It’s a good line-up this week, starting with the creamy pasta and ending with one of my favorite cookies. All healthy stuff! And since we’re knee deep into cold season, consider a pot of my Chicken Tortilla Soup. Enjoy!
“Almost Vegan” Linguine with Cauliflower Alfredo
Pasta with a creamy sauce, only no cream. The sauce gets its luscious texture from a combo of cauliflower blended with pecans and a shower of Parmesan. A bracing hit of lemon balances the richness. So good and good for you. It’s a keeper.
Salmon Burger Lettuce Wraps with Sriracha Lime Dressing
This is an easy one to pull together that everyone in my house loves. It makes use of mega-convenient frozen salmon burgers done in a lettuce wrap with crunchy veggies, avocado, and a tangy/spicy sauce. The meal is on the lighter side, so if you have hearty eaters, throw an extra burger or two in the pan or do up a side of steamed rice.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
One of my kids was sick last week and I wish I could have brewed up a pot of this soup and sent it by Fed Ex. It’s a tasty brew with lots of veggies along with the chicken. With a bit of heat and a tangy kick of lime, it’s excellent when you’re the picture of health, too 🙂
Easy Pork Chops with Apples
This is the sort of supper my mom made on the regular every fall when we were kids. My version has a little something extra in the form of a quick pan sauce built on Dijon mustard and sour cream. It’s delicious with the chops. The Winter Veggie Salad below would make a great side dish.
Kimchi Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Some would say a simple grilled cheese is a perfect food, so why mess with it? It’s a good point, but I’ve found piling kimchi onto a grill cheese sandwiches plays deliciously off the richness of melted cheese. If you are dead set against kimchi, you can add pickled jalapeños or another pickled cabbage instead. Enjoy for lunch or a light supper.
Chopped Winter Vegetable Salad
If you love crunch, this salad is for you. It’s an enormously flexible recipe using whatever crunchy greens, raw veggies, hard cheese, and nuts you have on hand. A tart apple is the key ingredient in my book.
Tahini Almond Butter Chocolate-Dipped Cookies
These wholesome cookies are one of my favorites on the site. They take minutes to make and can be done with or without the chocolate dip. Feel free to swap in peanut butter or another nut or seed butter for tahini.
SHOPPING LIST
Salmon Burger Lettuce Wraps
3 ounces dried rice stick noodles
1 heaping cup shredded carrots (use pre-shredded for ease)
1 1/2 medium ripe avocados
1 large head Romaine or butter lettuce
2 scallions
4 four-ounce frozen salmon burgers
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 Persian or ½ English cucumber
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
“Almost Vegan” Linguine with Cauliflower Alfredo
⅔ cup pecan halves
1 cup oat milk (or cow’s milk)
2 cups medium cauliflower florets
1 large clove garlic
1 pound linguine
1 lemon
⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese or vegan Parmesan
Chicken Tortilla Soup
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion
2 large cloves garlic
5 ½ cups chicken broth
1 cup diced tomatoes (use canned when tomatoes are out of season)
1 1/2 pounds skinless, bone-in chicken breasts
4 corn tortillas
Kosher salt
3 large carrots
2 ½ cups roughly chopped red cabbage (about 1/3 of a head)
¼ cup fresh lime juice (2 to 3 limes)
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper
1/3 cup crumbled cotija cheese
Cubed avocado for garnish (optional)
Easy Pork Chops with Apples
4 boneless pork loin chops that are about 1-inch thick
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large apple
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Kimchi Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
1/2 cup kimchi (I use cabbage kimchi)
4 slices sandwich bread (I like levain, ideally with some whole-grain flour)
Sharp Cheddar, enough for 2 thin layers on each sandwich (about 3 ounces total)
2/3 cup Baby spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
Chopped Winter Vegetable Salad
3 cups diced crunchy raw winter vegetables in any combo (pick at least 3 types, such as carrots, fennel, celery, radishes, jicama, daikon, kohlrabi)
3 cups shredded crunchy lettuce/cabbage (such as little gems, romaine hearts, or any variety of cabbage)
2 crisp apples, diced, such as Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, or Granny Smith
½ cup roasted nuts, chopped, such as almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts
½ cup diced flavorful hard cheese, such as Parmesan, Pecorino, aged Cheddar, aged Gruyere (leave out for vegan version)
2 tablespoons minced chives or 3 sliced scallions
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Tahini Almond Butter Cookies
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup tahini
2 cups almond flour
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (or 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips)