Move over, Sangria...Try Tinto de Verano

People outside of Spain tend to believe that sangria is the drink of choice throughout Spain. It is widely available, but it's for the tourists. Spaniards are drinking gin and tonics, clara con limón (close to a Summer Shandy of beer and a lemon-flavored soda) and tinto de verano, literally, the wine of summer. 

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Tinto de Verano is sangria without the work (or the brandy). It's simply an equal mixture of red table wine and a gaseosa, some carbonated soda, like seltzer or lemon-lime soda. Serve it over ice, and you're good to go...easy and refreshing. 

¡Salud!

From Kelly's Kitchen: Roasted Sweet Potatoes

We eat a lot of sweet potatoes in our house. We roast them, bake them, and boil and mash them. They end up in casseroles, in stews, and in tortilla españolas. 

Sweet potatoes are good for you. 

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And they make a great side dish. 

Here's what I do. 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes...whether you roast 2 or 10 is your choice 
Coconut oil (or olive oil)
Maple syrup
Himalayan salt or course sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
*Optional...crumbled bacon, fresh thyme. 

Preheat your oven to 425.
Peel and cut your sweet potatoes into evenly sized chunks. Place in a large mixing bowl. 

In a small bowl, mix oil, salt, and pepper. Add a splash of real maple syrup. 
Pour over the sweet potatoes, enough to lightly coat, but not enough to create a puddle in the bottom of the bowl. 

Spread onto a greased cookie sheet or into a baking dish. Ideally, you should have a single layer to avoid steaming, but potatoes roasted in a baking dish will still come out delicious. 

You can sprinkle with more salt and pepper if you want. 

Roast for thirty minutes to one hour, depending on how much you have to cook. Move them around about halfway through cooking so the bottoms don't burn. They will be tender when they are cooked. 

Adventures in Cooking Class

I love to cook, and after taking a macaron class last spring, I learned that cooking classes through a local community education program are a fun way to learn new techniques,  eat well, and take home delicious leftovers. 

This fall, I decided to take some cooking classes with my friend, Chef Sherry B.  
What a treat! 

Over the course of three nights, I took classes in making Gifts from the Kitchen, A Passion for Pumpkin, and Everything but the Turkey. 

My series began with Gifts from the Kitchen. In this class, we made sweet treats, including chocolate truffles...

peanut brittle...

and salted caramel sauce. 

Then, in A Passion for Pumpkin, we made pumpkin fudge (OMG!), pumpkin fritters with caramel sauce, pumpkin cookies, and this pumpkin risotto, with bacon and sage. 

The last class in the series was Everything but the Turkey. In this class dedicated to Thanksgiving sides, we made fresh cranberry relish...

pumpkin biscuits...



stuffing with sausage and sage...

and mashed potatoes with gravy. According the Chef Sherry, the secret to mashed potatoes is a ricer.  My mom uses an electric hand mixer to whip mashed potatoes; I use a hand mixer and sometimes, the electric mixer. Both work well for me. 

In every class, I learned new techniques, like differentiating between the ball states in candy making, how to make the perfect risotto, and the secret to fail-proof biscuits. It's an opportunity to expand my own recipe repertoire, and a fun opportunity to cook with friends. 

There are cooking classes offered all over the globe. You can find classes through international programs and tour groups, through adult continuing education programs, at independent cookware stores, and at larger chain stores, like Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma. From specialty cuisines to knife skills, there is something for everyone. 

Have you ever taken a cooking class? Do tell. 

From Kelly's Kitchen: An Easy Weeknight Dinner: Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin

For some, an oven roast is a nostalgic comfort food, and in the fall. the time is right for all things roasted. 

One of our favorite oven roasts is a pork tenderloin. It's perfect for a Sunday supper or even a busy weeknight dinner. 

Here's what I do.

Weeknight Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin
1 or 2 pork tenderloins (fresh, not marinated)
Apricot preserves, all-fruit, if possible. 
Butter
Fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil 

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 
• Salt and pepper the pork on all sides to taste. 
• In an oiled skillet on medium high to high heat, sear the tenderloin on all sides. 
• In the microwave, heat 1/2-3/4 of a cup of apricot preserves with 1-2 tablespoons of butter and fresh thyme that you have removed from 2 or 3 stems. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. You're really only trying to cook down the preserves to more of a glaze. 
• Once the pork is seared, but not cooked, place it in an oven safe dish. 
• Spoon the apricot thyme mixture onto the pork and bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, depending on the girth of the pork. You may spoon the glaze from the dish over the pork about halfway through cooking. 
• It is done when your meat thermometer reaches 140-145 degrees, about 20 minutes in total. Let it rest about 10 minutes. 

