Greek Vegetable and Feta Salad with Grilled Chicken

This has been one of my favorites recently. I wanted a salad but was out of lettuce- I improvised and haven't looked back! I do still enjoy a lettuce salad but this is so good with a piece of grilled chicken, fish, or shrimp that I make it about once a week now. Feel free to add or subtract any ingredients to your liking!

Ingredients
-1 tomato, diced
-1 red bell pepper (or yellow, or orange), chopped
-1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
-1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
-1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbles or chopped into small cubes
-1/4 cup mint, chopped
-1/4 cup basil, chopped
-juice of one lemon
-1 garlic clove, minced
-1/4 cup olive oil
-salt and pepper
-2 pieces of fish (any white fish works well), 2 chicken breasts, or 2 shrimp skewers

Directions
-Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and 1 tsp each salt and pepper. Pour half of the dressing on the meat or fish to marinate while you are composing the salad.
-Toss chopped vegetables with the mint, basil, olives, and feta cheese. Pour remainder of dressing onto salad and toss. Salt and pepper to taste.
-Grill or bake the meat/fish and serve with a scoop of the salad. I like to use a little bit of fresh basil or mint as a garnish.

Notes: Depending on how much salad you'd like to serve with each piece of meat, this recipe can make anywhere between 2-4 portions. Enjoy!!

Summer Spaghetti

My mom brought this recipe home from a trip that she went on earlier this summer and it has quickly become a staple in my house. It is so easy and everyone loves it. Unlike most tomato sauces, it requires no cooking. I like to serve it room temperature over just cooked pasta so that it is warm but not hot, and lately I've been serving it without pasta as a garnish/side to fish or chicken. You can also use it for bruschetta if you have leftovers. I love using fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden when they are available, but store bought ingredients work just as well. I usually serve the spaghetti with a side of sliced grilled chicken, shrimp, or a fresh white fish, like swordfish or sea bass.

 Ingredients:

-6 tomatoes, diced

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-1/2 white onion, minced

-2 tbs capers

-1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives

-1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

-2 tbs red wine vinegar

-1/4 cup olive oil

-salt and pepper to taste

-1 box spaghetti

Directions:

-Toss everything together in a bowl.

-Cook spaghetti and toss sauce with warm pasta. Serve immediately.

-Note- sauce can be made ahead of time.

Cookie Bars

This is a super easy recipe that my mom used to make for us when we were little. I was recently looking for a good cookie/brownie alternative and remembered these. They are so good and so simple! I also like to freeze half the batch after they cook and cool so that I can have them on hand for an impromptu dessert. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

-1/2 c butter
-1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs (I make my own in my mini cuisinart but buying the pre made is a good timesaver)
-1.5 cups chocolate chips (if you are in the mood, you can swap in PB chips for a change)
-1 and 1/3 cups coconut flakes (I prefer sugar free)
-1 cup chopped walnuts
-1 can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350.
-Melt butter in a 9x13 pan (I usually stick both in the oven while it's preheating)
-Mix graham cracker crumbs in with the butter to make the "crust," then press the mixture firmly into an even layer on the bottom of the pan.
-Layer the rest of the ingredients in the order listed.
-Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over everything.
-Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, or until cookie bars are golden brown.

Homemade Granola

I recently made this for my sister's bachelorette party so the girls would have something healthy to eat for breakfast and to snack on. It is super easy and totally worth the 10 minutes it takes to put everything together. If you would like, you can add dried fruit after you bake it so that you have something you can take on the go that's got some fruit mixed in. I love to eat it in the morning for breakfast with vanilla yogurt and fresh fruit, and sometimes I'll even make a strawberry ice cream cone and dip it in the granola. It is awesome, inexpensive, and so good for you.

Ingredients:

-2 cups rolled oats (not quick cook)

-1 cup shredded coconut (I use unsweetened)

-1 cup sliced almonds

-1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or cashews

-1/3 cup olive oil

-1/4 cup honey

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

-Preheat the oven to 300.

-In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla.

-In a large bowl, toss the oats with the nuts and coconut.

-Pour the liquid over the oats and stir until everything is evenly coated.

-Spread onto a cookie sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes, mixing the granola every 20 minutes to make sure it cooks evenly.

Shrimp Tacos with Jalapeno Lime Slaw and Corn, Bean, and Avocado Salsa

I came up with this recipe recently when my sister had a bunch of girls down to Palm Beach for her Bachelorette party. I wanted to make a lunch that was fun, easy, and could serve a lot of people (18 to be exact!). I thought a South Florida take on fish tacos would be great. The shrimp can be skewered in advance and frozen (they take about 20 minutes to defrost), and you can prepare almost everything in advance as well. It is a super versatile meal because you can add in a chicken breast or two and slice them up for anyone that doesn't like fish, and you can serve a green salad using the marinade as the dressing so that anyone off the carbs can make their meal into a salad. Everything tastes really fresh and flavorful and it is definitely something I will incorporate into the routine this summer! h/t to my sister Marguerite for the salsa recipe.

