Shrimp Salad, by Diane

 

I’ve had this recipe from Penny’s Primal on my list for a while, and it didn’t disappoint! Simple and fresh and easy to whip up, I’ve been eating it in lettuce cups this week for lunch to add a crunch! This would also be amazing on a toasted brioche like in a New England seafood roll! Yum.

Ps- I also learned a great way to cook frozen shrimp quickly for this! Bring a large pot of water with salt to boil rapidly, remove from heat until it stops boiling, drop the frozen shrimp in, and give it a stir. Cover with a lid and let it sit for five minutes. Drain the hot liquid and transfer the shrimp to an ice bath. Perfect shrimp!

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp, cooked and diced 

2 tbsp mayo

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup diced celery

1 bunch chives, sliced thin

1 tsp dill (I had a mix with dried parsley/garlic/onion/dill that was awesome in here!)

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients well and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve chilled.

Roast Chicken, by Diane

 

This is Ina’s photo because I was too busy!

Matzo stuffing and sweet potato kugel (both on the blog!) went excellent with this!

For our Passover main dish we tried Ina Garten’s famous chicken recipe. I had never attempted a roast chicken but I have heard so much about this recipe I decided to give it a shot. This was a super easy recipe for a beginner, and the chicken was the juiciest chicken we had ever had! The gravy was especially good. The chicken wasn’t flavored at all however, despite the preparation, so that part was disappointing. Otherwise this was a good dish! I don’t have a photo since everything was so chaotic the other day, so I took a photo of my plate lol. 

Ingredients:

6lb roasting chicken

1 lemon, halved

1 head garlic, top removed

1 bunch thyme

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp butter

1 Spanish onion, thickly sliced in rings

1 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp flour

Directions:

1. Remove the giblets and clean the chicken. Heavily salt and pepper the cavity. Stuff the cavity with lemon, garlic and thyme. 

2. Butter the outside of the chicken, sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. 

3. Tie the legs together, place in a roasting tray, and sprinkle onion slices around the chicken.

4. Roast at 450 for 1.5 hours. We had to tent the chicken because the top and the onions were burning. The juices when cut between the leg and thigh should be clear.

5. In a small saucepan, heat chicken stock and boil for 5 min. Combine the drippings with flour and whisk until smooth, add into the stock. Boil 5 more minutes, stirring until smooth. Serve with chicken. 

Matzo Crack, by Diane

This was our second Passover dessert and they came out REALLY sweet!! I would cut the sugar by 3/4 next time (included below), and then they would be really good! Recipe from bakedbree.com. 

Ingredients:

4 pieces matzo

1 stick salted butter

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

Flaky sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250. Line a baking tray with foil.

2. Arrange matzo so it fits in one even layer, you’ll have to halve some. 

3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, then add in sugar. Stir constantly until butter bubbles and sugar melts completely. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

4. Pour the sugar mixture on the matzo and spread in an even layer. Bake for 25 min.

5. Sprinkle chocolate chips on the matzo and bake for another 4 minutes. Remove and spread the chocolate in an even layer.

5. Sprinkle salt on top and refrigerate for 2 hours until hard. 

6. Break into chunks and serve!

 

Coconut macaroons, by Diane

We made these as a Passover dessert and they were so good! We were all really impressed with how these turned out, and they were really easy to make. We reduced the sugar by a 1/2 and because it seemed like a lot, and added an extra egg white to hold them together, both of which came out great so I am adding them below. We also discovered that they softened when stored overnight in a tupperware container, which made them way better and more authentic, so I would suggest making these ahead of time!

Recipe from delish.com

Ingredients:

5 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

4 egg whites

1 pinch of salt 

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

1.5 cups chocolate chips 

1 tbsp coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350, line a baking tray with parchment paper, and spray w cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, salt, sugar and vanilla until light and foamy. 

