If you’ve been looking for the perfect mustard dip, here ya go…
I found this several years ago on foodnetwork.com. In my mind, I always thought it was a recipe by Ina Garten from The Barefoot Contessa – but it turns out I was wrong (it happens… sometimes).
Ever heard of Janet Johnston? Me either.
Whatevs. I love her recipe for this Parmesan mustard dip.
It packs a whole lot of mustard flavor from 3 different sources – whole grain mustard, Dijon, and ground mustard. The spiciness of the mustard is perfectly balanced out with a little sour cream and freshly grated Parmesan.
Creamy. Mustardy. Heaven.
This dip is usually served with fondue at my house, but you could use it for so many different things.
Try it simply by spreading it on your favorite crackers or pita bread. Serve it with a veggie plate – or even use it as a burger topping.
I just recently used this dip as kind of a “sauce” for a shrimp and quinoa dish.
You can try it with just about anything you like mustard with.
I hope you all had an awesome New Year’s Eve and are having a great start to 2013!
Bill and I celebrated NYE at home with a fondue party and these mouthwatering Smoked Salmon Cheese Balls. We like to stay pretty low key for all of the holiday festivities.
But boy, do we like to eat!
We usually make enough food for 12 people on NYE… if that tells you anything.
Aaaaaaaaaaand here’s the debut of my hand on the blog. Does this picture make me look fat?
If you’re anything like us, you’ll pretty much love any cheese filled ball covered in parsley.
This particular cheese ball is loaded with Neufchâtel cheese, a little Greek yogurt, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and a few green onions. If you love green onions, it wouldn’t hurt to double that part of the recipe. The flavor of the salmon isn’t overpowering by any means, but the smoky flavor really stands out. It’s a good idea to look for a high quality brand of smoked salmon since it’s the star of the show here.
Just remember to plan ahead with this one – there’s a 4 hour chill time.
I’m bad at paying attention to things like that.
So how are you all doing with your resolutions so far?
I don’t really do “resolutions” anymore, but I do have a series of small goals for myself for 2013 which are:
Redesign the look of Simply Fresh Cooking. Our 1 year anniversary is coming up in March, and I’d like to make it look more clean and professional. I’ll be making the switch toThesissoon!!
Lose weight and exercise more. Okay, it’s starting to sound like I do have resolutions, but I just don’t want to call them that! So don’t sass me on this one, peeps!
Get myself healthy (like for real already). This should have been #1 on the list. By healthy, I don’t mean food-wise (I do okay with that generally). I mean that I have a loooooong list of chronic health problems that I need to get fixed in order to accomplish #1 and #2 on my list.
Without going into too much detail – I’ve been sick for about 5 years. I had 2 back to back surgeries to fix 2 separate issues back in 2011, and I finally started feeling better around the time that I first launched Simply Fresh Cooking earlier this year.
But then… things drastically changed for me, and now I have yet another surgery scheduled on January 10th to remove an infection I’ve had brewing somewhere in my nasal area. I’ve got my fingers crossed that this will solve a lot of problems for me!
Wish me luck, and thank you all for being here and for your support!! You guys are the best!
¼ cup 365 Everyday Value Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 green onions, roughly chopped
¾ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided
Instructions
Place all ingredients except for parsley into a food processor and pulse until combined, but not perfectly smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover and chill until very cold, about 4 hours. Arrange half of the chopped parsley on a plate. Keeping half of salmon mixture chilled, spoon other half onto parsley. Sprinkle parsley all over to coat, and shape into a ball. Repeat with remaining parsley and salmon mixture. (If you want to make smaller cheese balls, keep the cheese mixture very cold and work quickly.) Cover and chill until ready to serve.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 70 Fat: 4.5 g Saturated fat: 2.5 g Carbohydrates: 1 g Sodium: 240 mg Protein: 5 g Cholesterol: 15 mg
Ok, so I had no idea baking bread could be this easy!
