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Avocado Breakfast Boats

This post has been sponsored by Sargento. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 
 

Avocado Breakfast Boats are a beautiful yet quick meal made with fresh avocado, scrambled eggs, crispy pieces of bacon, diced tomato and Sargento Shreds​® Reserve Series™ 18 month aged Cheddar. 

 
 
A great breakfast starts with fresh ingredients, has amazing flavor, and can be cooked up quickly for busy mornings. Avocado Breakfast Boats are all of those things PLUS they are gorgeous! Gorgeous enough that I would feed these to guests staying over or for a brunch party because although simple, these avocado boats are impressive on taste and appealing as they are bursting in color. 
 
 

Meijer is my favorite grocer to shop at for everything from fresh produce to affordable beauty products. This cutting board photographed is even a Meijer find. I enjoy my weekly shopping trip at Meijer because I can pick up whatever my family needs in one stop and the prices are unbeatable! Not to mention, Meijer is always on top of what is new, like these Sargento Shredded Cheese packs. 

Save $.75 off 1 Sargento Shredded Cheese Package with mPerks! 

Sargento Shredded Cheese

Sargento has some new cheese cuts available at Meijer. Sargento Shreds​® Reserve Series includes a 14 month aged Parmesan, 6 month aged Gouda, an Italian blend, and 18 month aged Cheddar. All these Sargento cheeses are aged, adding more intense flavor to any dish with that extra punch of cheese. Everything is just a little better with one of these delicious Sargento Shredded Cheese varieties. 

Avocado Breakfast Boats

Avocado Breakfast Boats provide a healthy, balanced breakfast that is fresh and delicious. You get a buttery texture with the avocado, something creamy with perfectly scrambled eggs, a crispness with bacon, a pop of color with the tomato, and a sharpness with the Sargento Shredded Cheese. A combination that will make your taste buds do a happy dance. 
 

Tips & Tricks

Ripe Avocado

These tips and tricks can help determine if your avocado is ready to eat! Be aware that avocados have a small window of that perfect ripeness, so ripe today may mean overripe tomorrow. 

Color

A dull, dark brown-purplish color is an indication that your avocado is ripe. Bright green is an indication it is not quite there yet. I typically buy my avocados with a vibrant green tint so they will be ripe in a couple days when I plan to eat them. Note that this color rule doesn’t always apply and all three tips of picking the best avocado should be used. 

Feel

Rock hard avocados are not yet ripe while mushy are overripe. You want something in between. The avocado should be firm but have a little give when gently squeezed. 

Flick The Stem

Flicking the stem off the avocado is, in my opinion, the best way to determine the ripeness of an avocado. By removing the little stem attached to the fruit, you get to see the color your avocado is. You want to see a beautiful green color once that stem is removed. Brown is an indication that the avocado is overripe. 

How to Make Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled eggs should be light, moist, and creamy, seasoned with minimal seasoning of salt and pepper. Sargento Shredded Cheese adds richness and texture. 

Non-stick 

Cook with a non-stick skillet. This makes cooking and clean up easy peasy. Butter also helps the eggs not to stick and adds flavor. Let the butter melt completely, then add the egg. Then, use a spatula to turn the egg. 

Low Heat

A low to medium-low heat is just right. Cooking on a high temperature can burn the eggs or cook them too quickly. 

Whisk It Good

Use a whisk to beat the eggs in a small bowl before cooking. Beat the eggs until yolk and whites are fully combined and there is consistency.    

Cook Time

Even on a low heat, scrambled eggs only take about a minute to cook. The eggs should look slightly runny when removed from the heat because they will continue to cook. Over-cooked eggs can taste rubbery and dry oppose to creamy and soft. 

#ad, Avocado Breakfast Boats, avocado recipes, breakfast recipe, brunch recipe, avocado breakfast, healthy breakfast recipe, how to cook scrambled eggs, Sargento Cheddar Cheese
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Avocado Breakfast Boats

Avocado Breakfast Boats are a beautiful, yet quick meal made with fresh avocado, scrambled eggs, crispy pieces of bacon, diced tomato and Sargento Shreds​® Reserve Series 18 month aged Cheddar. 
Course Breakfast
Keyword avocado, bacon, breakfast, brunch, egg
Prep Time 6 minutes
Cook Time 4 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author Amber

