Greek Yogurt with Fresh Figs, Walnuts & Citrus Honey

Hope you had a great 4th of July! It’s really summer isn’t it? Despite a rainy start to the weekend it was pretty fantastic weather wise.  I feel like I went grocery shopping 100 times in 3 days. Each time I came back with more & more fresh fruit. I just love summer fruit & lack control when it comes to passing it up. One of my favorite treats to get this time of year is fresh figs. If you are saying to yourself - I never had a fresh fig - I highly suggest grabbing some next time you see them at the store. They’re so delicious & you can eat the whole thing! I don’t eat the little nubby stem but the rest of it I eat.  On Saturday morning I mixed up some fresh figs with yogurt & added a little crunch with some walnuts & added sweetness with some lime flavored honey. I will definitely make it again.

Read on for this quick recipe.

Better Home Cooking Basics: #16 Swap Out Mayo & Sour Cream with Greek Yogurt

If you’ve made any of the recipes on this blog you’ll notice I’m a fan of using Greek yogurt.  It’s thick & tangy like sour cream but it's also packed with protein & I just feel better about eating it.  If you’re making a dip (think of that packet of french onion soup mix you mix) with sour cream  swap it out with Greek yogurt. You won’t be able to tell the difference & you might even feel a little lighter on your feet.

If you’re making tuna for lunch swap out the mayo with some Greek yogurt. Same reward here.

Check out more better home cooking basic tips here. 

Juicy Mediterranean Turkey Burgers with Yogurt Sauce, Peaches & Arugula

Last night I was on my own for dinner so that only meant one thing - there would be olives (because I love them & Chris hates them)! I’ve been on a Greek salad & Greek yogurt kick as of late so those were also making the cut. I opted to make a Mediterranean style turkey burger with a yogurt sauce that is pretty much like tzatziki sauce with olives in other words a creamy garlicky & salty sauce. Then I added some feta, sliced peaches & arugula to hit all the other notes I love (read: salty, sweet, spicy).

I have to admit I scoured Pinterest in hopes to learn how to make a juicy turkey burger & thanks to this blog post I will always add pats of butter & milk to my burger mixture. I also opted to grate the onions & garlic into my mixture so that you don’t get big chunks or bites of either but you do get the flavor.

How do you make your turkey burgers juicy?

PS: remember if you make this pasta be sure to snap a pic & then tag me in your photos on instagram (@mrshoh or #HeatherOMade)!

Better Home Cooking Basics: #61 Top Baked Potatoes with Greek Yogurt Instead of Butter or Sour Cream.

If you love to load up a baked potato with gobs of butter or sour cream (like we do at our potato-loving house) this tip is for you. Swap out those fatty condiments for protein rich Greek yogurt instead. You'll get all the creaminess with less guilt & some nutrition to boot.

Want to take your baked potato to the next level? It's easy & tasty. Use this simple recipe to add some fresh & creamy flavor to your next baked potato.

Five Ingredient Pancakes

It’s Wednesday & you’re probably reading this while multi-tasking with some sort of electronic device & a tooth brush if you’re reading this when it posts at 7am.  Most mornings I find it a battle between blow drying my hair or eating breakfast. Usually the hair wins only because it’s so cold out lately I really don’t want icicles forming on my head - but who cares we should all be eating breakfast.  If you have about 10 minutes in the morning - maybe you wash & dry your hair the night before (note to self) - you can make these pancakes. You only need 5 ingredients to make them (plus whatever syrup or jam you want to slather on top) & about 7 minutes to make them. Truth be told, I made them on a Sunday but I would make them again on a week day. Plus, this recipe yields four fluffy pancakes - two for me & two for you - so it’s perfect if you have a smaller household - if you have more mouths just double the quantities.

When I have extra time, on the weekends, I make these pancakes or these ones & sometimes these crepes.

What’s your favorite pancake recipe?

