...a potato chip made out of brussel sprout leaves...

I love roasted Brussels sprouts. They really don't taste like those nasty things most parents try to feed kids when they are young, they are really rather good and not bitter. The roasting brings out the sweetness. But the best part is when you have the outer leaves that fall off and they crisp up like little potato chips, crunch and all! They are glorious I tell you.


You can find my recipe for roasting them here. The trick with the chips is you have to pull out the pan after 10 minutes and rescue all the little leaves that got jostled off. If you let them go the whole time they will burn and it will be oh so sad. So after 10 minutes take the pan out, don't burn your fingers, and grab all the abandoned leaves off the pan. Toss the rest of the intact sprouts around and stick it back in the oven.

I really just need to pluck all the leaves off and make a full batch of chips one of these days... because I eat these things in seconds!

MMMMMM Brussels sprout chips... mmmmmmm

...ravioli, it's so good for me! Anyone else remember that song from when you were a kid?

I've been blogging about a lot of baked goods lately so I figured it was time to tell you something to have for dinner. I had received a package of Buitoni fresh not frozen ravioli through Foodbuzz awhile ago. I had great plans on making something with them and never got around to it... until the other night. I arrived home from the gym and had no clue what I was having for dinner. A quick look in the fridge and I noticed the pack of ravioli still hanging out (don't worry it hadn't reached its expiration date yet!). I looked around to see what else I had to put with it, because lord knows if I had made just the ravioli I would have eaten the entire package by myself no questions asked :)

My veggie drawer was looking a little sparse... collard greens... eggplant...random... these will have to do.

I must say I'm pretty picky about my ravioli, my mom dad and I make a seriously mean ravioli from scratch, super thin pasta, amazing filling... so I don't eat ravioli other than home made very often... they tend to be too thick and doughy for my taste. These Butoni were pretty good though I must say, good flavor mix inside, and the dough wasn't too too thick (it wasn't crazy thin though).

Here's what I did to make a quick dinner!

Ravioli with eggplant and crispy collard greens
serves 2

1 package Butoni wild mushroom ravioli
4 leaves collard greens
1 small eggplant cut into medallions
olive oil
salt pepper to taste
couple glugs of white wine (plus more for drinking with your meal... I know I used good wine to cook with... but I didn't have any crap cooking white wine on hand. plus it added a seriously nice flavor... ok don't use crap wine, mom made a great point in the comments... use the good stuff!)

Put water on to boil for ravioli (they only take 4-6 minutes to cook so that makes this a super quick meal). Rinse collards and tear into small pieces. Place in a pan with a little olive oil and toss until wilted. Add eggplant and let brown on both sides. Ok now season with salt and pepper and glug in the wine! They will steam up a bit and the longer you cook them the crisper the collards will get. I took some of mine out early and left some in to get them to a potato chip crisp quality. YUM. Once ravioli are done cooking toss them with a little olive oil and pepper and top with collards and eggplant. CHOW!

I know, I know, Mother's day was a good two weeks ago... but I'm just getting to post this... and hey I posted the cinnamon muffins I served along with this quiche and fruit salad yesterday :) So I'm not thaaat behind... wait yes, yes I am.


This crustless quiche doesn't have an exact recipe... and that is why you should love it. Beat eggs together with some skim milk and a little powdered milk (to make it creamier). In a pan saute things like spinach, garlic, tomatoes, onions. Let veggies cool a bit, fold into egg mixture along with some cheese of choice. Pour it all into a greased baking pan and toss it in the oven for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Yup that's it. Then chow... or in my case eat lots of muffins and fruit salad because quiche makes me want to *bleh*. Everyone else really enjoyed it though so woohoo!




I'd take muffins and fruit salad over quiche ANY DAY!

I fell in love with quinoa before I even knew how to pronounce its name... but now I do!! Even though I prefer my original pronunciation better ;) OK time to fess up... who knows how to pronounce it for real??

This recipe comes from vegan with a vengeance... who's pad thai recipe I wasn't a fan of... but these tiny pucks are tasty little buggers! She says to bake them... for 40 minutes... who has 40 minutes?? I want to chow NOW. So I just sprayed a pan with olive oil and cooked them that way, just a few minutes each side to brown and warm them up... it's vegan, so there isn't anything that needs to get cooked up like raw eggs... although they do need some pan time... I wouldn't eat these straight up raw.


Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes
from Vegan with A Vengeance

For the Croquettes:

1 1/2 cup of cooked black-eyed peas
1 generous tablespoon of olive oil (totally forgot to put this in... they still came out good!)
1 generous tablespoon of tamari or soy sauce
1 cup of cooked quinoa (I used the red kind this time)
1 red or green chili, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of paprika

For the Coating:
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of cornmeal
pinch of sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of grated lemon zest

In a medium-large bowl, mash the black-eyed peas with a fork or potato masher. Mix in the olive oil, tamari and hot chili. Add the quinoa to the bowl, along with the spices and herbs and stir until well combined.

Combine the ingredients for the coating in a small bowl.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease the sheet.

Shape the bean and quinoa mixture into small patties, roll in the crumb mixture and transfer to the baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Turn them after 20 minutes have elapsed. (Ok I didn't feel like waiting 40 minutes, so I packed them in 1/4 cup measuring cup to shape them, rolled them in the crumbs and pan fried them with a spray of olive oil... tasty!)

Serves 4. (HA more like 2.5 peeps)

You can find the recipe here, but you want to know a secret?


I still like the stuff in the box with the fake powder better.... what's wrong with me????

Any other foodies out there that love love the gourmet... but also have a spot in their heart for a totally un-foodie food? What's your poison?

Another recipe from the Foodbuzz 24 24 24 event! This one is brought to you by Gretchen and Mike who I think are celebrating their 1 year wedding anniversary this week?? HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GUYS!!!! Gretchen has been doing the organic thing and I knew she'd come to the plate swinging and she didn't disappoint! John has been asking if I got the recipe yet for this because he wants to make it again already. He LOVED it. The flavors paired so well together, and it was cooked perfectly! Great job Gretchen and Mike!! And I must admit I'm not a baked egg kind of girl (bad experience at a bed and breakfast turned me off to them years ago) but I put that to the side and tried this because it just looked so good... and you know what... I LIKED IT!!! Seriously the fact that I ate it... it's damn good!


Tomato Scallion Quiche with Spaghetti Squash Crust

3 cups of baked spaghetti squash
2-½ cups mozzarella
6 organic eggs
2 cups chopped tomatoes
½ cup chopped scallions
1 cup organic heavy cream
½ teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground fresh pepper

Bake Spaghetti Squash:
Cut squash length-wise. Remove pulp/seeds and place face down in baking dish ¼ full of water. Place in oven 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, use a fork to pull cooked squash from the shell into a dish and cool. Use paper towels to remove excess water from the squash before preparing crust.

Preparing crust:
Beat 2 organic eggs. Mix eggs, 1 ½ cup mozzarella and 3 cups baked squash. Line pie dish with mixture and bake 400 degrees until the mixture solidifies into a crust. The squash mixture tends to slide down the sides of the quiche dish, so watch throughout and drawn squash back up the sides using a fork if necessary. Let cool before adding quiche mixture.

Preparing quiche:
Cut up 2 cups of tomatoes and ½ cup of scallions. Place tomatoes into spaghetti squash shell and season with basil, sea salt and ground fresh pepper. Add scallions and remaining 1 cup of mozzarella into pie shell. Beat remaining 4 organic eggs with organic heavy cream, then pour over top of tomatoes and scallions. Bake 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Garnish with tomatoes and enjoy!

So as you all read about already, I got to participate in an amazing Foodbuzz event on saturday!! Read all about it here. Now I also promised you more recipes to go along with said post... here is the first one!!

John and I each cooked our own thing for the event. I decided to go with a super fresh veggie salsa based on roasted veggies! I found the recipe on Whole Living for veggie salsa... It had such promise... roasted eggplant, squash, tomatoes!!! MMMMM so wonderful... The veggies after being roasted and cooled smelled so fragrant and tasted AMAZING... but then came the tumeric... I'd never cooked with it, and I didn't like the way it smelled... but I used it anayway... and the result... a bitter bitter salsa... it was seriously depressing... Thankfully I had my sausage sliders I told you about yestserday as a fall back but this beautiful salsa...


