Asparagus Gruyere Tart

This time last year: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Pancakes (2012)

Less is more.

You’ve heard it before- “Less is more.”

However, how often do we actually remember that?’

I have a hunch, that more often than not, the wish for less work and more yummies comes to mind around the dinner hour, when we find ourselves hungry and not in the mood to spend hours in the kitchen.

I feel you there, and thus am very happy to share this simple and scrumptious meal!

This recipe, is a perfect example of less is more, done perfectly. With only four ingredients, and one baking sheet, you can have a scrumptious meal or appetizer on you hands in mere minutes.

Not a fan of asparagus? Feel free to switch out these veggies with something else, such as sliced tomato, mushroom, or onion. You can’t go wrong, but remember, sometimes, less is more 🙂

Happy eating, and come back soon!

Ingredients:

• 1 rectangular pizza dough or frozen puff pastry
• 2 cups (5 1/2 ounces) Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 1 1/2 pounds asparagus, rinsed and trimmed
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 ˚ F, or to temperature directed on frozen dough container.
2. Roll out the dough out into a rectangle, folding the edges up slightly.
3. Place the pastry on a baking sheet, and with a sharp knife, lightly score the dough.  Bake until golden, for about 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pastry dough from the oven, and evenly sprinkle with Gruyere. Arrange the asparagus spears across the tart shell, alternating ends and tips. Brush the asparagus with oil, and season with salt and pepper.
5. Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, serve warm and enjoy!

Notes and Tips!:

• Source: Martha Stewart
• Like this recipe? Try these other delicious treats from A Rented Kitchen! (Recipe links below photos):

Sweet Potato Pizza with Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese, and Kale

Fil-Wrapped Asparagus (with Two dipping sauces!)

White Bean, Brussels Sprouts, and Pomegranate Tart

• Filo-Wrapped Asparagus (with Two dipping sauces!)
• Sweet Potato Pizza with Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese, and Kale
• White Bean, Brussels Sprouts, and Pomegranate Tart

Strawberry Goat Cheese Quesadillas with Mint and Caramelized Onion

The World’s Most Delicious (and EASY!) Chocolate Cake (2014)

I don’t know about you all, or if this is just a Georgia thing, but there are strawberries Everywhere! It’s awesome!

For the last few week I have been eating strawberries like they are going out of style, and I have no intention to stop.

My normal method of eating strawberries is to slice them up and put them in my morning oatmeal or on top of a bagel. However, I have grown to really love strawberries in the main course and in side dishes. People do not expect to see strawberries in their wraps or in their salad, but I have never received a complaint!

So, if you’re feeling a little springy, healthy, and like trying something new, give these delicious quesadillas a try! Strawberries on the dinner table or in the lunchbox will make everybody happy. 🙂

Come back soon!

Love, Sarah

Ingredients*:

• 1 yellow onion
• 1 box of button mushrooms
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon Black Cherry Balsamic Vinegar (or regular BV)*
• 1 pint of strawberries, rinsed and sliced thin
• 5 sprigs of mint leaves, rinsed and diced
• 6 ounces honey goat cheese
• 10 whole wheat tortillas* (Use gluten free quesadillas if needed!)

Directions:

1. Slice the onion and mushrooms into small strips/ bite size pieces.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and sauté, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and beginning to brown. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, and cook for another few minutes until the onions look slightly caramelized. Remove from heat.
3. Assemble the quesadillas by spreading a layer of goat cheese on a tortillas. Top with sliced strawberries, diced mint leaves, and a hearty spoonful of the onion/mushroom mixture.
4. Place in a large frying pan over medium heat, and top with another goat-cheese spread tortilla. (Do not use oil or non-stick spray! The oil will make the tortilla soggy and ruin the quesadilla!). Cook for a few minutes on each side, remove from the skillet, and cut with a pizza cutter.
5. Serve warm and enjoy!