That night, we served ours with roasted veggies. 

This is one of our go-to fall favorites. It's quick, it's easy, and it's delicious. What are your favorite go-to dinners?

Take One: My First Attempt at Paleo Pumpkin Walnut Pancakes

I love pumpkin, and I love pancakes. Pumpkin pancakes on a chilly weekend morning sounded like a lovely idea. 

Because of what's best for my body and no other reason, I am trying to eat less grains. As a result, I have been experimenting with different ingredients and how I can make some of my favorite things, minus the grains. 

This paleo pumpkin pancake recipe came about as a result. 

The final cooked texture of the pancake is dense; but perhaps this is due more to my impatience and sizing of the pancakes than the recipe itself, which generated from a survey of various paleo pancake recipes. 

This particular recipe makes 10-12 pancakes. 

Paleo Pumpkin Walnut* Pancakes

4 large eggs, beaten
1 can of pumpkin 
2 tablespoons raw honey
1.5 cups of almond meal/flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice
1/3-1/2 cups walnuts, chopped (optional)

Coconut oil for greasing your skillet

Mix the wet ingredients. Add to the dry ingredients.

Grease your skillet with coconut oil.
Add a dollop of batter
Cook over medium low heat. This is where I became impatient. They will flip easier if you're patient and wait until they solidify a bit more. 

I ate my pancakes drizzled with real maple syrup, and they were delicious! My husband liked the flavor, but he agreed that they were dense. Better for keeping us full, I said. 

I will be making these again. If you make them, please let me know what you think. 

From Kelly's Kitchen: Easy Black Bean Salad Side

If you're looking for an easy, refreshing, no-mayo salad side dish, this salad side dish is for you. And, like any salad, it's customizable for you to add your own personal favorites. 

Here's what I did. 

Black Bean Salad

1 can of black beans, drained

1 can of niblet corn, drained

1 tomato, diced (or 2 plum tomatoes)

1/4 chopped red or vidalia onion

2 baby cucumbers, diced

Balsamic vinaigrette to taste

Salt and pepper to taste. 

My add-ins

1 avocado, diced

1/4 cup feta cheese or sliced hard boiled eggs

Fresh lemon juice

That's it. Mix it all up, and eat it as is, or chilled. 

It's so easy and it's refreshing as a side to grilled protein. 

Enjoy!

Italian Inspired Noodleless Side Dish

My husband has been doing a great job on the 21 Day Fix; he's making a great effort to clean up his diet and he is working out with a trainer as well. 

Getting to our healthiest selves is important to us, so I want to do whatever it takes to make the journey more fun. 

One way I am pushing outside the box is in finding ways to make comfort food more 21-Day friendly. We like Italian flavors, so I wanted to find a way to bring that comfort food flavor into a "cleaner" side dish. 

Here's what I did. 

Italian Inspired Cabbage Slaw Saute

3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
Olive oil for sauteing
1 bag of cole slaw mix
Spaghetti sauce to coat
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: feta cheese, chopped bacon or pancetta

Saute the garlic (and bacon or pancetta) in the olive oil. Add the onion, pepper, and cook until softened. 

Add the slaw mix and cook down until it is tender. 

Finally, add the spaghetti sauce to coat and add another level of flavor. 

Make pockets in the mixture to add the sauce. It makes a full skillet easy to mix. 

Before serving, add feta cheese, if desired. You may also add Parmesan cheese. 

That's it. It's super easy and surprisingly flavorful. And, if you're avoiding rice or pasta, you can find the Italian comfort food sweet spot with this convenient substitution. 

Buon appetito!

Do you use vegetable substitutions in comfort food favorites? Please share. 

Recipe: Quiche with Roasted Butternut Squash, Pancetta, Shallots and Goat Cheese

Easter crept up on me this year. 

On Saturday, my husband and I attended a funeral,which turned into a beautiful celebration of life. My best friend's dad lost his battle to cancer, and while sad, it was incredibly touching to see the legacy he left behind for his wife of nearly sixty years, their four children and his ten grandchildren. 

For Easter, my parents joined my husband and me and my mother-in-law for brunch. Like last year, I made a roasted tomato and goat cheese quiche.  But this year, I added a quiche made with roasted butternut squash, caramelized shallots and pancetta, and goat cheese. 

Delicious!

Here's what I did. 

Quiche with roasted squash, caramelized shallots and pancetta, and goat cheese.

2 cups of roasted butternut squash

8 ounces of crumbled goat cheese, split into 2-4oz. portions.

3 shallots, minced

3 ounces of diced pancetta

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups of half and half or whole milk (I used half and half.)

