Post sponsored by Barilla. See below for more details.

Before spring starts to show, I wanted to share one last cozy pasta meal. This lentil rotini pasta features easy garlicky kale, a no-cook goat cheese sauce, and Barilla Red Lentil Rotini. The spirals in the rotini are perfect for soaking up that saucy-goodness!

All the Greens

Goat Cheese: love it or leave it

Vegan? Yes!

Barilla’s Red Lentil Rotini Pasta

[tasty-recipe id="37907"]

Disclosure: This recipe was created in partnership with Barilla. All thoughts and opinions are my own. It’s content like this that helps me keep this site running to provide the vegetarian recipes you see every week. continue reading

The post Lentil Rotini with Garlicky Kale and Goat Cheese Sauce appeared first on Naturally..

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Love for the Avocado Toast recipe is still going strong and these easy twists on the classic are hard to resist. Three ways to make Avocado Toast in minutes, this is the perfect breakfast, lunch or snack.

When I’m looking for a quick, light meal, nothing satisfies me more than a lightly toasted slice of good bread topped with creamy avocado. It’s my go-to snack when I’m in a hurry or just plain old lazy. Mixing it up with a variety of toppings is the ultimate way to avoid boredom of your Avocado Toast obsession.

What is Avocado Toast?

If you’re wondering what Avocado Toast is then you must not get out much. Just kidding!  Avocado Toast is toast with mashed or sliced avocado on top. It’s kind of Instagram famous because some people have gotten pretty creative with their avocado toast recipes topping it with all different types of ingredients.

How do you make Avocado Toast?

Making your avocado toast is really easy to do. You can keep it pretty simple by toasting up a slice of your favorite bread and then topping it with fresh avocado.  I like to mash up the avocado directly in the “shell” of the avocado saving myself a bowl then spreading the mashed avocado like butter on my slice of toast.

Season lightly with salt and pepper OR top with your favorite toppings.

Here are three ways I like to be a little more EXTRA with my Avocado Toast recipe:

Mediterranean Avocado Toast

Mediterranean Avocado Toast with tomatoes, feta, chives and balsamic glaze is my go to SAVORY Avocado Toast recipe.  It’s really simple to make all year round since grape tomatoes are great to eat winter, spring, summer and fall.

Bacon and Egg Avocado Toast:

For a more breakfast-y type of avocado toast, this Bacon and Egg Avocado Toast is simply fantastic. AND it’s a breeze to whip up if you keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge at all times like I do. I also like to use a sweet bread, like cinnamon raisin, for this version. The sweet and savory goes so well together.

Everything Spice Avocado Toast:

Want to keep it simple but punch up the flavor a little bit?  This Everything Spice Avocado Toast is just the ticket! Thinly sliced avocado on a sourdough bread is sprinkled with my favorite seasoning ever: Everything Bagel Spice!  Trader Joe’s and other specialty markets usually carry this unique blend of spices.

If you’re looking for MORE easy Avocado recipes, you might like to try:

• Spinach Salad with Chicken, Avocado and Goat Cheese
• Chicken Fajita Stuffed Avocado
• Avocado Egg Salad Tea Sandwiches
• Strawberry Avocado Salad with Balsamic Chicken
• Easy Avocado Ranch Dressing

The post Avocado Toast Three Ways appeared first on Recipe Girl®.

You guys know me by now. I take any and every excuse for celebration and do my best to turn it into a full-on party. Maybe it’s because I love my friends; maybe it’s because I love seeing fresh-cut flowers and balloons scattered about my house. Whatever the case may be, I adore the party planning process, particularly as it pertains to selecting a menu and theme. These white chocolate cheesecake tartlets were among the goodies I shared at a gathering a few weeks ago, and I’m thrilled to get to chat about them with you all today as the last installment of this year’s #monthofchocolate.

Brett and I attend a couple’s small group at our church on Sunday mornings. It’s a mix of couples, mostly married and some not, ranging in age from late twenties to late fifties-ish, and it is such a healthy and life-giving thing for us. In an effort to get out of the “classroom” and really just have fun, we decided to have a Valentine’s Day Italian dinner. I bought big, shiny heart-shaped balloons and tacky heart confetti and banners to put around my house. We drank wine and ate big pans of my mother-in-law’s lasagna by the candlelight provided from leftover glass votives and tea lights from our wedding. It was entirely cheesy and unnecessary, but even as I sit here typing, I’m totally smiling big because it was just so fun. It feels good to unplug, connect, and have silly, easy conversation with people that love you back.