Grilled Zucchini with Chickpeas, Raisins & Garlic-Yogurt Sauce

I'm definitely a creature of habit. I like what I like. I usually like to eat at the same handful of places for lunch, if I haven't (responsibly) packed one.  When I go grocery shopping I usually buy the same ingredients with a little variation here and there depending on sales and seasonal things.  Last night I was in the mood for something familiar but different. I've been eating zucchini all week. I love it and I rarely get tired of it. According to the Today Show it's in season - so there you go - now is the time to zucchini it up.  I usually just sauté it with some other veggies like I did here but after finding Caroline Wright's recipe on food52.com's under $20, in under 20 minute meals I was on my way to buy some more zucchini.

This grilled squash with chickpeas, raisins and garlic-yogurt sauce hits all different bells and whistles that I think would be served somewhere exotic, like Morracco.  The chickpeas have a bit of pop to them in texture and even more so with the hot and sweetly warm spices.  The grilled zucchini is toothsome and even better with grill marks.  To top it off there's creamy garlic-yogurt sauce.  For those of you who think eating vegetarian food is for the birds, try this hearty dish and you'll be singing a different tune.

I am definitely adding this dish to my regularly scheduled programming.

Crab Cake Sandwich Dinner

 

I have a new found love for cooking with lump crab meat. I went off this recipe for crab cake sliders & morphed them into regular (ok pretty large) sandwiches.  I didn't have the crackers that How Sweet It Is used so I used panko bread crumbs.  After I mixed in all of the panko I thought they would add a nice crunch to the outside so I dipped my crab cakes in more panko before pan frying them.

Then what really attracted me to this recipe was the toppings - a pineapple kiwi salsa + a spicy lime yogurt spread! Yes, PLEASE! I also really dig cooking with greek yogurt instead of mayo & well this menu has greek yogurt in two spots, happy win!

Thanks for the inspiration How Sweet It Is! I hope I did your recipe justice!

Happy weekend everyone & thanks for reading!

Click through to see photos of how this dinner came together.

Strawberry Basil Mint Yogurt Pops

Since we're going through another heatwave on the east coast I felt the need to make some cold & refreshing treats with stuff I already had in the fridge.  Using yogurt & some fresh produce I made yogurt pops.

I think they make a pretty perfect summer dessert or breakfast (no judgements please)!

Click through for more pics & to get the recipe.

Tzatziki Sauce

I love greek yogurt, cucumber & garlic, so it's only natural that I love tzatziki sauce which has all of these delicious ingredients in it.  It's great to dip pita in or to add to a sandwich instead of mustard or mayo. You can make it with 5 ingredients (7 if you include salt & pepper!).

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM & little baby Evie! I love you both.

Best Ever Turkey Chili

Apparently the mild 50 degree weather we had this past weekend was all a delicious dream because it’s cold again! So warm up with this chili recipe that I found & have been making all winter (when I'm not making this one). It has some really great flavors (spoiler alert - there's cinnamon & beer in there!). The best part is that it’s a pretty quick cook so you don’t have to let it simmer for hours but I’m sure if you have that kind of time in your day it will only taste better & better the longer it cooks - but it tastes great right off the bat. Naturally, I bulk mine up with extra veggies - so I’ll note in the directions which are optional.

Raisin, Coconut & Oat Scones with a Maple Glaze

Scones will always remind me of the coffee house that I worked at in college. We always had them & they always sold out. I would always bring some to my mom when I could - she was (& still is) a huge fan of the scones at Immaculate Consumption. I of course ate them but I never made them.

This past weekend I decided I would finally give it a try. I combined a bunch of recipes to come up with mine which I can say I’m proud of. If you’ve never had a scone it’s like the love child of a biscuit and muffin. They can be sweet or savory. The ones I opted to make were sweet with raisins, coconut & a maple glaze. 

Have a great weekend! I hope you make these for breakfast :)

Easy Creamy Parmesan Polenta

Back when I used to waitress on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, NYC my boss and I would order dinner from one of the nearby restaurants.  (I know what you're thinking - you were waitressing why didn't you eat the food there - it's because in the evenings we would only serve coffee and cake otherwise we would not go down the block for a meal). We'd usually eat the same things. One of the dishes we'd order was polenta or as what my boss used to reference as peasant's food that was now a delicacy.  It's pretty simple, tasty and hearty so if it was good enough to fill the bellies of Italian peasants it's good enough for me.  If you like mashed potatoes this is like the Italian cousin of it.  It's creamy, garlicky and cheesy.  Perfect. I actually think it may be easier to make than mashed potatoes!

