Massaged Lacinato Kale Salad

I am OBSESSED with this salad. Obsessed. To be fair, I love kale, but I’m convinced someone not familiar with kale would love this too. This is the first time I’ve ever tried kale raw, and now I would like to eat a gallon of this salad every day. Dressed simply with a lemon and garlic dressing, this salad is a perfect side dish for summer as it requires virtually zero cooking.

Lighter Chicken PIccata

I don’t think I’ve ever talked about workouts on this blog before (except maybe for a passing thought about needing to get to the gym after a particularly decadent post), but I wanted to mention that I’m currently in the middle of week four of the exercise portion of Jamie Eason’s Livefit 12-week Trainer and absolutely LOVING it. The first phase (month) of this program is straight up strength training and I’ve been trying to track my nutrition pretty closely as well to see where I’m at. I find that I consume way less protein than my body needs, especially while trying to build serious muscle, so I’ve been looking for more protein-dense meals lately. Lean chicken breast is a given, so I have been enjoying trying some ‘basic’ / classic chicken recipes lately. Chicken piccata sounded particularly appealing since I heart capers (and garlic and lemon and wine…). This meal is a relatively easy weeknight dinner with great, fresh flavors. Enjoy!

P.S.: If you want to hear more about Livefit, let me know and maybe I’ll do a post covering it!

Tuna and White Bean Salad

I’m always on the look out for healthy lunches that can be made with ingredients I always have. This salad is a perfect example — delicious!

Greek Meatballs with Egg-Lemon Sauce

Around 3pm today I was hit with a strong craving for greek food, but since my favorite greek restaurants are both 45 minutes away from my home, I would have to come up with other options for this weeknight. My specific craving was for roasted lamb and rice with egg lemon sauce. While there was no way I was going to pull off a roasted leg of lamb on a Monday night after work and the gym, I could definitely do meatballs. I learned how to make Avgolemono soup at a cooking class last Spring at Eurostoves, I figured that if I thickened it up it could definitely work as a sauce for the meatballs. I was right! This definitely hit the spot for tonight, I will definitely need to hit up the Olympia or Phoenician restaurants soon!

Mini Lemon Rosemary Muffins

So, it’s safe to say that I’m mildly obsessed with this flavor profile (lemon/rosemary). These mini-muffins (of which I made 100 of!) are savory and just a little bit sweet, totally delicious, and will make excellent gifts.

Tilapia Piccata

Today I received a lesson in photography from my cousin Vito — light finder and tart baker extraordinaire. While my understanding of things like “color temperature” and a mysterious thing called “F stop”  is rudimentary at best, I managed to produce a couple of nice pics of tonight’s dinner with Vito’s tutelage (and equipment — thanks!).

Speaking of dinner, this fish was so good. And easy and fast, too. Will definitely be making this again!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil, and Salmon

For some reason, fish and pasta together always freaked me out a little. Until now. This is so good! We try to eat fish at least once a week, and everyone knows that fish must be fresh in order for it to be good. It’s best to cook fish the same day you buy it, but we squeak in a few extra hours and have been having fish every Monday after our Sunday shopping trip. This dish is so light and healthy, a great Fishy Monday recipe.

Open-Faced Egg Sandwich with Thyme Pesto and Lemon Cream

Brian and I have a new Friday night tradition: Breakfast for Dinner. Come Friday, we’re usually both so pooped and it’s a strained effort whenever we plan anything social. So, instead, we typically snug on the couch, watch Mad Men reruns, and eat amazing comfort food like this. If this makes us lame, I’m ok with it.

This meal is perfect after a long week. Not only is it delicious, much of it can be made in advance. I made the pesto earlier in the week (I made another batch after the first one I mentioned as it was a wee too garlicky. This one was delectable), and the lemon cream takes seconds to put together (although 30 minutes for the flavors to “mesh”), so it’s pretty much toasting bread and frying eggs. I can handle that, even after a long day/week.

Artichokes and Pork Sausage with Sage and Lemon

I’ve made this as an appetizer/first course/beginning dish for the all day eating marathon my family likes to call Thanksgiving a few times now and it’s always a big hit. I took a shortcut this year and used frozen artichokes — SOOOOOOOO much easier, and still very flavorful.  This would also be delicious over some spaghetti…yum.

Tilapia with Citrus Bagna Cauda

I was looking for interesting tilapia recipes and I was immediately drawn to this because it involves anchovies. I adore anchovies. There, I said it. I love anchovies so much, I may have tripled the amount I used in this recipe. They’re not fishy AT ALL — really. Trust me. Bagna Cauda translates to “hot bath” in Italian. I would not mind bathing in this. Num num num.

Sesame Seeded Perch with Lemon and Basil

After over-indulging on some very delicious, but very fried, chicken wings Saturday night, I decided to cook something a little lighter tonight for dinner. I went to the grocer without much of a plan, but that I would like seafood to be invited to the party. The perch looked super fresh, and since I hadn’t tried it yet before, it came home with me. Sauteed in a combination of smart balance and olive oil, the skin gets nice and crispy…and I’m a sucker for crispy skin. Perfect for a quick, healthy meal.

Lemon Poppy Chicken with Cheesy Peasy Rice

I was organizing my recipes this weekend and came across this one. This chicken is so good and perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

Smooshed Potatoes with Lemon and Herbs

This recipe was a wee bit labor intensive, but who can resist a fried smooshed potato?