Mexican Bean Salad

     This is definitely a favorite recipe in the Sedler household, and anyone who has opened our fridge before can attest to that because it's in there 75% of the time. It's such a delicious recipe that works as a party appetizer, snack or healthy side to dinner, and it's great for summertime.

       For a colorful side to dinner try it with a juicy steak, grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp. If you're looking for a snack or appetizer, it works wonderfully as a "dip" for chips, crackers or salted cucumbers, and of course it tastes great just by itself!

      The beans are super fibrous, the bell peppers and onion are loaded with vitamins, and the olive oil provides healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. What more could you ask from a summer salad?!

    It stays well in the fridge for a week or so and tastes just as good after a few days because the veggies absorb the flavor of the dressing. It's a delicious, attractive summer salad that you can feel good about eating!

Mexican Bean Salad

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

10 oz package frozen corn

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp black pepper

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp chili powder

Dash hot sauce, optional

Directions:

Mix beans and veggies in large bowl.

In separate bowl, wisk together remaining ingredients and pour over beans.

Toss to coat, and refrigerate. 

Toasted Almond Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

      I've had blueberry muffins, blueberry cake and unhealthy amounts of blueberry donuts (just realized I should try making those as well) but I have yet to make or even try blueberry cookies. Why, I do not know, but after making a batch of these I wish I had thought of it sooner.

Mmmmmm Mmm

       They're chewy and so full of flavor, and the sweet blueberries and crunchy toasted almonds really make them absolutely delicious. Plus they're different from your usual chocolate chip cookie. It's nice to change it up and these are perfect for a summer treat!

       I can always tell it's a good recipe when my mouth's watering from blogging about it, and let me tell you this batch of cookies across the kitchen is literally begging me to go have one......
Take my advice and make some for yourself.

Now get baking!

Toasted Almond Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup toasted almond slivers*

3/4 cup blueberries**

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream together butter and sugar, then add egg and vanilla and beat until light and airy. 

In separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Slowly mix in dry ingredients into butter mixture.

Fold in almonds and blueberries gently.

Spoon tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet (press down slightly if you want a flatter cookie).

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes and edges are lightly browned.

*To toast almonds, place in preheated 350 degree oven on baking sheet. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring around occasionally.

**If using frozen blueberries, the dough will freeze slightly making it more difficult (but still totally possible) to work with and they will have to cook just a little bit longer in the oven

Shauna's Savory Chicken Salad

      I love chicken salad, but the same old craisins, walnuts and celery I see everywhere is getting pretty old, and my sister felt the same way. She came up with this awesome recipe and brought it to the beach for lunch.

     And I fell in love.

       It's so fresh tasting and much different from chicken salads I've had in the past. The herbs give it a great savory flavor and with the nutty crunch of pistachios or toasted almonds, it's perfect. It tasted great over mixed greens (especially with avocado.....we love avocado) and also is wonderful in a sandwich or wrap.
        The best thing about the recipe is that the chicken is baked and then shredded in all it's juices. This allows the meat to retain all the yummy chickeny-goodness, instead of losing all the flavor from the typical simmering/boiling of the chicken. It is much more moist and tender.


I have a feeling I'll be thanking my sister for this recipe for a lonnnggg time.

         I made this for a friend's birthday so she could have it to take to lunch during her work week, and I knew it was too good to last even overnight in my house, so I had to protect it from my family......and potentially the dog.....

        That's Lola, our pre-dishwasher/trash-digger/bottomless pit, and I have a feeling she'd really like some chicken salad.

Shauna's Savory Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken breast

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp rosemary

1 tbsp basil

garlic powder

Lots of black pepper!

Salt to taste

1/2 cup mayo

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup chopped pistachios or toasted almonds

1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and season both sides with a light sprinkle of garlic powder, tbsp of rosemary and basil and black pepper.

Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until no longer pink. 

Remove from oven, chop/shred chicken and mix with juices left in baking pan.

Mix together mayo and lemon juice. 

Mix chicken with mayo and add in nuts and onion. Season with salt, more herbs if desired and plenty of black pepper.

Boston Creme Pie Cake and a 21st Birthday!

 
      It's my roommate's 21st birthday, and a this day is a big deal to college kids....the magnitude of importance lying somewhere between graduation and the birth of a first born child. Believe me, we don't take this lightly. If you're over 21 I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, and you remember your birthday fondly...(Or you don't remember much at all, but hey it happens to the best of us)

      Obviously something sweet and decadent was in order to celebrate such a day, and what better than a creamy, rich and sweet boston creme pie cake. Need I say more?

       I pinterest-ed away, looking for the perfect princess cake to try, but I ended up settling for something classic and delicious and not messing around with any fondant and food coloring. Instead I just dressed it up simply with some pretty rainbow sprinkles and a crown (If you knew Sam, you'd know this is perfect)

       And me being me, I couldn't let a good friend's birthday go by without making a card. I've probably spent 100 hours (potential exaggeration, but honestly pretty close) making birthday cards and I really like getting creative with it.