And to go with the common thread of this week I nabbed this recipe from none other than Ina Garten.

(No-Cook) Swiss Oatmeal

Warmer weather makes me want to eat cooler food - as in chilled like salads & smoothies. If you follow me on Instagram you probably have noticed that I was on a smoothie bowl kick for a while. Then I had the Swiss oatmeal at Gregory’s Coffee (by way of recommendation from my team at work) & I knew I would have to work this into my morning routine at home.

Swiss oatmeal is served chilled, which makes it more appealing (to me) to eat during the spring & summer than a hot bowl of oatmeal (or anything for the matter).  Oh & you don’t have to cook it- that’s right a no-cook oatmeal. You only need to know how to cut up some fruit & stir & then get your beauty rest while it does it's thing in the fridge overnight.

It’s super simple to make & it’s another recipe you can use for that yogurt in your fridge too! This recipe makes enough for about 4 breakfasts. I stored mine in an airtight jar & portioned some out each morning during the week.

Apple Crisp

Apple season is upon us. We embraced it in our house by eating an early September Apple Crisp.  I basically adapted this recipe that I made at the beach with blueberries this summer to make it with apples instead.  Find the complete recipe after the jump!

Rhubarb-Almond Cake

If you’re looking for a summer dessert this is it. I love rhubarb & have traditionally enjoyed it most in a strawberry rhubarb pie (mmmm). My aunt is allergic to strawberries so when deciding on what to bring for (Easter) dessert at my Grandma’s house I opted for this Rhubarb-Almond Cake. It’s light but moist. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. The rhubarb offers the right amount of tartness to make you want seconds.

Crispy Beer Battered Fish Tacos

I’ve recently been really into cooking cod. I mainly pick it up from the super market because it’s wild caught & on sale - win win. We love tacos at our house. They’re fun to eat & to make & I can’t wait to make these again. They’re fried, yes but it’s fish - that makes it healthy right? Regardless they're super pretty & taste AMAZING & the textures are just soooo good.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries with a Creamy & Spicy Dipping Sauce

Chris doesn’t like sweet potatoes but he liked these! (Tiny win!!) I found these purple & white sweet potatoes in my regular super market. Maybe it was mind over matter that made Chris enjoy these more than he usually does or maybe it was the addictive dipping sauce that we ate along with them. Or maybe it was because I called them “fries”.  Whatever it was I’ll take it & will be making these again (similar to the method I used to make these home fries).

Mama Jean's Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Hope you’re celebrating the luck of the Irish with a green bagel or green beer or maybe some Irish Soda Bread. Last night, like most nights, I turn to Chris around 9pm & say “should I make [insert name of the blog post you’re reading now]?” To which Chris responds, “now?” Which he already knows the answer to that question is yes. So last night, my mom’s Irish Soda Bread was up-to-bat. Turns out I should’ve read through the entire recipe first because it has to bake for an hour & 20 minutes (80 minutes!!!!) & then it has to cool. So the photo you see above is what we ate for breakfast about 20 minutes ago.

How are you going to celebrate St. Patty’s Paddy's Day? Let me know in the comments below & if you have a great Irish Soda Bread recipe I’d love to see it.

Spicy Beef & Acorn Squash Winter Stew

I’m not a huget meat eater but I’ll have the occasional burger or meatball if the mood strikes me. If you’ve been following my blog (thank you!) you’ll probably notice that most of the recipes involve veggies, chicken & fish with very little meat in between. Which means that that’s what my husband eats too. Last night I opted to throw Chris a bone & make a beef stew. Given his positive reaction I may have to make this & meat more often.

Fresh Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Basil Sauce

I pretend to know what's in season when I'm at the farmers market.  I fake it until I make it at least. So far I've come to the conclusion that whatever is on sale is in season because they have the most of it to sell.  Lately, blueberries have not only been sweet, but on sale! Usually they don't last long in my possession but this past weekend I saved some blueberries for blueberry pancakes and taking a nod from my favorite blueberry basil lemonade du jour I made a zippy sauce to go with them (and the leftovers are delicious over greek yogurt by the way).