Simple Potato Gratin <3 Olivia

Hi! First post since December for me… been in a pretty major cooking slump. Anyway, this is from the Smitten Kitchen (one of my favorite cooking blogs). We had this for Christmas dinner and it was delicious.

Simple Potato Gratin:
– 3-4 tbs. butter
– 1 1/2 yukon yellow potatoes (peeled)
– 1 cup half & half (or milk or cream)
– approx 1/2 cup shredded cheese (gruyere or parmesan)
– salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
1. Slice the potatoes thinly (use mandoline if possible)

2. Grease a 9×12 glass dish with butter/oil. Place a single layer of sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Place 1/3 of the shredded cheese over the first layer.

3. Repeat the layering process, til you end up with 3 layers– but don’t put cheese on top of the final layer, you will do this later.

4. Pour the half & half into the dish, it will come up to the third layer–add more if needed. Place in the oven.

5. After about 30 minutes, remove the dish and press down the potatoes with a spatula so the potatoes are kept moist. Place back in the oven for another 30 minutes. 15 minutes before it is done, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

eat & enjoy 🙂

Mexican Chicken Casserole

I love a good recipe to last the week. Or just for a big dinner. This dish is totally from my brain and a great combination of veggies and protein in one. It’s super low fat and high in protein. Here’s what you’ll need:

1 pound of chicken breast, sliced as thinly or thick as you’d like
bread crumbs
1/2 can of black beans
1/2 can of corn
1 can of diced tomatoes
Tabasco
parsley
salt
pepper
shredded cheese (of your choosing, I did Mexican mix)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Slice your chicken into pieces, I just halved each chicken breast piece, and coat in the bread crumbs. Place the chicken in a casserole dish.

Sprinkle the top of the chicken with salt, pepper, parsley, and Tabasco to your liking.

Next, drain and rinse the corn, beans, and tomatoes.

I layered half the can of corn on top of the chicken, then half the can of beans. Finally, I added the whole can of diced tomatoes.

I sprinkled a little bit of salt, pepper, and parsley on top of the tomatoes.

The last step is evenly coating the top of the casserole with shredded cheese of your choice.

Put in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes.

Eat hot or save for the next day! This was FULL of flavors and the Tabasco gives it a nice kick. It is so delicious and you can have a totally guild free meal. You can eat this on its own or with a side of pasta or quinoa. Nomz.

Enjoy!

-Ena

Spiced Pear Loaf

I love pears. I cannot say that enough so I will say it again, I love pears. Being that this is the case, I needed a study break a couple weeks ago and decided to make a dessert with pears. Here’s what you’ll need:

2 cubed pears (I used Bartlett because they are my favorite)
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of white flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1.5 tablespoons of ginger
1 banana (VERY ripe)
6 oz of Greek yogurt
3/4 cup of white sugar (or brown sugar)
2 eggs
1/2 cup of almond milk (or your favorite milk)
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Spray nonstick cooking spray on your loaf pan (or your muffin/cupcake pan- either will work).

Mix the banana and Greek yogurt with a fork. Then mix in the sugar and vanilla extract. Then one egg at a time.

In another bowl, mix the flours, baking powders, salt, ginger, and cinnamon.

Then, combine 1/3 of the flour mix with the banana mix. Add in half the milk of your choice. Mix, then repeat those steps until everything is well mixed.

Finally, add in the cubed pear pieces. Do not over-mix the pears with the dough.

Pour into the baking dish of your choice. Put in the oven at 400 degrees for at least an hour. I would suggest an hour for muffins and maybe an hour and 15 minutes for the loaf. Check the middle with a butter knife to know when it is done. The change in length of time baking is going to be how based on much moisture the pears have. So keep an eye on this and use your judgement.

This load turned out SO GOOD. I took more than half of it to work and it was gone in an hour! The dessert is very spiced, as I love ginger and cinnamon, obviously you can change this to your liking.

Enjoy!

