We are a family who is always on the go and frequently need a quick and easy side dish. If I am having the hubby throw some steaks on the grill there are times I want a side dish that is quicker than a baked potato and easier than mashed potatoes. This mushroom garlic couscous is so easy to make and takes 15 minutes max. I know plenty of folks that get tired with the same ol’ side dish and this one is a great addition to any meal, just add a cooked protein! Plus couscous seems fancy. 😉
Notes: You can make this with any couscous. The recipe is written using the measurements of a 5.8 oz box of Near East couscous which is my favorite. (This is not a sponsored post or ad.) Keep in mind if you use a different brand that the amount of chicken broth and olive oil required may vary. Adjust accordingly. You can also make this recipe with brown rice or quinoa for an equally delicious side dish. Just prepare the preferred grain per the package instructions using chicken broth, and stir in the sautéed mushrooms and parsley when done cooking.
INGREDIENTS 1 tbsp butter
2 c cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 c chicken broth
1 tbsp olive oil
5.8 oz box of couscous (I love Near East)
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
STEPS
In a medium skillet melt the butter over medium high heat.
Add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic to the skillet and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. When done, remove from heat.
While the mushrooms are cooking, in a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth and olive oil to a boil.
Once boiling, stir the couscous into the saucepan, remove from heat, and cover.
You know how you have some food items that you literally just cannot get enough of? Like, you would eat every bit of it if you weren’t sharing and then when it is all gone you are using your fingers to get every last drop out of the bottom of the dish. That is me with this Creamy & Spicy Garlic Edamame. I literally would lick the bowl clean like a 5-year-old does with their ice cream bowl if I could get my tongue to the bottom of it. Too graphic? Sorry! The sauce is just so freaking good! It has just the right amount of heat that you feel a little burn but the creaminess of the sauce helps to tame it and you just keep going back for more.
I have been making this recipe a lot lately. It is a quick (I am talking less than 10 minutes start to finish) and easy side dish that goes great when I am making a stir fry or big batch of ramen but it also makes an awesome snack. Edamame is high in protein and fiber and is rich in vitamins and minerals, plus it is just fun to eat. It is probably a good thing that they have a shell because that is the only thing that slows me down when I have a bowl of these in front of me. 😉
INGREDIENTS
14 oz bag of frozen edamame in pods
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp chili paste (Sambal Oelek is my go to)
1/4 mayonnaise
1 tbsp soy sauce
sea salt
sesame seeds
STEPS
Prepare the edamame per the package instructions, drain, and transfer to a large bowl.
In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, sesame oil, chili paste, mayonnaise, and soy sauce.
Pour the sauce over the edamame and toss to coat.
Transfer to a serving dish a sprinkle with a little sea salt and sesame seeds.
I can’t remember if I have brought it up on this blog before or not, but one of my first jobs in high school was working at a little mom and pop owned coffee shop in my small town. I loved it! So much so, that I frequently ponder what it would be like to throw my career out the window and open my own little coffee shop. There was just something so touching about being part of someone’s morning. Pretty much everyone was a regular and I knew what they did for work every day, I knew their families, and almost 20 years later I still remember several of their orders. I kind of have a crazy memory like that. LOL
While I started out as a barista for the first couple of months, I actually got the opportunity to start baking on the weekends too. I loved it! I would go in at 5 am on Saturday and Sunday mornings, crank up the radio, and had the whole kitchen to myself. I would bake dozens of assorted muffins, croissants, cinnamon rolls, cookies, and some of my favorite items were the scones. Chocolate chip scones to be exact. You have not lived if you have not had a scone fresh out of the oven. If they are done right, they are crumbly on the outside and just a little doughy in the middle, have just the right amount of density, and are a little sweet, but not too sweet (unless they are savory scones).
Scones are the perfect thing to make for special occasions, or even just on a lazy Sunday around the house. Making these for my family the other weekend brought back so many memories of that coffee shop. It is amazing how certain food can do that.
So, what food item do you associate with certain memories or a time in your life? Share in the comments below. I would love to hear from you. 😀
INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 c flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 c mini chocolate chips
3/4 c heavy cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
STEPS
Preheat oven to 400º.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Add the cubed butter to the mix and using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients. (The mixture should become very crumbly with no large chunks of butter remaining.)
