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Pasta, Salads

Dill Pickle & Black Forest Pasta Salad

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This Dill Pickle and Black Forest Pasta Salad is a fantastic and easy recipe for any of those upcoming summer gatherings! 

I hope you give this light and tasty Summer pasta salad a try!

This is best served slightly chilled the day of vs the next day, because if it’s left in the fridge for to long it can become dry.

So if there is just the two of you please use the recipe adjuster here and make just enough for what you need.

Other than that this recipe is a winner as it’s not laddled with any high fat dressing.

Rather we are using a creamy plain yogurt and then adding some pickle juice, a touch of mayo, olive oil and spices that make it all come together very well.

What kind of Dill Pickle ? Pasta Salads have you tried in the past? Why not give this lighter version a try  this time.

This one is creamy enough to satisfy pretty much anyone, however is made lighter than the average pickle pasta salad you may find out there.

Since it’s mostly made with plain yogurt, dill pickle juice and just 1 tbsp of mayonnaise.

I much prefer using more yogurt over mayonnaise as it lightens up the dish and keeps me in better shape. 

Pickle Salad Perfection!

Notes: The colder the salad the better it taste, so try to chill it in the fridge for one at least one hour prior to serving.

LOOKING FOR OTHER SUMMER SALAD RECIPES?


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Date Night, Skip the takeout

Chinese Beef Pepper Steak

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Skip the takeout tonight and try this “Chinese Beef Pepper Steak” instead. 

It is absolutely delicious and so healthy for you. So feel free to indulge and sharing is not mandatory! 

I like good quality chinese food and will seek it out when the craving hits. 

I lean more towards those authentic type dishes than those americanized sweet ones.

This dish definitely delivers on those authentic flavors. 

So if your like me and prefer a more authentic stir fry too then you’re definitely going to want to add this recipe collection!

Sauteed in the most delicious sauce your family won’t believe this didn’t come from delivery.

So what is in that secret sauce anyway? Well it’s a simple combination of  oyster sauce, soya sauce, cornstarch, sugar, rice vinegar and some great spices.

You are sure to be reminded of your best dining experience at your favorite asian restaurant with this one.

Your wanting to use a fast fry steak here and simple marinade it for 15 minutes prior to ensure it is as tender as possible.

To do that slice the steak against the grain and marinade it in a bit of baking soda then after the 15 minutes is up your going to run that clean under cold water.

Then add all the “sauce” ingredients back into a bowl with the cleaned steak and now your ready to pull it all together in the wok!

Meanwhile, while the steak is marinating in the sauce you can get your rice going either on the stove or in your rice cooker and also chop up all the vegetables = Red and Green peppers, onions, garlic and ginger.

Then the rest of the dish takes less than 15 minutes to pull together, talk about easy enough eh? 

For this recipe you can throw in practically any type of vegetable in, sometimes will throw broccoli and snap peas for another version.

However this version is definitely my all time favorite, I could eat this once per week or more and sometimes i do 🙂

I like to serve this with some cooked jasmine rice on the side, I hope you give it I would love to know what you think?

If you liked this recipe? Then you will want to try my other ASIAN inspired recipes below!

Looking for more Chinese style recipes? search the blog’s “Skip The Takeout” section for some more inspiration. 

I am so thrilled you are reading one of my recipes, if you made this recipe i’d love to hear how it turned out! Thank you very much for reading and until next time see ya in the kitchen. Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER delivered right to your inbox!

 

 

 

Dinner ideas, Vegetarian

Easy Cuban Black Beans Recipe

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This Easy Cuban Black Beans Recipe is my all time favorite way to serve black beans. This dish is vegan / vegetarian and will have you not missing the meat in this recipe whatsoever.

Looking for another excellent black bean recipe? Try my Cilantro Lime Rice with Black Beans

We eat these Easy Cuban Black Beans Recipe weekly in my house and serve them with jasmine rice fresh cilantro and limes. 

If you have never had this dish before then I encourage you to give it a try because it’s super delicious and not to mention a healthy meal the whole family will enjoy!

I also love that they are packed full of protein, which really makes for a satisfying meal. 

In Cajun and Creole cuisine the hearty black bean has become a staple food and I can see why. 

It’s meaty and jam packed with nutrients.

When cooked right these black beans have a meaty flavor, making them a very popular bean in the vegan/vegetarian community.

If I have enough time, I prefer to use uncooked black beans for this recipe.

So I will soak my beans overnight to ensure they cook properly the next day.