-Ena

Skinny Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

We DEEPLY apologize for the hiatus we have had. Graduate school had taken over our lives for a while but WE ARE BACK. During our graduate school hurricane, I needed to make various recipes to last me the week. So, the Crockpot was my best friend. I made this Skinny Chicken Noodle Soup and I couldn’t even eat the whole batch in a week. Here’s what you’ll need:

6 oz of reduced sodium chicken broth
1 can of corn (I used creamy corn)
4 carrots chopped up
4 celery stocks chopped up
1 pound of chicken breast, cubed
2 cups of diced up mushrooms
1/2 of a finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 a package of rotini pasta (of whatever past of your choice)
salt
pepper
parsley
basil

Step one, put everything in Crockpot, including the raw cubed chicken (trust me). Add the ingredient to your liking and taste.

Step 2, set Crockpot on high for 4.5 hours.

Step 3, enjoy.

This recipe is genuinely the easiest recipe ever and its delicious. You’ll enjoy it and so will people you give it to. I ate it over the week for lunch then froze the other half. Deeeeelish!

Enjoy!

-Ena

Shortbread Cookies

Super Bowl is one of my favorite times of year. It’s always so much fun and full of energy…well, that was debatable this year. Anyway, I got to try a new recipe to take with me to my friend’s annual party. I decided on sweet since I figured there would be lots of savory. Here’s what you’ll need:

2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Optional:
Sprinkles
Dark chocolate chips

Combine the butter and sugar with a handheld mixer.

Add in the egg and vanilla- I used vanilla sugar, worked the same.

Then mix in the flour and salt. Add in the flour, little by little, and keep mixing.

Once mixed together, use your hands to create 2 logs of dough- about 2 inches round. The dough is VERY dry; it is suppose to be like this so that the shortbread consistency is there.

In foil or saran wrap, cover the logs of cookie dough tight!

Stick in your fridge for about 1.5 hours. At least an hour!

When the time in the fridge is up, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spray 2 cookie sheet with nonstick spray.

Unwrap the logs and cut up into cookie sized pieces, about ¼ of a inch.

Then, roll each cookie piece in your hands so that it is round and flat. I rolled the sides of half of them in sprinkles and just rolled the other half into round balls and put a few dark chocolate chips in the center of each.

I put in both cookie sheets in the oven at the same time and baked for about 18-20 minutes; rotating them about half way through.

When done, let them cool before you take them off the cookie sheets.

These were really yummy. They were delicious as a dessert and as a treat with my morning coffee. Everyone who tried them seemed to like them! Which, of course, makes me a happy girl. I definitely suggest these for a good treat, but fair warning, the dough isn’t the easiest to work with. It will definitely be worth it in the end though! Next time, I think they would be really good to try with dried cherries or some nuts. Play!

Enjoy!

-Ena

Roasted Chickpeas

I love a good snack. Especially a healthy one! This recipe is one I found while peeking through Pinterest, but like most other ones…I changed it up. You can add in whatever spices you want to make this to your liking. Here’s what you’ll need:

1 can of garbanzo/chickpeas
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Whatever spices you like- I did Italian seasoning, basil, and paprika

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas.

In a bigger bowl, put the drained chickpeas and olive oil and mix it up well.

Take a cookie sheep and spray it with non stick spray.

Take your spices and add them to the chickpeas. I added a lot, because I like very flavorful things. But do this to your taste.

Now, put the chickpeas on the cookie sheet. Make sure you spread them all out.

Stick in the oven for about 35 minutes- or however crispy you want them.

Eating them right out of the oven is best. But I store them in the fridge and eat them as a snack throughout the week. Lots of diets use a ton of chickpeas because of their low fat, high fiber content. About ½ a cup of these is approximately 110 calories- pending on what spices and how much oil you put on. So healthy and delish.

Enjoy!

-Ena

Banana Nut Scones

After tons of hours spent studying, a pick me up was needed. I found a few recipes online for scones, and I’d made them before, but I wanted something new. Here’s what you’ll need:

2 mashed bananas
1.5 cups white flour
2/3 cup of whole wheat flour
6 packets of Truvia
6 tablespoons of white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons of butter
1 egg
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup almond milk
(or you can just do ½ cup of your favorite milk instead of the two above)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 egg white
½ a packet of stevia or sugar

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Mix up the flour, truvia, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add in the butter cut up into small pieces. Use your hands to mix the butter and flour combination.

