Shrimp & Egg Quiche

Wed, 1 Sep 2010 11:33:10 -0500

This was one of those “I need to eat something relatively healthy, but dont have much in my fridge” meals. If you don’t eat the crust (I didn’t, but Adam did). I would say this is a great meal to eat when you’re trying to watch your waistline.

1 frozen pie crust (normal sized, not deep dish)
1.5 cups frozen shrimp
3/4 cup egg whites (I use the Egg White carton)
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a small sauce pan with some Pam and turn up the heat to medium-high. Add shrimp and saute until thoroughly cooked. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. In a separate bowl, add egg whites and cheese and mix. Add shrimp. Pour mixture into the pie crust and bake for about 25 minutes. Top with chives if you desire.

Ballpark Casserole

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 14:36:33 -0500

My mom has been staying with us a few nights during the week to help out with cleaning, cooking, and overall good company. Last week, she wanted to make us something she called “hot dog casserole”. I was a little skeptical, but it turned out to be a great (and easy) meal. I really liked this because it was a throwback to my childhood of sitting and eating chili-cheese dogs and since it’s made with mostly turkey products, I didn’t have the guilt of a high calorie meal.

1 package of frozen tater tots
1 package ball park turkey franks, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cans turkey chili with beans
1 package low fat cheese (or any cheese of choice)

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the tots in a greased 9x13 pan. Layer with onions and hotdogs. Pour chili over the top and spread to cover meat mixture. Top with cheese. Bake in oven for about 35-40 minutes (or until cheese is nice and bubbly).

Cream Cheese Strudel

Sun, 8 Aug 2010 19:07:46 -0500

Despite my efforts to be proactive and cook plenty of meals in advance for my first post-pregnancy weeks, a heavy storm blew through and knocked the power out and we lost a lot of food from our garage fridge. Thankfully, some of the stuff was salvageable and I was able to make a few things with those items (this blog being about Fillo Dough).

I had plenty of cream cheese from a mega sale at Target and found this recipe while doing a quick internet search. I must say, I am pretty happy with this dish. It was easy to make and required very little ingredients. I would recommend filling them with different items too (such as chocolate chips, candied nuts, or even dried fruit).
 16 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup sour cream 1 cup powdered sugar 2 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 cup butter, melted 20 sheets Athens® Fillo Dough (9”x14”), thawed 1 cup pecans, chopped Powdered sugar, for dusting
In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla, until smooth.  In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Layer 5 fillo sheets, brushing each with melted butter. Spread 1 cup filling across the length of the fillo, leaving 1" from end and 1" from each side free of any filling. Sprinkle pecans over cream cheese mixture. Fold fillo up over the filling rolling lengthwise. Fold side edges in to enclose the sides. Roll up to the end of fillo strip. Brush outside of roll with butter. Repeat process 3 more times to make 4 rolls.  Bake seam side down, at least 1" apart, on ungreased cookie sheet or baking pan in preheated 350ºF oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve at room temperature. 
Adam’s comments : *30 seconds of laughing out loud as powdered sugar flew all over our couch* These are F*c*ing Awesome!!!

Organic Kale Chips

Wed, 4 Aug 2010 18:30:13 -0500

Being at home on maternity leave, I find myself wandering to the kitchen one too many times during the day. And despite having tons of fresh produce from my veggie co-op, I am always reaching for the snacks in the pantry. This recipe satisfied my cravings for a salty treat, but also keeps me in line with my nutritional intake for the day - it’s loaded with vitamin A!

1 bunch Organic Kale
2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 TBS Lemon Juice
1/2 – 1 tsp Salt
preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Rinse kale and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut off stems and tear leafs off of the rib. Throw away the center rib pieces and set aside.
2. In a large bowl whisk together oil, lemon juice and salt and add the Kale. Massage with hands.
1. Put parchment paper on baking sheets and scatter Kale in a one layer on pan. Bake for 15-17 minutes until crispy.

