Hello, there! We are back from a joyful weekend in New York City! Why’d we go? To relax! I know - who says relax when talking about The Big Apple? I do! I love walking around for hours and hours, eating delicious food, and taking in my favorite city. But more on that later.

For now, let’s review last week’s meals which were seriously some of the best of the new year! Packed with amazing flavors and still following our healthy track, the dinners we made were scrumptious and I’m excited to make all of them again!

Cod with Thyme-Roasted Cauliflower and Sherry-Tomato Sauce

Source: Cook90 by David Tamarkin 

Tip: A naturally gluten free meal! Joyfully, a large number of recipes in this book are already GF. Yes! 

Review: For a pretty minimalist meal, this simple fish-and-veggie plate offered plenty of deliciousness to go around. Lightly seasoned cod got covered in an excellent sherry-tomato bath and surrounded with perfectly roasted cauliflower (a favorite). And those tomatoes! What a bite: sauce-covered-cod, burst tomato, and some of that roasted garlic. Man! That was yummy. 

A dish that was welcome mid-winter, but would be equally awesome come spring and summer, I’m learning to love these dishes that feature fish and not much else.

Few and far between are the days of fried fish (there’s a time and place for that, of course) because baking it with a little salt, pepper, and olive oil is definitely just as delicious. And when there’s a light and super tomato sauce to go on top, what more do you need? I have a feeling this dinner will be a frequent flier during the summer! 

Shawarma-Spiced Chicken Pitas with Tahini-Yogurt Sauce

Source: Cook90 by David Tamarkin

Tip: We skipped those pitas (not GF) and used grain-free cassava flour tortillas by Siete Foods. These work perfectly for meals like this one and the flavor is just mild enough to go with the rest of the meal. Everything else is already gluten free! 

Review: Don’t walk, run to make this for your next dinner. Too delightful for words and too delicious to bother talking, Seth and I inhaled these “pitas” while grinning ear-to-ear. I’m smiling (daydreaming) just thinking about eating them again.

They made a bit of a mess because I am unable to “appropriately” fill a tortilla with the right amount of filling, but who cares? The more the merrier in my opinion and that definitely goes for the filling in this meal. 

We doubled up on the amount of shawarma spice covering the chicken to make sure it had a hearty kick, and boy did it! Spicy, bold, and flavorful, the chicken was complimented perfectly by the cool tahini-yogurt sauce and salad.

All together these ingredients made for one magnificent wrap! Fabulous for dinner or even a snazzy lunch, this meal should be at the top of your what-to-make-next list! 

PS: skip the tortilla/pita altogether and this would make a great salad as well! :)  

Sweet Potatoes with Chorizo, Mushrooms, and Lime Cream

Source: Cook90 by David Tamarkin

Tip: This dish is naturally gluten free! Just make sure the chorizo package is labeled properly. The cream has yogurt in it, so make sure that’s labeled GF, too. 

Review: Now that I’ve been introduced to the world of stuffed-sweet-potatoes, I can’t believe we waited so long to make them! What a delicious, easy, and healthy way to enjoy potatoes during the week! Sweet potatoes are filled with nutrients and then you fill them with even more goodies - what could be better?! 

The filling was a spicy mixture of chorizo and mushrooms, but if you’re not a chorizo fan then I think any spicy-ish meat would still work well. Try hot Italian sausage! Try ground turkey that you season yourself. What I loved about this dish was the opportunity to adjust it to your personal preferences or ingredient availability.

In the mood for more onions and less mushrooms? Make it happen! Feeling more like a meatless meal? Skip the chorizo and fill that potato with roasted veggies! The ways to adapt a stuffed sweet potato are pretty much endless. Just don’t skip that lime cream. That really pulled everything together. ;) 

We followed the recipe as written and loved the balance of spicy, savory, and creamy in every bite! What an excellent weeknight dinner - follow as written or adjust to make it your own! The options are plentiful and you’ll always end up with a really delicious dish.  

Grain Bowl with Chicken, Spiced Chickpeas, and Avocado

Source: Cook90 by David Tamarkin

Tip: This is a naturally gluten free meal as long as you select a GF grain. We chose quinoa! Also, we did not buy a rotisserie chicken as the recipe recommends. We baked chicken with the same seasoning as the chickpeas. Just as good! 

Review: What a spunky dinner! The star of this meal, aside from the bountiful protein, were the bright pink pickled onions which made every joyful bite pop with freshness. 

A base layer of quinoa was the best way to include grains, but still keep ‘em healthy, then we topped it with all sorts of goodies: fresh arugula and cucumbers, creamy avocado slices, crispy chickpeas, and baked chicken. So much protein! So many textures! The final “accessory” were those pink pickled onions which we declared the winning ingredient.

While the bowl had plenty of yum on its own, the pickled onions really made the whole dish come together and each bite be seriously delicious. With a mixture of so many flavors and textures, you really couldn’t go wrong with this one.

I’d love this bowl for dinner, as we had it, or as a way-more-exciting-than-usual lunch during the work day. I’m sure everyone nearby would be wondering about that pop of pink in my bowl! ;) 

Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Kung Pao Roasted Broccoli

Source: Cravings by Chrissy Teigen and Cravings Hungry for More by Teigen as well. 

Tip: Make sure to purchase ingredients for the sauces that are labeled gluten free. It’s easy to find all of them at major grocery stores, but also can be purchased on Amazon. The main ingredients are GF, but you will need to buy properly labeled sauces. 

Review: This was our Valentine’s Day dinner and was one of the best dinners we’ve made in 2019, hands-down. Reminiscent of a dish we’ve had at P.F. Chang’s, but better, this ultra-savory meal is packed with my favorite flavors and had me reaching for more, immediately. 

The lettuce wraps were filled with an amazing mix of ground chicken, veggies, and mushrooms, but what really made it all stand out was the incredible sauce that coated every single bite. I’d honestly make that sauce for other meals too such as stir-fries and maybe even a fried rice. It’s spicy and savory which is my favorite combo; I’m sure it will be yours, too! 

To keep this dinner extra-green, we paired the wraps with broccoli that was roasted and then covered in a slightly-sweet, spicy sauce. If you couldnt tell, I really enjoy spicy flavors across the entire plate!

Not only was this meal beyond delicious, I happily admit the leftovers (eaten cold, from the fridge) were amazing too. However, I am shocked we had leftovers at all because I could barely contain myself to save any of it! 

Our (long) weekend in review... 

We went to New York! Taking advantage of a not-too-cold weekend, and an extra day off, we drove down to the city and savored every second of it. I’ve lived in NYC before and have been countless times for vacation so I personally consider it a second home. I just love it! 

We spent the short trip walking for hours and hours, enjoying amazing food (plenty of safe GF options), and seeing a few classics including Central Park and Rockefeller Center. No matter how familiar I am with NYC, I always love visiting these specific spots. :) 

Highlights of everything we ate will be coming to Bar Bites soon! But in the meantime, enjoy my first set of NYC dining recommendations, here! 

We hope you had a wonderful weekend! Back to reality around here and new meals...all week long! 

Eat, well. 

Mollie and Seth