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Berry Bruschetta with Ricotta & Honey

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Today we are bringing you our beautiful berry bruschetta with ricotta and honey.  This appetizer is not only pretty to look at, but it also happens to be totally off the hook delicious!  Berries are in season right now which means we are always looking for new and creative ways to use them and this recipe is a top choice for sure!  It’s guaranteed to win over your crowd and is also really easy to make so, let us take a minute to show you just how quickly you can have this one on the table!  All you need is a baguette loaf of your favorite bread, a container of ricotta cheese, some blueberries, strawberries, honey and fresh mint.  Sounds easy enough right?

Start by slicing the baguette into 1/2 inch slices, lay them on a baking sheet and spray or drizzle lightly with olive oil.  Pop them into the oven to bake, turning one time so they are golden on both sides.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Once the bread is cooled, spread the ricotta evenly over each piece.  Top with the strawberries and blueberries.

Drizzle with the honey then top with a pinch of kosher salt and a fresh mint leaf.  Place on a pretty platter or plate and serve immediately.  We assure you that everyone is going to love this recipe!


Berry Bruschetta with Ricotta & Honey
 
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Serves: 10-12
Ingredients
  • 1 small baguette loaf
  • olive oil spray
  • 1 15oz container ricotta cheese
  • 1 C blueberries
  • 1 C strawberries, chopper
  • 2 tsp raw honey
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • mint leaves to garnish
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Slice bread into ½ inch slices. Lightly spray each side of bread slices with olive oil spray and line on a sheet pan. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
  3. Top each slice of toasted bread with ricotta cheese, spread evenly. Top with strawberries and blueberries. Drizzle with honey, season with a pinch of kosher salt and garnish with fresh mint leaves. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.

Tortellini Caprese Skewers

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There tortellini caprese skewers are the appetizer you have been waiting for!  It’s summer and that always means backyard gatherings, hanging with friends, and entertaining for days on end. (oh, and no school!! Woohoo)  With that in mind, if you are anything like us, you like to show up at the party with something that is going to make the crowd go wild.  Interpret that how you will but we are talking family gatherings with kids here folks.  It’s a different kind of wild.  Clearly we are of the age now where a freakin awesome appetizer can very well be the star of the show and make the crowd go wild.  Sad?  No way!  It’s all good, and with that, we’d like to introduce you to our super simple yet “make the crowd go wild” tortellini caprese skewer.  It’s just a little different and I guarantee nobody else is showing up with this one so you will be the appetizer winner!

Step one is to cook the tortellini according to package directions and allow to cool.  Then, blister those gorgeous little cherry tomatoes.  Once you do this, they suddenly taste like candy!  So dang good and really easy.  Just cook them over medium-high heat in a skillet until they are browned and blistered.

To assemble these adorable, tastey and really easy to make skewers, just thread all of the ingredients onto the wooden skewers then top with the balsamic galze and display on a pretty platter.  We know that you are going to get asked to bring these “again” to the next gathering.  It happens to us all the time!


Tortellini Caprese Skewers
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 C fresh pesto tortellini (or your favorite type of tortellini) cooked
  • 1 package sweet cherry tomatoes
  • ½ C fresh mozarella balls (small)
  • whole basil leaves
  • 2 tsp good quality olive oil
  • balsamic vinegar glaze
  • kosher salt
  • small wooden skewer stick - cut in half if necessary
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add cherry tomatoes and cook until browned and blistered, flipping occasionally (cook about 10 mins). Set aside to cool
  2. Using wooden skewers thread tortellini, cherry tomato, mozarella ball, basil leaf, another tortellini and another cherry tomato. Repeat until all skewers have been assembled.
  3. Arrange on a plate and drizzle skewers with balsamic glaze. Sprinkle with kosher salt and serve.

Roasted Carrot & Turmeric Hummus with Crispy Lavosh

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock,  you’ve probably heard about the many health benefits of turmeric.  It’s like the superfood of spices. So apparently, we all need more turmeric in our lives.  Courtney and I have been brainstorming some creative ways to dish up more turmeric, that’s how this roasted carrot and turmeric hummus was born. Just a forewarning that this stuff is goooood.

