Grilled Peach Salad with Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette

DSC01763

Grilled Peach Salad with Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette
Recipe Type: Salad
Cuisine: Salad, Vegetarian, Fruit
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
While the grill is hot, here’s an easy grilled peach salad with a lovely honey-dijon dressing that will complement those burgers perfectly at your next backyard BBQ!
Ingredients
  • 3 peaches, slightly soft
  • 4 cups baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped roughly
  • 1 tbsp whole grain dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tbsp regular dijon (I actually had an apricot brandy flavored dijon that I used!)
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • pinch of garlic powder
  • crumbled gorgonzola
  • walnut pieces
Instructions
  1. Slice peaches into thin slices and line up, evenly spaced, on a wooden skewer.
  2. Combine all dressing ingredients (mustard through garlic powder) in a small bowl and whisk until well incorporated.
  3. Combine spinach and chives in a large bowl.
  4. Preheat grill to medium heat. Grill peach skewers about 2 minutes per side, until slightly charred. Remove from heat and toss into bowl with spinach.
  5. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss.
  6. Top with crumbled gorgonzola and walnut pieces.

 

ClaireLeave a comment

Gorgonzola-Stuffed Burgers w/ Grilled Peach Salad

DSC01761

DSC01763

Gorgonzola-Stuffed Burgers
Recipe Type: Burger
Cuisine: American
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12-16
Why not stuff your burger with something delicious tonight? I stuffed these beef and pork patties with a bit of gorgonzola cheese and served ’em up with a dollop of Cville Farmers’ Market Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam. The combo of savory and sweet was unbeatable! Serve with corn on the cob and a side salad.
Ingredients
  • 1 lb ground beef (I used 80% lean)
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp whole grain dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped roughly
  • 1 tbsp italian seasoning (I had a creamy peppercorn dressing rub that I tossed in there!)
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 cup raw oats
  • 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp each salt and pepper
  • 1 small container crumbled gorgonzola cheese
  • olive oil, for drizzling
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients above in a large bowl (except cheese and oil). Stir until well-incorporated.
  2. Using hands, roll meat mixture into small balls (I made mine about 2 inches in diameter). Reserve a bit of meat mixture for “covering” the burgers later.
  3. Gently press thumb in center of each ball to make a small indentation in center.
  4. Roll about a teaspoon of gorgonzola cheese into a small ball (it helps if your hands are slightly wet to get the cheese to stick together) and press gently into each thumbprint.
  5. Press the sides of the patties inward to cover the cheese. If you need more meat to cover, use the reserved mixture from earlier!
  6. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and set aside until ready to grill.
  7. Preheat grill to medium heat. Grill burgers about 4 minutes per side, or until tops begin to get juicy and you can see those fantastically delicious looking grill marks on the bottom!
  8. Serve on a bun or with a dollop of jam over the top of the burger (I used a strawberry rhubarb jam that a friend brought us from the Cville farmers’ market and it was DELICIOUS!). Also delicious with a fruity side salad like my Grilled Peach Salad with Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette (see separate post), and corn on the cob (always!).

DSC01743

DSC01746

DSC01749

DSC01755

Claire2 Comments

Couscous Tabbouleh

DSC01737This recipe for tabbouleh could NOT be easier. I didn’t have to heat up a pot on the stove, chop any veggies, or deal with mushy, overcooked grains. With whole wheat couscous, all you have to do is add boiling water and let them sit for a few minutes before fluffing with a fork (anyone wonder why it’s called “fluffing” btw? A fork doesn’t exactly seem like a good “fluffer”).

I added a TON of lemon juice, both fresh and from the bottle, for max tang factor . I also cut down on the amount of olive oil typically used in tabbouleh (aka ‘tabouleh’ or ‘tabouli’… I just chose the one with the most letters), as I didn’t want a salad to sit in my fridge dredged in oil for a week. Yes, that is how long I plan on keeping this stuff around. I’m gonna be a working woman now, people! I may add more oil and juice later if it gets too dry- we’ll see. Free free to do more or less of the oil/lemon to your liking.

I also added 2 cans of garbanzo beans to help increase the protein in the salad- it seemed like it was missing something “meaty.” As I plan to eat this as a main course most days, I wanted a bean in there to help keep me fuller for longer.

