recipe Archives - Page 14 of 15 - The Sarcastic Blonde

crack of the week: Super Bowl edition

January 28, 2014

There’s a time and a place to break new years resolutions, screw the healthy vows you’ve made, and throw caution to the wind and eat your face off.

Super Bowl Sunday is one of those days.

Sure, you can make your dips and snacks with fat-free cream cheese or greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, but I don’t think anyone eating it is going to be applauding you. Everyone is in agreement that anything goes while you stuff your face and watch incredible commercials (and maybe some football).

The two new recipes I’ll be trying this weekend:

Bacon Pimento Cheese Puff Pastry Cups

Pimento cheese is one of my favorite things in the entire world. Everytime I go home I go straight to my sister’s fridge for the best kind ever that she picks up at Publix, but here in Chicago you have to take a tiny bit more time and effort and make your own. Add some bacon, and yummy + easy puff pastry, and this is a perfect bite size snack.

Cheesy Baked Taco Dip

7 Layer Dips are always a hit. This one is that, and so much more. It’s a hot and cheesy dip on the bottom, topped with all the seven layer mexican favorites.

If you want a healthier version (no one likes you) this is a great one

Healthy Seven Layer Dip

When greek yogurt is combined with other ingredients, it tastes almost identical to sour cream. Fresh avocado and other veggies complete the layers.

and a few of my recipes that are my favorite for big, TV gatherings

Chicken Pesto Cups

Hot Taco Dip

the two above were made for last years super bowl

Sausage Phyllo Cups

Greek Tortellini Salad (kind of summery, but oh well).

health, Lifestyle, recipe

{healthy} crack of the week

January 21, 2014

I’ve been trying out different types of salads and quinoa bowls for dinner the past week, and I have a new obsession.

A “garbage salad” of a ton of yummy veggies, topped with a little bit of quinoa, and this simple, easy dressing. It has so much flavor and takes less than two minutes to make.

The recipe is from the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan (I bit the bullet and purchased it…. so far, completely worth it. It’s hundreds of pages of tips, recipes, meal plans, workouts, etc.)

Dijon Dressing

image via

2 Tbs red or white onion

1 Tbs agave

1 Tbs dijon mustard

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp mustard powder

*drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, I added this, the recipe didn’t call for it

combine into a mason jar and shake, shake, shake.

I pour this over the quinoa with:

avocado, cucumber, red onion, broccoli, black beans, chickpeas, and tomatoes.

Top it all off with some feta.

image via

or my pretty photo…..

I know you all read this blog for the stunning food photography

boom. talent.

While dicing and chopping, I put half the veggies and some of the quinoa in tupperware, and have lunch for the next day at work all prepared.

do you have a favorite salad or quinoa combo I should try?!

Lifestyle, recipe

Crack of the Week: Mexican Breakfast Casserole

November 19, 2013

I hosted a brunch at my place on Sunday for the girlfriends.

I needed to make something gluten free, which I thought would be difficult. I was so wrong.

I had no idea hash browns and potatoes were gluten free….. am I the biggest moron in the world??

I have a breakfast casserole recipe I usually make, and this forced me to think outside the box, which I’m so glad I did.

I found this Mexican Breakfast Casserole from Big Eats Tiny Kitchen and it was deeeeelicious.

photo via big eats tiny kitchen

{as sides, sticky buns and crack cake were a hit as always}.

Of course, I topped it with cheese which the recipe didn’t call for, because why would you not add a bunch of cheese to anything?

Without the cheese, this is dairy free and paleo friendly.

not saying I’ll be going paleo, gluten, or dairy free – but nice to know there are easy and great recipes that fit all of those categories!

You can make this the night before and just bake it the next day, which is the best way to do brunch.