Dessert was all chocolate, partly due to theme and partly out of sheer convenience. In the throws of testing recipes for #monthofchocolate, I was overrun with test batches of flourless chocolate cake, vegan fluffernutter cookies, and these cutie little white chocolate cheesecake tartlets. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to share bites of tester tastes to friends who wouldn’t judge a work in progress recipe. All in all, the night was terrific, and I’m thrilled that you get a taste of that evening today with this elegant and simple recipe.

These white chocolate cheesecake tartlets are a variation of a no-bake cheesecake that I’ve been making for years. The crust is a sweet and crumbly shortbread and is the only portion of the recipe that requires any time in the oven at all. With few ingredients involved, I lean on Kerrygold’s salted butter for flavor and quality. As with most shortbreads, the flavor of this crust is seriously buttery, and I prefer to use a product that has the just-right balance between sweet and salty. This crust, quite literally, melts in your mouth and there’s not doubt in my mind that Kerrygold butter plays a starring role in that.

The filling here (made in the microwave, btw!) is nothing more than cream cheese, chopped white chocolate, and a little bit of sugar and vanilla for flavor. The mixture gets folded into whipped cream and it sets up in the fridge to a soft-cheesecake consistency. The fancy show-stopper of these white chocolate cheesecake tartlets is the blood orange swirl. A simple sauce made from blood orange juice, sugar, and cornstarch comes together on the stove and sets to a thick saucy consistency. The mixture can be used in a number of ways (think flavored cocktails, cake fillings, toast toppings, and ice cream compotes!), but here, we use it for it’s floral tang, mild sweetness, and stunning color. You can use a store-bought jam or sauce here in a pinch, but I love putting that fleeting winter produce to use.

I finished off the white chocolate cheesecake tartlets with candied walnuts that I purchased from the store, but this is entirely unnecessary. You can serve solo or opt to finish off with more sauce, whipped cream, or even little ginger cookie crumbles. Find something with texture in your pantry and HAVE AT IT. These little white chocolate cheesecake tartlets are seriously adaptable and would be complimented by a multitude of toppings.

Many thanks to Kerrygold for sponsoring these little white chocolate cheesecake tartlets. Be sure to grab a pack (or five!) of their butter for baking up these little tartlets and more. Any dessert this special deserves the added bonus of quality, uncompromised butter, and you can expect that with Kerrygold. I hope you all have enjoyed this year’s #monthofchocolate and I look forward to getting back to business in March with tons of all new words and recipes. Happy Thursday and Happy Baking!

If you like these white chocolate cheesecake tartlets you should check out:

Blood Orange Cheesecake

Blood Orange Bundt Cake

White Chocolate Cake

Lemon Pound Cake

Meyer Lemon Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tartlets

White Chocolate Cheesecake Tartlets with Blood Orange Swirl

These white chocolate cheesecake tartlets are mini no-bake cheesecakes swirled with a simple blood orange sauce.

• Author: Kate Wood
• Prep Time: 25
• Cook Time: 15
• Total Time: 120
• Yield: 6
• Category: Dessert

Ingredients

For the blood orange sauce:

• 1 pound blood oranges
• ¼ cup (50 gm) sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the shortbread crusts:

• ¾ cup (170 gm) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

For the cheesecake filling:

• 5.5 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup chopped toasted walnuts, if desired

Instructions

To prepare the blood orange jam:

1. Peel, slice and seed the blood oranges, being sure to remove as much of the pith (white skin on fruit) as possible, as this will cause the jam to taste bitter. Puree the fruit in a blender or fruit processor until a pulpy juice forms. Pour the juice into a saucepan and whisk in the sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla. Turn the heat to medium and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Allow to boil, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes until thickened slightly. Turn off the heat, skim the bubbles off the top and and place in a heat-safe container to chill in the fridge to at least room temp.

To prepare the crusts:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter in a medium-sized mixing bowl until smooth. Add the confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, and flour and stir on low until a crumbly mixture forms. When you press it between your fingers it should pack like wet sand. Divide the mixture between the 6- 4” tart pans with removable bottoms (I used just shy of ½ cup in each pan) and press into the sides and bottom of the pan in an even layer. I find it’s easiest to press into the sides first and then smooth the remaining dough into the bottom. Place the tart pans on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven to pan until firm, about 13-15 minutes. Remove from oven to cool completely.

