Turkey and Sweet Onion Pitas with Orange-Cucumber Salad

March 16, 2014 by Mackenzie

There’s so many things I love about this dish – the sweet taste of the ground turkey, with the cinnamon, is so unique but it pairs excellently with the citrusy tang of the orange-cucumber salad. It’s healthy, with all the ingredients (except the pita) complying to the “real foods” challenge that I did last summer. One day this week I just mixed the salad into the meat and ate it without a pita – I also thought about making it into an omelete… Once it’s prepared it’s so versatile!

It’s also fast and easy to prepare and keeps well if you want to have an easily prepared meal on hand all week. I put the turkey/onion mixture in one tupperware and the salad in another and then just toasted a pita and warmed up the meat everytime I was ready to have it again. I also threw the salad on top of some spinach and served it with some sweet potatoes (next post!) for another meal. That was excellent as well – all in all, I know I will be making this often!

Comment below if you try it! I would love to hear what you think!

Turkey and Sweet Onion Pitas with Orange-Cucumber Salad
Recipe adapted from Cook Fresh Winter 2014 Magazine
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4-inch thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large oranges
1 small cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped mint
4 pita pockets, halved and lightly toasted (if you have big pita pockets than you’ll just need 2)
Plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. In a 12-inch skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add three quarters of the onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the onion to a small bowl and set aside.

2. Add the turkey, cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the skillet, and cook, breaking up the meat and stirring occasionally. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until cooked through. Drain well. Add the onions back in, tossing to combine.

3. Meanwhile, finely chop the remaining raw onion and transfer to a large bowl. Peel the oranges and cut the slices into bite-sized chunks, making sure to catch the juice. Add the oranges, orange juice, cucumber, vinegar, mint, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the large bowl; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Fill the pitas with the turkey/onion mixture and add some of the orange-cucumber salad. Finish it off with a dollop of Greek yogurt and serve with the remaining salad on the side.

Lemon Couscous Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes

May 15, 2013 by Mackenzie

I made this salad to go along with the caprese grilled chicken on Saturday night from my last post. My family and I love asparagus so this was a fun, new way to serve it. The lemon juice made it light and summery and the fresh asparagus and tomatoes helped cap off this healthy side dish.

Ingredients:
6 oz whole wheat pearl couscous
3/4 lb thin asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 large lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Boil a large pot of salted water. Add asparagus and cook until tender, 3-4 minutes. Using tongs, remove the asparagus from the water and in a strainer, run cold water over them to stop them from cooking.

2. Cook couscous according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water when finished cooking.

3. While couscous is cooking, chop the asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. Add the tomatoes. Add the cooked couscous, red onion, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley and salt and pepper. Mix it up and then refrigerate for 15 minutes or until chilled. You can serve it room temperature, but I liked it best chilled.

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

July 30, 2012 by Mackenzie

I’ve made several batches of ice cream this summer with my new Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker 🙂 And it’s been awesome! Molly Moon’s Ice Cream is my favorite ice creamery in the Seattle area and they came out with a cookbook this year. It’s got some fantastic recipes in it and I have love recreating them! I’m not going to give out the recipes in the book because I want to support this local business and make you buy the book!

However, I tried a frozen yogurt recipe from pinterest last week and it was great! So here it is!

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used fresh)

3 Tbsp lemon juice

3/4 cup to 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet your blueberries are, and how sweet you want the result to be) – I did 3/4 cups because my blueberries were fresh and sweet!

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups full fat plain yogurt (full fat yogurt is preferred, if you are use low-fat or non-fat yogurt, substitute 1/4 cup of it with heavy whipping cream – which is what I did)

1/2 cup whole milk

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Place the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring, until all of the sugar has dissolved. While the mixture is heating, use a potato masher to mash up the blueberries. When all of the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the yogurt and milk until completely incorporated. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight) until completely cold.

3. Process the blueberry yogurt mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions (usually about 25 minutes). In the last 5 minutes, add the chocolate chips. Let firm up a bit by freezing it for several hours.

Corn, Zucchini, Green Chilies and Lime Salad

July 25, 2012 by Mackenzie

A couple of weeks ago, Tom made his delicous chicken tacos (recipe to come at a future date!) and put me in charge of a side dish. I found this recipe via pinterest and it looked good so we went for it!

And boy was it a success! The flavors were a fantastic mix – sweet summer corn, citrus from the lime, and intensity from the garlic and cilantro… It definitely has a kick to it though so beware of how much of the jalapeno you put in 🙂

Corn, Zucchini, Green Chili and Lime Salad

Recipe adapted from gluten-free goddess recipes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 smallish zucchini squash, sliced into half moons

3 ears of fresh corn, kernels sliced off

3 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded, diced

1/2 cup roasted mild green chile, chopped

4 oz. chopped jalapenos

4-5 cloves fresh peeled garlic, chopped

Sea salt, to taste

Lemon pepper, to taste

2-3 good pinches of ground cumin

A drizzle of raw agave sweetener

Juice from 1 fresh large lime (more juice or water, if needed)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Lime wedges for serving

Directions:

Prepare all ingredients (chop, slice, etc). Do it now, because it all comes together fast and you need to be ready!
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the squash for three to four minutes, until it starts to turn a bit golden. Add the corn, tomatoes, green chile, jalapenos, garlic, sea salt, lemon pepper, cumin, a drizzle of raw agave, and lime juice; stir to combine.
Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until the veggies are tender-crisp. Add more liquid if needed. To serve, stir in the fresh cilantro. Top with lime wedges.

Lentil Quinoa Salad

May 26, 2012 by Mackenzie

To go along with our Hearty Whole Grain Basil Bread and Brown Butter Parmesan Chicken Penne we made a lentil quinoa salad.

Lime zest in the dressing gave the vinaigrette a bold flavor along with the fresh cilantro. It was a delicious, refreshing, summer salad!

Lentil Quinoa Salad
(Recipe from foodnetwork.com)
Serves 4

1/2 cup quinoa
1 1/4 cups water, plus 2 cups
1/2 cup lentils
1 tsp. Dijon mustgrard
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 lime, zested
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup. chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Put the quinoa in a sieve and rinse in cold water. In a large microwave-proof bowl with a cover, add the rinsed quinoa and 1 1/4 cups water. Cover and microwave on high for 9 minutes. Let it sit for 2 minutes then stir. Quinoa should be tender enough to eat, but with a little “pop” upon biting.

Put the lentils in a sieve and rinse in cold water. In a saucepan, simmer the lentils in 2 cups water unitl the lentils are tender, but not mushy, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool.

In a small bowl, whisk the mustard and vinegar together, and drizzle in the oil to make an emulsion. Add the garlic powder, lime zest, and salt and paper – to taste.

To assemble the salad: in a medium salad bowl, mix the quinoa, lentils, green oninos and cilantro. Top the salad with the dressing, toss to coat and serve. (If you have the time, let is sit – mixed together – in the fridge for 30 minutes so that the lentils and quinoa absorb the dressing).