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Fall Recipes Salads Spring Summer Winter

Salad Dressing Simplicity

Gavin and I work from home…and therefore, we eat lunch at home pretty much every day. I love being able to eat in…save money, and have healthy meals- but sometimes, I run out of creative lunch options for us…and in that case, I go to something that I know is simple and always good…a big, throw everything that sounds good in a bowl- salad. Topped with a super simple, super easy dressing.

I like to mix up my dressings pretty frequently, but this one is a consistent favorite. Its tangy and light, but also sweet. It goes great with fruit, nuts, and any kind of crumbly cheese.

Seasoned Rice Vinaigrette

1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 T dijon mustard
2 T brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1 clove garlic


Throw all of these ingredients in a magic bullet or blender, and blend for about 30 seconds…until everything is mixed well and creamy looking.

Simple Salad
2 C Leafy greens
2 T blue cheese
1 T chopped walnuts
1 T dried cranberries
1/2 Fuji apple
1/8 thinly sliced onion
thinly sliced chicken breast

Throw it all in a bowl, drizzle with dressing and toss it together!

Posted on September 17, 2011 by LindsayTarquinio · 0 comments Read More
Appetizers Recipes Summer

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Salsa is such a great, healthy way to add loads of flavor and brightness to pretty much anything. It punches up the flavor of eggs, makes an otherwise boring chicken breast interesting and delicious…serves as a fresh and tasty salad dressing, or obviously tastes amazing with chips and tortillas.

I love most every kind of salsa…but one of my favorites is tart and tangy tomatillo salsa! Y-U-M. The tomatillos offer such a nice, different punch…they set this salsa apart from regular tomato salsas…and roasting the tomatillos and a pablano pepper add a nice, smoky flavor the the salsa!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

8 tomatillos
1 pablano pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 large onion
1 t salt
1 t brown sugar

Preheat the oven to broil. Cut the tomatillos in half, cut the pablano in half and remove the seeds and cut the onion half in half. Place them all on a cookie sheet, seed side down, and spray the tops with cooking spray. Sprinkle everything with salt.

Allow it to cook until the tops turn brown and bubbly.

Now, just toss everything in the blender. Add the garlic, remaining salt, and brown sugar.

Blend for just a bit…be sure to not overblend! You want a nice chunky salsa. Now, pour it on whatever you like! If you want a little spice, throw in some jalapeno!

Posted on September 12, 2011 by LindsayTarquinio · 0 comments Read More
Fall Recipes Spring Summer Winter

Carrot Ginger Dressing

One of my favorite treats is a great sushi date with Gavin. Not many things top a beautiful plate of sashimi for me…but sushi isn’t just about the raw fish…the experience isn’t complete without warm miso soup and cool, refreshing ginger dressing topped salad.

I CRAVE ginger dressing- but I think that it is pretty much impossible to find a store bought dressing that is anything near the lovely flavor of the restaurant version. So, I whipped out my blender and decided to experiment!

Here is what I came up with: it is bright and flavorful, super healthy, and the perfect topping to any salad…or the perfect add in to any stir fry!

Carrot Ginger Dressing

2 medium carrots
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger
1 clove garlic
2 T soy sauce
1/4 C seasoned rice vinegar
3 T water
1 t sesame oil
1 t fresh cracked pepper (I like it really peppery- you can reduce this or leave it out all together!

Throw all of the ingredients into a blender- and blend until smooth! Wa-la!

Posted on September 9, 2011 by LindsayTarquinio · 0 comments Read More
Baked Goods Breakfast Fall Recipes Winter

Cranberry Almond Granola

It’s no secret that I love…like really love greek yogurt. One of my FAVORITE meals, whether its breakfast, lunch, or a snack, is a big bowl of fresh fruit topped with greek yogurt, granola and honey. But I like the crunch of granola so much, I want more than the measly little 1/2 cup serving…have you ever looked at the back of the granola bag to see the nutrition facts (1/2 C of a very popular organic granola brand, has 220 calories, 7 grams of fat and 38 carbs. The number 1 ingredients after oats are sugar and oil)? Or, have you ever thought, “why am I paying $6 for a tiny bag of what is basically oatmeal?” Well, I have your super easy…much healthier answer!

Make your own…really tasty, crunchy granola…and you can add whatever you want to make it exactly what you are craving. I love the sweet chewiness of dried cranberries, the great crunch (and healthy fats) in almonds and the mild creaminess of shredded coconut…so those are the extras that I threw in!


Cranberry Almond Granola
Makes about 20 servings
8 Cups Old fashion oats
1 C shredded coconut
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C unsweetened apple sauce
1 egg white
1 t sea salt
1 t cinnamon
1 C dried cranberries
1 C raw almonds, chopped

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Pour the oats and the coconut into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar, apple sauce, egg white, salt and cinnamon. Pour the brown sugar mixture over the oats and use your hands to combine them well.

Spray two large cookie sheets with cooking spray and pour 1/2 of the oats on each sheet. Spread them out and pack them down with your hands. Lightly spray the top with cooking spray.

Place the trays in the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, take each tray out, mix the granola, re pack it down and rotate the sheets. Bake for another 20 minutes. Remove the sheets from the oven and allow the oat mixture to cool COMPLETELY while still on the sheets. Once the oats are completely cool, pour them into a large bowl and add your almonds and cranberries. Mix well.

I like to store my granola in a large jar…but you can portion it out in plastic baggies for a quick grab and go snack…or just keep it in a large tupperware. Remember that this recipe contains no preservatives…so try to eat it with in about 2 weeks (or it will get a little stale tasting!)

Posted on September 8, 2011 by LindsayTarquinio · 0 comments Read More
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