Broccoli Cheddar Cupcakes

I have an aunt who has successfully been on weight watchers for like 20 years. She has these old school recipe books that I can’t even reference on the internet (imagine??). She made a copy of this recipe for me a while back and I’m a big fan. The one part that I find wee bit hilarious is that while this recipe boasts about being 2 ww points (with the old points system), there is itty bitty fine print that says that doesn’t include the biscuit. Ummm, huh? Either way – make these next time you want a snack!

Pan-Roasted Spiced Salmon

Dare I say this is the best salmon I’ve made? If you’re familiar at all with this blog you know I love salmon and it’s pretty much my ‘go-to fish’, but this was VERY good. Sweet and spicy (not in a heat way) – perfectly cooked (first seared on the stove and then finished gently in the oven) – Delicious flaky deliciousness. What can I say, we just loved it. Hope you do too!

Ginger and Cilantro Roasted Tilapia

This will surely be a weeknight staple. Extremely quick and easy and equally as tasty. Serve over some fragrant jasmine rice and you’re done. Win! Another for the ‘favorite’ file.

Summer Vegetable Skillet

Have you ever seen Put a Bird on It? The cast from Portlandia put birds on things. Once you watch this, you will definitely notice how many things have birds on them for absolutely no reason. I have fallen prey (haha, get it?) myself in buying things with random birds on them.

Anyway, I feel like I could do my own skit called “Put an Egg on It”. Eggs are probably my favorite food (at least in the top 5), and I feel like many, many dishes can be easily elevated by putting an egg on it. I put an egg on this summer veggie skillet (SO GOOD), and it was perfection. This skillet dish is also perfect for summer as it doesn’t require you to turn the oven on, which I certainly appreciate. I used some tomato and cheese chicken sausages I had from Costco, but you can use any pre-cooked chicken sausage. Delicious!

Corn Chowder with Shrimp and Chorizo

I almost titled this dish “OMG Corn Chowder with Shrimp and Chorizo”, because it’s SO. DAMN. GOOD. I took the leftovers to work today and I was literally splashing it around my desk because I was eating so enthusiastically. That’s normal, right?

Orange-Chipotle Black Beans

I love to serve beans alongside mexican (ish) fare, and this was a great find. This recipe comes from weight watchers and is yummy and easy! I did make a few changes to boost the flavor a bit.

Caramelized Onion and Zucchini Quiche

I poured through this month’s Cooking Light Sunday afternoon while sitting by my parent’s pool yesterday and immediately changed my menu plan for the week when I saw this quiche recipe. I love recipes that you can mostly make ahead and then just have hands-off time the night you want to eat it. Of course, when I told Brian that we needed to buy 13 zucchinis (5 for this recipe, 8 for another later this week), he was a little scared. Given that we consumed about a dozen of these babies last week, I’d say his fear was pretty understandable.

Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers

I realized yesterday that all of the meals I planned for this week were vegetarian – totally unintentionally. Well, not 100% unintentional, I suppose. I have been trying to eat less meat, especially since poultry has begun to ick me out. I even briefly considered doing a full-on 2-week vegan experiment for kicks, but, alas, cheese won out in that debate. My real goal for this week’s meal plan (a process on which I intend to do a separate post) was to cut the grocery budget a bit, and cutting meat is the best way to do that.

This black bean and quinoa burger appealed to me as soon as I saw it in its reincarnated form as quesadillas on foodgawker. I love the idea of “round 2″ recipes, especially since I have less and less desire to spend an hour in the kitchen at the end of a long day.

We both really enjoyed the burgers, but since I didn’t change much about the recipe, I hesitate to post it here. BUT, then I remembered the original purpose of this blog for me – to document recipes that I would like to make again. These burgers definitely fit in that category. We served them on toasted english muffins (probably my favorite sandwich vehicle) with some cilantro-lime mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato. Avocado and sriracha would have been nice additions too.

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.

Cashew Chicken

I don’t cook a lot of asian fare around here but I still have a fairly well stocked asian pantry because I’m a hoarder food shopping enthusiast. Even so, I was drawn to this recipe because it looked simple and the ingredients weren’t too exotic.  I added a bunch of extra veggies and doubled the sauce because I like things saucy, especially when served over rice.