You literally throw 3 ingredients into a bowl (self-rising flour, sugar, beer) – mix it up and pour it into your loaf pan and bake it.
SNAP!
Oh, and you have to throw some melted butter on top after it’s almost done baking.
Easy.
Maybe I’m an idiot? Maybe everyone already knows about this recipe?
Whatever, I like it.
I baked this loaf especially for Thanksgiving. I was in search of finding a way to get my hands on some Tastefully Simple Beer Bread, but found this copycat recipe instead. It’s just as good, I think… and a lot cheaper! I ended up serving it with a Cranberry Cinnamon Honey Butterthat I found from Rachel Cooks to go with it.
Now that stuff was crazy good! My family loved the combo. If you make Rach’s cranberry spread, I recommend preparing it the same day you plan on serving it. You can leave it sitting out on the counter until you’re ready to use it. I refrigerated it the day before, and it never did fully soften and become as “spreadable” again. It still turned out great though, and I can’t wait to make it again!
Soooo00, if you haven’t realized it by now – I’m not a baker. That’s why I’ve decided that anytime I want fresh bread this will be my go-to for sure. It’s got a tiny hint of beer flavor, but it’s mostly a mild sweet taste that comes from the sugar.
Give it a try, and let me know what you think!
Rachael xoxo
Head on over to Rachel Cooks for the Cranberry Cinnamon Honey Butter Recipe!
Spreading peanut butter on apples is a pretty common and healthy snack.
But did you ever think about sprinkling cereal on top?
I did. Now I can’t get enough of it!
You get a nice, sweet crunch from the apple but a whole different kind of crunch from the wheat berry flakes and flaxseed. The creamy peanut butter is the glue that holds it all together. The yummy glue.
There’s roughly 300-315 calories in this entire health-filled snack. Cut that calorie count in half if you feel like sharing or saving some for the next day. Or not. I won’t judge.
Rachael xoxo
5.0 from 1 reviews
Apples and Peanut Butter with Toasted Whole Wheat Berry Flakes & Flaxseed
Why eat veggies naked when you can dip them in a creamy, velvety homemade ranch dressing?
I’ve been dying to make homemade ranch dressing ever since I started eating healthier and began avoiding processed and sugar loaded foods. I’m not sure why I waited so long, but here it is, and we loved it!
I took this HUGE veggie tray to a family gathering at my mom’s house, so I wanted to make it a little different than the usual cucumbers, broccoli, carrots…etc.
I did keep a few old faves, but I added in some green onion, radish, whole mushrooms, and mini bell peppers. To make it a little more interesting, I stuffed fresh cilantro and basil around the bowl of ranch dip. It was super yummy and very colorful.
You could just wander around the produce section and use anything that sounds good to you and is worthy of being smothered in ranch dressing (which may be everything if you’re like my husband).
Then you can use your leftovers in a salad for lunch the next day.
Mmmmmmmmmm.
Rachael xoxo
P.S. This dressing is even better if you make your own mayonnaise. It’s easy… trust me!
Mince the garlic with a knife and then sprinkle about ⅛ to ¼ teaspoons of salt on it and mash it into a paste with a fork. Chop the parsley, chives and fresh dill (if using) and add to the garlic.
In a bowl combine all ingredients, adding other optional ingredients as you wish, tasting frequently and adjusting seasonings as needed. Chill for a couple of hours before serving, thin with milk or buttermilk if desired.
Notes
To make this dressing even better, here’s a great homemade mayonnaise recipe: http://simplyfreshcooking.com/2012/06/homemade-mayonnaise/
Simply Fresh Cooking is a healthy cooking blog with a husband and wife's perspective on how to maintain a healthy diet. We're dedicated to using as many fresh, non-processed ingredients as possible, but we do like to "cheat" on our diets sometimes, too. We hope you enjoy checking out what we're cooking! Cheers! Rachael & Bill
Rachael xoxo
