Recipes

Delicatessen Style Potato Salad

~ Marlee And Christie ~ 2 Comments

First off, we looked up potato salad to find a few historical tid-bits, but the first observation was that some people refer to potato salad as tater salad. That makes us think of a giant bowl of tater-tots tossed in some ketchup dressing (new idea? maybe not haha). Not necessarily a bad thing, just never heard of that way.

Anyways, potato salad has several ways to prepare it, from hot to cold, mayo to vinegar dressing. The cold potato salad that most of us know came from the British, while the warm vinaigrette Potato salad comes from France. And one of our favorites, the German preparation, hot vinegar with bacon dressing.

There are so many variations we might have to try each kind, but first here’s our New York aka Deli style potato salad inspired by Nate ‘N Al of Beverly Hills Deli. (if you ever have a chance go to Nate ‘n Al’s for breakfast or lunch, the corned beef is the best in the West)

Delicatessen Style Potato Salad

Delicatessen Style Potato Salad 

Ingredients

  • 7 to 8 Large Yukon Potatoes
  • 1 Red Pepper (Finely Diced)
  • 2 Celery Stalks (Finely Diced)
  • 2 Green Onions (Diced)
  • 1/4 Cup Sweet Relish
  • 1 Cup Mayonaise
  • 1/4 to 1/2 Cup Yellow Mustard
  • 2 Teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
  • Kosher Salt

Step 1: 

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the yukon potatoes whole until fork tender, but not falling apart. Drain the potatoes and set aside to cool.

Step 2: 

While the potatoes are cooling, mix together in a small bowl, mustard, mayonnaise, relish and cayenne pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Step 3: 

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into medium sized chunks and put into a large bowl.

Step 4: 

Mix in the diced red peppers, celery, and green onions. Next add about 1/2 the mayonnaise mixture and stir until combined. If needed, add more dressing and season with a little kosher salt if needed. Put the salad in the fridge and let the flavors meld for at least 30 minutes.

Delicatessen Style Potato Salad

Watermelon Basil Salad

~ Marlee And Christie ~ 2 Comments

Happy Friday!

Today’s recipe is the definition of clean eating. Watermelon and basil. Yup, that’s it. I mean you don’t even need a recipe, but we’re going to give you one anyway. This combination is so simple and easy, and incredibly healthy and refreshing.  What more do we need to say?! Try it!

Watermelon Basil Salad

Watermelon Basil Salad

Watermelon Basil Salad

Ingredient

  • 1 Watermelon (cut into pieces)
  • 15 -20 Basil Leaves (chopped into ribbons)
  • Fresh Cracked Pepper

Step 1: 

In a bowl, gently mix together water melon and basil.

Step 2: 

Sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper and combine.

Step 3: 

Enjoy.

Watermelon Basil Salad

Turkey Bacon Arugula Roll Up

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

A couple of months ago we gave you our Bacon Arugula Avocado Sandwich on Sourdough, but we wanted to give you a healthier version of one of our favorites.

For this recipe, we replaced the thick cut bacon with turkey bacon, and switched out the sourdough for a whole wheat tortilla or pita. This is a really simple lunch and super healthy and satisfying.

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Bacon Arugula Roll Up

Bacon Arugula Roll Up 

Ingredients 

  • 3 Pieces  Turkey Bacon
  • Handful Arugula
  • Avocado (Half)
  • Kosher Salt
  • Pepper
  • Sriracha Mayo
  • 1 Whole Wheat Tortilla or Pita

Step 1: 

Cook your turkey bacon to your liking (microwave or stovetop) and set aside.

Pro tip: Turkey bacon tastes WAAAAY better if you cook it in a skillet. Trust us.

Step 2: 

In a small bowl mix together your arugula and Sriracha.

Step 3: 

Place the avocado on the tortilla and lightly mash it up and spread around the tortilla. Sprinkle the avocado with kosher salt and a little pepper.

Bacon Arugula Roll Up

Step 4: 

On top of the avocado add the arugula and then lay the bacon on top. Roll up and enjoy!

Bacon Arugula Roll Up

Bacon Arugula Roll Up

Bacon Arugula Roll Up

Healthy Strawberry and Banana Ice Cream

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

It’s National Ice Cream Day! And here at Two Young Ladies, we LOVE ice cream. We love making it, and we of course, love eating it. We had so many different ice cream recipes to post, but we thought we would mix it up, and post a healthy version of a classic.

