You know I’ve been to Costco when you start to see recipes with pesto and goat cheese popping up frequently on the blog. I can’t help it. There are a few staples from Costco that I can’t be without and their pesto and goat cheese are two of them.

I have to admit, since trying the pesto from Costco I really haven’t made any at home – it’s that good (for store bought!) and you just can’t beat the convenience or price.

These Roasted Red Peppers with Pesto and Goat Cheese were inspired by my neighbor who made for us once and brought some over for me to try. He actually cooked his on the grill and wow, they were amazing. I could not wait to make them for myself. I wanted to try them on the grill, but honestly this past week here in Florida has been so brutally hot and muggy that the thought of standing over a grill “testing” a recipe just didn’t appeal to me. Roasting them up in my oven worked just as well, and I got to enjoy the a/c while doing it.

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This recipe is a favorite and perfect for SPRING! I love using pesto that I pick up from Costco (find it in the refrigerated section) and goat cheese from there as well. Right now I’m finding asparagus at the grocery store which is what reminded me of this pasta the other day. It’s such a great, meatless meal so if you are avoiding meat on Fridays during Lent then this is one to try!

Originally posted in March, 2015.

Here’s another “nailed it!” recipe for you. When I say I nailed it, it means everyone at my dinner table happily ate and enjoyed every bite of this Spring Vegetable Pasta with Pesto. I’m considering starting a category of it’s own for these types of recipes.

My kids surprise me often when it comes to food. If I were to put asparagus on their plate as a side dish I am pretty certain there would be a conversation about whether or not they want to eat it, though I’m pretty sure my daughter would at least try it. I was taking my chances by putting it in this pasta dish, and it worked. I know that red bell peppers aren’t their favorite by any means so they would be picked out (and that’s totally ok – more for me 😉 ) but I was pleasantly surprised when no one mentioned anything about the asparagus.

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If you don’t know by now, I’m pretty obsessed with pizza of any form. I think it’s safe to say, it’s in my blood. As much as I would love to eat pizza daily (I pretty much did growing up in my parent’s restaurant), I know it wouldn’t be one of my better ideas.

Since I crave pizza constantly, I try to get creative and get my pizza fix in lighter ways – enter pita and flatbread pizza.

I put together flatbread (or pita) pizzas for dinner pretty often. They are so easy to make and great for weeknights or even as a healthier alternative to Friday night pizza. For some reason, my kids don’t love pita pizzas as much as I do (boo!) but I’ve found that they do like these flatbread pizzas I’ve been making lately. What’s so awesome about making individual pizzas like this is you can adjust the toppings to everyone’s liking – for instance, my kids are totally okay with chicken and broccoli but hold the red pepper please. No problem.

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Happy New Year Friends! Did you have a nice holiday season?? It’s hard to believe we are starting a new calendar year already. I love love love the fresh start a new year brings, so much to look forward to.

My friend Kristen introduced me to idea of choosing a Focus Word for a new year a while back and honestly I have thought about it over the years, choosing a word but not really “focusing” on it throughout the year like I’m assuming the intention is with choosing a focus word. Last month I scribbled down a word while I was working on something and realized it was exactly the word that should be declared as my focus word this year.

My Focus Word for 2015:

LEARN

I want to learn learn learn. I have always loved being a student of all things (not necessarily in the traditional sense but I didn’t always mind being in some classrooms ready to take notes). Lately I have been obsessed with learning new things, from crafty/DIY home stuff to improving my photography to learning how to run my blog as a business to crocheting to cooking something out of my comfort zone. I am craving information these days and my brain feels like it may explode from that craving sometimes.

In the last couple of years I’ve been preoccupied with life events (pregnancy, family illnesses, moving to a new house, new baby). These life events have kept me busy and have used up a lot of my energy and brain space honestly. And that’s all good. That’s life! Life Is Good! Things have settled down a bit the last few months and I think that is when my craving for learning really kicked into high gear. My mommy brain has felt a bit mushy this past year so it’s time to fill it back up again. I’m retraining myself to be open to learning how to do something when I get stumped versus my sometimes initial reaction of “ugh” and trying to find someone to do it for me, or just not doing it at all. Granted, some things are going to still be passed on to someone more qualified and able but I would like to at least change my attitude about it all.

