The other day as I was realizing that I was feeling really low energy and unmotivated. In theory, I was doing everything right—exercising, getting plenty of fruits and vegetables, sleeping (ok, maybe not sleeping enough, but getting some sleep)—but I was still dragging and then it came to me: greens.

I wasn’t getting enough leafy greens.

Many (most) of us don’t get enough leafy greens, but they are so important.

They are great for circulation and respiratory support, they boost our immune systems, and they provide a great energy boost. I hadn’t been eating them, though, because as the weather gets colder I am less drawn to smoothies and salads.

So out came my sautéed and wilted green recipes to provide me some warmth, while still giving me all the benefits of the greens. And it worked! While I may not be stress-free and perky, I am definitely feeling much more alert and focused.

This wilted kale salad is a great one. It is quick, simple, and delicious.

It has just the right amount of crunch from the walnuts, some creaminess from the feta, and just a touch of sweetness from the dried cranberries.

In the quantities listed here, this makes a great salad for two or a wonderful side for four. Plus it would be a wonderful addition to a holiday dinner—helping to balance out all the heaviness of the dishes at this time of year.

So if you are feeling draggy, tired, or down, try this out. It may just be the thing your body has been asking you for.

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Wilted Kale Salad: A Cure for the Winter Blues

Course Salad, Side

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes minutes

Total Time 13 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 6 tablespoons chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup crumbled Feta
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Rip the kale off the stems and rip the leaves into bite-sized pieces. Rinse and dry the kale. Mince the clove of garlic.
• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. When it starts to shimmer, add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant.
• Toss in the kale and balsamic vinegar and stir until the kale just turns bright green but hasn’t yet wilted.
• Take it off the heat and mix in the walnuts and feta. Salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.

<p>The post Wilted Kale Salad: A Cure for the Winter Blues first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

But many people feel like they are incapable of making them well.

The truth is, eggs are actually quite simple, they just need a little bit of attention.

So today I want to break down for you the different ways to cook an egg so that you can add these to your rotation for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners and then next time I will talk about different ways to use eggs in baking (i.e., beating an egg in all its stages).

Here’s the pie chart illustrating the preferred methods of cooking eggs based on the estimated popularity:

• Boiled Eggs: 30%
• Scrambled Eggs: 25%
• Fried Eggs: 20%
• Poached Eggs: 10%
• Omelets: 10%
• Other: 5%

Hard-Boiled Eggs:

When to eat them

Hard-boiled eggs are a lunchbox and breakfast-on-the-go staple for our family. I also use them for egg salad, deviled eggs, and sliced up on a salad.

How to cook them

Put the number of eggs you would like to hard-boil in a pot of cold water.

Bring the pot of water to a boil. When it reaches boiling, take the lid off a set a timer for 10 minutes.

When the timer goes off, pour the hot water down your kitchen sink and run the eggs under cold water for a few moments to cool them down.

To peel them, knock them on their larger end, where there is likely an air bubble so that you can break through easily and get the shell off without losing too much of the white.

Soft-Boiled Eggs:

When to eat them

We love these for breakfast. I grew up with eggs cups where you would just take off the small top, sprinkle in some salt and pepper, and dip toast fingers into the yolk, before eating the white.

My husband grew up scooping them out into a bowl. Both ways are delicious!

How to cook them

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, gently place the eggs into the boiling water.

Set a timer for 5 minutes.

When the timer goes off, pour the hot water down your kitchen sink and run the eggs under cold water. Gently crack the eggs around the small top, open the top, and serve in your favorite way.

Scrambled Eggs:

When to eat them

Breakfast is the obvious answer here, but my kids love scrambled egg sandwiches and we also will have scrambled eggs loaded with vegetables and cheese for quick weeknight dinners.

How to cook them

Here is the no frills, super easy method we use in our house that constantly blows people away.

No dirty bowls or splashes of milk required! Melt some butter, about 1 Tablespoon for 1-2 eggs, more as you go up in number of eggs, in a frying pan over a medium-high heat..

Crack your eggs directly into the pan. Salt and pepper to taste.

Just as the egg white starts to solidify a tiny bit, use a spoon or spatula to break up the yolk and mix up the egg. Scramble to your level of dry-ness.

Fried Eggs:

When we eat them

Breakfast and dinner, unless we’re eating lunch at home and then they are a solid option then, too.

For breakfast we’ll have them with toast, with eggs, or in a sandwich.