One more thing. Make sure not to skimp on the parsley. I used curly parsley because it’s a bit chewier and also easier to pluck from the stems (which is a super annoying task). Other than that, this salad takes less than 30 minutes and will only get better over time! With a food processor, you don’t need to chop any veggies or onions into perfect little slices- just pulse and add to the couscous!

This would be incredible over more greens with a fried egg on top and/or a little dollop of greek yogurt or crumbled feta (or both!). You could also serve it stuffed in a pita pocket or with some whole grain crackers on the side. Enjoy!
DSC01737

DSC01738

Couscous Tabbouleh
Recipe Type: Salad, Vegetarian
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12-20
Here is another easy and extremely versatile salad recipe, made with whole wheat couscous and packed with protein and fiber! I added garbanzo beans to bulk it up a bit and only used a bit of olive oil because I didn’t want it “overdressed.” Lots of lemon juice in this recipe, but feel free to add more or less oil/lemon if you prefer! This salad is great over greens, stuffed inside a pita, or served on whole grain crackers. It’d probably be excellent with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt on top as well. As always 🙂
Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole wheat couscous (TJ’s)
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 8 tbsp lemon juice, divided
  • 2 bunches parsley, rinsed and stems cut off
  • 1 cucumber, rinsed and peeled
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 carton cherry tomatoes, rinsed
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
  1. Pour couscous into a large bowl. Add boiling water and stir. Add olive oil and juice from 1/2 of lemon, plus 4 tbsp regular lemon juice.
  2. In a food processor, add parsley, cucumber, red onion, and juice from the other half of the lemon, plus remaining 4 tbsp lemon juice. Pulse until roughly chopped. (It helps to give it a quick stir after each pulse to avoid getting one big parsley “paste” with big chunks of red onion at the top of the bowl!)
  3. Using a spatula, add processed mixture to the bowl with the couscous.
  4. In food processor, add garbanzo beans and tomatoes. Pulse until just roughly chopped- two or three times for about 2-3 seconds is all you need!
  5. Add to the bowl with the other ingredients and toss to combine. Add pepper, salt, and garlic powder and stir.
  6. Serve with additional greens like spinach or kale and a dollop of plain yogurt on top, or stuffed in a pita pocket for a hearty sandwich!

 

ClaireLeave a comment

Saturday Food Prep!

DSC01709Hey ya’ll! This week is a big week for me, as I’ll be heading out on my nine month clinical rotations (all local, thank goodness) for PT school. Just over nine months from now I will (God-willing) be able to call myself a Doctor of Physical Therapy! Woohoo! Pending passing boards and graduation, of course. Technicalities.

Anyway, I’ve been a bit nervous about the change in pace. Coming off of two years of a schedule that pretty much changes from week to week (some days I’d be in class 8 hours, other days I’d get a morning off for a split-lab, some Fridays I had completely off). Now I’ll be working 40 hour weeks with a half hour lunch and probably a bit more time on top of that for patient documentation. It’s an exciting change (real world alert!) but I’m nervous about being able to manage all the other things I’d like to be able to do: make tasty dinners, pack lunches, find time to work out, take the dog for a walk/bike ride, clean the house, do laundry, spend time with friends, etc. etc. I think about how I’m going to handle it and I’m stressed about 3 seconds later. Which isn’t good for anyone.

With that, I’ve decided to control what I can control now instead of worrying about the “what if’s.” I decided to start prepping lunches for the week ahead in advance (either Saturday or Sunday), with the goal of streamlining the process. On one weekend evening I plan to make a big protein-packed salad that I can steal from all week long, to mix up lunches on days where I’m not really feeling the whole sandwich or yogurt thing. Then, my hope is that Monday night will roll around and I’ll just grab a bagged sandwich or some of the prepared salad, a bag of veggies, a bag of fruit, some pretzels and other pantry snack, perhaps a yogurt, and call it quits. I’ll do this for Ben and my own lunch (different sandwiches, yogurts and snacks).

