foodie wednesday: hearty lunch

with all this cold(ish) weather we've been having here, i've been totally feeling hearty food - soup, chili and red wine (is that a food?).  the other day, trying to satisfy my fall-food craving, i made a simple, yet completely delicious meal. 

here's what i came up with:

1 link chicken sausage - used sweet italian, but my real favorite is spinach & feta
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup water
1 tsp olive oil
1 small tomato, sliced
basil
salt & pepper

serves 1

1. put olive into a saute pan and heat.  after a moment, add the (defrosted) link of chicken sausage and enjoy the "sizzle".

2. allow the sausage to get a crispy coating on both sides before adding the onion & mushrooms.  saute the veggies and then cut the sausage into chunks to make certain they cook all the way through.

3. cover and continue to cook.  (if veggies and/or chicken are starting to stick, add 1/4 cup of water before covering.)

4. when chicken is cooked thoroughly and onions & mushrooms are caramelized, season with salt & pepper.

5. serve with fresh tomato and basil.

after my habitual cut-and-mix-mix-and-cut

this meal was the perfect size for a hearty lunch but could definitely work for any meal!  you could whip up some scrambled eggs and serve this as a side, or you could add the mixture to pasta or top couscous with it.  yum!

bon appetit : )

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recipe for a looong weekend

friday evening

• happy hour at bobby’s (more bobby's fun here)
• sushi at 86 west

saturday morning

• vinyasa yoga class

saturday afternoon

• visits to garden centers to gather veggies to plant in garden

• then once back at home plant lettuce, tomatoes, peppers & zucchini.  some of our garden is in the shade so I was on the hunt for vegetables that do well in partial shade – lettuce being one of them.  other semi-shade-tolerate veggies?  beans, peas, root veggies like potatoes and carrots, brussels sprouts, kale, spinach and herbs.

saturday evening

• fire up the grill (steak for craig, veggies for me)
• grill-top veggie packets: cube potatoes, red bell peppers and any other veggies you like.  (i added green onion and whole garlic cloves to ours.)  sprinkle with salt & pepper.  season with fresh herbs & spices.  drizzle with olive oil.  place in a foil packet.  cook over medium heat on covered grill for 20-30 min or until potatoes are tender.  

olive & craig

• craig set up a table and chairs in our back yard and we enjoyed dinner al fresco while olive played in the yard.  simply fabulous.

sunday morning

• walk in doylestown with olive.  even at 9am it was HOT!

• back home for breakfast and to get ready to head over to my parents' for memorial day weekend fun

sunday afternoon

• chillin’ outside and visiting with family while olive played with her buddies, colby & duncan

sunday evening

• meet with cate & chad for drinks in lambertville (they’re just 3 weeks from their wedding so there was a lot of excitement in the air)
• if you find yourself in lambertville, nj and go to libations for drinks, order a “tight dress” – a delicious vodka & champagne cocktail

monday morning

• low key morning – prepped some sides for our memorial day dinner

• quinoa with sautéed red onions, mushrooms & fresh thyme
• red cabbage & carrot slaw with sesame dressing

 monday afternoon

• head over to erin & brian’s for lunch and swimming (and delicious drinks)

• spiked arnold palmer: 1 shot sweet tea vodka over ice, topped with lemonade.  they were honestly a little too good.

monday evening

• back to mom & dad’s for casual outdoor dinner
• homemade turkey burgers with mom’s basil & pinenut pesto
• two salads – quinoa and slaw (that hannah and i made earlier)
• fresh greens (from our garden)
• sweet cherries

lovely long weekend.  how was your weekend?.

simple broccoli salad

yesterday, i made a broccoli salad inspired by a recipe my mom used to make each spring.  this fresh salad has a sweet/tangy dressing and is the perfect side dish for a brunch or bbq.

2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups shredded carrots/cabbage/broccoli
1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp mayonnaise
salt & pepper

1. mix the broccoli, shredded veggies, pecans and raisins in a medium bowl.

2. in a separate small bowl, combine syrup, vinegar and mayo.  whisk.

3. drizzle dressing over veggie mixture and toss.

4. season with salt and pepper.
recipe makes 4 side-dish size servings.

this salad is best if made a bit ahead of time.  cover and place in fridge for 2 hours - overnight to let the flavor marinate.  yum!  the crunchy, tangy, sweet goodness is just fantastic.

on a different note...

i'm looking forward to my friend, cate's, wedding shower this weekend.  keep your fingers-crossed that it won't rain on sunday!  we already experienced torrential downpours the weekend of her bachelorette party... 

what are you up to this weekend?.

{heart} day menu for two: pizza & wine

picture credit {here}



this valentine’s craig and i are staying in. we celebrated with an evening on the town this past saturday.  cocktails at left bank libations.  sushi dinner at our favorite japanese place, ota-ya.  after-dinner drinks at marsha brown’s upstairs bar.  so tonight, we’re keeping it low-key.  but low-key does not have to mean boring or not special…

ever since we started dating, our “date-night-in” default has been pizza & wine.  it’s become such a tradition that craig and i have developed pizza & wine telepathy.  we can just glance in each other’s direction, and we’ll simultaneously blurt out “pizza and wine tonight?”.  we sometimes go for gourmet, homemade pies…sometimes for papa john’s.  either way, it’s the perfect date-night-in menu.  so when it came to our february 14th meal, i couldn’t think of anything more us.  i mean really, what could be better than a homemade (possibly heart-shaped) pizza and a bottle of red, white, rosé or bubbly (whatever your preference) to make it extra special?!

picture credit {here}

dinner – homemade pizza for two

use ¼ of bread dough recipe or buy prepared pizza crust or dough at your grocery store or from your local pizza place

my toppings of choice: caramelized onions, sautéed red peppers, mozzarella, provolone & parmesan, any fresh herbs on hand, good red sauce (but really, top it with anything you love)

the essentials: salt, pepper, olive oil

preheat oven to 425
place dough on oiled (and “cornmealed”, optional) baking sheet or pizza stone and spread to desired thickness/shape
arrange toppings (the more, the better : )
drizzle with olive oil. sprinkle with salt and pepper.
bake for 20 or minutes until golden brown and bubbly
sprinkle with fresh herbs
allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting (or eating!)

dessert – chocolate-covered strawberries
melt chocolate over double-boiler (i.e. a glass or ceramic bowl over a pot ½ full of slow boiling water)
dip fresh strawberries (cover generously : ) you can also dip banana chucks, apples, pineapple, marshmallows, graham crackers, cookies, brownies, rice krispies treats, spoons, fingers
place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper
allow to cool in fridge for an hour or so (make no more than 2-3 days in advance)

picture credit {here}

drink – red wine
buy
chill for just 20 min prior to drinking to bring down temp slightly
uncork
drink

and remember, don’t worry if your pizza’s not perfect. ugly pizza tastes just as good : ) happy {heart} day!

so, are you red, white, rosé or bubbly?

and congratulations to karina cifuentes!!! the winner of the raymer’s gourmet chocolate giveaway! <3

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