Browsing Category FAST AND EASY SIDE DISHES
Anita best Basil Pesto
Ingredients
3 cups of fresh Basil leaves
1/3 cup pine nuts
4 to 5 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmesan
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil + 1 extra Tablespoon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Place garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
- Add basil leaves, olive oil and process until a smooth paste has formed.
- Seasoned with salt and pepper. Mix in the grated cheese.
- Transfer to a glass airtight jar. Drizzle the 1 extra Tablespoon of olive oil over the top.
- Place in refrigerator or you can freeze it into ice cubes container and use portions as needed.
Anita’s Refreshing Mandarin Arugula Salad
Ingredients
3 fresh mandarin oranges, sectioned
1/2 cup fresh mandarin juice
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 cups of Arugula, pre-washed and rinsed
1 large avocado, diced
Preparation
- Combine fresh mandarin juice, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil and whisk together.
- Add salt, pepper to vinaigrette.
- Add arugula leaves, avocado and segmented peeled mandarins. Toss all ingredients gently and serve. Enjoy!
Anita’s Healthy and Light Tabbouleh
Ingredients
5 bunches Italian flat leaf Parsley, pre-washed, dried and finely chopped by hand
4 Roma tomatoes, small diced
1 1/2 bunch fresh mint, pre-washed and finely chopped
2 green onions, finely sliced(optional)
2 Tablespoon fine cracked wheat (bulgur), soaked in water for 10 minutes
2-3 Fresh lemons, juiced
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Pomegranate Molasses(optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon fresh finely ground black pepper
Preparation
- Add to a large bowl chopped and dried with clean towel flat leaf parsley.
- Add chopped mint and diced tomatoes.
- Drain bulgur from water and add. Place bowl in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
- Remove from fridge. Incorporate extra virgin olive oil, pomegranate molasses and lemon juice. Toss all together.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Ready to serve with romaine lettuce leaves or grape leaves. Enjoy!
Anita’s Delicious Shish Kebab
Ingredients
3 pounds Sirloin Steak, cut into 2 inch cubes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoon Worchester Sauce
1/4 cup red wine
4 large onions, halves
4 fresh Roma Tomato, whole
6 metal or bamboo skewers
Preparation
- Place sirloin pieces into a large re-sealable plastic bag. Add garlic, Worchester sauce, red wine, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin and vegetable oil. Toss to coat evenly. Refrigerate marinade for 4 to 5 hours or even overnight.
- Remove marinade steak from refrigerator and prepare shish kebab into skewers.
- Preheat indoor or outdoor grill to medium heat.
- Prepare halves onions and whole tomatoes into separate skewers.
- Place steak and vegetable skewers on the grill. Grill steak Kebabs until all sides of meat are brown for about 10 to 12 minutes and vegetables are tender.
- Remove from grill. Cover for 2 to 5 minutes with foil. Serve and enjoy!
Anita’s Mushroom, Green Onions and Cheese Omelet
A delicious breakfast or lunch! My daughter’s favorite omelet.
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 baby Portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 green onions, chopped small (all green and white parts)
1 1/2 slices Muenster Cheese or Cheddar
Salt and Pepper TT (to taste)
Preparation
- In a small bowl beat eggs with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in skillet at medium-low heat.
- Stir in mushroom and sate until soft and tender for about 2 minutes. Incorporate green onions and cook until slightly soften.
- Pour in beaten eggs. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add cheese pieces. When cheese is starting to melt fold omelet in half.
- Cook till slightly crispy and golden brown on both sides.
- Ready to serve warm. Enjoy!
Anita’s Creamiest and Smoky Eggplant Dip
Ingredients
2 medium size eggplants
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 Tablespoon Tahini (sesame paste)
1 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- Place whole unpeeled eggplant over a medium heat gas flame .
- Using tongs utensils turn eggplant on each side till skin is totally blistered and eggplant are soft from the inside.
- Soak eggplants in cold water for about 8 to 10 minutes to cool.
