Dining With De Lara

Lunch

Toasted Bagel Veggie Sandwich

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If you need some lunch inspo, then this toasted bagel veggie sandwich is for you! It is one of my favorite lunches and is loaded with hummus, roasted red bell pepper, fresh cucumbers and lettuce, and pickles. It takes only 15 minutes to prepare (because of the roasted red pepper) and is easy to customize depending on what sandwich fillings you prefer!

This sandwich has been on repeat for weeks now because it is so easy, and whatever I happen to be craving (or what I have in my fridge) goes on it. I love all of the ingredients on this bagel, the hummus is creamy and garlicky, the pepper is sweet and smoky, the veggies crisp and fresh, and the pickle gives it a bit of a zing. I mean it is tasty.

I prefer to use bagels from a bakery, rather than from the bread isle in the store because they taste amazing, they are like a whole other creature, really. But any bread will do just fine! This would be really good on french bread as well.

And it keeps well in the fridge if you want to pack it for lunch the next day! The bagel doesn’t stay quite as crispy, but I have had no complaints with making it ahead! It is a solid sandwich.

 

Toasted Bagel Veggie Sandwich
 
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A toasted bagel sandwich makes for a delicious and quick lunch!
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Serves: 1 sandwich
Ingredients
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 bakery fresh bagel
  • 1 package of your favorite hummus (recipe coming soon!)
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 jar of your favorite pickles
  • 1 head red leaf lettuce
Instructions
  1. Turn on your oven's broiler to high.
  2. Wash and core the red bell pepper and cut it into quarters. Place them skin side up on a baking sheet and broil for about 10 minutes, or until black bubbles start to form on the surface. while the pepper is roasting, wash and slice the cucumber and lettuce. Remove from oven and let cool.
  3. While the roasted bell peppers are cooling, toast your bagel. If you don't have a toaster you can slice it, and pop it in the still-warm oven for a couple of minutes.
  4. To assemble your sandwich: take the bottom slice of bagel and spread your hummus on it. place a slice of roasted red pepper followed by cucumber slices, pickles, and lettuce. Enjoy!

 

Italian Olive Oil Pasta

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This Italian olive oil pasta is packed with fresh tomatoes, kalamata olives, cannellini beans, artichoke hearts, and fresh basil. Plus it is topped with garlic and red pepper infused olive oil, and it comes together in under 30 minutes! This recipe is a good way to beat the summer heat and because it is such a fast recipe, you can spend more time with your family, enjoying the summer evenings, or relaxing!

I love this recipe for so many reasons. It’s filling thanks to the cannellini beans, the kalamata olives bring in a little saltiness, which is then evened out by the fresh tomatoes and basil, and the garlic and red pepper infused olive oil brings in the tiniest bit of heat to round it all out.

I would definitely recommend using  the best quality ingredients you can get your hands on. This recipe is so simple, that each of the ingredients really brings a lot to the table as far as flavor goes. The better the quality and freshness of your ingredients, the more intense and satisfying the flavors will be.

 

*Notes*

  • I recommend using an extra virgin olive oil for this recipe because it has a much deeper flavor than lighter versions. Since this recipe doesn’t have a typical pasta sauce to go with it, extra virgin olive oil will bring a lot of flavor to the dish.

Italian Olive Oil Pasta
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 16 oz box angel hair pasta
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 15 oz can cannellini beans
  • ½ cup kalamata olives
  • 2 large garden tomatoes
  • ½ cup marinated artichoke hearts
  • 1 bunch fresh basil
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium high heat. Snap the pasta strands in half and add half the box of pasta to the boiling water. Boil until "al dente", about 4 minutes. Drain the pasta and set it aside.
  2. Heat a small sauce pan over medium heat and add the olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and crushed red pepper. Cook the olive oil sauce for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the garlic begins to fry and it becomes fragrant. Be sure to not let the garlic burn as it can burn very quickly and give the sauce a bitter taste. Once the garlic is done cooking, remove the sauce pan from the heat.
  3. Wash and chop the tomatoes, halve the olives, and slice the bunch of basil into ribbons. Next, Open the can of cannellini beans and rinse them thoroughly. Add the cooked pasta to a large bowl and add the beans, olives, tomatoes, and artichokes on top. Drizzle the olive oil sauce over the pasta and toss. Serve with the chopped basil!