Maybe I should have worked for Hallmark instead of studying finance.......

but anyways back to the food.

        The recipe is simple and comes together much quicker than I thought. I'm sure you could toy with the types of pudding used - butterscotch, chocolate, cheesecake, white chocolate etc! - and the type of cake used, (endless options) and turn it into something much different than boston creme. As always, get creative and play around with it! That's how good recipes are made :)

Boston Creme Pie Cake

Ingredients:

1 yellow box cake mix (and ingredients listed on box)

1 cup cold milk

1 package vanilla instant pudding mix

1 1/2 cups cool whip or homemade whipped cream

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp milk

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Bake cake according to package directions in two 9 inch round pans.

While cakes are baking, make creme filling by beating 1 cup milk with instant pudding mix for 2 minutes. Fold in cool whip, cover and refrigerate.

After cakes are cooked (probably around 24 minutes) remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Optional to cut the rounded top off of one cake (to be the bottom layer) to allow for more even stacking. 

Once cakes are cooled, layer all of the creme filling on top of one cake then top with the rounded top cake. Let cool before glazing

To make chocolate glaze, melt butter and milk in small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Immediately wisk in cocoa powder, then mix in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Let cool slightly then pour over cooled cake. 

Store in refrigerator

Happy Birthday Sam!! <3

Simple and Cheap: Egg Salad

      Honestly, I used to think egg salad was so gross until I started trying deviled eggs. I really grew to love them, which then turned me on to egg salad. It basically tastes the same and its a cheap and easy sandwich for lunch that is all ready to go in the refrigerator.

      There are tons of variations and you can get super creative with the ingredients, but here I have a simple, traditional recipe that is sure to taste delicious.

      It's packed with protein, and stuffed between slices of whole wheat toast, it's filling and nutritious. Not to mention eggs are super cheap (great for college kids!) so this meal won't hurt your wallet by any means.

       The recipe uses 6 eggs which makes about three sandwiches, potentially more depending on how big you stack them. It is a good idea to make extra so you have leftovers for lunch for the next couple days.

Yum yum yummmm!

Egg Salad

Ingredients:

6 eggs, hard boiled and shells removed

1/3 cup mayo

2 tsp dijon mustard

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional for heat)

1/4-1/2 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

few squirts of lemon juice

Directions:

Chop eggs into small pieces.

Mix in mayo and mustard and season with remaining ingredients.

Banana Peanut Butter "Ice Cream"

     This ain't your average ice cream! I've seen so many recipes for it and I've been meaning to give it a try, and damn I'm glad I did! It's banana based, so it's healthier for you, there are no refined ingredients, and it's dairy free. Not to mention its creamy and delicious......

      For all you dieters out there, this is a good way to indulge without the saturated fat and loads of sugar found in ice cream. Plus, if you really want to treat yourself, you can fold in all sorts of goodies to the mix. I used chocolate chips, coconut and peanuts but you could try m&ms, reese's pieces or any other type of candy.

      It freezes well and the texture basically mimics regular ice cream. I'm sure little kids would love this treat and it would be a great way to sneak in some nutritional value to their desserts!

Making ice cream at home has never been so easy!

P.S. - If you love the sound of this ice cream, you'd love the Banana PB & Chocolate Milkshake Recipe. It's great for breakfast or dessert!

Banana Peanut Butter "Ice Cream"

Ingredients:

2 bananas, cut into coins and frozen

3 tbsp peanut butter (or more)

1 tbsp honey

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup coconut flakes

2 tbsp chopped nuts

Directions:

In food processor, pulse bananas until they reach a creamy consistency, similar to that of mashed potatoes. Mix in peanut butter and honey. Fold in rest of ingredients. Put mixture into a shallow bowl or tupperware container, cover and freeze. 

*Use more or less ingredients depending on how you prefer it to be. I like to add extra peanut butter :)

Lemon-Dijon Encrusted Salmon

       Salmon was on sale for 3.99 a pound (a serious deal) so you know my mom stocked up, and you know who ended up cooking it :) I usually make salmon with a glaze similar to the one I used in this recipe (click here) but I wanted to try out nice crispy crust instead. My sister had told me about an awesome recipe she made up, so based on that I made up this one.

   
      The salmon is brushed with a lemon juice and dijon mustard mixture and topped with bread crumbs and chopped nuts. Its crispy and crunchy on the top and the salmon is tender and flaky in the middle. It's an awesome summer meal served with a fresh salad, and it tastes great leftover - in fact I just had some :)
     
      You could use different kinds of nuts for the topping - pecans, walnuts, pistachios (I recommend pistachios!) and it's all good. They just add a different flavor and texture element than just bread crumbs and it makes the salmon that much better.

         Salmon is a light, delicious and healthy protein choice, and it cooks for under 20 minutes so no need to keep a hot oven on during 90 degree weather! Sounds like the perfect meal to me!