 

Notes and Tips!:

• I made these quesadillas for a potluck, which is why there are 10 tortillas listed. Feel free to half the ingredient list to fit your own serving needs!
• Looking for Black Cherry Balsamic Vinegar? I got mine at a specialty Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil store in Kansas City, however grocery stores such as Whole Foods also carry a variety of vinegars, and any fruit flavored balsamic vinegar will have a similar affect! If all else fails, regular BV will also work well!
• Like this recipe? Try these other spring dishes from ‘A Rented Kitchen’ (recipe links found below photos!):

Tangy Strawberry Tempeh Balsamic Sandwich

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Overnight Oats

Strawberry Poppy Seed Kale Salad

• Tangy Strawberry Balsamic Tempeh Sandwich
• Chocolate Covered Strawberry Overnight Oats
• Strawberry Poppy Seed Kale Salad

Teriyaki Citrus Vegetable Kabobs

This Time Last Year: Black Bean Fajita Soup (2013)

In fourth grade I had to present a ‘how to’ project to my class. Students were doing presentaitons on how to fold clothes, how to plant a flower, how to hold a baby without dropping it. Comforting life skills to have.

My early food loving self decided to do a how-to project on the preparation and creation of fruit kabobs! Simple, delicious, and automatically rewarding.

Several years later, my favorite kabob recipe has shifted and grown more complicated than banana chunks and strawberries pushed onto a bamboo stick, but, my love for kabobs stays the same.

This recipe is one of my favorite dinner dishes because it is so versitble to the individual’s taste, extremly healthy, very flavorful, and quite simple! Using an oven to bake these kabobs makes for a cleaner cooking experience than using a grill. However, if you are a big grilling fan, veggie kabobs are absolutely fantastic hot off the grill!

Give these kabobs a try. They’ll taste soo good you won’t even realize how healthy, gluten free, and vegan they are. You’re welcome 🙂

Marinade Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4 Tablespoons orange juice
• Lemon pepper seasoning to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (more or less to taste)

Vegetable Ingredients:

• Kabob sticks
• 1 fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
• 2 green peppers
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes
• 1 box button mushrooms, rinsed and stems removed
• 1 large yellow squash
• 1 zucchini

Directions:

1. Wash all of the vegetables, and chop into bite-size chunks and pieces
2. In a large bowl, combine the marinade ingredients and stir well.
3. Transfer the marinade and vegetables to a large sealable Tupperware, and toss the vegetables in the marinade. Allow to marinade for 1-3 hours, regularly repositioning the vegetables to allow even contact with the marinade. Meanwhile, soak the kabob sticks in water.
4. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F and arrange the vegetables on the kabob sticks. Position the kabobs in one even layer on a large baking sheet with a small rim.
5. Pour the remaining marinade over the kabobs and bake for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
6. Set aside any remaining marinade to pour over the vegetables while serving, if desired.

Notes and Tips!:

• Source: A Rented Kitchen
• If you like this dish, try these other entrees from ‘A Rented Kitchen’ (Recipe link found below):

Teriyaki Tofu and Pineapple Bake

Mediterranean Tempeh with Apricots and Capers

Marinated and Roasted Eggplant with Goat Cheese and Smoked Almonds

• Teriyaki Tofu and Pineapple Bake
• Mediterranean Tempeh with Apricots and Capers
• Marinated and Roasted Eggplant with Smoked Almonds and Goat Cheese

Baked Acorn Squash with Walnuts and Cranberries

For someone who loves and uses sweet potatoes as much as I do, I have been seriously neglecting some of the other delicious fall/winter root vegetables. For example- the acorn squash. (Where is the love, Sarah?!)

Not cooking with acorn squash sooner was a huuuuge mistake, for it turns out that acorn squash is all kinds of delicious! While there are dozens of ways to use acorn squash, this recipe in particular was not only delicious, but incredibly easy! If you happen to have an acorn squash in your house at this moment, start preheating your oven now! It’s worth it, and the prep time will only take you 5 minutes!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I have easily imagined this recipe serving as an entrée dish for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. Surround this delicious squash with green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato biscuits, and you will have one incredibly delicious vegetarian meal, a very full plate, and zero complaints about a missing turkey!

On that note, make sure you check back in a few days for my very own ‘Build Your Own Vegetarian Thanksgiving’ post.

Tis’ the season to be jolly! (and go green!)

