When hosting, people often fuss with the main dish when really what you need is a good salad to start off the meal right! This sweet and tasty salad is a favorite of mine. With crunchy pecans, salty feta and sweet strawberries, it’s got a great combination of flavors and is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Ingredients:
6 oz. fresh spinach
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup crumbled feta
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Directions:
Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Layer on top the sliced strawberries, pecans and crumbled feta. Combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil and brown sugar in a small bowl then drizzle over salad right before serving.
Ingredients:
1 large cucumber, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 red pepper, diced
6 sticks of fake crab, diced
1/4 cup mayo
1 lemon
1/4 tsp. sald, pepper and garlic powder
Directions:
Combine all of the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Serve with crackers or carrot sticks.
I love anything breaded and fried that can be eaten with your fingers and dipped into ketchup, or garlic mayo or honey mustard dipping sauce. Or ketchup. Since I don’t like to fry things up in my kitch, I’m forever on a quest to find out whether or not {insert fried food here} tastes good baked. Baked potato fries are totally delish. Same goes for baked schnitzel. Baked Cauliflower? Yum. Next up on the baked taste test were onion rings. I baked them in an herb crusted coating of bread crumbs and fresh lemon basil (which smells amazing! I’m obsessed with it. I throw it in pasta dishes, salsa, and bread crumbs for a great fresh kick of flavor)
The verdict? Crispy and delicious! The outside is crunchy but the onion is still tender which makes for a great combo! It was hard to save enough for the photo. I kept stealing some from the plate. You know, just to make sure they were good. These would make a great appetizer to a dairy meal, just add parmesan to the bread crumbs mixture. (Yes, I totally whipped up two batches just to test it out and yes, it was totally delish!) Since what you eat is only as good as what you dip it into, I served them up with a honey mustard dipping sauce with some crunchy baked onion rings mixed in.
Ingredients:
1 onion
2 eggs plus 1 teaspoon water
1 cup of bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (I used lemon basil)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Directions:
Whisk the eggs and water together in a shallow dish. Combine herbs, salt and pepper and bread crumbs in a separate shallow dish. Peel onion. Cut into rings. Dip the onion rings into egg mixture, then into bread crumbs herb mixture. Place on lightly greased baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (You can spray the rings with cooking oil for an extra crunch!) Bake on 400′ for 25 minutes or until crispy.
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup of mayo
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of djon mustard
3 onion rings chopped
Combine the mayo, honey and mustard until smooth. Top with chopped onion rings for a tasty crunch!
*Tips&Tricks: Add shredded or grated parmesan to the bread crumbs mixture for a deliciously dairy and cheesy taste!
Ingredients:
1 container of extra firm tofu
1 egg
1 cup of panko crumbs (or bread crumbs)
Directions:
Remove tofu from container and drain water. Wrap tofu in paper towel and leave on counter to drain for 20 minutes. Pat tofu dry with a paper towel. Slice tofu in half, across the middle to make two thinner pieces. Then cut tofu into french fry sticks. Coat the tofu sticks in egg then dip into crumbs. Place on a lightly greased baking pan (I use cooking oil spray) and bake in oven on 400′ for 20-25 minutes until crispy. Serve with hot dipping sauce.
Hot Dipping Sauce:
1 cup of mayo
1 tsp. sriracha sauce sauce
Blend together. Add more sriracha sauce if desired.
*Tips&Tricks:You can make this dairy by adding grated parmesan to the crumbs and freshly chopped herbs like basil, parsley or cilantro. You can also season the crumbs with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, chile powder or your favorite seasonings.
This is not a recipe. This is the result of me wanting to score points as wifey by throwing my husband a birthday party and not planning ahead. This is what happens when you have two ingredients and about ten minutes until your guests show up.
Ingredients:
Whipping Cream
1/2 cup of Chocolate Spread (I use this non dairy choco spread)
Directions:
Let the whipping cream melt then whip it up until nice and fluffy. Add chocolate spread once whipped and mix it together until blended. Scoop into mini cups and drizzle chocolate sauce on top, then add mini chocolate chips.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tablespoon ginger diced
1 tsp. chopped chili
1 lb. chicken breast cut into chunks
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoons corn starch
In a small bowl combine the above ingredients and mix well to dissolve corn starch.
Directions:
Heat a wok or frying pan with 1 tablespoon oil and saute onion, ginger, garlic, and chili pepper until tender. Add chicken chunks to pan and cook until no longer pink. Once cooked, remove chicken and onions from pan and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons oil to pan and saute mushrooms until soft then add the chicken back to the pan and mix with the mushrooms. Slowly pour sauce over chicken and mushrooms and stir together until sauce thickens. Serve over steamed broccoli or rice.
*Tips & Tricks: If you don’t have fresh ginger you can use ginger powder instead. Just add it in the sauce. You can swap mushrooms for any of your favorite stir fry veggies!
