Recipe Highlight: Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Posted on August 13, 2015 by My Rose Colored Shades

Although I often opt for lighter fare, like salads and simple pastas, in the summertime, I just can’t let summer go by without grilling a steak or two. One of my favorite cuts of beef is the flat iron steak. It’s tender, juicy, and easy to prepare. The flat iron steak can stand on its own with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper but I always like to have it with a side of chimichurri sauce. I also throw in a few vegetables on the grill and they go perfectly with the chimichurri sauce as well. Ever since I tried the Grilled Skirt Steak Chimichurri at Nordstrom Cafe, I’ve been hooked on those giant grilled carrots and asparagus. Continue reading →

Recipe Highlight: Quick-and-Easy Vietnamese Summer Rolls

Posted on June 26, 2015 by My Rose Colored Shades

TGIF, my friends!

If you’ve been following my recipe posts, you know that I’m always looking for quick, easy, and course, yummy recipes. So when Nancy of I Made This Dish reached out to me to share her 15-Minute Vietnamese Summer Rolls recipe, I had to try it. I would never endorse anything that I haven’t tried first so I did follow Nancy’s recipe as is but I also made some with shrimp instead of chicken. They both turned out delicious, and so easy to make! Continue reading →

Recipe Highlight: Slow-Roasted Chipotle Salmon with Pineapple Rice and Mango Salsa

Posted on May 29, 2015 by My Rose Colored Shades

I try to cook a fish dish for dinner almost every week. I don’t know too many kids that love fish but I’m hoping that if I keep it on regular rotation in our menu, my kids’ palates will eventually warm up to it or at least get used to it. I think the key to having them actually eat the fish is by adding either a sauce or a topping that they like. In this case, the salmon is glazed with a slightly spicy chipotle sauce. Surprisingly, my girls are starting to enjoy mildly spicy food. To add a little more appeal to the dish, I paired the salmon with pineapple rice. As a topping, I made a mango salsa. My girls may pick out a few items off of the salsa but at least they don’t reject it completely, thanks to the mango.

The way this salmon is cooked in the original recipe* produces a very soft and tender texture, which I love. However, I also love a nice seared crust on my salmon so I modified the recipe a little bit and seared both sides of the salmon before throwing it in the oven. You do lose a bit of the tenderness but that’s a trade I’m willing to make. Continue reading →

Recipe Highlight: The Power Salad

Posted on April 24, 2015 by My Rose Colored Shades

It seems like everywhere we go nowadays, whether it’s the grocery store or a local restaurant, we can always find a food, dish or beverage that comes with the “power” label. I’m always buying power greens at the grocery store, I’v tried an array of bottled power juices and I couldn’t resist the green power smoothie at the local Panera. I’m not sure about the validity of the “power” claim but in general, most of these foods have a high level of nutritional value. All I know is that it can’t be bad. So I decided to come up with a quick and easy power salad that I can whip up in no time and enjoy at least 2-3 times a week. Continue reading →

Recipe Highlight: Vietnamese Rice Noodle Bowl (Bun Thit Nuong)

Posted on March 19, 2015 by My Rose Colored Shades

I’m sure most of you know or heard of Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade, a cooking show on the Food Network. I may not necessarily be jumping up to try all of the recipes featured on her show but I certainly agree with her motto, “Keep it simple. Keep it smart. Keep it semi-homemade.” With a busy schedule and a penchant for eating but not necessarily cooking, keeping things quick, easy and semi-homemade has been my way of cutting down on time in the kitchen. I just don’t think it’s worth my time to slave over a recipe to make everything from scratch and having the outcome be “meh” a lot of the times. Continue reading →

Recipe Highlight: Heart Shaped Chocolate Cookies

Posted on February 11, 2015 by My Rose Colored Shades

I had come up with the idea of baking heart shaped chocolate cookies for my husband for Valentine’s Day several weeks ago but it wasn’t until now that I actually had a chance to make them. And since we’ll be on our family vacation during Valentine’s Day this Saturday, I decided to surprise him a little early. If you’re scrambling for a last minute surprise for your loved one, this is definitely something you might want to try. Let me just say two things about these rich chewy dark chocolate cookies, easy peasy and dang good. Need I say more? Continue reading →

Recipe Highlight: Butter Chicken

Posted on January 15, 2015 by My Rose Colored Shades

Can you believe I had never tried Indian food until after college? I know, I totally missed out. My first experience with Indian food was when I was living in Washington, DC. My friend was visiting me from out of town and we decided to be adventurous. It was the best choice we could have made. We both thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and Indian cuisine was no longer a mystery. Continue reading →

Recipe Highlight: Potatoes Three Ways

Posted on December 4, 2014 by My Rose Colored Shades

After this past Thanksgiving weekend, you probably swore off mashed potatoes and cheesy potatoes for the rest of the year. Well, Christmas is coming up in a few weeks and a potato side dish is unavoidable. If you’re hosting, you’re probably serving some kind of protein, and you’ll most likely serve a starchy potato dish along with it. It’s just the way it is. If you’re tired of the usual potato dishes you make every year, I have three simple recipes that will help get you out of your potato rut. Although a couple of these require a couple of extra steps, they’re very easy-to-follow recipes and you won’t regret taking the time to try them out. Continue reading →