Ingredients

  • 3-4 Tablespoons Sargento Shreds​® Reserve Series 18 month aged Cheddar
  • 2 Avocados
  • 2 slices Bacon diced
  • 4 Eggs large
  • 1 Tomato diced
  • 1 Tablespoon Butter
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Parsley optional garnish

Instructions

  • Wash outside of the avocados. Cut the avocados in half and dispose of the pit. Scoop out a little bit of the avocado with a spoon and dice the part you removed. Place to the side. The section with the shell will be your avocado boat.
  • Wash and chop the tomato. Place to the side. 
  • Dice the bacon. Cook bacon pieces on a medium-high heat in a non-stick pan for 3 minutes or until at your desired crispness. 
  • Remove bacon from and place on a paper towel. Place to the side while you cook the eggs. Wipe the non stick pan out clean with a paper towel to remove bacon grease.
  • Place the pan back on stove on a low-medium heat. Add 1 Tablespoon butter . 
  • Beat your eggs in a small bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add eggs pan once the butter has melted. Use a spatula to mix the eggs until they become silky and slightly runny. This should take about one minute. Remove from heat and add 2 Tablespoons Sargento Shreds​® Reserve Series 18 month aged Cheddar and the crispy bacon pieces. Mix together and spoon into the avocado boats. 
  • Add a little more salt and pepper, a pinch more Sargento Shreds​® Reserve Series 18 month aged Cheddar, the diced tomato and avocado, any leftover bacon crumbles all on top. 
  • Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley. 
 
What clever ways will you use new Sargento Shreds​® Reserve Series 18 month aged Cheddar in your breakfast? A delicious omelette? A hearty breakfast casserole? Let me know in the comments below and tell me why you love shopping at Meijer. 
 
 

Triple Berry Smoothie

A Triple Berry Smoothie is made with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, Greek yogurt, honey and ice for a really quick and refreshing breakfast or snack anytime.

I love smoothies! Breakfast, lunch, snack… heck… sometimes, dinner- I just love them. I almost always use fresh berries for smoothies and can afford to do so because I don’t waste any food. So all those fruits and vegetables that are not eaten at the end of the week, get frozen for convenient smoothies. Either I toss everything in a little ziploc bag or if there are enough berries, I will actually portion out individual bags for smoothies.  If you find yourself with any amount of waste from fruits and veggies every week, I recommend trying this out because why throw your money away when you can make a delicious, healthy smoothie out of it?

Don’t have waste? First, let me know your secrets that have your family eating all the healthy stuff and second, you can still totally makes!

Triple Berry Smoothie

Let’s get blending!

Start this Triple Berry Smoothie by washing your fruits, removing the stems slicing the strawberries in half and freezing the berries for a few hours (minimal). Add the fruit to a blender with some Greek yogurt, a pinch of sweetener and ice. Blend for 2 minutes or until smooth and drink up. You can use any sort of sweetener you like, personally I like local honey.

TIP

Make it a full meal by adding a scoop of your favorite vanilla or berry flavored protein powder!

Triple Berry Smoothie, blueberry smoothie, raspberry smoothie, strawberry smoothie, mixed berry smoothie, breakfast smoothie
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Triple Berry Smoothie

A Triple Berry Smoothie is made with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, Greek yogurt, honey and ice for a really quick and refreshing breakfast or snack anytime. 
Servings 1 serving
Author Amber

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup raspberries frozen
  • 1/3 cup blueberries frozen
  • 2/3 cup strawberries frozen
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup ice
  • 2 teaspoons sweetener recommend honey

Instructions

  • Wash fruits. Remove the stems and cut strawberries in half. Measure out the fruit and place into a ziploc bag. You can make multiple ready-to-blend smoothie bags at once. 
  • Once the berries are frozen, place into the blender with yogurt, honey and ice. 
  • Blend for 2 minutes or until smooth and all the ice has broken up. 

Love smoothies as much as I do? Also try this popular Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie from here at Simply Made Recipes.

Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins

Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #Bananamazing #CollectiveBias

Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins with oats, over-ripe banana, fresh blueberries and Sir Bananas® bananamilk. These muffins are banan-A-mazing!

The new school year has officially started and I am putting together more nutritious meals and snacks for my children….and myself!  On my weekly shopping trip to Walmart, I picked up some yummy Sir Bananas® Bananamilk and Sir Bananas® Chocolate Bananamilk for the whole family to enjoy from the dairy aisle. Not only is this bananamilk delicious on it’s own but also fabulous for baking our favorite banana filled snacks like the Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins. 

