Toss kale in a large bowl with a splash of olive oil and rice vinegar. Easy on the rice vinegar, there is no going back if you put too much.  Massage the oil and vinegar in with your hands. Really get in there. The kale should get a darker green and lose a lot of its volume. Split the lettuce on two different plates or bowls.

In a separate medium bowl, combine tuna, half of the eggs, green onion, parsley, celery and another splash of olive oil with the back of a fork. Top the kale with tuna and egg mixture.

Sprinkle the salad with the rest of the eggs, sunflower seeds, parmesan cheese, and capers.

Next time: add lemon juice in with the tuna mixture