Crunchy Kale Chips

Let's start off by asking, what is kale? 

Kale is a leafy vegetable, most commonly found either green or purple, and is considered to be close to the cabbage family. Kale is a great source of vitamins K, A, C and many other nutrients. It has also been found to have the greatest antioxidant levels of all fruits and vegetables. In this week's recipe, I test out kale in a crunchy chip form by baking them in the oven! This recipe is mind blowing on how simple and delicious it is!   

So why trade up the saltiness of a normal BBQ flavored chip? Lets start of with the basic, You will cut off a huge source of calories and fat by substituting a normal chip for kale chips.  Kale also contains no cholesterol and no unhealthy saturated or trans fats. 

I would like to give a special thanks to Endlessly Organic for providing this delicious organic kale! Check out their website and Facebook page for more details on who they are and what they do! 

http://endlesslyorganic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/EndlesslyOrganic


To find out more information on kale, check out these helpful sites !
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/r/recipes_for_health_kale/index.html
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-eating-kale-chips-4238.html

Ingredients:
- Kale
- Salt
- Olive Oil

Directions:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
2.Wash your kale and make sure you rinse and dry the leafs well.
3. Chop up kale and place on a sheet pan. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and season with salt.
4. Bake in the oven until crispy, about 10-15 minutes.

Simple Guacamole Dip!

Not only do I love, and I mean LOVE, avocados, it's also high in healthy monounsaturated fats and a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. 

Check out my recipe for a super easy and awesome "Guac" dip (or topping, however you decide to eat it)

 made with all fresh ingredients! 

Great way to start the summer eating GREEN!

JUICY!

Ingredients: 

2 Avocados

2 Tablespoons of fresh lime juice

1-2 Tablespoons of oil (not necessary)  

2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 Jalapeno, minced

1/4 small red onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Salt and pepper

(This recipe is great for 2-3 people. I highly suggest to multiply for more deliciousness! ) 

Directions:

1. Chop up ingredients and have everything prepped.

(I actually used half since I am still unfamiliar working with Jalapenos. Turn's out, half was not enough for me!) 

(Minced Jalapenos)

2. Mash up avocados to the texture of your liking

(Cilantro and avocado)

3. Combine ALL ingredients and enjoy! 

Guacamole is a great topping for a yummy salad too! Check mine out.

(Lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, corn, black beans, onions, shredded cheese, sour cream and some GUAC of course! )

Sweet & Spicy Shrimp Skewers

Ready for a Surf and NO Turf meal that will blow your taste buds away? 

Then this sweet and spicy recipe will do the deal. 

Not only is it Ridiculously easy to make 

it's also great for any vegetarians or seafood aficionados 

in your life!   

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil, for grill
• 2 tablespoons spicy chili sauce, such as Sriracha
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 pounds extra-jumbo shrimp (about 32 total), peeled and deveined (tails left on)
• Salt and pepper
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  Directions: 
  1. Pre-heat pan/grill 
  
  
  2. Begin by prepping your glaze, stir together spicy chili sauce and honey. 
  
  
  
  3. Assemble the shrimp and season with salt and pepper. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  (Using two skewers helps when you are grilling and you have to flip the shrimp)
  
  
  4. Grill the shrimp until it turns opaque. After a couple of minutes, once the shrimp has turned pink, begin to glaze front and back. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  (Tip: glaze near the end of the cooking process, the glaze will burn quickly) 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Tiramisu Obsession !

Okay, SERIOUSLY, drool. This recipe is amazing! I'm not going to lie, I did have some troubles in the beginning since the original recipe did not convince me. I made a couple of tweaks and if I do say so myself, made it into a FAN-TAS-TIC dessert! This no bake Tiramisu is a very popular Italian dessert that is made with ladyfinger cookies dipped in coffee and usually layered with a whipped mixture of mascarpone cheese and eggs.  In my recipe I replaced the mascarpone cheese with a less expensive ingredient, cream cheese! Give it a try and let me know what you think. Regardless, it's pretty outrageous!

Ingredients:

16 ounces Cream Cheese

1 1/2 cups Heavy cream

6-7 ounces Lady Fingers (One Package)

2/3 cups Sugar

2 cups of Coffee or Espresso

3 tbls. Baileys Cream (Rum or any other coffee flavored liquor works)

2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1-2 tsps. of cocoa powder

Chocolate, for garnish

Directions:

1. Before anything else, I start by brewing my Espresso. 1 1/2-2 cups should be sufficient for your recipe. (Coffee works as well)

2. In a bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla extract and liquor together. (It helps to have the cream cheese softened ahead of time.)

3. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream and sugar together with a mixer. Beating the heavy cream separately helps the cream to have a stiff consistency. 

3. Once the cream has formed into a whipped cream, add the mixture into the cream cheese. fold or beat together to combine. 

4. Once the creamy mixture is ready you can start assembling your dessert. Start by covering the bottom of your dish with cream. Dip the ladyfinger cookie into the espresso so that it can absorb the liquid. Place the soaked lady finger cookie on top of the cream and repeat the steps.

5. As you see in the pictures above, I started by making individual tiramisu desserts in mason jars. This is a bit more work to do. Since I was in a rush to get them into some hungry stomachs, I changed it and finished it off in a larger platter.

(Don't forget to sprinkle it with some cocoa powder and chocolate shavings for a chocolaty touch!)

Enjoy!

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Hello Everyone! 

Yes, PASTA NIGHT is tonight and I have the perfect recipe for you! The beauty about this dish is you can change it up as you please with your own preferences and make it as simple or as extravagant as you want. Vegetarian? Stuff it with some gooey cheese, spinach and favorite blend of veggies. Although all of that sounds DELISH, today I have decided to go the classical way and will be stuffin' my pasta with beef and cheese! Follow my recipe for an awesome weekend dinner!

PS: Don't panic, this dish is great on the weekdays too ;) 

Ingredients: 

Salt 

Pepper

1/4 Finely chopped carrots (or grated, whatever is easier)

1/4 Finely chopped celery

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4-1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms

1- 1 1/2 pounds of ground meat 

1 28oz. canned tomato sauce

1 teaspoon of dried Basil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 12oz. box of jumbo shells

1/2-1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese (Depending on how much you love cheese! )

Instructions:
1. Get your veggies into a pan and sautee them for about ten minutes at a medium to high heat .

2. Once your veggies have cooked off add your ground meat. 

Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring some salted water to a boil and cook your pasta shells. DO NOT OVERCOOK!  I would suggest to cook them up a little bit over the halfway mark that the boxed instruction tells you to. Remember, you will finish off the dish in the oven to bake off. 

3. After the meat has browned, mix in the tomato sauce. Once the sauce has come to a boil add the dried basil, salt and pepper to taste and reduce to a simmer. 

4. Once your meat sauce has simmered off for about 15 minutes you can start stuffing the pasta. I placed some sauce on the bottom of the pan as well so that the shells don't get stuck. 

5. Once the shells have been stuffed, cover the dish with foil and bake them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. 

(I add some Parmesan cheese and basil on top before it goes in the oven)

6. After the 20 minutes are up, take the shells out of the oven and place slices of mozzarella cheese on top (or shredded, whatever you have handy)

For a gooey finish, broil the the shells in the oven for a few minutes on high heat so that the cheese melts! KEEP your eye on them or they WILL burn. 

Buon Appetito!