- Remove from water and drain completely.
- Peel eggplants and place in a food processor (if you prefer it creamy),or for more chunky texture: you can make it by hand.
- Pour tahini, lemon juice and garlic over eggplants and seasoned with salt. Process until creamy and all well combined.
- Serve with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Garnish with parsley and make a rose out of the skin of a tomato to place in the center. Enjoy!
Anita’s Simple Tomato, Cucumber, Avocado Salad
Ingredients
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2-3 Persian cucumbers, diced
1 avocado, diced
3 Tablespoons fresh basil, long thin strips
1 Tablespoon dried mint
3 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
Preparation
- Place cherry tomatoes, diced cucumbers and avocados into a bowl.
- Whisk together extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, and pomegranate molasses. Add salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried mint and mix all together.
- Pour over salad and toss gently. Stack leaves of basil and roll them tightly, then slice them perpendicular to the roll. Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves thin strips. Can be refrigerated one hour before serving. Enjoy!
Anita’s Best Ever Tuna Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
4 (6 ounces) cans water-packed tuna fish
2 Tablespoon mayonnaise
2 Tablespoon plain Yogurt
2 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard
6 slices of toasted homemade bread(see recipe on my site)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 slices of Swiss cheese
6 slices of Roma tomatoes
Preparation
- Open and drain the tuna cans completely. Empty tuna fish into a bowl.
- Add mayo, yogurt, chopped celery, onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients and break any tuna chunks with a fork until is all smooth.
- Toast bread slices, spread Dijon mustard over both sides of bread and place a slice of Swiss cheese on one side, and a piece of lettuce leaves on the other side.
- Place a generous amount of tuna salad on top of lettuce leaves.
- Place 2 tomato slices on top of tuna. Position other cheese and mustard bread slice on top. Enjoy!
Note: You can also enjoy this Tuna Salad recipe with some crackers as a fast and easy to make snack.
Anita’s No Mayo Coleslaw with Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
3 Chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 Pound green cabbage, shredded
2 Carrots, peeled and shredded
1 cup raisins
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon Grape seeds Oil
1 teaspoon of soya sauce
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
Preparation
- Whisk together in a large bowl apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, grape seed oil, lemon juice, sugar, grated fresh ginger, and soya sauce.
- Incorporate shredded green cabbage, shredded chicken, shredded carrots, parsley and raisins. Stir well until all ingredients are coated with the dressing.
- Best placed into refrigerator for at least 1 hour to blend flavors. Enjoy!
Anita’s Best Easter Chicks Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
4 large eggs
2 Tablespoon Caesar salad dressing(see recipe on my site)
1/2 teaspoon Horseradish Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Organic apple cider vinegar
3 cups of water
1 medium potato, baked
Salt and Pepper TT(to taste)
To Color Boiled Eggs
2-3 drops purple food coloring
2-3 drops blue food coloring
2-3 drops pink food coloring
2 drops pink+1 drop blue=light purple
4 bowls with water
Preparation
- Place eggs into a medium saucepan and cover with 3 cups of water. Bring water to a boil. Leave eggs boiling for 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off heat and let eggs finish cooking for another 5 minutes. Rinse eggs under cold water and peel gently with your hands. Set aside for 10 minutes and using a tiny spoon remove egg yolks and place it into a medium size bowl. Cut zigzags out of hard boiled egg whites.
- For the filling: Mash yolks and the baked potato.
Add the Caesar dressing, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well until smooth.
- For Coloring the Eggs: Place the drops of food coloring into the bowls with enough water to cover both parts of egg whites. If color is too pale, you can always add more drops.
4. Pipe or spoon egg yolk-potato filling into colored egg white zigzags halves.
5. Make little triangles out of yellow bell peppers or carrots for the beaks and pickled cucumbers for the eyes. Apply into the filling. Place these cuties chicks over a bed of chopped lettuce and be creative on finishing decorating your Easter garden. Happy Easter!