...tasted, as I like to say, moose. What does moose mean you ask... I don't mean it actually tasted like a moose, moose meat is actually rather tasty... When I say moose...well let's just leave it at, it tasted really bad :D

I would make this again minus the tumeric and add a few more spices perhaps... but this recipe can be put under the fail category for sure :)

I'm going to let John write up about his recipe... so depending on when he has a chance to write it up... hopefully you'll hear from him by weeks end :D And as soon as everyone else at the party sends me their recipes I'll post them ASAP!

Here's a picture of some of the party goers! Not sure how I didn't take many pics of the people... must have been too distracted by all the great chow :)

I like the idea of being able to get home at night and have a nice pizza with home made dough... and I REALLY like the idea when it doesn't take 2 hours for the dough to rise!! I found the recipe on What's cooking in the orange kitchen yesterday and HAD to make this for dinner.


Having a kitchen aid mixer makes this stupidly easy, but if you don't have one no worries just use your hands :) (bonus you get a little arm workout).

I made broccoli and mushroom stuffed calazones. My roomie and I gave them a thumbs up! And the crust recipe is a keeper for sure! Filling recipe is below the dough recipe.


Jessica says the 12 ounce dough recipe made 2 good size calzones, but they are on the thin side so if you like yours thicker (crustier) go for the 1 pound recipe.

Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
(Source: Originally from EatingWell.com As found on Amber's Delectable Delights I found it linked there from What's cooking in the orange kitchen) man this recipe gets around!

To make 12 ounces dough:
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as Fleischmann's RapidRise
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2-2/3 cup hot water (120-130°F)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

To make 1 pound dough:
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as Fleischmann's RapidRise
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup hot water (120-130°F)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the motor running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Process until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes before rolling.
3. Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet on the lowest oven rack;preheat oven to 450°F or highest setting. Roll and top the pizza as desired(we suggest a 13-inch circle) and bake the pizza until the bottom is crisp and golden, 10 to 14 minutes.

*For calzones split the dough in half and roll them out into 2 flat circles. Put the filling on half of one of the dough circles and then folded the other half over. Pinch the edges all the way around. Keep an eye on the baking time. Mine took 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately



Calazone filling
recipe by me

1 tsp chopped garlic
spray of olive oil for pan
1/2 cup chopped brocolli
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup pasta sauce of choice
1/4 tsp dried basil (or 1 Tbs chopped fresh if you have it on hand)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup part skim mozzerella
1 Tbs parmasaian cheese

Saute garlic until fragrant then add everything but the cheeses in a pan until cooked through, roll out half the dough from the recipe above and pile mixture on half of the circle. I used all of this filling for 1 calazone (half the dough recipe). Sprinkle with cheeses. Fold dough over and pinch to seal. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes. CHOW!

So I've never actually made collard greens before... eaten them plenty... my favorite way to have them is in a dish called gomen, it's Ethiopian and delicious!!! I need to figure out how to make some at home for sure... so good!

As for these "garlicky" greens... they have over 7 cloves in it... and in all truth, they didn't taste very garlicky at ALL, it was kinda sad. So if you make these add more garlic for sure... and maybe some other things to jazz things up. After scooping some onto our plates John and I both were under-enthused. So the self described "concoction king" John went back into the kitchen and did some majic on them to make them taste better... what he did... I have no clue, and he wont tell me LOL! So here's a base recipe for you... and good luck getting John to fess up to what he added in :)


GARLICKY BLACK-EYED PEAS 'N' GREENS
recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

2 c dried black-eyed peas
4 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 lb collared greens (which is what I used), kale, or mustard
greens, rinsed and chopped (about 6 c loosely packed)
1 T olive oil
2 to 4 T minced garlic (I used 3-4)
1 t dried thyme
salt and ground black pepper to taste

cooked rice
chopped scallions or red onions
lemon wedges or hot pepper vinegar

Rinse the black-eyed peas. Place them in a soup pot with garlic cloves and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and cook for 45 minutes, until tender, adding water occasionally as needed. The beans should be moist but not soupy, so it is ideal when most of the water has been absorbed at the end of cooking. When the beans are tender, if most of the water has not been absorbed, lightly drain them. Cover and set aside.