       

Lemon-Dijon Encrusted Salmon

Ingredients:

1-1 1/2 lbs salmon

salt, pepper and garlic powder

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup panko style bread crumbs

1/3 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, pistachios)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Pat salmon dry and season lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

In small bowl mix together lemon juice, dijon mustard, soy sauce and olive oil (it will thicken a little bit). Brush over salmon

Mix together bread crumbs and chopped nuts and top salmon. 

Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until salmon is flaked easily with fork. 

Don't over cook!

Easy Spring Rolls w/ Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce

 
     Its about summertime (with these 90 degree days it definitely feels like summer) so I'm starting to crave, ya know, summery food......duhhh. I want crunchy, crispy veggies and fresh and light meals (alongside a greasy grilled burger or hotdog, but we'll get to that another time). These spring rolls are so simple, a great food for summer with no oven necessary, and not to mention they're healthy and low calorie, so you won't feel like a beached whale laying out on your towel after eating a few of these ;)

Colorful deliciousness!

       This recipe has no meat added, but of course you could add chicken, shrimp or even tofu. Without adding meat, however, these suckers are sooo cheap! A package of 40 rice papers is under $2 and a package of broccoli slaw is also under $2. It doesn't get much better than that! Plus it's a great change up from the usual snack and an easy way to get your veggies in. Making these once was all it took to convince me to do it again....alllll summer!

       It's a simple recipe because of the pre-shredded vegetables. The only thing I had to cut myself besides the avocado was the jicama (pronounced: ji [like an "h" sound] - ca - ma), and let me guess, you're asking yourself "What the heck is a jicama?!" (Maybe you already know, but I was clueless) My sister, who is vegan and often eats random foods like this, claims it's halfway between a potato and an apple, which seemed pretty accurate to me. If you're looking for a more scientific answer, an random anonymous person on yahoo answers says that "it's a sweet, root vegetable that looks like a turnip. It can be eaten raw and is often found in salads." Seems trustworthy enough to me, so there you have it people!

        I made a hoisin peanut butter sauce to dip it in and the sweet nutty flavor went great with the veggies, and also made it more filling. It was so good that both my mom and I said we could eat it by the spoonful.....I'm not gonna lie, I definitely snuck in a few finger dips ;)

         You could also try other variations of vegetables to stuff in the rolls, and rice goes great inside them as well. Get creative with it!

Easy Spring Rolls

Makes approximately 25

Ingredients:

12 oz package broccoli slaw (carrots, cabbage, broccoli etc)

1 additional cup shredded carrots

1/2 jicama, peeled and shredded

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1/4-1/2 tsp salt

2 avocados

1 tbsp lemon juice

pepper

Rice paper for wrapping

Directions:

Put broccoli slaw, shredded carrots and jicama (can easily use cheese grater to shred) in large bowl.

Mix together rice vinegar, sugar and salt in small bowl, add to slaw mixture and toss to coat.

Cut avocado, remove pit and slice into thin strips, mix with lemon juice and season with pepper. 

Dip one rice paper at a time in a large bowl of warm water for 5-10 seconds, until they're flexible. Put flat on plate, top with broccoli slaw mixture and avocado. Roll up the wrapper, folding in the sides halfway through.

Hoisin Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp sesame oil

2 scallions, finely chopped

2 tbsp water

Hot sauce - optional

Directions:

Mix it all together!

(add more water if desired for consistency)

Happy Summer Eating!

Ham and Veggie Mac n' Cheese

   

       Simple, hearty, filling, cheap and healthier mac and cheese. Use up leftover ham, throw in some frozen veggies and a few fresh chopped ones, smother it all in a cream sauce with skim milk and sharp cheddar and toss it with healthy whole wheat pasta. It's about halfway between mac and cheese and a vegetable casserole because of the ratio of noodles to veggies, but it's great that way! It's a mac and cheese you don't have to feel bad about stuffing your face with (to an extent....) ;P

          Just like most recipes I post, there is plenty of room for alterations. I used steamed frozen broccoli, frozen corn, chopped onion and red bell pepper, but there are endless options. You could use frozen green beans or a frozen mixed vegetable mixture (peas, corn, carrots etc) and of course any type of bell pepper. Just load in the vegetables, whatever you have on hand, and pack in the nutrients!

If you aren't too used to eating whole wheat pasta, try using half whole wheat noodles and half regular. This is what my mom does with her home ec class, and you can hardly tell the difference!

Ham and Veggie Mac n' Cheese

Ingredients:

10 oz whole wheat pasta

3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup flour

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp oregano

12 oz frozen broccoli, steamed

1-2 cups leftover ham, chopped

3/4 cup corn (canned or frozen)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

Optional topping:

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tbsp melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Cook pasta according to package directions

Heat 3 tbsp butter in saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, quickly stir in flour, then add garlic. Pour in milk, and wisk. Let cook over stove for 2-3 minutes, until it's thickened a bit. Add in cheese, ham, oregano and vegetables. Mix pasta in with cheese mixture and pour into 9x13 inch baking dish. 

For topping, mix together butter, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and top noodles with it. 

Bake for about 20 minutes or until outsides are bubbling.