Stir in the chocolate chips.
In a small separate bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredient to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Transfer the dough mix to a cutting board and using your hands form the dough into an 8-inch circle.
Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 evenly sized triangles.
Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream and then transfer to the parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Bake for 14–17 minutes or until the edges are a nice golden brown.
If your mouth isn’t watering just looking at this pic, then you must be dead. And if you are doing everything you can to keep from drooling on your keyboard or phone, then please, give this recipe a try. You will have no regrets. Absolutely calorie worthy.
This is actually a copycat version of the Loaded Korean BBQ Beef Fries from my favorite local food truck, Turnt Up Tacos and Tortas. The first time I had them, I was HOOOOOOKED!
I start off with a base of thin crispy fries and cover them in finely shredded jack cheese and then pile on a mound of my sweet and spicy Korean Beef and then top that with a cabbage and carrot-based coleslaw made with a creamy sesame ginger sauce and then don’t forget about that spicy sriracha drizzled over the top to give it a kick. The flavors are so freaking good, I tell ya! Mmmmm… mmmmm… mmmmmmmmm!
I have actually started serving this as a meal in my house with each person getting their own plate of loaded fries (yes, loaded fries as a meal, it even has most of the food groups) but you could absolutely make one big pile of loaded fries and share them with friends as an appetizer or shared plate.
Note: The sesame oil and ginger paste go in both the Korean beef as well as the creamy sesame ginger sauce so pay close attention when preparing.
INGREDIENTS
bag of frozen french fries
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tbsp & 1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger paste, divided
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
salt and pepper
3 c green cabbage, shredded
1/2 c carrots, shredded
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 c milk
2 c jack cheese, shredded
Sriracha sauce
2 green onions, chopped
sesame seeds
STEPS
Bake or fry the French fries according to the package directions.
While the fries are baking, cook the ground beef over medium high heat breaking it apart as it cooks.
Once the beef is cooked through, drain off most of the fat.
Add in the brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the ginger paste, red peppers, salt, and pepper.
Simmer over medium heat for a 4–5 minutes stirring occasionally.
While the beef is cooking, put the cabbage and carrots in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, white sugar, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, the other 1/2 teaspoon of ginger paste, and the milk to make the creamy sesame ginger sauce.
Toss about 3/4 of the creamy sesame ginger sauce with the cabbage and carrots and set aside the rest to drizzle over the top.
When the fries are done transfer them to the plates.
Top each pile of fries with the jack cheese, cooked Korean beef, and the coleslaw.
Drizzle the remaining creamy sesame ginger sauce and sriracha sauce over the top.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and finish off with green onions.
Yee haw! It is time to round up the family for another installment of Family Theme Night. This week I am giving you all the deets you need to throw together a Country Hoedown for the family. Until I sat down and started planning out our own menu for a western themed feast, I had NO idea how many recipes I actually had on my blog that leant themselves to this theme. A western theme is always a great reason to fire up the BBQ but if you are not the grilling type, or you want something that can be done in the kitchen, don’t worry! I still have so many great recipes for you to try. Just check out the fabulous list I compiled for you below.
For our western night we had fun doing target practice with Nerf guns and playing cards. We sipped on good ol’ fashioned root beer and drank Knock You Off Your Saddle Lemonade (recipe coming soon!) from mason jars. I danced to country music in my kitchen while cooking my Jalapeño Popper Mac N’ Cheese in a cast iron skillet and served it up in a metal pie dish with some of my homemade chili, corn on the cob, and ribs. And then of course finished it off with some cherry pie, because why not. I am still working that meal off but it was so worth it!
If you do participate in any of the theme nights please be sure to post your pics and tag me on Instagram @DivaDiCucina and use the hashtag #DivasThemeNight. I would love to see how you and your family incorporate any of the themes and put your own twist on them. Please also share any other ideas you have or links to other country or western themed recipes you enjoy in the comments below.
I hope you have as much fun with this as my family and I!
FOOD IDEAS
Click on the name of the food item below to be directed to a page with that recipe. Please note some of these link to recipes shared by other awesome food bloggers which will redirect you to their sites.
