simple toppings, dips & marinades

anything can be made better with a simple sauce or marinade.  you can turn bland chicken into a brilliant entree or a boring salad into an impressive side.  below are a few of my go-to favorites to zest up dinner any night of the week! toppings & dips:

1 avocado + 1 tbsp minced garlic + 1-2 tbsp grated parmesan mash all the ingredients together and use it on chicken, fish, rice or as a salad topping

credit {here}

1/4 cup mayo + 1 tsp curry mix together and use as a dipping sauce for sweet potato fries, beer battered fish or homemade chicken tenders

marinades:

1/4 cup mustard (any kind) + squeeze of lemon + salt & pepper coat 2 chicken breasts in this simple marinade and let them sit (in fridge) for at least an hour.  then pan saute in a bit of olive oil.

mustard marinade - credit {here}

2 tbsp teriyaki (or soy sauce) + 1 tsp minced garlic (bonus: + sesame seeds or sesame oil) marinate 2 fish filets in this asian-inspired sauce for at least 30 min before cooking.  try cooking your fish "en papillote" (i.e. in a foil packet with veggies).  it makes the fish super tender and ensures that it doesn't dry out!

do you have any simple cooking secrets to share?

 

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carrot ribbon salad

this super simple salad is the perfect summer side.  (you like all the alliteration?  thank you, ap english.)  anyway, if you have 5 min, you can pull it together...and it's so pretty : )

2 large carrots
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp teriyaki
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp chopped garlic

makes 2 side dish servings

1. peel the outer layer off the carrots and toss it
2. keep peeling...and peeling...
3. toss the ribbons with the soy, teriyaki, oil and garlic
4. done!

i didn't have any (unfortunately) but fresh chopped chives would be awesome on this! 

we enjoyed our carrot ribbon salad along with homemade turkey burgers, sweet potato fries with chipotle salsa dipping sauce and sauteed onions & zucchini.

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sweet potato fries

the other day at the natural foods market i found local sweet potatoes.  upon seeing them i knew what i wanted to make - baked sweet potato fries.

when i started peeling them, i noticed something peculiar.  the flesh was not bright orange, as i am accustomed to, it was pearly white.  hmmm...intriguing...

don't worry, they tasted amazing - even better than the orange-colored fries i've made before.  i'm not sure if it was the fact that they were fresh & local or perhaps white-fleshed sweet potatoes are just better, but they were seriously the sweetest sweet potatoes i've ever enjoyed.

1 large sweet potato (will make 2 hearty side portions or 4 small servings)
1-2 tsp olive oil
salt & cracked pepper
red curry

preheat oven to 400

1. peel the potato and cut into 1/4 in sticks

2. place on an oiled baking sheet and spray/drizzle with more olive oil

one of my favorite cooking tools -  my olive oil mister

3. season with salt, pepper and curry and give them a light toss

4. make sure fries are laying flat on the baking sheet, and bake for 25-35 min until golden brown, flipping fries 1/2 way through

we enjoyed ours with an easy dipping sauce i whipped up quickly.

1 part bbq sauce
4 parts salsa

i used honey bbq for subtle sweetness and corn & chipotle salsa for a little smoky heat.  yum!

p.s. oh happy day is giving away a 7 day trip to PARIS for 2!  enter {here}

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recipe for a looong weekend

friday evening

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?.