This post is sponsored by Foodland and the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture as part of Foodland’s Eat Local Today initiative.

It’s an overwhelming time, and one that demands our most focused energy and well-nourished attention: From the chaos of back-to-school during a pandemic to national social justice uprisings to the upcoming election, I need all the support to simplify my life wherever I can. Enter this easy, infinitely customizable salad packed with tons of texture and ingredients fresh from my garden—and the surrounding area. Crunchy celery, sweet apples, salty parmesan, spicy radishes, sticky dates, rich roasted macadamia nuts, tangy lemon, and the unifying force of olive oil make this salad just about perfect.

I’ve spent the past nine months of the year collaborating with with Foodland—my favorite local grocery store—and the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture to explore what it means to me to #EatLocalToday here on Maui. Often, that looks like foraging in my own garden for greens, radishes, herbs, and citrus. But eating local goes way beyond my backyard. It also means discovering ingredients grown in Hawai’i and featured at my local Foodland, where they’re always showcasing new products. Wanting something crunchy and satisfying to add to this salad, macadamia nuts from MacFarms, grown on the Big Island, were a must.

You can mix and match in myriad ways with this salad: No celery leaves? Try parsley. No celery? Maybe fennel, or red cabbage. Try pear instead of apple, or maybe even persimmon. No parmesan? Cheddar would be amazing. And pretty much any nut you can imagine would be truly excellent. As your own personal #EatLocalToday challenge, I encourage you to find some locally grown nuts to try—hazelnuts in Oregon, for example, or walnuts or almonds in California.

The other thing I love about this salad is that it keeps super well, and it’s just as good the next day as it is the first. Truly. We love leftovers, don’t we?

If you decide to make this perfect salad, tag me on Instagram @lilydiamond. And don’t miss the step-by-step video I posted there as well. I’m excited to see what local ingredients you use from where you live.

The post CRUNCHY APPLE, DATE & CELERY SALAD. appeared first on Kale & Caramel.

This easy cauliflower stir fry is an ideal healthy and easy dinner idea! It’s full of nutrients and covered in a punchy sauce.

Hands up if you love cauliflower! (All hands raise, over here.) This vegetable has star status among veggies these days: because there are endless creative ways to use it. Make it into tacos, use it as a plant based stand-in buffalo wings, or hide it in alfredo sauce. Here’s our new favorite way to use these tasty florets: in a cauliflower stir fry! Fry it until lightly charred and tender, then add bell peppers and a punchy stir fry sauce. It’s the best way to make eating your veggies irresistible! Try it as a healthy side dish or an easy plant based dinner (with the protein adders below).

Ingredients in this cauliflower stir fry

This cauliflower stir fry is fast and easy to make! On its own it works as a side dish, but eat it with a plant based protein (see below) and it’s an easy dinner. The main thing to note is that cauliflower requires much more time to stir fry than other veggies, so you’ll need to add it to the pan first. Here are the basic ingredients you’ll need for this stir fry:

• Cauliflower
• Bell peppers
• White onion
• Green onions
• Stir fry sauce: rice vinegar, soy sauce, miso, gochujang (optional), sugar, sesame oil and cornstarch

Nutrition note: This recipe uses 2 bell peppers along with the cauliflower. 1 medium red bell pepper provides 169% of your daily vitamin C, so using 2 knocks this vitamin off the charts (Source)!

Notes on the stir fry sauce

This cauliflower stir fry has an incredible stir fry sauce that brings in lots of savory, salty and sweet flavor! Use the recipe as printed, or another option is our Go To Stir Fry Sauce. It’s just as good and is an oil free option. Here are a few notes on the ingredients in the stir fry sauce:

• Soy sauce: Use regular sodium to get the full seasoning. Tamari is a gluten free soy substitute, or use coconut aminos for a soy free gluten free substitute. You may need to add a pinch more salt in both cases.
• Cornstarch: Arrow root powder is an effective substitute for cornstarch in stir fry sauces!
• Miso: Miso is a Japanese fermented soybean paste that’s full of nutrients and savory flavor. It’s a must in this sauce and can’t be replicated. You can find miso in the international foods aisle near the Japanese ingredients. There are lots of types of miso: we used yellow or light miso here.
• Gochujang (optional): Want to add a little spicy funkiness to your sauce? This Korean chili paste steps it up a notch.

How to make a cauliflower stir fry: some tips!

