Vegetarian |

Mediterranean Chickpea Burger with Ranch Tzatziki & Giveaway!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Kaitlin

I am so happy that it is finally grilling weather again! There is nothing better than hanging out with friends and family in the back yard, grilling up some burgers, and playing games. Last night I was able to go to my first barbecue of the season and I couldn’t be happier about it. I look forward to many more this summer! I am an unapologetic lover of cheeseburgers. I never get sick of them. But eating a cheeseburger, oh, once a week all summer is not a good habit at all. I’ve stayed away from veggie burgers for the most part because I was never a fan of the texture. But when MorningStar Farms contacted me about their new Veggie Mediterranean Chickpea Burger I was intrigued. There is a vegan pizza place in Philadelphia called Blackbird Pizzeria that has Chickpea Parm that I’m kind of obsessed with, so I was really looking forward to trying a chickpea burger too! The chickpea burgers also have spinach, Roma tomatoes, and Greek herbs and spices mixed in which deliver a ton of flavor without the fat and calories. These burgers are just 110 calories per burger and have 70% less fat than … Continue reading →

Lemon Tart with Raspberry Shortbread Crust

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Kaitlin

Almost every citrusy post I have on my blog is dedicated to my mom. She is obsessed with orange, lemon, bergamot, etc. So in honor of Mother’s Day, here’s another one! As a Walkers Official Blogger Ambassador, Walkers Shortbread sent me an awesome assortment of treats my way to make a spring/Mother’s Day themed post. Walkers Rapsberry Thins was in the mix, my mom also loves raspberries, so I decided to use the rapsberry thins to make a shortbread crust for a lemon tart. To make it even more citrusy, I topped the tart with candied orange peel. I also have a 20% off coupon code for all readers! When ordering from www.walkersus.com, enter #ICCTSPRING and you will receive 20% off full priced items. The code is active until May 27th so be sure to use it before then! Ingredients: Candied Orange Peel: 2 oranges Water 1/2 cup sugar Crust: 1/2 cup finely ground Walkers raspberry shortbread thins cookies (about 6 cookies) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup salted butter (cold cut into small chunks) Lemon filling: 3 meyer lemons 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature 4 egg yolks 1/2 cup meyer lemon juice … Continue reading →

Cinco de Mayo Recipe Roundup

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Kaitlin

I have a bit of a taco obsession, partially fueled by Cooking Light’s delicious selection of taco recipes. Because of that, I have almost 10 taco recipes on this blog! With Cinco de Mayo around the corner, I thought it might be helpful to put all of those yummy recipes in one place as well as a few other spins on Mexican favorites. I also included some appetizers that would also be a hit at any party. Click the photos below to go to the recipe! Vegetarian: Seafood: Poultry: Beef: Appetizers:

Watermelon Feta Salad

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Kaitlin

This weekend, East Passyunk Avenue is hosting “Flavors of the Avenue” this Saturday, an event where 25 restaurants will be handing out samples from their menus. I was given the opportunity to go to a media tasting for this event a few weeks back and have been unable to think about anything else since! I am SO excited for this event! I must not be alone, pre-sale tickets are completely sold out, although some limited tickets will be available at the entrance to the tent on Saturday. During the media tasting, I was able to sample food from 7 of the participating restaurants.

Vegetable Couscous Salad

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Kaitlin

The weather in Philadelphia decided to take a break from the cold and give us two days of summer! We hit temperatures above 80 degrees so I wanted to prepare a light meal that didn’t involve much time over a stove. This Vegetable Couscous Salad from Cooking Light is perfect for summer dinners. It also travels well, so it would be a great addition to a barbecue, just make it ahead of time and bring it with you! Ingredients: Dressing: 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 (.6 ounce envelope Italian dressing mix) or Italian spice blend Salad: 1 1/2 cups water 1 cup uncooked couscous 2 cups chopped red bell pepper (I used two peppers) 2 cups chopped tomato (I used two beefsteak tomatoes) 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions 1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Radish and Arugula Crostini with Brie