For dinner we’ll have them on top of grains, mixed into pastas, or with toast.

How to cook them

Melt some butter, about 1 Tablespoon for 1-2 eggs, more as you go up in number of eggs, in a frying pan over a medium-high heat.

Crack your eggs into the pan and salt and pepper to taste.

Watch the eggs pretty closely as you get used to frying eggs and your stove.

If the edges start to get too crispy before the center is cooked, turn the heat down to medium and cover the pan with a lid for a minute or so.

When the white is solid but the yolk is still liquid-y, slide a thin spatula underneath the egg to gently lift it out of the pan to put it on your plate.

Omelet:

When to eat them

Breakfast, lunch (leftovers), or dinner!

How to cook them

The first thing you need to know about making an omelet is that any fillings that you are going to put in that would need to be cooked, need to be cooked before you start making your omelet.

So any onion or vegetables that you wanted sautéed, sauté them first, or better yet, use leftovers! I love leftover roasted vegetables in an omelet (or frittata! See below).

Grated cheese or sliced up cooked/deli meat are also good additions. So once you have your fillings prepared and ready to go, crack two eggs into a bowl and beat well, until it is completely blended, no clear whites left. Salt and pepper the beaten eggs.

Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in an 8-inch frying pan over a medium-high heat. Swirl the butter around so that the whole bottom of the pan in coated. If you need to add a little more butter, go ahead and do that.

Once the butter has stopped sizzling, pour your eggs in.

Gently use a spatula to move the eggs around a little bit (it will look sort of like waves), so that they are evenly distributed across the pan.

Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the edges look crisp but the middle is still kind of wet, but not flowing liquid. Place your fillings in the middle and fold over either in half to make a half-circle or in thirds.

Gently slide the omelet off onto a plate. Don’t worry if the middle isn’t completely solid, it will still keep cooking off the heat.

Serves 1-2 people, increase number of eggs and size of pan as necessary. And, if it all falls apart, then just scramble it up and serve as loaded scrambled eggs!

Or if this is too scary, use my waffle omelet recipe until you are comfortable/forever!

Frittata:

When to eat them

Anytime! They are amazing hot or room temperature.

How to cook them

Pre-heat the oven to 400. Pull out a 10-12” oven-safe skillet.

Prepare whatever mix-ins you are going to include, some of our favorites are onion/shallot, bell peppers, asparagus, roasted vegetables, chopped up leftover meat, grated or crumbled cheese. You want about 3 cups total of filling.

If the fillings need to be cooked, like raw vegetables, melt some butter in the skillet and sauté them until they are ready. While the filling is cooking, crack six eggs into a bowl and beat well. Salt and pepper the filling to taste.

Add any other fresh or fried herbs or seasonings you like to filling (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, chili powder, garam masala, and za’atar are some of our favorite options).

When the filling that needs cooking is cooked, add any others you were going to add in and then spread it all out evenly. Sprinkle the cheese over (if using) and then pour the eggs on top.

Cook on the stove for a minute until just beginning to set and then put into the oven for 8-10 minutes. To check if it is done, use a sharp knife to cut a tiny hole in the middle.

If egg runs it, put it back in for a minute. If not, then it is done and pull it out.

Let it sit for 5 minutes and then serve!

My favorite way to eat eggs is Spicy Shakshuka.

<p>The post Cooking 101: How to Cook with Eggs, Part 1 first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

Slow Cooker Greek Chicken Pita

This has been on my “to try” list for a long time and boy and I glad I finally tried it. It was a huge hit! I tried this on a super busy day. In the morning I threw the chicken and spices into the slow cooker (it took at most 5 minutes) and left for the day.  When we got back in the evening I got the salads together, chopped up some lettuce to add to the mix, and we were sitting down to dinner in less than 20 minutes! Everyone loved it and there was a bunch left over for lunches the next day. My 8-year-old declared it a recipe to be added to the rotation.

Make Again? YES!

Lamb and Spinach Pizza

Another winner in our house! I didn’t have baby spinach on hand, so we missed that component (would definitely add it in the future). I used some yogurt dip I already had in the fridge (basically the same recipe as hers, just with added herbs). I let kids decide whether they wanted feta (one did, one didn’t) and I let them top their own pizzas with the mint and yogurt sauce (both went for mint, one for the yogurt sauce). They were so simple and everyone loved how they got to make them their own way.

Make Again? Most definitely!

