Easiest recipe ever: sea salt and vinegar kale chips

When I saw this recipe for super healthy kale chips I knew I had to try it immediately, and I am so glad I did! (click here if you have no idea what kale is!) The chips were a total hit with not only myself, but Hank too, which was awesome. Baking the kale in the oven transformed the green, leafy vegetable into a delicious, slightly salty snack that totally hit the spot as a crunchy side dish to our risotto and "chicken" tonight. Tomorrow we're going to try the same thing with spinach, so I'll let you know how it goes.

First off, buy a bunch of kale at your local grocer. If your regular store doesn't carry it, try your natural foods store, but it should be pretty easy to find.

Preheat your oven to 350.

Tear the leaves off of the long stem running down the middle. I tossed the leaves into a colander as I tore them off. Rinse the leaves WELL and dry thoroughly. We don't have a salad spinner, so I just used a paper towel to try off each individual piece.

Place the leaves in a single layer on parchment paper, on a cookie sheet. Below you'll see that I accidentally used wax paper at first...no big deal until the oven started smoking! haha. When that happened I just moved the kale straight onto the cookie sheet and it was just fine. But anyway, drizzle olive oil and vinegar all over the leaves, then top with sea salt. If you don't want to do the vinegar you can just do olive oil.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until you notice the leaves shrinking and looking crispy. We had no issues with the kale being soggy whatsoever, and each chip was crispy and REALLY delicious!

Enjoy!

Guest post from Ainsley/My Little Artichoke!

Today my gal pal Ainsley is here to bring a super delicious-looking vegetarian recipe your way! It's funny because Hank has been really wanting me to figure out a way to make one of his favorite holiday dishes from childhood fit into his veggie lifestyle, and Ms. Ainsley came right along with this awesome meal. I can't wait to try it out! Ainsley is such a sweetheart, and if you don't follow her blog, I definitely recommend you do. Actually, I should only recommend her blog if you have good self-control...because whenever I peruse her entries I find myself suddenly craving all sorts of delicious treats from donuts to amazing looking Asian food. You've been warned! But really, thank you so much Ainsley, for sharing this mouth-watering dish with all of us! :)

Hello all, it's Ainsley from My Little Artichoke! It's that wonderful time of year again... layers of clothing, bundles of blankets, comfort food and family time. I am more than ecstatic to share with you one of my favorite dinners to make! Vegetarian Chick'n pot pies!

You will need:

2 small pot pie pie tins

1 package veg chicken flavored gravy mix (we used a package from Henry's)

3 small potatoes

1 large carrot

1/4 cup corn

2 chick'n cutlets (we used Quorn)

2 1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 cup shortening (we used Crisco - All Vegetable)

1/2 cup soy milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

(Pie Crust)

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.

2. Cut in shortening, a fork works best.

3. Add soy milk.

4. Knead dough.

5. Roll dough into a ball.

(Pie Filling)

6. Cube chick'n and potatoes, slice carrots.

7. In a medium saucepan, bring vegetables to a boil.

8. In a small saucepan, bring gravy to a boil (see gravy instructions, as they may differ).

(Back to Pie Crust)

9. With a rolling pin (we used a cup!), roll out dough large enough to fit in base of pie tins.

10. Form the dough to fit the base and trim the excess dough.

11. Start with a little gravy in the bottom of the pies.

12. Add potatoes, carrots, corn and chicken.

13. Top with gravy.

14. Roll out remaining dough to fit the top of your pies. Once the dough is placed over the top, trim the excess dough and smooth the edges. Thumb the dough into the sides to seal pies. Either use thumbs to form dimples or use the fork method to seal pies.

15. Optional, use scraps of dough to make personalized pie toppers.

16. Be sure to poke a few holes in the top to allow ventilation.

17. Bake for 45-60 minutes.

The finished product will look something like this (minus your personalized toppers):

Enjoy!

Delicious baked ziti (and some chicken-less chicken too)!

