Burton Kale

Hey friendies... I was just wondering how many of you have greens on the side, and how you like to eat them? I am trying to serve a dark leafy green with every dinner. We try and vary the greens, and have a few favorites. Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts are easy go-to's, but we have been trying to branch out. Kale is the newest member of our family. I buy it at Walmart in this HUGIE HUGE bag, and it is already cut and washed which makes it easy. It seems to last well, and price wise totally comparable to buying a bunch, sometimes cheaper. This is our favorite way to eat it:

Burton Kale

Olive Oil
Tons of Kale- washed and chopped
Veggie Broth
Red Wine Vinegar
Italian Blend Mrs. Dash

I put about a tablespoon of the oil in, and heat it up. Next goes in the Kale - as much as I can stuff in the pan. Then I pour a bit of broth and vinegar over the greens, and season with Mrs. Dash. I put a lid on to steam it down a bit. I stir occasionally until it is the cook-edness that we like.

Anywhooooo... I would love any suggestions of how you do greens at your house. We do salads and stuff, but I don't like some of these heartier greens like Kale in salad. Too much for my teeth... and while my boys are awesome salad eaters, they won't do it either. Any ideas would be appreciated :)

Crunchy Sweet Brussel Sprout Salad

We had this as a side for dinner tonight. YUMMO!!! I was wishing I had brought it for Thanksgiving. It was delish.

Crunchy Sweet Brussel Sprout Salad

1 Pound Fresh Brussel Sprouts
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1/2 Dried Cranberries

Shred Sprouts by removing the core and thinly slicing. Warm oil over med. heat. Add sprouts, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook until bright and slightly wilted (2-3 min). Add walnuts and cranberries and toss to combine. Serve!

For original recipe click HERE. Thank you food network! Hope your Thanksgivings were Wonderful!

--Ashlee

Summer Mango Salad

Make this before summer leaves us till next year!

Mango Summer Salad

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 tsp minced fresh chile
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T fresh lime juice
2 tsp brown sugar
2 T unsweetened dried shredded coconut
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 small red bell pepper, minced

fresh cilantro or spearmint leaves

In a large bowl, combine everything but the cilantro. Cover and chill for 15-20 minutes and serve cold or at room temperature. Just before serving, top with cilantro. Serve as a salsa-style dip with chips or as a quesadilla topping on a tortilla with shredded lettuce and beans or cheese.

My friend Linda made this for my family a few sundays ago and we loved it! We had it just as a side dish without chips or on top of anything. It was delish!

Tyler's Mahi Mahi and Guacamole Salad

Yesterday we went to Ed and Cindy's (Corey's Parents) for dinner. It was delish! Absolutely delicious, and from the event I got two recipes I wanted to share with ya'll.

The first one is not technically a recipe because Corey's brother just kind of made it up on the fly... but I called him later that night and said... 'okay I don't care if you don't know perfectly what you did, you still have to try and tell me because it was SOOOO good!' which thankfully he obliged and told me.

The second recipe is totally healthy, totally scrumptious, totally eat to live, and comes from the most unlikely of sources. Ina Garten... aka the Barefoot Contessa... from the Food Network makes the best food on the planet. Hands down. Her stuff is guaranteed delicious, but it is usually insanely indulgent and bad for you. When Cindy told me where she got this particular recipe I was like 'Whaaaaat?' She's worse than Paula Deen usually! But this one is totally healthy and still manages to taste as good as a Barefoot Contessa recipe should taste! Wonderful!

That's enough chatty, chatty though. Here's the recipes:

Tyler's Mahi Mahi

Olive Oil
Fresh chopped Garlic
1/2 red onion, sliced and ringed
1 Orange, juiced and the rest chopped
Lime Juice
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
Fresh chopped Cilantro
Mahi Mahi fillets

Comine the oil, garlic, onion, orange juice, lime, and spices to make marinade. Marinate the Mahi Mahi in it for a couple of hours. Then grill.

Simple and delish. He did it outside... we'll have to settle for George Forman when we make it here. It was seriously SO good. It was the first fish that I didn't feel like I needed to dip in something to make it taste good. Kate- I know you wanted to try fish- Mahi Mahi is a great one in my opinion. It handles more like chicken, and it even tastes more-- meaty than fishy. Whit would you agree?

Guacamole Salad (please try this... I have several recipes that are similar, but to me this was the best!)

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup small diced red onion
2 tablespoons minced jalepeno peppers (about 2 small peppers)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
1/4 cup freshly sqeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 ripe avacados diced

Place tomatoes, bell pepper, black beans, onion, jalepeno, and lime zest in bowl. Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and cayenne. Pour over veggies and toss well. Just before serving fold in avacados. Serve at room temp.

This was such a fabulous side dish, and even though it's supposed to be eaten right away, I have been snacking on leftovers of it, and it has held up just fine. For the original recipe click HERE.

Love you ladies! Have a good night!

Kid Friendly Butternut Squash

Did you know that you are supposed to get a serving of orange veggies at LEAST every other day?

I personally get pretty sick of the orange veggie stand by, carrots so we've been trying new things.

A new discovery of this year is the delightful veggie- BUTTERNUT SQUASH! Did you know that it's good for a lot more than Butternut Squash soup? This is our favorite new side dish-- and it's my very own recipe. 5 points to me... even though it's probably couldn't even be considered a recipe so much as just a way to cook it.

Roasted Butternut Squash Bites

1 Butternut Squash
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Peel the butternut squash. (Like you peel a carrot? Yep. Like you peel a carrot. Just keep peeling until you are seeing only the orange-y center... it takes a bit.) Chop off the ends. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the guts. Cut the squash into bite sized pieces. Spread on to a well greased pan (or baking mat if you have one) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for about 20 min tossing occasionally until veggies are fork tender. Serve. Yummm

Note: If you don't want to use the entire squash - it saves well, even peeled in the fridge for a long time. I just wrap mine up tight.