1 pie crust (I used pre-made refrigerated pie crusts.)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Here's how I made it.

• Preheat the oven to 400. 
• Peel and cut your squash into bite size pieces. I used the pre-cut squash from the supermarket. 
• Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Use just enough olive oil to keep the squash from sticking. 
• Spread into a single layer onto a cookie sheet and bake at 400 for about 30 minutes. Then set aside in a medium sized bowl. 

• For the quiche shell, I used a 9" deep dish pie plate. If I had a tart pan, I would have used it. But, the pie plate worked just fine. *If you do use the tart pan or tart shell, halve the custard (eggs and half and half or whole milk)
• Spread the pie dough into your pie plate. Set aside.

• In a small sauté pan, add the pancetta and minced onion in about 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil. Cook until brown and caramelized, about 10 minutes, more or less. 
• Add the pancetta and shallots to the squash. Mix well. 

Starting to cook it down.

• Add about 4 ounces of goat cheese to the squash mixture. 
• Put mixture into empty pie shell. 
• Beat the eggs and yolks well. Add the half and half and continue to beat until frothy. 
• Pour the egg mixture over the squash mixture in the cooked pie shell. 
• Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, or until the custard is set. 
• Do not eat right away. Allow the custard to set up. Eat at room temperature or slightly above. 

I served the quiches with roasted asparagus, French bread and an arugula salad:

• 1 container of baby arugula 
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
• Dressed with 
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 freshly squeezed lemon
• salt and pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon each)

The asparagus, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, was roasted at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. When it came out of the oven, I squeezed on a half lemon's worth of juice.

Everything was delicious, including the other quiche with roasted tomatoes. 

And the jelly beans...just because. 

I like the pink and white ones...eaten together though. What's your favorite?

Did you host or attend an Easter feast? What was on your menu?

Best Loaded Veggie Soup Ever

I love veggies. 
My husband loves meat. 
We compromise with this soup, and we both come out winners. 

I say this is the easiest soup ever because you load it with what you love and what you have on hand. You can buy ingredients, and that's fine, or you can go with what you have. 
Here's what's in this mix. 

Best Loaded Veggie Soup Ever

1 pound of lean ground beef
4 cloves of garlic, sliced or minced
2 medium onions, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3 cans of fire roasted tomatoes, in their juice
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of baby peas
1 box of mushrooms, diced
1 head of cabbage, julienned
1 small eggplant, peeled and diced
2 small summer squash, diced
2 boxes of beef stock
Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste

Brown the beef with the garlic, onion, and pepper. Add the tomatoes, beans, and stock. Add other veggies and allow to cook well. 

Serve with grated cheese, a dollop of sour cream, or croutons. 

You can throw in sausage, pasta, rice, potatoes, and whatever you want to make it yours. Using prepared beef stock gives it the taste of an all-day simmer. This is doable after work and it will freeze well for meal prep days. 

Enjoy!

Noodleless Lasagna...It's #whatsfordinner

My husband has been doing a great job on the 21 Day Fix; in fact, he lost five pounds in his first week!

Getting to our healthiest selves is important to us, so I want to do whatever it takes to make the journey more fun. 

One way I am pushing outside the box is in finding ways to make comfort food more 21-Day friendly. 

I used thinly sliced eggplant instead of pasta in my lasagna. The eggplant was firm enough to hold up to the meat sauce and ricotta. 

It turned out better than I expected. We will have this one again. 

Noodleless Lasagna

2 medium sized eggplants, peeled and sliced thinly on the long end
1 pound ground beef...I used 93% lean and drained the fat before adding sauce.
1 medium onion, diced, minced or julienned
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 container part skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs,  beaten
8oz. shredded mozzarella blend cheese
Baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
Italian seasoning to taste

• Preheat your oven to 350.
• Brown the ground beef with the onion until the onion is cooked.
• Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the spaghetti sauce and let it simmer while you prep the rest.

• Peel and slice the eggplant. Salt and pepper to taste. 
• Spread some sauce on the bottom of a lasagna-suitable baking dish.
• Add a layer of eggplant, covering the bottom. 

• Spread leaves of baby spinach on top of the eggplant.
• In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta and beaten egg. 
• Add the ricotta mixture on top of the eggplant and spinach layer. 

• Add another eggplant layer. 
• Add half of the meat sauce. 

• Add another eggplant later. 
• Add the rest of the meat sauce.
• Top with the shredded mozzarella cheese.

• Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, or until the cheese on top has browned. 

Enjoy!

Have you ever reworked a recipe to make it healthier or more diet-specific, like Paleo or vegan? What did you do? How did it work?

Easy Veggie Side: Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Onion, and Thyme

The other night, I made a really good dinner. 