Now, add in the mashed bananas, egg, heavy cream, milk, and vanilla.

Mix it up well; it’s going to be very sticky.

Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray.

Make two loaves with the dough and place on the cookie sheet (pictured below).

Take the chopped almonds and sprinkle on top of the 2 loaves.

Now, using a pizza cutter or butter knife, cut small triangles from the 2 loaves. Mine made between 5 and 6 scones per loaf.

Now, take the egg white and either using a spoon or a brush, brush the tops of the scones with the egg white.

Finally, sprinkle the scones with the sugar/stevia lightly.

Place in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the sides are brown.

Enjoy hot or cold. These turned out yummy! Definitely satisfies a sweet tooth without overwhelming the calorie in take. These will be good leftovers with coffee in the morning. Noms!

Enjoy!

-Ena

 

 

Veggie Stir Fry

Okay, this is easily my favorite recipe I’ve ever created. I was super craving Chinese but needed a healthier version. I had just gotten a TON of veggies so I decided to make this stir fry, it was incredible. Tasted JUST like the stir fry you order! Here’s what you’ll need:

1 cup of rice, 2 cups cooked
1/3 cup of frozen peas
1/3 cup of chopped up mushrooms
½ cup of cut up kale
1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of bbq sauce

Ok first, make your rice. Make sure it’s nice and fluffy.

Chop up your veggies if you haven’t already while you wait.

In a big pan heat up a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat.

Put the mushrooms, peas, and kale in there and cover so they sweat.

Let them in there for about 5-7 minutes stirring once or twice.

Put in the soy sauce and bbq sauce and mix it up, lowering the heat to low.

Add in the rice at this point and stir everything together well. Let it sit on the heat for a minute or two, stirring often.

Done! This was honestly one of my favorite meals I’ve made in a long long time. You will not be disappointed by this. Next time, I may add in an egg to really make it a true copy cat!

Enjoy!

-Ena

Home Popped Popcorn

One of my FAVORITE snacks is popcorn. I recently read an article about how bad it is for you from the package/from a microwavable bag, so I decided to make my own. It is SO DARN EASY. Here’s what you’ll need:

3 tablespoons of popping corn = 3 cups of popped popcorn so you figure it out!
olive oil
salt
butter

I just made enough for 3 tablespoons worth so here’s what I used…

First, get out a pan that is large and has a lid.

Coat the bottom with the olive oil. I placed a couple tablespoons then used a paper towel to remove excess and coat the rest. Sprinkle some salt on the oil.

Put in your popping corn and make sure they are well rolled in the oil. I sprinkled a little more salt on this.

Then I set the pan on high and added in about half a tablespoon of butter then take the lid on and shook it all up.

I then left it with the lid on to get hot. They pop rather fast. Watch the pot (if its see-through it’ll be easy). Listen to the pops, when they slow down, shake it up a bit and remove. Don’t take off the lid yet, let it sit for a few minutes. I like burnt popcorn (so, sue me!) so I left mine on for a minute longer- yum.

SO EASY!

Put in a bowl and ENJOY! These turned out delicious, and savory. Take out the butter if you want a healthier version. Much more guilt free than the from a bag kind J

Enjoy!

-Ena

Greek Yogurt Chicken

After needing a very intense study break, I decided to create something with what I had in the fridge. So I decided on this fun new recipe! Here’s what you’ll need:

1 pound of chicken thighs
1 russet potato cut up
½ a yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
turmeric
parsley
Italian seasoning
basil
salt
pepper
1 of the 100 calorie 0% fat Greek yogurts (they’re usually 8 oz.)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cube the chicken thighs – you can make them as big/small as you want.

Place the cubed chicken into a baking dish. Sprinkle with turmeric, parsley, Italian seasoning, basil, salt and pepper. Put as much or as little as you want. Use a spoon and mix it all up.

Finely chop the onions and garlic and mix in with the chicken.

Cut up the potato very thin, as thin as you can get it and whatever shape you’d like it. Mix it in with the chicken. Use a spoon to mix it all up.

