Mains Archives - Cookies & Carrot Sticks

Stamppot met prei, spekjes en geitenkaas

ByNicole | On October 23,22 | 0 Comment

Het is herfst end at betekent ook weer tijd voor… stamp! Stamp is echt puur comfortfood en daarbij ook nog eens één van de lievelingsgerechten van de mannen. Hun all-time favourite is nog altijd spruitjesstamp, maar ook wortelstamp, boerenkoolstamp en rauwe andijviestamp gaan er met gemak in. En aan dat rijtje is nu een nieuwe toegevoegd: stamppot met prei, spekjes en geitenkaas.

Smaakbom

Deze stamp is echt wel een kleine smaakbom. De gebakken prei, met uitgebakken spekjes en het frisse van geitenkaas. Echt een perfecte combinatie. Prima te combineren ook met stoofvlees, verse worst een gehaktbal met jus, maar een vegetarisch alternatief doet het ook goed. read more

Mains, All Recipes, BBQ

Korean Chicken Skewers with spicy BBQ-sauce

Koreaanse Kipspiezen met pikante BBQ-saus

ByNicole | On May 24,18 | 4 Comments

Seen the weather forecast for this weekend? It’s going to be sunny! Actually, more than sunny, we’re getting tropical temperatures. Not to everyone’s liking, I’m sure. But I think we can all agree on one thing: it will be perfect weather for a BBQ. Which means that our favourite is on rotation again: Korean Chicken Skewers.

Marinating

Get an early start with marinating the meat. At least a couple of hours before cooking, though the meat will be at its best if you let it marinate overnight. It will become extremely tender. Instead of marinating in a bowl, I use a zip lock bag and press as much of the air our as possible, which definitely helps the process of marinating (the meat will soak up the flavours even more). read more

Mains, Sides, All Recipes, BBQ

Fennel Salad with Apple & Smoked Chicken Breast

Venkelsalade met Appel & Gerookte Kipfilet

ByNicole | On April 16,18 | 5 Comments

Fennel salad

It was during our holiday at the farm last year, when I first made this salad. We had a BBQ with all the other guests at the farm and everybody had to bring something. I addition to the couscous salad with roasted vegetables, I made this deliciously fresh and crisp fennel salad.

Crisp and sweet

The fennel itself has a sweet, aniseed flavour. The crisp, tangy flavour of the apple and the smoky saltiness of the chicken match perfectly. You can make this of course completely vegetarian/vegan by omitting the chicken. This salad actually doesn’t really need it. Just the fennel with apple is such a great combination. read more

Mains, All Recipes, Slow Cooker

Mongolian Beef in the Slow Cooker

ByNicole | On April 05,18 | 21 Comments

Mongolian Beef in the Slowcooker

Have you ever heard of Mongolian Beef? If you’re living in the US, you most likely have. Here in Europe, the dish is fairly unknown. And I thought it was time to get it introduced here as well. This simple dish is so flavour, I just love it.

Stew

Mongolian Beef is a very tasty stew. Perfect to prepare in the slow cooker. If you don’t have a slow cooker, that’s not a problem, as it can be prepared in a regular pan on the stove or in the oven. This dish is so delicious. With just a few ingredients and a little bit of patience, you’ll get a wonderful stew that everyone will love. read more

Mains, All Recipes

Quiche with Smoked Salmon & Broccoli

ByNicole | On March 29,18 | 1 Comment

When we are having a party at our house, we often serve a buffet. Easy dishes that can be prepared beforehand and everybody at the party can take what they want. One dish, that is often in the rotation, is quiche.

Quiche

A quiche can be easily prepared and the possibilities for the filling are endless. Meat, fish, veggies… there’s something for everyone. I often make several kinds, just to be sure that everyone can pick what they like best. This time, I also made a quiche with smoked salmon and broccoli. An absolute winner. read more

Appetizers, Mains, All Recipes

Spiced Lamb Turnovers

ByNicole | On February 18,18 | 4 Comments

The kids always ask what we’re having for dinner. My most used answer is: I don’t know yet. Not to tease them or anything (which they believe I’m doing), I often really don’t know yet. Most of the times, I have a general idea, as I know what’s in the fridge and what needs to be used before a certain date. But I usually decide during the process of making dinner, what I’m going to do with the ingredients. Now I had ground lamb in the fridge and I was thinking about making some kind of pasta sauce. But last minute, I decided to make these spiced lamb turnovers instead. Which solved a second problem: having to use up a store-bought pie crust. read more

