recipe Archives - Fresh and Fit

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Strawberry Basil Lemonade Cocktail

This Strawberry Basil Lemonade Cocktail is a great make-ahead cocktail to have at a party. Having a big batch prepared ahead of time saves you from having to muddle cocktails when you can be mingling with guests. It also looks really pretty set out and would be a refreshing libation for a summer bbq. Unfortunately, it is still the middle of winter here in Chicagoland- but a girl can pretend, right? You can serve it with 1.5 ounces of your favorite spirit or even with a float of champagne. Cheers and Happy New Year!!

1 cup organic sugar
4 cups water
4 lemons
1 cup strawberries
5 large basil leaves (plus additional leaves for garnish)

In a small sauce pan, bring 2 cups water and sugar to a boil. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Pour into a jar and refrigerate 1 hour.

Remove rind from lemons and run through juicer. Juice strawberries and basil. Run 2 cups water through juicer to clear out any bits left behind. Refrigerate until simple syrup is chilled.

Combine simple syrup and juice in a large pitcher. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pour into glasses over ice, add spirit of your choice and garnish with a basil leave.

Arugula Salad with Toasted Almonds and Fig Vinaigrette

I am always trying out fresh takes on salads. The possibilities are truly endless. This arugula salad with toasted almonds, pomegranate seeds, creamy goat cheese and a figgy apricot vinaigrette is just in time for Christmas. It would look gorgeous on the table and make you feel less guilty about having another cookie or glass of eggnog…maybe.

Ingredients:

For the salad

6-8 cups baby arugula
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toast in a small pan over medium heat just long enough to lightly brown almonds. Keep an eye on them because they can go from toasted to burnt in seconds.
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup soft goat cheese

For chicken:

2 chicken breasts
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp basil
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth

In a small oven safe dish, Cook chicken breasts in chicken broth and white wine with herbs sprinkled on top at 375 for 30-40 minutes. Set aside to cool, then slice thinly.

For dressing

2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp white balsamic fig infused vinegar (pictured below)
2 Tbsp apricot preserves

Whisk together and drizzle over salad

Vietnamese Pho Ga

This is such a colorful comfort dish. I made Pho Ga this past weekend for my boyfriend who is fighting a chest cold. He is a seasoned Pho eater and was really impressed with this recipe. I used chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken to simplify the recipe. The best part about this soup is the toppings; scallions, cilantro, lime, bean sprouts, jalapeño, and chili sauce. If you are making this recipe for a group of people or picky eaters, everyone can assemble their own toppings and make their bowl of soup tailored to their liking. I like mine spicy and tangy!

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs organic chicken thighs
2 boxes of organic chicken stock (48 oz)
1/2 red onion, unpeeled
3-inch chunk of ginger
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 small bunch of cilantro
1 lb dried rice noodles (about 1/4″ wide)
1 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup scallions chopped
1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges
1/4 cup sliced jalapeños
4 large basil leaves (thai basil if available)
1 tbsp Garlic chili sauce
sea salt to taste

Place ginger and onion on a small baking sheet. The top of the onion should be about 4″ heating element. Set to broil on high for 15-20 minutes. The skin should get dark and the onion/ginger should get soft. After cooling, peel off skin on onion and ginger. Chop red onion and ginger finely. Set aside.

In a large stockpot, fill with water and boil. Add chicken thighs and simmer for 30 minutes. Set chicken thighs on a plate and shred with a fork.

Bring chicken broth to a boil and add chicken, onion and ginger. Allow to cook 15 minutes to infuse ginger and onion flavor.

In the meantime, fill a seperate pot with water and bring to boil. Cook rice noodles according to directions. Strain and divide noodles into bowls for serving.

Ladle broth mixture over noodles and top with the optional toppings above.

Barbacoa Tacos with Satsuma Guacamole

I am back with all new recipes and a fresh page! Over the last six months, my boyfriend and I along with the help of our family, have been remodeling and moving into our first home. I also suffered a gnarly kitchen injury which prevented me from typing (I am still not using my left index finger). If you follow the Fresh and Fit Instagram page (@jennafreshandfit) you will see that I haven’t slowed down. I have been sharing our remodel and decorating along with new recipes I think you will enjoy. Now it is time to share them here on the website to catch up to speed! First up are my Barbacoa tacos with satsuma guacamole.

The Barbacoa Tacos

Dry rub 1-2 lbs of bottom round beef with 2 tbsp each paprika and cumin.

Sear each side in 2 tbsp olive oil over high heat until nice and charred.

Turn crockpot to high and add 2 cups beef broth and a small can of chipotle in adobo (chop finely before adding).

Add beef and cook for 4-5 hours. Shred and serve in taco shells or corn tortilla with shredded lettuce or purple cabbage. Top with satsuma guacamole.

Satsuma Guacamole

2 ripe avocados mashed

1/2 C chopped red onion

1 handful of cilantro chopped

1 small roma tomato, seeds and juice removed, chopped

1/2 a small jalapeño

juice of 1/2 a satsuma orange

juice of 1/2 a lime

sea salt to taste

combine all ingredients and stir until combined

*table is from Homegoods and dish towel & teak dishes are Crate and Barrel