Only amazing things can come from roasting carrots, right? I mean a carrot is just a carrot…not too exciting in my opinion. But, when you roast a carrot it begins to ooze with a sweet caramel flavor that is to die for.

Couple the roasted carrot flavor with the deep orange and ginger flavors of turmeric and it’s a match made in heaven.  You guys, I’m telling you… this hummus is on another level good and it’s such a unique taste.  You will love it!

You can serve this roasted carrot and turmeric hummus up with your favorite veggies or chips, or you can take 5 minutes and toast up some crispy lavosh.  Just brush the lavosh with some olive oil and sprinkle with S&P, toast in the oven for about 4 minutes and break apart into pieces.

Check out another one of our favorite recipes featuring turmeric.  Roasted Cauliflower with
Turmeric, Dates & Pine Nuts.  Now you have no excuse to not get on the turmeric bandwagon with these awesome recipes!

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/roasted-cauliflower-turmeric-dates-pine-nuts/

 

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Roasted Carrot & Turmeric Hummus with Crispy Lavosh
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 5 medium carrots, peeled
  • 2½ Tbsp good quality olive oil, divided
  • ½ C garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 Tbsp tahini
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • ½ medium lemon, juiced
  • 2 pieces lavosh
  • kosher salt & cracked pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle 1 tsp olive oil over carrots and toss to coat. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast for 30 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool.
  2. Turn oven down to 400 degrees. Brush lavosh with 1 tsp olive oil. Sprinkle with S&P. Place directly on oven rack for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and break into chip-size pieces. Set aside to serve with the hummus.
  3. Add roasted carrots to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, turmeric, lemon juice and remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Pulse until completely incorporated and smooth. Season with S&P to taste.
  4. Serve alongside crisly lavish. Drizzle hummus with additional olive oil if desired.

Shrimp Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

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I really wish we would’ve been recording our cooking day when we made these spring rolls because it was quiet comical!  The rolling of the spring rolls with the delicate rice paper definitely took a few attempts….at least it did for us.  Once you get the system down it’s easy rolling and  SO worth it!!

Courtney and I have a list a mile long of dishes and recipes that we want to make for the blog.  Shrimp spring rolls have been on the top of our list for well over a year so I’m not really sure why it’s taken us so long to finally make them.  We are happy to finally bring these little rolls of deliciousness to you. Dipping these shrimp spring rolls in the spicy peanut sauce is like the icing on the cake, or the dip on the spring roll….you know what I mean.  It’s definitely not an option to not make the peanut sauce!

If you can’t find the spring roll wrappers and rice noodles in the Asian section of the grocery store try looking for them at World Market, they have a great selection of Asian foods.  These spring rolls are made with a few simple ingredients, rice paper, rice noodles, julienned carrots and bell peppers, shrimp and fresh  mint.  You can definitely sub shredded chicken for the shrimp or make them vegetarian and skip the protein if you would like as well.  We love them with the shrimp but whatever floats your boat!

You want to line up all of your ingredients on the soaked spring roll wrappers.  You definitely need to work quickly and carefully, the soaked wrappers like to stick to anything and everything.  The best method we found is to fold the sides in first like a burrito and then slowly roll it up.  A little easier said than done but we have confidence that you will get the hang of it just like we finally did!

How pretty are these spring rolls? The good news is that they taste just as good as they look!

Remember the part about not skipping out on the peanut sauce?  Just a reminder…don’t skip the peanut sauce!!!  Okay, I’m pretty confident I got my point across about the peanut sauce.  Enjoy the spring rolls and don’t forget to fill us in on any funny stories you have about working with the spring roll wrappers!

Check out another one of our favorite recipes for buffalo chicken dunkers with creamy blue cheese dip.

