It’s important to support restaurants and small business during these trying times. However, we know that eating out constantly can break the bank, so in today’s article we’re focusing on at home cooking. We asked our friends and followers what dishes they were trying and loving! We’re sharing 7 recipes to try during the quarantine.
1. Sushi Bowl on a Budget
- The Chef: Araceli V., founder of vintage boutique The Thrill of the Luxe. Find her on Instagram here.
- About the recipe: This is one of my go-to recipes especially when I’ve been craving Sushi AND on a budget. It’s pretty inexpensive, healthy & tasty (we buy the salmon at Costco & divide it up for different meals).
It’s a little involved (takes about 20-30 minutes to put together) as far as having a lot of ingredients but so worth it! The measurements are great for a couple or for leftovers. - Recipe adapted from: Fox & Briar
Salmon Sushi Bowls
Ingredients
- salmon
- 1/2 cucumber
- spring Mix
- 1 avocado
- 3 green onions
- 1 cup rice you can use previously cooked white rice as well
- sesame seeds for topping
- 1 nori seaweed packet
Sushi Rice
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 1/2 tbsp salt
Soy Ginger Dressing
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp ginger
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
Mayo Sauce
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Sriracha (You can add more depending on your taste)
Instructions
- Cook your rice. Put 1 cup of rice in a pan, 2 cups of water. Cook until it boils. Once it boils turn down to simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- In a separate small bowl, mix the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, sesame oil and minced garlic all together and put it to the side.
- In a separate small bowl, mix the mayo and sriracha together. Feel free to adjust to your spiciness levels.
- Cut up your cucumbers & green onions, place to the side.
- It's time to add a little flavor to the rice. Grab a medium sized bowl, add the 1 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 tablespoon salt. Mix those together then microwave for 30 seconds until the sugar & salt have dissolved. Once it's dissolved, feel free to transfer the rice & mix with the liquid.
- Salmon time… ok, grab your favorite pan and add a few drops of oil to pan fry the salmon. It takes about 2-3 minutes depending on how big your salmon is.
- Now it's time to assemble! Spoon rice in a bowl (as much or as little as you'd like), drop in some spring mix, then nestle the salmon on top.
- Drizzle the ginger soy dressing all over the bowl, then spoon the Sriracha mayo on the side.
- Don't forget the seaweed & sesame seeds and enjoy!
2. The Fluffiest Pancakes You’ve Ever Had
- The Chef: Giulia Dugo, Founder of Palm Trees & Pellegrino
- About the recipe: I have tried variations of this recipe before, but decided to try a new one when I wanted more than the typical box mix. I was shocked by how incredibly moist and fluffy these were! My biggest tip is to follow the directions EXACTLY.
- Recipe adapted from: Keyingredient.com
Best Pancakes Ever
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the milk and vinegar. Set aside for 10 minutes to "sour."
- In a larger bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add the vanilla, egg, and melted butter into the small bowl with the soured milk. Whisk together. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until most of the lumps are gone, but DO NOT OVER BEAT!
- The batter will be super thick. Let it sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you will see bubbles in the batter. Don't stir again.
- Gently dip a laddle into the batter and put on a buttered frying pan. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake and then flip with a spatula and brown the other side.
3. Not your typical pasta sauce: Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
- The Chef: Erika Cruz is the face behind Autumn Atelier. You can find her on Instagram here.
Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 1/2 – 1 cup cream, 35% whipping cream
- 2 1/2 – 3 oz Gorgonzola cheese crumbled
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- 8 oz mushrooms of choice
- pinch white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sauté the mushrooms in butter/olive oil until browned and the liquid evaporated. Set aside. Sauté onions in the same skillet until translucent then add the cream. Season with pepper and once the cream simmers, crumble in the Gorgonzola and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheeses have been fully incorporated then add back the sautéed mushrooms.
- Toss in cooked tortellini or gnocchi and sprinkle with parsley for garnish.
4. Spicy Jambalaya
- The Chef: Nicholas De Blouw, In-House Counsel for Palm Trees & Pellegrino
- About the recipe: Jambalaya is one of my favorite foods because I love spicy rice and the multitude of meats in it. There’s many ways to make this, but here’s an easy one. It doesn’t take too long and you can change the amount of spicy-ness level. The cajun seasoning is also good to have an hand and you can use it as a marinade for chicken or steak.
