If there is one thing I’m learning it’s that I will always thank myself on Tuesday night for cooking up a batch of brown rice Sunday. Food prep like cooking grains, baked potatoes and even shredded chicken in the slow cooker ALWAYS saves me during the school week.

When I find myself unsure of what I want to make for dinner (not to mention, short on time), it’s always incredibly helpful to have a few staples already cooked up and waiting in the fridge. Brown rice is one of those staples and helps to make this super quick and easy Vegetable Fried Brown Rice possible even on the busiest of nights.

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In need of last minute appetizer ideas for Easter? Well you are in the right place…

For some reason, when I’m hosting any holiday meal, appetizers (finger foods, snacks, munchies…whatever you want to call them) seem to fall way low on the priority list as far as menu planning. It’s not because I don’t love them, they are actually my favorite part of any meal and I personally could eat a whole shlew of apps and happily forgo the rest of the food any day. But if I’m making the main meal, I usually get so preoccupied with that part of the meal I tend to forget the easy stuff like apps and snacks! However, if I’m planning to bring a dish to a holiday get together, I love to bring a dip or two with fresh veggies and pita chips.

I’m a snacky kind of girl – put some pickled or fresh veggies, dips, chips, cheese (like the one up there) and stuffed mushrooms in front of me and I will snack happy all day long.

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The recipe for Asian Almond Slaw Salad was developed in partnership with Fisher Nuts.

Anyone have Spring Fever yet? I think it’s safe to say always have spring fever, for the most part. Our weather situation in Florida is nothing to complain about but I cherish the small pocket of time it feels like spring here, which is right about now. I spent most of this last weekend in the yard trimming landscaping and planning for flowers. Cleaning up my herb pots is next on the list. Nothing feels as good to me as a few hours of work in the sunshine (when it’s not sweltering hot).

This is the time of year that I am also ready to get back in the salad. I say that all the time but January is just not a big salad month for me, and I have to be honest, I’m missing raw, crunchy veggies in my life right now. I pulled together this Asian Almond Slaw Salad in honor of getting back in the salad and sharing a heart healthy recipe with you since February is American Heart Month. I think it’s safe to say you already know that fresh fruits and veggies are considered heart healthy foods, but did you know that nuts are too?

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I’m a bit of a hummus addict. I seriously can’t get enough of the stuff. I put it on everything…sandwiches, salads and just plain old on my plate with some veggies and crackers. Good stuff.

A few weeks ago I felt that I had had my share of hummus for a while. I don’t know what it was, but I just got sick of it. I stopped buying it, stopped making it…I just needed a break. But I found myself missing something in the afternoons when I was getting that snack attack I always get around 4pm. I needed something crunchy, and something to dip that crunchy in. I needed a replacement for hummus.

I had seen the words “edamame dip” around the web but had yet to try it myself. Using the bag of edamame that has been screaming at me from the freezer, some pantry items and some fresh herbs from the garden, I whipped up this recipe from Whole Foods one afternoon and served it to a friend of mine who was coming over for before-dinner glass of wine. A plate of this dip and some dippers, a glass of good vino and some happy kids splashing in the pool…we were set.

I’m happy to announce…edamame dip is my new friend.

This dip has a very fresh flavor…a little bit sweet from the edamame, a little bit earthy from the herbs. Its not super creamy like hummus, but instead more on the smooth-chunky side if you know what I mean. I loved how it tasted and loved it’s pretty green color even more.

Let me know if you try it. Enjoy!

Edamame Dip

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 (16-ounce) package frozen shelled edamame
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• Sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoons pepper

Directions:

1. For dip, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, parsley and rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in edamame, followed by stock. Cook until beans are tender and liquid has reduced considerably, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool slightly.
2. Pour edamame mixture into a blender. Take care as the ingredients are hot - keep your hand over the blender lid. Purée ingredients, gradually pouring in remaining half cup of olive oil. When completely puréed, add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
3. Pour dip into a serving bowl. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Recipe from Whole Foods Market

Grab some dippers and try out these healthy dips:

Lemony Artichoke Hummus

Kalamata Olive and Feta Dip

Healthy Honey Mustard Dip | Cupcakes & Kale Chips

5 Minute Black Bean Dip | Cookin’ Canuck

Avocado-Cilantro White Bean Dip | Chelsea’s Messy Apron

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Why don’t I make stir fry more often?  It’s such an easy meal to throw together, and you can change it up every time.  I was scrambling to figure out dinner for Larry and I the other night at um…let’s say 5ish, the kids were having pasta and I just wasn’t in the mood for pasta.  I had an oversupply of broccoli in the fridge (thanks to Publix’s $1  bags of florets this week!) so I knew broccoli had to be a main ingredient.  Looking in the freezer for ideas I saw shrimp.  Frozen shrimp are so great to have on hand because they are so quick to defrost and cook.  So stir fry it was.

I like to cook up the shrimp in the wok first with some garlic, ginger and a couple teaspoons of oil.  Once its cooked I set it aside and then add the veggies to the hot pan.  For this stir fry I used sliced onion, broccoli florets, water chestnuts and edamame.  The combination was perfect.  I put together a basic Asian sauce out of some staples and dinner was served.

Oh and don’t forget the chopsticks…I love eating with chopsticks at home, makes me feel like I’m having “takeout”, and I tend to eat slower with them.  Just one of those mental tricks I guess.  Larry was a big fan of this stir fry, he said it was the best one I’ve made so far.  I’m happy with that compliment! 🙂

Shrimp, Broccoli and Edamame Stir Fry

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced (or from the jar)
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 can sliced water chestnuts
• 1 cup frozen edamame, defrosted
• 2-3 TB rice vinegar
• 2 TB soy sauce
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp chile garlic sauce
• couple of splashes of fish sauce

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil, chile garlic sauce and fish sauce.
2. Heat wok over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, ginger and shrimp and cook until shrimp are just pink, about 2-3 minutes. Set shrimp aside.
3. Add onion and broccoli to hot wok. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add edamame and water chestnuts. Continue to cook for about 2 more minutes. Add back in shrimp and sauce and toss to combine, cook for about 2-3 minutes longer. (I like my veggies crisp, but if you prefer, cook a little longer for softer veggies.)

Happy Friday to everyone!  What are your plans this weekend?  The Gators are playing a big game Saturday night so that’s what we’ll be doing…the rest of the weekend is up to the kids!  🙂

Have a great weekend!

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