quick Archives - Page 18 of 25

Healthy Banana Mango Smoothie

August 26, 2013 ·

This Healthy Banana Mango Smoothie is a thick, frosty, fruity smoothie with a protein boost from Greek yogurt. I often add ground flaxseed for additional health benefits.

Ever since I made my Diet Mixed Berry Smoothie recipe, I have been on a real smoothie kick. While I have enjoyed coming up with several different recipes, I think this Healthy Banana Mango Smoothie recipe is my favorite. When made with a perfectly frozen banana and chilled mango, this smoothie whips up to the consistency of soft serve ice cream….

Filed Under: breakfast, gluten free, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: alphabet challege, banana, easy, low fat, mango, quick, smoothie, snack, yogurt

Biscoff Buttermilk Pancakes {Alida's Kitchen}

Biscoff Buttermilk Pancakes #BiscoffSpreadsLove

August 22, 2013 ·

Biscoff Buttermilk Pancakes are light and fluffy, whole wheat, buttermilk pancakes made using Biscoff Spread.

I am excited to tell you about something that I recently discovered. It’s made with all natural ingredients, is preservative-free, vegan, and nut free. It’s Biscoff Spread, and it’s fabulous! This sweet, creamy, decadent spread is perfect over toast, with apples slices, or simply grab a spoon and dig in!…

Filed Under: Admin, breakfast, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: brunch, buttermilk, easy, pancakes, quick, whole wheat

Cocoa Crispy Sunbutter Bars {Alida's Kitchen}

Cocoa Crispy Sunbutter Bars #SundaySupper

August 18, 2013 ·

Cocoa Crispy Sunbutter Bars are easy, no-bake bars made nut-free with sunflower seed butter, and topped with a layer of semi-sweet chocolate. They are also gluten-free.

With back-to-school just around the corner, we are starting to think about ideas for what to pack for school lunch. Something nutritious, delicious and easy isn’t too much to ask, right? A little variety might be nice too. Fortunately, today I am joining the Sunday Supper Movement, and the theme is ‘lunch box.’ Several wonderful bloggers have come up with fantastic recipes and ideas to help solve the lunchbox dilemma. These are recipes are helpful when packing your own lunch to bring to work! You can find links to all of the wonderful recipes at the bottom of this post. But first, let’s talk about these Cocoa Crispy Sunbutter Bars! …

Filed Under: dessert, gluten free, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: chocolate, easy, no bake, quick, snack, sundaysupper, sunflower butter

Cocoa Pebbles Dirt Pudding

August 12, 2013 ·

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This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Post Pebbles but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PebblesBTS http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

The other day Adam and I made a trip to Walgreens for some Post Pebbles Cereal, but if you follow Alida’s Kitchen on Instagram, you already know this. I had several tasty recipe ideas swirling about, but also wanted to show Adam that you can take everyday items, such as cereal, and be creative. While I do have an easy recipe to share with you, first I have to tell you about the fun project we made with our Pebbles Cereal!…

Filed Under: Admin, dessert, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: baby/toddler, chocolate, easy, quick, snack

Cheesy Broccoli Penne Pasta

August 8, 2013 ·

Cheesy Broccoli Penne Pasta dish is made on the lighter side with a light cheddar and Parmesan sauce and fresh broccoli. A quick and healthy stove top meal, this is a great weeknight dinner!

We love cheesy pasta dishes, and generally the more cheese the better, right? In summer months we tend to gravitate to lighter meals, leaving our beloved cheesy baked pasta dishes by the wayside. They can be a bit heavy, and while I love baked pasta, I don’t always love to turn on the oven when the temperatures rise. That’s where this Cheesy Broccoli Penne Pasta dish is perfect. It has a light cheddar and Parmesan cheese sauce ~ just enough to coat the pasta and broccoli. And it’s all made on the stove top in under 30 minutes. You can’t beat that!…

Filed Under: kid-friendly, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: cheese, cooking light, cream cheese, easy, pasta, quick, vegetable

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

July 17, 2013 ·

vegan mediterranean vegetable lentil salad with balsamic vinaigrette and feta cheese

Mediterranean Lentil Salad is a healthy, protein-packed, veggie-rich grain salad, mixed with a tangy balsamic vinaigrette. There are so many delicious flavors at play here, with red onions, garlic, parsley and, of course, the balsamic vinaigrette. This easy recipe is a great base recipe with lots of flexibility to customize it to your preference. You could add spinach, change up the amounts of tomatoes, onions, etc. Mediterranean Lentil Salad can also be vegan by simply omitting the feta cheese.

