Spinach artichoke dip

I love spinach artichoke dip. It's creamy, warm, and gooey, but it is also loaded with veggies which always makes me think that I'm being at least somewhat healthy. It is actually not that hard to make your own, feel free to change the amount of cheese or veggies to your liking. I've also added a shredded zucchini on occasion, which is also really tasty.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup veggie stock
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 a small onion, minced
1/2 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a sauce pan, melt butter over low heat and add flour. Whisk together and cook for a few minutes until it is thick and bubbly. Slowly whisk in stock to the roux and simmer for 3-5 minutes to thicken (it should be able to coat the back of a spoon). Season with garlic powder, pepper, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Add 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella and stir until melted. In a separate pan heat oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic and saute a few minutes until softened. Add spinach and artichokes and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add this mixture to the roux. Stir to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes so that everything comes together and is thick and bubbly. Transfer this to an oven-proof dish that is sprayed with non-stick spray. Top with 1/4 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons parmesan. Broil until the cheese is melted and slightly browned, about 2-3 minutes, but watch it carefully. Serve with crostini or tortilla chips.

Raw vegetable flatbread

Sometimes I really just crave fresh veggies, especially if I've been eating heavy foods or eating at restaurants quite a bit. This flatbread is fairly light and is packed with veggies. We used to eat something like this growing up but I put my own spin on it. This recipe uses half a package of crescent rolls, you could double this to make a big one or you could use the other half for Cheaters' stromboli like I did.

Ingredients:

1/2 a package of crescent roll dough, pressed out into one rectangle
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dill
1 1/4 cup chopped veggies (any amount of each depending on what you like):
     -broccoli
     -carrot
     -cucumber
     -tomato
     -red onion
     -green pepper
     -red pepper
     -green onion
1/2 an avocado, mashed well
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
dash of salt
1/2 a lime, juiced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Directions:

Cook crescent rolls according to package, remove from oven and allow to cool a bit. While it is cooling, mix cream cheese, garlic, salt, and dill together. In a separate bowl, combine avocado, sour cream, garlic, salt, lime, and cilantro together and mix until very smooth then transfer to a small ziplock bag, cut one corner off the bag so that you can pipe it easily. Once crescent roll dough is mostly cooled spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the dough. Spread chopped veggies over the cream cheese and press down a bit to make sure it sticks. Take the bag with the avocado cream and pipe a small line over the entire flatbread. Cut in squares and serve.

Asian quinoa salad

I brought this dish to work for my coworkers recently and a few of them asked me to post the recipe here, so here it is guys! This recipe is really flexible, so feel free to add or change the veggies based on what you have on hand or what sounds good to you! The amount of each veggie is also really subjective so just use this as a guideline

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup veggie stock
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup cooked, shelled edamame
2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 sizable handful cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 a lime, juiced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 clove garlic, made into a paste
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 green onion, sliced in rings
1 dash crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Cook quinoa in veggie stock according to package directions. While that is cooking, combine veggies and cilantro in a large mixing bowl. After quinoa is done cooking, allow it to cool for a while and then add it on top of the veggies. In a small mixing bowl combine the rest of the ingredients (oil through red pepper flakes) and whisk to make sure there are no lumps of garlic left. Add half the dressing mixture to the quinoa/veggie bowl and stir well. Taste and continue to add dressing until you're happy with the flavor of the salad. Serve warm or cold.

Blueberry muffins

Muffins are a great breakfast food or snack and the best part about them is that they freeze really well, which means that you can make a batch and then have them whenever you want. I like my blueberry muffins with a bit of lemon, but if you don't then just leave it out.

Ingredients:

1 stick butter (room temp)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir in half the flour, all the salt, and baking powder and mix. Add in the buttermilk and the rest of the flour and stir until mostly smooth. Fold in the blueberries. Fill muffin pans with liners and spray with non-stick spray. Fill muffin cups most of the way full with batter (they will look really full, thats ok!). Top with a sprinkling of sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a cooling rack.

Lemonade by the glass

Lemonade is delicious and the powdered versions don't come close to the real thing. This recipe makes just one glass and uses just one lemon, which makes it really simple to throw together on a hot day. I typically make a huge batch of simple syrup and then store it in the fridge, which means that you can sweeten pretty much anything whenever you want.

Ingredients:

1 lemon, cut in eighths

3 tablespoons simple syrup*

1 1/2 cups cold water

ice

Directions:

Squeeze each section of the lemon into a glass, trying to get as much out of the lemon as possible. Add simple syrup to lemon juice and mix. Top with cold water and ice. Stir to combine. Add more syrup if necessary. 

*simple syrup is made by dissolving equal parts sugar and water together in a sauce pan. Simmer it for about 5 minutes, then allow to cool. 

Asparagus, sun-dried tomato, and olive quinoa

Quinoa has a ton of protein in it, which makes it a perfect food for vegetarians to rely on. This is served warm, but you could just as easily eat the leftovers cold as well. If you don't like olives you could swap them out for mushrooms. If you use the mushrooms instead just slice them and saute them with the asparagus.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons quinoa, rinsed
3/4 cup veggie stock
1/2 cup asparagus slices
1 tablespoon oil
3 sun-dried tomato halves, soaked in hot water
5-6 black olives, sliced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
black pepper
salt

Directions:

Combine quinoa and water and cook according to package directions. While this is cooking, saute asparagus in oil over medium-low heat for about 5-6 minutes or until tender. Season asparagus with salt. Remove tomatoes from the hot water and slice in small pieces. When quinoa is finished, add parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and all of your vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.

Tofu tikka masala

There is a place near me that makes this incredible paneer tikka masala and I've been hoping to try to recreate it at home. This actually a pretty close version using tofu instead of paneer. You could easily use paneer if you wanted and the process wouldn't change. Serve this with rice and naan.

Ingredients:

1/2 block tofu, drained and pressed and cut in cubes
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 green pepper, sliced
1/4 red pepper, sliced
1/2 an onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, made into a paste
1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
3/4 cup crushed tomato
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 cardamom pod, cracked open and seeds crushed
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup plain yogurt

Directions:

In a saute pan, heat oil over medium heat and cook tofu for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned on the sides. Remove from pan. Add the bell pepper strips and onion to the pan, adding more oil if necessary and saute for 3-5 minutes or until soft. Remove from heat. In a medium sauce pot, combine garlic, ginger, tomato, water, cumin, garam masala, cardamom, cumin, coriander, cayenne, paprika, salt, and butter. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until it has thickened up a bit. Add tofu and sauteed veggies and cook about 2-4 minutes more, or until the veggies are very soft and the tofu is evenly coated. Turn off heat and stir in yogurt. Serve with rice and naan.