Thanksgiving Recipe: Kale Cranberry Salad

This salad, even the Kale haters, is ALWAYS a hit! I make this salad all year, but I especially love it for Thanksgiving. The Kale always holds up so well, it makes for a good dish to travel with! This kale salad is the salad of my dreams. Seriously. It is so good. Not only is it flavorful but you can make it ahead of time or it will stay yummy for days. Anything that can be made on your time and stays yummy is good in my book.

This recipe makes a big bowl! 

INGREDIENTS:

6 Tbsp. olive oil
2 shallot, peeled and finely diced
5 cloves garlic, coarsely diced
2 cup dried cranberries
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup (or honey/agave)
the juice and zest of a lemon
pinch of salt & black pepper
2 bunches of kale, very thinly sliced
3 cups strawberries, diced (or raspberries!!)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add shallot and saute for at least 5 minutes or until tender.

Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Then add in the rest of the olive oil ( 3 Tbsp) cranberries, red wine vinegar, honey and lemon juice and zest, and stir to combine.

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Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the kale with tiny drizzle of olive oil and an extra pinch of salt, and massage kale with your fingers for 1 minute until tender.

Add in the cranberry/shallot warm dressing and almonds, and toss to combine. Add in your strawberries and goat cheese, lightly toss and that’s it!

As always, taste to make sure YOU like it! Some like it sweeter, some like it tangier. This is your salad, make it how you like it! I hope you love it!

P.S. Reminder, You can make this the day before & it’s even better! 

Thanks for reading & let me know how you like it! 😊

Happy Thanksgiving!

Date Night: Brownies

Who doesn’t love a soft, warm, chocolate brownie. I may be drooling by the end of this blog post.

I seem to always crave a warm, chocolate brownie and this recipe is my favorite! Brownies are always so comforting and EASY! I always believe a way to anyones anything is chocolate (or food) and anything homemade. It just means so much more when you make it!

When it comes to baking- I like to stick with homemade as much as possible for quality of ingredients and because I don’t eat sweets all the time- I want the calories to be worth it. Worth it to me is homemade. You know whats in it & it always tastes better. To me, these are way better than any boxed brownie you will buy!

Preheat your oven to 325. Line a 8×8 baking dish w/ aluminum foil. This will help with two things: 1. easy clean up (can I get an amen?!) & 2. easy removal out of the pan!

In a pot, over low-medium heat, melt your butter and sugar. You want this to look like a soft, gritty sand texture. Basically, you want the butter melted completely. Turn off heat. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

Then stir in your cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Allow mixture to cool for another couple minutes- I transferred the mixture to another bowl to cool quicker (While its cooling- get your dry ingredients together)

In a medium bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt.  (see green bowl above!)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the warm (make sure its not hot) butter/sugar/cocoa mixture. With the mixing on low, add in one egg at a time. Mix together until incorporated. With mixing speed on low, add in your dry ingredients slowly. You don’t want to make a huge mess, so I just add a little at a time. Mix until no flour pockets remain.

Remove the bowl, and stir in the chips and walnuts to your brownie batter.

Spread the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan. Don’t be afraid to use your fingers to pat the batter down! Place in the oven at bake for 30 minutes. (Remember, every oven is different so yours may need more or less time.)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for AT LEAST 30 minutes. The brownies will continue to cook and come together. Cut into these bad boys and enjoy! Yum!

I hope you give these brownies a try & tell me about it- they are even better the next morning for breakfast! HAH!

Here is the Recipe:

Chocolate Lovers Brownies

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup walnut pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325. Line a 8×8 baking dish w/ aluminum foil.
2. In a pot, over low-medium heat, melt your butter and sugar. You want this to look like a soft, gritty sand texture. Basically, you want the butter melted completely. Turn off heat. Allow to cool for 3 minutes. Then stir in your cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Allow mixture to cool for another couple minutes (While its cooling- get your dry ingredients together)
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the warm (make sure its not hot) butter/sugar/cocoa mixture. With the mixing on low, add in one egg at a time. Mix together until incorporated.
5. With mixing speed on low, add in your dry ingredients slowly. You don’t want to make a huge mess, so I just add a little at a time. Mix until no flour pockets remain.
6. Remove the bowl, and stir in the chips and walnuts.
7. Spread the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan. Place in the oven at bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for AT LEAST 30 minutes. The brownies will continue to cook and come together. Cut into these bad boys and enjoy! Yum!

Thanks for reading, sharing & supporting!

Love & Chocolate,

Dinner Night Idea: Stir Fry

Stir-fry isn’t typically a dinner I make a-lot, quite honestly, I always forget about it BUT it always seems to be a hit with everyone I make it for.

This recipe makes me smile because it brings back warm memories of my mom and my late husband. My mom had a very difficult and painful fight with pancreatic cancer. I remember she had a very tough time eating, and during that time I made my stir fry for her and she would enjoy it, and it would warm my heart that I was able to provide something yummy and comforting for her during her struggle. This recipe also reminds me of Anthony, I am pretty sure he would eat this daily if he could- that man LOVED rice. So every-time we would grocery shop for the ingredients, he would be like can we make triple! LOL! He would eat it for dinner and then take it all week for lunch at work. I miss them both so much, so I feel very happy to share this recipe as I hope it becomes a favorite for someone you love. ❤️

I’d say Zoey likes it too…

The most time consuming part of a stir fry is cutting all the veggies, but its always super filling. You could easily top this recipe with shredded chicken, or beef or grilled chicken! I just went for all veggies, but both plates were delish! Personally, what I love about this stir fry is that it’s sweet, spicy & savory, so it is super flavorful. I would recommend tasting it before you serve to make sure YOU like it.

Basic Stir Fry Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 sweet onion, sliced thin
2 cups broccoli
2 bell peppers, sliced (any color)
1 tsp sriracha sauce (hot chili sauce)
1/4 cup organic coconut liquid aminos (soy sauce subsitute)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
ground pepper, to taste
1 can water chestnuts
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (my blend has carrots, peas, green beans & corn)
1 cup frozen plain riced cauliflower
1/4 cup canned pineapple tidbits (I used the canned pineapple in juice)
2 tbsp pineapple juice (from the can)
2 cups cooked rice

Directions:

In a large pot over medium heat, drizzle in your oil and add in your sliced onion. You want to cook them until they have softened (about 5 minutes)
Then go ahead and add in your broccoli.

I threw in the broccoli first because its the vegetable that takes the longest. I allow it to cook for 3-5 minutes, and then added in the sliced bell peppers.

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Cook your peppers for about 3 minutes and then squeeze in your sriracha sauce (hot chili sauce) (you can omit if you aren’t a fan of spice), add in your coconut aminos (or soy sauce) and your pineapple juice. (the pineapple juice provides some sweetness)

Stir the veggies and add in your seasonings.

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Open your water chestnuts and add them into the pan, along w/ your frozen veggies and riced cauliflower.

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Stir your pot, a lot to cook for about 5 more minutes (until the frozen veggies are cooked) and then finish it off by adding in your pineapple just before serving.

so BEAUTIFUL and COLORFUL!  Go ahead and serve it up!

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I hope you give this recipe a try & enjoy it. Its a good healthy go-to recipe, and you can add whatever protein you wish!

Drop me a comment if you go ahead and make it, Id like to hear back from you!
Thanks for reading & supporting,