What do I want to learn? Well, it’s a mix between personal and blog/business related things. Here are my learning goals for 2015:

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Whenever anyone asks me what my favorite kitchen tool or gadget is, my reply is always a sharp knife. A sharp knife is essential to any kitchen as far as I’m concerned, and after experiencing an injury to my hand last year because of a not-so-great encounter with a dull knife and an onion, I now know first-hand how important it is to make sure your knives are good and sharp before you use them.

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In case you haven’t noticed, I really enjoy cooking fish for dinner.  I’ve talked to many people who seem intimidated by working with fish, but it’s really so easy and has saved me many nights when I’m in a pinch to get something quick and healthy together.  I purchase a lot of my fish frozen, from Costco or Publix…and I prefer and try to buy only wild.  I don’t think I was comfortable cooking fish a few years ago as much as I am now…so if you’re new to it, just experiment with different techniques and recipes.  My favorite way to cook it is pan seared like in this recipe or broiled like this Sockeye Salmon with Citrus Glaze…it’s quick, easy clean up and I really love the seasoned texture it gets after it’s cooked.

As far as a side dish for a busy night, you really can’t get any quicker than cooking up some couscous.  I normally like to kick it up a bit by adding chopped veggies and eating almost like a salad but at room temperature.  Play around with flavors and ingredients…this Adobo Lime Fish with Confetti Couscous was very light and perfect for a nice summer meal.

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Adobo Red Snapper with Confetti Couscous

• Author: Aggie's Kitchen
• Category: Fish
• Method: Stovetop

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Trying to add more fish in to your diet? Add this Adobo Lime Fish with Confetti Couscous to your meal plan for a ridiculously quick and perfectly light meal to your week!

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Ingredients

• 1 lb red snapper, if frozen defrost in fridge or under cold running water (I used frozen from Publix)
• 1 1/2tsp Adobo seasoning
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 box couscous (I like to use Near East)
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 2 tsp olive oil (optional)
• 2–3 green onions, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 cup drained and rinsed black beans (I like to use Bush’s)
• juice from 1–2 limes

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Instructions

1. Prepare couscous according to cooking directions, I like to use only half of the seasoning packet to reduce the sodium. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in non stick skillet over medium-high heat. Take fish fillets and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle adobo seasoning on both sides of fish fillets and gently place into pan. Cook fish fillets 3-4 minutes on each side until slightly browned and flaky.
3. While fish is cooking, fluff your couscous with a fork and add chopped veggies, beans and lime juice. Gently toss to combine. Taste for salt and pepper.

More fish recipes:

Parmesan Crusted Fish with Lemon and Capers

Salmon Spinach Bake

Chili Rubbed Fish with Quinoa Salad

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I spotted a shrimp recipe on Pioneer Woman’s amazing site recently and couldn’t wait to make it. I love shrimp, and love anything spicy even more so this was exactly something I knew I had to make. Last night, I was ready to fire up the grill to cook up the shrimp when something like a monsoon came over us. Lightning, rain, thunder, wind…all of it, and very typical of summer in Florida…so needless to say, I wasn’t overly excited about standing in the porch watching delicate shrimp cook up on the grill. It was time to improvise…

I had a ton of veggies to use up in the fridge…and a brand new wok that I got for a steal at IKEA. So stir fry it will be.

In a bowl I mixed together some hot chili sauce, a little oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and a couple splashes of fish sauce. Oh and I pressed about 4 or 5 cloves of garlic in there too. I chopped a ton of veggies…squash, zucchini, onion, red pepper and more garlic. Forget the grill…this stir fry was awesome!