Why are we going bananas over Sir Bananas® Bananamilk?

  • Offers 8 Essential Nutrients : Protein, Calcium, Potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Riboflavin (vitamin B2) and Phosphorus.
  • Made with REAL bananas.
  • Offers 7 grams of Protein.
  • No artificial flavors, sweeteners or colors.
  • No high-fructose corn syrup.
  • Gluten-free.
  • Carrageenan-free.
  • Delicious taste!

Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins

Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins are a banana filled recipe for breakfast, snack or to place in the kids lunchbox that are quick and really simple to bake in a cinch. Packed with nutritional ingredients like fresh blueberries, banana, oats and bananamilk to keep the family full and energized for the busy school days ahead.

These Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins are the type of recipe that I like to make on Sunday night to have prepared for the chaos of Monday.  Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Grab a mixing bowl and add your over-ripe banana with oil and bananamilk. Smush your banana and mix ingredients well. Mix in the vanilla extract, flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Lastly, stir in the fresh blueberries and oats.

Time to bake! Fill your muffin pan and cook for 17 minutes. Let your muffins cool and serve. Try with a glass of cold Sir Bananas® Chocolate Bananamilk on the side. Chocolate bananamilk has all the goodness of regular bananamilk, but with the added deliciousness of cocoa. So crazy good!

TIP! You can easily freeze muffins so go ahead and make a big batch. Wrap muffins in foil and freeze. Remove from freezer and cook for 15 minutes in the oven on 400 degrees.

Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins
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#Bananamazing #collectivebias #ad Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins, bananamilk recipe, snack, breakfast, muffin, kid friendly
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1 banana, over-ripe
  • 1 cup Sir Bananas® Bananamilk
  • 1 cup oats
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • .5 teaspoon salt
  • .5 cup brown sugar
  1. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add 2 tablespoons oil and 1 over ripe banana. Squish the banana and mix well.
  3. Add 1 cup bananamilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix.
  4. Add in the cup of flour, teaspoon baking powder, teaspoon baking soda, .5 cup brown sugar and .5 teaspoon salt. Mix well.
  5. Add in the cup of oats and blueberries. Mix.
  6. Spray your muffin pan and insert liners. You do not have to use the liners, just spray the pan well.
  7. Fill each liner 3/4 full.
  8. You can sprinkle a bit of oats on top before placing in oven.
  9. Bake for 15-20 minutes. 17 minutes is the magic number for my oven.
  10. Let cool.
  11. Serve with a glass of Sir Bananas® Chocolate Bananamilk or pack in the kids school lunch.

Follow Sir Bananas® Bananamilk on Social Media :

Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

Thai Inspired Buddha Bowl {+ Round Up}

Thai Inspired Buddha Bowl made with coconut brown rice, carrots, bean sprouts, snow peas, bok choy, flowering kale, and a peanut sauce. Healthy, delicious and ohhhhhh so filling!

 

Thai Inspired Buddha Bowl {+ Round Up}

 

Recipe Swap Club is trying out something new this month. We are teaming up to each make a great Buddha Bowl and share what the other participants have come up with! Make sure you scroll to the bottom of the page to see the other amazing recipes once you see what Simply Made Recipes created, the Thai inspired Buddha Bowl. Don’t get intimidated by the amount of ingredients and instructions for this recipe. This is a simple recipe and uses basic ingredients. The only ingredient that your grocery may night have is the flowering kale but you can easily substitute with red cabbage or your regular kale.

 

Thai Inspired Buddha Bowl {+ Round Up}

 

To start, let us talk about what a Buddha Bowl is. To keep it basic, you have 5 elements to a good Buddha Bowl.

  1. 1/4 Protein.
  2. 1/4 Green.
  3. 1/4 Vegetables. Your green is probably a vegetable so half your bowl will be made of vegetables. For this portion, think of using various colored vegetables to ensure nutrient balance in your diet.
  4. 1/4 Grain.
  5. Sauce to drizzle on top.  May also pick a healthy fat.

 

Thai Inspired Buddha Bowl {+ Round Up}

 

These Thai inspired Buddha Bowls are so healthy,  nutrient rich and filling! Fresh, crisp carrots, bok choy, kale and snow peas paired with a delicious garlic ginger marinated chicken.  A coconut brown rice keeps you full for hours and the peanut sauce brings the whole dish together. I used chicken today in this bowl but you can easily swap with tofu. Directions for both chicken and tofu preparation are included in the instructions.

