Baby Sous Chef

September? Well, how did that happen? I'll tell you how it happened. It's a Girl!

Simple Plates is over joyed to announce the addition of Baby SP to our family. 
We are so overwhelmed with love for this bundle of love!
Simple Plates posting may be fewer and farther between from before but I promise not to quit! The recipes might even be "more simple" now that they will be created between feeding, changing, bath time and snuggle time. So stay tuned, my friends, and join me for another ride down a winding, curvy and sometimes bumpy road that is life. How sweet it is!

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Summertime Favorites

This month we are celebrating three years of Simple Plates! I admit year three's posts have been few and far between but I prefer quality over quantity (lame excuse). This heat is getting to my brain and blocking my inspiration (another lame excuse) so I decided to search the SP archives to revisit a few summertime favorites. I hope these oldies will keep you cool!

Slaw Dogs with Mango

Chicken Pineapple Sandwich

Whipped Sorbet

Corn Summer Salad

Shrimp Scampi

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Simple Coleslaw

It is summer so let us have a conversation about coleslaw. I am very picky about my coleslaw and normally only like my own. And the reason for that is a lot of people and restaurants put sugar in their slaw.

I do not put sugar in my coleslaw.
I repeat.
I do not put sugar in my coleslaw.

I also don't put sugar in my iced tea which apparently is a sin in the South but let's continue...

We all have different taste buds and different likes so I will not judge you (to your face) if you do like sugar in your slaw. Here is my very basic coleslaw recipe that is versatile and can be used to top off your fish tacos, your pork tacos, sausage dogs or served as a side dish.

Simple Coleslaw
(The measurements will depend on your group size and personal preferences.)
cabbage, shredded
carrots, shredded or diced
red onion, diced
green pepper, diced
Jalapeno, diced
salt and pepper to taste
red wine vinegar
mayo
Combine your veggies, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar and mayo. Depending on the size of your coleslaw you will add more vinegar and mayo but I recommend starting with about 1 tsp of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of mayo.

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Fridge Clean Out Quiche

 When my fridge needs a good cleaning I will make a quiche/frittata and a salad. Confused? I am not talking about the cleaning of the fridge surface. I am talking about cleaning out of the small amounts of veggies, meats, cheeses, and grains that may have accumulated for the last week or so. You didn't throw those away, did you? I didn't think so! Not my readers!

Before we get started,  you may be wondering the difference between a quiche and a frittata. After limited research I am satisfied by the simple difference of a quiche is French and has a crust while a frittata is Italian and crust less. The similarities are combining eggs, cream or milk, and any other ingredient on hand and finishing it in the oven.

Here is what my most recent clean out looked like:
Crust:
1 cup of cooked quinoa (you can use rice or just skip the crust)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
Mix the quinoa with the parmesan cheese and one egg. Layer the bottom of a cake pan with the mixture and bake on 375 for 10-15 minutes. Let cool.

Quiche:
6 eggs
3/4 cup of milk
salt and pepper
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1/2 cup of habanero spiced cheese cubes
Combine 6-8 eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and whatever you have cleaned out of your fridge. Pour mixture into your pan and cook on 350 for about 35-45 minutes or until eggs are set. The length of cook time will depend on how many eggs you are using and your ingredients.


Not bad for a fridge clean out!

Then I cleaned up some more by making this salad:
arugula, dates, almonds, corn, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper

Dinner served! Fridge cleaned! Grocery store trip needed..

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