I also came across these super cute Rubbermaid Lunch Blox, which can be purchased on Amazon for sandwiches and salads. (See the link at the bottom of this post, or visit my “Things I Like” page!) They were $12.99 at Kroger, but buy one get one free! So I got one of each. I was so pumped about the way that they snap together, lego-style, with one large bottom compartment for a sandwich or salad, and a top compartment with little individual boxes for sides and salad dressing. Best part is the ice pack that fits on the bottom to keep your lunch cold until noon! I packed one sandwich box right up with sides of veggies and fruit, and the salad one with some mixed greens and veggies. I plan on making a tabouli salad tomorrow which I’ll then add to the salad with some lemon vinaigrette (recipe to follow)!

For Ben’s sandwiches, I packed up about 8 or 9 different varieties on some leftover wheat buns we had from dinner last night. I made some with avocado, Smokey Cheddar Cheeze SPREAD, ham, and provolone, others with hummus, ham, pesto and provolone, and the remaining ones with PB, strawberry jam and raisins.

For my sandwiches, I made one with SPREAD, avocado, turkey, tomato, spinach, and a sprinkling of dried basil on Ezekiel bread, another with hummus, turkey, tomato, spinach and swiss, and the last on a multigrain FlatOut wrap with all of the ingredients from the first sandwich but edamame instead of turkey.

Fruit bags were strawberries and cherries (both of these are in abundance right now! I’ve been freezing a lot of the ones I get to save for the winter!)

Veggies included carrots, grape tomatoes, and radishes.

Gluten-free pretzel sticks (much crunchier and tastier in my opinion!) for snacks.

I’m hoping that this will help start off the next 9 months with as little stress as possible!

What tips and tricks do you use to streamline meals for the week ahead? I’d love to hear them!

DSC01695So cute! One Sandwich Kit and one Salad Kit.

DSC01697Sandwich Kit deconstructed…

DSC01699Salad Kit deconstructed… genius!

DSC01701The beginning of prep.

DSC01703Ben’s sandwiches on leftover wheat buns. A mixture of hummus or cheddar SPREAD, with ham, spinach and provolone.

DSC01704One of mine on Ezekiel… SPREAD, smashed avocado, tomato, turkey, spinach and basil sprinkle.

DSC01707Same thing on FlatOut wrap, with edamame instead of turkey as the protein of choice.

DSC01709All packed up! From L to R, some of my sandwiches, pretzel sticks, veggie bags, Ben’s sandwiches, fruit bags, and Monday and Tuesday packed lunches (sandwich and salad) in the LunchBlox in back!

DSC01711Another angle of all this delicious food.

DSC01712I’ve designated this drawer in our fridge as “the lunch drawer.” Easy for pulling open, grabbing a sandwich/veggie bag/fruit bag and calling it a night!

DSC01714Packed lunches ready-to-go for Monday and Tuesday! 

DSC01733How exhausting! #obligatoryselfie

DSC01717All done! It’s gonna be a great week!

//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=clairetastesblog-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0078K416Y&asins=B0078K416Y&linkId=GHX2XLBEXU6XA2JL&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true

ClaireLeave a comment

Creamy No-Bake Strawberry Pie with Cinnamon-Graham Cracker Crust

DSC01677

In the summer, I almost always crave something cold, creamy, and sweet. This creamy, cheesecake-like strawberry pie is a great way to use up all of the extra strawberries you’ve been hoarding (because they are buy one get one free at Harris Teeter, so why not?) and don’t know what to do with. “Strawberries in our salad AGAIN, dear?” will no longer be the cry of your mate.

The REAL steal on this one though is the graham cracker crust. Don’t you dare buy that rock-solid Keebler brand in the store that you could flip upside down and it would stay in one piece. Graham cracker crusts are 1) simple to make, 2) customizable, and 3) crumbly and DELICIOUS. I decided to do a cinnamon variation and made it extra thick (almost too thick to cut into when serving! Oops.)

Just layer a mixture of cream cheese and pudding in the bottom of the prepared crust, and spoon some juicy strawberries on top, and you’ve got yourself a winner of a summer treat! You could also freeze it a day in advance to help it set a bit, then stick in the fridge to defrost for a half hour or so before serving so that the strawberries aren’t so solid. Enjoy!