Rinse the greens and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil and saute the minced garlic and thyme for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the damp green and continue to stir until they are wilted but still bright green. Stir the greens into the beans and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

So I went to the library the other day to grab a cookbook a coworker said was amazing... the computer said the library had the book... but it was NOT where it was supposed to be on the shelf, and no where to be found (I even asked at the reference desk)! Totally frustrating. I mean what kind of miscreant moves cookbooks in the library... jerk... anyway I took a look at some other cookbooks by the same author and found one that looked good and somewhat familiar... I later realized I OWN the cookbook but haven't looked at it for years... whoops! Well now I'm super excited that I own it because there are a TON of recipes I want to make from it!

I guess I should be happy with the jerk though, since it made me rediscover Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals. The only thing I wished this book had was pictures... I mean it should really be a requirement for a cookbook! Don't you agree?? Maybe that's why I love food blogs so much, pretty much all of them come with pictures :) If you are even in the Ithaca NY area, totally stop in to this restaurant, it's amazing!! John and I had a mini vacation in Ithaca last summer and seriously enjoyed our trip to Moosewood.

So in honor of the jerk who made me find this cookbook... I made the Jerk Tofu recipe... except John didn't feel like tofu... so I used chicken instead.


Jerk Tofu
recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites
Serves 8

Pressing tofu time: 30 minutes
Preparation time" 10 minutes
Baking time: 1 hour

Jerk Sauce
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (about ½ cup)
3 fresh green chiles, seeds removed for a milder "hot"
2 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Place the cakes of tofu between tow flat plates or baking pans. weight the top with a heavy object, such as a book or a can, so that the sides of the tofu bulge slightly but don't split. Let stand for a least 30 minutes. While the tofu is pressing, combine the jerk sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400º. Drain the pressed tofu. Cut each cake into three slices. Stack the slices and then cut through all three layers on the two diagonals, making an X. This will make 12 triangular pieces from each block of tofu. Gently toss the tofu triangles in the jerk marinade and place them in an unoiled 8 x 12-inch nonreactive baking dish. Bake for 1 hour, carefully turning the tofu about every 20 minutes.


The jerk sauce was wicked flavorful, although the clove is a bit overpowering so go easy on it if you aren't a fan of cloves. You can find more great Moosewood recipes here!

Every heard of TVP? It stands for textured vegetable protein.

Sounds kinda weird and maybe gross right? But give it a chance! In this economy a seriously cheep high protein substitute is a good thing right?? It's under $3 a bag, and the bag could feed a large family for at least 2 full dinners if not more. Plus it's tasty!

It looks like some kind of dehydrated grain... then when you hydrate it... it looks like light tan ground beef... I'm making you want to try it right? Hmmm marketing skills not kicking in... Ok how about a picture of it in action?

Hmmm that's not the best picture I took... is it? Darn, guess it is... well, you'll just have to believe me on this one... It's super tasty. Crazy healthy. Protein packed. Low fat. And when mixed with red sauce and pasta... you'd think you were having ground meet... not TVP. We made this up last friday (it's Lent, so no meat). Gnocchi cooks in 4 minutes so this whole thing was ready to go in about 15 minutes. Seriously I know! I love fast food don't you?

Portobello Pasta with "meat" TVP sauce
recipe by me. (Feeds John and me, that means three normal people, with sauce left over)

1 package whole wheat gnocchi
1 bottle (1 lb 8 oz) Diavola Red Sauce from Wegmans (or your favorite go to sauce)
1 cup TVP (I use Bob's Red Mill TVP)
1 cup boiling water (to hydrate TVP)
3 large portobello mushrooms sliced
2 tsp chopped garlic
olive oil spray
cottage cheese (if you are John or if you like to mix it into your pasta too)

Boil water for gnocchi.

Microwave 1 cup water in a medium size bowl or large pyrex cup for 2-3 minutes. Remove and add 1 cup TVP, let soak for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Set aside.

Spray a wok, or large sauce pan, with olive oil, saute garlic until brown. Add mushrooms and cook through, flipping after a minute or two to cook the other side. Add jar of sauce and TVP. Simmer until heated through.

