Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Roasted red pepper hummus.

by Filed Under: Appetizers, No bake/cooking required!, Snacks, Vegetarian 2 Comments

I made this yummy roasted red pepper hummus last Friday night for a friend’s birthday party we were hosting.  It was so good and so much better than store-bought hummus.  I love controlling the ingredients, especially the salt, that goes into my foods.

Ingredients:

1  – 15 oz cans of garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 c of chopped roasted red peppers
3 tbl of olive oil
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
2 tbl tahini
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp of salt
1/8 of tsp of ground pepper
If you like spicier hummus, add 1/2 tsp of Sriracha sauce

Directions:  Add everything to your food processor and blend.  If it’s too dry, add  additional lemon juice.  Refrigerate for at least one hour.  Then serve with your favorite veggies, chips or pita bread.

— Knead to Cook

Chobani Chocolate Mousse.

by Filed Under: Desserts, No bake/cooking required!, Valentine's Day, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

It’s National Chocolate Mousse Day!!!  Now that’s a reason to celebrate šŸ™‚  I made a healthier version so a bit less guilt involved & tons of flavor.  Kids to adults all loved it and cleaned their ramekins clean.

Ingredients (All at room temperature):

1 c of 2% Chobani low fat plain yogurt
2 tbl of good quality cocoa powder
2 tbl of honey
2 egg whites
3 tbl of sugar

In a mixing bowl add the Chobani, cocoa powder and honey.  Combine well and set aside.

In your stand mixer, with the whisk attached, add the egg whites and start whisking at a high speed.  After about 1 minute stream the sugar down the side of the bowl slowly while the mixer is still whisking.  You will continue until soft peaks are formed (the eggs whites are a bit loser but do hold vaguely hold their shape when the whisk is dipped into the yolk mixture and pulled up).  I hope that makes sense šŸ™‚

Then you will slowly fold the egg white mixture into your chocolate mixture.  Gently mix by folding the batter over and over.  Avoid over mixing.  Stir carefully.  Spoon the mixture into individual ramekins or wine glasses etc. and refrigerate for 3-4 hours prior to serving.

Top with nuts, berries or mini chocolate chips (as my daughter did).  Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Cilantro Lime JalapeƱo Vinaigrette.

by Filed Under: Condiments, No bake/cooking required!, Sauces, Vegetarian 12 Comments

 

 

This dressing recipe is my absolute favorite… hands down!  It has just a bit of a kick for impact.  Refreshing, zesty… LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Ingredients:

3 tbl of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbl of red wine vinegar
2 tbl of freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 jalapeƱo, diced up with seeds
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp of a good Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp of honey
Fresh ground pepper
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1 handful of cilantro leaves, washed with stems removed

If you have a hand immersion blender, add everything except for the cilantro leaves and blend until creamy.  Then add the cilantro.  Blend until combined.  Serve with your favorite fish, salad, chicken or pork.

— Knead to Cook

Berry Avocado Chobani Smoothie.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, No bake/cooking required!, Smoothies, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Breakfast is served!  This power packed breakfast will be well-received by both adults and children.  So easy to make, so utterly delicious.  You can’t go wrong!

Ingredients:

1/2 of an avocado, pitted, flesh removed
1/2 c of almond milk, or orange juice
1/3 c of vanilla Chobani
1 c of frozen berries
1 tsp of chia seeds
1 tbl of honey

Directions:

Blend on the smoothie or highest setting on your blender.  If too thick, add additional milk or juice to loosen it up.  Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

No Bake, Gluten Free Chocolate & Peanut Butter Dessert/Energy Bites.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Valentine's Day, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

I thought it would be fun to do a spin-off of my energy balls with a dessert-ish type of variation.  I made two batches last night (almost gone) and one batch this morning to test the recipe out again.  LOVE them!  They are rich and quite decadent!!

Ingredients:

1/4 c of creamy or crunchy peanut butter (I used Smart Balance crunchy)
1/3 c of dried tart cherries (I’m thinking pitted prunes would also be wonderful – I’ll be trying those next)
3 tbl of roasted unsalted or salted peanuts
1/4 tsp of salt (you can omit this if you decide to use salted peanuts)
1/8 tsp of vanilla extract
2 tbl of shredded and toasted coconut
2 tbl of dark cocoa powder
1 tsp of chia seeds (optional)
1/4 c of chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
In your food processor, blade attached, blend all of the ingredients until they form a ball.  Looks similar to dough.  This takes about 1-2 minutes or until completely blended.  I then refrigerated for 10 minutes to chill.  Then roll into balls and store in an airtight container on your counter.

— Knead to Cook

Spinach Basil Pesto.

by Filed Under: No bake/cooking required!, Sauces, Vegetarian 2 Comments

Happy National Spinach Day!  Who would’ve known?  Ha!  I love spinach and try to eat it as much as I can.  The color, the vitamins… so good for you!  So I thought on this Meatless Monday that I should do a mainly spinach (with a tiny bit of basil) pesto.  My oldest can’t get enough and has been asking me for it daily.  I indulged.