Firecracker Shrimp Stirfry

Yield: 2- 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 TB hot chili sauce (I use Sriracha - adjust amount to your taste)
• 1 TB soy sauce
• 1 TB rice vinegar
• 1 TB oil
• couple of splashes fish sauce
• 4-5 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• small pinch of salt, big pinch of pepper
• 1-2 zucchinis, chopped in quarters
• 1-2 yellow squash, chopped in quarters
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced in thin strips
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

1. Combine chili sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, oil, fish sauce, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl to make a sauce. Toss shrimp in sauce and coat completely.
2. Heat wok over medium-high heat. Add a couple tsp canola oil into wok and sear the shrimp. Once shrimp are just cooked, take out and set aside. Add chopped vegetables and garlic into wok. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5-8 minutes until veggies start to soften. Once veggies are slightly cooked, add back in shrimp and toss to combine, cook for 2-3 minutes more. Serve with cooked soba noodles. Season with more soy sauce, fish sauce or chili sauce to taste.

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While I was in D.C. last weekend I visited the Julia Child exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Now, I’m almost embarrassed to admit this, but I really don’t know much about Ms. Julia Child. I know of her…but have never watched her shows. With “Julie & Julia” out in the theaters today, the book and then finally after visiting this exhibit, I must say, I am intrigued. I may have to dig up some old shows of hers and settle in on the couch one afternoon and just watch…she seemed like such a lovely spirit. Enjoy a peek in her kitchen…apparently it’s all her stuff, donated by her and set up exactly how she wanted it.

PS…Want to join in on the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club fun? Check out Cooking Light’s Test Kitchen Blog featuring Aggie’s Kitchen and other great bloggers!

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Today is my second week cooking up an Ellie Krieger recipe as part of the Craving Ellie in my Belly group. I am so happy to have finally bought this cookbook (and joined this group!), it’s full of recipes that I would make any day, and knowing that they are good for me and delicious makes them even better.

This week’s chosen recipe is Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta chosen by Pamela over at Cookies with Boys. I loved it. The recipe calls for using canned tomatoes but I had some really nice tomatoes my grandfather brought me from his Farmer’s Market so I used those instead. I did find that there was still a little too much liquid after it was all cooked up, so next time I will cook it on the stove longer to try to evaporate most of the liquid before putting it in the oven to bake. I also added some kalamata olives, not to my husbands liking, but I couldn’t help myself.

If you enjoy shrimp recipes like I do try this Shrimp Avocado Pasta,  Garlic Shrimp with Quinoa and Easy Ginger Lime Roasted Shrimp Recipe

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans of no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with their juices
• 1/4 cup finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives
• 1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Heat the oil in an oven proof skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 5 minutes, until the tomato juices thicken.
3. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley, dried oregano and shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the feta over the top. Bake until the shrimp are cooked through and cheese melts, about 12 minutes.
4. Serve with orzo or pasta.

Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger, Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger

Today is my little girl’s 2nd birthday!!

Happy Birthday Gina!!
xoxo

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I am one tired mom. I have never been so happy for a weekend to end. I have been solo since Thursday while Daddy was in Phoenix for work. My daughter has been sick the last two days so we’ve been cooped up in the house, not a good scenario when you have to entertain a 4 year old active little boy who is constantly moving and bouncing around. Luckily I have great neighbors with kids the same age that he was able to play with a bit while I stayed in with little Gina. If I really think about it, I’m basically tired from doing nothing! I’m just so happy that Daddy will be returning tomorrow and things will get back to normal around here.

I made these sandwiches last week before the big trip. My 4 year old son, Sammy, is a bit of a picky eater and doesn’t always like trying new foods so I wanted to stir up some excitement about dinner by telling him we were eating Sloppy Sammies that night. Boy, did that make his eyes open wide…he liked that a lot. Of course, he had no idea what Sloppy Sammies were, nor did he ask either. He happily ate his dinner that night.

Yes it was that easy. Amazing.

Sloppy Sammies

Ingredients:

• 1.25 lb lean ground turkey
• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• 1 med onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 TB mustard
• 2-3 TB brown sugar

Directions:

1. In large non-stick skillet over medium high heat, saute onions, carrots and red pepper until softened. Add ground turkey and continue to cook until browned. Add seasonings to meat and veggie mixture and cook through.
2. In small bowl combine tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, mustard and brown sugar. Add sauce to turkey and veggie mixture and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes until sauce is warmed through and starts to thicken.
3. Serve on whole wheat or potato rolls.

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Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

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