To soak black beans you will want to cover them in about 10 inches or more of water overnight and place them in the fridge to ensure they don’t ferment.

However soaking the beans is not necessary since you can always purchase pre cooked canned beans which work just as good. 

If you are soaking the beans overnight like I do, just make sure to rinse them several times before soaking.

This is because you are going to want to use that bean water in the cooking process.

Serve with some chopped fresh tomato and avocado and make sure to sprinkle generously with salt before serving.

This recipe is definitely something your going to want to add to your recipe book 🙂

Notes: If soaking uncooked beans overnight, be sure to place them in the fridge otherwise they may ferment on the counter and have to be discarded.

Looking to use dry beans vs canned? Here is a quick Conversion chart

I am so thrilled you are reading one of my recipes, if you made this recipe i’d love to hear about it! Thank you very much for reading and until next time see ya in the kitchen. Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER delivered right to your inbox every Month!

 

Quick and easy recipes

Creamy Mustard Pork Tenderloin

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This Creamy Mustard Pork Tenderloin recipe is a lot like Pork Diablo Tenderloin, diablo in Spanish means the “Devil”.

The only difference with my recipe is we are omitting the cayenne pepper which gives this recipe that extra heat.

However we are still using a mustard & horseradish mixture which gives this recipe just the right amount of heat that most people would like.

There really is not much too making this recipe either, since everything is done in the same pan.

Just make sure your using a pan that can go from the stovetop to the oven. 

I prefer my recipe much better to the traditional pork diablo, I hope you do too!

Plus we are making this one more creamy, which goes great served along some plain rice.

And your favorite vegetable to make this a full meal.

The vegetables that pairs really well with this dish are brussel sprouts or asparagus. 

Wanting to feed more people simply double up the recipe with my easy to use recipe adjust above.

If you are wanting less of a sauce you can half the chicken stock, however I do not recommend that because the sauce goes so well over plain rice. 

Feel free to add 1 tsp of cayenne pepper if your wanting more heat to this pork.

Defiantly one of our favorite dijon mustard & horseradish mixtures. 

 

We hope you enjoy our latest recipe creation 🙂

Till next time see you in the kitchen

I am so thrilled you are reading one of my recipes, if you made this recipe i’d love to hear about it!Thank you very much for reading and until next time see ya in the kitchen. Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER delivered right to your inbox every Month!

 

Dinner ideas, Quick and easy recipes, Skip the takeout

Beef Vermicelli

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These Beef Vermicelli noodles are super simple to make and are packed full of flavors from Thai food that you have come to expect and love.

Because everyone thinks i’m some kind of highly skilled Asian chef, when really im just following some basic steps to obtain this lovely dish. 

This recipe is very easy to prepare and has red and yellow peppers along with bok choy in it among some other very important ingredients. 

I used to order this often from my local Vietnamese restaurant, now I make it myself.

Today you can find many different types of ways to prepare this popular dish, this is my take on this delicious recipe.

I hope you give it a try and let me know what you and your family think. 

Some people like to make this dish with shrimp, chicken or pork. 

And others like it purely vegetarian, which is good also. So do what works best for you, after all it’s your meal. 

You will want to start marinating the beef first and while its marinating you can then soak the vermicelli noodles.

Also preparing the vegetables around this time is perfect too. Since the actually cooking part takes less than 15 minutes.

To me this vegetable mixture is perfect, peppers and bok choy works so well.

The only traditional ingredient I didn’t add here was thai basil which you can top this dish with at the end if you’d like.

You can always substitute Thai basil leaves for regular fresh basil leaves.

I didn’t have any on hand today so I used cilantro instead which works good too.

Also I like to use Garlic chili sauce, which gives it the right amount of heat vs cutting up fresh whole thai red chilies.

They are just to hot for me to handle, and I always end up with burning hands.

I like to add 2 tbsp of this Garlic chili sauce to my recipe, however for this one I used 1 tbsp in the ingredients section because I’m sure more people prefer a milder dish.

ENJOY!

I am so thrilled you are reading one of my recipes, if you made this recipe i’d love to hear about it! Thank you very much for reading and until next time see ya in the kitchen. Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER delivered right to your inbox every Month!

The best way to get ahold of me is through the comments! I absolutely love hearing from my readers, and I respond to each and every comment I receive.

Date Night, Dinner ideas, Meal Prep, Quick and easy recipes, Skip the takeout

Black Pepper Beef Broccoli Stir Fry

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Does your family like authentic chinese food as much we do? Well then you’re definitely going to want to add this Black Pepper Beef Broccoli Stir Fry to your recipe collection!