The first thing you want to make is the marinade for the shrimp which you can use as salad dressing. You can refrigerate that for as long as you need to (I did mine on a Thursday for a Saturday lunch). The slaw you can make in the morning and let marinate in the fridge until you're ready to serve it, and the corn, bean, and avocado salsa you'll want to make last since it's got the avocados in it. It is also great with tortilla chips as an appetizer. You don't need to marinate the shrimp for too long, but when I am going to make this for dinner I put them in a ziploc or bowl of marinade at least 15 min before cooking, and skewer them right before putting them on the grill. If you have a grill basket you can use that as well.

Shrimp Marinade/Salad Dressing (enough for a pound of shrimp- double if you want salad dressing or more marinade)

Ingredients:
-Juice of 2 limes
-1/4 c olive oil
-1 tbs red wine vinegar
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tsp each salt and pepper
-1 tsp honey, to taste (for salad dressing only, to cut the acid from the lime juice)

Directions:
-Whisk all ingredients together. Pour over shrimp on skewers or in a bowl. I usually budget about 6-8 shrimp per person.

 Slaw

Ingredients:
-1/2 head of cabbage (I used red, green is fine as well)
-1/2 red onion
-1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
-1/2 minced jalapeno, seeds removed (add more or less depending on how spicy you want it and save the other half for the salsa)
-Dressing: whisk together 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 tbs honey, juice of 1 lime, and 1/2 tsp each salt, pepper and cumin

Directions:
-Thinly slice the vegetables and toss together with the cilantro and jalapeno
-Toss with the dressing; Salt and pepper to taste.
-Set in fridge until read to serve.

Corn, Bean, and Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:
-1 can corn, drained and rinsed
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 red pepper, chopped finely
-1/2 red onion, chopped finely
-1/4 cup chopped cilantro
-1/2 minced jalapeno (remove seeds)
-1 avocado, diced
-Dressing: whisk together the juice of 1 lime, 1 tbs red wine vinegar, 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

Directions:
-Toss all ingredients together with the dressing. The acid in the dressing will prevent the avocado from turning brown.

Taco Assembly:
-Serve each person a skewer with about 6 shrimp on it. Set out tortillas, the slaw, and salsa. Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Brownies

I've been in the mood for brownies lately and had never made them from scratch, so I decided to try out a few recipes. This one was by far the winner. The brownies are a little bit lighter (in texture) than regular brownies, but still chewy and rich. They are the perfect degree of sweetness, and super chocolatey. And total bonus- they are dairy free. I sprinkled the top of the brownies with a little bit of sugar which gave them a nice thin crust on top but is totally optional. I ate a brownie after lunch just by itself, but you could make a pretty tasty brownie sundae if you have ice cream on hand.

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 c flour
-2/3 c cocoa powder
-1 1/2 c sugar
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/2 c olive oil
-2/3 c soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, or any kind of milk besides regular cow milk (I used cashew milk- to make it you blend 1/2 c cashews with about 3/4 c coconut water until smooth)
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-1 egg

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan with olive oil.
-Sift together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
-Whisk or mix together the olive oil, milk, vanilla, and egg until blended.
-Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix together.
-Spread batter into pan (I used my hands to flatten/even it out); sprinkle sugar on top (optional)
-Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Homemade Hummus

I was asked to bring hummus to a dinner party a week ago. I have never made it, but thought it looked like something fun to try. I also love restaurant hummus- the kind that is really smooth and garlicky, so I thought I would try to replicate that with my cuisinart (if you want to make really chunky hummus, you can use a potato masher to do it but I think it is much easier in a food processor). I did some research and eventually combined several recipes and added some of my own touches after tasting it. The result was absolutely delicious, and there was hardly any left! I made an incredibly large bath, but feel free to halve it if you aren't serving an army. I bought fresh pitas from a local Mediterranean restaurant, but store bought are equally as good if you put them in the oven for a couple of minutes to warm them up beforehand. Notes: I made my hummus pretty garlicky which everyone seemed to love. If you are planning on making out later in the evening, feel free to lessen the amount.

Hummus

Ingredients:
-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
-4 cans of chickpeas, drained with the liquid reserved
-3/4 cup tahini paste (this is Middle Eastern sesame paste that can be found in your local grocery store- ask where it is when you are there)
-salt, to taste, about 2 tbs
-2 tbs hot sauce
-1 tbs paprika
-3 tbs olive oil
-1-2 tbs lemon juice, the juice of about 1/2 a lemon

Directions:
-Put garlic in the food processor until it is very finely chopped.
-Add the chickpeas and process until those are finely chopped.
-Add the tahini paste and process until it is mixed in.
-Add liquid from the cans of chickpeas until the hummus is the consistency you would like. I added about 1 cup.
-Add the paprika, hot sauce, olive oil, salt, and lemon juice. Process until mixed in.
-Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.
-Serve with pitas and assorted fresh vegetables.