Healthy Greek Pasta

Photo: Unsplash

It’s the perfect side dish for your Labor Day weekend.

Ingredients

Pasta Salad:

• 8 oz bowtie pasta, cooked to al dente

• 1 english cucumber, sliced into half moons

• 10 oz cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1 green pepper, chopped

• 1/2 red onion, chopped

• 5 oz kalamata olives, halved

• 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

• 8 oz feta, cubed

Zesty Vinaigrette:

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1/3 cup water

• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1/2 lemon, juiced

• 2 tbsp honey

• 2 tsp dijon mustard

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Prepare Pasta & Veggies:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cook pasta according to package instructions, to al dente. Drain cooked pasta and rinse with cold water.

• Slice english cucumber into half moons, halve tomatoes, chop bell pepper, chop red onion, halve kalamata olives, and chop fresh parsley. Cut feta into small cubes.

Prepare Zesty Vinaigrette:

• In a separate bowl or mason jar, add olive oil, water, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard, minced garlic, fresh parsley, fresh dill, salt, and pepper. Whisk together well.

Combine:

• In a large bowl, add cooked pasta, chopped veggies, and pour in the zesty vinaigrette. Gently toss to combine all ingredients.

• Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking by adding more salt, pepper, lemon, or herbs. Refrigerate for up to 4 days!

Notes

• Keep refrigerated, lasts up to 4 days.

• Don’t forget to salt the pasta water.

• Run cold water over the cooked pasta to stop it from overcooking.

• Use 2 tsp dried herbs if you don’t have fresh. 

We LOVE Spoonful of Si around here and this is another one of our favorites to serve.

Viral Tiktok One Pot Lemon Pasta

Photo: Unsplash

Hello summertime goodness.

Ingredients

• Salted boiling water

• ¼ cup Olive Oil

• 2 tablespoon Salted Butter

• 5 cloves Garlic roughly chopped

• ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

• 1 lb Angel Hair Pasta uncooked (use gluten free pasta to make recipe gluten free)

• 3 Lemons zested

• ⅓ cup Lemon Juice

• ½ cup Fresh Basil

Instructions

1. Get a small pot of salted water boiling.

2. Meanwhile, add olive oil to a large pan over medium heat. Then add butter, garlic, and red pepper flakes.

3. Cook for 3 minutes or so or until the garlic is starting to turn golden.

4. Add the uncooked angel hair pasta to the garlic oil pan and add two ladles of boiling salted water.

5. Gently shake the pan so the water can absorb into the noodles. As it dries out, add another 2 ladles of the boiling salted water (or about 1 cup of water) at a time, moving the pasta continuously until the pasta is al dente.

6. Once it’s al dente, turn the heat off and add the lemon zest, the lemon juice and the fresh basil. Toss everything together and season with salt and pepper if needed.

7. Serve immediately.

The original recipe from our new favorite find (thanks to Katie Couric’s Instagram post), Grilled Cheese Social.

Elote Corn Dip

Photo: Unsplash

This week's Tailgate Treat is good enough for a 4th of July BBQ but also acceptable for dinner. Sharing is not required.

Ingredients

• 2 cups – Fresh corn kernels

• ¼ cup – Mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons – Sour cream

• ½ tablespoon – Jalapeno chopped

• ½ tablespoon – Grated garlic

• 2 tablespoons – Finely chopped cilantro

• 1 ½ tablespoon - Lemon juice

• ½ tablespoon - Elote seasoning, or you can use 1 teaspoon chili powder, salt to taste, and ½ teaspoon cumin powder instead of an elote seasoning blend.

• 1 tablespoon – Butter

• 1 tablespoon – Parmesan cheese

• A pinch of chili powder for garnishing.

Instructions

1. Heat butter in a pan. Add garlic and jalapenos, Sauté for a few seconds.

2. Now add fresh corn kernels. Stir and cook until it gets a little bit caramelized, for about 5 to 6 minutes. Switch off the flame. Let the corm mixture cool down.

3. Now add Mayo, sour cream, cilantro, elote seasoning, and lemon juice. Mix all the ingredients until well combined. Taste it and adjust the seasoning as per your liking.

4. Cover it and keep it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You can serve this dip right away too.

5. Take this dip into a serving bowl, sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese and some chili powder (optional).

6. Serve with tortilla chips, and enjoy!

This recipe is by Cooking Carnival where Dhwani specializes in vegetarian recipes. This is one of the many delicious dishes she has on her website, including one of our favorites, Thai mango sticky rice.

Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bars

Photo: Unsplash

Delivering this healthy viral favorite to your kitchen.

Ingredients

• 2 medium ripe bananas

• ½ cup natural peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)

• ½ cup pure maple syrup

• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted

• ½ tsp. vanilla extract optional

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (use gluten-free oats to make the recipe GF)

• 2 scoops collagen protein (~20g) (sub protein powder of choice)

• ½ cup chocolate chips (sub cacao nibs or dried fruit if making vegan)

• ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

• ¼ tsp. kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and line an 8x8" baking dish with parchment paper.