With love,

A Rented Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 Acorn Squash, cut in half
• ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• ½ cup cranberries, frozen or fresh
• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375F.
2. In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, cranberries, and brown sugar. Mix well to combine.
3. Rinse the acorn squash and cut in half.
4. Using a spoon, scoop the seeds out of each half and discard.
5. Using a fork, poke a few holes in the bottom and top of each squash half, and then evenly divide the fruit and nut mixture between two halves of the squash.
6. Top each haf with 1 Tablespoon of butter, and place side by side in a square baking pan.
7. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes- 1 hour 30 minutes. (Done with a fork can be easily inserted).
8. Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes and Tips:

• Yield: 2 Servings
• Vegan? Either substitute vegan butter, or drizzle with a little bit of honey/agave.
• Source: Let the Baking Begin!
• Like this recipe?! Check out these other delicious fall favorites from ‘A Rented Kitchen’! (Recipe links found below photos)

Homemade Butternut Squash Soup

Honey Roasted Root Vegetables

Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes with Blackberry Salsa

• Homemade Butternut Squash Soup
• Honey Roasted Root Vegetables
• Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes with Blackberry Salsa

Black Bean and Mango Enchiladas

It’s a Thursday. There’s nothing really special about today- it’s overcast, starting to feel like fall, my daily routine is all the same. There is nothing really special about today, except that today I am fasting.

Fasting is not something I frequently do. In case you were curious, I really love food. I love cooking it, and I love eating it. LOVE eating. Therefore, fasting does not frequently enter the equation.

The reasons for fasting are widespread and can be unique to each person. Thus, the reactions and impact fasting can have on people varies with each person.

I have fasted a few times before, and while never easy, I have learned to appreciate the experience. There are not many people in this world who have never been forced to experience hunger because they do not have enough. I am one of those people, one of those people who has always had access to food.

However, today, as I enter another hour without food, I am reminded of what it feels like to be empty. I am reminded of the physical side effects of hunger- dizziness and exhaustion, and of the emotional instability that can often tag along with hunger (affectionately called being ‘hangry’).

I am not telling you all this information to suggest that you should fast, that is a personal choice! However, I am sharing this with you, because fasting without fail, makes me appreciate food in a deeper way.

Thus, I am so happy to share this recipe with you, knowing that a few weeks ago I had the privilege of digging into these delicious enchiladas, letting that food nourish my body, and sharing that meal at a table with people I love. There are truly few better things than that.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 ½ cups pitted, peeled and chopped fresh mangoes (between 2-3 whole mangoes)
• 22 ounces canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• ¼ cup minced pickled jalapenos
• 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 15 to 20 ounces canned mild red enchilada sauce
• 10 whole wheat flour tortillas (OR corn tortillas if gluten free!)
• Optional toppings: ½ cup sour cream, 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with a thin layer of cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the two cheeses (3 cups in total) and set aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the onions and bell pepper, and sauté for five minutes, or until softened.
4. Add the mangoes, black beans, jalapeno, 1 Tablespoon of lime juice, and salt to the pan. Mix well and cook until the ingredients are heated through.
5. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the cilantro and two cups of cheese.
6. On a clean surface, spread out each tortilla one by one. Spoon 1 Tablespoon of the enchilada sauce on the tortilla, and then top with approximately ½ cup of the mango bean mixture. Spread the mixture evenly, roll the tortilla up, and place seam down in the baking dish.
7. Once all tortillas are assembled and in the baking dish, mix the remaining 2 Tablespoons of lime juice with the remaining enchilada sauce, and pour over the top of the enchiladas. Top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
8. Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray, tightly wrap the baking dish, and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce lightly bubbles.
9. Optional: top each enchilada with a dollop of sour cream and a slice of avocado!

Notes and Tips!:

• Vegan? Use corn tortillas, and substitute in vegan cheese and avocado instead of sour cream!
• Source: Peace Meals by The Junior League of Houston, Inc.
• Love this recipe? Check out these other delicious Southwestern dishes from ‘A Rented Kitchen’ (Recipe links found below!)

Chipotle Tofu Tacos with Cilantro Quinoa and Mango

Southwestern Eggrolls

Spiced Black Bean and Corn Tacos

• Chipotle Tofu Tacos with Cilantro Quinoa and Mango
• Southwestern Eggrolls
• Spiced Black Bean and Corn Tacos