Red + Green Salad with Apricot Dressing + Pork Croutons

Cooking with veggies doesn’t mean cooking only with veggies!

In my dishes, the meat may not always be plentiful, but it’s still impactful!

Here we’re breading pieces of pork to pan-fried crunchy perfection…

Throwing in some crisp greens, apricots, and tomatoes and wrapping it all in a sweet and tangy dressing…

Then adding those hot little pork croutons for a perfect complement to the cold salad!

Red + Green Salad with Apricot Dressing + Pork Croutons

makes: 2 large or 4 small servings, with about ¾ cup Apricot Dressing

Apricot Dressing:

• ½ cup apricot jam or peach jam
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Zest of half a lime
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

Pork Croutons:

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ pound boneless pork chop, cut into bite-size pieces
• ¾ cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

Red + Green Salad:

• 1 small head red leaf lettuce, coarsely chopped
• 1 small head green leaf lettuce, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium beefsteak tomatoes, cut into bite-size wedges
• Half a red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 apricots or peaches, cut into bite-size pieces

Apricot Dressing:

1. Whisk together the jam, vinegar, mustard, lime zest, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, mixing until well combined. Set aside.

Pork Croutons:

1. Whisk together the flour, ⅛ teaspoon of the salt, and ⅛ teaspoon of the pepper in a shallow bowl. Whisk together the egg, water, remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt, and remaining ⅛ teaspoon pepper in a second shallow bowl. Place the bread crumbs in a third shallow bowl. (If you haven’t got your salad ingredients cut up, do it now!)
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While it’s heating, toss the pork in the flour and then lift out the pieces, shaking off the excess flour, and transfer them to the egg mixture. Stir them to coat with the egg. Lift out the pieces, letting the excess egg drip off, and then transfer them to the bread crumbs; stir to make sure all sides are coated with crumbs.
3. Transfer the pork to the skillet and cook until crispy brown on all sides and cooked through—about 5 minutes. Remove the croutons to a paper towel to drain.

Red + Green Salad:

1. Place the red lettuce, green lettuce, tomatoes, apricots, and onions in a large bowl; gently toss to mix.
2. Add half the dressing to the salad and gently toss until combined, add more dressing as desired. Divide the salad among 4 small or 2 large plates and top each serving with warm croutons.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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Kale Egg Cups

I’ve always liked cute things: kittens, tiny travel-sized toiletries, my nieces in dance recitals, and of course, I married one heck of a cute guy.

And my food cannot be left off this list!

Considering these Kale Egg Cups literally make people stop and say “how cute,” they definitely make the list.

And it gets even better—not only are they cute, but they are also flavorful, healthy, and easy to whip up.

You’re in store for one tasty breakfast that is special enough for company and easy enough for weekday meals.

And did I mention how CUTE they are?!

Kale Egg Cups

makes: 8 egg cups; serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 4 fully cooked breakfast sausage patties
• 8 large kale leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella
• 8 large eggs
• 8 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Place a medium saucepan of water over high heat so it comes to boiling. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease 8 cups in a muffin tin and set the tin aside. Chop the onion and bell pepper and cut the sausage patties into ½-inch pieces; set aside.
2. One at a time, hold each kale leaf by its stem and dip it into the boiling water until it turns bright green—5 seconds—then lay it in some paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.
3. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions, peppers, and salt and sauté until tender—about 5 minutes. Stir in the sausage and sauté just until it turns brown—2 to 3 minutes more. Remove the skillet from the heat.
4. One at a time, pat each kale leaf dry with a paper towel. Cut away its stem and then cut the leaf crosswise into 3 pieces. Line the bottom and sides of a greased muffin tin cup with the 3 pieces, overlapping them and making sure to cover the sides all the way up to the top.
5. Place 1 tablespoon of the mozzarella in each cup, top that with a spoonful of the vegetable and sausage mixture, making sure there is still room in the cup for an egg. Crack an egg into each cup and then sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the Parmesan over the egg. When all 8 cups are filled, place the muffin tin in the oven and bake until the eggs are set—15 to 17 minutes.
6. Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack to cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Then run a table knife around the inside edge of the cup to release anything that might be sticking. Gently lift out the kale egg cups and place 2 on each plate. Enjoy them hot!

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Shaved Asparagus + Prosciutto

My husband likes to eat low-carb—which is terrible!

Yes, I know it's good for me, and yes, someone like me who consumes carbs like a junkie could obviously use a break, but I just don't want to!

Especially when it comes to pizza!

But what if there was a pizza that was big on flavor yet low on carbs?

This is a game changer: Cauliflower Crust Pizza.

There is plenty of cheese, it still warms your belly—it just doesn't add to it—and you can get as creative as you want with the toppings.

The crust uses cauliflower instead of flour; anytime a substitution like that works without sacrificing taste, I’m on board!