 

Thai Inspired Buddha Bowl {+ Round Up}

 

Thai Inspired Buddha Bowl {+ Round Up}
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Thai Inspired Buddha Bowl {+ Round Up}
  • Coconut Brown Rice
  • 1.5 cups brown rice
  • I 13 ounce can coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon butter (optional)
  • Ginger Garlic Chicken or Tofu
  • 2 large chicken breast or Tofu package (extra firm)
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger (fresh)
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (fresh)
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Peanut Sauce
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
  • .5 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk
  • .5 tablespoon soy sauce
  • .5 tablespoon lemon juice
  • .5 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha
  • Thai inspired Buddha Bowl
  • 3 cups brown coconut rice
  • Ginger Garlic Chicken or Tofu
  • Peanut Sauce
  • Bunch Baby Bok Choy
  • Bunch Flowering Kale (also known as oriental kale)
  • 6 carrots
  • 14 ounce can bean sprouts (may also use fresh)
  • 2 cups snow peas
  • peanuts to garnish
  1. Gather ingredients, wash vegetables well, grab measuring cups, large ziplock bag, knife, cutting board, rice cooker, pan or wok, whisk and utensils.
  2. Marinate the chicken: Cube the chicken. In a large Ziploc bag, add 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon garlic, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon olive oil and the cubed chicken. Place in fridge for minimal of 20 minutes.
  3. If swapping the chicken for tofu: Drain the water from the tofu package. Cube. Towel press the tofu to dry out. Place the tofu cubes in a large Ziploc bag, add 1/4 cup soy, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon garlic, and 1 tablespoon honey. Notice we are not using the olive oil yet with tofu, that will come when cooking.
  4. Brown rice takes almost an hour to cook. make sure to read the instructions on your label for exact cook time. We placed the 1.5 cups brown rice in rice cooker, added 1 can coconut milk, 1.5 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon honey and 1 tablespoon butter. Let cook until liquid is absorbed.
  5. While the rice cooks, chop the kale and bok choy, julienne the carrots, and remove the string that runs along the snow peas. Finely dice your onion for the peanut sauce.
  6. On the stove top, place your pan on a medium heat and add the 2 tablespoons finely diced onion to sautee with .5 tablespoon peanut oil for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and cook one more minute. Remove from heat and place mixture in a bowl. Add 3/4 cup peanut butter, 3/4 cup coconut milk, .5 tablespoon soy sauce, .5 tablespoon lemon juice, .5 teaspoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon sriracha. Whisk well.
  7. Put your pan back on the stove top on a medium heat still. Add the marinated chicken and cook for 7 minutes while tossing every couple minutes.
  8. If swapping chicken for tofu: Place the tablespoon of olive oil into pan and add tofu, let cook 5 minutes. Flip, and cook another 5 minutes.
  9. Once the rice has finished cooking, whisk the peanut sauce once more and assemble your bowls.
  10. We are going to assemble these bowls as follows : 1/4 bowl for the brown rice, 1/4 bowl for the chicken or tofu, 1/4 bowl for the greens (bok choy and snow peas), 1/4 bowl of colorful veggies ( kale, carrots, sprouts). Drizzle with peanut sauce and garnish with peanuts.
  11. Enjoy!

 

Thai Inspired Buddha Bowl {+ Round Up}

 

Check out what the other members of Recipe Swap Club put together for their Buddha Bowls:

 

Simply Delish Eats made a Seared Ahi Tuna Bowl.

 

 

 

Buddha Bowl

 

Fizl Dizl made a Sweet Potato Mung bean Bowl.

 

 

 

Buddha Bowl

 

Eat What We Eat made Sweet Potato Falafel Buddha Bowl Plus a Mindful Cooking/Eating Exercise.

 

 

 

Buddha Bowl

 

Be Simply It made a beautiful Buddha Bowl.

 

 

 

buaddha bowl

 

The Culinary Taste made a Vegan Buddha Bowl.

 

 

 

 

Buddha Bowl

 

Baked Avocado Tacos with Boom Boom Sauce

Baked Avocado Tacos with Boom Boom Sauce with a pinch of spice, nice crunch and an addicting sauce on top.