One Pot Chicken Lo Mein

I used 3 cups of vegetable stock that I had left over, plus 1 cup of water. Then I added extra soy sauce to boost flavor. I also used regular spaghetti rather than whole wheat, since that’s what I had on hand. A tip: stir it often! It starts to stick on the bottom. I would worry about it sticking more with whole wheat pasta since it takes longer to cook. To make this vegetarian I think you could easy replace the chicken with tofu or seitan. I thought the finished dish was ok, everyone else in the family loved it. Definitely a healthy, easy dinner I will keep in my back pocket.

Make Again? Yup.

What recipes have you tried recently? Do you have recipes you’d like to me to add to try out for next month’s roundup?

<p>The post Recipe Roundup: March Edition first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

Spring Clean the Kitchen. Cook with at least 3 ingredients that are actually in your refrigerator or pantry right now. Try not to go to the store to buy anything new. Give tips on how to make a healthy dish out of whatever you have on-hand.

This topic is near and dear to my heart and is tied to one of the complaints I hear from people over and over again—that they struggle with food waste—vegetables go bad before they can use them all up, meat is forgotten and goes off, and they are reluctant to buy recipe-specific ingredients because they aren’t sure how they will use the remainders in other recipes. I have even spoken with people who have decided that they’d rather order out instead of grocery shop and cook because the food waste stresses them out so much. I am very sympathetic to this struggle as it is one that I experienced for years when I was first becoming comfortable with cooking. I vividly remember going into my produce drawer and finding slimy green things that made my stomach turn. I also remember struggling with what to do with leftover ingredients from new recipes I had tried (I used to avoid buying cabbage and bok choy at all costs for this reason). Over time, though, as I became more comfortable with cooking and improvising, I found this source of stress started to dissipate and I developed a couple of tricks that were really helpful in avoiding food waste.

To use up vegetables:

• Roast, roast, roast! I have roasted many different vegetables that I have discovered kicking around in my produce drawer from cabbage to rubbery carrots. Once roasted, I use them as a flavor and texture boost in salads or as a topping on my favorite lunch: tostadas.
• Pureed vegetable soup! Anything can go into a pureed vegetable soup: bok choy, lettuce, herbs, celery, it is all fair game in a pureed soup.

To use up meat:

• Freeze it. Just throw it in a freezer Ziploc bag, label it, and freeze for another time.
• Roast it and use in salads, pastas, fried rice, or burritos (that’s what I did when I made the recipe below!).

To use up dairy:

• Heavy or whipping cream can be used to make a soup or pasta creamy.
• Sour cream and yogurt can be used in soups or in baking.
• Cheeses can go into a mac n cheese, burritos, as a variation on top of pizza, or on salads.

“That’s all fine and good,” I hear you saying, “but when am I supposed to cook those things?” Next week. Seriously. Here’s what I mean: when you sit down to come up with your meal plan or shopping list for the next week, the first step should always be to check your fridge and pantry for things that need to get used up. That way you can include them in your planning. If you take this step and successfully use up the food that is already in your fridge I guarantee that not only will you feel better about cooking, but your grocery bills will drop, too! It’s a win-win.

Ok. So now that I’ve shared those tips with you, let’s talk about waffleritos. I love these so, so much. I first discovered the idea of making cornbread waffles on the Hilah Cooking blog and was blown away by the simplicity and flexibility of them. We enjoy them as sandwiches with cream cheese, topped with maple syrup like classic waffles, and, of course, as waffleritos.

So this week what I had to work with was two eggs, collard greens, black beans, two chicken thighs, a couple of grape tomatoes, and a stub of cheese. I thought of doing some sort of fried rice, but then decided that I wanted to push the envelope a little with these waffleritos. What is a wafflerito? It is a cornmeal waffle used as the base for burrito fillings. In other words, heaven on a plate. When I made this for my family they were an instantaneous hit! Everyone got to top them with their favorite toppings, it was just different enough to be fun but not so different that it was intimidating (for over-tired kiddos after a long, fun weekend), and it was on the table in 30 minutes. I put out black beans, roasted chicken, Brazilian-style collard greens, chopped tomatoes, avocado, grated cheese, and salsa. Any toppings you would put on a burrito would work with these, or really whatever you’ve got in the fridge. In other words, make them your own!