What? Healthy ice cream? No your eyes did not deceive you, and the best part is, you don’t need an ice cream maker! Yes, this ice cream churn free. All you need is a food processor.

If you can’t have heavy cream, you can use coconut milk or your favorite non dairy substitute.

Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Healthy Strawberry and Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients 

  • 1 Cup Strawberries (Sliced)
  • 2 Banans (Sliced)
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
  • Zest of 1 Lemon
  • 1 Tablespoon Turbinado Sugar
  • 4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

Step 1:

THE NIGHT BEFORE you want to make this, slice your strawberries and bananas and put them in the freezer to freeze.

Step 2: 

When you’re ready to make your ice cream, put the bananas and strawberries in a food processor. Pulse until the bananas and strawberries have broken up.

Healthy Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Step 3: 

Next, add the zest, extract, and sugar. Pulse until combined.

Healthy Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Step 4: 

With the food processor running, slowly add the heavy cream. Pulse until smooth. Transfer to a freezer safe container and enjoy!

Healthy Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Easy Homemade Biscuits

~ Marlee And Christie ~ 1 Comment

Homemade Biscuits

We have a confession to make. We don’t often eat fast food (anymore), but when we get a craving for quick and easy food we always want fried chicken and biscuits from Popeyes. But with most things, we figured if we like it so much, we could find a recipe and make it ourselves.

So we did just that, and after a day of searching and looking through recipes, this is what we came up with. They didn’t rise as much as we would have liked so we added some additional proofing time (letting it get puffy), but they taste just like the biscuits from Popeyes, and honestly, much better.

Ingredients

  • 4 Cups Bisquick Mix
  • 3/4 Cup 7-Up (not diet)
  • 1 Cup Sour Cream
  • 4 Tablespoons of Salted Butter (melted)

Step 1: 

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Step 2: 

In a medium bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix together, bisquick, 7Up, and sour cream in a bowl. Mix until everything is combined and starts to form a dough. Form into a ball, let it proof for 20-30 minutes.

Step 3: 

Transfer the dough ball to a floured surface, and gently roll the dough out.

Step 4: 

Brush the bottom of a baking stone or baking sheet with melted butter, place the biscuits on the stone or sheet. Brush the tops with the melted butter and put in the oven and bake for 11 minutes.

Step 5: 

When the timer goes off, brush the biscuits with remain butter and cook for another two minutes. Remove from oven, cool and enjoy!

Homemade Biscuits

Mini Apple Pie Crumbles

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Mini Apple Pie Crumbles

How cute are these mini apple pie crumbles? They are the perfect way to kick off your weekend and are almost guilt free. They are adapted from a weight watcher recipe and are totally delicious.

If you’re really serious about cutting out sweets and sugar, you can totally leave off the crumble part of this recipe, but just know, you’re apples will be very sad and cold without their warm crumble blanket.

You can also leave out the flour, but this recipe can get very soupy without something to help thicken and soak up that water. So you can either use flour, corn starch or quick cook tapioca.

Mini Apple Pie Crumbles

Ingredients:

Filling: 

  • 4 Small Gala Apples (Medium Dice)
  • 3 Teaspoons Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoons Cinnamon
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Cloves
  • 1/2 Tablespoon A.P Flour

Topping:

  • 1/2 Cup Quick Cooking Oats
  • 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/4 Cup Butter (Softened)

For the Topping: 

In a small or medium bowl, using a fork combine the oats, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and butter until it comes together. Stick in the fridge until you’re ready to use.

Mini Apple Pie Crumbles

Mini Apple Pie Crumbles

For the Filling: 

Mix the apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves until combined. Divide the mixture between four to six ramekins (depending on size).

Mini Apple Pie Crumbles

For the Crumble: 

First, heat the oven to 350°F. Next, cover the apples with the delicious topping. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the apples are tender.

Mini Apple Pie Crumbles

Grandma’s Italian Meatballs

~ Marlee And Christie ~ 1 Comment

Grandma's Meatballs

Grandma's Meatballs

So yesterday, you (hopefully) made the sauce now today you make the meatballs! We may not be Italian by blood, but we think that we could definitely make any Italian Grandma happy with these deliciously moist meatballs.

