Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Feta & Kalmata Cheese Spread




This Feta Kalmata Cheese Spread is so simple and delicious.

It's great on crackers, melts into warm crispy bread, tops a salad, makes an instant creamy sauce on hot veggies, can be mixed into mashed red potatoes and more.

The briny soft cheese, salty olives and seasoning adds layers of flavors and makes just about anything taste amazing.

Because it's so simple your ingredients matter. Use your favorite Feta, most flavorful olives and best olive oil.

Feta Kalmata Cheese Spread

14 ounces Feta in Brine
6 to 8 Kalmata Olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Oil Oil
1 teaspoon Organic Oregano, dried
Dash Organic Garlic Powder
Dash Black Pepper

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and mashed. Use right away, but the flavor improves as it mellows.

Tonight I'll be spreading it over some delicious focaccia.

Next time I make it I will likely add sun-dried tomatoes and some chopped artichoke hearts. I think that spreading that combination over a partially baked pizza crust would be awesome.

Don't forget to enter to win a pair of tickets to the Gluten and Allergen Free Wellness Event in Raleigh on August 9th! Comment on this post to enter.

Enjoy!

Happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays at Gluten Free Easily!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Honey Sriracha Madness

So this Honey Sriracha Madness is Marie's fault entirely. You see, Marie, Marc and Aiden were running in the grocery store as Joe and I were running to our car a few weeks ago. 

Marie mentioned she was making Honey Sriracha Chicken for dinner that night and I was intrigued. A quick check of Pinterest later that night gave lots of variations. All super simple and I never did go back to look at a recipe.

And since it's been way too long since Aiden has made an appearance on the blog I am sharing this photo our amazing Gabby took at his dedication last month. It's hard to believe he's going to be one in just under a month!

But back to food. So why am I giving you three? Because it was a great excuse to put up a pic of Aiden and because it's really good! I love to play around with a good recipe and make it my own varying ingredients to my family's tastes. You can adjust the honey and Sriracha to your taste to make it sweeter or milder or scorching hot! 

For the Honey Sriracha Chicken Bowls, I just let one and a half pounds cubed chicken simmer in a tablespoon of coconut oil. As the cubes were barely cooked through I added about 1/4 cup honey, about a tablespoon Sriracha and a dash of lime juice and garlic and simmered until the sauce was thick and caramelized but not dry.

Stop when you like the consistency - really saucy to drizzle over the rice - simmer a little less time. Super caramelized, go a little longer.

It was amazing over a bowl of steaming rice with some fresh herbs sprinkled on top. We used mint, cilantro and basil for a Thai-inspired flavor.





Our favorite vegetarian version is this delicious Honey Sriracha Mushroom Sauté.

It's super simple. Clean and quarter a pound of mushrooms. Sauté mushrooms in a medium skillet in one heaping tablespoon of honey and one heaping teaspoon of Sriracha. No oil is necessary. Leave the lid off and stir everything together. The mushrooms will release their juices and the sauce with start to thicken after a few minutes. We love this served over rice (fried rice in this pic) and with kimchee.








Honey Sriracha Beef Lettuce Wraps have to be the easiest lettuce wraps you can make and are amazingly flavorful. To make these simply brown one pound of organic, grass fed ground beef with about a half cup of minced onions. Stir in the same heaping tablespoon of honey and heaping teaspoon of Sriracha and sauté until the sauce is thickened.


I topped lettuce leaves with julienned red peppers and spiralized cucumber and added the beef and cilantro. Chris loved these even though our lettuce didn't "wrap" this time. 

Relax in the kitchen and be creative - it makes eating healthy much more fun.

Happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays!