Spinach, Feta, and White Bean Quesadilla

Tags

brunch, feta cheese, light dinner, light lunch, quesadilla, quick dinner, spinach, vegetarian

Before I really knew what I was getting myself into with regards the cooking for my new boy, I was menu planning with great excitement. BR is a regular dinner guest and I am more eager to get home and cook. I really get a kick out of trying new things and making bellies happy. A challenge I have is making things that are healthy for me and still hearty enough for the likes of BR. BR is a guys’ guy. When he sits down to a meal, he doesn’t care what’s on the plate as long as there is meat. It never fails that whenever I ask him what he feels like for dinner, he replies “meat”.

I found this recipe for a spinach and feta quesadilla on the weight watchers website.  It looked simple enough to make with ingredients that I usually have on hand anyway. The only modification I made was adding shredded rotisserie chicken to BR’s quesadilla to bulk it up for him.

Ingredients:
2 sprays of cooking spray
1 bunch of scallions
1 clove of garlic, minced
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
¼ cup fat free feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp fat free half and half
4 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
½ cup part skim mozzarella, shredded
¼ cup cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
4 medium flour tortillas

(ADD 1-2 Chicken Breasts, shredded to the mix to bulk up the protein…or for the eaters in your life that MUST have MEAT)

Directions:
Coat a 10 inch skillet coated with cooing spray and heat over medium high. Add scallions and garlic. Sauté for 1 minute. Stir in spinach. Cook through until spinach is hot , about 3 minutes.
Add feta cheese, parmesan, half and half, cream cheese, mozzarella, beans, pepper and lemon juice. Stir until well combined.

Spread ½ cup of the spinach spread onto the bottom half of the flour tortilla. Fold to create a half circle and crisp up on a pan that was sprayed with cookin spray.

Toast the tortilla on each side (about 4 minutes).

Remove from heat and serve immediately with sour cream and salsa.

Quesadillas are simple enough to make and can be quite versatile. These quesadillas should be enjoyed fresh. They lose a lot of the crispness after they sit for a while or even after refrigeration. But if you must have leftovers, heat them in the toaster oven and top with a fried egg for a healthy brunch!

Beef Stuffed Cabbage

Tags

beef, cabbage, dinner, healthy, light lunch

When I was in junior high school, or middle school, or secondary school, what have you, I remember fondly when a student brought in a dish for my homeroom teacher that she not only squealed about but loved so much that she devoured it in class. In front of us. Right before lunch.
It didn’t sound wonderful but watching her stuff her face with reckless abandon, I could not understand her excitement. Now, 18 years later (FML), I finally got around to making the dish that made my 6th grade teacher swoon.
Stuffed Cabbage.
How extremely weird is it that I have never had stuffed cabbage?
The inspiration came from a giant head of cabbage that my mother was trying to  get rid of. Normally, since the family is trying to be more health conscious, mom will slice up a cabbage and boil the leave with salt, pepper and a little olive oil. It’s pretty good but how much boiled cabbage can one eat? I got pretty tired of it. I sought a healthy version of stuffed cabbage and I am really happy to share this recipe after I made some tweaks to it.
 
Ingredients:
8 leaves of Savoy cabbage
½ lb lean ground beef
½ cups cooked bulgur
¼ cp seasoned breadcrumbs
1 medium carrot, grated
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large eggwhite
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 28 oz jar of sweet basil and tomato sauce
 
Directions:
If you  have a microwave, wrap cabbage leaves in plastic wrap or moist paper towels and microwave on high for 2 minutes.

If you are like me and don’t have a microwave, steam the cabbage leaves (I used my steamer but you can boil them for a few minutes) to soften them up. Cut out the spine of the leaf and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the beef, bulgur, breadcrumbs, carrot, onion, garlic, egg white, salt and pepper.

Combine until all the ingredients are well incorporated into the beef.

Preheat the oven to 300*.
Spray and baking pan with cooking spray and spread ½ cup of sauce into the pan.
Place ¼ cup of the beef mixture into each cabbage leaf and roll up like a burrito. Fold two opposite ends in towards the center and then fold the bottom “lip” up and roll.

Place the cabbage roll seam side down in the sauce. And repeat until there are no more cabbage leaves.  Pour the remaining sauce over the cabbage rolls, cover the pan with foil and bake for 2 hrs.

A serving yields 2 rolls. I made this for lunch. It was a bit heavy for lunch. I recommend this for dinner with, perhaps a salad on the side.

Asian-Style Turkey BUrgers

Tags

dinner, healthy, light lunch, lunch, turkey, turkey burger

My days of blogging have been few and far in between. I have been cooking ferociously in the kitchen but I have been distracted. I never forget to whip out my camera and take a pic of what I am cooking in my kitchen but with regards to sitting down and writing, I have been very naughty. So many new things going on!
I bid summer a proper farewell. It was a little depressing but as I say goodbye to humidity and long days, I prepare to welcome fall. Sweaters. Scarves. Hats. Soups and Stews! While I’m not completely ready for a steamy bowl of soup, I am slowly making the transition. This summer, I have made a fair share of burgers. And why not? Burgers are a great blank canvas. You can jazz up any burger and change its flavor profile with a few easy to find ingredients.
I always have ground turkey in the freezer. I feel it’s a staple. If in a bind, you can make a turkey burger, turkey meatloaf or even turkey Bolognese in little to no time at all and have a satisfying dish.
Inspired by an archived recipe from cooking light, I made an Asian style turkey burger. And since turkey is already light, I wanted to lighten this up even further by ditching the bun and swapping it for some crunchy iceberg lettuce leaves.