Unless you have been living under a rock these past few weeks, you may have seen posts about Dalgona Coffee, the viral coffee drink popping up all over the internet. Dalgona Coffee is a whipped coffee drink that started in Korea and has taken the internet by storm. After seeing the beautiful drink posted to my friend’s social media I knew I had to give it a try. After all, it has been about 5 weeks since my last Starbucks drink so I have just been drinking the good ol’ drip and this looked like something I could pull off at home relatively quickly and easily.
You essentially just whip together instant coffee, sugar, and hot water until it becomes a beautiful fluffy little cloud of sweetened coffee and put that over some iced milk. While most of the recipes call for instant coffee I am a girl who likes REALLY dark and bold coffee so I went with instant espresso instead. It’s the Italian in me! Let me just say, it gave me perfect little mid-day jolt I needed.
Note: The total time to prepare is about 3 minutes. Way quicker than if I got my espresso machine out and fired it up.
INGREDIENTS 2 tbsp instant coffee or espresso
1–2 tbsp sugar (depends how sweet you like it)
2 tbsp hot water
milk (or milk substitute of choice)
ice
cinnamon or sweetened cocoa to sprinkle on top (optional)
STEPS
In a mixing bowl, combine the instant coffee or espresso, sugar, and water.
Using a stand-up mixer or hand mixer on medium speed, beat together until it is nice and fluffy and holds some shape. (Took me about 3 minutes.)
Fill a glass about half way up with ice and milk.
Add the whipped coffee to the glass and finish with some cinnamon or sweetened cocoa.
I don’t know about you, but my family is going through some serious baseball withdrawals right now. In early April we were supposed to be in LA celebrating my husband’s birthday and cheering on our boys in blue down in Dodger Stadium. This time of year, I am supposed to be carting my kid around to late night baseball practices and be spending my weekends in the bleachers cheering him on. But we are obviously not, and we are trying our best to be okay with that. It is in everyone’s best interest that we are instead, safe at home. So why not make the best of it and satisfy those ball park cravings from the comfort of our own home.
For the second installment of Family Theme Night we went with a “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” theme and I’m not gonna lie, it was a pretty fantastic way to spend Friday. The best part of all, it was simple and cheap. You do not have to spend a fortune and spend hours prepping to incorporate a family theme night into your week.
We had some popcorn, lemonade, a hot dog bar, and watched Little Big League while sitting in lawn chairs in our living room. It was anything but fancy but my guys LOVED it! It was the perfect ending to another week in quarantine.
If you do participate in any of the theme nights please be sure to post your pics and tag me on Instagram @DivaDiCucina and use the hashtag #DivasThemeNight. I would love to see how you and your family incorporate any of the themes and put your own twist on them. Please also share any other ideas you have or links to other baseball themed recipes you enjoy in the comments below.
I hope you have as much fun with this as my family and I!
FOOD IDEAS Click on the name of the food item below to be directed to a page with that recipe. Please note some of these link to recipes shared by other awesome food bloggers which will redirect you to their sites.
Panzanella salad is essentially just an Italian tomato and bread salad. This is one of my all-time favorite summertime dishes. It is so easy and comes together in minutes. You can make this with pretty much any tomatoes, just make sure they are juicy and ripe. Heirloom are always a good safe bet. Traditional panzanella salads don’t have mozzarella but I am a girl who LOVES her cheese. Call me a rebel. This salad is all about taking simple ingredients and bringing them together to create a fresh and flavorful dish perfect for those warm spring and summer nights out on the patio.
Note: This salad pairs perfectly with grilled steak and some red wine. My favorite is the Rombauer Vineyards Barbera.
INGREDIENTS
4 c tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c fresh basil, chopped
1/4 c shallots, thinly sliced
8 oz mini mozzarella balls
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic, minced
4 c sour dough bread, cut into cubes
1 tbsp olive oil
balsamic glaze
salt and pepper
STEPS
Place your chopped tomatoes, basil, shallots, and mozzarella balls in a large bowl.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat and add garlic cooking until the garlic is nice and fragrant.
Add the bread cubes to the skillet and toss to coat in the melted garlic butter.
Toast the bread cubes on all sides until they are golden and crispy on the outside.
Add the toasted bread cubes to the bowl.
Toss the “salad” and season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and finish with some balsamic glaze.
Okay, here we go, first recipe post of 2020! I feel like it should be something super extreme and mind blowing since you have all been waiting for so long but here we are in the middle of a pandemic and that just seems unrealistic. How are you all doing? Are you cooking at home more than ever? I know I am. I’m trying to use this as an opportunity to eat at home more and save some moolah.