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Waffle-ritos: And How to Use Up the Food You Already Have in Your House

Course Brunch, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Mexican, Tex-Mex

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• Waffles:
• 2 cups cornmeal
• ¼ cup corn starch
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ cup frozen corn
• 1 ½ cups plain yogurt could also use up buttermilk or sour cream here
• 2 eggs
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• Toppings pick your favorites or work with what you have on hand:
• 1 15- oz can black beans drained and rinsed (or 2 cups homemade black beans)
• 1-2 cups diced cooked chicken or another protein
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• Chopped vegetables of your choice tomatoes, lettuce/greens, bell peppers, green onion, avocado, leftover roasted vegetables, etc.
• Salsa or hot sauce
• Chili powder garlic powder, and oregano can all be used to season the beans and meat, if desired.
• Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on meat if cooking.

Instructions

• To make the waffles:
• Spray your waffle iron with cooking spray and set it up to preheat.
• In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chili powder and mix it well.
• Mix in the frozen corn. Then mix in the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
• When your waffle iron is ready, start making your waffles, setting a timer for each waffle so you don’t forget them but can also work on preparing the toppings at the same time.
• To make the toppings:
• If you will be cooking chicken, preheat the oven to 425.
• If you will be cooking chicken, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay your meat on top. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Place in the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.
• Put your beans into a small saucepan and warm over a medium-low heat. If you are using canned beans you can add extra flavor by seasoning with chili powder, oregano, and/or garlic powder, if you wish.
• Prepare your vegetable toppings and grate your cheese.

Notes

Adapted from Hilah Cooking Cornbread Waffle

<p>The post Waffleritos: And How to Use Up the Food You Already Have in Your House first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

It is funny the things we can get excited about sometimes. For me, an unexpected moment of excitement has been around this Sabra Spread contest that I was invited to join through The Recipe Redux. To be honest, I was totally psyched to have reached the stage in my food blogging journey where I get to receive samples and create a recipe around a new product that I feel good about sharing with you. It was super cool to receive the FedEx box with an insulated bag inside filled with samples. And it was equally cool to be able to take my first taste of all three of the different spreads, Garlic Herb, Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper, and Honey Mustard, and know right away that I was excited to start playing around with them in the kitchen. When these small pleasures happen I think it is important to savor them and take the time to relish in them, after all shouldn’t life be about the simple and unexpected pleasures?!

So in the spirit of sharing simple pleasures, I wanted to share with you one of our family’s go-to sandwiches these days. Despite my best efforts, my boys have been giving me a run for my money on lunches recently. My 8-year-old in particular has been less than enthusiastic about a lot of the options that I normally offer, so coming up with this simple lunch option to throw into the rotation has been a life saver! I wanted something that he would be excited about, that I could feel good about, that wouldn’t take too long to prepare, and that wouldn’t break the bank. This Simple Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Medley Sandwich has hit all the marks!

One aspect to making these sandwiches truly great is the chicken. Each week I buy one or two boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which I roast for the week. It is one of the simplest things you can do to prepare yourself for a week of healthy meal options. We use them as a tastier, healthier, and cheaper version of deli meat. The first few times I made this sandwich for the boys I used mayo, but the addition of the Sabra spreads has taken the sandwiches to a whole new level both in flavor and healthiness (the spreads have 75% less fat than mayo). True story: the first time I made the boys these sandwiches with the spreads for their school lunch the report back was, “those were the best sandwiches ever!”

Are you convinced yet? Who knows, maybe these sandwiches will provide you with an unexpected moment of excitement, they sure did for me!

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Simple Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Medley Sandwiches

Prep Time 3 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 23 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 4 Tablespoons Sabra Spreads our favorites for this sandwich are the Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper and the Garlic Herb
• Vegetables of your choice we like lettuce, tomato, cucumber, bell peppers, and avocado
• Whole Wheat Bread of your choice we like French bread for the sandwiches and whole wheat tortillas for wraps
• Salt & Pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Herbs of your choice we like chili powder, thyme, or oregano

Instructions

• To cook the chicken: Preheat oven to 425. Place chicken breast(s) on a baking sheet and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and herbs of your choice. Bake for 20 minutes or until the meat is white all the way through and/or a meat thermometer reads 165.
• To assemble the sandwiches: Thinly slice the chicken. Spread 1 tablespoon of the Sabra Spread on your bread or wrap of choice. Lay the chicken slices on top and then add vegetables of your choice. Enjoy.