The overall process for this cauliflower stir fry is easy: but there are a few things to note to make it come out perfectly. Here’s what to know:

• Stir fry the cauliflower about 5 minutes before adding other veggies. Here’s the kicker: cauliflower takes much longer than other veggies to stir fry. If you add them all at once, it will come out too tough. Make sure to follow the instructions exactly.
• Use medium high heat. The point of a stir fry is to cook at high heat: quickly. This will get nice char marks onto your cauliflower.
• Don’t double the recipe. The biggest tip for a stir fry: you can’t crowd the pan! If there are too many veggies, they’ll steam instead of stir fry. If you want to increase quantities, cook the veggies in batches then re-warm everything together.

Add protein to make it a main dish!

Are you serving this cauliflower stir fry as a main dish? It’s a perfect healthy meal or fast and easy dinner idea. Just make sure to serve with a whole grain and consider adding protein to keep it filling. Here are some ideas:

• Serve with Rice: Rice has protein (about 10% of your daily needs in 1 cup cooked) and fiber, which helps to make a filling meal. Try our White Rice, Brown Rice, or Instant Pot Rice.
• Cashews: Throw 3/4 cup cashews into this stir fry when you add the cauliflower. This makes a main dish of about 2 to 3 servings.
• Edamame: Add 1 cup shelled, frozen edamame in the last 2 to 3 minutes of the cook time. Or eat edamame in the shell as a side: try Easy Edamame or Spicy Edamame.
• Tofu: Cook Marinated Tofu or Pan Fried Tofu, then add it once the stir fry is done.
• Shrimp: Make Garlic Shrimp but use sesame oil instead of butter and omit the lemon.

Or serve cauliflower stir fry as a side dish

You also can serve this cauliflower stir fry as a side dish instead! It would be fantastic with the following main dish options:

• Salmon: It would be perfect with teriyaki salmon or pan seared salmon.
• Fried Rice: Add alongside takeout-style fried rice or shrimp fried rice.
• Noodles: Serve with quick soba noodles or this soba noodle bowl.
• Tofu: Serve alongside your favorite tofu recipe.

This cauliflower stir fry recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Print

More great cauliflower recipes

There are so many tasty cauliflower recipes to try if you love this healthy veggie! Here are a few of our favorites:

• Buffalo Cauliflower Wings They’re crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and tossed with spicy buffalo sauce.
• Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower No one can resist this roasted cauliflower with Parmesan! It’s as irresistible as French fries, baked in a hot oven until browned and crisp.
• Creamy Cauliflower Sauce Like a healthy alfredo sauce using cauliflower as a base! It has less calories and all the benefits of this healthy veggie.

A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

Beer Marinated Chicken Tacos are the perfect dinner for Taco Tuesdays!

The chicken is the star of the show in these great-tasting tacos. It’s marinated in Mexican beer! This gives the chicken delicious flavor, especially if you’re a fan of Mexican beer (such as Corona). Beer Marinated Chicken Tacos are a good, quick dinner recipe- made on the grill. Adults like this one a lot. Grilled chicken leftovers are good to add to a lunchtime salad the next day.

How to make Beer Marinated Chicken Tacos:

The marinade is a mix of Mexican beer, sesame oil, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne. Skinless, boneless chicken thighs are marinated for a couple of hours and then grilled. The chicken is sliced up and served in tortillas with your favorite taco fixings.

What’s the best kind of beer to use for marinade?

This chicken marinade is for tacos, so it only seems appropriate to choose your favorite Mexican beer! My favorite is Corona. You can also use Modelo, Tecate or Dos Equis.

Can kids eat things cooked with beer?

Some of the alcohol will burn off in the process of grilling, but not all of it. In general, the beer imparts flavor onto the chicken and doesn’t leave a large amount of alcohol behind. I’ve done some research on this, and experts are mixed on what they recommend. So it’s totally up to you if you feel comfortable serving beer marinated chicken tacos to your kids. There are so many other taco recipes to choose from, so perhaps save this one for an adults-only night.

Can you use breasts instead of thighs?

These Beer Marinated Chicken Tacos are marinated and then cooked on the grill. My experience with marinating and grilling chicken is that thighs turn out much more tender than breasts when grilled. You can certainly use breasts (make sure they are thin-cut), but just know that they might not be quite as moist and tender as thighs.