These pork tacos were one of the first meals I made when we went into official “lock down” a couple of weeks ago. When all this really started I did an inventory of what we had in our box freezer and noticed we had TONS of ground pork so I wanted to do something different with that. Ground pork is just not a typical protein to cook with since it has such a different flavor compared to ground beef or ground turkey.
Not to go tooting my own horn or anything, buuuuuut these turned out so freaking good! There are so many great flavors wrapped up in the tortilla. You have the sweet corn salsa, the tangy cilantro lime crema, and then the savory pork cooked in a tomato sauce that has a nice little kick to it thanks to the jalapeño. Nothing too crazy heat wise, my ten-year-old chowed down on them. If you are looking to spice up your typical “Taco Tuesday” give these a try.
Hang in there folks! We are all in this together! Huge virtual hugs (and more recipes) coming your way! xoxox—Diva di Cucina
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CORN SALSA
1 tbsp olive oil
15.25 oz canned corn
2 tbsp red onion, finely chopped
1/3 c cilantro, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CILANTRO LIME CREMA
1/3 c sour cream
2 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp water
INGREDIENTS FOR THE PORK
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground pork
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
1/4 c red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced
6 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp cumin
1/3 c water
salt and pepper
OTHER INGREDIENTS
tortillas (I loved these with white corn tortillas)
cotija cheese
cilantro, chopped
STEPS FOR CORN SALSA
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat and add the corn.
Cook the corn for about 5 minutes stirring every minute or so.
Transfer the corn to a medium sized bowl and add the remaining corn salsa ingredients.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir and set aside.
STEPS FOR THE CILANTRO LIME CREMA
In a small bowl, whisk together all the cilantro lime crema ingredients and set aside.
STEPS FOR THE PORK
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan the corn was cooked in and turn up to medium-high heat.
Add the pork to the skillet and break apart using a spatula.
Once the pork has started to brown, add in the jalapeño, red onion, and garlic.
Continue to cook until the pork is all brown and cooked through and the onion and peppers are tender.
Mix in the tomato paste, cumin, and water and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cook for another 2–3 minutes allowing the sauce to thicken up.
TACO ASSEMBLY
Warm up your tortillas and top each one with a scoop of the meat, a scoop of the corn salsa, a drizzle of the cream, some cotija cheese crumbles on top, and finish it off with a sprinkling of cilantro.
Hello there my lovely followers! It’s been a minute since I’ve posted. Okay, more like 15 months. That is just far too long but as you can imagine, life happens. First and foremost, I wanted to let you know I am in fact alive and well. I have been busy working full time managing a design studio, doing lots of freelance design work, carting my son around to sports which he does about 10 months out of the year, and squeezing in as much family time as I can during our down time.
But here I am, dealing with all the craziness that has come along with the COVID-19 pandemic. I am currently safe in my home with my family. My husband and I are both thankfully still working (from home), and trying to also juggle the schooling of our 10-year-old son. With so many events and youth sports cancelled, I find myself with more free time than I ever remember having. (At least since becoming a mom.) I am trying to make the best of it and just enjoying playing games with my family, doing puzzles, binge watching shows, finally finding the time again to get back to running a few days a week, sitting down and having at least two meals a day with my family, and in all that, trying to carve out a little extra time to get back to blogging. I am determined to let some good come out of all of this.
I absolutely love sharing recipes with all of you, so much so that I am literally getting teary as I am trying to post this. They are happy tears though. I hope that I can get you at least an email a week to bring a little sunshine your way.
So, what better post to come back with than, how on earth I manage my busy schedule and getting meals on the table. It is all about meal planning! It is the only way I can get through the week. When people ask me how I manage to cook as much as I do, I tell them it is all about meal planning. It seems like such a simple task but I realize so many people don’t even know where to begin. So, consider this my beginners guide to meal planning.
I am going to share with you my tips, tricks, and even a handy shopping list you can print and use at home. This is the same one I use myself every week. I have it organized by categories that follow the flow of most grocery stores. I absolutely hate it when I feel like a pin ball at the grocery store bouncing back and forth from one end of the store to the other. Organization and order is key!