I roasted a pork tenderloin and it came out great. I roasted sweet potato too, but I wanted a green veggie. 

I love Brussels sprouts. I had a bag of frozen baby sprouts, but I didn't have the oven space to roast them. I could have steamed them and tossed them with a bit of lemon and salt, but my husband isn't a fan of that, so I needed to style them up. 

And I did. 

It couldn't have been easier. And they were a hit. Here's what I did. 

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Onion, and Thyme

1 bag of frozen baby Brussels sprouts, cooked for about 5 minutes
1 medium onion, julienned
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 slices of pre-cooked bacon, julienned
2-3 stems of fresh thyme. I took the leaves off the stems.
1/2 lemon, juiced
1-2 tbs. butter
1 tbs. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

• Start by heating the olive oil in the saute pan. 
• Add the bacon, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and thyme. 
• Cook until everything starts to caramelize. 
• Drain the Brussels sprouts and add to the sauteed mixture.
• Add the butter and allow to melt and coat everything. 
• Squeeze the lemon juice and toss. 

That's it. They smell amazing and taste even better. 

Buen provecho!

What's your favorite veggie side dish?

Southwest Scramble: An Easy, Anytime Meal

Sometimes, my husband has after-work meetings and might not be home for dinner. Not interested in cooking a big meal for myself, and not wanting takeout, I often look at what we already have in the refrigerator. 

Almost always, we have eggs.

If you're looking for a quick, easy, balanced, go-to meal that you can eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner, then this is for you. 

Serve it with whatever you have in the house...fruit, a salad, or toast or English muffin. It hits the spot every time. 

Southwest Scramble

This is what I used. Everyone has different tastes and you need to add what you like. There are so many variations in protein and veggies...make it yours.

1 medium onion, diced or julienned
2-4 cloves of garlic, sliced or minced
Cooking spray or 1 teaspoon of olive oil
Any other veggies you have on hand. I have used a half pepper, shredded cabbage, and a handful of spinach. Sometimes, all three.
2-4 tablespoons of salsa. 
1 slice of cheese or 1/4 cup of shredded cheese
2 eggs, beaten or 1/2 cup egg substitute...your choice.
Salt and pepper to taste
2-4 tablespoons of salsa
1/2 avocado, scored in cubes

1. Preheat your skillet with olive oil. Add your onion (and pepper, if used) and saute until translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and salt and pepper. Saute for another 5 minutes.

2. Add salsa and any other veggies you want and cook until the veggies are tender. 

3. Add the eggs. Place the cheese across the middle of the cooking eggs. 

4. Start to fold the edges up and over as you might with an omelet. 

5. When the eggs are cooked to your preferred degree of done, spoon the mixture into a bowl. 

6. Top with more salsa and scoop scored avocado onto the top. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Buen provecho! 

What is your go-to meal when you don't feel like cooking?

Gifts from the Kitchen: Chocolate Covered Cherries

Hi everyone! Happy Tuesday! Today, I am happy to be blogging over at Northeast Bloggers' Network. 

Stop by and see how to make these delicious chocolate-covered cherries, like the ones I make my Dad at Christmastime. 

Are you a northeast blogger? Join us. 

Easy Weeknight Pasta

If you're looking for an easy weeknight go-to, this pasta dish may be something you will enjoy. It doesn't need the time that a good red sauce or "gravy" would need, and it's flavorful just the same. 

And you can add* or subtract anything, like the sausage for Meatless Monday. Make it your own; it is still delicious. 

Here's what I do. 

Easy Weeknight Pasta

1 box of pasta (with ridges of some sort of absorb the sauce)
1 small bag of spinach
4-6 Italian sausage, quartered
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil for sauteing 
1 onion, chopped
1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained. 
1 small jar of artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
1 small box, 8 oz., of sliced mushrooms
1 6-8 oz. container of crumbled feta
1 can of diced tomatoes, not drained
Salt, pepper to taste
A pinch of Italian seasoning and a pinch of tarragon
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese to sprinkle on top. 

*sliced black olives to taste...I don't like olives, so I don't use them, but I'm sure that they would be a great addition. 

1. Cook the pasta in salted water according to directions. After pasta is put into the boiling water, add the spinach and cook together (or cook with the sauce...your choice).

2. Saute the sausage, garlic, onions and mushrooms. 

3. Add the beans, artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Continue to cook until the sausage is cooked through. Add the Italian seasoning and tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. 

4. Add to cooked pasta and spinach and top with feta. 

5. That's it...mix and serve. Top with your favorite Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Super easy and tasty too. Enjoy!


What's your go-to pasta dish that does not use a traditional red sauce?