Make Ahead Frozen Breakfast Burritos

These babies are our new best friend. I made a big batch of these on Sunday, wrapped them in plastic wrap, threw them in the freezer, and POOF, a hot, homemade breakfast that we could bring to work with us and reheat in no time. I made these with chicken sausage, but you could literally put anything you like in them. I am going to do a batch of bacon, egg, and cheese next week and another veggie filled batch in the very near future.

No Butter Chicken

NO butter chicken! I love me some butter chicken, a classic indian curry which usually relies on a few tabs of butter to add silkiness to the sauce. Not this one! And it’s still totally delicious. This is a cinch to make, and thanks to a well-stocked spice cabinet and pantry, I can whip this up any time I crave indian takeout, which is at least once a week! Score.

Lightened Swedish Meatballs

This was delicious! I’ve been craving swedish meatballs forever, and was even contemplating a trip to IKEA for a fix, but I really wanted something healthier. I found this recipe on Gina’s WW recipes and it’s a winner. Though, I did add some dill to the meatballs (I LOVE dill and had a bunch of it in the fridge already) and a pinch of cayenne to the sauce for a little heat. I served this up with some pappardelle from Trader Joe’s, but some whole grain egg noodles would also be great.

Chicken & Dumplings

We’re in the middle of a snowstorm here in Boston and this is some perfect comfort food for such an event. While this recipe uses some shortcuts (which I’m happy to use), it is still a super wholesome and delicious chicken soup. This base soup would be great with noodles instead of the dumplings too, if you want to mix it up.

Bacon and Butternut Squash Pasta (cooking light)

I knew when I saw this recipe in my inbox that I would be making it. My former roommate apparently thought the same thing because she forwarded the same recipe to me moments later saying, “I know you like bacon”. Well folks, it’s true. And this dish highlights it beautifully.

This recipe features a new sauce-making technique for me — “dry-roasting” flour before it’s eventually combined with milk to make a “roux”. That’s right — no fat of any kind in the roux. It felt weird, but I was willing to give it a shot in the name of lighter cooking, and it turned out great! The sauce is super creamy, with a nice tang thanks to the provolone. The butternut squash and bacon make this dish a-mazing. It’s a great weeknight meal because it can be made wholly in advance, or a few things can be done in advance (like prepping and roasting the squash, cooking the bacon and shallots, and storing it all together, like I did)

Pecan and Kidney Bean Burgers

These are going to be a regular staple in my house. They are SO delicious, especially compared to frozen store-bought veggie/bean burgers, AND they’re made from all real food — no preservatives or scary ingredients. The spice combination is fantastic — almost has a warm cinnamon note to it. The best part of these burgers is that almost all the ingredients can be kept in your pantry for a quick meal.

Roasted Pecan Salmon

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes for salmon. It’s super easy and so delicious.

Spiced Steak Salad

I was craving steak but wanted to keep it light. This recipe from Cooking Light calls for fat-free ranch dressing (which would be fine, but a little…boring), so I used my new favorite caesar dressing from Now Eat This!. The steak is spicy and delicious, made perfect with a cold, creamy dressing.

Turkey Burgers with Fennel and Basil

Turkey burgers are one of my favorite weeknight meals. Cheap, healthy, fast, easy. I enjoy all of these things after a long day. These turkey burgers are pretty basic, but the fennel seed adds a nice little unique touch.

Rosemary Sweet Potato Wedges

So, I’m kind of an herb snob. For herbs that I tend to use a lot (thyme, basil, rosemary, chives…to name a few), I am almost explicitly anti-dried herb. Why use dried if you can use fresh and it’s so much better? Well, after making these rosemary “fries” in no time and for like 4 cents, I may get it. Rosemary is one of my favorite flavors and scents, and the dried rosemary totally works in this and is so easy. I’m slowly getting it.

Rosemary Sweet Potato Wedges
serves 2 / 2 ww pts

Here’s what I used:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed (or 1 sprig of fresh, finely minced

Here’s what I did:

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. In a spice grinder or mortar & pestle, blitz the rosemary a bit so you don’t end up chewing on what will taste like sticks from your back yard.
3. Cut the potato into 8 lengthwise wedges and place on a nonstick baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and blitzed dried rosemary.
4. Roast for 15 minutes, toss around with tongs, and continue to roast until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes more.