2. Place bananas in a mixing bowl and use a fork to mash thoroughly. Once pureed, stir in peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla.

3. Add rolled oats, collagen or protein powder, chocolate chips, walnuts (if using), and salt; stir to combine.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and transfer to the oven. Bake for 23 to 27 minutes, until set.

   Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan and let cool completely before slicing into.

5. Once cooled, slice into 12 bars. (I also like sprinkling some flaky salt overtop. However, this is totally optional!)

This recipe is by Dishing Out Health and is one of the many amazing meals they have on their site. Make sure to visit their website for tips on storage and freezing the Banana Oat Bars for later.

Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Ice Cream

Photo: Unsplash

A high-protein dessert? Yes, your wishes have come true.

Ingredients

• One container of whole milk cottage cheese (use lactose free cottage cheese if you’re watching your dairy)

• 1/4 cup or more sweetener of your choice (I used raw Manuka honey

• 3-4 gluten-free Oreos

• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips (optional, if you’re up for a little extra. If you leave these out, make sure to add in that fourth Oreo).

Instructions

1. Using a high-powered blender, food processor, or immersion blender, add cottage cheese and sweetener and blend until it’s silky smooth.

2. Add in crushed Oreos and white chocolate chips. Make swirls using a spoon and place the mixture back into the container.

3. Freeze for just a few hours, then top with more crushed Oreos and enjoy!
   
   PRO TIP: to make sure it does not turn icy, stir every hour or so while in the freezer and don’t freeze longer than 4-5 hours.

This recipe may sound weird but trust us, it’s good. Thank you to Lainie Cooks for this gem of a recipe.

Simple Chocolate Mousse

Photo: Unsplash

In honor of the French Open, this week's Tailgate Treat is a simple chocolate mousse.

Ingredients

• 3.5 oz of good-quality dark chocolate

• 2 oz. or 1/3 cup of butter

• 4 eggs, separated

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 2 tbsp caster sugar/finely ground granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a simmering saucepan of water or in the microwave. Stir until all melted and smooth. Set aside.

2. Whip the cream until soft peaks form.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then sprinkle on caster sugar and whisk until the mixture is thick and the sugar has dissolved.

4. Stir the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture, then fold through the cream and then the whipped egg whites.

5. Spoon into one large glass bowl or individual small bowls, cups or glasses

6. Refrigerate for at least three hours.

7. Top with chocolate shavings, raspberries or strawberries or whatever makes you happy.

This simple recipe has been adapted from KidSpot.

Cowboy Caviar

Photo: Shutterstock

It's too hot to cook in the summer, and who wants to be stuck in the kitchen? This week's recipe, Cowboy Caviar, is versatile, easy and delicious.

Ingredients

• 2 - 15 oz. cans of black-eyed peas, drained

• 1 - 15 oz. can black beans, drained

• 2 cups corn, fresh, canned or frozen

• 1 cup red onion, minced

• 1 green bell pepper, small diced

• 1 red bell pepper, small diced

• 5 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/4 cup minced cilantro

• 3 scallions, sliced thin

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• Juice of 1 lime

Optional additions if you please:

• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

• A dash or two of ground cumin or hot sauce

• This recipe is a compilation of a few different recipes. Modify for your preferences. Less garlic? Sure. More spice? Go for it.

• Pro tip - We are not all about kitchen gadgets but this chopper will change your life (and is fun and safe for kids who want to help). It takes about 15 mins to do this whole recipe (dicing and chopping included) with this.

Instructions

1. Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and refrigerate. Let it sit for an hour or up to 24 hours for the flavors to combine before serving.

2. Serve with tortilla chips, on top of burgers or grilled fish or as a side dish.

This page contains Amazon affiliate links. We may receive a commission if you purchase.

Vanilla Dutch Baby

Photo: Unsplash

Who knew breakfast could be this good and this easy?

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 3 eggs

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup milk, heated 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• Pinch salt

• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Put the butter in a large, ovenproof, nonstick saute pan and place in the oven.

3. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the eggs, flour, warm milk, sugar, vanilla extract and pinch of salt, and blend on medium-high speed until uniform. (If mixing by hand, combine the eggs with the milk until the mixture is light yellow and no longer stringy, about 1 minute. Add the flour, sugar, vanilla, and pinch of salt, and whisk vigorously to remove the lumps, about 30 seconds.)

4. Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven. The butter should be melted. Swirl the butter around the pan to coat completely, and then pour the remaining butter into the batter and pulse to blend. Pour the batter into the hot pan and return the pan to the oven. Cook until the pancake is puffed in the center and golden brown along the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.

5. Using a spatula, remove the entire Dutch baby from the pan and place on a cooling rack for a few minutes to allow the steam to escape without condensing along the bottom and rendering the pancake soggy. Dust with confectioners' sugar when cooled slightly. Slice the pancake into 8 wedges on a serving platter or cutting board.

Thank you the Food Network for this gem of a recipe. If you’re interested in cooking but are maybe new to the craft, check out all of the easy recipes the Food Network has.