I really like using lentils because they are such a great source of lean protein and high fiber and iron too. Per the bag I used, there are 12 grams of protein and 14 grams of fiber…all with zero fat. I find lentils to be a great meat substitute in recipes, such as tacos. In fact, I am putting the final tweaks on a lentil taco recipe to share with you soon!

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup chopped red onion, plus 1 1-inch thick slice (for cooking water)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus 3 parsley sprigs (for cooking water)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 cup halved cherry (or grape) tomatoes
½ cup diced cucumber
½ cup feta cheese, divided
salt and pepper to taste
For the balsamic vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced

Instructions

COOK LENTILS: Add 2½ cups of water to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add onion, parsley sprigs and minced garlic and bring to a boil. Stir in lentils, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered until lentils are tender (about 20-25 minutes). Drain and discard onion and parsley.
MAKE VINAIGRETTE: In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, water, vinegar, mustard and garlic until combined. Pour into a sauce pan (I just used the same pan used to cook the lentils) and heat on low until just warmed (do not boil).
ASSEMBLE: Place warm lentils in a serving bowl. Add cucumber, tomatoes, chopped parsley, ¼ cup feta and warm vinaigrette and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup feta and serve.

Notes

Adapted from Bon Appetit, March 1999, via epicurious.com

It’s my favorite time of month again…the Eating with the Alphabet Challenge hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic! This month we were to showcase a recipe using a fruit, vegetable or grain that begin with the letters K or L. Lentils are the first that came to mind, and I had so much fun trying different, healthy recipes with them. If you’re a blogger, why not join us! It’s fun to come up with new, healthy recipes as well as see what other bloggers decide to make. Brenda has more information and sign up details here.

Filed Under: healthy, Recipes, salad, vegetarian Tagged With: alphabet challege, easy, grain, legumes, lentils, quick, stovetop, vegan

sunflower seed butter buttermilk waffles

Sunbutter Waffles

June 27, 2013 ·

Sunbutter Waffles are whole wheat, buttermilk waffles made with sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter (or other nut butter), making them a nut-free alternative. While perfect just as-is, we also enjoy them topped with additional sunbutter, berries or maple syrup.

We have had a waffles iron for years, but for whatever reason it hasn’t been used much…well, until recently. If you’re a regular reader, you know how much my Adam loves pancakes. At least once per week, I make his favorite kind(s) of pancakes to load up the freezer and/or just to have on hand. Sometimes I would end up making a double (or triple!) batch. On my small little griddle, this exercise could take hours. A labor of love I guess. These days, with a newborn in the house, it’s a bit tricky to devote that much time to cooking or baking anything. On a whim, I decided to try my hand at waffles. Due to Adam’s peanut allergy, I opted to transform my beloved peanut butter waffles into sunbutter waffles. I was pleased to discover cooking waffles is much quicker than flipping pancakes. And Adam had 5 waffles for breakfast that day. Operation waffle was a success!

For another recipe using sunbutter, try these Cocoa Crispy Sunbutter Bars. They make a great snack!

Sunbutter Waffles

Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients

1¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
¼ cup canola oil
6 tablespoons sunflower seed butter
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a medium bowl, with a hand mixer, beat oil and sunflower seed butter until smooth. Add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and stir until incorporated.
Add buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until combined. Let mixture sit for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat waffle iron. Cook waffles according to the manufacturer directions for your waffle iron.

Notes

Note: Store leftovers in the refrigerator and toast to reheat. These also freeze well.

Adapted from Everyday Food

Filed Under: breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: baby/toddler, brunch, buttermilk, easy, freezer friendly, quick, sunflower butter, waffles

Jalapeno Popper Pasta

June 18, 2013 ·

Jalapeno Popper Pasta is a cheesy, spicy dish where comfort food meets an appetizer favorite. This grown-up mac ‘n cheese dish is filled with tasty jalapeno peppers, topped with garlic breadcrumbs and is made a little lighter too!

While Mike and I were pretty sure we would enjoy Jalapeno Popper Pasta, because I mean really…between the cheese and garlic breadcrumbs and a nice kick from the jalapenos…it’s a safe assumption, right? Well, this is how it typically goes down when I want to photograph our dinner for the blog. I load up a plate for photos and head over to my photo spot. I tell Mike to go ahead and start without me, but he always says he wants to wait. (He might sneak a bite or two). Photos take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes depending on various factors, and then we eat! These photos didn’t take long, maybe 5 minutes. I went to the table, and Mike had already finished. He just smiled and went to load up for seconds. It’s that good!