 

 

Spicy Thai Salad

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This spicy thai salad is going to be your new best friend this summer! It is crunchy, refreshing, super filling, and the flavor will blow you away. It has toppings like edamame, roasted cashews, roasted bell peppers, and more! Plus a spicy peanut dressing that just. won’t. quit. And because I know sometimes we don’t have a lot of time, it only takes 15 minutes to assemble!

To be honest, salads haven’t always been my favorite thing to eat. I think I’ve just had too many bad salads that were limpy, watery, and bland. However, I started to like salads when I began making them myself and including more awesome ingredients, like my favorite roasted bell peppers (you can find another recipe with them here), cashews, fresh cucumbers, cilantro, crunchy red onion, and filling edamame. These ingredients are why I love this salad so much! No boring, disgusting salads here- only the best.

I’ve also had a lot of beef to pick with store bought dressings. Too many times have I spent money on a bottle of dressing, just to be disappointed. That’s why this for this salad, we gon’ be makin our own! This spicy peanut dressing is powerfully flavorful, and good for you too! It has lime, sriracha, ginger, garlic, and a little bit of peanut butter to compliment everything that’s in the salad. But what it doesn’t have is fillers, preservatives, and a bunch of ingredients no one can pronounce.

I get it, sometimes it’s convenient to pick up pre-made stuff at the store. But if you have the time, make it yourself. It will taste way better, and be better for you too!

I live for feedback, so if you make this, or another one of my recipes, let me know what you think!

 

5.0 from 1 reviews
Spicy Thai Salad
 
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Author:
Recipe type: salad
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • For The Salad:
  • 1 head of romaine lettuce
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • ¼ red onion, sliced into rings
  • ½ cup edamame
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  • ½ cup roasted cashews
  • For The Dressing:
  • ⅓ cup peanut butter
  • juice from one lime
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons honey, or other liquid sweetener
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
  • ¼-1/2 cup water
Instructions
  1. To Make The Salad:
  2. Set your oven to broil. Wash the red bell pepper and cut the core and seeds out. Cut it into quarters, lengthwise and place it on a baking sheet. Place it in the oven and broil for 5 minutes, or until large black bubble appear on the peppers' skins. Remove from the oven and let cool.
  3. Next, we're going to get our veggies ready for the salad. Wash and chop the head of romaine and place in a large salad bowl. Peel and chop the cucumber into quarters and place in the bowl. Chop the cooled roasted bell pepper along with the sliced red onion, chopped cilantro, edamame, and roasted cashews.
  4. To Make The Spicy Peanut Dressing:
  5. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk thoroughly. You can start with ¼ cup of water and add more depending on how thick or thin you prefer the dressing to be.
  6. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve immediately!

 

El Diablo Grilled Cheese

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It’s time to set aside the Kraft singles and step up your grilled cheese game with my El Diablo Grilled Cheese! Made with sourdough bread and filled with smoked cheddar, roasted bell peppers, chipotle sauce, and spinach, this sandwich is mouthwateringly good. It’s creamy, crunchy, smoky and the perfect quick lunch!

Grilled cheese sandwiches are something just about everybody likes, but let’s try a little harder than plastic-like cheese and wonder bread. The El Diablo Grilled Cheese is still extremely fast and easy to make, but has way more flavor and exciting things to offer. The olive oil makes the outside irresistibly crunchy, and the roasted bell peppers bring a very subtle sweetness to the smoky sandwich. The chipotle sauce brings some heat, but if it’s too hot for you, simply scrape the seeds out of the peppers before blending to make it milder.