In fact I'm the captain of that tasty ship!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Shaved Asparagus + Prosciutto

makes: One 10- to 12-inch pizza

Cauliflower Crust:

• 1 small head cauliflower (about 1 ½ pounds), broken into florets
• 1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg

Asparagus + Prosciutto Topping:

• 5 asparagus stalks (about 3 ounces)
• 1 Fresno chile
• 8 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• Zest of half a lemon
• Kosher salt
• 1 to 2 slices prosciutto
• Olive oil

Cauliflower Crust:

1. Place the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. You may need to stir as you go to make sure the bigger pieces don’t sit on the top. You should have about 4 cups.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the cauliflower in a large saucepan along with ½ inch of water. Cover and cook on medium-high until tender—5 to 7 minutes. Drain and let cool. When the cauliflower is cool enough to handle transfer it to a kitchen towel or piece of cheesecloth; roll up the cloth and twist and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Squeeze hard to get out all the excess water, this is crucial to getting a good crust. Once done you should have 1 to 1 ½ cups of dry cauliflower.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the cauliflower, mozzarella, oregano, garlic powder, and salt together. Add the egg and mix to combine. Don’t be worry if the mixture seems too wet and loose. Transfer the cauliflower mixture to the baking sheet and shape it into a 10- to 12-inch-diameter round, about ½-inch thick.
4. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the crust until golden brown—about 20 minutes. While it bakes, prepare the topping (below). When the crust is done, remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn the heat up to 475°F.
5. Spread the ricotta topping mixture over the crust. Scatter the asparagus and chiles over the top and then sprinkle them with a little salt and add a drizzle of olive oil. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake the pizza for 10 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, scatter the prosciutto over the top; cut into wedges and serve.

Asparagus + Prosciutto Topping:

1. Use a vegetable peeler to completely shave the asparagus spears into thin ribbons; place in a small bowl. Cut the chile crosswise into thin rounds. Stir together the ricotta, thyme, lemon zest, and ½ teaspoon salt in a second small bowl. Cut the prosciutto into ½-inch-wide strips.

Keep It Simple:

• Since you are spending a bit of time on the crust, you may want to spend less prepping the topping. Store bought pizza sauce or plain ricotta right out of the container both work as a great base for some veggies.
• Fresno chiles are fully ripe jalapenos and have a fruity heat. If you can't find them use any hot pepper, or skip and use red pepper flakes and sweet peppers instead.
• Prosciutto is an especially tasty form of cured and aged pork leg, but it can easily be replaced with ham, pancetta, or even cooked bacon.

50/50:

• With or without the prosciutto, this is a super satisfying pie. But if you don’t want one 50/50 pie, make 2 individual pizzas out of this recipe.

FF:

• The cauliflower crust will quickly become a staple in your home. Be sure to make extra so you have it on hand. Make the pie to completion except for the prosciutto, cool and freeze; when you’re ready to eat, bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes until hot and crisp; top with the prosciutto and serve. Or freeze the crusts with no topping, let thaw in the fridge, top and bake as instructed above.
• The more you process the cauliflower the less you'll see bits of cauliflower and the more it will look like a traditional crust.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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Quinoa Crust Cheese Pizzas

My kids have LOVED pizza since before they could even say “pizza!”

This obviously means that we have pizza once a week in our house (or, possibly four times a week?).

Often we go out to one of our local pizza places and then eat our slices in the park.

But lately I’ve been trying to find a version I can make at home that's a little healthier—but still satisfies our need for pizza!

These quinoa crust pizzas are remarkably easy.

You just cook up some quinoa and mix it with the eggs—which believe it or not—gives you a nice, sturdy crust.

If you're trying to understand how that wet mixture of quinoa, eggs, baking powder, and Italian seasoning forms a crust, you'll have to trust me.

It firms up so beautifully in the oven and is one of the most robust alternative-type crusts I've ever made.

This crust has a slightly wheat-y taste, which my kids don’t mind at all.

But if you have an extra picky eater, try making the crust on the thin side and loading on the toppings.

This will allow the focus to be more on the flavors of the sauce and cheese rather than the quinoa.

This is the kind of meal I love to make because you don’t feel like you're being healthy—you just feel like you're eating pizza!

These are also great to freeze so you have individual-sized pizzas ready to go anytime!

Quinoa Crust Cheese Pizzas

servings: Eighteen 4-inch pizzas

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups quinoa
• 6 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 cups pre-made pizza or tomato sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella (16 ounces)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the quinoa in a mesh strainer and then transfer it to a medium saucepan. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat; cover the pan and turn down the heat to maintain a simmer. Let the quinoa cook until it is tender—10 to 15 minutes, then transfer it to a medium bowl and let it cool.
2. Mix the eggs, baking powder, Italian seasoning, and salt in a small bowl. Then add this mixture to the cooled quinoa and stir to combine.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the quinoa onto it; flatten and shape it with your hands into 4-inch-diameter rounds (using about ¼ cup of dough for each round), ¼- to ½-inch thick.
4. Place the crusts in the oven and bake them until they are golden brown—about 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and top each with about 2 tablespoons of the pizza or tomato sauce, then 2 tablespoons of the cheese.
5. Return the pizzas to the oven until the cheese is melted—5 minutes more.

Notes:

• If your kids are weary of the quinoa crust, try adding some extra toppings so you have a lot of sauce and cheese and just a little crust in each bite. Another option is to make the crusts a little thinner.
• To Freeze: Let the crusts cool before adding the toppings; once cooled, add the toppings as in Step 4. Freeze the pizzas topped, but not baked. To heat from frozen, bake at 450°F until the cheese is melted and the crust is thawed through—7 to 10 minutes.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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