Lemon Thyme Mushrooms

I made two New Year's resolutions this year. I didn't blog about them because they're not really a big deal (resolutions aren't really my "thing"), but they were as follows: (1) relax, chill out, and stop worrying about stuff so much; and (2) eat more vegetables. Since the second is a bit easier to achieve than the first for a Type A personality like me, I've been trying out a lot of vegetable side dish recipes lately. 
So, you're probably going to see lots of veggies popping up on Spirals & Spatulas in the future (let's get that "Side Dishes" section of the Recipe page filled up, shall we?). Here's a simple-but-fancy (and yummy) side dish for all you mushroom-lovers out there! I just serve it as a side, but you could easily mix it in with some pasta, or put it sliced of toasted bread as an appetizer... so many possibilities!

Recipe adapted from here.
Ingredients: 1 lemon 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme 3 tbsp olive oil 1 pound mushrooms (I use like 2/3 lb cremini and 1/3 lb shiitake, but whatever's fresh at your grocery store will do!) 4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese salt and pepper
Directions: 1. Pre-heat oven to 400.  2. Zest the lemon. Combine the zest, time, and olive oil in a bowl and mix until combined.  3. Clean and slice the mushrooms. Place them on a lightly-greased baking sheet (grease it with olive oil spray if you have it!) in a single layer.  4. Drizzle half of the olive oil mixture over the mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. 5. Bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the mushrooms. Bake for another 5 minutes. Transfer the baked mushrooms to a bowl and mix in the other half of the olive oil mixture and some lemon juice (just a little from that lemon you zested earlier). Enjoy!

(mushrooms, cleaned and sliced!)

(single layer on the baking sheet - I use foil for easy cleanup)

(olive oil mixture)

(all done!)

(mixing in the rest of the olive oil mixture and some lemon juice)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Curried Vegetable Soup with Pita Bread

I'm taking today to share some of my favorite soup recipes, and I'm sharing a new one as well! Before we get to the Curried Vegetable Soup, here are some of my absolute favorite soup dishes:

Creamy Chicken and Corn Chowder

Zuppa Toscana

Slow Cooker Taco Chili

Salmon Chowder

Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Puff Pastry Biscuits
And now for my newest favorite, Curried Vegetable Soup with Curry Pita Bread!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:

3 cups cauliflower florets

14oz can unsweetened coconut milk

14oz can chicken broth

1 tbsp curry powder + extra for sprinkling on pita bread

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

ground black pepper (to taste)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 cups frozen peas & carrots blend

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (optional)

5 pita bread rounds, cut into wedges

1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven broiler. 

2. In a large pot or skillet, combine cauliflower, coconut milk, broth, spices, and cilantro. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Let simmer for 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.

3. Stir in frozen peas and carrots and chicken. Cook, uncovered, until heated through.

4. Place pita wedges on a large baking sheet. Brush both sides with olive oil, and sprinkle with curry powder. Broil for 4 minutes, turning once, until golden. 

5. Serve soup with pita wedges. 

(my grocery store only sells GIANT cauliflower lately)

(cilantro!)

(spices and cauliflower and liquid ingredients)

(ready for the rest of the veggies!)

(adding peas and carrots and chicken)

(ready for the oven!)

(Mmm, broiled curry pita bread!)

(finished pita bread)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Fried Rice

Fried rice is sort of a comfort food for me. I just love the way Chinese restaurants do it with a little bit of egg and veggies and stuff in it. Delicious! This recipe is lightened up to be healthier than takeout, but it's still delicious! 

Recipe adapted from here.
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked brown rice 1 chicken breast (raw), diced  1/2 cup frozen mixed veggies 2 green onions, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 2 eggs 3 tsp sesame oil, divided 2 tbsp soy sauce salt and pepper
Directions: 1. Whisk eggs with 1 tsp sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside. 2. Heat 1 tsp sesame oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and add it to the heated skillet. Stir fry until cooked through and remove from pan. Set aside. 3. Heat remaining tsp sesame oil in the skillet. Add mixed veggies and green onions. Stir fry until tender, about three minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.  4. Push vegetables to one side of the skillet and add egg mixture to the other side. Scramble eggs. 5. Add cooked chicken, rice, and soy sauce to the skillet. Mix to combine.

(cooking rice)

(mixing eggs + oil)

(chopped chicken breast)

(heating sesame oil)

(cooked chicken!)

(stir frying veggies)

(adding the eggs)

(eggs + veggies done)

(adding rice and chicken back in)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Brownie Walnut Pie

Sometimes you just need a quick-and-tasty dessert. This recipe is perfect for that, and it's kind of fun too (because who woulda thunk to make brownies in pie form?). Once you see how easy this is, you may want to add it to your Christmas baking list! 

Recipe adapted from here.
Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped 1 refrigerated pie crust 3 eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup flour 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup chopped walnuts chocolate sauce and extra walnuts (or whatever you want to use as a topping)
Directions: 1. In a small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over very low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool for 20 minutes. 2. Preheat oven to 350. Roll out pie crust and place it in a 9-inch pie plate. Crimp edges. 3. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add in sugar, flour, and vanilla, and mix until combined.  4. Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture and nuts. 5. Pour filling into the pie crust. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. 6. Top with a chocolate sauce drizzle and sprinkle with walnuts (or do whatever sort of topping you want... strawberries? Plain with vanilla ice cream?). 

(butter and chopped chocolate)

(pie crust!)

(starting the filling...)

(adding nuts...)

(ready for the oven!)

(all done!)

(mmm... brownies in a pie!)

(chocolate drizzle + walnuts)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Pockets

First of all, a friend of mine sneakily took my computer and published an interesting post on the blog yesterday while he was at our house. So if you happened to see "my" list of 12 things I loved about 2012... just know that it wasn't actually me. Haha. I deleted it pretty quickly, but I'm sure a person or two saw it in the meantime and was very confused. 
Now that we're clear on that, let's talk about this yummy recipe! It's like the delicious version of Hot Pockets. I know it seems like Hot Pockets and the word "delicious" don't mix, but these really are yummy and they're perfect for making a bunch and then eating them one at a time for quick lunches!  

Recipe adapted from here.
Ingredients: 12 oz fully-cooked chicken sausage links, sliced thinly 1 lb broccoli (about one bunch), cut into small florets 1 green bell pepper, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp olive oil salt and pepper, to taste 8 oz grated provolone cheese 1 1/2 pounds pizza dough
Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 425. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the sausage, broccoli, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes in the oven (until the broccoli is tender), stirring half-way through. Let cool. 2. Transfer cooled sausage mixture to a medium bowl. Add the cheese and toss to combine. 3. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. On a floured surface, roll and stretch each piece into a 7-inch circle. 4. Spoon the broccoli mixture onto one side of each dough circle (about 1/2 cup each), leaving a half-inch border around the edge of the circle.  5. Brush water on the border of each dough circle and fold them in half to form semi-circles. Press the edges firmly to seal.  6. Place the pockets on a baking sheet and cut slits in the top of each one. Bake at 425 for 18-24 minutes, or until golden brown. ((To freeze and serve later, freeze the unbaked pockets on the baking sheet until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag. To bake, place a frozen pocket on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes.))

(ready to be roasted!)

(after roasting)

(cooled sausage mixture)

(adding in cheese)

(finished filling mixture)

(dough circles -- if it's imperfect like this, it's totally okay!)

(ready to be folded and sealed!)

(pockets ready for the oven)

(all done!)

Ta-da! 

Enjoy!