One of my favorite things to do here when I share recipes is take a dish and make it healthier and tastier by using real, good quality ingredients. This sandwich fits my goals perfectly. It uses real bread from a bakery, real cheese, and wholesome vegetables and delivers out-of-this-world flavor. It really doesn’t take much to make amazing food in your own kitchen. All you need is fresh, quality ingredients and a solid recipe. So make the El Diablo, or one of my other recipes and let me know what you think by leaving a quick comment.

 

*Notes*

  • I used sourdough bread in this recipe, but any fresh bread from a bakery or bakery section in your local store would be awesome as well. Try french bread, seed and grain, or an asiago cheese bread for extra cheesiness!
  • I used a large tortilla pan similar to this one here, so I was able to cook 3 to 4 sandwiches at a time which speed up the cooking time quite a bit.

5.0 from 1 reviews
El Diablo Grilled Cheese
 
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A step up from typical grilled cheeses, this El Diablo Grilled Cheese is so tasty it will became a repeat in your kitchen!
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Serves: 6 sandwiches
Ingredients
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 8 oz smoked cheddar cheese
  • 1 loaf sourdough bread
  • 4 cups spinach
  • 1 7oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • olive oil for the pan
Instructions
  1. Wash the bell peppers and cut off their stems. Scoop out the seeds and cut them into quarters length-wise. Set your oven to a high broil. Place the quartered bell peppers on a baking sheet, skin side up and put in the oven. Broil them for 10 minutes, keeping a careful eye on them. When they are done they should have black, bubbly spots on them.
  2. Next, Slice the loaf of sourdough bread into ½ inch thick slices and slice the block of cheese into ¼ inch thick slices. Open up the can of chipotle peppers and place a few (I used four) peppers in a blender or food processor and pulse until a rough paste forms.
  3. Heat a skillet over medium heat and begin to assemble your sandwich. Pour about 1 teaspoon of olive oil into the pan and place a slice of bread on top of it. Next, layer a couple slices of cheese, a piece of roasted bell pepper, a small handful of spinach, and a smear of chipotle sauce. Top it all off with a second piece of bread.
  4. Cook the sandwich for a couple minutes, until the cheese begins to melt and the underside of the sandwich has turned a golden brown. Make sure your heat is not too high or the bread will cook too quickly and burn before the cheese has a chance to thoroughly melt. When the underside is a nice toasty golden brown, flip the sandwich over carefully and toast the other side for a couple minutes. Take out of the pan and repeat the process until your run out of bread and cheese. I made 6 sandwiches out of my loaf, but bread loaves are all different sizes you may be able to make more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunshine Salad With Citrus Balsamic Dressing

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Here is one of my favorite summer recipes, sunshine salad with a yummy orange balsamic dressing! It is refreshing, crunchy, and filled with powerful flavor. It comes together quickly, and makes awesome lunches for the following days! Make it for your summer night get-togethers, your fourth of July barbecues, or your weekly meal prep!

 

 

You can make the prep time go even faster by using bags of pre-shredded carrots and pre-chopped cabbage and kale. You could also add in what ever your favorite fruit or vegetable is. This sunshine salad is filled with colorful vegetables, different textures, and pops of bright juicy oranges. However, you could also add roasted nuts or pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, fresh strawberries, or romaine lettuce!

This citrus balsamic dressing is the perfect pairing for this salad. It is tangy and bright from the vinegar and oranges and slightly sweet from the maple syrup. Yum! If you make the salad ahead of time keep the dressing separate so that it won’t wilt the salad while it’s stored.