Suggestions for taco fixings:

• cheese
• lettuce and tomato
• sour cream
• guacamole
• salsa
• cilantro
• lime wedges, for squeezing

What to serve with tacos:

I always feel like tacos are pretty filling. But if you just plan to eat one or two tacos, there are some good side dishes to consider serving with your Beer Marinated Chicken Tacos. Mexican Coleslaw is nice and light. Since rice is a popular side dish to tacos, you can try this Fiesta Rice. My choice is always my Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey Lime Dressing. And be sure to wash it all down with your favorite margaritas!

It doesn’t have to be Tuesday to make these Beer Marinated Chicken Tacos, but it’s become a popular weekend trend to eat tacos on Tuesdays. Grab some Mexican beer and make tacos for dinner. Enjoy!

Here are a few more taco recipes you might like to try:

• Flank Steak Tacos
• Oven Baked Beef Tacos
• Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Baja Sauce
• Family Style Pork Tacos
• Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos
• Breakfast Tacos
• Healthy Tacos
• Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Tacos

The post Beer Marinated Chicken Tacos appeared first on Recipe Girl®.

Tender meat, sautéed peppers and onions is smothered with cheese and wrapped in egg roll wrappers and fried to perfection in these Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls. This is going to be your go to appetizer or snack when you want to impress without a lot of stress.

Using egg roll wrappers is super simple and easy. You’ll be inspired to try it in these other recipes. The Best Avocado Egg Rolls, Southwest Chicken Egg Rolls, and Homemade Egg Rolls. 

Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls

Traditional Philly Cheese Steak stuffed into egg roll wrappers is an easy to eat finger food that is a delicious addition to any appetizer board. It’s also hearty enough to be a meal almost on its own. It’s ooey  and gooey and tender on the inside and crispy and delicate on the outside.

I love how these are so different from your traditional egg rolls, it’s a wonderous super tasty surprise. Everyone loves them. Take them to your next tailgate, holiday party or any occasion, they’ll be the first to be devoured.

Cheesesteak Egg Roll Ingredients:

You can find all of these ingredients in your local grocery store.

• Oil– Enough oil for frying, peanut oil is the best for frying
• Oil– Olive oil for sautéing
• Green Pepper-Sliced thin
• Onion-Sliced the same thickness as the peppers
• Sirloin Steak- Thinly sliced
• Monterey Jack Cheese-Shred your own cheese to avoid the anti caking agents that keep it from melting.
• Beef Broth– You only need half a cup so reserve the rest for another recipe
• Steak Sauce- Adds richness and a deep beefy flavor to the mixture
• Egg Roll Wrappers- I can find these usually in the produce area in the refrigerated section

Making Egg Rolls!

Simple yet so scrumptious!!

1. Heat- In a medium sized skillet heat about 1/2 inch of frying oil to 350 degrees
2. Sauté-In a separate large skillet heat the olive oil and sauté the pepper and onion till almost tender and move to the side. Add the steak to the center and cook till no longer pink.
3. Simmer-Add the beef broth, steak sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer for a few minutes and then remove from heat and let cool.
4. Assemble-Place the a scoop in the center of each egg roll and top with cheese. Fold and seal with a bit of water.
5. Fry-Add the egg rolls to the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes till golden brown. Remove and drain.

Tips for the Best Philly Egg Rolls:

• Steak– Rib eye or flank steak can also be used. Even ground hamburger works. Cut your steak into bite sized pieces for easier eating and filling.
• Cheese– Trade out the Monterey jack with provolone slices, swiss or spice it up with pepper jack cheese.
• Peppers and Onions– Power up the color and use red, yellow or orange peppers, try using a red onion, chop them into bite sized pieces for easier eating.
• Wrappers– Don’t be nervous about folding your egg rolls. There are usually directions on the back of the package. Make sure you use a bit of water on the edges to seal them good.
• Sauce-These are ideal for dipping. There are endless possibilities. Try  your favorite cheese sauce, Ranch Dressing, Horseradish sauce, or BBQ sauce.

Baking and Storing Egg Rolls:

• Baking– Don’t want to fry them? You can bake them. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place egg rolls seam side down on a baking sheet so that they are not touching.  Spray the egg roll with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 10-15 minutes till golden flipping 2-3 times while baking. If you want extra crispiness broil for one minute on each side.
•  Storing- Egg rolls are best eaten fresh from the fryer while they are still crispy but you can reheat leftovers. Egg rolls will keep about 2-3 days in the fridge. When ready to reheat,  place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. They’ll be tasty, just not as crispy.

More Amazing Appetizer Recipes

• Pretzel Bites
• Cream Cheese Wontons
• The Best Crispy Fried Pickles
• Chili’s Copycat Skillet Queso
• Crispy Potato Skins