Notes

I recommend storing any unused chicken unsliced in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

[inlinkz_linkup id=662591 mode=1]

<p>The post Simple Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Medley Sandwiches first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

But what if you don’t want cooking to be the thing that drops? What if you are working to get into a good routine with cooking so that you can eat healthier, save money, expose your kids to foods other than grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese, etc? Then it is time to do the bare minimum.

Many of you know that one of my main goals is to help people to realize how accessible and simple cooking can truly be. I firmly believe that even in the busiest of times, cooking is possible and worthwhile. So how to you keep cooking as a regular part of your routine when things are so crazy?

Here are my tips for bare minimum cooking:

1. Stick with what you know. When you are overwhelmed, adding to that with new recipes (or at least complicated new recipes) is going to add to your stress, so try to take advantage of what you are already comfortable with. If that is getting boring, try switching up the protein, grain, or spices. For example, a pasta with red sauce can get a makeover by adding some sausage (real or veggie), by changing the grain to rice or couscous, or by me
   lting mozzarella on top.
2. Go with what is quick. There is no shame is scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, quesadillas, French bread or pita pizzas, or sandwiches for dinner! They get the job done and will almost certainly be healthier (and cheaper) that the store-bought versions.
3. Double the staples. If you are going to roast some vegetables, make a pot of rice, or cook some meat/vegetable protein double it. The leftovers will help you to make a quick and easy dinner such as fried rice, quesadillas, frittata, or wraps the next night!

What are your tricks for getting dinner on the table even when times are crazed? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments!

<p>The post Bare Minimum Cooking: 3 Tricks for Easy Meals During Busy Times first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

When it is as hot as this it can be incredibly hard to motivate to cook. Afterall, who wants to stand in front of a hot stove, turn on the oven, or even be out near a grill on a day/evening like this?! So I wanted to share five of my favorite easy-to-make meals that require little-to-no cooking.

1. Chef’s Salad. The thing that I love most about this meal is that it can be made up of pretty much whatever you have in the house. Start with a base of greens (lettuce, baby spinach, arugula, etc.), add chopped vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, avocados, etc.), add some protein(s) (cheese pieces, deli meat cut up, leftover meat cut up, tofu cubes, hard-boiled eggs, chickpeas, beans, etc.), toss in any leftover cooked vegetables you have on hand, and top with your favorite dressing. Serve with some crusty bread, or even toast, and you are done!
2. Gazpacho. A classic summer soup full of great vegetables. This is a fantastic version developed by my friend Aviva.
3. Sandwiches. Use some fancy bread to make it feel more special, if you want. Stack on the vegetables—cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and avocados are all great additions. If you’ve got it, some pesto can be a nice change of pace. No matter what, though, there is no shame in sandwiches for dinner!
4. Brazilian-style fried rice. Cooking is done in 5 minutes and you can use whatever you have knocking around in your fridge. Perfect.
5. Leftovers. If you need to supplement, add a salad and dinner is done. Couldn’t be easier!

We’ll be having leftovers for dinner tonight. What about you? Any favorite summertime dinners that help to keep things cool?

<p>The post 5 Summer Dinners for when it is Too Hot to Cook first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

My fears of everyone liking it better than my regular sauce were quickly assuaged when I took my first taste as it had a very strong metallic taste. So with that little bit of relief in the back of my mind I set out to try to doctor the sauce so that it would taste better. In the end, it wasn’t my regular sauce and it really didn’t save me much time compared to my skillet sauce, but I was pretty happy with the outcome.

So you may be asking yourself, “why is she sharing this information with us when she is a proponent of home cooking?” Here’s why: because home cooking starts at all different places for different people. For some of us, cooking is a fun and creative outlet but for others it is stressful and kind of a huge unknown and doing something like doctoring a jar of sauce can be a great way to build up some confidence in the kitchen. Also because while there may be days when we have lots of time and energy for cooking, there are other days when we just don’t, but by doing little things we can make the processed foods we fall back on healthier and tastier! And, finally, because there should be no shame in jarred sauce or any food!