To prepare the tarts:

1. Combine the white chocolate and cream cheese in a microwave-safe mixing bowl and microwave in 25 second intervals, stirring regularly afterwards. This allows the white chocolate to melt gently. Continue this process until the clumps of white chocolate combine smoothly with the softened cream cheese. In a separate bowl, combine the vanilla and heavy whipping cream and whip until medium peaks form. Fold about half of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and then fold the remaining whipped cream in until smooth. Be careful to not overwork it. Fill the cooled tart dishes with some of the cream cheese mixture, about 2/3 of the way full, alternating with some of the blood orange jam. I use about 2 tablespoons of sauce in each tart pan. Once the tart pans are filled, use a toothpick to gently swirl the two mixtures together. If you ended up with a big glob of cream cheese on top you can drop a few rounds of sauce on top to make pretty swirls. Place the finished tarts in the fridge to set up. Prior to eating, pull the tarts out of the fridge, pop the tarts out of the pan, and allow to rest at room temp for about 15-20 minutes to allow the crust to soften slightly. Top with toasted walnuts, if desired.

Notes

• You can substitute in a different jam or preserves for the blood orange sauce. Just loosen it a bit with water until it reaches sauce consistency.

This post has been sponsored by Kerrygold. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that make Wood & Spoon possible. 

4-ingredient cauliflower minis, made in a mini muffin tin with chickpea flour, plus nutritional yeast for cheese-y flavor. Perfect for snacks and appetizers.

This creamy Smoked Salmon Chowder is truly comfort food in a bowl! Made with hot-smoked salmon (full of heart-healthy fats) and a ton of nutrient-packed veggies (onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, corn and cauliflower), it’s a good-for-you soup the whole family will love. Stove top and Instant Pot directions provided.

Smoked Salmon Chowder

It’s soup season, if you’re looking for a new easy soup recipe to add to your dinner rotation, I think you will love this smoked salmon chowder! You can also browse all my soup recipes from the archives. A few favorites are the Potato Leek Soup, Dad’s Cauliflower Soup and of course, Classic Chicken Noodle Soup!

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All purpose flour, as the name suggests, is a standard baking ingredient and is usually my flour of choice when it comes to baking cookies. It isn’t the only type of flour you might have in your pantry, however, and I find that it is handy to have recipes that are designed to work with other flours, as well. These Self-Rising White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are chewy, delicious cookies that are packed with creamy white chocolate and crunchy macadamia nuts – and are made with self-rising flour instead of all purpose.

Self-rising flour is flour that has a leavening agent – usually baking powder – and salt added to it prior to packaging. To look at it even more closely, self-rising flours are typically made with a lower protein flour than all purpose flour (approx 11%), making them more like cake flour (approx 8%). The lower protein content leads to more tender baked goods, such as biscuits, cakes and – in this case – cookies. I used White Lily flour in my recipe (a favorite for biscuits!), although there are other brands out there to choose from that will yield good results.

This cookie recipe starts out like many others, but the flour is added at the end and you don’t need to worry about sifting it with the leavening agent since it is ready to go. White chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts are also mixed into the cookie dough. When it comes to the white chocolate, I always recommend using a high quality white chocolate made with real cocoa butter and not other vegetable fats. I also highly recommend using toasted macadamia nuts, which retain the light and buttery flavor of macadamia nuts while bringing a little more texture to the cookies.

The cookies themselves are tender and chewy, with a nice balance of sweet and salt. Even though the flour contains salt, you’ll notice that I added a pinch more to the recipe because cookies – particularly those made with sweeter ingredients, such as white chocolate – benefit from a little extra salt for contrast. The white chocolate is creamy, the nuts are crunchy and the cookies are downright addictive. I made these cookies slightly smaller (just under 1-inch balls) than usual, which is a great size for snacking. If you want to make them a bit larger, simply increase the baking time by a minute or two. The cookies will keep well in an airtight container for a couple of days after baking.