I have a not-so-healthy recipe to share with all of you today. It may not be the most waist-friendly dish, but it's the perfect recipe if you are craving a bit of comfort food and want to indulge! We usually eat this dish around the holidays, and my Mom always makes it for Hank at Thanksgiving as a another option outside of his customary Tofurkey. I made it this weekend for a family dinner, and as usual, it was a hit! There are multiple ways to make it healthier- less cheese, whole wheat noodles, adding tons of veggies, etc...but this time I made the full-fat version in all of its cheesy goodness.

Here's what you'll need to make this SUPER easy dish:

1 box/bag of penne pasta
1 jar sauce
1 15-16 oz. container of ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 regular sized bag of mozzarella cheese
spices to taste- oregano, sea salt, basil, etc.

1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Cook pasta
3) In a small bowl, mix the ricotta cheese and one egg.

4) Spread about half of the ricotta cheese and a third of the jar of sauce in the bottom of a deep baking dish.
5) Add about 1/2 of the noodles on top.

6) Next, layer as followed: mozzarella cheese, sauce, rest of the ricotta cheese, rest of the noodles, rest of the sauce, mozzarella cheese. Don't forget to add your choice of spices as you go.

7) Cover the dish with tinfoil and bake for 50-55 minutes, taking the tinfoil off the during the last 5 minutes of cooking to give the top a nice crispy, cheesy layer. Baking times may vary a bit, so just be sure that the middle is hot. One way to tell is to see if the ziti is slightly bubbling. That's always a good indicator.

I forgot to take photos of the finished dish before I served it, but rest assured it was delicious! Tonight Hank wanted to enjoy the leftovers, so I heated him up Gardein's Chick'n Good Stuff marinara and vegan cheese stuffed "chicken." Hank LOVES this stuff, and anything from this brand, so he was happy. Basically it's s piece of breaded vegetarian chicken, stuffed with marinara sauce and Daiya vegan cheese...AND there's 22g of protein per piece! Check out their website by clicking here- after the jump you'll discover a million of their delicious products, tons of ideas, and a lot of nutritional information! I really feel like some of their dishes would fool a meat eater, so if you're looking for a family friendly veggie dish, or just something a bit healthier than all of the scary meat on the market today, Gardein products are such a good choice.
The lighting in our kitchen tonight was really, really bad, but here's Hank's meal (leftover ziti and Gardein chick'n). Doesn't it look like real chicken?

Have you tried Gardein products? If so, which are your favorite? Next I am excited to try their Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick'n. It looks amazing!

a Sunday treat- vegan and delicious!

raw, vegan pie from the raw food festival last fall!

Lately I've really been enjoying the change in season. All summer I anticipated the first chilly night, green leaves turning gold, and the first day I could wear tights, a scarf, and have an excuse to bundle up a bit more. When I think of cold weather I think of comfort food, and when I think of comfort food I think of pie, which is one of my most favorite indulgences in the entire world. I love pie so much, especially in the fall and winter. An indulgence now and again is great, but often when the weather gets cold I find myself craving it a lot more often and daily pie probably isn't the best idea. The following recipe is one of my FAVORITE things to eat and a favorite treat my Mom makes for me when I come home for a visit. I think of it as a pie substitute- it tastes similar to the inside of a juicy apple pie but without any of the added sugars. It's super healthy and incredibly delicious. I could eat it by the bowlful, which I usually do! If you're looking to be even more health conscious you can omit the raisins, or if you want a little something different you could also add walnuts. Really, you could go crazy and add anything you could dream up. I think that some shredded coconut would be delicious too. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup raisins
• 6-8 apples peeled, sliced, and diced

Directions:

1) Put quarter cup of water into a pan

2) Add in fruit and put lid on pan

3) Turn the heat on until water is simmering, then turn heat to low

4) Cook for about 5 minutes on low (lid still on but taking off to stir occasionally)

5) After 5 minutes add about a teaspoon of cinnamon, stir, and continue to cook on low for another 5 minutes or until apples are done to your liking. 10 minutes is ideal for me.

