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Spinach Artichoke White Bean Dip with Feta {Gluten-free}
Besides all of the many obvious things that we love about living here in California, one of my favorite things is the fact that we get to entertain so often. Our house here in Long Beach was meant for having guests. We have a really open living room, with tons of windows and great light and great fireplace for the cool nights, plus when the weather warms up we can host cookouts and dinner parties like crazy on our large deck. I am certain we have entertained far more in the first year of living in this home, than all 9+ years living in our home in New York.
I love well planned dinner parties with a theme, where everything matches and has a purpose. But just as much – I love a good thrown-together spur of the moment get-together where we just toss some burgers on the grill, pop open some bubbly wine or beers and enjoy the company of our wonderful friends. A few weeks back we did just that with our friends Dan and Debbie. We decided to get together and just grill some burgers and catch up. Nothing fancy. Just easy and simple. I swore I wasn’t going to fuss, it was going to be simple as can be and just about spending time together. Read the rest of this entry »
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Chicken and White Bean Chili – (Gluten-free + Dairy-free)
Some people may think it’s weird to make your own birthday dinner. For me, I enjoy it, it’s the best way to make sure you get what you want to eat, exactly how you want it on your special day. Plus I just love cooking, it makes me happy! This Wednesday I celebrated my birthday! Rather than going out to a restaurant, we decided after having house-guests the past two weekends and eating many meals out, we were both sick of it and we were looking forward to a meal at home.
Mark offered to take me out, but I insisted that I wanted to cook something myself, a dish that has been on my mind for a while now. We had a 4-lb pasture-raised chicken in the freezer from a local farmer and rather than our usual grilled or roasted whole chicken, I wanted to do something a little bit different. I thought a delicious white chili was the perfect way to enjoy the chicken and get the most out of it.
When I told Mark I was making a chicken chili, he was really excited about it, but when he saw this “white chili” as I was serving it, he got confused and I think he was a tad worried it wasn’t going to be good since, it looked so much different then the chili I usually make. Just a few bites in, he asked if I could make a badge for my site to put on certain recipes that reads “This is Mark Approved”. Not a bad idea. He loved this one and immediately decided it’s better than the traditional “red” chili of mine, that he loves so much.
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White Bean and Avocado Salad
This is my idea of “fast food”. When I have a long, busy day and I am not getting home until late, I don’t crave take out, a drive thru or a restaurant – I want my home, my kitchen and my ingredients. I have been known to come home from a very busy day and whip together a full on pasta dish with fresh veggies and things I have in the pantry. This recipe is something I threw together randomly, last week after my Thursday night yoga class with things I had on hand and it was so good I went for it again this week. I don’t get home until almost 9pm on Thursdays, so after a long work day and a 90 minute yoga practice I want something light, tasty and quick.
Since avocados are in season right now, I have been buying a few every time I go to the market since I could eat them daily. The last time I made this salad I had some leftover dried great Northern beans that I had soaked for a soup I had made and they were even better than the canned beans I used this time. Unfortunately, for as much as I prefer dried beans over canned, they are just not as quick to prepare and therefore not ready on the drop of a dime. Any white bean will do for this recipe, great Northern, cannellini, navy or even lima beans.
This salad is light, refreshing, adequately filling and it has the perfect balance of crunch and creaminess. I had a small piece of toast on the side. This makes a great main course dish or a it can be substituted for your typical green salad.
White Bean and Avocado Salad
serves 2-4 (depending on how you are serving it)1 can of white beans (15.5 ounces) cannellini, great Northern, etc
1 avocado diced
1 handful of cilantro, chopped
4 or 5 green onions, chopped
juice from 1/2 lime
salt
fresh ground pepper
2 T olive oil
handful grape tomatoes, halvedDrain and rinse the beans. Place the beans, tomatoes, avocado, green onions and cilantro into a mixing bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and lime juice, season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently toss until combined. Don’t worry if the avocado starts to mash-up a bit, mine did this time as the avocado was very ripe, it still tastes delicious. Serve immediately as main dish or side dish. Refrigerate leftovers.