I’m now happy to share with you my family’s favorite way to make black pepper beef stir fry. 

This recipe is not only super delicious, it’s also quick and healthy for you, win win!

Also this dish can be made for a fraction of the cost of what you would pay for takeout.

So if your trying to get your family to eat healthier, try this recipe tonight.  

Sauteed in the most delicious sauce your family won’t believe this didn’t come from delivery.

If you tried my Black Pepper Chicken stir fry and liked it then your sure to like this one too.

There are a few different techniques to making it with beef, which I will teach you below.

First off the beef needs to be first tenderized first and foremost. 

I learned to do this recipe through much trial and error and found the type of beef that works best is “flank steak” however you could use tenderloin or new york strip as well.

Then you will want to thinly slice the beef against the grain and allow it to marinade in baking soda for a minimum of 20 minutes to tenderizes it.

You can throw in practically any type of vegetable, I sometimes will use just peppers, other times I will use snow peas.

I hope you give it a try and if you do I would love to know what you think, just let me know in the comments below.  

I like to serve this Black Pepper Beef with some cooked jasmine rice on the side, and will use a mini rice cooker to cook the rice.

Just set it and it will be ready when the dish is completed. I hope you give it a try there really isn’t much too it!

Meal Prep Idea: Make enough to create a few meal prep bowls for the week ahead, this recipe will feed two for dinner and create two meal preps.

 

If you liked this recipe? Then you will want to try my other ASIAN inspired recipes below!

Notes:  You may use any other vegetables you have on hand such as snow peas, green peppers etc.  Also feel free to use anywhere from 1 tsp to 3 tsp of black pepper depending on your households preference. 

I am so thrilled you are reading one of my recipes, if you made this recipe i’d love to hear how it turned out! Thank you very much for reading and until next time see ya in the kitchen. Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER delivered right to your inbox!

Curries, Dinner ideas, Instant Pot, Quick and easy recipes, Skip the takeout, Slow Cooker recipes

Easy Chicken Tikka Masala

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Craving curry tonight? Well skip the take out and impress your family tonight with this easy to make and authentic tasting curry. 

This is my take on a healthier version of Chicken Tikka Masala.

What makes it healthier that we are omitting the cream and replacing it with 2% milk and then adding plain yogurt as well.

What makes it easier is that we are not blending the onions after cooking them rather just allowing them to simmer in the pressure cooker.

Also if you can get your hands on “green cardamom pods” which you can find in your ethnic spice isle, do add a few of those. This really adds a unique taste and is soooo good in here.

Packed with so much flavor this recipe will definitely remind you of some of the best Chicken Tikka Masala dishes that you have tried at your favorite restaurant.

In addition I like to add some mini potatoes to this recipe, however those are not typically used in Tikka Masala.

I think they go so well with this dish, so I will leave that ingredient option up to you. You can also serve this with rice OR naan bread.

If you end up giving it a try, do let me know in the comments below. I would love to know what you think 🙂

Notes: For a spicier curry add 1 tbsp of red chili powder. Also feel free to omit the mini potatoes if you would rather serve this with rice or naan bread.

I am so thrilled you are reading one of my recipes, if you made this recipe i’d love to hear about it!  Thank you very much for reading and until next time see ya in the kitchen. Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER delivered right to your inbox every Month!

Skip the takeout

Chinese Black Bean Stir fry

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This Chinese Black Bean Stir fry is made with chicken breasts, green peppers, broccoli and onions. 

Looking for another Chinese side dish to go with this one? Try my Mushroom Fried Rice

So skip the takeout tonight and make this popular dish in the comfort of your own home. Full of fresh vegetables and flavorful you are sure to want to make this again and again.

I have found that most restaurants that serve similar dishes will just serve a black bean dish with just green peppers and onions. However I really like to add crispy broccoli as well to this dish. It all goes so well together with the black bean sauce.

This recipe has similarities to my other black bean recipes on this site. So if your looking for something with beef or shrimp, be sure to do a search in the bar above.

This delicious and authentic stir fry takes less than 30 minutes to make too! So let’s get started. 

I don’t know about you but this vegetable mixture is perfect, however you can add mushrooms, broccoli or snow peas if you like as well.

If you end up giving this recipe a try, do let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear how you liked it 🙂

I am so thrilled you are reading one of my recipes, if you made this recipe i’d love to hear about it! Thank you very much for reading and until next time see ya in the kitchen. Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER delivered right to your inbox every Month!