...and wa-la! You have a quick, super easy, and tasty dessert (or great topping for oatmeal, or even vanilla ice cream, etc.!) I eat it hot, but I've had it cold before too. Enjoy, and let me know if you decide to try it. Here's a photo of the batch I ate today:

DELICIOUS!

Motorcycle Chic - The Real Deal or Steal

As the summer days start to cool off, make sure your wardrobe is heating back up with one of this falls hottest trends that won’t break your bank! Leather has made a full-on fashion come-back as celebrities such as, Ashley Olsen, Victoria Beckham and Kristin Cavallari have been spotted rocking this look from morning, noon to night. Let your inner biker bad-girl out this season in, like Ashley Olsen, by throwing a Sanctuary Leather Flight Jacket (or similar jackets featured below) over a pair of black skinny jeans, for a casual, chic day to night look. Pair a lace top with a leather mini for a day at the office. Heat up things up after hours with a pair of leather leggings or a cut out top like international style icon, Victoria Beckham. It is clear that you no longer have to own a Harley to pull off the sexy, biker look this fall!




Winter Kate Harlow Leather Jacket in Jet Black $499 at The Trend Boutique - As Seen on Nicole Richie


Ecote Puff-Sleeve Leather Jacket Was $298.00 Now $199.99 at Urban Outfitters


Muuba Croft Two-Tone Double Zip Biker Jacket $398 at Boutique to You - As Seen on Rachel Bilson & Nicky Hilton and Featured in September 2010 Issue of People Style Watch


Doma Moto Biker Hoodie Jacket in Black $649 at The Trend Boutique - As Seen on Nicky Hilton


Muubba Leather Vincent Biker Jacket in Black $400 at Boutique to You - As Seen on Mischa Barton




Wanted Ballard Brown Laced Up and Buckled Boot $69 at LuLu*s


All Business Black Vegan Leather Jacket by Tulle $71 at LuLu*s


BDG Faux Leather Hooded Bomber Was $128.00 Now $49.99 at Urban Outfitters


Bamboo Hazelnut 17 Black Studded Harness Ankle Boot $41 at LuLu*s


Sparkle & Fade Faux Leather Cropped Bomber Was $128.00 Now $49.99 at Urban Outfitters

Hank's Coconut Curry

Fortunately not only do I love to cook, but Hank does too. When he gets into chef mode he's the most adorable thing in the world and he almost always makes up his recipes as he goes. In fact, when he and his friends get together, they most often "cook it up," as they call it, and make some amazing dishes. This one in particular is adapted from his friend Matt's curry that he made at our house a couple of weeks ago. Hank went off memory so I don't have much of a formal recipe to share as far as amounts of spice, etc, but it turned out absolutely delicious and I thought I would include the process he used (thank you Hank!).

For this recipe, you'll need the following:

1 can of coconut milk (I insisted that Hank use light coconut milk, but regular would be SO much better for a curry, since it thickens up a lot more)
veggies of your choice- we used broccoli, onions, and carrots
minced garlic
curry powder
generic "Thai" spice blend
chili paste
sea salt
1 block of extra firm tofu
brown rice (or quinoa)

1) Add the entire can of coconut milk to a wok.
2) Add about 2 tbsp minced garlic to the milk (we LOVE garlic so we go overboard, but do this to your liking).
3) Add about half of a chopped onion (also add amount according to taste).
4) Bring to a boil.
5) Add everything else (chopped broccoli, carrots, other veggies, and drained/cubed tofu, spices- all amounts of spice are to your taste, we add tons).
6) Boil it for awhile until veggies become tender- the longer you do this, the longer the tofu will have a chance to soak up the flavor.
7) While this is cooking make some brown rice.
8) Curry should thicken up during cooking time- light coconut milk will be more watery.

And done! You have a quick, healthy meal. I really enjoyed it and I hope you do too!