Ingredients:

4 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 c of baby spinach leaves (regular are fine)
1/2 c of fresh basil leaves
1/4 c of olive oil
Palmful of walnuts
1 tbl of grated parmesan
1 tbl of lemon juice
1 tsp of salt

Directions:

This recipe is so easy!!!  In your food processor, pulse up the garlic cloves.  When finely minced add spinach and basil.  Let the machine run.  When everything is chopped up drizzle into the pour spout, the olive oil.  Only use what you need to make the mixture into a creamy consistency.  Then add your walnuts, parm, salt and lemon juice.  Pulse to mix.

Boil  your pasta according to package directions.  Then toss with the pesto.  Coat to cover.  Garnish with either walnuts, pine nuts or some extra parmesan.  Whatever you like!  Enjoy! If you have extra, freeze it and use it later šŸ™‚  Makes a great dip, topping for chicken etc.

— Knead to Cook

Cilantro lime jalapeƱo hummus.

by Filed Under: Condiments, Dips, No bake/cooking required!, Vegetarian 16 Comments

If you love hummus with a kick… this is a must try!  Best made ahead of time & refrigerated.  Serve this with pita chips or veggies.  Packed with flavor, this is sure to be a favorite!

Ingredients:

5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 – 15 oz cans of garbanzo beans, I used low sodium version — drained and rinsed.
4 tbl of fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c or so of good olive oil
1 c of fresh cilantro leaves
1 jalapeƱo, stem removed

Directions:

In your food processor, place the cloves of garlic and pulse until finely chopped.  Then add the beans, lime juice and salt.  Puree for about 1-2 minutes.  It will look like a chunky oatmeal texture.  Then through the spout, finely pour a stream of the olive oil.  This will blend with the bean mixture and make a smoother, hummus type texture.  Then add the jalapeƱo & cilantro and pulse again until incorporated.

You can serve right away or refrigerate for 1-6 hours and then remove before serving, allowing enough time for it to return to room temperature for optimum flavor.

— Knead to Cook

Mango balsamic salsa.

by Filed Under: No bake/cooking required!, Salsas & Guacamole, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

 

 

I could eat this by the spoon!  So fresh, so delicious with just a hint of kick from the jalapeƱo.   This recipe screams spring and summer to me!  I love this over grilled chicken or fish.  Or you can simply serve it with tortilla chips as an appetizer.  So versatile.  So delish!

Ingredients:
3 mangoes, ripe and pitted, sliced into small chunks
1 smaller red pepper, diced (or yellow/orange peppers)  Whatever you have on hand šŸ™‚
1 green onion, chopped
1 jalapeƱo, finely diced
2 tbl of chopped cilantro, fresh
2 tbl of aged balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and then cover and refrigerate for 2-6 hours.

 

 

 

— Knead to Cook

Horseradish sweet & spicy pickles.

by Filed Under: Condiments, No bake/cooking required!, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

I had lunch on Friday with some of my favorite friends ever.  We went to this awesome, trendy cafe style pizza bakery and I noticed horseradish pickles on the menu.  I had to try them!  I’m a freak for spicy, hot, knock-your-socks-off food!  I then came home to make my own easy version and honestly… mine are better šŸ™‚

I simply took a jar of sweet & spicy pickles with the juice that I already had in my pantry and added 3 tbl of freshly ground horseradish.  Place the lid back on the jar and give it a really good shake.  Store in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (or days/weeks).  Then enjoy these on a sandwich or a burger.  I had them on my bean burger tonight and they were so good!  I can’t wait to try these this summer when we grow little pickle cukes.

 

— Knead to Cook

Devilish Oreo Truffles.

by Filed Under: Desserts, No bake/cooking required!, Valentine's Day Leave a Comment

Happy 100th Birthday Oreo!  Seriously, 100?

In honor of Oreo’s 100th, I decided to put my spicy, devilish side to work on transforming this simple, yet beloved cookie, into something a hot!

Meet the darker side of the Oreo šŸ˜‰  (insert evil laugh here)

Ingredients:

1 package of Oreo cookies (I used the less fat version)
1 8 oz cream cheese brick (again, low fat), room temperature
6 oz of dark chocolate chips (for melting)
1-2 tsp of cayenne pepper

Directions:

To make the truffles –

In your food processor, blend all of the cookies down into a fine crumb mixture.  This takes about a minute or two.  When done, add the room temperature cream cheese brick and cayenne and blend again.  When it’s completely blended, it will form a ball inside your food processor (my visual clue it’s done).

Remove that and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes.

I then melt the chocolate chips in a microwaveable safe bowl.  My microwave has a melting chocolate setting so I follow that option.  You can melt them slowly over a double-boiler or melt them in your microwave, checking often so it doesn’t burn.

Give that a good stir and set aside.

I line my cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper and then use my tiny scooper to scoop out the truffle filling and roll into balls.  Once complete, I toss them into the yummy chocolate pool for a coating and then place on the cookie sheet. If you opt to top your truffles with additional cayenne, as I did, dust them while they are wet from the chocolate.  This is my indicator for which type of truffle I’ve made – if I make a variety of flavors.  Then they head back into the fridge or freezer to set up for 15 minutes.  They can be served right after that or stored in a tupperware container for 3-4 days.

Watch out… they’re spicy!

 

 

— Knead to Cook