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Kaitlin

Supposedly Spring started this past Wednesday. And yet, meteorologists in the Philadelphia area do not expect the temperature to go above 50 degrees for the foreseeable future. AND it’s supposed to snow on Sunday/Monday. What the heck?! Well, I’m sick of waiting for spring to arrive so I’ve decided to make it spring in my kitchen. Cooking Light seems to agree with me, and the April issue has a ton of recipes using the best of spring’s produce. This Radish and Arugula Crostini recipe immediately caught my eye; not only is it beautiful, but the ingredients give me hope that warmer weather is on it’s way. This recipe is also really simple. I made this as a quick appetizer to bring to a friends house and was able to make the entire recipe in 20 minutes! Ingredients: 16 (1/2-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette (6 ounces) Cooking spray 1 1/2 cups sliced radishes 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus the zest of 1 lemon 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon salt 4 ounces Brie cheese (about 1/2 cup) 1 cup baby arugula leaves

Creamy Corn Risotto

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Kaitlin

I tend to make a lot of mistakes when cooking. I won’t read the directions entirely through or will completely forget to pick up an ingredient and then at the last minute need to improvise. This time around, I actually read through the directions beforehand and had everything I needed, except I waited to long to use the Lobster and it had already gone bad. What an expensive mistake! So this recipe was originally a Lobster Corn Risotto, sigh. Anyways, it was still delicious and worth sharing! Ingredients: 3 cups water 2 cups chopped onion 2 celery stalks, chopped 2 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice 1 tablespoon butter 3/4 cup finely chopped onion 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 1/4 cups Arborio rice 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup frozen corn kernels 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese 1/3 cup chopped green onions 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Linguine with Spinach-Herb Pesto

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Kaitlin

I love a fresh pesto, it brightens up any dish and just screams spring. I made Fettuccine with Seared Tomatoes, Spinach, and Burrata earlier this week and had some spinach left over. Cooking Light’s latest issue had a recipe for Linguine with Spinach-Herb Pesto which uses spinach, basil, oregano, and time to make a creamy pesto sauce. How great does that sound?? Ingredients: 4 ounces fresh baby spinach 1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 large garlic clove, chopped 2 tablespoons organic vegetable broth 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (~1/2 a lemon), plus zest from 1/2 a lemon 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated and divided (about 1/4 cup) 8 ounces uncooked linguine

Fettuccine with Seared Tomatoes, Spinach, and Burrata

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Kaitlin

There are few things pasta can’t cure. (I’m not a doctor so don’t hold me to this) Pasta is my ultimate comfort food. Growing up, it was literally the only food my grandma (my mom’s mom) would make for me when I would visit, with the exception of Thanksgiving dinner. If I’m in a bad mood, need a pick me up, or feel a cold coming on, I want pasta. So when Cooking Light’s March issue’s photo was of a beautiful bowl of pasta, I was immediately excited for what deliciousness might be inside. Paging through, the issue didn’t disappoint. I plan on making quite a few of these, so expect a bit of a pasta week coming up! (I’m also about to move so my precious kitchen tools are little by little being packed away.) I naturally had to make the one on the cover first, so here is my take on the Fettuccine with Seared Tomatoes, Spinach and Burrata. First a little background on Burrata, which means “buttered” in Italian (interest peaked? I thought so). Burrata is basically the best mozzarella cheese ever. Why? Because it is mozzarella cheese with cream. Oh yes. You should be able to … Continue reading →

Huevos Rancheros Tacos

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Kaitlin

There is something so fun about having breakfast for dinner. Not only is it an easy way to whip up a meal with things you probably already have on hand, but it is so nice to have something so familiar and yet out of the ordinary. Lindsay Landis and Taylor Hackbarth (of Love and Olive Oil) have compiled a cookbook filled with breakfast treats with a spin, making them perfect for dinner. The cookbook, Breakfast for Dinner: Recipes for Fritatta Florentine, Huevos Rancheros, Sunny-Side-Up Burgers, and More! is plain drool-worthy. The photos are fantastic and each recipe sounds better than the last! It has a little bit of everything in its pages, including main dishes, appetizers, and desserts. Each recipe has an inventive twist on a traditional breakfast dish, which made it so difficult to decide which recipe to try first! When I asked my boyfriend to help choose, he responded, “Mmm… can’t we just make every one of them?” We were finally able to decide on the Huevos Rancheros Tacos because we are big taco fans (I have 7 listed on this blog as of this post) and I loved the idea of turning Huevos Rancheros into delicious dinner! … Continue reading →