lemon

Lemon Yogurt Crumb Cake

Leah Short — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 18:28:25 +0000

The birthday treats continue! April is a busy month for birthdays around the office, but I’m not complaining about stuffing my face with dessert every other week. I told you about “The List” in my previous post, so it’s always fun to see what people choose. The winner this round was Lemon Yogurt Crumb Cake! This one made the list because it’s got swirls of lemon curd on top and I swoon over lemon curd. Lemon cake, lemon curd, and a crunchy crumb topping. Success!

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Lemony Orzo Salad with Chicken

Leah Short — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 16:23:00 +0000

It’s two days from officially being spring. Two days! I’ve never been so excited for winter to be over. I’m starting to crave lighter foods like this amazing Lemony Orzo Salad with Chicken. Not only is it light as in the opposite of a rich, heavy meal, it’s also light as in low calorie. You know I love me some super tasty low calorie eats! This salad is really quick and easy to prepare. It’s mixed with a tangy lemon dressing and tossed with rotisserie chicken, cucumbers, green onions, fresh dill, and goat cheese. I’ve been eating it for lunch all week with no complaints!

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Clean Slate: Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, & Pistachios

Leah Short — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:33:15 +0000

In my previous post, I mentioned how I’m cooking from the Clean Slate cookbook and seeing if I actually enjoy clean eating. Before, I assumed clean eating meant bland eating, and I’ve learned that’s absolutely not the case! For breakfast I’ve tried Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, & Flaxseed. It sounds unusual but tasted so good! Next up was trying something for lunch. I picked this Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, & Pistachios because it’s all of my favorite ingredients and I usually have most of them on hand.

So, how’s it taste?

Another hit! I loved the combination of flavors in this salad, plus it was really easy to put together. Instead of cooking the zucchini in a pan, next time I’ll roast it and increase the amount. I love, love, love roasted vegetables, especially zucchini so the more the merrier! I really like the contrast of textures with the quinoa and crunchy pistachios. The pistachios also gave it some saltiness. The mint and lemon brighten the salad, while the scallions gave it a touch of subtle heat (and more crunch!). I took this salad to work for lunch several days in a row and the leftovers were just as tasty, although I will warn that the quinoa continues to soak up the oil and lemon juice so it can get a bit dry.

Even with such simple ingredients, this was really filling for lunch. I’m finding out clean eating is really tasty eating! The dishes you see in the pictures above are part of the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware available exclusively at Macy’s. Fantastic dishware for everyday use, plus they’re dishwasher and microwave safe!

Yield: 4 servings

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, & Pistachios

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed & drained
coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup roasted salted pistachios, chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish

Directions:

1. Bring the water, quinoa, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid has been absorbed and quinoa is tender but still chewy, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; fluff with fork and let cool.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 7 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant (do not let brown), about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper, and add to quinoa.

3. Stir in scallions, pistachios, lemon zest and juice, and mint. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

per serving: 286 calories, 13g fat, 36g carbs, 8g protein, 5g fiber

Source: Clean Slate by the editors of Martha Stewart Living

Disclosure: I received a copy of Clean Slate: A Cookbook and Guide: Reset Your Health, Detox Your Body, and Feel Your Best and the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware at no cost. All opinions expressed here are solely my own, as always. This post contains affiliate links.

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Lemon Cranberry Pie Bars

Leah Short — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 17:13:33 +0000

You know you’ve got a hit on your hands when you take a dessert to work and almost everyone tells you it’s the best you’ve made so far. I made these Lemon Cranberry Pie Bars for a coworker’s birthday and they were such a huge hit! If you’re a dessert lemon lover, especially the tart kind, you’ll go bonkers over these. I love the addition of cranberry, which is perfect for Thanksgiving coming up. The crust tastes like pie crust, but there’s no rolling! It’s a press-in-the-pan crust, so it couldn’t be easier.

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Tilapia with Fennel-Yogurt Sauce & Red Pepper Couscous

Leah Short — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 15:13:14 +0000

I’m coming off of 10 days of glorious vacation! It’s a little challenging to get back into the swing of things with getting up early for work, getting ready for work, driving to work, being at work. Sensing a theme here? Yeah, I’m happy to be employed, but I sure do miss being on my own schedule, which most days didn’t include wearing makeup or heels. Getting used to my work schedule isn’t the only thing challenging me. It’s also going back to not eating the house down. No more Doritos, no more Devil Squares. Luckily I’ve got this fantastic, low calorie dinner that tastes like I’m still on vacation. This Tilapia with Fennel-Yogurt Sauce paired with Red Pepper Couscous makes me feel like I’m still splurging, but is much kinder to my hips than all those Doritos!

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Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes with Lemon Curd and Mascarpone Frosting

Leah Short — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 12:00:13 +0000

Longest name for a dessert ever, right? I saw Giada De Laurentiis make these cupcakes on her show recently and instantly knew I’d found the perfect dessert for my coworker’s birthday. He’s a big lemon lover (see the cupcakes I made him last year) and I just had to taste that frosting. Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes with Lemon Curd and Mascarpone Frosting blew my mind! So much so, that I may or may not have eaten five the night I baked them. Oops!

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Glazed Salmon with Couscous

Leah Short — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 12:59:50 +0000

Salmon has made it on the blog! After swearing that I didn’t like the oddly pink fish, I’ve finally come around to really enjoying it. I’ve got my coworker Ryan to thank for that. He almost always orders it when we go out for lunch and slowly it started to look really good. He’d let me taste it and you know, it wasn’t bad! It’s mild, like I like my fish, and what sold me are all the yummy glazes and toppings you can add. For my first time making it at home, I chose this Glazed Salmon with Couscous. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with a brown sugar, mustard glaze.

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Butter Crunch Lemon Bars

Leah Short — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:12:28 +0000

I’m giggling as I type this post because I just finished reading an article where The Pioneer Woman talks about how to take good food photos. Yeah, about that. I promise I’m going to give you a decent food photo someday, but that day isn’t today. I made these Butter Crunch Lemon Bars for a coworker’s birthday last week. So you know what that means, no time for good shots in the daylight. Perhaps I should make a rule at work that all birthdays are celebrated on Mondays so I can get some good pics, lol! Not only did I not use my nice camera, but I sort of forgot about pictures all together. That is until we were in a meeting in our conference room and decided to bring the rest of the bars in because no one could go 10 minutes without eating one. They were that good! So I grabbed my phone and snapped these horrible pics…ah, the life of a food blogger.

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Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Leah Short — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:17:34 +0000

This Roasted Pork Tenderloin absolutely rocked my world. I never want to cook pork any other way again. We enjoyed this for our Christmas dinner and I’m so happy it turned out to be such a success. Easy marinade ingredients that you probably have in your pantry already. I only wish I had made more of the sauce because it was incredible!

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Green Beans with Walnut Parsley Sauce

Leah Short — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 14:51:12 +0000

Every time I plan a meal, I always feel like I need “something green.” It’s usually an afterthought for big holiday meals because another side (like dressing) is the highlight. I love it when an unexpected side completely steals the show (like these peas from last year). These Green Beans with Walnut Parsley Sauce did just that. I craved them for days after Thanksgiving and looked forward to eating them the most. I usually don’t go gaga over green beans, especially fresh. Sometimes they turn out too crunchy and bland. Not these! The walnut parsley sauce is very similar to pesto without the cheese. It turns boring green beans into a shining dish!

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