Roasted Carrot Noodle Salad with Honey Thyme Vinaigrette

Yum

It's definitely spring here and I want to bring to you several great spring recipes I've made lately.  The trees are budding, flowers are blooming, and birds are singing.  A family of blue jays have taken up residence in my backyard and we enjoy watching them flit around in the morning when we eat breakfast out on the patio.

However, as I type this it's raining again! What is up with this weather? Usually it is hot and we are swimming by March/April, but not this year.  An extra long winter has made me crave some healthy Spring food loaded with fresh veggies and fruits.

ROASTED CARROT NOODLE SALAD WITH HONEY THYME VINAIGRETTE

First up is a wonder salad.  Carrots are in season right now and what is better than sweet tender carrots?  How about roasted, sweet tender carrots!  In a salad no less. So that's what we are going to make.

This salad uses a spiralizer to make rings of carrots.  It's very hard to find gigantic carrots that will create noodles.  They have to be about 2-3 inches wide and those are rare.  So the rings made from smaller carrots are just fine.  Don't have a spiralizer?  Use a peeler to make long fine strips and you'll be fine.  

What gives this salad it's edge is that we roast the carrots.  Toss them with some olive oil and honey, adding a little thyme to give them extra flavor and they come out sweet and completely tender. They are the star of the salad!

Wonderfully sweet and tender roasted carrots sit atop a bed of arugula, mixed with thin sliced Easter egg radishes, and doused with a honey thyme vinaigrette.  Doesn't that just sound amazing?  Well it is.  And don't skip the dressing.  It is the BOMB!  It totally makes the salad.  I wouldn't think of eating it without this dressing, it's that good.

We had this for Easter along side our ham, and some roasted chicken.  It was so wonderful that I've made it twice since!  This would be the perfect salad to eat all Spring and Summer long.

Enjoy!

Roasted Carrot Noodle Salad with Honey Thyme Vinaigrette

1½ - 2 lbs Carrots peeled & spiralized (about 8 large carrots)

3-4 Radishes assorted colors – thinly sliced

4 cups Arugula

1/3 cup Slivered Almonds 

Dressing:

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus more for carrots

2 tbls White Wine Vinegar

2 tbls Honey plus more for carrots

1 tbls Thyme Leaves plus more for carrots – roughly chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. 

Place carrot noodles on the baking sheet and toss with 1 ½ tablespoons of oil and 1 teaspoon of honey.  Add 2-3 sprigs of thyme among the carrots.   Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. 

Meanwhile, make the dressing.  In a small jar add oil, vinegar, honey, thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Shake to emulsify. 

Place arugula on a large platter.  Top with roasted carrots and sliced radishes.  Drizzle about 2-3 tablespoon of the dressing over the salad.  Sprinkle with almonds.

Serve at room temperature.  

adapted from: Spring Roasted Carrot Noodle Salad with Thyme Vinaigrette

Golden Nugget Muffins (Small Batch)

Yum

Spring has sprung and I'm lovin' it!

The temperature is moderate, the birds are singing, and there are butterflies everywhere!  Springtime has definitely come to Southern California!  We had such a raining winter season that it caused a superbloom here.  The flowers are popping, and all the trees are budded out.  We even found hidden bulbs in our backyard this year that produced daffodils we didn't even know we had!  And let me tell you about the butterflies!  Oh my gosh....we have soooooooooooo many butterflies it is amazing.  They claim that all the rain caused a super crop of monarch butterflies and they are just flying everywhere on their migration north.  Amazing and beautiful!

Golden Nugget Muffins (Small Batch)

All this great revival of life has made me so happy!  I'm also happy because of the produce that has popped up in the grocery store.  Yes! to springtime fruits!  Berries are in season as well as these beautiful golden nugget tangerines.  I found these gems a few years ago at out local farmer's market and have been eating them every year since.  I think they are the sweetest tangerines around.  They are in their peak season from March through May so grab them while you can.  