 

5.0 from 1 reviews
Sunshine Salad With Citrus Balsamic Dressing
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Serves: 4 large servings
Ingredients
  • For The Salad:
  • ½ head purple cabbage, sliced
  • 1 large head of broccoli, chopped
  • 2 cups chopped kale
  • 2 cups shredded carrots
  • 1 bunch radishes, sliced
  • 1 large navel orange, chopped
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds
  • For The Dressing:
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 small shallot, diced
Instructions
  1. For The Salad:
  2. Place all of the chopped and sliced vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Mix together thoroughly and sprinkle the sunflower seeds on top.
  3. For The Dressing:
  4. Using a whisk, mix together all of the ingredients. Drizzle over the salad if serving right away. If making ahead, store the dressing and salad in separate containers until ready to serve.

 

Epic Fruit Pizza

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Here comes one of our family’s favorite spring-time deserts! This epic fruit pizza is a great addition to any picnics, bar-b-ques, or brunches you may be having now that the weather is turning warmer. It consists of a soft, buttery shortbread crust, a whipped cream cheese topping, and your favorite fruit!

We prefer strawberries; however, bananas, berries, kiwis, pomegranates, or grapes would all be fantastic on this dessert. My favorite thing to do is eat a slice with a strong cup of coffee- so good!

 

 

5.0 from 2 reviews
Epic Fruit Pizza
 
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A fresh, vibrant desert that is perfect for picnics, bar-b-ques, and brunches! Spring fruit pizza is a simple shortbread crust with cream cheese topping and your favorite fruit.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 8 servings
Ingredients
  • For The Shortbread Crust:
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • ¾ cup sugar, softened
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2½ cups unbleached, all purpose flour
  • For The Topping:
  • 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
  1. To make the shortbread crust:
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Then add in the sea salt, vanilla, and flour and mix until fully incorporated and no flour streaks remain. Form the dough into a firm ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  4. To make the topping:
  5. While the dough chills, you can make the topping. Using the mixer again, beat the cream cheese and butter together for about 2 minutes or until it looks smooth and there are no chunks. Next, add in the almond milk, vanilla, and sugar. Mix until smooth.
  6. When the dough is done chilling, take it out of the refrigerator and roll it out on a piece of parchment paper or a floured round baking sheet. The dough should be about ½ inch thick. Bake for 20- 25 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown. You don't want to over-bake the crust or it will become quite hard.
  7. Let the crust cool for a few minutes before spreading the topping on it. Next you can add your favorite sliced fruit! Ours is strawberries, but kiwis, grapes, oranges, bananas, berries, and pomegranates are all great ideas as well. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

 

Restaurant- Style Mexican Rice

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I am very fortunate to have married my husband. Not only is he an amazing husband and father, he also came with a wonderful family. My husband’s family comes from Aguascalientes, Mexico and they are some of the kindest, most generous, hard-working, and loving people I have ever met. Not only are they kind- they know how to COOK! My wonderful mother-in-law, Angelina, taught me how to make this recipe, and it will be the first of many of her recipes that I share here.

Like many of Angelina’s traditional Mexican recipes, this rice is easy, has simple ingredients, and is extremely flavorful! It comes together in about 40 minutes and is a perfect side to any meal. Or you can eat it as a meal itself and toppings like, lime, avocado, cilantro, sour cream, or salsa.

The first step to cooking the Mexican rice is toasting it. This will ensure the rice cooks quickly and evenly, but it is very easy to burn if you don’t keep a close eye on it. Here is a picture of what the toasted rice should look like, right before I added the other ingredients. Angelina uses Caldo de Pollo to give the rice its flavor, it is easily found in any grocery store in the isle where they keep Mexican ingredients. It is simply powdered chicken bouillon, and the rice would not be the same with out it. Let’s make some rice!