Self-Rising White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (pref White Lily)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped, toasted macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugars and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, followed by vanilla extract. Stir in the flour until completely incorporated, followed by white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
Shape dough into small 1-inch balls and arrange on prepared baking sheet with about 2-inches between cookies
Bake for about 11 minutes, or until cookies are set around the edges and have a hint of golden brown to them. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

The post Self-Rising White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies appeared first on Baking Bites.

I first wrote this post back in 2007. Yes, I know some of you may not have even been born yet, but I was well into my life as cook and baker, and shared what was one of my favorite knives at the time. Due to search engines, however, your past is always going to be hovering close to the present. One of the nice things about having a blog is that you can change it. We don’t often get a chance to change the past, with two thousand and eight blog posts under my belt, I’m fortunate that I can change my pants (or posts) whenever I want. So it’s time to revise it.

When I was a line cook, my favorite knife was not some fancy Japanese slicer that would allow you to cut a slice of apple so fine you could read the newspaper through it. When you’re working in a restaurant, you’re pretty much going full tilt as soon as you slip on your ugly, but comfortable work shoes (and believe me, I went through every kind of work shoe possible) in the pre-clog days (which I think may be over?) until the moment that all-important, post-work glass of wine hits your lips.

Continue Reading My Favorite Utility Knife...

There’s always an official NEDA week theme, but most of the time the posts I write for this week end up finding a theme of their own. The National Eating Disorder Association’s theme for 2019 is “Come as You Are,” which emphasizes diversity and inclusivity in our community of those living with EDs, those recovering from them, those who have recovered, and all of the people in the places in between.

I realized as I was drafting this post that my own thought process around “come as you are” centers on the idea of individuality and self-expression in recovery.

Through talking to other men and women who have had eating disorders, I know that certain parts of the recovery process are nearly universal. A lot of the experiences that felt the most isolating for me—weight gain, the loss of a sense of “specialness,” the horror of feeling out-of-control—are actually completely “normal” stages of anorexia recovery. They felt uniquely threatening, but the more I spoke to others, the more I realized that they were part of a shared process.

At the same time, recovery is a deeply personal experience, and we come to understand it on our own terms.

At many times during recovery, I looked frantically around me for an archetype or role model to follow. I had so many questions: how long will this take? Will the weight gain ever stop? Will I ever feel comfortable in my body again? Will I ever truly enjoy eating out, being intimate, or socializing around food? How do you know when you’re “fully recovered”? My hope was that some incredible recovered person, some shining example of the process, would have the answers.

It never worked like that. In fact, my quest to find a recovery guru only took me to problematic places. It made me prescribe to eating styles that weren’t right for me long-term, one of which was raw foodism. It kept me from owning my own cravings and food likes/dislikes (for example: my abiding love of carbs). It muffled the voice of my intuition and kept me from doing the work of tuning into my body and discovering my own hungers.

Over time, I did learn how to do this—to tune in—and it’s what has allowed me to sustain my recovery over time. The answer was never in a book or on a blog; it was within me.

When you’ve been alienated from your body and your appetites for a long time, and especially when you believe that there is a rapacious monster within you that will eat everything in sight if you give it so much as a centimeter of freedom, it’s awful to be told to “listen to your body.” I regarded my body as freakish and insatiable, a delusion that felt all the more real because I’d been starving for years, and my body was insatiable. Recovery revealed the greatness of my appetite to me—an appetite that had been stoked by deprivation—and it was terrifying.

Getting in touch with hunger cues and listening to one’s body could easily be the work of a lifetime. For the record, I’m still learning how to listen and respond! At this point, though, the process is more curious and fun than it is daunting or scary. I’m not always great at being in my body—like many people, I experience anxiety as a kind of dissociation from my physical self. But I’ve spent a lot of time working on this in therapy and in yoga, and the dissociation happens less and less often. The rest of the time, my body is an incredible source of information.

I was reminded of this in the fall, when my body gave me all sorts of helpful signals that a relationship I’d been exploring wasn’t right. It often lets me know—through a pattering heart rate or GI distress—when my actions aren’t aligned with my truth. And it has become very, very good at telling me what food I crave, because I’ve finally invited it to have a voice.

Most importantly, my body has guided me to a place I never thought I’d be: the land of “not having a thing.”