3. Fold in coconut and mix well. Roll into mounds lightly and place spaced apart on the tray.

4. Bake for 20 minutes (we tented ours with foil at the end because the tops were browning). Cool on a cooling rack. 

5. While the macaroons cool, melt chocolate and coconut oil until smooth. Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate then drizzle the tops with chocolate. Let harden.

Matzo Stuffing, by Diane

This is a recipe I have made for years, and never thought to put it on the blog. This weekend for Passover we made it again, and it occurred to me that I should post it. This is easy and very quick, and it’s always everyone’s favorite. 

Ingredients:

1 box matzo, in crumbles

1/2 stick salted butter

1 onion, diced

6-8 stalks celery, diced

Salt and pepper

1 tsp poultry seasoning

2-3 cups chicken broth 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add in veggies and seasoning and cook until the veggies soften. 

3. Remove from heat and add in matzo and 2 cups broth. Stir well. 

4. You want the matzo to be fully moistened and wet, but all the liquid is absorbed. If you need more liquid add the remaining cup of broth in parts. 

5. You want the stuffing to be overly salty and seasoned before baking, as it will lose flavor in the oven. 

6. Bake for 30 minutes in a 9x13 pan or until stuffing is moist and fluffy. If the top browns before the liquid cooks out, cover the stuffing with foil. 

Mongolian Chicken, by Diane

 

This was another super delicious recipe from @iheartumami! She converts Chinese family recipes into healthy Whole30 recipes, and they are typically awesome. The flavors of this were amazing, and this took no time to whip up! I think I would change the cooking method of the chicken to her recipe for Orange Chicken, which gets magically crispy in the oven, as I hate frying batches of things. Otherwise this was perfect!!

Ingredients:

1.25 lbs chicken, thin sliced 

1/2 tsp each sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder

1/4 tsp white pepper

4 tbsp arrowroot powder

4-5 tbsp Avocado or coconut oil

3 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1/2 large shallot, sliced thin

2 tbsp ginger, julienned

4 scallions, (cut whole bulbs, then slice tops and keep separate)

8 dried Chinese red peppers (crack a few if you want heat)

2 red Fresno chiles (I skipped bc this made it really spicy)

2 tbsp coconut aminos

1 tsp hot sauce

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp toasted sesame oil 

Directions:

1. Make sure the chicken is sliced 1/4 to 1/8 inch thin, and cut into bite size pieces. Toss with sea salt through arrowroot powder and set aside.

2. Prep garlic through chiles in one bowl, and aminos through sesame oil in another. Set aside.

3. Heat a wok or large pan to medium high, add in avocado or coconut oil, and place chicken in batches when the oil is hot. Cook 3 min each side until golden and crispy, then repeat with leftover chicken- add in oil as needed. Set aside.

4. Add another tsp of oil to the pan if needed, then add garlic mixture with 2 pinches of salt for one minute. 

5. Add in chicken and sauce, stir for 30 seconds and remove from heat.

Salmon with Mango Salsa, by Cheryl

With the weather getting a little warmer I decided to take a break from stews and hearty meals and bring in some summery food. This marinated salmon with mango salsa hit the spot! Light, healthy, easy, and delicious! I served it with Israeli couscous and sweet potato fries. The salsa and marinade was supposed to have mint in it, but my Whole Foods delivery left that out of my order. So I continued on without it. The recipe below shows it without the mint, but the link has the original recipe. Yum!

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillet pieces, about 6 ounces each

Salt

For marinade:

1/3 cup olive oil

Juice of one lemon

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground tumeric

1/2 tsp black pepper

Salt

For salsa:

2 mangos, diced

1/2 seedless cucumber

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

1) Season salmon with salt. Place in casserole dish deep enough for the marinade.

2) Make the marinade with the ingredients listed. Whisk. Pour marinade over salmon. Let sit for 20 minutes or cover and put in the fridge for 2 hours. 

3) Make the mango salsa and put aside. 

4) Preheat oven to 350. Place salmon on baking sheet skin side down and bake for 10 minutes. Serve with salsa and sides.