Cauliflower Scampi

This is one of my favorite meals... it makes a ton of food and is super simple!

You'll Need:

1 large of head of cauliflower, broken into florets & steamed until tender (you can use frozen if you had to)
1/4 cup Butter (is the best, of course!!) or Smart Balance/Earth Balance
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. pasta, shells work best or elbows, cooked according to box directions
sea salt

Saute' fresh garlic in a pot with butter and olive oil until very lightly browned; Add in steamed cauliflower and break up with a wooden spoon.  Mix together with garlic/butter.  Let cook 5 minutes and add in pasta and sea salt to taste; mix well.  Top with grated romano cheese.

Enjoy!

Lighter Eggplant Parmesan

Roasted Eggplant w/ Bechamel Sauce

 Topped with Ricotta and Sauce

Mozzarella!

Baked and Delicious!

This is from marthastewart.com

1 large eggplant (2 pounds), sliced 1/2 inch thick crosswise
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup fat-free (skim) milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup homemade or best-quality store-bought marinara sauce
1/2 cup grated part-skim mozzarella
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
***I added the addition of part skim ricotta cheese on top of eggplant pieces (soo good!)

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Arrange eggplant on two rimmed baking sheets. Brush eggplant on both sides with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown and very tender, 20 to 25 minutes, turning slices and rotating sheets halfway through.

2.Meanwhile, make sauce: Off heat, in a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/4 cup milk, flour, and garlic. Gradually whisk in remaining 3/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup marinara sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until pink sauce has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.  (I wasn't crazy about the bechamel sauce... next time I will just use regular marinara here)

3.Spread 1/4 cup marinara sauce in the bottom of a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Alternate layers of baked eggplant with pink sauce. Dollop with remaining 1/4 cup marinara sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake on upper rack until browned and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes.

Quinoa Bean Burgers

 Cooking...

 On top of romaine lettuce with yogurt feta dressing... yum!!

You'll Need:

1/2 cup rinsed red quinoa (you can use regular quinoa, but I find red to be more flavorful)
1 medium carrot, cut in large chunks
6 scallions, thinly sliced
15 ounces cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions:

1.In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil; add quiona, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid is absorbed, 12 to 14 minutes; set aside.

2.In a food processor, pulse carrot until finely chopped. Add cooked quinoa, half the scallions, beans, breadcrumbs, egg, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt; pulse until combined but still slightly chunky.

3.Form mixture into four 3/4-inch-thick paties (dip hands in water to prevent sticking). If too soft, refrigerate 10 minutes to firm. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium; cook burgers until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes per side.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat/Oat/Agave Pancakes

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup raw oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. canola oil (or any mild oil)
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cup non-dairy milk *I used vanilla almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup raw agave syrup

Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl - set aside. Mix wet ingredients together and add to dry; don't overmix. (Batter will still be lumpy)

Grease skillet and heat on med-high for 2 minutes. Flip pancakes over when you see little bubbles forming in the batter. This made 6 pancakes... that are very filling!

Enjoy!

Tofu Stir-Fry

Veggies Cooking

You'll Need:

1 pound extra firm tofu (you can use firm, but extra firm is best)
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 small onions, cut into wedges
9 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
1 large red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, cut into chunks
1 1/4 pounds bok choy, cut into small pieces
1/4 pound snow peas, trimmed
3 medium patty pan squash, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons cold water

Directions:

1.Halve tofu block lengthwise; slice each half into 8 rectangles. Arrange on a paper towel-lined baking sheet; top with more paper towels and another baking sheet. Weight with canned goods or a skillet for at least 20 minutes.

2.Transfer tofu to a shallow dish. In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil with 1 tablespoon water; pour over tofu. Marinate 5 minutes (or longer, if you can) (reserve marinade).

3.Heat canola oil in a non-stick pan over high heat. Cook tofu until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Set tofu aside.

4.Stirring constantly, cook onions in pan over high heat until browned. Add mushrooms; cook approx. 2 minutes. Add red pepper and bok choy stems; cook until done, but still firm, approx. 3 minutes. Add peas, bok choy leaves and squash cook 1 minute. Add marinade, cornstarch mixture, and tofu. Cook until heated through. Season with soy sauce as desired. Serve with brown rice.

Enjoy!

Ricotta, Spinach and Dill Pie

 Before going into the oven...

You'll Need:

10 ounces spinach, well washed, tough stems removed
1 onion, diced (I used Vidalia)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
1 cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 whole wheat pie shell (I used a vegan one)
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roughly chop spinach leaves; set aside. Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add spinach; cook until wilted and bright green, about 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to a colander to cool and drain. When mixture is cool enough to handle, press lightly with paper towels to remove excess moisture; set aside to cool.