For years and years, I always had a food thing. By “thing,” I mean a self-selected nutritional modification that dictated what I could and couldn’t eat. When I say “thing,” I don’t mean the ethical choice to avoid animals, and importantly, I don’t mean something that I chose freely with my body’s guidance. I mean nutrition parameters that I picked up from experts, gurus, popular diets or eating styles, and so on. In choosing a thing, I always had one of two motivations: becoming or remaining a certain shape, or trying to maintain a sense of control.

I loved having food things, just as I’d loved having food rules and routines when I was anorexic. They were so safe and so bracing. When life was daunting and impossible to understand, there was always one thing I could do that made sense, which to cling to a dietary modification. No matter how much pain I was in, I could avoid something that had been deemed inappropriate for my body by somebody else. It always felt good, even when it meant not eating things I liked and spent a whole lot of time thinking about.

Nowadays, and for the past few years, I’ve come to realize that I don’t have a thing. Or rather, I no longer have somebody else’s thing. As it turns out, nobody knows better how I ought to be eating than I do.

I strive to eat mostly whole foods, plant-based diet, but I eat sugar, salt, oil, and vegan meats, too. I still eat a lot of cashew cheese, nut pate, and salad, but I can’t remember the last time I had any sense of how much of my day’s intake of food had been uncooked. I find a lot of intuitive eating principles to be helpful, but I’m not a completely intuitive eater. If any principle guides me, it’s the focus on macronutrient balance that I wrote about in Power Plates, which is flexible as far as eating prescriptions go, and which I modify plenty.

For a while, it felt strange not to have something I could point to as proof of my own willpower around food. It was odd to have permission to eat everything. Nowadays, it feels pretty great. Avoiding pleasurable foods is a lot of work, and letting go of the need to do that all the time feels like laying a burden down. My work in dietetics and interest in nutrition keep me focused on wholesome foods, but my appetites and tastes guide my choices within that. And for the first extended stretch of time that I can remember, there’s no (vegan) food that’s off limits. Only foods I eat more of or less of.

My experience with anorexia began right before I turned twelve, and my appetites had been critiqued at home or years before that. I don’t have childhood memories of food freedom or permission to eat what I wanted. What a gift it’s been to find these things for the first time in my thirties. And how proud I am—really and truly—to have figured out how I like and need to eat, granting myself the permission I so feared along the way.

In addition to being freed of the need to scour books and the internet for rules, I no longer get worked up about the way other people eat. For so many years—as long as I was fixated on seeking food prescriptions from others—I was judgy and defensive about food. I resented those who ate more restrictively than I did and was discomfited by those who gave themselves more permission. Any exposure to other eating styles was a minefield.

It’s not like that anymore. I don’t have my hackles up all the time when I observe other people eat. I don’t scrutinize other men or women’s eating patterns and choices. Instead of judging, I give everyone the benefit of the doubt; I assume that they’re nourishing themselves as only they can know how to do.

This week, I wish you the courage and support that it takes to create your own eating style, whatever that may be. I don’t mean that you should avoid smart nutrition guidance or research: by all means, dive in! But incorporate what you learn into your life with your body’s guidance.

For the record, I also don’t mean to suggest that eating all foods, within a vegan paradigm or any other, is necessarily the measure of a healed relationship with food. I’ve work with many clients who have discovered, through listening to their own bodies, that certain foods don’t work for them. In that case, choosing not to eat something is the act of self-awareness and freedom that I was just talking about. Elimination and restriction aren’t one-in-the-same, and we’re all different. Inclusion has been my own work in finding a healthful relationship with food; more selectivity might be another person’s work.

It’s also worth saying that this business of eating in alignment with one’s body and soul is fluid. What works for a person today might not work in ten years, or twenty, or thirty. I’m in a deliciously expansive place with food in this decade of my life, but if I got a certain type of diagnosis or was facing a particular health challenge, I might need to make different choices. My cravings and tastes might shift over time, which would change the landscape of my favorite foods and things to eat. That’s fine: if it happens, it’ll be another chapter in having my own thing.

Finally, I want to mention that this process of tuning in—just like the rest of recovery—is a process. It doesn’t happen quickly or overnight, as those of us who have spent decades working on it can attest 🙂 And it doesn’t always, nor should it, happen in isolation. I can’t imagine getting to where I am with food and body awareness without two different therapists, who supported me in different, but equally helpful ways.