 

avocado tacos, vegetarian

 

We love tacos in this household. Could literally eat them every single say of the week. No problem. You have to switch things up a bit every once in awhile though! Today we made these Baked Avocado Tacos with Boom Boom Sauce. I wanted something vegetarian but still colorful and flavorful. We are a meat eating family. Dinner pretty much always revolves around the meat. A steak, chicken, pork, turkey or what have you. With that said, it can be so difficult to feed my family anything vegan or vegetarian. They literally will look at me like I am an alien if meat is not on the dinner table. Everyone ate these without complaints. My son didn’t even realize he was eating baked avocado until he asked half way through taco number 2.

 

baked avocado

 

Check out the video below for a quick how to:

 

Baked Avocado Tacos with Boom Boom Sauce are fairly simple to make and use basic ingredients. The only “difficult” part of preparing these tacos are handling the avocado slices as you give them that crunchy panko. Make sure your avocados are not too squishy because it will make your job a little bit harder. We spiced up the panko mixture just slightly to add more flavor and kick. Feel free to double the amount of cayenne spice in the panko if you like the extra heat in your food!

 

baked avocado, tacos, vegetarian

 

I went ahead with a boom boom sauce today. Simple. Delicious. Takes 5 seconds to prepare. Perfect. Boom boom sauce is fantastic with fried or crusted fish, chicken, or a French fry dip. If you love fish and haven’t had a fried cod sandwich with boom boom sauce, I recommend it.

Baked Avocado Tacos with Boom Boom Sauce on Tuesday, Crispy Baked Cod Sandwich with boom boom sauce on Wednesday. It’s a plan. Who’s with me?

 

 

Baked Avocado Tacos with Boom Boom Sauce
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baked avoacado, boom boom sauce, vegetarian, tacos, spicy

Yields: 8 tacos

  • Baked Avocado
  • 2 avocados
  • .5 cups flour
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup panko
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt
  • pepper
  • Boom Boom Sauce
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha
  • 1 tablespoon chili sauce
  • Tacos
  • .5 head of red cabbage
  • 1 jalapeno
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 8 tortillas
  • 16 slices baked avocado
  • .5 cup boom boom sauce
  • chopped cilantro to garnish
  • lime to squeeze on top (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Gather ingredients, measuring cups, 4 bowls, parchment paper, baking sheet, whisk, knife and cutting board. Grab your patience too.
  3. Wash all fruits and vegetables well, especially the cilantro because it tends to hold in a lot of dirt.
  4. Set up 3 bowls. Bowl #1 with the flour. Bowl #2 with 2 eggs that were beaten with the whisk well. Bowl #3 mix 1 cup panko, 1 teaspoon cayenne, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, pinch of salt and pepper. Set bowls up in order of 1-2-3.
  5. Take 2 avocados and cut in half, remove the seeds. Now, slice each half 3 times to make 4 pieces per half of avocado. Remove from the skin with a spoon.
  6. Now, the tedious part. One avocado slice at a time go through each bowl 1-2-3. Cover in flour bowl, then the eggs and lastly the panko mixture. This step of the process is not hard nor does it take any cooking talent but the avocado can get messy. If you do one slice at a time though and wash hands when the flour and panko starts sticking, you will do just fine. Just takes some time.
  7. Place the panko covered avocado slices on a parchment paper covered baking sheet, spreading out just a tad. I recommend parchment paper over foil so there is no sticking.
  8. Bake avocado slices for 15 minutes and flip them half through cooking.
  9. As the avocado bakes, chop your cabbage, a little cilantro, tomato and slice your jalapeno.
  10. Make the boom boom sauce. Grab a bowl and add mayo, ketchup, chili sauce and sriracha. Give a good mix.
  11. Remove the avocado slices from the oven after the 15 minute cook time and assemble your tacos. Place 2 slices baked avocado on a tortilla, dress up with the cabbage, cilantro, tomatoes and jalapeno slices. Add a bit of boom boom sauce and squeeze fresh lime(optional).
  12. Enjoy!
  • Preparation time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes

 

 

Baked Avocado Tacos with Boom Boom Sauce

 

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Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce

Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce is a dressing, sauce, dip all in one. The original Avocado Bomb Sauce recipe from here at Simply Made Recipes has been a huge hit and we wanted to create a spin off recipe for you all. Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce is spicy, packed with fresh cilantro and garlic and has a nice creamy base.

Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce

Why do we love this recipe?

You can literally use it on everything. Top your fajitas, burrito bowls, eggs, toast, chicken fingers, salads and whatever else you can think of. Our favorite use for Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce is on top of ground turkey tacos made with ground turkey, cabbage, tomatoes, taco seasoning in a soft tortilla. The sauce replaces the need for guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Also, is a great healthy swap on salads of a ranch dressing.

Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce

Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for around 5 days.

Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce
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Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce
  • 1 avocado
  • 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1/2 jalapeno
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 fresh squeezed lime
  • Pinch of salt
  1. Gather ingredients, food processor, sealable container, knife, and cutting board.
  2. Wash ingredients well, especially the cilantro because it can hold in a lot of dirt.
  3. Cut lime and avocado in halves. Remove the avocado seed.
  4. Scoop the avocado from its shell in put into the food processor.
  5. Add 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt, 1/2 jalapeno, 3 garlic cloves, pinch of salt and 1/2 bunch of cilantro into food processor. If you do not like heat, remove seeds of jalapeno beforehand. If you want it extra spicy, add an entire jalapeno but be wary because it will have some kick.
  6. Squeeze 1/2 lime into mix. Blend for 3 minutes.
  7. Do a taste test. You may need to add more salt or squeeze more lime depending on your personal taste. If you would like a thinner sauce, for a dressing possibly, add just a touch of water to thin out. Start with a tablespoon of water but the water is not necessary.
  8. Blend another 1-2 minutes.
  9. Pour into a container and eat up!

 

 

Shrimp Pesto Linguine

Shrimp Pesto Linguine with a homemade kale pesto sauce, shrimp sautéed in butter and linguine pasta.  This meal only takes about 15 minutes to cook, is packed full of nutrition with the kale pesto and is hearty and comforting.  I recommend doubling the sauce and using half for later, maybe try some Kale Pesto Chicken Sandwiches for lunch.  The pesto has really nice flavor with a hint of kale, parmesan cheese, garlic, almond and olive oil without any single ingredient overpowering.  Pesto is an easy ingredient swap, so if you don’t like kale or almonds swap them out for another herb or nut.

 

Shrimp Pesto Linguine

 

I bought the shrimp today deveined already so it made my job a little easier. Make sure to buy a fresh shrimp and clean them well before cooking, although as I am living in Cincinnati right now I understand you may not be able to buy it fresh. Shrimp should not have an over powering fishy smell and the shells should not have any spots or grit on them.  Shrimp also cooks very quickly, a minute on each side so watch them closely because overcooked shrimp turns out tasting very rubbery. I hope your family enjoys this dish. Shrimp Pesto Linguine is a great go to quick family meal that just makes you feel good because it is healthy and fills your families tummies.

 

Shrimp Pesto Linguine

 

Shrimp Pesto Linguine
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Shrimp Pesto Linguine
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 pound shrimp
  • 1 pound linguine
  • Kale Pesto
  • 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus more
  • 3/4 cup almonds
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese
  • .5 bunch of kale
  • pinch of salt
  1. Gather ingredients, pot, pan, food processor, strainer, cutting board, knife, basic kitchen instruments.
  2. Wash vegetables and shrimp well.
  3. Cook linguine according to package directions.
  4. Put the pan on a medium heat and let it heat up while you make the pesto sauce.
  5. Place the olive oil, kale, almonds, garlic, salt and parmesan cheese into food processor and blend until smooth. This only takes around 3 minutes. Taste test. Pesto may need more salt. Blend another minute.
  6. Your pan should be hot now, add the 3 tablespoons of butter and let it melt.
  7. Add the pound of shrimp to pan and cook one minute each side. The shrimp will go from opaque to white. Remove from heat and dump the pesto in.
  8. The linguine should be finishing cooking, strain and add to pan.
  9. Mix all ingredients well and serve.

 

Shrimp Pesto Linguine

 

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Crock-Pot Turkey Chili

amazon

Crock-Pot Turkey Chili is made in the slow cooker with three beans, lean ground turkey, bell pepper, yellow onion, seasonings and tomatoes. Top with whatever goodies your family enjoys including sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and tortilla strips. 

This Turkey Chili is a family favorite for those chilly days through the winter. The simplicity and wholesome comfort makes this meal a real winner.  We like to add beans to our chili to give more flavor and heartiness.  The recipe also calls for ground turkey and V8 juice to give more nutritional value and less fat than a typical chili. Try our homemade Chili Seasoning and add this to the dinner lineup!

Crock-Pot Turkey Chili

Get slow cooking!

