Roasted Veggie Dip

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Andrea

Dip was something that my family had at every party and every kind of gathering. We are a dip loving folk and when I started dating Scott, he discovered he is a dip loving person as well.

Then dips kind of got pushed aside for a while here at the HQ, and now I’m looking to bring them back. I’ve been recreating a lot of my favorite flavors of dip and using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

So far I’ve been successful! The first dip I made was a roasted veggie dip that’s creamy, full of dill punch, and roasted veggie goodness.

Andrea’s Roasted Veggie Dip

1/4 Small or Medium Red Onion, chunked

1/2 Red or Green Pepper, chunked

1 Small or Medium Size Carrot, peeled and chunked

2 Cloves of Garlic

1 1/2C Greek Yogurt

1 1/2TBSP Dried Dill

Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

Salt and Ground Black Pepper

1/4tsp Garlic Powder

1/4tsp Onion Powder

Review: Traderspoint Creamery Yogurt

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Andrea

Let me start off by saying that this was the most difficult thing I have tried to take a picture of so far. I could not get a straight picture and was about to lose my cool while stomping off to get the tripod. Then I realized that the sticker on the bottle was crooked and not my picture taking.

Whew!

So I apologize for the crooked picture but it’s not my fault and I’m okay with that.

I stumbled upon this yogurt from Traderspoint Creamery, while I was picking up some Snowville half and half for Scott’s coffee. I thought this was just a milk company and then I noticed that this bottle said yogurt on it.

Oh?

I’ve been looking around for a new yogurt for a little while now. I still love Fage but sometimes I want something a little sweeter and not so thick. I’ve been displeased with yogurts lately and all about abandoned my mission. Then the florescent store lights shined down up this gem.

Fancy Tuna Salad

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Andrea

We didn’t go out to eat a lot when I was growing up. Occasionally we would get hoagies or pizza out. Sometimes hitting up the golden arches but that was rare and my mom really really really didn’t feel like cooking on those instances.

On the off chance that I was out at a restaurant some place, I noticed that the chicken salad and tuna salad sandwichs were always on croissants.

Being at a restaurant and seeing a croissant instantly equaled fancy in my mind. Dining out was a privilege and meant for special occasions. Croissants were exotic and Parisian, automatically labeling them as decadent.

I never ordered those sandwiches though, always admiring them but not connecting.

On a recent grocery trip, Scott noticed that the croissants were on sale and suggested picking some up. The thing to know about Scott is that he doesn’t often suggest getting food. The only requests are that he will on occasion ask me to prepare a specific dish but otherwise not a peep out of him.

Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Andrea

This is my newest obsession, the loaded baked sweet potato. A little while back I wanted to try creating a loaded baked sweet potato.

I love sweet potato and pumpkin as savory items more than I do sweet. Hence why I put pumpkin in just about every chili I make now and why I think sweet potato fries should contain chili powder.

Previous meals, I had a little bit of cheese mixed in with my baked sweet potato and it was glorious. I decided at some point I was going to jump in with both feet and make a savory baked sweet potato.

Last week I tried it out and will never go back to butter and cinnamon on a sweet potato again.

Andrea’s Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

Sweet Potato

Pepperjack Cheese

Sour Cream (I use Greek Yogurt)

Hot Sauce of Choice

Chopped Green Onions

Bake sweet potato in oven at 400 for about 1.5 hours. How long will depend on how big your potato is. Baking a sweet potato is similar to baking a regular potato. Poke holes in it first. I do not put anything on the skin of the sweet potato. I line a baking sheet with foil, spray with oil and bake the sweet potato as is.

Read more on Loaded Baked Sweet Potato…

Leftover Idea: Fish Po’ Boys

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Andrea

Crispy breaded fish is something that I really enjoy having on occasion. By making my own breadcrumbs, using local eggs, along with sauteeing the fish in olive oil and a smidge of butter, I can feel good about serving this to my family.

Even though I love it, sometimes leftovers need a little dolling up and superstar treatment.

Enter in the Fish Po’ Boy!

The Po’ Boy is a sandwich popular in New Orleans and consists of a toasty roll with a fried fish fillet and a sauce on top. That’s the basics of the dish anyway. So to create a fish po’ boy at home, you just need a few simple things on hand.

Andrea’s Fish Po’ Boy:

Leftover crispy fish

Crusty Bread of your Choice

Lettuce

Tomato

Red Onion

Dressing (Below)

Put together sandwich by layering the lettuce, tomato, onion, and then the fish on top of that.