If you’re at a point in recovery when the time has come to craft your own relationship with food, but you don’t know where to start, it’s wise and self-loving to solicit some support. Your support system might be a therapist, a dietitian, or another kind of healer; it may be a friend or family member who can listen attentively and help to nurture your intuition. Asking for support and validation isn’t the same as searching for rules; it’s often the added dose of courage it takes to get in touch with one’s own hungers.

I’ll be back on Friday to talk about a reader requested topic, which is eating with others. Till then, I send you ongoing love and ongoing wishes of being in your body. Happy Wednesday, friends.

xo

The post NEDA Week 2019: Having My Own Thing appeared first on The Full Helping.

Beef Bourguignon is a French classic made with melt in your mouth beef, mushrooms, carrots, and red wine and is cooked to perfection in the most delicious rich sauce.  A hearty and comforting meal that you will make again and again! 

After my Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon went crazy viral, I knew that I wanted to show you how to make it on the stove and in the oven.  If you are looking for more hearty beef stew recipes, be sure to also try Beef Stew with Bacon, Vegetable Beef Soup, or this Slow Cooker Beef Stew.

BEST EVER Beef Bourguignon

You will fall in love with thi

How do you make Beef Bourguignon?

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large dutch oven over medium high heat pot add the olive oil and bacon pieces. Cook until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon.
• Add the carrots, pearl onions, and mushrooms and sauté 2-3 minutes until tender. Remove and set aside.
• Add the red wine to the skillet scraping down the sides and allow to deglaze. Add the beef stock, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and whisk in the flour.
• Add the beef and the vegetables back to the pot and stir. Add garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Put a lid on pot and let it simmer in the oven for 1 1/2-2 hours until the beef is tender.
• Stovetop: Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a low and simmer. Cover and let cook 1 1/2- 2 hours or until beef is tender.

What is the difference between Beef stew and Beef Bourguignon?

The big difference between beef stew, and French boeuf bourguignon, is the presence of red wine. Traditional American beef stews are lubricated with water and onions; later versions, with beef broth or tomato sauce. Stews with wine must be cooked slowly.

What is the best cut of beef for Beef Bourguignon?

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One of the best parts about recipe testing is that when you stumble onto something good you have a great excuse to make it over and over again while you tweak the details. I’ve been enjoying variations of these Roasted Brussels Sprout Bowls for a couple of weeks now, and I think they’re finally ready to share with you!

These Roasted Brussels Sprout Bowls are simple, satisfying food that holds up well to refrigeration, making them perfect for meal prep. You can make them meat-free with vegetarian sausage, like I did, or use your favorite chicken sausage.

Love Bowl Meals? So do we! Check out our Bowl Meal Archives!

Roasted Brussels Sprout Bowls

Use Your Favorite Sausage

As I mentioned above, I used a vegetarian Italian sausage that I got at Aldi, but just about any flavor of chicken sausage would also work here (apple flavored would be particularly nice with the Dijon and Brussels sprouts). 

Can I Use Frozen Brussels Sprouts?

Many readers have told me in the past that they love roasting frozen Brussels Sprouts in the same manner that I do Roasted Frozen Broccoli. So, I tried this with frozen Brussels, but found the fresh to be a lot better in this application. You can slice the fresh in half and they get a nice crispiness on the edges that I did not get with the frozen.

Substitutions for Creamy Dijon Dressing

If you just aren’t into Dijon, don’t worry, there are still options. A creamy Caesar or ranch would also be a nice topper for this bowl. Unfortunately I don’t have recipes for those dressings, but store bought will work just fine.

These are the Pyrex 3-cup Glass Food Storage Containers. (affiliate link)

Step by Step Photos

Peel and cube about 2.5 lbs. russet potatoes. Rinse them well in a colander to remove the excess starch, then add them to a pot and fill with water just until they are covered. Add 1/2 tsp salt, cover the pot, and bring it up to a boil. Boil the potatoes until they are very soft (7-10 minutes).

Once the potatoes have boiled until they are super soft, drain them in a colander and rinse briefly with hot water to remove even more starch. Add 2 Tbsp butter and 1/2 cup milk to the pot and heat over low until the butter is melted and the milk is hot. Once hot, add the drained potatoes back to the pot and mash them until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

While the mashed potatoes are cooking, get started on the dressing and Brussels sprouts. To make the dressing, combine 3 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp sugar, 1/16 tsp garlic powder, and some freshly cracked pepper in a small bowl or jar. 

