Sugar Snap Pea, Asparagus, Baby Leek, Pesto & Ricotta Pizza

This past Sunday night when it was pouring down rain in Hoboken I opted to make a pizza. On the grill. Outside. For dinner. Thanks to a saintly husband & an umbrella it actually came to fruition.

This is the perfect spring pizza with heaps of green veggies & flavor even you meat eaters will go vegetarian for the day. Plus, I got to use this pesto on it!

PS: Happiest birthday to one of my favorite ladies, Miss Ashley McGee! xx

Make this pizza & tag me in your photos on instagram (@mrshoh or #HeatherOMade)!

6 Grill Recipes for Memorial Day

It’s (almost) finally here, the (un)official start of the summer: Memorial Day Weekend! I hope you’re doing something super fun this weekend. If it inclueds firing up the grill  here are 6 great grilling recipes for everybody (vegetarians to omnivores)! Enjoy!

1. Bang Bang Grilled Shrimp Salad
2. Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Goat Cheese, Spinach, Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms
3. Grilled Steak with Arugula, Parsley-Parmesan Salad
4. Grilled Peach, Brie & Basil Pizza
5. Simple & Tangy Grilled Aspargus
6. Spicy Sweet Grilled Pineapple Rings

Better Home Cooking Basics: #64 Store Asparagus Like a Bouquet of Flowers in the Fridge.

Lately, I’ve been giving tips on how to store your produce & I’m keeping with the theme this week because after all you can’t cook with produce gone bad. It’s supposedly asparagus season (read: it should be on sale). So in hopes to make your asparagus & dollars last longer I give you this tip today: store you asparagus like a bouquet in the fridge.

If you do plan to store your asparagus for a few days after you get it home, trim a small amount from the bottoms of the stalks with a sharp knife & place them in a tall glass/container/jar with a little water in the bottom. Cover the top loosely with a plastic bag, & store in the refrigerator. This will keep the stalks firm and crisp until you are ready to cook them. (I stored mine for a day without the plastic & it still kept them fresh.)

Get more of my better home cooking basics here.

Green Pea & Asparagus Soup with Poached Eggs & Toast

I love a flavorful soup that isn’t full of cream (although cream based soups are delicious too). This soup that I found while skimming the pages of Cooking Light magazine called out to me. It’s vegetable based & only has a little bit of butter. Plus, they recommend serving it with a poached egg & toast which is a no brainer for me that I was automatically going to love this recipe. I did. Chris did. You will. It’s a perfectly green & light enough for warm spring days or nights yet satisfying soup!

Chicken with Mushrooms & Asparagus

I don’t eat a lot of red meat, ok I really rarely do so we have our fair share of chicken, fish & seafood on our table most nights. Chicken is one of those ingredients that’s always in the fridge but can be so unappealing until you mix it with really tasty things. Chicken is really a blank canvas so I try to be inspired when approaching chicken dinners. Last night I made this, chicken with mushrooms & asparagus. The sauce is creamy but not heavy & the asparagus still has a little bite to it so everything isn’t complete mush. I served it with rice but I think it would go great over pasta, mashed potatoes or just with some crusty bread.  It was surprisingly easy to make & I only used one pot to cook it (plus one more for the rice).

How do you cook your chicken when you want to change things up?

Simple & Tangy Grilled Aspargus

I like skinny asparagus. Chris likes fat asparagus. I guess opposites do attract. We usually end up with the  asparagus on the skinnier side because - well because I’m married to a great man who likes whatever I cook & lets me have my way more often than not.

I love asparagus quickly cooked on the grill & then simply dressed with a little vinaigrette. Most of the time we end up snacking on them before the rest of dinner is done & we eat them with our fingers.

PS: Happiest Birthday Maggie! I love you! xoxo

Fancy (& Easy) Shaved Asparagus

I know it probably seems like I run a restaurant when it comes to dinner time at our house since I post so often about different recipes.  I do love to try new things & I really do enjoy changing it up but to be honest most of the time we have the same things on rotation. 

Asparagus is usually one the veggies we always have.  In hopes to change it up this week I changed the shape of the asparagus by shaving them with a vegetable peeler - other than that the flavors of olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper are usual suspects at our dinner table. The best part is this recipe/method (I'm not sure you can even call it a recipe) is simple & cooks really quickly all the while making your dinner table look fancy without trying hard at all.

How do you jazz up your regular dishes?

Veggie Fettuiccine Alfredo

I watched Mario Batali make this version of fettucini alfredo on TV a while ago & used it as inspiration for our Sunday supper with my own little flare of course.  Click through for my version of his recipe.

Have a great week & happy October (OMG!!! time flies).

Shaved Zucchini, Asparagus & Pea Salad

 

I think the easiest way to make something look and taste fancy is with a vegetable peeler. No. Really it's true.  This salad looks so fancy pants your dinner guests will never know that it was so easy to make!

Learn how you can look like a fancy pants salad maker after the jump!

Blue Cheese Herb Mustard Salmon

I'm particularly proud of this salmon for two reasons. The first reason is because my husband actually LOVED it.  Since Chris is far from a fish eater (with the exception of that that comes in a shell or in the form of a sushi roll) that's a huge victory. WIN! The second reason is because it's super quick and easy to make.

I felt inspired by my foodie pen pal package and decided to make the blue cheese herb mustard as the star of my simple dinner.

Here's what you'll need:

1. 1 lb salmon
2. 3 tablespoons blue cheese herb mustard (or any other kind of spicy tasty mustard)
3. salt & pepper

Make it:

1. Get a large naked (no oil or butter - nothing!)  skillet  screaming hot on your stove top.
2. Season the salmon with salt & pepper on both sides.
3. Cook the salmon on each side for a couple of minutes.
4. With the skin side down spread the mustard on the pink fleshy part of the salmon.
5. Pop your skillet under the broiler for 7-9 minutes (or until your fish is cooked through). Make sure your skillet handle is oven safe!
6. Serve the salmon with a side of grilled asparagus and greens.

Tip: for a quick salad dressing mix olive oil, mustard and lemon juice together. Toss your greens in it and you've got a salad that automatically compliments the flavors in your fish!