2.In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, eggs and egg whites, dill, Parmesan, and salt. Stir in cooled spinach mixture; set aside.

3.Spoon filling into the pie shell and top with shredded mozzarella. Bake until golden brown and filling is set, about 1 hour. Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Delicious!!

Pecan Mushroom Burgers

(sorry for the crappola pics!)

Hey guys, I believe this is from delish.com.  These were fantastic!

You'll Need:

2/3 cup(s) bulgur
3/4 teaspoon(s) salt, divided
1 cup(s) boiling water
6 teaspoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
8 ounce(s) white or brown mushrooms, stems trimmed, wiped clean, and chopped
1 1/2 cup(s) (1 large) chopped onion (I used Vidalia)
1 1/2 tablespoon(s) balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup(s) pecan halves
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup(s) fine dry breadcrumbs

Directions:

Place bulgur and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over, cover, and set aside until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Drain in a sieve, pressing out excess liquid.

Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Immediately transfer the mixture to a plate and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Toast pecans in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring, until fragrant, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Combine the vegetable mixture and pecans in a food processor; pulse briefly until coarsely chopped. Add egg and the bulgur; pulse briefly, scraping down the sides if necessary, until the mixture is cohesive but roughly textured. Transfer to a bowl; stir in breadcrumbs and pepper. Mix well.

With dampened hands, form the mixture into eight 1/2-inch-thick patties, using about 1/2 cup for each.

Using 2 teaspoons oil per batch, cook 4 patties at a time in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until evenly browned and heated through, about 4 minutes per side. Meanwhile, split and toast buns, if using, to serve the burgers on. Garnish the burgers with watercress and the cheese sauce, if desired.

I topped my burgers with Marie's yogurt feta dressing.

Portabello Mushrooms Stuffed with Ricotta and Baby Spinach

Before Mozzarella...

Right out of the oven! 

Super simple to make and delicious!

You'll need:

4 large portabello mushroom caps
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup baby spinach, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese
1 cup part skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic powder
1 cup marinara sauce

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

2.Place mushroom caps, gill-side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle with a little salt and roast until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

3.Meanwhile, mix together ricotta, spinach, grated parmesan & granulated garlic powder in a medium bowl.

4.When the mushrooms are tender, carefully pour out any liquid accumulated in the caps. Pour a little marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan.  Return the caps to the pan gill-side up. Spread 1 tablespoon marinara into each cap; mound a generous 1/3 cup ricotta filling into each cap and sprinkle mozzarella on top of each mushroom. Bake until hot, about 10 minutes. Serve with the remaining marinara sauce.

Enjoy!!

Crockpot - Escarole with Beans

I love escarole!  The only thing I dislike about it is the cleaning of it!  It does take awhile to make sure there's no grit/dirt on the leaves before you start cooking it.  If you don't get it all you'll ruin your entire dish.  I fill up a large stock pot with water and submerge each head of escarole and make like it's a washing machine!  LOL  You need to get all that "stuff" out of there!  Then I take each leaf off and rinse under cold, running water to double check it's all clean. 

You'll need:

3 heads of clean escarole, chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed (I used small white beans)
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt

Set crockpot on high and pour enough olive oil on bottom to coat then add the garlic; then the escarole and then sea salt.  You don't need to add any water since the leaves have water on them.  After about 20 minutes check the pot and give it a stir.  When all the escarole is tender add in the beans and stir again.  Cook an additional 10 minutes. 

If you want to make this into a soup you can add in a quart of veggie stock at the beginning of preparation.

Enjoy!
*You can also make this on the stove - cook on medium low until escarole is tender.

Crockpot - Savoy Cabbage & Red Potatoes with Balsamic Vinegar

Savoy cabbage is becoming one of my favorite vegetables.  It's so delicate in flavor and just so good for you.  I meant to take a picture of this while it was in the crockpot, but I forgot, so you'll have to forgive this picture of my lunch! LOL  You'll notice how the cabbage gets dark in some areas where it caramelized in the crock!

You can throw other veggies in the crock also, but this is what I had on hand.

You'll need:
1 head of savoy cabbage, cut into chunks
4 large red potatoes, cut into medium chunks (or any other type of potatoes)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat the veggies)
balsamic vinegar, to taste (I love this so I used a lot - and even added more when it was done - start out with 2 tbsp. and taste it as it's cooking)
sea salt
1/4 cup water

Set the crockpot on high and put the savoy cabbage in, potatoes, garlic and then the oil, balsamic vinegar and salt.  Mix well.  Then put in 1/4 cup water so it doesn't burn.  My crock cooks very fast so this cooked on high for 2 hours and was done. 

Enjoy!