Whisk the ingredients together until smooth. Set the dressing aside.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Remove any wilted leaves from 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, then slice them in half. Slice 12 oz. vegetarian or chicken sausage into 1/2-inch thick medallions. Add both to a large baking sheet, drizzle 2 Tbsp oil over top, and then toss until everything is well coated in oil and the baking sheet has a good layer of oil on it as well.

This is the vegetarian sausage I used, BTW. I tried this recipe with both chicken sausage and this vegetarian sausage, and I actually preferred the flavor and texture of this the most.

Roast the Brussels sprouts and sausage for 20-25 minutes, or until they are well browned, stirring once half way through.

To build your Roasted Brussels Sprout Bowls just scoop about a cup of mashed potatoes into each bowl, top with 1/4 of the Brussels sprouts and sausage, then drizzle some of the creamy Dijon dressing over top. If you’re going to meal prep this one, I would save the dressing separately and add it after reheating.

The post Roasted Brussels Sprout Bowls appeared first on Budget Bytes.

I've shared these a few times on instagram and now I've finally put pen to paper to write the recipe. These sweet potato enchiladas are about the most comforting meal I cook, without an overload of cheese. The sweet potato and beans provide the filling while and easy homemade enchilada sauce brings it all together.

Sweet Potato Enchiladas: Components

The sweet potatoes

The Beans

The Enchilada Sauce

Make-ahead

[tasty-recipe id="37893"]

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The post Pinto Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas appeared first on Naturally..

*This post is created in partnership with Rioja Wines. There are two things that get me real excited about these wines. First of all they are only released when they are ready to drink so I don’t have to worry about aging them (something I’ve never been very good at). And secondly they are beautiful with food. As always the words, images and recipes are mine. Thanks for supporting the brands that support the work I do here. Cheers!

“The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.”

― Jon Kabat-Zinn

One of the first things I do when I step into the kitchen to make dinner is to pour myself a glass of wine. This simple act goes beyond the wine itself in its significance. I watch the glass as the earthy red tint of the wine hits the bottom then dances up the sides. In that moment I slow down, become mindful of the process of cooking and attempt to shift my often distorted perspective from thinking of cooking dinner for my family as a chore to remembering it’s how I best love them. And what a gift and privilege it is to have the time and resources to do so.

Now of course this mindful moment doesn’t have to be instigated with the pouring of a glass of wine but for me it has become something sacred that pulls me into the present. Something I have been trying to do more and more lately. A moment to arrest the fretting about the past (even the past of 10 minutes ago) and to cease the fear of the future. The same intention can happen in the slicing of an onion, the process of making a cup of tea or plucking fresh herbs of their tender stems. All it requires is a brief moment to remind yourself of where you are and the gratitude to be there.

The older I get the more I realize that our life is lived in the little moments. The moments where we rest in the present.

This dinner takes about a half a glass of wine to prepare. The key to a successful stir fry to have all of your ingredients prepped before you start preheating the wok as the cooking goes quite fast, leaving little time to chop in the in between moments.

Since I’m feeding heat averse children I tend to leave out any chili and play it safe on the Sichuan peppers but you should feel free to add more based on your appreciation of heat. Also, this recipe would work well with ground chicken or pork and that would also be a nice fit with the wine.

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Green Bean and Shiitake Stir Fry

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Adapted from Melissa Clark via The New York Times

Ingredients

2 tablespoons neutral oil (rice bran, peanut or sunflower)

8 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms

1 teaspoon sea salt, divided

12 ounces trimmed green beans

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon (about 5 cloves) minced garlic

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, roughly cracked in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle

1 teaspoon Sichuan Peppercorns, roughly cracked in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

Rice, for serving

Instructions

Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat for two minutes. Add the oil then wait another minute.

Add the shiitake mushrooms and half of the salt then sauté until deeply caramelize, about 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

Add the green beans, red pepper, and the remaining salt and sauté until the green beans have blistered and brightened in color, about two minutes.

Stir in the ginger, garlic, coriander and sichuan peppercorns and sauté until fragrant, 1 minute more.

Finally add the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar then cook a few minutes until the liquid has nearly evaporated.

Serve while warm with rice and more soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.

Finish with chopped cilantro or toasted sesame seeds if desired.