NWR: New Flavor Combos

onefootinthebayou · August 2015

Happy Thursday Y'all!

You ever get stuck in a cooking rut? Just making the same things over and over again & grow sick of your own cooking? I do, & I discovered last night what a difference a simple tweak can make.

I looked in our empty fridge, determined to jazz up my roasted asparagus with stuff we had on hand and not go to the store for a $4 bunch of fresh basil. I roasted the asparagus in a little olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, and S&P. I topped it with toasted pine nuts, chopped fresh mint, lemon zest, and a squeeze of lemon. OMG. So good and very different from my typical boring roasted vegetable dish.

Would love to hear what kinds of twists y'all put on every day foods to make them different, fancier, or just more interesting!

OliveOilsMom · August 2015

My H makes BBQ spaghetti. Which I didn't know what to do with when he handed it to me the first time, put on parm cheese? H laughed when I asked him that! It's just pasta with a ground beef or sausage, then mixed in BBQ sauce. It is surprisingly good!

Another thing H has done is put tomato sauce on top of perogis. You wouldn't think that the tomato sauce would blend with the mashed potato, but it does! Apparently, this type of perogi preparation is sacrilege to a person of Polish heritage. He told a co-worker what he had made for dinner and she yelled at him! LOL!

redheadbride15 · August 2015

Wow, that asparagus sounds awesome! I make grilled asparagus topped with lemon zest, butter, and parmesan cheese (sort of similar).

It's CSA season, which means my fridge is overflowing with vegetables and sometimes I just make whole meals out of several types of vegetables. I try to keep a few standard ingredients on hand to perk things up a bit (olive oil, garlic, lemons, limes, fresh herbs, a variety of nuts, a variety of cheeses). Here are a few combos I've made recently that worked well:

roasted beets and corn with goat cheese and lemon juice
roasted eggplant, basil, garlic, wilted chard, and tomatoes with a balsamic vinaigrette
steamed carrots with dill and butter
roasted fennel with olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese
potatoes with garlic scape pesto and pine nuts
kale with red onions, bacon, and walnuts
cucumber spears & carrot sticks dipped in homemade tzatziki
fresh salsa with tomatoes, peppers, jalepenos, corn, black beans, onions, garlic, and lime juice

littlemushroom · August 2015

I sub spicy BBQ sauce or buffalo sauce for 1/2 the amount of dressing I want and use some blue cheese dressing for the other half on salads topped with grilled chicken. I get all the flavors of chicken wings in a much healthier package. Just did this for dinner last night and it was sooooo good

NowIamMrsKlein · August 2015

I love pine nuts, but man are those things friggen expensive. I love them in salad with avocado and feta cheese, but almost cried at my grocery bill last time I bought some.

FI is much more adventurous in the kitchen than I am. I like recipes. I can follow them and know the food will turn out great.

FI does this really delcious marinade of lime juice and cilantro and S&P and probably other things, but letting a turkey breast marinate in it for an hour and then tossing it on the grill is amazing.

redheadbride15 · August 2015

SoontobeMrsKlein said:

I love pine nuts, but man are those things friggen expensive. I love them in salad with avocado and feta cheese, but almost cried at my grocery bill last time I bought some.

FI is much more adventurous in the kitchen than I am. I like recipes. I can follow them and know the food will turn out great.

FI does this really delcious marinade of lime juice and cilantro and S&P and probably other things, but letting a turkey breast marinate in it for an hour and then tossing it on the grill is amazing.

THIS is awesome! Lemon or lime juice + oil + a fresh herb + S&P +/- garlic is the ultimate marinade. I pretty much use this all summer long for grilling. Last night I did chicken breasts with lemon, olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. Nomnomnom.

arrippa · August 2015

littlemushroom said:

I sub spicy BBQ sauce or buffalo sauce for 1/2 the amount of dressing I want and use some blue cheese dressing for the other half on salads topped with grilled chicken. I get all the flavors of chicken wings in a much healthier package. Just did this for dinner last night and it was sooooo good

Kind of the same idea, but I put BBQ sauce or buffalo sauce on cauliflower florets and it's so good.

monkeysip · August 2015

It's so simple, and probably something you already know, but I've been dying for lemon-olive oil-oregano chicken lately. Grilled to where it's a little blackened. I also like lime-honey grilled chicken. Pretty much taking whatever I have an making new chicken marinades is always a fun thing for me. But I like chicken a lot

julieanne912 · August 2015

I can't take credit for this one, but Rick Bayless' chipotle meatballs are amazing. The recipe calls for ground pork but I use turkey to make it healthier. The meatballs stay moist because you put 3-4 strips of bacon in the food processor to make a "paste" then add the ground meat. The seasoning comes in the form of mint. When I first read it I was like "huh what" but it's super delicious. Sauce is just fire roasted canned tomatoes mixed with some oregano and as many chipotle peppers and canning sauce you like.