Make Ahead Mexican Breakfast Casserole (Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free, Paleo-Friendly)

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

12 eggs, whisked
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 lb ground beef
1 sweet potato*, shredded with skin on
1 jalapeno, deseeded and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups diced fresh tomatoes (or 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained)
2 cups fresh spinach (or chard or any leafy green you choose)

*Note – if you have picky eaters in your house, you can substitute regular potatoes for the sweet potato. And if you are _really_ in a pinch, you can substitute frozen hash browns.

so….. obviously I said no to sweet potatoes and did frozen hash browns 🙂

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 9″X13″ baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
Whisk eggs in a medium bowl and set aside.
Shred sweet potato using a food processor with shredding attachment or by hand. Set aside.
Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break into crumbly pieces using a spatula. Drain off extra grease. Add onion, shredded sweet potato, garlic, jalapeño, chili powder, salt, and paprika into skillet. Cook until onions are translucent (about 5 to 7 minutes). Add tomatoes and spinach into skillet and cook for about 2 minutes or until spinach begins to wilt.
Pour beef and sweet potato mixture into the prepared 9″X13″ pan and spread evenly along the bottom. Pour whisked eggs over the top, making sure to mix the eggs into the sweet potato mixture with a spoon or spatula. (The casserole can be made ahead 1 day in advance up to this point and covered and refrigerated. Remove from fridge 15 minutes before cooking.)
Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until middle of casserole is set (not jiggly) and edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Feeds a crowd of 8 to 10 or it feeds 2 people over the course of a week!!!!

Lifestyle, recipe

Crack of the Week: Healthy Edition

August 13, 2013

On a totally unrelated note, I posted last weeks Coffee Talk a day late, so check it out i you haven’t yet!

It has been way too long since I’ve posted any recipes!

Sorry about that.

Today’s Crack of the Week is better for our waistlines than my usual 3 sticks of butter recipes (this is a good thing and a bad thing I know….these recipes are good, but obviously not as “crack” as the buttery-fatty great stuff).

I was in the baking mood this Sunday and decided to make two healthy snacks for the week:

Breakfast Muffins + Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies.

Both were delicious! And, as always, so easy.

Check out the recipes below.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup organic chunky peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cups gluten-free rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, use an electric mixer to cream peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg.
Add rolled oats and baking soda to creamed mixture, and mix well.
Line two baking sheets with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.
Roll dough into two-inch balls, and press to flatten on the cookie sheet.
Bake for eight minutes or until the cookies turn slightly brown.
Cool cookies on a rack, and store leftovers in an airtight container.

**According to the recipe, they are only 87 calories per cookie! So dig in!

Healthy Morning Muffins

INGREDIENTS

Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup skim milk
4 medium carrots, shredded
1 medium ripe banana, mashed

COOK’S NOTE

To store, keep in an airtight container up to 3 days.

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt until there are no lumps. Stir in oats and raisins. Add oil, egg, milk, carrots, and banana and stir until blended.
STEP 2

Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature.

And you know I need to share my stunning food photography.

I mean….. I should be winning awards for this talent.

Lifestyle, recipe

Greek Tortellini Salad

June 18, 2013

For the BBQ we hosted on Friday I wanted to try a new recipe.

Pasta Salad is one of my favorite summer side dishes,

and when I saw this Greek Tortellini Salad on Pinterest I knew I had to make it.

I’m 99% positive I found this through Natalie’s Pinterest Board….basically every recipe she pins is immediately repinned to my recipe board.

sadly one of my better food photos

It was SO EASY and so delicious. I’d add a little bit more feta than the recipe calls for, and I didn’t use quite as many olives because I toss ’em to the side most of the time anyways.

It made enough for all 8 of us to eat!

I served it in a trifle so it was pretty to display as well.

Greek Tortellini Salad

recipe from two peas & their pod

ingredients:

1 (20 ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 large cucumber, chopped

1 cup kalamata olives, pit removed and chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

For the Dressing:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper, to taste

directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Drain the tortellini and rinse with cold water.

2. Place the tortellini in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion, and feta cheese.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir until salad is well coated. Serve immediately or place in the refrigerator.

Note-this salad will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Enjoy!!

xoxo