Spicy Avocado Toasts

Mom and I had this for lunch the other day and loved it.

Its very simple but filling.

Spicy Avocado Toast 
(Martha Stewart)

1 ripe avocado
2 slices of toast
butter or coconut butter
a few pinches salt and pepper (I used flaky sea salt)
a few pinches red pepper flakes
lemon wedges

Peel and slice the avocado.
Toast and butter the bread.
Place sliced avocado on the bread and mash (or leave whole).
Top with salt, red pepper flakes and lemon juice.

Zucchini and Red Pepper Sautee

I love doing this for lunch.

It's faster than making an epic sandwich (because sandwiches need to be epic) and leaves me full.

Sometimes I have crackers or a nice piece of bread with it.

Zucchini and Red Pepper Sautee
Serves 1 person lunch.

1/2 medium zucchini, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1-2 tsp Olive oil
3 fresh basil leaves, torn
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1-2 tsp lemon juice
salt, pepper
1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

In a medium fry pan over medium, heat oil.  Sautee zucchini and peppers, sprinkled with a pinch of salt and pepper, for a few minutes, or until barely softened. Stir in basil, lemon zest and lemon juice.  Cook another minute.  Grate parmesan cheese over the vegetables and serve.

Mini Blueberry Lemon Crunch Muffins

If you're wondering whether these muffins are good or not...

Check out Jimmy's face.

This is how he looks when he's really enjoying food.

The whole family loves these.

These are ridiculously fast and easy to make and they'll only dirty one bowl.

Mini Blueberry Lemon Crunch Muffins

adapted slightly from allrecipes.com

Makes 24 mini or 12 large

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used a combo of AP and whole wheat pastry flour)

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 lemon, zested

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries, wild works best because they're smaller

1/4 cup white sugar

2 Tbsp cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp butter, cubed

3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease mini muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and zest.

Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. 

Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. 

Work together with finger tips, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake 15-20 minutes for mini and 20-25 for large muffins, or until done.

Spinach Hummus with Apple Slices

My mother-in-law makes delicious apple-hummus wraps.

I frequently make them for myself for lunch.

Spread a wrap with hummus, top with shredded carrots, spinach and apple, then wrap it up tight.

Today I did a variation on that.

I added lots of spinach to my usual hummus recipe and used it as a dip for all the other components.

Add a apple, orange, blueberry and spinach juice and there's lunch.

Spinach Hummus with Apple and Carrot

1 796mls can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 lemon zested and juiced
1/4 C tahini
2 cloves minced garlic (optional)
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
pepper
2-3 large handfuls spinach
1/4-1/2 tsp cumin

Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor.


Serve with sliced apple, sliced carrots and pita chips or crackers.

Lemon Garlic Chicken and Roasted Potatoes

Tonight was one of those nights I know I will remember for a long time.

We enjoyed good, sweet time with Gramma, (aka, Gramma Dodette) and later had a surprise drop in from Dad.

The time was made even better by the fact that I wasn't fussing over dinner the whole time.

I assembled the dish in the morning and left it in the fridge until I was ready to cook it.

It's a good make-ahead meal to keep in mind.

We ate it with green beans, a big salad and some rosemary focaccia bread.

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Roasted Potatoes

(adapted from:  food.com - recipe # 346661)

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

2 teaspoon salt

6-8 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 8 wedges each

salt and pepper

1 lemon, juiced

olive oil

1-2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350°.

Set out a large roasting pan.   (I used 2- 9 x 13 inch baking dishes)  Place chicken in pan(s), leave space between the thighs.

Make a paste with the garlic and salt using side of large knife,(I used my mortar and pestle) then rub all over tops of chicken.

Place potatoes in a large bowl, add salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.

Sprinkle chicken with black pepper.

Place potatoes on and around thighs.

Pour chicken broth into side of pan.

Sprinkle lemon juice to taste over top of dish.

Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes or until done.

Turn chicken and potatoes over halfway through cooking time.

Add more chicken broth during baking, if pan becomes dry during cooking.

Whipped Lemon Dill Cream Cheese

The other day, Renee and I bought some amazing bagels and whipped up a batch of this amazing cream cheese to go with.

I was thinking dill and she was thinking lemon, so we did both.

It was so good.

We toasted the bagels, loaded them with the lemon dill cream cheese and topped that with slices of smoked salmon and cucumber.

Whipped Lemon Dill Cream Cheese

1 8oz package of Cream Cheese (We used Philly)
2 tsp dried dill (or 2 Tbsp fresh dill)
1 lemon, zested and juiced (2Tbsp juice)

Whip all ingredients in a food processor or stand mixer or use and hand held mixer.

A very springy chicken dish

This is an easy chicken recipe that looks beautiful and everyone in our house loves. I found it in my good old "Not Your Mother's" cookbook. The ingredients are things that most people have hanging around in the pantry and it took around 15 minutes to prepare. (Plus baking time) I served it with Ina's Buttermilk Potatoes, Peas and a Green Salad with Avocado-Citrus dressing.

Lemon Chicken with Mint

4 chicken breasts cut in half (length-wise)
Zest and Juice of 1 lemon

1/3C flour

1/1/2 t salt

1/2 paprika

2 T Olive oil or a little more...

2T Brown sugar

1 Sliced lemon

1C broth (chicken or veg)

a few sprigs mint

1. Preheat oven to 375*. Butter a baking dish large enough for the chicken to be in a single layer.

2. Drizzle chicken with lemon juice. Place flour, salt and paprika in a ziplock bag and add the chicken pieces shaking to coat.

3. In a skillet over med-high heat, heat the oil. Add chicken pieces and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 10 mins total.

4. Place browned chicken in the baking dish and sprinkle the top with zest and sugar.

5. Place lemon slices and mint over chicken, tip broth in and around the chicken and bake for 30 mins or until juices run clear.

(Discard mint sprigs before serving)