Dump the container of Greek yogurt into the chicken mixture and use a spoon to mix it all up well. Add in a little bit more of all of the seasonings and mix again.

 

Place in the oven for an hour. Take out and enjoy!

Enjoy while hot! This was really good and very well seasoned! The chicken practically melts in your  mouth. Easy dinner and lots of left overs.

Enjoy!

-Ena

Chicken & Mushroom Vodka Sauce Pasta

After some intense working out, I needed a very carby dinner. So here is what I came up with based on what I had in my kitchen. Here’s what you’ll need:

¾ of a yellow onion cut up
2 cloves of garlic, diced up
1 pound of cubed chicken breast
1 package of cut up mushrooms
1 package of pasta (I used rotini)
2.5 cups of red sauce (use your favorite)
4 tablespoons of Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of basil
2 tablespoons of diced up parsley

First, dice up your chicken, onion, garlic, and parsley.

Set a large pot to boil for the pasta. Put pasta in when it comes to a boil (probably while the onions/garlic are cooking).

In a separate pan, add a splash of olive oil and leave on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes. Put in the onions and garlic and let it sweat for about 7 minutes.

Then add in the chicken, pepper, salt, and basil; cover it. Mix it 2 or 3 times over 10 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and continue to let this sweat and combine.

I had to split this up into two bowls, but put in one cup of the red sauce and 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt and mix it up. Add the rest of the red sauce and yogurt in the other bowl and mix.

Drain the pasta when it is done and put it back into the pot.

When the chicken is done, remove the excess liquid – I did this by using a spoon which had holes in it and adding the chicken/mushrooms one spoonful at a time to the pasta.

As stated above, combine the chicken/mushrooms with the pasta. Leave the combination on the stove on low. Then add in the pasta/Greek yogurt mix. Use a large spoon and mix it well. Finally add in the diced up fresh parsley and mix.

Let the pot sit on the stove on low for about 5 minutes mixing once or twice.

Serve and enjoy-HOT. It is sucha delicious combination of spices and textures. You will enjoy and so will your friends and family!

Enjoy!

-Ena

Power Breakfast- Baked Egg in Avocado

I had been looking to change up my breakfast for a while and my good friend, Chelsea, gave me this idea. Disclaimer: This was my first time making it so it got a little messy! Here’s what you’ll need:

½ avocado
1 egg
cayenne pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Cup the avocado in half long ways, take out the seed, and use a spoon to take out a little bit more of the avocado so the egg can fit.

Crack your egg into a bowl.

Make a little doughnut from foil and place on a cookie sheet or something to bake the avocado in.

Use a spoon to spoon in the egg into the avocado. This is where I got messy. In retrospect I should have separated the egg from the yolk, put the yolk into the avocado first, then spoon in as much egg white as can fit. Finally, sprinkle some cayenne pepper; I added a sprinkle of salt too.

Place the avocado into the hole of the doughnut.

Bake it at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

When done, let it cool for a few minutes then enjoy!

This is REALLY a power breakfast. It’ll keep you going for hours. Add a piece of toast and coffee and you’re good for a long time. Needless to say, for avocado lovers- this is a dream breakfast.

Enjoy!

-Ena

Baked Broccoli

It’s pretty clear how much I love broccoli. It’s so healthy, full of fiber, and delicious. I make this pretty often when I need a quick veggie side. It’s a GREAT recipe to get kids to start liking veggies, for busy grad students, and for anyone who likes broccoli! Here’s what you’ll need:

2 stocks of broccoli (cut it up so that the florets are still pretty big)
2 egg whites
1/3 cup of bread crumbs
salt
pepper
parsley

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cut up the broccoli.

In a bowl, crack your eggs and leave just the egg whites.

Put the broccoli in the bowl and mix well with the egg whites.

Add in a sprinkle of parsley, pepper, and salt. Then add in the bread crumbs. Mix everything well- add in more bread crumbs if you want it more breaded.

Lightly spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Pour the broccoli onto the cookie sheet. Flip the florets so that they are facing stem up.

Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

After about 7 minutes take a spatula and unstick them from the bottom of the pan and then bake the rest of the time.

When done, enjoy with some chicken or use it as a healthy snack!

I really like this recipe because it’s easy and the broccoli turns out so crispy and delicious. If you’re feeling bold, add a spicy dipping sauce- yum.

Enjoy!

-Ena

Chocolate Chip & Almond Cookie Bars

Hello and welcome back from my holiday hiatus. The holidays were a time of incredible amounts of food and I was mostly in a coma from eating. Now that I am back, it’s time for some yummy goodness. Here is a delish and easy cookie bar recipe. Here’s what you’ll need:

2 ¼ cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks of softened unsalted butter
½ cup of brown sugar
½ cut of regular sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (or extract, I used sugar)
2 eggs
½ cup of dark chocolate chips
½ cup of crushed almonds

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Get out 2 bowls.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl.

In another bowl, mix the butter, both sugars, and vanilla. I used my hands but you can use a mixer if you have a low setting, otherwise it’ll make a mess. Once these ingredients are well combined, mix in one egg at a time.

Then, add in half of the flour mixture, mix again with your hands or mixer. Then the other half. Make sure it is all combined well.

Grease a cookie sheet – I used a smaller casserole like dish because I didn’t want very thin cookie bars. Evenly place the dough onto the sheet using your hands to smooth it out. Word of caution, this dough is VERY sticky. I used one hand to pour it in and do the initial smoothing then my clean hand to really smooth it out. The dough will stick to any surface that has dough on it.

Then, I sprinkled the chocolate chips and almonds on top. You can do whatever you like on top. Once you have the dough down, you can add in white chocolate chips and cranberries or raising and walnuts. The possibilities are up to you!

 

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the edges start to brown a bit.

Let it cool entirely before cutting it up.

This recipe is fairly easy and versatile and it turned out DELISH. I will definitely be making it again soon because it was just too yummy to pass up.

Enjoy!

-Ena

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies <3 Olivia

Christmas cookies… I have been on a sweets binge and it is mostly due to the huge amount of yummy cookies that my mom made. This recipe is from Martha Steward and they were soo delicious. The chocolate thumbprint stays soft and fudge-like. This recipe makes about 50 cookies.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies:

– 1 cup and 3 tbs. butter, at room temperature
– 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 2 tsp. vanilla extract
– 2 & 1/2 cups flour
– 3 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, chopped
– 1 tsp. corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1. In a large bowl, beat together 1 cup butter, the sugar, salt, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. You could probably do this without the electric mixer. Slowly beat in the flour.

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Form dough balls with your hands, using about 2 tbs. of dough per cookie. Place the balls on your baking sheets about 1 inch apart from one another. Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

3. Once the cookies are cool enough to touch, press a deep thumbprint in each cookie. Return cookies to the oven and continue baking until the edges begin to brown, about 7 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

4. In a very small pot, combine the chocolate, 3 tbs. butter, and corn syrup and heat on low, stirring constantly until it is combined and melted. Once it is melted, remove from heat.

5. Pour a small spoonful of chocolate into each thumbprint mold.

Enjoy 🙂 Olivia

Butternut Squash Risotto <3 Olivia

Another thing with butternut squash… I use it all the time but that is because it is delicious and good for you. The texture of this dish is great, I really enjoyed it. Risotto is time consuming because you need to constantly stir, so make this when you have 30 minutes to spend by the stove. I forgot to take a picture of this one but you should try it.

Butternut Squash Risotto:

– 1 large squash
– 3 or so cups chicken broth
– 1 cup water
– 6 tbs. butter
– 1 yellow onion, diced
– 4 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 bunch fresh sage, finely diced (about 4-5 tbs.)
– 1 cup arborio (risotto) rice
– 1/2 cup white wine
– 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
1. Cut the squash in half, vertically. Scoop out the seeds and reserve for roasting into a nutritious snack. Peel one half of your squash and dice into 1 inch cubes.

2. Lay out the squash half (face side down) and the diced squash pieces on a baking pan with olive oil. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until tender when pierced. Toss once halfway through roasting.