The flavors all sounded weird to me when I first tried it, and now I LOVE it.

lyndausvi · August 2015

redheadbride15 said:

SoontobeMrsKlein said:

I love pine nuts, but man are those things friggen expensive. I love them in salad with avocado and feta cheese, but almost cried at my grocery bill last time I bought some.

FI is much more adventurous in the kitchen than I am. I like recipes. I can follow them and know the food will turn out great.

FI does this really delcious marinade of lime juice and cilantro and S&P and probably other things, but letting a turkey breast marinate in it for an hour and then tossing it on the grill is amazing.

THIS is awesome! Lemon or lime juice + oil + a fresh herb + S&P +/- garlic is the ultimate marinade. I pretty much use this all summer long for grilling. Last night I did chicken breasts with lemon, olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. Nomnomnom.

I often add dijon mustard to above. Another great marinate.

teddygirl9 · August 2015

I found this recipe on epicurious, but it was probably THE best thing I've had/made in a while: Fig, blue cheese, prosciutto pizza w/ argula. Take your pizza dough and spread it out on the sheet/pan. Spread some fig jam over the dough. Sprinkle a good amount of blue cheese over the jam. Bake until the crust is 99% done (the jam carmelizes and the blue cheese gets bubbly). Then top with prosciutto sliced super thin. Bake for another 2-3min until the ends get a little crispy. Top with argula dressed with olive oil & balsamic.

SO GOOD. I think I baked it at 425 (maybe 450?) and it took 14 ish min for the crust to cook, and then another 3ish for the proscuito to get a little crispy. I also used pre-made dough from the italian store nearby and it turned out fantastic.

madamerwin · August 2015

I think roasting vegetables automatically makes them fancier...

My favorite roasted veggies:

Cauliflower with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, and parmesan

Beets with goat cheese, balsamic vinegar, finely diced red onions, over arugula

Carrots with maple syrup (the REAL kind), garlic, salt and pepper

Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, and pepper, crumbled bacon, and carmelized onions

Asparagus with olive oil, garlic powder, pepper, and parmesan

ETA forgot asparagus

onefootinthebayou · August 2015

You took

lyndausvi said:

redheadbride15 said:

SoontobeMrsKlein said:

I love pine nuts, but man are those things friggen expensive. I love them in salad with avocado and feta cheese, but almost cried at my grocery bill last time I bought some.

FI is much more adventurous in the kitchen than I am. I like recipes. I can follow them and know the food will turn out great.

FI does this really delcious marinade of lime juice and cilantro and S&P and probably other things, but letting a turkey breast marinate in it for an hour and then tossing it on the grill is amazing.

THIS is awesome! Lemon or lime juice + oil + a fresh herb + S&P +/- garlic is the ultimate marinade. I pretty much use this all summer long for grilling. Last night I did chicken breasts with lemon, olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. Nomnomnom.

I often add dijon mustard to above. Another great marinate.

You took the words right out of my mouth! Olive oil, lemon, Dijon, s/p is my standard. I add fresh basil for shrimp, rosemary for lamb, parsley for chicken, dill for salmon. It's a classic French combo. I'll sometimes add a cracked garlic clove & let it steep if I have time.

DarthV8r · August 2015

I recently replaced russet with sweet potatoes. It's great for breakfast, fries, baked and mashed potatoes. Sweet potatoes with white flesh are good for softer dishes but the orange sweet potatoes are better for fries or more savory dishes.

redheadbride15 · August 2015

Oh God I love these food threads...

thefanciestbeckler · August 2015

I am getting so many good ideas from this!! Thanks ladies

I add Parmesan cheese to basically anything and everything I possibly can. I love that stuff.

Another one of my favorites is homemade tzaziki sauce. It is delicious and so easy to make. I make mine with Greek yogurt so I'm getting more protein. I've made entire meals out of it before. You can dip raw veggies in it or eat it with pita chips. Sooo good.

jenna8984 · August 2015

My most favorite sauce is an old family recipe where you basically melt down a tub of sour cream in a skillet with a little broth, lemon, pepper, paprika. I put it over rice or egg noodles, it's kinda like Alfredo but obviously more sour instead of cheesy.

I just got into parsely and I've been adding that shit to everything lately!

We also love a sauce of broth and packet of ranch dip seasoning.

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