Shrimp Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 12 shrimp - cooked, tails removed
  • 1 pkg spring roll wrappers
  • 1 red bell pepper - thinly sliced
  • 1 large carrot - thinly sliced
  • 1 package rice noodles (we used 2 squares)
  • 1 bunch fresh mint
For the Peanut Sauce:
  • ⅓ C smooth peanut butter
  • 1 clove garlic - minced
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1Tbsp freshly grated ginger
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • ¼ C warm water
Instructions
  1. Start by cooking rice noodles according to package instructions. Rinse with cold water in collander and set aside.
To assemble spring rolls:
  1. Follow package directions to soften spring roll wrappers. We used a large plate with warm water to soak wrappers until translucent and soft. This part can be tricky. Lift wrapper out of water carefully and lay on flat cutting board.
  2. Line 3 shrimp across the center of the wrapper. Lay mint leaves over shrimp, follow with a small handful of the peppers and carrots. Spread them evenly on the sides of the shrimp. Place a small handful of the rice noodles on top of the shrimp, mint and peppers. Top with another layer of mint leaves. Fold the outer sides over to hold everything inside like a burrito followed by the bottom, then roll towards top and fold over until sealed closed. The wrappers are sticky so they will stay together. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
For the Spicy Peanut Sauce:
  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until blended into a nice smooth consistancy.

Healthy Coconut Shrimp

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Coconut shrimp is one of those dishes that always reminds me of being on vacation somewhere tropical.  Since it’s not very often that I’m on vacation somewhere tropical, I love to make the food that brings back those memories so I can at least pretend I’m on vacation!  Does anyone else do this or am I the only weird one here?  I know Courtney does the same thing so at least there are two of us weirdos out there!

Coconut shrimp is traditionally served deep fried,  so of course we lightened it up a bit and skipped the deep fryer.  We also used a Steviva Brand product called Nectevia, its a blend of stevia extract and blue agave nectar and it’s oh so good!  We used unsweetened coconut flakes so we added a tablespoon of Nectevia to the egg wash to sweeten the coconut shrimp up a bit and it worked perfectly!  If you aren’t familiar with Steviva products check them out here:

https://www.steviva.com

Also, make sure to see what Steviva is up to on social media as well:

https://www.facebook.com/steviva/

https://twitter.com/steviva?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

https://www.instagram.com/stevivabrands/

https://www.pinterest.com/stevivabrands/

This recipe is SO easy, create an assembly line like this with a small bowl mixed with unsweetened coconut flakes, flour and panko.  Another low bowl with an egg and Nectevia and of course your shrimp seasoned with S&P.  Coat the shrimp in the egg/Nectevia wash and then move the shrimp to the dry bowl to coat it with the coconut topping.

When we initially created this recipe we baked the shrimp, but it just wasn’t working for us.  We couldn’t achieve that golden crust on the outside of the shrimp in the oven, which was a major deal breaker!!  We changed it up the next time we made it and used a non-stick skillet and cooked the shrimp in a small amount of coconut oil.  Oh what a difference that made… golden brown crust success!!

We paired these perfectly crispy coconut shrimp with the easiest and most delicious dipping sauce.  Use peach preserves, or orange marmalade works great too.  Mix the peach preserves with dijon mustard and tada…your dipping sauce is complete!  Time to enjoy your coconut shrimp while  pretending you’re on a tropical vacation somewhere.  That is until the kids start screaming and pulling each others hair out, you will quickly realize you are NOT on vacation.  Oh well, at least you still have your coconut shrimp and hopefully a glass of wine!!

 

 

Healthy Coconut Shrimp
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
For the Coconut Shrimp:
  • 1½ lbs large wild shrimp, shelled and deviened, keeping tails intact.
  • ½ C panko bread crumbs
  • ½ C unsweetened coconut flakes
  • ¼ C flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 Tbsp Nectevia
  • ¼ C coconut oil
  • kosher salt and cracked pepper
For the Dipping Sauce:
  • ½ C peach preserves (can also use orange marmalade)
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
Instructions
  1. Line shrimp on a large sheet pan with parchment paper and sprinkle both sides with S & P.
  2. Add egg and Nectevia to a low bowl and mix. In a separate bowl add panko, coconut flakes and flour and thoroughly combine.
  3. Working in batches dredge shrimp in egg and move to the panko bowl covering all sides of shrimp throughly. Place shrimp back on sheet pan.
  4. Heat coconut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp, cook each side for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and cooked through but not overcooked.
  5. While shrimp is cooking add peach preserves (or orange marmalade) and dijon to a small bowl and mix until combined.
  6. Serve coconut shrimp immediately with the peach/dijon dipping sauce.