Both Adam and my mom thought these were great! I was actually surprised that we ate the whole batch.

Freezer Meals - Marie Bleu Cheese Chicken

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:03:50 -0500

Our friends and coworkers, Darlene and Andy, came over to meet Little Lana and were kind enough to bring us an amazing dinner. It was truly delicious and I immediately asked for the recipe. I will be making this again.

From Darlene :

“That chicken recipe is so simple it's sinful. It is my FAVORITE dinner! Ready?

Put the required number of chicken breasts in the baking dish.
Scatter with sliced onions and halved mushrooms.
Cover with Marie's Bleu Cheese Dressing. (other brands don't work... gotta use Marie's)

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes (unless you have a LOT of chicken, then it takes longer) till brown and bubbly and the chicken is no longer pink. Serve over rice.”

Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the bleu chicken dish...next time I make it I’ll update it :)

Freezer Meals - Blueberry Steak Salad

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:40:39 -0500

Okay, so this isn’t really a meal you can put in the freezer, but the meat was frozen and I just thawed it and put in in an amazing salad for a quick, healthy, and delicious summer meal. It utilizes a lot of fresh produce and, in my opinion, doesn’t need a dressing on top. This is a quick and tasty recipe that your whole family should enjoy!

1 large head of lettuce of choice, chopped
1 pint blueberries
1/2 package of strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup mixed nuts (I used candied cashews, raw walnuts, and roasted almonds)
4 oz of crumbled blue cheese
1 pound flank steak, cooked and seasoned to your preference

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and toss until well mixed. You may top this with a raspberry vinaigrette or eat as prepared.

Freezer Meals - Turkey Chili

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:36:05 -0500

Our latest family addition arrived on July 11th at 5:21 p.m. Lana weighed in at 5 pounds 9.6 ounces and was 18.3 inches in length. She is more beautiful than I ever imagined and is creating quite a bit of chaos for us with all the visitors, lack of sleep, and overall unexpected. Having a new baby is as fun and challenging as people said it would be and I am very glad I took the advice of some moms during my pregnancy and created batches of freezer meals for us to use when the baby did arrive. Now, if you’re not pregnant, you may know someone who is or need to bring a meal to a family for another reason, these meals that I post titled “Freezer meals” are great meals that can be eaten right away or put away for a later date.

My plan was pretty simple. The last month of pregnancy, I made 1 or 2 meals extra to put in the freezer. When I made beef enchiladas, I’d just brown an extra pound of meat to throw in chili or lasagna. I labeled the container with the name, date and the directions to cook. I also went ahead and starting putting meals on the calendar so I knew when to take things out of the freezer to let thaw.

The recipe below is one that a friend gave to me. I did a little modification to it since I didn’t have all the ingredients, but for this recipe I left it as-is. Also, I needed to get rid of some zucchini left over from my veggie co-op and this seemed like an easy way to do so :)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14.5 ounce) can beef broth
1 (7 ounce) can salsa
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or coarsely chopped tomatoes packed in puree
1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble turkey into the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon to break apart as much as possible. Season with taco seasoning mix, coriander, oregano, chili flakes, and tomato paste, and mix until meat is evenly coated with seasonings. Continue cooking, reducing heat if necessary, until turkey is well browned.
2. Pour in beef broth, and simmer to reduce liquid slightly, about 5 minutes. Add salsa, tomatoes, and green chilies, and continue cooking at a moderate simmer for ten minutes. Adjust the thickness at any time you feel necessary by adding water.
3. While chili is still cooking, heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion and green bell pepper, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent and bell pepper is lightly browned. Add onion and bell pepper to the chili, and continue cooking at a very low simmer.
4. In the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, and cook stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the zucchini to the chili, reduce heat, and continue cooking 15 minutes more. Again, adjust the consistency with water as needed.
5. Ladle chili into serving bowls. Top with sour cream, green onion, and cheddar cheese, and serve.