So here are my tips:

• Start with a protein that has some flavor. Bacon, sausage, and ground beef are great options. If you are vegetarian, vegetarian sausage is a great option here. Brown the protein in a skillet and then add the sauce to it.
• If you want to add some nutritional heft, throw in some frozen spinach or broccoli. Once it is soft, you can puree it with an immersion blend, or you can just leave it as is.
• Dried herbs will help bring the sauce to life! Oregano, thyme, and basil are all good options.
• Spice it up! Crushed red pepper flakes will add some heat. Black pepper is another good addition.
• A little wine never hurt anyone. White or red, add a few splashes to punch up the flavor.
• The secret ingredient is cinnamon! Cinnamon will add a depth of flavor and will help to counterbalance any metallic aftertaste that there might be.
• Avoid adding salt and sugar. Pre-packaged foods tend to have a lot of salt and sugar already added, so avoid adding more of those. Side note: if you can, try to pick sauces that have less sugar and salt.

That’s it! Super easy, right? So next time you are using the jarred stuff, try this out and let me know how it goes!

<p>The post How to Make Jarred Tomato Sauce Actually Taste Good! first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

Sometimes cooking is like that. It is frustrating and does not go as planned. Mistakes are made and we have to accept defeat and move on. The trick, though, is that moving on in that moment doesn’t mean that we give up on cooking overall, it means that we accept that the time is not right but trust that it will go better another time. Sometimes that means going back to the basics and making something that you are comfortable with, whether that is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a favorite go-to recipe and, let’s be honest, sometimes that means literally stepping out of the kitchen and ordering a pizza. Either way, the important thing is to not give up entirely.

So this week, after my fiasco cooking adventures I decided to go back to basics and I was really glad I did because I ended up putting the finishing touches on a really simple recipe that I get to share with you today: the simplest breaded fish recipe ever.

This recipe is so easy and so versatile. This week I did a Mexican spin on it and we had fish tacos for dinner, but it also can be a great meal with some simple sides and ketchup to dip, or you could even do fish sandwiches. So even if my first recipes crashed and burned, this recipe is a keeper that I think you will really enjoy adding to your rotation.

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Simplest Baked Fish Nuggets

Course Dinner

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• 1 lb tilapia filets any white fish in a thinly sliced filet would work well
• 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut the fish filets into small pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in length. On a dinner plate, mix the breadcrumbs and spices. Dip each fish piece into the bread crumbs, coating well, and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

<p>The post Cooking Failures, How to Bounce Back from Them, and the Simplest Baked Fish Nuggets first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

There are a couple of tricks to make these soups really great.

• A good stock is not essential, but makes a great foundation
• Using a variety of vegetables will make them tastier (each bite is different!)
• Taking the time to sauté a base of vegetables will add sweetness and depth of flavor
• Herbs and other flavor enhancers are a great addition
• Cook the noodles separately

So here are the basic directions for how to make a noodle soup with lots of variation suggestions. Play around with it! Make it your own! I’d love to hear what combinations you come up with!

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How to Make a Noodle Soup Without a Recipe

Course Dinner, Lunch, Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• ½ large onion or 1 small onion variation: 2 leeks or 3 shallots
• 3-4 medium carrots
• 2 tablespoons fat butter, extra virgin olive oil, or coconut oil if doing an Asian-style soup
• 8 cups stock chicken, vegetable, or beef
• 2 or so cups of additional vegetables celery, peas, corn, asparagus, spinach, kale, shredded cabbage, broccoli florets, edamame, etc.
• 1 cup added protein—optional cooked chicken, salami, ham, tofu, chickpeas, etc.
• 1-2 cups dried pasta noodles, spaghetti, letters, Asian, etc.
• Flavor enhancers salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, basil, za’atar, parmesan rind, crushed red pepper flakes, soy sauce, ground ginger, sesame oil, etc.
• Grated parmesan—optional

Instructions

• Chop onion, carrots, and celery (if using). Start a well-salted medium pot of water to boil. In a second large pot, heat the fat over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery (if using) and sauté until soft, stirring occasionally. Add the stock and bring to a simmer (note: if you are using a parmesan rind, throw the whole thing in now and then fish it out at the end). Chop any other ingredients that need to be chopped. Add any other vegetables that might need to cook for a little bit (broccoli florets, cabbage, etc.). When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to directions. Add the protein (if using) and the flavor enhancers. Continue to simmer. Just before the pasta is done, add any other vegetables that only need a few minutes to cook to the soup (peas, carrots, asparagus, edamame, spinach, kale, etc.). Strain the pasta, return it to its pot, and mix in some olive oil or sesame oil so it won’t stick together. Taste the soup and add whatever extra flavorings it might need. Serve the soup into bowls and then add pasta. Top with grated parmesan, if you like.

<p>The post How to Make a Noodle Soup Without a Recipe first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>