Spiralized Greek Cucumber Salad with Lemon and Feta

This light cucumber Greek salad is the perfect meatless summer dish. Trust me, you're going to want to make this all summer long! Fresh cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, olives, red onion, oregano, lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh feta – it's filling, high in fiber and protein, perfect for lunch or dinner!

I had some fresh Feta leftover from my Lemon Feta Drumsticks, and I've been craving a good Greek Salad, but I wanted to make it without the lettuce and make cucumber the star of the show. This turned out better than I could have imagined! I used my favorite cooking gadget – my the Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer with the chipper blade to quickly whip this up into beautiful spirals and the results were a salad that's crunchy and bright, and not weighed down by a heavy dressing. This took me less than 10 minutes start to finish – win!

If you don't own a spiralizer you can just dice the cucumbers with knife and make it a chopped Greek salad instead. I highly recommend using a decent Feta cheese, not a fat free Feta.

A great Meatless Monday meal. If you are making this ahead for lunch for work, you can leave the lemon juice and olive oil out, and pack it on the side, then just add it when you're ready to eat. Enjoy!

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Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham

When I want a hearty bowl of split pea soup in a hurry, my pressure cooker is my best friend! Split pea soup is loaded with fiber, and it's a comforting meal on a chilly night. I usually serve this with a slice of crusty bread, toasted and rubbed with a little garlic.

This soup is also my favorite way to use up leftover ham or a ham bone. It's super easy, but not always super quick... unless you use a pressure cooker! 

Using a pressure cooker cuts the cooking time by less than half and everything always tastes better for some reason. I've been using my pressure cooker for years; in South America it is widely popular to make soups, beans, and stews because it's quick and saves on gas. I own a fancy electric one, but for some reason I still rather use my old stove top Presto.

When making soups and stews in the pressure cooker, very little  liquid evaporates, so I usually cut the liquid down a bit. I found a great Pressure Cooker Cheat Sheet on Pressure Cooker For Dummies, if you own one and are scared of it, you might find this interesting.

I used Better than Bouillon, I love the flavor it adds to soups, but you can use chicken broth in it's place if you prefer.

A few notes: Today is my 3rd day doing the Holiday Runner's Streak (run at least 1 mile everyday until the Holidays, see 2012 Holiday Running Streak from Runner's World). It was really hard to get out of bed this morning, but I am happy I got it out of the way. How are you doing, still with me?

By the way, this soup freezes well, leftovers are perfect for lunch or make a batch for once a month cooking.

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Beef Barley Soup

 

A hearty bowl of soup made with carrots, celery, onions, lean beef and pearl barley.

When I was a kid, we had soup for dinner almost every night. Sometimes we had a bowl as a first course, and other times as a main dish. I wasn't always very happy about this, because believe it or not I was a very picky kid. But when my Mom served Beef Barley, I never complained.

This soup is perfect for the cooler evenings as we head into Fall. It's a one pot meal that's really simple to make, but it takes a little over an hour for the meat to get tender, so keep that in mind if you're pressed for time. The pressure cooker is perfect to speed this up, I've also included instructions if you own one.

I wasn't sure what my toddler would think, but I fed it to her anyway and to my surprise she ate it. Leftovers only get better and make a great lunches; this also freezes great if you want to make freezer meals for the month. To make this soup gluten-free, you can sub the barley for quinoa.

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Carne Guisada (Latin Beef Stew)

Chunks of beef are simmered in beer with scallions, garlic, tomatoes, cumin and cilantro. Sometimes I make it with just the meat, sometimes I add yucca or potatoes. Serve this over rice with a little aji picante and you'll have a delicious comfort dish, Latin style!

I get lots of emails telling me how much you all love my Latin dishes. It's probably what I do best. When I crave beef stew, it's always this Colombian version I crave. You can use water in place of beer if you prefer. If achiote or sazon isn't something you can find near you, leave it out, it will still be good!

This is a great recipe for those of you who own a pressure cooker. The meat comes out so tender in half the time. I've included directions for those of you who own a pressure cooker. I've never made this in my crock pot, but I'm sure it would be great too, I may experiment with it next time I make it, I would probably add less liquid.

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Beef, Potato and Quinoa Soup

For the meat and potato lover, this soup is for you. Hearty soups like this are exactly what I love about South American cuisine. A nourishing one pot meal, typically served with aji and avocado on the side.

This soup uses cooked quinoa, which is a South American seed which has become very popular in North America lately. Quinoa is very high in protein, and contains all 9 essential amino acids, lysine, phosphorous, copper, iron and magnesium. It's gluten-free and you can find it at any healthy food store, Amazon, Trader Joe's and even at your local supermarket. Click here for the recipe to cook basic quinoa.

By now I don't think I have to tell you just how much I love Latin American cuisine. It's the ultimate comfort food to me, so I am happy to share some wonderful South American dishes with you. This dish was adapted from Laylita's Recipes, her blog features many wonderful Ecuadorean dishes.

The key to making a good beef soup is letting the beef simmer until it gets soft, the longer the better so the meat is tender. If you have a pressure cooker, this will cook in half the time and the meat will be incredibly soft. I love my pressure cooker, probably more than my crock pot but I wrote the directions assuming you don't own one. I recommend buying one, it's great for making stews and beans in half the time, and the flavors really get into the food. I own a 6-quart Presto which is perfect for making a pot of beans. Lot's of you are asking me which I own, click here to see.

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White Northern Beans with Aji Verde Sauce

Beans are high in complex carbohydrates, protein and dietary fiber, low in fat, calories and completely cholesterol-free. Eating as little as a half a cup of beans a day can be beneficial in reaching your dietary needs. These beans were a hit with my family, all that was leftover was this little bit shown here over rice, topped with aji verde sauce.

This past weekend my little girl turned one! It's hard to believe a year has gone by, it seems like just yesterday she was a born, and now she's a happy one year old, talking, singing, eating real food, and almost walking!

We had a small family gathering to celebrate her birthday, and I went with a Peruvian theme. We had Peruvian chicken with aji verde sauce, rice, avocados and beans. Sounds good? It was and everyone loved it!

Making beans are an economical way to make a lot of food without spending too much. A pound of dry beans makes about 6 cups cooked and usually costs around a dollar. I always make my beans in my pressure cooker because it cuts the cooking time in half. 

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Barbacoa Beef

If you like cumin and spicy food, then you'll love Barbacoa Beef. Spicy shredded beef braised in a blend of chipotle adobo, cumin, cloves, garlic and oregano. This was a recipe request I was glad to make. Another Chipotle's inspired dish. If you've never eaten at Chipotle's, then you probably don't understand the obsession.

I made this in my pressure cooker which cut down the cooking time by half but you can use a Dutch oven instead. One thing I should mention, I used four chipotle peppers and it was very spicy, so use your judgment on how much to use depending on how spicy you like your food. I served this over cilantro lime rice with corn salsa. These would also make great beef tacos or burrito bowls. Enjoy!!

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Brazilian Black Beans

This is a delicious black bean recipe from my Brazilian/Argentinian cousin, Katia, from Food For Every Season. She makes the best black bean recipe handed down to her from her father, another great cook. Black beans are loaded with fiber. Try this over white rice with chimichurri sauce, for wonderful fusion of flavors from Argentina and Brazil.

If you are serving this over rice, 1 cup may be too much, adjust the points accordingly.

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