Our Neighbors Are Awesome

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 20:23:10 -0600

If we ever decide to sell our house, I’m just going to tell the perspective buyers that our neighbors randomly bring us the best salmon of all time.

Their recipe : it's rubbed with olive oil, sprinkled with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and dill. Then smoked on a stovetop smoker.

I don’t even bother making salmon in my house anymore because Adam has made it clear that he prefers the neighbors over mine (and I can not disagree!).

Oh yeah, the even brought us the veggies too!

Cheeseburger Pizza

Sun, 7 Feb 2010 19:14:27 -0600

This is nothing fancy or anything unique. I like pizza. I like cheeseburgers. And Im pregnant so if I want to combine the two I can.

Preheat oven to pizza dough package recommendation (450 for ours)

Ground 1 pound hamburger with 1 finely chopped onion
Throw in some steak seasoning (or whatever sort of seasoning you use to season your burgers - we use seasoned salt).
Add 3 cups finely chopped (and do I mean finely chopped) spinach - hey, might as well get a veggie if possible

Take a packaged pizza crust or make your own if you’re feeling ambitious, put it on a pizza stone or baking dish, and add the entire meat mixture to the top - making sure to spread the mixture evenly.
Pour 1 jar of your favorite pizza sauce to the top.
Now for the fun...add lots and LOTS of cheese. We used a mixture of sharp cheddar cheese and some pepper jack cheese.
Once pizza covered nicely with cheese put it in your preheated oven and wait for the yumminess.

We went one step further to make this a true cheeseburger experience and topped our pizza with yellow mustard. It might sound weird, but trust me, it rocked.

Fig and Cheese Breakfast Muffins

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:06:00 -0600

This recipe is taken verbatim from Bon Appetite magazine. It’s a wonderful recipe and well worth the repeat. I made these on a Sunday afternoon and loved having the quick and healthy breakfast options on my work days.
Sweet figs and a filling of tangy goat cheese give a surprising twist to these hearty breakfast muffins. Make a batch of these on the weekend and enjoy them for breakfast all week long. If you're not a fan of goat cheese, try them with cream cheese instead.
• 3/4 cup(s) crumbled soft goat cheese or reduced-fat cream cheese
• 2 tablespoon(s) honey
• 1 teaspoon(s) freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 1/4 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract, divided
• 2 cup(s) white whole-wheat flour (see Tips & Techniques)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg white
• 3/4 cup(s) packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1 cup(s) low-fat or nonfat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup(s) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 cup(s) chopped dried figs
• 3 tablespoon(s) turbinado (see Tips & Techniques) or granulated sugar

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with paper liners or coat with cooking spray.
2. Thoroughly combine goat cheese (or cream cheese), honey, lemon zest, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Whisk flour (see measuring tip), baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Lightly beat eggs and egg white in a medium bowl; add brown sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in buttermilk and oil until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in figs.
4. Spoon half the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Add 1 generous teaspoon of the reserved cheese filling to the center of each muffin, and cover with the remaining batter. (The filling should not be visible.) Sprinkle the muffins with sugar.
5. Bake the muffins until the edges start to brown and the tops spring back when gently pressed, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Tips & Techniques
Ingredient notes: White whole-wheat flour, made from a special variety of white wheat, is light in color and flavor but has the same nutritional properties as regular whole-wheat flour. It is available in large supermarkets and at natural-foods stores. (Or find it online from bobsredmill.com or kingarthurflour.com.) Store it in the freezer. Turbinado sugar is steam-cleaned raw cane sugar. It's coarse-grained and light brown in color, with a slight molasses flavor. Find it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets or at natural-foods stores.  Measuring tip: We use the "spoon and level" method to measure flours. Here's how it is done: Use a spoon to lightly scoop flour from its container into a measuring cup. Use a knife or other straight edge to level the flour with the top of the measuring cup.