White Bean, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

I came up with this recipe on a whim when I was making lunch in a hurry. We had leftover beans from dinner that I wanted to incorporate into a salad, and also the most beautifully green avocado and some ripe cherry tomatoes. So I threw them all in a bowl, added chopped cilantro, chopped jalapeño, lime juice, and cotija cheese...This salad was seriously delicious.



The wonderful thing about this salad is that it can also double as a salsa/appetizer for a party. Put it next to a bowl of tortilla chips and I guarantee it won't last long.



It's like chunky guacamole and chunky salsa had a delicious bean baby. No, that doesn't work at all.

But seriously, this salad/salsa is filling, healthy, and super delicious. And gluten free if you eat it with gluten free tortilla chips!

Ingredients: (makes two salads or one bowl of party salsa)

1 can of canned great northern beans, drained
1 avocado, chopped
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/4 cup diced red onion 1/2 a chopped jalapeño, seeded (or more if you like it spicy!)
bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice of a lime
cotija cheese for topping (or you can use feta)
salt and pepper to taste


Toss all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with tortilla chips or on it's own.

The Best Brown Butter Banana Bread

Last week I decided to treat my husband to a special breakfast loaf, instead of my usual low-sguar, low-fat, gluten-free loaf. He loves banana bread, so I thought I'd kick it up a notch and use brown butter in the loaf.

 

This bread was so delicious, I honestly felt kind of guilty eating it for breakfast. My sweet-toothed husband absolutely loved it. It was moist, sweet, and had this decadent nutty flavor from the brown butter. It tasted like a cupcake almost. I just love banana bread.



You can easily swap out the whole wheat flour for an all-purpose gluten free flour if you want it to be gluten free. I just felt like spoiling my husband with a deliciously fluffy gluten-filled loaf of banana bread.



Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 ripe, mashed bananas (about 1 cup)
3 eggs (room temp)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour (or gf all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a heat-proof glass add brown sugar and maple syrup, and set aside. In a small pot, heat the butter on medium-low heat, swirling every once in a while, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the butter starts to brown and turn an amber color. Carefully transfer butter into heat-proof glass with sugar, mix, and allow to cool.

Once butter and sugar has cooled, add eggs, vanilla, and mashed bananas. In a seperate bowl add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Incorporate wet ingredients into dry until just mixed. Pour into a 9 x 5 loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes (watch closely, as mine went from not quite done to almost overcooked in a matter of minutes).

Pesto, Spinach,Tomato, and Fresh Mozzarella Pasta

 After studying abroad in Italy my friend Megan and I went back to visit some friends still living there for Spring break. We stayed with a friend I had met on my University soccer team in Rome, and one night she made us a delicious Italian meal with fresh pasta, fresh mozzarella, spinach, and tomatoes. She sauteed the spinach and tomatoes with garlic and olive oil, then added a splash of cream at the very end. It was one of the best, and most simple, Italian dishes I've ever had.

 So this dish is inspired by that meal. To make it a bit healthier, I replaced the cream with fresh pesto sauce, and replaced the fresh pasta with quinoa pasta. Brown rice pasta would work as well, if you're looking for a gluten free dish. I do find that with quinoa spaghetti, the noodles tend to break apart easily, which is why brown rice pasta might work better for this dish. You can of course use fresh pasta or regular spaghetti noodles if you're not watching your gluten.

Either way, it tastes delicious. You add fresh, chopped, mozzarella at the very end, which delicately melts into the pasta noodles. This dish wouldn't be what it is without the fresh mozzarella.


 

Ingredients: (Serves two, but you could easily double the recipe)

8 oz quinoa or brown rice spaghetti noodles
1 fresh mozzarella ball, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons fresh pesto sauce
1 cup cherry tomatoes
2 cups raw spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil for garnish

Cook pasta as directed. While pasta is boiling, sautee olive oil and tomatoes in a pan on medium heat. As tomatoes start to release their juices, add 2 cups of raw spinach and sautee until starting to wilt. At this point, reduce heat to low and add the minced garlic and sautee for one more minute. Drain pasta noodles (while reserving 2 tablespoons pasta water) and add to tomato and spinach pan. Add 3 tablespoons pesto sauce and chopped mozzarella. Toss and serve immediately, garnished with fresh basil.

Cheesy Jalapeño Beer Bread

Oh boy, this bread was something else. Straight out of the oven, steaming hot but crusty and crunchy on top. It was the perfect side to a bowl of chili. To be honest, it's the perfect side to anything comfort food-like. It was spicy, and you could taste a slight hint of the beer. And the cheese...well, it wouldn't be what it is without the cheese. I used spelt flour, but you can probably use any flour you like. If you're being really naughty, white all purpose flour would work great. This bread is so, so easy to make, it's ridiculous. I adapted this Honey Beer Bread from Give Me Some Oven, and I can honestly say, I will be making this again and again. If you are gluten-free, you could attempt this recipe using gluten free beer and all purpose gluten free flour, thought I'm not sure of the results--worth trying!





Ingredients:

3 cups of spelt flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
1 bottle of good beer (good, people, no coors or bud light)
4 tbsp melted butter
1 jalapeño, diced
1 cup shredded cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix in room temp beer and honey and mix until just combined, you don't want to over mix.  Fold in jalapenos and cheese. Pour half of the melted butter into the bottom of a loaf pan and pour batter on top. Top with remaining melted butter and another (hefty if you're like me) sprinkle of cheese on top. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Five Cheese Penne

Italian food is my absolute favorite food in the world. That's probably why I gained so much weight when I lived in Italy-I just can't get enough. So I'm constantly on the lookout for new pasta recipes, because there are SO many and SO many different options. I came across this Barefoot Contessa recipe a while back, but I decided to change it and make it my own. I made it for my 24th birthday and my family loved it, so I decided to make it again. It's definitely not figure-friendly, but it's worth it.

Five Cheese Penne Pasta

Serves 6

Sea Salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

3 cups fresh spinach

1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese

1/4 cup parmesean cheese

2 tablespoons ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese

1 pound penne pasta (you can use gluten free pasta too)

2 tablespoons olive oil,

2 cloves finely chopped garlic

Turn on oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, combine all the cheeses (except the ricotta) in a bowl and set aside. In a saute pan add the olive oil, tomatoes, and spinach and cook on medium low heat until just wilted. Add the garlic once the spinach has wilted and let cook for a minute or two, but be sure not to let it burn, then add the cream and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and turn off heat.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain, and put back into the large pot. Add the tomato and spinach cream mixture and 3/4 of the pre-shredded cheese that was set aside (reserve 1/4 of the cheese to go on top of the pasta). Mix the cheese in the pasta until incorporated, then add to a baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Top the pasta with freshly chopped basil and voila!