Tomato & Olive Tapenade Bruschetta

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We know, you saw this recipe and you were like, “Wait, What???”  Then you told yourself, “I have GOT to try this!!” We absolutely don’t blame you.  Is there really anything better than deliciously sweet roasted tomatoes, tangy kalamata olives, fragrant fresh basil and rosemary and creamy feta cheese?  Pile this off the hook mixture on top of some grilled artisan bread and you are not going to believe how happy it makes you!  Some people happen to get a little over excited about food and I might be one of them.  Not even worried that you might be judging either.  Just take my word for it on this one…add it to your list. Wanna know the best part?  This tomato and olive tapenade bruschetta happens to be super easy to make!  Yay!!

So in a few simple steps you too can be in tomato and olive tapenade bruschetta heaven.  Toss baby heirloom or cherry tomatoes in a bit of olive oil and kosher salt and roast until they get all squishy and broken down.

While the tomatoes are getting all hot and bothered you can chop your other ingredients and do a little mix-mix in a bowl.

You can also work on toasting up artisan bread slices in a skillet until they turn a little crispy and golden brown.  If you can handle those few steps then you are in luck, because it’s that easy!

Add the tomatoes to the bowl and drizzle a bit more olive oil to the mixture and season with S&P.  Now comes the fun part….start spooning the tapenade on the bread.  I’m in love with the pretty bright colors of the tapenade.  Not only is this creation pretty on the outside, it’s pretty on the inside too….when you actually try it you are going to freak out!   Don’t just take our word for it, go try it for yourself….like now.

Check out other bruschetta recipes by clicking on the link below and have yourself a full on bruschetta party!! http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/bruschetta-3-ways/


Tomato & Olive Tapenade Bruschetta
 
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Serves: Approx 16 bruschetta servings
Ingredients
  • 2 C multi-colored hierloom baby tomatoes - or cherry tomatoes
  • good quality olive oil
  • ½ C kalamata olives, pitted and quartered
  • ¼ C feta, cubed
  • ¼ C chopped basil
  • 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
  • 1 small loaf artisan bread, sliced
  • kosher salt & ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss tomatoes in 1 Tbsp olive oil to coat. Arrange tomatoes on baking sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast for 20 minutes.
  3. In a medium bowl combine olives, feta, basil, rosemary, tomatoes, 1 Tbsp olive oil and S&P to taste. Fold ingredients together until combinesd.
  4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cut sliced bread in half. Drizzle skillet with approx. 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add bread, brown each side until lightly toasted. Arrange bread on a serving platter, top with tomato and olive tapenade and serve.

Watermelon Salsa

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If you heart watermelon then you will love this fun spin on salsa.  It’s a great way to take a classic salsa and serve it up in a new and refreshing way. We just love using the inner shell of the watermelon as a bowl too, it makes us look waaaay fancier than we really are!

This watermelon salsa is a cinch to make and in no time you will look like the queen or king of Pintrest.  Mix together chopped watermelon, cucumber, jalapeño, red onion, avocado and fresh mint.  Grate lime zest over the top, add a splash of olive oil, freshly squeezed lime juice and a pinch of salt.  That’s it…easy peasy and ridiculously tasty. We served it up with some GF multigrain tortilla chips for the win!


Watermelon Salsa
 
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Serves: 4 C
Ingredients
  • 3 C seedless watermelon - approx ½ small seedless watermelon
  • 1 C english cucumber - skin removed, seeds cut out and chopped
  • 1 medium jalapeno, seeded and diced
  • ¼ C red onion, sliced thin and chopped
  • 1 medium avocado, chopped
  • 3 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
  • 2 tsp good quality olive oil
  • juice and zest of 1 medium lime
  • large pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Cut small seedless watermelon in half. Use a pairing knife to cut around the perimiter of the flesh side of the warermelon; where the red part of the watermelon meets the white. Cut the flesh of the watermelon into quarters and carefully scoop out watermelon. Cut watermelon flesh into smal square size pieces. Use a spoon to remove the remaining watermelon from the inside of the shell, set the hallowed out shell aside.
  2. In a medium bowl add chopped watermelon, cucumber, jalapeno and onion. Gently fold together with a spoon. Drain any liquid in the bowl.
  3. Add all remaining ingredients and gently fold with spoon until mixed. Place in the hallowed out shell of the watermelon to serve, or in a bowl. Serve with chips of your choice - we served it with a multigrain tortilla chips.