If you’re lucky enough to have a garden full of jalapenos, this Jalapeno Popper Pasta is a delicious, new and different way to use them up.

Jalapeno Popper Pasta

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

8 ounces pasta (rotini, gemelli, or any other similar shape will work)

For the Garlic Breadcrumbs:

¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
pinch salt

For the Sauce:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 jalapeno peppers, minced (to yield approx ¼ cup)
6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, cut into 6 pieces
1 cup skim milk
1 cup Monterey jack cheese
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

COOK PASTA: Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente. Drain and set aside.
MAKE BREADCRUMBS: Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium, nonstick skillet and add breadcrumbs and (1 clove) minced garlic. Stir frequently until breadcrumbs begin to brown and garlic is fragrant. Add a pinch of salt, remove from heat and set aside.
MAKE SAUCE: In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add peppers and cook for 3 minutes, or until onion and peppers are softened. Add garlic during the last minute, cooking until fragrant.
Reduce heat to medium and add cream cheese to onion mixture. Stir until melted. Add milk, stirring until incorporated. Add cheese and chili powder and stir until melted and smooth.
PUT IT TOGETHER: Remove sauce from heat. Add cooked pasta to sauce and toss until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
SERVE: Divide on serving plates and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of garlic breadcrumbs. Top with jalapeño rings for garnish (optional).

Notes

Adapted from Rachael Ray

The past few months, I have been able to knock out several recipes from my bucket list with this challenge, and each of these recipes have become household staples. Gotta love a 3 year old who can’t get enough of roasted chickpeas (we go through 1 can every 1 to 2 days!)

Filed Under: Featured, healthy, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: cheese, dinner, easy, jalapeno, light, pasta, quick, stovetop

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Quinoa

June 12, 2013 ·

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken with Quinoa | alidaskitchen.com

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken is a healthy 30-minute meal made with chicken, lots of vegetables, and a light sweet and sour sauce. It takes just minutes to prepare, making this Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken an ideal weeknight meal that is much healthier than its take-out counterpart.

Here the Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken is served over the ever trendy super-seed, quinoa. You can easily substitute brown rice, or another favorite grain, or eliminate it all together for a lower carb option.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Quinoa

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon water
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thick coins
6 scallions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
salt and pepper, to taste
nonstick cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk honey, ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and 1 tablespoon water.
Toss chicken in 3 tablespoons of honey mixture and place in prepared baking dish. Toss peppers, carrots and scallions in remaining honey mixture and pour evenly over chicken.
Loosely cover baking dish with foil, leaving one end open to vent. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, put quinoa and broth in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then cover, reduce to a simmer (medium-low) for 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender. Season with salt and pepper, as desired.
Divide quinoa on plates and spoon chicken and vegetables over quinoa.

Notes

Slightly adapted from Family Circle, June 2013

If you enjoy this recipe, you may also enjoy:

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

Lighter Sesame Chicken

Filed Under: gluten free, healthy, main dishes, Recipes Tagged With: asian, carrots, chicken, dinner, easy, onion, peppers, quick, quinoa

Oreo Cookies and Cream Muffins

May 22, 2013 ·

Oreo Cookies and Cream Muffins are a tasty vanilla muffin studded with large chunks of chocolate sandwich cookies throughout. If you like Oreos (or Joe Joe’s!) and are looking for a fun recipe to try with them, these muffins are for you. While Oreo muffins are not something that I would make every day, after making the crust for my Lighter Chocolate Cheesecake Bars, I found myself with leftover Oreos (if there is such a thing). Why not try something new for a change! Oreo Cookies and Cream Muffins are glorious and definitely something worth trying if you’re a cookies and cream lover, like myself!

Oreo Cookies and Cream Muffins

Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
⅓ cup cold butter, cut into 12 pieces
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
16 Oreo cookies, chopped
Topping:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 Oreo cookies, finely crushed
2 tablespoons cold butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a standard muffin tin, line 12 muffin cups (or spray with cooking spray) and set aside.
Make topping: In food processor, combine flour, sugar and crushed cookies until combined. Add cold butter, pulsing until crumbly. Put in a small bowl and set aside.
Make muffin: In a food processor, put flour, sugar and baking powder and process until combined. Add cold butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour into large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk milk, egg and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Gently fold in chopped cookies.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with topping. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Source: Taste of Home