Mains, All Recipes

Quiche with Sauerkraut & Bacon

ByNicole | On February 11,18 | 2 Comments

I still had a bowl of sauerkraut that I had to use up. A simple case of having sauerkraut ready to use on hot dogs at a party and totally forgetting to put it on the table (sigh). The first thing that came up, was a colcannon type of dish (quite popular around here), but the boys don’t like it very much that way. And just at the right moment (there are no such things as coincidences), I saw this picture floating by on Instagram: a savoury sauerkraut pie by Uit Pauline’s Keuken. This picture was enough inspiration to get me cooking. And the result is this quiche with sauerkraut and bacon. read more

Mains, All Recipes

Pink Pizza

ByNicole | On February 06,18 | 6 Comments

Pink Pizza, what is that?! Our oldest son all of a sudden got infected by the ‘I want to cook something myself’ virus. For years, I’ve had this children’s cookbook in the cupboard, waiting for that moment when the kids would be old enough, and willing, to start cooking themselves. I guess this was the moment to get it out. Alright, pick something… I said.

Pink Pizza

Totally engrossed, he searched through the recipes. And then: yes, got it, I want to make this. This… is pink pizza. That was not entirely what I had expected, to be honest. The smoked salmon might have had something to do with this particular choice (he just loooooves smoked salmon). read more

Gluten-Free, Mains, All Recipes

Curly Kale Colcannon with Bacon

ByNicole | On February 01,18 | 6 Comments

Colcannon is a typical Irish dish made with mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale. I knew the cabbage variety, but never knew it’s also known to be made with curly kale. We have a similar dish in the Netherlands and the question now arises… who was first? To be honest, I don’t care.

Winter dish

Irish or Dutch, it really doesn’t matter. Colcannon is a delicious, hearty dish mainly eaten during the cold winter months (although I’ll happily eat this all year round). In the Netherlands, it’s often eaten with smoked sausage. But it’s also good with meatballs and gravy or a beef stew. read more

Gluten-Free, Mains, All Recipes

Warm Bulgur Salad with Roasted Pumpkin, Smoked Mackerel and Feta Cheese

Bulgur salade met geroosterde pompoen, gerookte makreel en fetakaas

ByNicole | On November 02,17 | 2 Comments

Bulgur Wheat is made from different types of whole wheat grain, mostly durum. It’s first precooked, dried and then cracked. The wheat is naturally high in fibre and has a somewhat nutty flavor. It’s perfect in warm dishes, but also in warm or cold salads.

When I started on this dish, I actually had couscous on my mind. As I went to get the couscous from the pantry, I saw that I still had a box of bulgur. And I thought: hey, that would be great in this dish as well. And boy, did that work out well. The combination of the more substantial texture of the wheat, the softness of the roasted pumpkin, together with the oily smoked mackerel and the salty feta cheese… this was heaven on a plate. read more

Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Cheesy Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Squash Bowls

ByNicole | On October 26,17 | 3 Comments

Spaghetti squash is still fairly unknown around here. But since one of the largest grocery stores in the Netherlands has started selling it and explained in monthly magazine what it is, the word is getting out and recipes are popping up everywhere. I’m really glad about it, as I don’t have to drive through half the country anymore to get a spaghetti squash.

It’s a fun and versatile vegetable and perfect if you want to cut down on your carb intake. It is a delicious sub for spaghetti (obviously), but you can use it in other dishes as well, where you would normally use pasta, rice or potatoes. I posted this Spaghetti Squash Casserole last year, which is actually based on a pie recipe (like a Shepherd’s pie). read more

Mains, All Recipes

Babi Merah – Pork in Spicy Coconut Sauce

ByNicole | On September 21,17 | 7 Comments

Fall has started way too soon for me. We didn’t have much of a summer and I was hoping for some warmth in September. Alas, it looks like that is not going to happen. Now don’t get me wrong, I do love all seasons and especially Fall. I love the changing colors, the fact that it gets dark sooner isn’t such a bad thing as you can light candles to make it all cozy and you can snuggle up under a blanket. Well, I do need more than a blanket… warm pants, stick jumper and woolen socks is more like it. read more

Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Stuffed Round Zucchini & Peppers

ByNicole | On September 14,17 | 6 Comments

Zucchini season is almost over. Although you can get zucchini all year round nowadays, they are now at their best (and cheapest, which comes in handy if you don’t have a garden full of zucchinis yourself). I absolutely love zucchini, it’s such a versatile vegetable. You can cook it, grill it, stuff it, layer it, grate it and bake it.