Restaurant- Style Mexican Rice
 
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This Mexican Rice is easy to make, has simple ingredients, and big flavor! Serve it as a side, or eat it as a meal with your favorite toppings.
Author:
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups jasmine rice
  • 4½ cups water
  • 4 tablespoons tomato sauce
  • 3 tablespoons Caldo de Pollo
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh peas
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh corn
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add rice and toast it for about ten minutes until the rice looks light brown. (See the photo above) Stir frequently so that the rice will toast evenly and not burn.
  2. Add the water, followed by the tomato sauce, Caldo de Pollo, peas, and corn.
  3. Stir everything together and cover the skillet with a lid. reduce heat to medium and simmer for 25 minutes or until most of the water has been soaked up.
  4. Turn off the heat and let the rice rest while still covered for an additional 5 minutes.
  5. Fluff with a fork and serve!
Notes
We like to serve ours with fresh cilantro, lime, and beans. But you could also serve it with sour cream, cheese, fresh tortillas, or salsa!

 

 

Crispy Oven Fries

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One thing to know about me is I LOVE potatoes. Any kind of potatoes, russet, sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, purple sweet potatoes- you name it. I’m Irish so it kind of makes sense, but I mean who doesn’t love potatoes? There are entire cookbooks dedicated to them. In fact, growing up fried breakfast potatoes was the first dish I learned how to cook. It’s only fitting that among the first recipes I share here would be a potato recipe.

 

These crispy oven fries happened sort of by mistake a few weeks ago when I was hurriedly trying to get some food made one morning. I thought if I just threw some in the oven then I could attend to other things like the dishes and my 8 month old who gets into EVERYTHING. Mostly things he’s not supposed to mess with like TV wires and the dog’s water bowl. The dog is pretty chill about it, I am not so chill.

I’m excited to say they turned out really well! So well, that my husband asked to make them again, and again! Baking them in oil and on parchment paper makes them crispy and the hint of smoked paprika gives them a subtle smoky flavor. My favorite sauce to dip them in isn’t ketchup, it’s actually barbecue sauce! These oven fries would be perfect for a barbecue and are so hands-off you could pop them in the oven and then go do other important things witch yo perfect self. Put your feet up, relax, and let the oven do the work for you.

If you decide to make these fries, then let me know here, on the blog, or on Instagram!

Crispy Oven Fries
 
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These crispy oven fries are super easy and you only need 6 ingredients to make them! Prepare the fries, pop them in the oven, and let the oven do the work for you. Super crispy and slightly smoky, these fries are definitely addictive!
Author:
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 5 medium golden,or russet potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Wash and cut the potatoes into ½ inch spears and arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet.
  4. Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle the garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and sea salt over the cut potatoes.
  5. Toss the potatoes with your hands to evenly coat them in the spices and oil.
  6. Place baking sheet in the oven and set the timer for 35 minutes.
  7. Half-way through cooking, stir the potatoes around with a spatula so they cook evenly on all sides.
  8. Take the baking sheet out when the fries have turned golden brown, are easily pierced with a fork, or the timer goes off.
  9. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve immediately.

 

Lemon and Garlic Roasted Asparagus

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It’s the beginning of spring, and you know what that means…asparagus is in season! I don’t know about anyone else, but as much as I love asparagus I don’t like paying $5 or more dollars for it when its not in season. So, I am taking full advantage of it while it’s on sale – hence this recipe for lemon and garlic roasted asparagus. This has been on repeat lately because it is SO simple and quick to make. It takes only 5 ingredients!

This dish will make a fantastic side for any lunch or dinner, or even as a dish for Easter Sunday which is only a few weeks away. My favorite thing about this recipe is that it comes together really quickly, yet still has A LOT of flavor packed into it. It’s amazing what a few simple, everyday ingredients can do to a vegetable. If you try it out, let me know what you think by leaving a comment!

Lemon and Garlic Roasted Asparagus
 
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Author:
Recipe type: vegetable
Serves: 2 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Wash and trim the ends of the asparagus and lay them in an even layer on a baking sheet.
  3. Toss the asparagus in the salt, pepper, minced garlic, and olive oil.
  4. Place the sliced lemon on the asparagus and place the baking sheet in the oven.
  5. Bake for 10 minutes and then use a spatula to stir the asparagus so they cook evenly.
  6. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
  7. Take out of the oven and let cool before serving.