Since I bought a ton of these tangerines on my last trip to the grocery store I thought I would make some wonderful muffins featuring these beauties this weekend.  What's better for a Spring breakfast than some hot muffins bursting with the sweet bits of juicy tangerines.  Nothing!  At least for today!!!

What if I can't find Golden Nuggets?  If you can't find Golden Nuggets you can use any sweet tangerine that you like.  I highly suggest you look for these thought because they are shockingly delicious and you need them in your life!

What items do I need?  

• Mixing bowl - you will need a good mixing bowl to make the muffins.  I like porcelain or glass bowls.  This is one that I use as a mixing bowl as well as a salad serving bowl.
• Wooden spoons - perfect for mixing all your ingredients together.
• Paring knife - You will need a good small knife to cut the tangerine bits. I love this one.
• Muffin Pan - This recipe make 6 muffins and I use these pans the most.
• Orange Extract - I use Nielsen Massey Pure Orange Extract.  The flavor is outstanding!  If you want to use vanilla instead that will work in a pinch however, the orange flavor will not be as prominent.

This recipe makes a small batch of 6 muffins which is perfect for a weekend treat.  If you want to make 12 muffins, so you can eat them during the week, just double the recipe.  These will easily keep covered at room temperature for 3-4 days, and freeze wonderfully.

I use my base muffin recipe here that can be made into a gazillion different muffins.  It's a slightly sweeter muffin and with tender bits of tangerine running through them.  It's heaven!

Take time to enjoy the spring bounty of fruits and vegetables available right now starting with these muffins.

Enjoy!

Other Springtime Treats using Oranges/Tangerines:

• Tangerine Beef and Bok Choy Stir Fry
• Orange Salad with Arugula and Spinach
• Simple Asian Salad
• Orange Iced Tea
• Blood Orange and Pear Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Golden Nugget Muffins (Small Batch)

serves 6

1 egg
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup Canola Oil
1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 Cup sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. Orange extract (such as Nielsen Massey)

1 t golden nugget zest

1 golden nugget, peeled and chopped into small bites

Place egg, milk and oil in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until light. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the citrus zest and orange extract. Stir just until moistened. Don’t overmix…batter should be lumpy and a little thick. Fold in chopped golden nugget bits.

Spray a non-stick muffin pan with cooking spray. Divide batter among 6 muffin cups filling most of the way full.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 min. Allow to cool 10 minutes.  Serve.


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Quick and Easy Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Rolls

Weekends are for breakfast and sometimes you need some homey, comforting baked goods.

I grew up with mom making quick cinnamon rolls from biscuit dough.  While they weren't the big and fluffy rolls we are used to these days from a yeast dough they sure where mighty tasty!

But what do you do when you don't have a lot of time to make something from scratch?

Turn to my...

QUICK AND EASY CHOCOLATE CHIP CINNAMON ROLLS

These are the perfect dish to make for a quick sweet breakfast treat.  A little help from refrigerated cinnamon rolls along with a addition of chocolate chips turn these rolls into a heavenly chocolatey breakfast pastry that everyone is going to love!

Items you will need:
9" round baking pan
semi-sweet chocolate chips
or sugar-free chocolate chips
refrigerated cinnamon rolls

These are quick and can be on the table in under 30 minutes.  They are a decadent treat for breakfast, with coffee, or for a snack.  Try these today!

Enjoy!





Quick and Easy Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Rolls

1 can refrigerated cinnamon rolls (I used lowfat)
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (regular or sugar free)


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Open cinnamon rolls and remove from package.  Carefully unroll each cinnamon roll and flatten just a bit with your fingers.  Place about 1 Tablespoon of chocolate chips along the length of the dough, depressing them into the dough.   Re-roll the cinnamon rolls and place them into a 9" round baking pan.  Bake for 13-15 minutes until cooked through and golden brown on the top.

Remove cinnamon rolls from the oven.  Heat the icing package for 10 seconds in the microwave.  Drizzle glaze over the warm cinnamon rolls.  Serve immediately.