Creamy No-Bake Strawberry Pie with Cinnamon-Graham Cracker Crust
Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 12 graham cracker sheets (24 squares)
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar, divided
  • 6 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 cups strawberries, sliced
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 6 oz reduced-fat cream cheese (I used Neufchatel cheese), softened
  • 1 package vanilla or cheesecake-flavored pudding mix (I used sugar-free)
  • 2 cups low fat milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 deg.
  2. In a food processor, pulse graham crackers and sugar until fine crumbs form.
  3. Pour into a bowl and drizzle melted butter over the top. Stir to combine. You should be able to squeeze together the crumbs and have them form a ball in your hand! (If this doesn’t happen, add 1 tbsp water at a time until it does!)
  4. Spread graham cracker crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate. (I used an aluminum pie plate for ease of giving away leftovers!)
  5. Bake pie crust for 10 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant.
  6. Freeze crust to use later, or allow to cool completely before proceeding.
  7. To make filling, beat together softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup milk until foamy. Add pudding mix and remaining milk. Beat until smooth. Add vanilla and stir.
  8. Spoon evenly into bottom of prepared pie crust.
  9. Slice strawberries and sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar over top. Stir to combine (this will help the strawberries release all of their juices and make the fruit a bit less tangy!), then add lemon juice (and a bit more vanilla if you want). Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes (enough time to go upstairs and shower since you haven’t done so yet after working out!).
  10. Spoon strawberries and juices over top of the pie. Refrigerate or freeze for at least 3 hours to set before serving (if freezing, defrost for at least 30 min).

DSC01673

DSC01683Bonus!! I had a bit more filling and fruit than would fit in my pie plate, so I decided to use up the leftovers in these cute little muffin tins! I just pressed the graham cracker crust in the bottom of the liners, followed by about 2 tbsp filling, and topped with berries before freezing. Perfectly portioned and easy as (dare I say it?) pie!

DSC01685

ClaireLeave a comment

Chicken Marsala Rice Bake

DSC01691

Chicken Marsala Rice Bake
Recipe Type: Chicken, Casserole
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
A quick chicken marsala casserole with fresh parsley, peas, and a healthy dose of parmesan cheese! Serve with a side salad and some crusty bread for sopping up the extra juice!
Ingredients
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 1 small onion, sliced thinly
  • 3 tsp minced garlic
  • 16 oz sliced mushrooms
  • 1 small container capers
  • 1 1/2 tbsp flour
  • 1/2 cup marsala cooking wine
  • 1/2 cup low fat milk (I used 1%)
  • 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1.5 lbs chicken cutlets, sliced thinly (about 6 cutlets total)
  • 1 1/2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked
  • 3/4 cup frozen peas
  • 1/2 bunch Italian parsley, chopped roughly (about 1/3 cup total)
  • 8 oz (?) freshly shredded or grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil on medium-high. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Stir in capers.
  3. Add garlic, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Sprinkle flour over top and stir continuously for 1 minute.
  4. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Add marsala wine and milk, stirring until thickened- about 3-4 minutes.
  5. Transfer mixture to a small saucepan. Add chicken broth and simmer (careful not to let the liquid reduce too much- we will need it for cooking the rice later!).
  6. Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Add 1 tbsp remaining olive oil to skillet and cook on medium-high heat until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
  7. In a 9×13 casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray, add rice in a thin layer. (It will stick to the pan, sort of like flouring a cake pan!)
  8. Layer chicken on top of rice. Sprinkle peas over top.
  9. Carefully pour the mushroom sauce over the top of the casserole. Sprinkle with parsley.
  10. Cover tightly with foil and bake 35-40 minutes or until rice is cooked through (the time may change depending on what kind of rice you’re using!).
  11. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 more minutes until cheese is melted.
  12. **You can also make this a day in advance and either freeze it and reheat, or keep it in the fridge uncooked (the uncooked rice will soak up some of the liquid get a bit soft! You can add more liquid if you need to, although 2 cups worked for us) and then cook the next day. Make sure all the rice gets cooked- a few of our grains were a little “crunchy” still and we just stuck the casserole back in the oven!

DSC01646

DSC01648

DSC01657

DSC01664

DSC01666

DSC01691

ClaireLeave a comment