Andrea’s Fish Dipping Sauce:

2TBSP Greek Yogurt (We like Fage)

Baked Potato Bar

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Andrea

We’ve talked about my love for potatoes, right? I have so many great memories of potato dishes that I could never give them up. I also have a soft spot in my heart for the potato since it gets such a bad rap from the low-carb crowd.

Let’s keep things real, a white potato is not evil. It’s a vegetable and has a lot to offer us in terms of nutrition. Let’s embrace the potato!

One of my many favorite ways to eat a potato is by loading up a baked potato. Whenever I got a chance to get a loaded potato out at a restaurant, I always ordered it as a side. My high school alternated between a salad bar and a baked potato bar during the week, which I loved. A huge baked potato for lunch? Yes please!

Because of how much I adore loaded baked potatoes, I’ve taken to recreating the experience at home.

Weekend Grilling Recipes

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Andrea

Are you grilling this weekend? Looking for something a little different to the standard hot dogs and burgers? Want to shake up the summer grilling season for 2011?

Let Food Embrace help! Here’s a few recipes that you can try out this grilling season:

Chardonnay Chicken Burgers

Cranapple Turkey Burgers

Grilling steaks? Try giving those babies a little rub down.

Rather have pork? Beer Brined Pork Chops can be grilled.

Get funky with some chicken, yogurt curry chicken or cocoa-chili rubbed chicken will do the trick nicely.

Then you can wash it down with some super special iced tea.

Have fun this summer and get your grill on!

Chilled Veggie Pizza

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Andrea

Growing up, one of the more popular dishes that I saw at potlucks was veggie pizza and it always excited me. It was a cold pizza and it had veggies! And cheese! It tasted fantastic and I always felt a big smug as I was gladly eating up all my veggies while others munched on chips and dip.

Then when I moved out on my own, I looked up the recipe for veggie pizza so that I could make some for Scott and I. This is when I realized that what I thought was healthy was in fact not healthy at all.

Typical “veggie pizza” had a crust made from canned croissants and a sauce made from cream cheese mixed with a packet of ranch dressing. Tons of pre-shredded cheese on top. The only saving grace was that it did actually contain raw veggies but man the other processed foods really bring this pizza way down.

Leftover Idea: Baked Mashed Potatoes

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Andrea

I’m not sure if we’ve ever discussed how much I love potatoes but I do. I love them more than Paula Deen loves butter and just by that statement alone, you know I mean business.

Potatoes are good for you. Potatoes are a veggie that can be utilized in so many different ways. Pasta? Forget about it. I prefer my carbs and starch from root veggies, thank you.

Leftover mashed potatoes can be just lovely on their own the next day but sometimes they need a little extra love and attention.

Sometimes you just want something a little different with your leftovers.

I took some leftover mash that we had, added a few extra ingredients, baked it for about 20 minutes and got an entirely new dish out of some basic leftovers.

Andrea’s Baked Mashed Potatoes

Leftover Mashed Potatoes

5 Green Onions, chopped

1/2C Greek Yogurt

Preheat oven to 400. Grease a small baking dish. Combine all above ingredients and place in baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the the edges and top get a crispy brown. Serve hot and enjoy!

Pretty simple right? You could add some cheese in there too and maybe some bacon. Or leftover ham? Heck you could even add some greens in there like spinach for some extra veggie action. Leftovers are what you make of them, and they can be a completely different dish if you allow your imagination to wander a bit.

Horseradish Cream Sauce

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Andrea

I wasn’t a huge beef eater growing up but I did enjoy a nice deli roast beef sandwich on occasion. Horseradish was always paired with beef and I never understood that. Maybe because I didn’t really enjoy that flavor unless it was part of cocktail sauce. I always opted for a light smidge of mayo instead.

I know, shame on me.

For several years now, I have been making my own cocktail sauce so we always have horseradish on hand. You can purchase fresh grated horseradish in a jar and it’s typically located in the refrigerated section where the shredded cheeses and dips are. This is not horseradish sauce but fresh horseradish. Make sure you read the label when you’re purchasing it so you don’t buy the wrong thing by accident.

I buy the HUGE bottles of it because now I can’t get enough horseradish. A few years back we were having some prime rib for Christmas dinner and I decided to make some cream sauce to go along with it. We loved it so much that now anytime we have beef (especially grilled steaks), horseradish cream sauce is always made.