When I found some cute round zucchinis at the supermarket, I knew I had to buy them and make some delicious stuffed zucchini. And while I was at it, I stuffed some peppers as well. Well, actually I had only bought 4 round zucchinis and had too much stuffing. So I added two bell peppers to the mix. Which proved to be a good thing, as the 4 zucchinis simply weren’t enough for that hungry bunch here at home. read more

Mains, All Recipes

Spelt Pizza with Chicken Mince, Veggies and Feta

ByNicole | On August 31,17 | 0 Comment

Pizza is always a winner, with both adults and kids alike. Especially if it’s homemade. No need to let homemade pizza dough scare you. It is really easy to make and this dough doesn’t need to rise for an hour or more, no kneading skills required, it’s really fast. I do have to admit though that I always keep a pizza kit from the supermarket in my fridge for emergencies (read: need to have dinner ready in 15 minutes flat but I have no inspiration whatsoever to prep something). It’s fresh pizza dough in a can plus tomato sauce. For me, it can be a life saver (at least for my nerves on one of those frantic days). read more

Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes, BBQ

BBQ Chicken Skewers ‘Greek Style’

ByNicole | On July 07,17 | 6 Comments

BBQ-time!

It’s summer and that means BBQ-time! Well, at least if the weather is playing along. Our summers around here are often wet and temperatures are not always what they are supposed to be during summer time. Which means that we have to seize every opportunity we can to enjoy warm and sunny days and eat outside.

I can enjoy any meal outside, if the temps are right. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. The best meals outside of course are barbecued ones. I love the smell and the food tastes so much better when grilled on the barbie. During our last heat wave, we enjoyed many moments outside. And we fired up the BBQ. read more

Appetizers, Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

ByNicole | On June 23,17 | 8 Comments

Today, I’m sharing this fantastic recipe: spinach and cheese stuffed portobello mushrooms. But before I go into that, let me share something else first. Last week, I had the honor of being a guest blogger on LaFamiliaB. On LaFamiliaB, Rachel blogs and vlogs about everything that is going in her and her family’s life. Fashion, beauty, food, lifestyle… basically anything that happens in their daily lives. Rachel’s beautiful teenage daughters are also starting to show interest in blogging and vlogging and you may occasionally find them taking over. read more

Mains, All Recipes

White Asparagus ‘Oriental Style’

ByNicole | On June 02,17 | 6 Comments

White Asparagus, a.k.a. the White Gold, is only available for a short period of time. The official season usually starts at the beginning of April and ends traditionally on the 24th of June (Saint John). Depending on the weather conditions, the first white asparagus might already be available in March. So most of the times, this vegetable is only (freshly) available for about 6 – 8 weeks.

Each year, our boys look forward to asparagus season. Once they see the first stalls being put up next to the asparagus fields, they will bugger me until I finally buy some. When we pass a stall, they will yell in unison ‘LOOK, THEY ARE SELLING ASPARAGUS!!’. read more

Mains, Sides, All Recipes

Nasi Goreng with Chicken, Broccoli & Tofu

ByNicole | On March 28,17 | 0 Comment

Nasi Goreng, Indonesian fried rice… a versatile dish that can be adapted to your own liking.

‘Nasi Goreng’ is a famous Indonesian dish and is very much loved by many Dutch people. ‘Nasi’ means ‘cooked’ and ‘Goreng’ means fried, so literally it means ‘fried rice’. Fried rice is of course known in many cuisines, but ‘Nasi Goreng’ mainly refers to the Indonesian variety. What sets it off from other types of fried rice, are the spices and the combination typically used in Indonesian cooking, like Djahé (ground ginger root), Ketumbar (koriander), Sereh (lemon rass), Laos (Galangal root) and Terasi (or Trassi, fermented shrimp paste). read more

Breakfast, Desserts, Mains, All Recipes

Chocolate Pancakes

ByNicole | On March 09,17 | 0 Comment

I love pancakes. Especially pancakes American style, i.e. small, pillowy pancakes. The pancakes we are normally used to around here, are rather flat pancakes and as large as a regular dinner plate. Nothing wrong with that, but I often can’t even finish one. And I love to use different toppings. So the smaller pancakes come in very handy. I can eat a few and top one with syrup (especially if there is bacon involved), another one with strawberry preserves and maybe a third with Nutella. Whenever the kids request pancakes, I mostly make my buttermilk spelt pancakes. Always a winner. But I had recently seen these lovely choc and cherry pancakes over at Food, Family and Fun with Alexis Knibbs and I could not think of anything else than chocolate pancakes. read more