Begin by browning the ground turkey on the stove-top with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper before adding to the crock-pot. Chop the onion and bell pepper and add to the crock-pot followed by all the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, V8 Juice, hot sauce and chili seasoning. We like to prep this chili the night before so in the morning everything just gets dumped in the crock-pot before work and we can home with a zero hassle, warm, comforting family dinner.

Toppings

Switch up your Crock-pot Turkey Chili with different toppings! Here are some ideas to mix and match:

  • Red onion
  • Serrano or Jalapeno
  • Sour Cream
  • Tortilla strips
  • Hot sauce
  • Cilantro
  • Shredded cheese
  • Avocado slices
  • Salsa
  • Guacamole

Crock-Pot Turkey Chili is made in the slow cooker with three beans, lean ground turkey, bell pepper, yellow onion, seasonings and tomatoes. Top with whatever goodies your family enjoys including sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and tortilla strips | crockpot recipes | winter recipe | family friendly recipes | ground turkey | #chili
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Crock-Pot Turkey Chili

Crock-Pot Turkey Chili is made in the slow cooker with three beans, lean ground turkey, bell pepper, yellow onion, seasonings and tomatoes. Top with whatever goodies your family enjoys including sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and tortilla strips. 
Course dinner
Keyword chili, crockpot, slow cooker, turkey
Prep Time 20 minutes
Author Amber

Ingredients

  • 1+ pounds ground turkey
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 15 ounce can kidney beans drained
  • 15 ounce can great northern beans drained
  • 15 ounce can black beans drained
  • 15 ounce can diced petite tomatoes drained
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 3 cups vegetable juice
  • 1 envelope chili seasoning
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 1-3 Tablespoons Hot sauce optional

Instructions

  • Brown the ground turkey on the stove-top with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place into crock-pot. 
  • Drain the beans and tomatoes. Add to crock-pot. 
  • Chop the onion and bell pepper. Add to crock-pot. 
  • Add in the tomato paste, 1 envelope chili seasoning and hot sauce. Add 2 Tablespoons for a medium spice level, 1 for mild and 3 for HOT depending on how your family likes it. My family likes it with 2 Tablespoons. 
  • Stir ingredients together with the vegetable juice and cook on low for at least 5 hours. 
  • Serve with toppings of choice. We enjoy serrano peppers, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and tortilla strips. 


Avocado Bomb Sauce

The “Bomb” Sauce as Aaron calls it,  is an avocado sauce you can use for almost anything! The Avocado Bomb Sauce is a must have recipe.  How did we come up with this sauce? Our Firehouse Guacamole. We simply utilized ingredients from our favorite guacamole and twisted them into a sauce! Use it as a dip for egg rolls or chicken strips or some tortilla chips. Use it as a nice creamy dressing on top of a salad, like a Chicken BLTA Salad. Dress up some steaks or chicken or even omelets. Pour some on a Breakfast Muffin. Yum. So easy to make, all you need is a food processor or blender. We LOVE this sauce, hence how it got it’s name as The “Bomb” Sauce! Make this sauce your own by adding more lime, less cilantro or try our Avado Bomb Sauce spin off of Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce  also on the blog.

Avocado "Bomb" Sauce

For a great Avocado bomb Sauce, you want really fresh ingredients. Smell the cilantro (just because I love the smell) and make sure fresh and it isn’t browned and wash very well for cilantro can have a lot of dirt in it. Get a nice juicy lime. A nice trick to getting the most from your lime is to roll it on the counter with the palm of your hand to get those juices ready. Make certain the garlic is fresh and not brown anywhere and a grab a nice bright green jalapeno. Did you know that spiciness of a jalapeno can be seen from the outside? If you like it spicy, which this sauce is, look for vertical striations on your jalapeno. If you don’t like spice, stay away from these striations(they look like stretch marks) and remove seeds before blending!

Avocado Bomb Sauce

Avocados. Avocado can be tricky to pick, especially during certain seasons of the year. Look for avocados that are browned on the outside but not yet squishy. They should be slightly firm still. Stay away from bright green avocados because those are not yet ripe enough and put down anything too squishy. Lastly, let us talk about olive oil. There are many, many different varieties of olive oil. We always go with extra virgin olive oil and stay in a mid price range. I do recommend trying different varieties of olive oil because they do taste different and find what suits your taste buds. Also, I have heard that olive oil actually goes bad in a short time period even though expirations show a couple years! So if you have been using the same olive oil for 6 months, toss it and buy a new bottle. Some even recommend to replace your olive oil 30 days after opening.