3. Once the squash is done, remove it from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Place the diced pieces in a large bowl. Scoop the squash from the vertical half and place in the bowl with the diced pieces. Set aside.

4. Heat the chicken broth and water in a medium pot over medium heat on the stove. Bring the mixture to a simmer.

5. In another large sauce pan, melt your butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until fragrant.

6. Stir in your risotto (to the butter mixture) and add the wine. Stir constantly until the wine is absorbed. Stir in the chicken broth and water mixture (that is still simmering on the stove) into the butter mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Wait until the risotto absorbs the broth before adding more. Continue to stir constantly and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the risotto is tender but still al dente.

7. Stir in the roasted squash that you set aside earlier. Stir in the parmesan cheese and sage. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Enjoy ❤ Olivia

Sauteed Mushrooms and Quinoa as a Dinner Side

So I needed some yummy sides with the teriyaki glazed salmon so I made 2 sides. Quinoa and some sautéed mushrooms. Here’s what you’ll need:

1 package of cut up mushrooms
1 egg
¼ cup of milk
1 tablespoon of sour cream
Parsley
Crushed red peppers
Crushed black pepper
Quinoa

First, follow the instructions for the quinoa. I made 1 cup of uncooked quinoa which made 3 cups cooked. I added in sprinkles or the red pepper, parsley, and black pepper to give it some kick. I suggest adding a little bit more water than the bag says- but I like my quinoa super fluffy so do whatever works for you!

While that’s cooking, throw your mushrooms into a skillet with a little olive oil and cook on medium heat.


After they start to cook, add in some red pepper and black pepper. After they are cooking for about 5 minutes, mix the milk, egg, and sour cream in a bowl.

When well mixed, pour over the mushrooms. Add in a little bit more red pepper and some parsley. Mix well and turn the heat up a few notches, I let this cook for about 5-7 minutes.

The quinoa will be just about done now.

I placed these two with the salmon and it was sucha good combination of flavors! Also, I sprinkled a little bit of parm on the quinoa- yum.

Enjoy!

-Ena

Teriyaki Glazed Salmon

My turn to cook dinner! I was super craving some fish so I made my favorite, salmon. I love teriyaki and was wanting some Asian flavors so I came up with this! Here’s what you’ll need:

Wild Salmon – I made about 1.25 pounds
4 heaping tablespoons of teriyaki (whatever kind you want)
1 tablespoon of honey
Parsley
Crushed red pepper
Cracked black pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cut up the salmon into whatever sized filet you want. I do not remove the skin because I think it makes the fish tastier/maintain the juices and flavors. Mine made 5 filets.

In a bowl, mix the teriyaki and honey.

Tear apart as many pieces of foil as you need based on you cut the fish.

Place each filet on a piece of foil and use a brush (or just a spoon) to put the teriyaki mixture on each filet- I didn’t put too much but enough to really glaze each part of the fish.

Then sprinkle a little parsley, red pepper, and black pepper on each piece of fish.

Crinkle the tops of the foil so you cannot see the fish inside or you can barely see it. It’s not necessary to make sure they’re fully invisible. Place in an oven safe dish.

Bake for about 20 minutes. I’d say 15-20 minutes per pound of fish is usually a pretty good rule.

When done, either eat right from the foil or use a spatula and remove. It was really good! The sweet and savory flavors definitely played together really well. We could smell the sweetness from the teriyaki sauce and honey while it was baking. Sooo delish. I made mushrooms and quinoa to compliment the salmon. I will post that next. I absolutely recommend this recipe if you like salmon!

Enjoy!

-Ena

Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

Time to play the “I need to get all this food out of my apartment” game! So, I had 2 very sad, very bruised bananas staring at me today. I needed to use them up before they went bad – I hate throwing food away, especially fruit. So, I decided to have some fun and make chocolate banana bread! Here’s what you’ll need:

2 VERY ripe medium sides bananas
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar or vanilla extract ( I used sugar)
¾ cup of light brown sugar
¾ stick of butter
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all purpose white flour
1.5 tablespoons of dark chocolate cocoa (you all know I’m a huge loved of Hershey’s)
Cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

First, use a fork to mash up the bananas in a big bowl, don’t do this too much- leave lots of lumps.