Now, a little history on the meatball. In Italy, meatballs aren’t actually called meatballs. In Italy they’re called polpettes,  and are normally eaten by themselves as a full meal or in soups and are made with any kind of meat ranging from fish to turkey. If you see spaghetti and meatballs on a Italian menu, it’s likely there to cater towards American tourists.

Come to think of it, neither of us can actually remember encountering spaghetti and meatballs on our Italian trip last year!

Pellegrino Artusi who was a Florentine silk merchant in his early days and retired and followed his passion for food, cooking, recipes and travel. In 1891 Pellegrino published the first modern Italian cookbook and was dubbed the father of Italian Cuisine’. His cookbook which was titled (in English) ‘The Science of Cooking and the Art of Eating Well: A Practical Manual for Families.”

In this book he brought together a lot of regional Italian cuisines and made them accessible for all. He was also the first to write for the home chef and make cooking easy for all. He talks about the Polpettes in the book and said “Don’t think I’m pretentious enough to teach you how to make meatballs. This is a dish that everybody can make, starting with the donkey.”

So how did Polpettes become what we know as meatballs? The Italians came to America and were able to spend more money on food. They went from spending 75 % of their income on food to only 25%, and meat which went from being a rare luxury, to a every day staple.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 small red onion, minced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup bread crumbs, divided into half cups

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Step 2:

In a medium bowl mix together onions, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. Grate in the parmesan and mix together.

Step 3: 

In a large bowl, mix together both meats gently, hehe. Add the breadcrumbs mixture and again gently incorporate the meat and breadcrumb mixtures.

Step 4: 

Put the remaining 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs into a bowl. Weigh out 1.5 oz balls and then coat them with breadcrumbs in the bowl. Place on mini muffin pan holes. hehe.

Step 5:

Bake for about 20 minutes, more if they are still pink in the center. If you want to finish the meatballs in the sauce for a few minutes afterwards. EAT THEM!

Grandma's Meatballs

We dedicate this post to our Grandmas who are no longer with us, but we think about all the time. Especially when we’re in the Kitchen .

Grandmas
Christie with her Mom and Grandma Prieto
grandma 2

Christie and Marlee with Grandma Alyce Hunka in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

grandma 3Marlee with her Grandma Parrish in Texas.

Velvety Marinara Sauce

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

It’s Saturday and you know what you should make? Our classic and delicious marinara sauce. We know traditionally, most Italian’s make their sauce (or gravy) on Sundays but here at TYL, we’re a little non traditional so Saturdays are marinara day!

Besides, any good chef (or home cook) knows that a sauce, gravy, chili, stew, etc. tastes better the next day…so break out of the norm and make this sauce today!

There are many theories as to the origins of marinara sauce.  Most people would just assume that the moment Italy was formed BAM! there was marinara sauce, but no! It first appeared in an Italian cookbook in 1692.  Apparently the tomato was a fruit of the New World, and according to some theories, were brought over by Spanish explorers to Naples, a major port city.  Marinara means mariner or sailor, so some believe that tomato sauce was something that the sailor’s wives made when their husbands returned from sea to feed them.

Others believe that the sailors themselves made the sauce to bring with them to sea because the high acid content kept the food edible longer. One last theory is that tomatoes were used in place of a different fruit that might have been previously used in a pasta sauce, such as figs or apricots. Weird to think that tomato sauce is actually a savory fruit sauce!

Also, one possibility as to why some people call it tomato gravy, is because of the mother sauce tomate, where a roux is used to start the sauce.  A roux is traditionally used to make a gravy, hence, tomato gravy! Soon we’ll do an entire post just about the mother sauces, so stay tuned for that!

Velvety Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

  • 4 roma tomatoes
  • olive oil
  • garlic salt
  • pepper
  • 1 small red onion, mined
  • 1-28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup of red wine
  • dried basil
  • dried oregano
  • 3 tbsp of tomato paste
  • 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
  • Grated Parmesan

Step 1: 

Pre-heat oven to 400°F.  Cut Roma tomatoes in half and place them in a bowl together, pour some olive oil on top and season with garlic salt and pepper. Toss them around until all the tomatoes are coated. Place them on a baking sheet and place them in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes.

