Tag: Quick and Easy

Sweet Potato “Toast” with Bananas and Almond Butter

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These “toasts” may not be beautiful but they’re the perfect breakfast: both dense in nutrients and sweetly satisfying. Bake the sweet potatoes ahead of time and this dish comes together in minutes. This recipe makes enough for four people but feel free to scale up or down depending on your preference.

Ingredients:
  • 2 large sweet potatoes (skin on), cut crosswise into 1 1/2 inch-thick slices
  • 1 teaspoon avocado or coconut oil
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 4 teaspoons almond butter
  • 1 banana, sliced into rounds
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon
  1. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place the sweet potato slices on the baking sheet and toss with the oil and salt. Roast for 15 minutes, then flip over the slices and cook for 15 more minutes, or until lightly browned and tender. Let cool for 10 minutes.
  3. Top each slice of sweet potato with a heaping teaspoon of almond butter, banana slices, and a pinch of sea salt and cinnamon.

Sweet and Sticky Chicken Wings

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This is one of my most-requested recipes, and it couldn’t possibly be any easier to make. They make the perfect appetizer, and they even travel well for potlucks. Best of all, these chicken wings crisp up in the oven. Once they’re done cooking, toss them in a three-ingredient sauce, and you’re all set.

Ingredients:
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried granulated garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 pounds chicken wings
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Franks Red Hot Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons melted hot pepper jelly
  1. Preheat the oven to 500F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with vegetable oil. In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, dried garlic, onion powder, and smoked paprika. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Spread the chicken on the baking sheet in a single layer and roast the chicken for 45 minutes, turning once (at around the 25 minute mark), until browned and crispy.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the hot sauce, butter, and hot pepper jelly. Toss the chicken with the hot sauce mixture and serve.

Sri Lankan Yellow Rice

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This super easy yellow rice goes well with almost anything but my favorite way to serve it is alongside vegetable or legume curries, especially roasted squash curry. Or simply top with with a fried egg, some sambol and a spoonful of yogurt, and you have yourself an easy and satisfying rice bowl.

Ingredients:
  • 1 heaping cup basmati rice
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 cardamom pods, lightly smashed in a mortar and pestle
  • 4 cloves
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 2-inch piece pandan leaf
  • 1 1/4 cups chicken stock
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  1. Rinse and drain the rice and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and fry for 5-7 minutes, until it is lightly golden brown. Add all the spices, the curry leaves, the pandan leaf, and the rice. Fry for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  2. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover with a lid, and cook for 12 minutes, until the rice is tender. Remove from the heat, remove the whole spices from the rice, and serve.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

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I know there’s a million and one chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, but I’m picky about cookies. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I love a good chocolate chip cookie that’s chewy, nutty, and flecked with dark chocolate. Easy on the sugar, high on flavor. This recipe is my new go-to.

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you like your cookies
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 11.5-ounce package (about 2 cups) dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Finely grind oats in a food processor. Add flour, baking soda, and salt and blend for 5 seconds.
  2. Beat butter and both sugars in a large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Mix in walnuts and chocolate chips.
  3. For each cookie, form 2 rounded tablespoons dough into a ball and place on an ungreased baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten dough slightly. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.

Soy-Butter Beef with Shishito Peppers

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This easy one-pan dish is all about capturing the last bit of summer before the season’s peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and stone fruit are gone for another year. Tossed with seared steak and a buttery umami-bomb sauce, these shishito peppers steal the show. Serve with rice for a super satisfying meal.

Ingredients:

For the beef:

  • 1 pound boneless New York strip steak or sirloin, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons avocado oil

For the sauce:

  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup oyster sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
  • 6 green onions, white and pale green parts and dark green parts separated, sliced on a diagonal into 1-inch pieces
  • 12 ounces shishito peppers, stems removed, sliced in half on a diagonal
  • 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into pieces
  • Steamed rice, for serving
  1. Marinate the beef: Toss beef, cornstarch, soy sauce, and oil in a medium bowl until meat is evenly coated. Let sit at least 15 minutes and up to 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill (no need to bring to room temperature before cooking).
  2. Make the sauce: Whisk soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, black pepper, and 2/3 cup water in a small bowl to combine; set sauce aside.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high. Add half of beef in a single layer, separating clumps as much as possible. Cook, undisturbed, until deep golden brown underneath (meat will be pale on the other side), about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate, Repeat process with another 1 tablespoon oil and remaining beef.
  4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same pan over medium-high. Cook white and pale green onion parts, stirring occasionally, until lightly charred in spots, about 2 minutes. Add shishito peppers, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring often, until garlic is fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add beef and reserved sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add dark green onion parts and butter. Stir vigorously until butter is melted.
  5. Serve beef and shishito peppers alongside rice.