- Recipe adapted from: Gimme Some Oven
Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 lb dried chorizo thinly sliced into rounds
- 3 bell peppers cored and diced
- 2 ribs of celery
- 1 serrano pepper seeded and finely chopped
- 1 white onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 (14 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice
- 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 1/2 dried thyme crushed
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
Cajun Seasoning
- 3 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp cayenne
- 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sausage and sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the sausage is lightly browned.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot. Add bell peppers, celery, serrrano, onion, and garlic. Sauté for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, rice, Cajun seasoning thyme, cayenne, bay leaf, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until the rice is nearly cooked through, stirring every 5 minutes so the rice does not burn.
- Stir in the chicken and sausage, and remove and discard the bay leaf. Taste and season the jambalaya with salt, pepper, and additional Cajun seasoning if needed. Remove from heat. Serve with desired garnishes.
5. The Cheesiest Potato Gratin
- The Chef: Amanda De Blouw, Director of Operations and Brand Partnerships at Palm Trees & Pellegrino
- About the recipe: I LOVE potatoes. They’re so versatile, and delicious in all their forms: fried, baked, scalloped, but this by far is my favorite presentation of them…not to mention how good and comforting is a bowl of toasty potatoes covered in cheese?
- Recipe adapted from: Laura in the Kitchen
Potato Gratin
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes peeled and sliced into 1/8" slices
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1.5 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp dried rosemary
- 2 clove garlic grated
- 1 small pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 small pinch onion powder
- 1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
- 1/2 cup grated swiss
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking dish with butter and set aside.
- Place half of the potato slices in the buttered baking dish and set aside.
- Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour. Whisk together.
- Add milk, cream, and spices until thick.
- Pour half the cream sauce over the potatoes, then add remaining potatoes and remaining cream. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil, cover with cheeses and finish baking for 15 minutes or until top is golden brown.
6. Dalgona Coffee Recipe
- The Chef: Katrina Torrijos, lifestyle blogger and video creator at Hella Young.
- About the recipe: Move over iced coffee season, it’s Dalgona coffee season now! Dalgona coffee or “whipped coffee” is the newest internet craze. Originally from South Korea and made famour by TikTok, this incredibly aesthetic drink is super easy to make and arguable tastes better than regular iced coffee.
Dalgona Coffee Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp instant coffee
- 2 tbsp sugar you can use any kind, but I love using brown sugar
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 6-8 oz milk varies depending on how much milk you like in you coffee
Instructions
- Put all ingredients into a small bowl
- Whisk mixture until it becomes a thick, caramel-like paste with stiff peaks
- Pour mixture on top of hot or chilled milk
- Stir until coffee mixture is fully incorporated with the milk. Enjoy!
7. Stay Healthy with this Veggie Bowl
- The Chef: Amanda De Blouw, Director of Operations and Brand Partnerships at Palm Trees & Pellegrino
- About the recipe: Many of our favorite restaurants have stayed open during the quarantine, and while we love to support small businesses and get take out the calories just start to add up. I like to make this easy veggie bowl whenever I start to feel heavy and want something healthy. It’s super easy to sub in other vegetables like eggplant, yams, whatever you like! The tahini parsley sauce is delicious – you can put it on anything.
- Recipe adapted from: Will Frolic for Food
Vegetable Buddha Bowl
Ingredients
Curry Roasted Vegetables
- 1 sweet potato cut into half moons
- half purple onion cut into wedges
- 1 zucchini sliced into coins about an 1/2 inch thick
- 1 handful kale stems removed, chopped roughly
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Tahini Parsley Sauce
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- handful parsley minced
- salt and pepper to taste
For Toppings
- 1/2 avocado
- sesame seeds
- hot sauce
Instructions
Curry Roasted Vegetables
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Add the vegetables to the pan and toss with olive oil. Add all the spices and toss until all vegetables are evenly coated in spices. Roast for 20 minutes, until fork-tender, then add in the kale. Roast until kale is crunchy.
Tahini Parsley Sauce
- In a bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, dijon, water, and coconut aminos. Add the parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
To Assemble
- Add vegetables to a bowl, and toppings of choice. Drizzle with tahini parsley sauce and dig in!
Need more cooking tips and inspiration to go with these recipes to try during the quarantine? Try these 5 easy ways to spice up your cooking.