Step 2:

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottom pot. Put smashed garlic into the oil until you can smell it, about 2 minutes. Then take it out of the oil and keep it until later. Add the onions and season with salt, dried basil and dried oregano. (add some rosemary salt if you want! Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 3:

Open the can of crushed tomatoes and add it to the pot with the onions. Use a swish of red wine to clean out everything in the can. Let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Step 4:

Add 1 cup of red wine, but we always follow Queen Ina’s philosophy of there could never be enough wine! But if you aren’t as big of a fan of wine as Ina Garten, then feel free to omit it, and add more tomato paste in it’s place. Let it simmer again for 10 minutes.

Step 5:

Now that the Roma tomatoes are out of the oven, with a spatula transfer the tomatoes to the pot. Also, add the smashed garlic that you save from the beginning. Let them all party in the hot tub for another 10-15 minutes.

Step 6:

Turn off the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes. Grab the blender, and blend the sauce mixture in batches. Return to the pot, taste, add grated parmesan to your liking and any seasonings you feel need to be there. Enjoy!

Velvety Marinara Sauce

Perfect Rice (Every Single Time!)

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

We feel one of the most difficult dishes to make correctly is rice. Unless you have a rice cooker, cooking rice on the stove can be an incredibly difficult task.

One night, we were watching Alton Brown’s Good Eats and we saw this method of cooking rice that we had to share. It’s so simple and makes perfect rice. Every. Single. Time.

Now, you can use water but let us tell you, chicken broth adds waaaaaaay more flavor. But using chicken broth adds salt, so unless you’re using a low sodium broth, be cautious when adding salt.

Perfect Rice

Perfect Rice (Every Time) 

Ingredients 

  • 1 Cup Jasmine Rice
  • 2 Cup Chicken Broth (Or Water)
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Step 1: 

In a small sauce pan, bring your water or broth to a boil. Just before it starts to boil, start step two!

Step 2: 

In another sauce pan, heat your olive oil and then saute your rice for about a minute.

Step 3: 

Right before you put the boiling water/broth combo into the rice, we always season the rice with a little extra salt (kosher, season salt, garlic salt, or truffle sauce*). Add the boiling water and raise the heat so that everything boils together for a few seconds.

Lower the heat, cover and cook for 13 to 17 minutes.

*Not that this needs to be said, but maybe it does, you don’t need all those salts, just pick one!

Perfect Rice

Pickled Red Onions

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

So apparently anything can be a pickle if it’s soaked in a vinegar solution. Just thought we’d share our grand observation for this lovely Thursday morning.

Today’s recipe is dedicated to our wonderful friend Julie, who also runs a blog/website called The Fashion Law. It’s really a wonderful site, run by an even more wonderful person.

We met Julie and her mom and sister (Sue and Megan) on our tour of Italy last year. After being paired together for a Pizza making night, we realized we should have been hanging out together from the start.

A couple of weeks ago, we asked Julie if there was anything she wanted us to make and she asked for pickled red onions, so here it is, delicious red pickled onions. Pickling is really easy, like we said at the beginning of the post, you can pickle just about anything if you put it in a vinegar solution.

You don’t have to pickle red onions, you can choose any onion you like, but here we really like red onions because of the beautiful color that results. They have a nice bite to them and a wonderful natural sweetness to them.

Pickled Red Onions

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup of rice vinegar
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • 1 tablespoon of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper.
  • 1 large red onion

Step 1:

In a medium pan, put apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, sugar, honey, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Heat until the sugar dissolves, remember DON’T breathe in the vinegar steam, it’s horrible. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 2:

Take the vinegar mixture off the stove to cool. While that’s cooling, cut the onion into thin slices, or if you’re experienced use a mandolin, no not the tiny guitar-like thing.

Step 3:

Stuff the sliced onions into a mason jar.  Once the vinegar mixture has come to room temperature, pour it into the jar with the onions. Close it up and shake. Let it refrigerate for 24 hours before consuming.

If you pour the vinegar mixture on the onions when they’re still hot, they will lose  that wonderful red color they have!

Enjoy on sandwiches, burgers, salad, or by themselves.

Pickled Red Onions