Once water boils, add gnocchi and cook according to package directions (4 minutes). Drain, and immediatly divide between 2 or 3 bowls, top with sauce, stir in cottage cheese if desired. Serve.

Chow!

Baba Ga-what? It's Baba Ghanoush! And it's as fun to say as it is to eat :) You can serve it as a dip with chips or toasted pita, use it as a spread on a sandwich, or plop some ontop of a salad. So many uses :) Mine kept for about two weeks in the refridgerator without any adverse taste or effects to my belly ;) although I'm not how it lasted so long without me chowing it all! I actually roasted the eggplants on my lunch hour at work haha. We have a full kitchen here so I figured I'd save myself some time that night at home. In doing so I had this stuff along with the hummus made up and ready to chow within 30 minutes of walking in the door from the gym. Which is a good thing because when I get hungry I get a bit testy...

Anyone else out there get crabby when they aren't fed on time? Or is that just crabby me :D


Baba Ghanoush
recipe found on A Pot of Tea and a Biscuit

3 medium aubergines (eggplants)
2 tbsp tahini
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 210C/425F/Gas 7.

Place the aubergines in the oven and roast for 45-60 minutes. The skin should be brown and they should be soft to the touch.

When done, cut them in half and scoop the flesh into a sieve. Squeeze out any of the excess moisture.

Place everything into a blender and puree until smooth.

Taste and add more lemon juice if needed.

If you want an extra creamy dip stir in about 1/3 cup of yoghurt.

Ok, it's finally here! I know I promised this last week, sorry for the delay! But let me tell you, homemade humus and baba ganoush is totally worth it. They are both super easy to make, and paired with some fresh veggies and a toasted pita... delicious.

One thing you need his tahini, I've tried making hummus without it before and it came out ok... but with it... better then the store bought stuff for sure. It really is so simple, and once you make it you'll be wonding why you spent so much on it at the store.


garlicy hummus
inspired by cooks illustrated
my version

3 garlic cloves
1 16oz can chickpeas, drained, a 1/4 cup of chickpeas set to the side
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 Tbs tahini (sesame paste)
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil - plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

parsley for garnish (optional)

Turn on the food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop the garlic down the feed tube; process until it's minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Place in a bowl and top with reserved handful of non chopped chickpeas, parsley, and a little olive oil drizzle.

Come back tomorrow for theBaba Ghanoush... Baba Ga-what?

This recipe makes a TON of coleslaw... so be prepared to eat this everyday for a week... or have a party of people coming over to help you eat it all :) I used some with the Buffalo Chicken I posted yesterday, and then spent the rest of the week putting it on top of whatever I had for lunch. Coleslaw and sharp cheddar sandwich anyone?? Tasty!


This is super easy and wicked flavorful. I'll totally be using this as a stand in to the normal fat filled variety. This stuff made me feel like it was summer, crisp, light... why can't spring get here already??

Colorful Coleslaw
1/3 cup light mayo
1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs fat free milk
2 tsp sugar
4 cups packed shredded green cabbage
3.5 cups packed shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup red onion slivers
1/4 cup chopped whole green onion
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
black pepper
I added in some celery seeds

Stir mayo through sugar together, toss in veggies, then season with salt and pepper. Stir till combined, cover and refrigerate.

Have a great weekend everyone!!! Tomorrow is national Pi day... yes yes I'm a NERD... So we'll see if I get around to baking a pie for pi day :)

Other things to come next week... a smoothie named after a TV station... some baba ghanoush! come on it's just fun to say. Garlic hummus... AND muffins made with quinoa!!!! So come on back for some more chow and fun :) OH and I almost forgot, some amazing whole wheat soft pretzels!!

