I will admit, I'm having a love affair with quinoa. I just want it all the time. I want it in every salad I eat. It just adds such an easy healthful protein punch to my meals. And its so kid friendly and budget friendly as well. What's not to love? This particular salad packs a delightful crunch. It is super simple to assemble and no one will bad sad about it. 

Ingredients: 
2 cups watercress
4 radishes, diced
8 ounces green beens
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
1 large head raw broccoli, chopped
2 cups quinoa, cooked
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Roast your pistachios at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Cook quinoa as directed. Blanch your green beans and put them in the fridge to cool. Emulsify your olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper into a dressing. Mix your watercress, radishes, beans, nuts, and broccoli together. Cover with dressing and serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

I love a good one pan meal. I also love a good one pan meal that is low in fat and full of good for you vegetables. This meal received my "wow babe, this is delicious" seal of approval from my husband. It has a great tang from the mustard, peas and carrots similar to one of our favorite shrimp dishes at a great restaurant, and filling protein and carbs. It comes together in just a few minutes and you will be happy to welcome this easy dish into your repertoire. 

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon butter

30-40 count medium shrimp

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 leeks, cleaned/diced

1 large carrot, shredded

1 cup frozen peas

1 1/4 cup israeli pearled cous cous

lavender salt

fresh cracked pepper

2 cups water, boiled

Directions: 

Melt your butter, add your shrimp, salt and pepper them. Saute your shrimp for 3-4 minutes until just barely pink all the way through. Set aside. In your same skillet add you olive oil, leeks, carrots, mustard, and garlic. Salt and pepper them and saute until soft and cooked through, about 5 minutes. While your vegetables are cooking, boil 2 cups of water. When the vegetables are soft, add your peas and cous cous to the pan. Dump your water over the top them, turn off your heat source, cover, and let sit 7-8 minutes until the cous cous has plumped. Season with lavender salt and pepper and return the shrimp to the dish. 

Simple, healthy, filling, and delicious. Hope you enjoy this quick one pot meal. 

This meal comes together in a snap. You mix together a quick tangy sauce, fire up the grill, and you are good to go. Easy, flavorful dishes are my jam. 

Ingredients: 

16 ounces pork tenderloin

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons freshly chopped dill

1 1/2 tablespoons lavender honey

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1 tsp water

1 tsp lavender salt 

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Heat your grill to 350 degrees. While that warms up whisk your sauce together and set aside. Sprinkle your pork lightly with salt and pepper. Grill until charred on each side and cooked through to 150 degrees, about 10-12 minutes per side. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into slices and drizzle your sauce over the top. 

You will love the tangy mustardy bite to this sauce and how much of a no brainer meal this is to throw together. Happy eating!

I'm currently in a "clean out the pantry" mode. Anyone else read Marie Kondo's book? We are currently in a major purge phase over here. And luckily for you, that means a great new recipe was invented. 

I had a bag of half eaten mustard pretzels and I didn't want to just toss them, but I didn't want them taking up real estate in my somewhat limited pantry space. So Mustard Pretzel Chicken was born. The chicken comes out nice and juice, with a tart and tangy crunch on the outside. 

Ingredients: 
3 large chicken breasts
2 cups mustard pretzels 
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon culinary lavender
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey mustard
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper

Directions: 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. You will need to use a food processor for this recipe. I tried getting around it and just hand smashing my preztels with a rolling pin, but I couldn't get them small enough. So just go ahead and pull out your food processor. Luckily we will use it for 2 steps in this recipe. Pulse your pretzels until they are fairly course chunks. You don't want them to be powdery like a flour, but you don't want huge pieces either. Place them in a bowl and set aside. 

Then with your food processor running, add your oil, lavender, vinegar, both mustards, water, and salt and pepper. Process until well emulsified then add 1/2 of that into a shallow dish. Dredge your chicken with the mustard sauce, then cover each side with pretzel crumbs. Place it on a wire baking rack and place it on the top shelf of your oven. Bake for about 30-40 minutes depending on how large your chicken breasts are. You want to make sure they are cooked through. When you are done you can serve this over lettuce and use the remaining mustard sauce as dressing. 

This chicken manages to be both crunchy and juicy at the same time. If you are a mustard fan, you will certainly love this meal. And the lavender really makes the sauce. I'm always surprised when I can taste subtle hints of lavender in a dish, how well it really elevates the flavor. Let us know what you think!