It has been about four years of me using this list and I noticed that as soon as I started spending the 30 minutes doing my meal planning each weekend I was saving so much money by not eating out as often and not buying things I didn’t need, I reduced our wasted food to almost nothing, and best of all, eliminated so much extra stress! It is an easy routine that takes some time to adopt but so worth it once you get into the groove.
MY TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MEAL PLANNING
Print out several of my shopping lists at once. I do about 10 at a time. You probably won’t be as consistent if you are only printing out one at a time. If they are nearby and ready to go, you are more likely to use them.
If you find yourself running low on or finishing off any items, add that to the shopping list throughout the week. For example, if my husband finishes off the oregano, he just writes it on the shopping list clipped to the fridge. This helps keep you stocked on the essentials and you aren’t trying to rack your brain trying to remember what it was you finished off earlier in the week when you do go to sit down and write out your list.
When you are ready to do your planning for the week, look at your calendar and write in your evening commitments so you know what you need to plan around. If you have to work late, or your child has a game, plan to do quick and easy dinners those nights or maybe even takeout.
Clean out your fridge each weekend of anything that has gone bad or you know you won’t use. It is good to know what you do have in there.
Do a quick inventory of what you have that you need to use. For example, if I have half a bag of shredded cabbage or a handful of tortillas from a few days ago that I know will go bad if I don’t use it soon, I try to plan a meal around that early in the week. This helps you cut down on waste and can save you money.
When doing your planning, look at what recipes take common ingredients. For example, last Sunday I wanted to make pork tacos for dinner and those took cotija cheese, chopped red onions, and sliced jalapeños. I decided to make juevos rancheros for breakfast that day since they shared so many of the same ingredients. I was able to prep and chop all my ingredients for dinner while I was doing it for breakfast so come dinner time, I already had all my ingredients ready to go and I got two meals out of those ingredients.
Use leftover ingredients from one meal as part of the next one. I will cook twice as much broccoli as I need for a dinner, and then make a broccoli and egg quiche the next day or grill extra chicken for dinner on Sunday, to go on my salads for lunch throughout the week.
Plan your meals around seasonal produce. You will get the best quality ingredients and the best prices.
Make a shopping list every weekend for the week ahead. Once you have all your meals planned for the week, start filling in the bottom portion with what grocery items you need to make them. Having an organized and written shopping list keeps you on track at the grocery store. You are more likely to buy items you don’t need and spend more money if you go to the store and just try and wing it. Plus, you then only need to make one trip to the store a week.
Keep your dinner menu for the week on the fridge and check it each day. That way you remember if you need to defrost any meat, get anything marinated, or load up the crock pot before leaving for the day.
PREPPING FOR THE WEEK
Chopping and slicing can quickly become one of the most time-consuming parts of any meal. If you have a busy week ahead, consider washing and prepping all your produce on Sunday. I will wash and chop broccoli, onions, peppers, zucchini, pretty much any veggie ahead of time and then just put them in Ziploc bags in the produce drawer of the fridge.
If you have a recipe that calls for a marinade, combine all your marinade ingredients in a mason jar ahead of time. Before you leave for work in the morning just pour the marinade into a Ziploc bag with the meat.
If you are making a crockpot meal that calls for seasoning and liquid ingredients, combine all those together in a Tupperware or mason jar over the weekend or the night before so that in the morning you just have to dump it over the meat into the crockpot. I do not want to be spending my morning trying to open cans and measure seasonings when I am already running late for work.
OTHER TID BITS
Make a double batch of any of your recipes that freeze well. One for now and one for later. My enchiladas freeze awesome! I will make a triple batch, eat one batch fresh and freeze two more. It isn’t that much more work to just double a recipe if you are already taking the time to make it once. Then later on you have a quick dinner that you can just toss in the oven. Soups, lasagna, and baked pasta casseroles also freeze great.
Keep foil baking dishes on hand. They are great for your freezer meals! I love the 8” x 8” square foil dishes. They hold 4 enchiladas perfectly and slide right into a gallon Ziploc bag.
Purchase meat in bulk and separate into meal size portions. Huge money saver!
Invest in a FoodSaver so you can package items in a way that allows them to last a long time.
Click on the above image to save a printable pdf of my shopping list.
Is there anything I missed or do you have any advice? I always love hearing ideas from other people. Please feel free to share in the comments below.
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