So I made these quinoa bean burgers... they sounded good in theory... but they seriously had no flavor... thankfully I only cooked two before realizing this... after some red hot and some garlic added to the mix, plus some of that dijon mayo from the fries added on top... we were good to go :)


Quinoa Burgers
recipe adapted from Whole Living

Serves 4.
* 1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
* 1 medium carrot, cut in large chunks
* 3 scallions, thinly sliced
* 15 ounces great northern beans, drained and rinsed
* 1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs (I used panko)
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* Coarse salt
* Ground pepper
* 2 tsp chopped garlic
* red hot (to taste)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 pitas (each 6 inches) We used Flat Out Wraps cut in half
* 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced diagonally
* tomato and lettuce to top
* dijon mayo


Directions
1. In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil; add quinoa, 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, garlic, scallions, beans, breadcrumbs, egg, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 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.
4. Serve burgers in pita topped with cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.

As I've told you guys before, I'm a library ho. In my last trip I mentioned I picked up... what was it... seven cookbooks? Yeahhhh... so one of these books was The Most Decadent Diet EVER! It's really good and has a ton of recipes I want to try! So far I've made 3, and had rave reviews from all of them! As you know I posted about the pasta yesterday, so here is the rest of the recipe. Hope you like it as much as I did!


"Fried" Zucchini
Page 183 The Most Decadent Diet EVER!

Olive oil spray
1 1/2 tsp flour (I used whole wheat)
2 Tbs plain dried bread crumbs (I used panko)
1 1/2 tsp reduced fat Parmesan
1 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black peper
1 large egg white
2 small zucchini (about 4 oz each) cut into 3/4 inch rounds

Directions (shortened into my words)

Preheat oven to 425. Mist a baking sheet with spray.

Put flour in one bowl, beat egg white in second bowl, put everything else into a plastic bag.

Dip rounds into flour, shake off excess, dip in egg white, then shake in plastic bag. Place onto baking sheet. Repeat will rest of rounds, make sure they aren't touching on the sheet. Mist tops with spray.

Bake for 7 minutes, then flip them over and bake an additional 4-6 minutes.

Chow!

Happy Fat Tuesday!!

Pasta is one of those things that tastes 100 times better when it's home made, and in truth it really isn't that hard to make. I grew up making pasta dough, among other delicious things, with my Dad. He's 1/2 Italian and grew up where it was the men in the family's job to make pasta. He has two daughters so I get to inherit the men's role :) Ravioli is always my favorite to make with him! Tonight though I was going simple, just a little fresh pasta to have with some breaded zucchini and some red sauce. It's so simple, yet SO FLAVORFUL!

There was pasta hanging/spread out EVERYWHERE when John got home!

All you need is a pasta press and you are good to go! Doesn't it just look pretty :)

A quick dip in a pool of boiling water and we were ready to chow!

Whole wheat pasta
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs
dash of salt
drizzle of olive oil

Pile flour and salt in a large bowl (or if you are brave, right on the counter) create a well in the center and crack eggs into it. Beat eggs with a fork and slowly start incorporating the rest of the flour into the center until well mixed. Then use your hands to kneed the dough into a ball, at this point you may need a little more moisture so a little drizzle of olive oil will do the trick! Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for about 20 minutes at room temperature.

Divide into small pieces (around 8) and work through pasta machine to flatten. Start at the highest number on the side and work your way thinner (lower number) I only did mine to a 3... for ravioli we aim for a 1! Thick dough ravioli is a pet-peve of mine... BLEH! I like mine THIN! Anyway... once you have your nice thin sheets, crank them through the cutting part of the machine (the part in the front right side of my photo above). I did a thicker fettuccine cut as apposed to a spaghetti size width. Separate the pieces and hang to dry. Once you are done cutting all of the dough boil up some water and get ready to chow! Make sure your sauce is done first though, since this pasta will cook up quick (4-8) minutes depending on how thick you made it, and how dry it's gotten since you made it.

Drain and serve it up with your favorite sauce or whatever else you like!

Come back tomorrow for the zucchini recipe, a perfect meal if you are celebrating ash Wednesday and can't eat meat tomorrow... or for a Friday in Lent... or you know if you don't ever eat meat :D

I'm a big advocate of treating tragedy with good for you comfort food. When something bad strikes, I'm immediately to the kitchen to cook something up to send/ drive over to the person in need. Last week when I heard the news of a friend's father passing I immediately started making a shopping list of things to prepare to bring to him and him family.

Big batch of homemade lasagna, check,
Big batch of his favorite cookies, check.