Then add in the baking powder and egg and keep using the fork to mash.

Next, add the salt, vanilla and sugar and keep mixing until they are all dissolved.

Melt the butter in the microwave and mix until it is almost completely dissolved.

Add in the flours, one half of a cup out at a time, mixing them thoroughly. And sprinkle some cinnamon into the dough- do this to your liking. I like cinnamon so I gave it a good sprinkle!

Finally, add in the dark chocolate cocoa and mix well.

Lightly spray a bread/cake pan and evenly pour the dough into it.

I added some crushed almonds on top.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Take out and let cool when done. Then cut up and enjoy!

Banana anything is always a yes for me so I love this. It’s so delicious for dessert or with some coffee in the morning. Simple and easy recipe AND you most likely have everything that is in this recipe at home already.

Enjoy!

-Ena

VERY Veggie “Lasagna”

I put lasagna in quotes because this really isn’t a lasagna as much as it’s veggies on top of veggies on top of veggies. I forgot to take a picture of this- my apologies. But it was too yummy not to share. Also, we’ve been slacking with updating and this recipe is perfect to use up veggies left over in your house! Here’s what you’ll need:

1 zucchini
1 cup of diced up kale
½ cup of diced up tomatoes
¾ cup of black beans
1 cup of diced up broccoli flourets
1.5 cup of your favorite pasta sauce – I’ve recently discovered Trader Joe’s brand organic sauce. So healthy and 50 calories per ½ cup!!)
¼ cup of your favorite shredded cheese
2 lasagna pasta noodles (the ones that don’t need precooking)
Basil
Parsley

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Take a small lasagna dish and lightly spray nonstick cooking spray on it.

Then cup up the tomatoes, broccoli, and the zucchini and very thin slices.

Pour some sauce on the bottom of the dish and use a spoon to evenly spread it on the bottom. Then line it with kale, broccoli, then the zucchini, add some beans and tomatoes. Then pour a little more sauce on that. Sprinkle basil and parsley on top.

Line the 2 noodles on top of the vegetables.

Then repeat the same on top. Sauce, kale, broccoli, zucchini, beans, tomatoes, sauce, and spices again.

Finally, evenly sprinkle the cheese on top of the veggies and sauce.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Serve hot and ENJOY! I hope you now understand why I couldn’t call this a full on lasagna….it barely has any noodles in it. It’s so ultra healthy and it was delicious- I had to stop eating it!

Enjoy!

-Ena

Zucchini Pizza Boats

Insane healthy kick is still going strong. So after 2 classes of hot yoga this week I needed to keep going on my health kick. A nice vitamin packed lunch was necessary, so I decided to go to Trader Joe’s and make an organic and vegetarian meal! It took all of 30 minutes…SO EASY! Here’s what you’ll need:

2 medium sized zucchinis
1 cup of organic red pasta sauce
¼ cup of shredded cheese
½ cup of diced up mushrooms
Salt
Basil
Parsley

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the zucchini horizontally.

Then cut horizontal lines in the zucchini about halfway cut through the whole zucchini. I did about 4 lines per zucchini half.

Then take a spoon (teaspoon worked better for me) and scoop out the insides of the zucchini while still leaving about ¼ on the sides and bottom making the boat shape.

Take a cookie sheet and spray it with nonstick spray (not sure if this is necessary but I did it anyway!). Then line up your zucchini.

Fill the insides with the red pasta sauce about ½- ¾ of the way.

Then line with as many mushrooms as you want.

Then sprinkle some cheese on top and some salt, parsley, and basil- I honestly just sprinkled a little on each one.

Put in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.

Enjoy hot! These were yummy, easy, and totally veggie!! I added a little bit of Greek yogurt on the side to dip these in and it was such a great combination of flavors. What’s easy about these is you can add in whatever meats or veggies you want. The zucchini doesn’t even taste like a vegetable! It honestly just takes on the flavors you add to it. I cannot wait to eat leftovers tomorrow. Yum.

Enjoy!

-Ena