Avocado Bomb Sauce

How long will Avocado Bomb Sauce last and how should you store it? I get asked this all the time. I think Avocado Bomb Sauce can stay good in your fridge for around 5 days. You want to make sure it is in a tightly sealed container and if the very top browns from oxidation, which will happen avocados love to brown,  remove the top layer and everything underneath is perfect! The lime and olive oil help preserve the sauce so it can last days. Although, it is so delicious so it probably won’t even make it 48 hours before being completely consumed.

This recipe was first published July 17, 2016 and updated on October 28, 2016. This is one of our most popular and most loved posts! Enjoy!

Avocado "Bomb" Sauce
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Avocado "Bomb" Sauce
  • 1 avocado
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 jalapeno
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 fresh squeezed lime
  • Pinch of salt
  1. Gather ingredients, food processor, sealable container, knife, and cutting board.
  2. Wash ingredients well, especially the cilantro because it can hold in a lot of dirt.
  3. Cut lime and avocado in halves. Remove the avocado seed.
  4. Scoop the avocado from its shell in put into the food processor.
  5. Add 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 jalapeno, 3 garlic cloves, pinch of salt and 1/2 bunch of cilantro into food processor. If you do not like heat, remove seeds of jalapeno beforehand.
  6. Squeeze 1/2 lime into mix. Blend for 3 minutes.
  7. Do a taste test. You may need to add more salt or squeeze more lime depending on your personal taste. If you would like a thinner sauce, for a dressing possibly, add just a touch of water to thin out. Start with 1/8 cup of water but the water is not necessary.
  8. Blend another 1-2 minutes.
  9. Pour into a container and eat up! Egg roll dip, on top of salads, over a steak, eggs, salmon so many options!

avocado-bomb-sauce

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Lemon Garlic Salmon

Lemon Garlic Salmon is a favorite in my household that even my children love! Lemon Garlic Salmon is a very simple way to prepare your fish and turns out with a light lemon flavor with a hint of garlic.

Lemon Garlic Salmon

I frequently cook this salmon when friends or family come over for dinner and it is always a huge hit that these guests request on their return visits. Lemon Garlic Salmon is a great recipe for beginner cooks or the more advanced. Sometimes, when we are in a garlic mood we will finely slice the garlic to make garlic “chips” on top. The photos show the garlic minced today.  Cook up some fresh green beans and homemade mashed potatoes on the side and enjoy!

When shopping for salmon, pick a fish with vibrant color and we prefer a fresh, wild caught over a farm raised. Look for a Sockeye or Chinook, although they are both seasonal so it is not always an option.  I was raised in the Northwest where we are a little snobby about our salmon and the Sockeye is always my first pick if available. Why wild caught? We eat a lot of salmon and there is a difference in taste but more importantly, farm raised can have chemicals, hormones and dyes in the fish. When choosing a farm raised salmon, eat sparingly for those reasons.

Lemon Garlic Salmon

Lemon Garlic Salmon
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Lemon Garlic Salmon
  • 1.5 pounds fresh wild caught salmon
  • 3 lemons
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • salt
  • pepper
  1. Gather ingredients, baking sheet, aluminum foil, garlic press, knife to cut lemons.
  2. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay the salmon on the baking sheet with skin side down.
  4. Run your fingers over the top of the fish to feel for any bones the butcher may have missed and remove these bones if any are found.
  5. Using your hands, rub a tablespoon of olive oil over the entire fish making sure not to miss any spots.
  6. Wash hands.
  7. Salt and pepper salmon to desired amount.
  8. Mince the 2 cloves of garlic evenly on salmon. You can also very finely chopped the garlic into small garlic chips which I only recommend doing if you really LOVE garlic like me.
  9. Cut a lemon in half and squeeze half the lemon over top of salmon. You may squeeze the whole lemon if you want more lemon flavoring.
  10. Finely slice the other 2 lemons and cover the entire salmon evenly. Don't worry about covering the fish with foil on the top, the lemon will keep the salmon nice and moist through cooking.
  11. Put into oven for 20 minutes. If you bought a larger fish I would leave in the oven for 25 minutes. To check if salmon is done, put a fork in the middle and it should be slightly flakey.
  12. Salmon is ready to serve!
  • Preparation time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes

Lemon Garlic Salmon

Simply Made Recipes is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission. This costs nothing extra to you and helps keep Simply Made Recipes running!