Serving up delicious, easy recipes, one plate at a time!
I love a good summer salad. One of my favorites, includes the sweetness of watermelon, the saltiness of feta cheese and the richness tartness of balsamic vinegar. I wanted to play on these flavors and created my Watermelon, Feta, Jalapeño Salad. The slight heat of the jalapeño is the perfect addition to this summer time favorite.
Very rarely does my husband, Hussein ask for a salad for dinner. He is not picky, per se, but doesn’t like ‘diet food’ or cereal for dinner (yes, I sometimes have a bowl of cereal for dinner :P).
I first made this dish two years ago, during a super hot stretch of summer. We did not turn the oven on and barely the energy to come up with an elaborate meal. I had been to the farmers market earlier in the week and a had a beautiful bounty of fresh vegetables on had. I decided to make a pasta salad and thus this Orzo Summer Salad was created 😀
Summer is the season to eat ice-cream on a daily basis and feel absolutely no guilt about it. I mean, we have to stay cool somehow 😛
In 4th grade, my class made ice-cream using salt and ice cubes to freeze the cream and sugar. It was delicious and so much fun. That was probably one of my favorite ‘lessons’ in that class 😀 After that, I did not make cream based ice-cream. My sisters and I made popsicles and slushy drinks but now…
I love my kitchen aid stand mixer and one of my favorite things about it is the versatility and add ones. I purchased the ice-cream maker bowl, when it was on sale. Combined with a coupon I got it at a great price! #Score
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month and National Ice Cream Day as the third Sunday in the month of July. So today, July 17th is #National Ice Cream Day! wohoo 😀
I love strawberries and had a ton on hand… which led to the creation of this recipe 😀
*Note you will need an ice-cream maker for this recipe.
Make this dish? I’d love to see! Tag me using #CreateAmandasPlate or @AmandasPlate <3
I love popsicles! Especially in the hot summer heat. What I don’t like is all the added preservatives and dyes in many store bought popsicles, so I decided to make my own! #YayForHomemade 😀
With Independence day a few days away, I decided to make Red, White and Blue popsicles using raspberries, coconut milk and blackberries! The blackberries make a more
As the warm days of summer approach, so do the picnics, cookouts and outdoor gatherings. One dish that is always on the menu during our summer parties, is pasta salad! It is one of our favorite summer salads. As with many salads, pasta salad is versatile and easy to make your own!
I’ve partnered with the Feed Feed and Best Foods to create my Mediterranean Pasta Salad. Best Foods Organic Mayonnaise makes for the perfect base to dress this pasta salad. Added bonus; all the ingredients in the mayo are free of the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and GMOs!
Mexican cuisine is definitely one of my favorites. Hussein often asks, “if you could have Mexican food everyday would you?”. The answer is undoubtedly, yes! 😀
Many traditional Mexican dishes have pork or lard, so I learned to make these dishes myself.
Peaches are one of summers best treats! Sweet, juicy, easy to eat and a great addition to almost any dessert! While at the Farmer’s Market, I picked up some beautiful peaches that were grown in Cashmere, WA.
I knew immediately that I would make a favorite; peach cobbler. But I couldn’t just make an ordinary peach cobbler. I wanted to add another fruit and decided on the beautiful blackberries that I also picked up at the Farmer’s Market.
I made individual cobblers, because I L-O-V-E serving up cute, individual portions of dessert 🙂 There is something special about an individual treat.
Be sure the make my Peach and Blackberry cobbler before summer is over! Serve with a large scoop (or two) of your favorite vanilla ice cream! So may say the ice cream is optional… but I think not 😛
Here is my recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups peaches, peeled and cut into segments
3/4 cup blackberries
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
For the Topping:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
mint for garnish, optional
vanilla ice cream
Procedure:
This summer has been unusually dry and hot for the Seattle area! Climate change? Al Gore would say so! Whatever the case, it is often too hot to cook and bake. I find myself looking for a quick dinner using the tomatoes and cucumbers from my little patio garden 🙂
The quickest dinners in our household consist of grilled chicken breast, a large salad and fresh baguette from one of many favorite bakeries. Some days, I would be okay with a bowl of cereal for dinner but Hussein says “that’s not dinner” and “has no protein”.
This recipe was developed on a super hot day. It was 90 degrees and I was not feeling the heat in my kitchen 😛 I grilled some chicken and decided to make a salad and hummus. Then it hit me; we often dip the chicken into the hummus, and add salad to the top for a perfect bite, so why not make it a loaded hummus!
I made my hummus using canned chickpeas, but feel free to use a premade hummus for an even easier dinner! I served this dish with Stacy’s Pita chips 😀
Ingredients:
3 cans chickpeas, rinsed
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup cucumber diced
1 1/4 cup tomatoes, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup Kalamta olives, pitted and halved
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons red onion, finely minced
Procedure:
Today is National S’mores Day! What a great food celebration! S’mores are a classic summer treat. Whether your on the beach sitting around a camp fire, or in your kitchen roasting a marshmallow on your stove top, S’mores are a delicious confection!
I had come across a picture of a S’mores using a Reese’s peanut butter cup in place of the classic piece of Hershey’s Bar. And then it hit me! Combine the classic flavors of a s’mores into a cookie! And then use that cookie to make a S’more!
Here is my recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup roughly crushed graham crackers
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 1/4 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups mini Reese’s peanut butter cups
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. In a stand mixer, cream together butter, sugars and vanilla. Add in eggs one at a time.
2. Add flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt and baking soda to butter and sugar mixture. Combine well.
3. Fold in 1 cups of the marshmallows, chocolate chips and Reese’s.
4. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and scope dough 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Be sure that none of the marshmallows are on the edges of the cookie.
5. Bake until golden brown; about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top each cookie with two or three mini marshmallows place under broiler for 1 minute.
6. Enjoy! 🙂
Now that the cat is out of the bag, and you all know I will be competing for a white apron on Master Chef, I can share my inspiration for this soup!
I was inspired by none other than Gordon Ramsay!! One day early last week, I was binge watching Youtube when I came across a super easy broccoli soup recipe by GR. I decided to recreate it and put my own twist on it.
The soup is delicious on its own and makes for a great base for a number of toppings! I list some of my favorites below.
Here is what I came with! 🙂
Serves: 2
Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable stock
1 cup water
pinch of kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Toppings:
Walnuts, almonds
goat cheese, crema
toasted baguette, croutons
herbed oil, parsley, cherry tomato
Procedure:
1. In a pot, boil broccoli in water and vegetable stock, just until broccoli is cooked (overcooking will cause soup to loose bright green color). Season with salt, pepper and garlic.
2. In a blender, such as a Nutribullet, blend broccoli and 1 1/2 cup of the stock/water. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour into a bowl and garnish as desired!
4. Enjoy 🙂