Food-throwing toddler – Page 3

Cilantro pesto with roasted spaghetti squash

March 26, 2015July 9, 2015 Sonya Quick

There’s something about cilantro that can make a gray day sunny and a sunny day even better.

It’s such a vivid shade of green and it’s flavor is just as bright and cheery.

And recently my friend Michelle contributed some Q and As for the blog. One of the questions she asked was if I had any recipe suggestions for spaghetti squash that did not involve making it pasta-like.

And maybe you’ll say that pesto still makes it pasta like. Well, sure. Kinda. But usually cooks are roasting spaghetti squash into tender little pasta-like noodles and topping it all with normal tomato sauce.

Cilantro pesto is far from normal.

Tried & loved: homemade ranch dressing

March 17, 2015July 9, 2015 Sonya Quick

I was stuck in a really tough spot.

I love ranch dressing. Maybe not every day, but sometimes life just calls for an herbaceous creamy dressing for a chopped salad or for dipping homemade french fries.

But I haven’t found ranch from a store that I liked and I hadn’t yet made at home what I can call ranch.

Store dressings are filled with preservatives and taste a lot more like mayo than herbs. Some have anchovies (not on my list, with the whole vegetarian thing).

But at home I’ve struggled to make something that tastes like ranch. My most successful attempt so far is what I would call a ranch vinaigrette. You see, I’m experimenting to find a way of using Greek yogurt and fresh herbs as the main ingredients in a dressing, eliminating the mayo. Maybe still adding some buttermilk for its unique taste.

But until I can figure out my perfect ranch (healthy, creamy, herb-y, ranch-y) here’s the next best I’ve found.

You see, this is not healthy. But it is lacking preservatives. And it tastes like fresh herbs. And it tastes like ranch.

Recipe link from the Pioneer Woman >> HERE.

French pea & bacon gnocchi

March 11, 2015July 9, 2015 Sonya Quick

Do you ever get tired of pasta?

True, it can be prepared a number of ways. With tomato sauce, with cream sauce, with fresh pepper and parmesan or served with vegetables.

But I turn to pasta so often. So here’s my answer when you want and don’t want pasta for dinner.

Gnocchi.

But not just any gnocchi. For this dish I add green peas and bacon (veggie bacon). For seasoning, herbs de provence.

Tex-Mex bowl with Spanish rice and BBQ tofu

March 6, 2015July 9, 2015 Sonya Quick

Tex-Mex started out as a nickname for the railroad that traveled between the America and Mexico (the train route was shortened on tickets). Now it serves as a nickname for American-Mexican hybrid dishes. More specifically with a Texas influence.

And wow, combining these two cuisines yields amazing results. Sweet hickory barbecue sauce with cumin-tomato Spanish rice. Yellow cheddar cheese with pico de gallo.

So here’s my take on Tex-Mex. A bowl filled with awesome.

Spanish rice, black beans, barbecue sauce-grilled tofu, cheddar cheese, corn and pico de gallo.