Mains, All Recipes

Tortilla Pie

tortillapie1_titleen

There is so much you can do with soft tortilla’s. They are so extremely versatile. One of the easiest and quickest ways to use tortilla’s is making wraps. You can fill them with basically anything! Just put all the fillings you like on them, roll ‘m up and serve. Also very portable, which makes them ideal to take to school, work, on a trip etc.

Now that’s cold wraps. How about warm wraps? Fill them with minced beef, pork, chicken or turkey, pulled pork or chicken, sliced steak. Add fillings and toppings and you have a mighty dinner ready in no time. Then there’s fajita’s, enchilada’s, taquito’s, top and grill them like a pizza… read more

Low Carb, Mains, Sides, All Recipes

Korean Beef & Curried Cauli-Rice

ByNicole | On January 25,17 | 2 Comments

I absolutely love Asian cuisine. Chinese, Thai, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean… I love them all. All have their own typical tastes, a great variety but also similarities. I love the simplicity of stir-fry’s, but also the complexity of stews.

Busy household

In a busy household, with school, work, sports, hobbies and social activities, having dinner ready in a minimum of time is often crucial. And home-cooked meals can be a challenge. We do eat take-out once in a while or go to a fast food-restaurant, but we try to keep that to an absolute minimum. read more

Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Poached Salmon & Pesto Zoodles

Poached Salmon

Four days into the new year. Have you made new year’s resolutions? I haven’t. I don’t really believe in New Year’s Resolutions. Don’t get me wrong. I do believe in reflecting on your life and deciding to change things, in setting goals, making plans. But I don’t think this should only be done once a year and particularly on the first of January. Why wait for New Year’s Day to start to change your life? read more

Breakfast, Mains, All Recipes

Buttermilk Spelt Pancakes with sugar-free Berry Syrup

ByNicole | On December 27,16 | 0 Comment

I don’t know about you, but after all that baking, cooking and eating, I crave the more simple things in life. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE to bake and cook (and eat) a lot, I can spend hours, even days, in the kitchen preparing the yummiest and most scrumptious foods. But it doesn’t always have to be that fancy and my stomach currently screams ‘NO MORE MULTIPLE COURSES’ at me. read more

Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

ByNicole | On December 06,16 | 2 Comments

It’s the festive season, Christmas is less than three weeks away. Which means getting started on all that Christmas cooking and baking. And eating…

Not really the most healthy time of the year. But instead of denying yourselves all that deliciousness, enjoy it! No, I don’t mean to go binge on it all. But don’t feel guilty for it either. Just enjoy a nice buttery, sugary cookie here, a luscious dessert there and counterbalance those with some healthy meals. read more

Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Zucchini Spinach Lasagna

zucchinispinachlasagna_title

After splurging on these extremely delicious, fudgy, decadent brownies, I needed to counter balance a little bit. No, really. I ate way too much of them. Just could not contain myself. I lose all self control around these brownies. Well, any brownies. No, anything chocolate. I can’t contain myself around anything chocolate.

Okay, losing track again. Back to counter balancing. Which is really, really, REALLY necessary. Cookies and carrot sticks. It’s all about balance. Right? Right. Ok, now I’m babbling. read more

Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Hamburger Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole

ByNicole | On September 03,16 | 4 Comments

Hamburger Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole is an easy and delicious dish. Ok, it’s not the prettiest dish. But it does deliver on taste! The boys loved it (very important) and they keep requesting that I make it.

Ready in no time

As it’s super simple and ready in no time, it’s the perfect dish for busy week nights. Or weekends, when you don’t feel like slaving in the kitchen for too long. And as an added bonus, it’s low carb and gluten free. You really won’t miss the carbs, I promise, but please feel free to add a cup of cooked rice or cooked pasta into the mix, if you want to. read more

Gluten-Free, Mains, Sides, All Recipes

Easiest Red Lentil Dal

ByNicole | On June 30,16 | 0 Comment

To me, cooking with dried legumes was always kind of a daunting idea. I love to cook, no doubt about that. And I don’t mind spending a lot of time in the kitchen. As a matter of fact, I LOVE spending a lot of time in the kitchen. But… with our busy lives, dishes should preferably be easy and fast to prepare and cook. No time (or better: patience) to soak some dried beans for hours, before cooking them… for hours. Until I realized that lentils are a different matter. Especially red lentils. read more

Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Cabbage à la Carbonara

ByNicole | On May 16,16 | 12 Comments

This Cabbage à la Carbonara is a great low-carb alternative to one of the most classical dishes from the Italian cuisine. It’s an easy, no fuss dish with just a few ingredients. It’s rich, tasty and very comforting.

Cheese and eggs

I see a lot of carbonara recipes where cream is used, but that is not how traditional carbonara is made. Though I do use cream in my cooking, also for a quick carbonara-like dish, I made this cabbage à la carbonara the traditional way. As far as traditional goes without using pasta. read more

Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mains, Sides, All Recipes

Low Carb Spinach Risotto

ByNicole | On April 10,16 | 0 Comment

If you’re trying to cut down your carb intake, you most likely start with omitting pasta and rice from your evening meals. You might be familiar with substituting rice with cauliflower, like I did in this very simple coconut rice or curried rice. It’s prefect for Asian dishes. But have you tried risotto yet?

Carbohydrates

Risotto was one of those dishes, I had not tried yet. I love a good creamy risotto. And although we’re not strictly on a low carb diet, we try to eat less of those little buggers. Mind you, carbohydrates aren’t bad, it’s just that we eat way too much carbohydrates for our bodies to burn up (and all the excess is stored as fat). Unless you’re an athlete burning thousands of calories a day. Which I am obviously not. So, I have to watch how much I consume. read more

Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Cheesy Chicken Casserole with Cauliflower & Green Beans

ByNicole | On February 17,16 | 2 Comments

Like so many recipes, this Cheesy Chicken Casserole happened sort of by accident. I usually buy food for a whole week, without actually planning exact dishes. By the end of the week, we sometimes end up with foods that need to be used before they get bad. This time, it was chicken breasts, a head of cauliflower and a bag of green beans.

Unusual combination

I had never before thought of throwing cauliflower and green beans together. Until now. And you know what? It’s was a winning combination. The boys totally loved. Well, the melty cheesiness might have something to do with that, but who cares. This Cheesy Chicken Casserole with cauliflower and green beans is here to stay. read more

Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Tuna Tomato Sauce

ByNicole | On January 28,16 | 0 Comment

This tuna tomato sauce our go-to recipe if we’re really pressed for time and still want to eat a tasty and healthy meal. Ready in less than 10 minutes, really. And so tasty!

Pasta lovers

Kids love everything rice or pasta. Us grown-ups too. The best pasta sauce is homemade Bolognese sauce, but if done the original way, the best result is when it’s cooked loooong and sloooowly. Unfortunately, I don’t always have time to do that (like almost never). And if I do have the time, I usually forget about starting in time. Luckily, we’ve added quite some nice and quick sauces to our arsenal to choose from. This tuna tomato sauce is one of them. read more

Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mains, All Recipes

Creamy Chicken with Zoodles

ByNicole | On December 23,15 | 0 Comment

This Creamy Chicken with Zoodles is utterly delicious, even though it’s actually just born out of necessity. The necessity to balance. Because the last couple of days have been full of baking, cooking and, of course, tasting for Christmas. I always do a lot of tasting. I need to be completely satisfied before I put something on the table for someone else to eat. So, I taste a lot.

By the spoonful’s

Today I’ve made, among other things, a white chocolate key lime mousse (recipe coming soon). I think I’ve overdone the tasting a bit. Not that I had to adapt that much. Not at all. But… O.M.G… it was so delicious, I couldn’t keep my finger out of the bowl. Figuratively speaking. The finger part that is. I used a spoon. Oops. And that on top of all the other tasting I did. Christmas dinners haven’t even started yet! read more

Mains, All Recipes

Mild Chicken Curry – a family favorite

ByNicole | On November 29,15 | 2 Comments

The all time favorite dish in our house is a mild chicken curry. It’s on top of the list of most requested dishes. I hadn’t made it in quite a while, so when I announced that we were having chicken curry for dinner a couple of days ago, the roof went off the house. Two boys getting excited and screaming YEAHHHHHHHH! And our oldest then hugged me and said: I love you, thank you for making chicken curry… Yep, that had me in tears. You could mop me off the floor after that. read more