Grilled Avocado with Pickled Mini Sweet Bell Peppers & Jalapenos, Shaved Manchego and Toasted Pepitas

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When we were in Seattle last month we went to one of our favorite restaurants with some of our favorite friends and had one of my new favorite appetizers.  Oh, and we happened to take their boat there… and did I mention that we dropped our kids off to eat at the pizza place across the street so we enjoyed a kid free dinner?? Yeah, it was pretty much the perfect night.   So of course when we came back from our trip I was on a mission to re-create that favorite appetizer….I think this is a pretty close match to the real deal!

I fell in love with this appetizer before I even tasted it.  When I saw grilled avocado on the menu it was love at first sight! If you’ve never grilled an avocado before, now is  your opportunity.  Grilling an avocado and serving it warm adds a whole new dimension to one of my favorite foods ever.  It’s as simple as it looks, just drizzle a bit of avocado oil or olive oil over the fleshy part of an avocado and sear in a grill pan or bbq over medium-high heat until deep char marks appear.  That’s it!

The grilled avocado was served with these unbelievable pickled mini sweet bell peppers and jalapeños .  The combo of the smokey charred avocado and the pickled peppers and jalapeños is amazing and a combo I never would have come up with on my own. Pickling anything is super easy…you literally chop your veggies up, add them to a mason jar, boil equal parts white vinegar and water and bit of granulated sugar, pour it over the veggies and put the lid on the top.  After about 20 minutes you have successfully pickled your veggies.  Store them in the fridge for up to 2 months and they will continue to get even better.

This appetizer is served up somewhat deconstructed with the grilled avocado still in the skin, pickled peppers and jalapeños thrown all around the plate, a handful of roasted and salted pepitas and shaved manchego cheese.  You can drizzle a bit of chile oil, olive oil, chalula or crema over the top to finish things off or just leave it as is. That’s it, simple and delicious!!

 

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Grilled Avocado with Pickled Mini Sweet Bell Peppers & Jalapenos, Shaved Manchego and Toasted Pepitas
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 avocado, halved
  • 1 tsp avocado oil - can use olive oil
  • ¼ C pickled peppers and jalapenos (see below)
  • 1 Tbsp shaved manchego cheese
  • 1 Tbsp toasted and salted pepitas
Optional - chile oil, chalula, crema - any of those would be great drizzled over the top
For the Pickled Mini Bell Peppers & Jalapenos:
  • 10 mini sweet bell peppers
  • 2 jalapeno peppers
  • 2 clove garlic, smashed
  • 1 C water
  • 1 C white vinegar
  • ¼ C granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
Instructions
For the Pickled Mini Bell Peppers & Jalapenos:
  1. Cut stems off of bell peppers, cut in half down the middle and roughly cut into large segments. Rinse peppers pulling off membranes and seeds. Place peppers in a large mason jar or heat proof container with lid.
  2. Cut the tops off of jalapenos and slice thin. Rinse slices under cold water and remove seeds. Place jalapeno slices with the peppers in the mason jar. Add smashed garlic clove to the mason jar as well.
  3. In a medium saucepan add water, vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Immediately pour over peppers and cover with lid.
  4. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 months.
For the Grilled Avocado:
  1. Heat a bbq or indoor grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle avocado oil over the fleshy side of the avocado. Grill avocado for approx 3 minutes until deep grill marks appear. Remove from heat.
  2. On a serving plate arrange avocados, place pickled peppers and jalapenos around avocados. Sprinkle with shaved manchego and pepitas. Drizzle with any optional add-ons.