 
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey
¼ cup chopped scallions
¼ cup dry breadcrumbs
2 T hoisin sauce
1 t ground ginger
¼ t soy sauce
8 iceberg lettuce leaves
 

Directions:
Combine ground turkey, scallions, breadcrumbs, hoisin, ginger, and soy sauce in a large bowl. Fold ingredients together until they are well incorporated into the turkey. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions.

Roll the portions (about 4 oz each) into a large ball and then flatten to a ½ inch thick patty.

Prepare grill or broiler, or in my case, grill pan. Cook on non-stick grill pan for 5 minutes on each side. If using a George Foreman, cook uninterrupted for 5-8 minutes or until juices run clear.

Wrap burger in two slices of iceberg lettuce and dig in!
 
I primarily make burgers and have them for lunch, but paired with a side salad or some roasted veggies (like sugar snap peas or grilled bok choy) this makes for a great and filling dinner!

(via Instagram)

Eggplant Tart

Tags

baking, dinner, eggplant, light lunch, tart, tomatoes, vegetarian

Sunday is by far my favorite day of the week. I usually don’t plan much for Sundays aside from Brunch or an early movie because it’s the day before the dreaded Monday and the last day of the weekend. So I do what relaxes me. Put on a movie, or blast the Green Day station on Pandora and zone out in the kitchen. It’s a ritual that I have been honoring for years.

I choose a somewhat labor intensive dish to make on Sunday because after coming home from work and walking Mickey, going to the gym or whatever, sometimes the last thing I want to do is be patient while dinner cooks. I have tried this in the past and what I have learned is, I am not a pleasant person to be around when I’m hungry. So when I started prepping Sunday meals and coming home to dinner in less than 15 minutes, that sunday ritual became mandatory.

When I spotted these beautiful babies at the Farmer’s Market, I knew they were eggplant but I had planned them for another recipe. I recently subscribed to Cooking Light magazine (soooo excited!) and now receive  daily emails about what is for dinner. Something caught my eye and I began to peruse the site chocked FULL of amazing recipes. When I saw the Eggplant, Tomato, and Smoked Mozzarella tart, the plans for my eggplant changed. I tweaked the recipe a tiny bit according to the supply on hand.

For the Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon toasted wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon olive oil

Cooking spray

Method:

Preheat oven to 400*.

Combine flour, wheat germ, baking powder, pepper and salt in a large bowl and whisk. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the water and oil to the center of the well. Using either your hand (my preferred method) or a rubber spatula, fold the ingredients together to create a soft dough. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead the dough four  times. Make a 4 inch circle out of the dough and cover it with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge and allow to chill for 15 minutes.

After the dough has chilled, roll it out between two sheets of plastic wrap and press into a 9 inch tart. Making this tart makes me think of the Dude, who gave me this tart pan because he didn’t want to take it to his new home across the country. Paying homage to one of my bestest friends and his tart pan. Hi mike!

Pierce the dough after its been fitted into the tart pan with a fork and bake at 400* 20 minutes.

When the dough is baked, allow to completely cool. While it is cooling, prepare the filling for the tart.

Filling:

1 eggplant (about 1 lb), cut crosswise into  1/4 inch slices ( I used two small, but heavy eggplants)

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/3 teaspoon oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (1/8 tsp garlic powder)

(1/2 large spanish Onion, thinly sliced)

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (3/4 tsp dried italian seasoning)

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint (I don’t care for mint)

2 plum tomatoes (1 large beefsteak tomato)

1/2 cup shredded smoked mozzarella, divided (I used smoked gouda)

2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese

Crank up the oven to 450 and arrange eggplant on a nonstick cookie sheet. Roast eggplant for 20 minutes or until slightly browned. This particular eggplant that I used is a non-bitter eggplant. If using regular eggplant, you might want to soak the eggplant to eliminate the bitterness or salt the eggplant while roasting it.

Set the eggplant aside when its cooked and work on the sauce.

In a medium skillet, sauté the sliced onion in a tsp of oil over medium heat. I like the onions to be slightly sweet when making a tomato based sauce so I cook them until they start to caramelize a tiny bit. About 8 minutes. Add salt and garlic powder while constantly stirring the onion to prevent the spices from burning.

The recipe takes a turn here where I stop looking at the instructions and kinda do what feels right. 

Lower the flame and add the tomatoes, basil, italian seasoning and stir. The tomatoes will break apart and create a rustic sauce. Its amazing to watch. and the smell! heavenly! Allow the sauce to simmer for 15 minutes on low. I tweaked my sauce at this point and added a tiny bit more garlic powder.

Remove the sauce from the heat and bring the oven back down to 400*.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the smoked gouda on to the crust.  Add a spoonful of the tomato sauce. Layer the eggplant.

Please note that I used double the amount of eggplant this recipe called for.

Cover the eggplant with remaining sauce, smoked gouda and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400 for 10 –15 minutes or until cheese melts.

Allow tart to rest for a few minutes before removing from tart pan.

And allow tart to rest before slicing. This recipe makes 4 servings. I unknowingly calculated the calories without noting the serving size. the Serving size for this recipe is two slices.

So, tart makes 8 slices, you can serve yourself 2 slices.

I ate this as a light lunch. The tart warms beautifully in a toaster oven and can be bulked up with a side salad or plate of veggies.

As I write this, I sent my mother an apology for bringing her a tiny slice of this tart and telling her it was 8 Weight Watcher points. Its only now, long after she ate the tart that I apologize. Mothers know best. She looked at the tart scratching her head wondering how on the planet was that little slice 260 calories…

well. now we know.