Lasagna travels well, pretty much everyone loves it, and you can freeze leftovers (if you have any). All you need to do is have the person pop the whole thing in the oven to rewarm or slice out a piece to fit in the microwave. Perfect.


Comforting Whole Wheat and Veggie Lasagna
350 degrees for 45 minutes covered plus 15 more uncovered

6 whole wheat lasagna noodles (uncooked)
1 medium zucchini sliced into long wide (lasagna noodle shapped) pieces about 1/4 inch thick
1 large jar of your own go to pasta sauce (wegmans diavola)
1 container sliced mushrooms
15 oz reduced fat ricotta
1 egg (lightly beaten)
2-3 cups part skim mozzarella divided (depends on how cheesy you want it)
fresh basil and parsley to taste (you can use dry if you don't have fresh on hand)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
(feel free to toss in any other veggies you have on hand, I like to add in bell pepper and spinach)

In a small bowl mix ricotta, egg, 1-2 cups mozzarella, black pepper, basil and parsley.

In your baking pan pour a little sauce and shake the pan around until it coats the bottom. Layer 3 lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 1/3 of the sliced mushrooms along with 1/3 of the remaining sauce to cover. Layer 3 more noodles and repeat with ricotta, mushrooms, and sauce. For the final layer cover with long wide slices of zucchini, followed by remainder of ricotta, mushrooms, and sauce. Finish by topping off with mozzarella.

Cover with tin foil and place in the oven. I normally turn the oven on now, no need to preheat with something like lasagna. Heat at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove foil for final 15 minutes to brown cheese.

Based on all the sweets I've been posting about, I figured it was about time to give you guys a little something for actual dinner... not that cake isn't a great dinner idea "life is short eat dessert first!"

This is another Ellie recipe from The Food You Crave (can you tell I'm loving this book?). You can find it on page 176. SO GOOD! In my usual style I added some shrimp so it's not vegetarian anymore, but this would be super tasty even without the shrimp :)


Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame, and Tofu
recipe from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

1 Tbs plus 1 tsp canola oil
2 large garlic cloves minced
4 scallions
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
4 cups cooked brown rice
3/4 cup seeded and finely diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame, cooked according to package directions
1/2 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) corn kernals
6 oz firm tofu cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 large eggs beaten
3 Tbs low-sodium soy sauce

Heat oil, add garlic, scallions, ginger and cook until aromatic. Add rice, bell pepper, edamame, corn, and tofu and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Make a well in center and scramble eggs (I did the eggs in another pan). Stir to mix and add soy sauce. Serve hot.

John thought there wasn't enough flavor to the sauce. I may add some red pepper flakes to spice it up a bit next time.

So in case anyone was wondering... Friday... the day John took over my blog... yeahhhh my number of hits that day was like 10 times the normal... I got over 1000???? WHAT???? Maybe this is telling me I should just hand the blog over to him and give up or something??? HAHAHA


Or maybe I should get him to do the writing since he's definitely more comedic than I am :) Oh well, hopefully you are all still reading since it's just little old me here today...

So while in the Poconos I received an awesome book from my sister and brother-in-law! It's called the Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger and it's amazing! Ellie even has a little cult following in the blog world where they all make a recipe once a week from her book. You can check it out over at the awesome CB's blog. Clara has been trying to get me to join... but the whole HAVING to cook a specific thing on a specific night... yeahhh I can't plan out my week of eating... I've tried... but I have to go by how I feel that day... you know fly by the seat of my pants! hahaha


This soup though... it's amazing. And I will totally be making it again! Or I should say I will be making this for the first time since my Dad made this up while the rest of us where off skiing. See yet again DAD ROCKS! Mom rocks too but she was busy keeping Walton happy while dad made the soup :)

You can find the recipe on page 85, no pictures there though! I think cookbooks should be required to have pictures of ALL recipies not just some or most... ALL!

The soup includes things like cannellini beans, onion, carrot, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, baby spinach... lots of good soupy stuff :) So simple and tasty! She uses chicken stock, which we used, but I bet you could use vegetable stock and keep this bad boy vegetarian!


Oh and in case you can't tell... the soup pairs amazingly with Yuengling Black and Tan. YUM.
CHOW!