Grilled Artichokes with Lemon Caper Vinaigrette

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I could eat artichokes for days on end and not get tired of them!  Why is this?  And who was the first person to pick up and artichoke and say, “this looks really delicious, I think I’ll eat it”?  How did they know to steam it and just eat the ends?  I don’t know the answer to this but at this point, it’s not totally important.  I’ll thank them later!  As for now, I will just continue to enjoy and appreciate them!  Have you ever tried grilling your artichoke?  If not, you have got to try it…like now.  Or tomorrow if you are too busy at the moment.  Either way, you will be so happy once you try our favorite grilled artichokes with lemon caper vinaigrette.  They are ridiculously good!  And, I will also mention, this recipe is much healthier to eat than your traditional butter or mayo based dipping sauces.

Before you begin, you need to prep the artichoke.  This may seem like an overwhelming task but really, it’s not.  I’m gonna share a couple little secrets with you to make this process really simple.  Just start by rinsing your artichoke.  Lay it on it’s side and using either a very sharp knife, or a serated one like I did…I just like the way it grips the leaves when cutting.  Just cut off the top.  Then, I like to use kitchen scissors to cut the pointy ends off each of the leaves.  This actually goes pretty quickly so don’t let it prevent you from making these!  You don’t want to skip this part though because these guys have some pretty sharp ends.  After you cut the ends, use a vegetable peeler to get the woody parts of the stems off.  Just a few clean swipes and you are good to go.  Place them in a steamer basket and bring water to a boil.  Cook for about 25-30 minutes until tender.  You can pierce them with a knife to ensure they are done. Remove from steam and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. While they are steaming, you can get started on the lemon caper sauce.

Using a sharp knife, cut the artichokes in half.  With a spoon, scrape out the furry choke in the center.  Then drizzle with a little olive oil.

Place those guys on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes.  Flip them over and cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Drizzle them with the delicious lemon caper sauce…be sure to reserve extra sauce for dipping!


Grilled Artichokes with Lemon Caper Vinaigrette
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 large artichokes
  • 1 Tbsp good quality olive oil
For the Lemon Caper Vinaigrette:
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp capers
  • 2 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • ½ tsp honey
  • 1 clove chopped garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Artichokes:
  1. Clean the artichokes by rinsing with cold water. Using a serrated knife, cut off tops and sharp edges. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off the outer layer of the stem and pull off the smaller petals near the base, these are usually more tough in texture.
  2. Place artichokes in a steamer basket and bring water to a boil. Cover and simmer artichokes for about 25 - 30 minutes. Artichokes are done when you can easily pierce a knife through the base with no resistance.
  3. Remove from the stovetop and allow to cool for roughly 5 minutes. Once cooled, use a sharp knife to cut artichokes in half. Using a spoon, remove the center fur and translucent leaves.
  4. Drizzle cut artichokes with olive oil and cook on medium hot grill for about 5 minutes. Flip over and grill about 3-4 more minutes.
For the Lemon Caper Vinaigrette:
  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender or use an immersion blender to combine.
  2. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the grilled artichokes just before serving. Place leftover sauce in a small bowl for dipping.

Cilantro Jalapeño Hummus

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This cilantro jalapeño hummus might be our most favorite of all time!  We make a lot of hummus but this time we really wanted to wake it up a bit.  It’s amazing what a handful of fresh cilantro and a jalapeño can do to a recipe and this one is no exception.  Hummus is so easy to make and it’s good for you too so that’s a total win in our book.  This particular recipe is kids tested and approved which is awesome for us.  We use a whole jalapeño per one can of garbanzo beans and the heat factor is just right for us…but that is something that you can easily add more of or use less if you prefer.  This is the perfect accompaniment to our favorite Greek Night meal but is also a great dip to have on hand for a few days.  We love to eat it with fresh veggies or pita chips!  You are going to want to make this asap.  Take it to your next gathering with friends and everyone will thank you!!


Cilantro Jalapeño Hummus
 
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Serves: 1 cup
Ingredients
  • 1 15oz can garbanzo beans + 3 Tbsp reserved liquid from can
  • ¼ C tahini
  • ¼ C fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 C packed cilantro, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
  • 3 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • kosher salt to taste - about 1 tsp
Instructions
  1. In a food processor add garbanzo beans, reserved liquid, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cilantro and jalapeno and pulse until smooth. With the mixer running slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Season with kosher salt to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with your favorite veggies or pita.