For the second year in a row, I served this on Easter. Sure, I could make this at another time of year, but there is something about getting asparagus in the spring, in the season it should be consumed where we live, instead of crops flown in throughout the year from other parts of the world. With few exceptions {like bananas!}, we eat the produce local to our area all year round so it’s a treat when asparagus shows up in the store and at the farmer’s market again! I love that this recipe allows the fresh flavor and texture of the asparagus to shine through. The browned butter sauce is rich but light enough to accentuate the asparagus instead of drown it.
This recipe should serve a crowd of six to eight people, but it’s so good that with four of us eating, we only had a few bites leftover. Having a last minute dinner party? No problem—this recipe comes together in 20 minutes. You guys all know how I love those quick and easy dishes. Plus, the asparagus is roasted, so it has a little bit of a charred flavor and still maintains a crunch. Seriously, you want to make this as soon as possible.
by The Splattered Apron
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Keywords: roast side vegetarian asparagus spring
- 2 pounds asparagus, remove woody bottom and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- zest of one lemon
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a bowl, toss the asparagus with the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Spread in one layer on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.
While roasting the asparagus, melt the butter in a small skillet. Continue to cook, shaking the pan every now and then for at least 3 minutes, until the butter starts to brown.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.
Pour the sauce over the asparagus and toss to coat.
To serve, sprinkle with lemon zest. {I forgot to add it before taking pictures, but it makes the dish!}
Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
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Enjoy!
Recipe from Cooking Light.
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Lately, I’ve been trying not only to stick closely to our meal plan, but also to shop my pantry before I do any grocery shopping. You’d be amazed at the quantity of quinoa I found in there. And the truth is, we’re not even the biggest fans of quinoa! Occasionally, it does the trick because quinoa is a blank canvas, which is a great thing, a dish with quinoa can go in any number of different directions. For this dish, I wanted to replicate the flavors of guacamole in a protein heavy side dish. Just because I had it on hand, I also added an ear of corn.
Two of my favorite words to associate with a meal are quick and easy. From start to finish, plus the additional elements of this meal, it took me all of 15 minutes to assemble {not counting the 10 minutes that it took to cook the quinoa, I did that while giving Caroline a bath}.
I loved how this salad came together. Creamy avocado, sweet corn, tangy lime juice and zest, and bright cilantro mixed in with tomato, red onion and perfectly cooked quinoa. As is, this is a vegan dish; we ate it along side salmon. With the addition of black beans, it would be a great vegan main dish.
by The Splattered Apron
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Keywords: salad vegan vegetarian avocado quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa, prepared according to package
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced
- 3/4 of an avocado, small dice
- 1/4 large red onion, small dice
- 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
- 2 ears of corn, kernels removed from the cob
- Juice of 2 limes, zest of 1 lime
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Prepare the quinoa according to the package.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, salt and pepper. While whisking, add the olive oil.
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir well.
Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.
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Enjoy!
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by Lisa on August 15, 2012
I love pickles. So does Caroline. The process of making pickles always seemed pretty intimidating. There was fermenting and barrels and ratios of things….it was just too much. I knew there had to be an easier way. Thanks to Ashley, there is!
I followed Ashley’s Simply Pickled recipe, only modifying by not measuring each spice exactly, just eyeballing it.
- 12oz pickling cucumbers, sliced
- 8 sprigs fresh dill
- 1T coriander seeds
- 1/2T mustard seed
- 1T whole black peppercorns
- 4 garlic cloves, halved
- 1T kosher salt
- 3/4c distilled white vinegar
- water to cover
Place a couple of sprigs of dill in the bottom of a 1 quart glass jar.
Combine the salt and vinegar in a bowl.
Add the cucumbers to the jar and place some sprigs of dill in between the layers of cucumbers.
Add all of the spices and garlic on top of the cucumbers, pour in the vinegar and salt mixture than add water to cover.
Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours before serving.
As long as cucumbers are readily available, I will make my own pickles and avoid buying them in the store. Store bought pickles pale in comparison to this quick and easy homemade recipe—the fresh flavors cannot be beat.
Throwing these together took five minutes and then after about four hours in the refrigerator, they were ready to go!
Enjoy!
Recipe from Edible Perspective.
I’ve never been a big fan of meatloaf, but I do like meatballs. Weird, right? They’re basically the same thing. Maybe it’s the name that gets me—who would want to eat a loaf of meat? I realize the answer is a lot of people. There are many meatloaf lovers out there, I’m just not one of them.
A redeeming quality about meatloaf is the make ahead and freezability of the dish. As a working mom, I’m constantly looking for ways to save time while also putting a nutritious meal on the table for my family. I made these turkey muffins with the thought that if I didn’t like them, I could live with it because Jeromy would still eat them. As it turns out, I didn’t have to worry about it.
by The Splattered Apron
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Keywords: bake entree turkey
- non-stick cooking spray
- 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 cups chopped arugula
- 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- salt and pepper
- 1 pound ground white turkey meat
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, eggs, olive oil, feta, salt and pepper.
Once combined, add the turkey and stir gently, being careful not to overwork the meat.
Spray the cups of a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
Fill each cup about 1/2-3/4 full of the turkey mixture.
Bake until the internal temperature is 165 degrees, or at least 25 minutes {or longer, depending on your oven}.
Once baked, use a paper towel to soak up any excess oil on top of the muffins, then run a knife around the edge of each cup to remove the muffins cleanly. Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.
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The pictures really don’t do justice to how much I loved these muffins. A lot of time turkey meat can get really dry but these stayed wonderfully moist and flavorful. I use some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in place of some of the olive oil, which I think gives the muffins a rich flavor.
I intended to freeze some of them, but we ate them too quickly for that to happen.
These were also kid-approved; I made them for our neighbors and was happy to hear that their almost 3 year old could not get enough.
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
There are a few qualities that I like in my weeknight meals:
Quick.
Easy.
Short ingredient list.
Full of flavor.
If the entire meal can be made in one baking dish, that’s even better.
I put this dish together a few weeks ago on a whim, thinking that the flavor combination could work. They worked so well that I’ve made it once a week since then!
by The Splattered Apron
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
Keywords: bake entree salmon
- 2-3 tablespoons honey mustard
- 1-2 tablespoons minced tarragon
- 1 lemon, zested and sliced thin
- salmon filet for 2 {a pound or less}
- less than a 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- a spray of olive oil
- baked kale
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the baked kale in a baking dish.
Put the salmon filet on top of the kale.
Spread the honey mustard evenly over the salmon.
Coat with the tarragon and lemon zest, sprinkle with panko bread crumbs.
If you have spray olive oil, give the panko a very light spritz, otherwise drizzle very lightly.
Cover the salmon with lemon slices.
Reduce the heat of the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the kale and spinach for 15 minutes. If you prefer salmon to be cooked more, continue baking and check in 5 minute increments.
Serve immediately.
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Disregard the fact that the panko bread crumbs are on top of the lemons in the pictures. Go by the recipe, it’s better.
Kale and salmon are two super foods that I could eat every day. If it’s possible for a dish to be light and hearty at the same time, this is that dish. The lemon keeps it fresh and bright while the honey mustard provides a sweet tang.
This dish has earned a permanent spot in my dinner rotation.
Enjoy!
