Monthly Archives: March 2012

Mar28

Savory Greek Yogurt Snack

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Cucumber Salad

I’ve been on the Greek yogurt bandwagon for a while (Fage is my absolute favorite) and recently went from buying the kind with the sweetened fruit to getting the plain versions and mixing in my own cereal, fruit, etc..  I’m always hearing that Greek yogurt is the perfect substitute for sour cream and can be used in many savory ways, but I had yet to find a good use until seeing C&J Nutrition’s recipe for Cucumber Salad in Self Magazine.

To 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt, add 1/2 cup diced cucumber, 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, 1/4 chopped avocado, and salt & pepper.  That’s it.  It tastes amazing and is a nice change from my normal sugary yogurt snack.

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Mar17

Loving the Looneyspoons Loaf

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Pumpkin, Banana, Zucchini, Walnut, Chocolate Chip Bread

Pumpkin, banana, zucchini, walnuts, chocolate chips…yum.  There is a lot of stuff in this recipe from Janet & Greta Podleski.  The “Loaf of Your Life” recipe was in the original Looneyspoons cookbook, but the authors sent out a new and improved (and even healthier) version in the March 2012 issue of their Recipe Newsletter.

I made this bread with my daughter Samantha, and it was great to see her fascination with grating the zucchini after telling me how “gross” it was when we picked it up at the grocery store.  Of course, once baked into this delicious bread, she had no further issues with the zucchini.  There is hope.

 

 

Pumpkin-Banana-Zucchini Loaf with Flax & Walnuts (adapted from Janet & Greta Podleski’s March 2012 Recipe Newsletter)

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup each whole-wheat pastry flour and all-purpose flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)

1 cup canned pure pumpkin

1 cup grated packed zucchini, unpeeled

1/2 cup low-fat greek yogurt (I used fat-free Fage)

1/2 cup brown sugar (not packed)

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used 1/4 cup and sprinkled on half of the loaf)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.  Don’t use a 8×4 pan.  Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.  In a large bowl, whisk together wet ingredients through egg until well blended.  Add dry ingredients and mix using a wooden spoon just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.  Spoon batter evenly into prepared pan.  Bake on middle oven rack for 50 to 60 minutes (my oven needed 60 minutes), or until wooden skewer inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Wrap leftovers well and store in fridge for up to 5 days; can also be frozen.

Mar10

Scrumptious Sushi Salad

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Sushi Salad

Best.  Salad.  Ever.  This Sushi Salad from Clean Eating Magazine is essentially a deconstructed crab and avocado roll with all the authentic sushi flavors — right down to the wasabi-soy dressing.  Both my husband and I loved it.  I did make one fairly significant change (we’ll call it an upgrade) — cutting the rice in half and doubling the lump crab.  If you like sushi rolls, you must try making this salad (oh, and it’s quick and easy to put together).

Sushi Salad (Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine):

1 tbsp wasabi paste

2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

2/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp honey

1 cup cooked and cooled brown rice

1 English cucumber, diced into 1/4 inch chunks

4 nori sheets, quartered and cut into 1/4 inch strips

1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 lb lump crab meat

1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced

4 cups baby spinach

In a small bowl, whisk together the wasabi, soy sauce, vinegar, and honey.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the rice, cucumber, nori, and carrot.  Drizzle in dressing and stir to combine.  Gently fold in crab.  Divide spinach into 4 bowls and top with crab mixture and avocado.  Serves 4.

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Mar5

Goat Cheese & Chive Omelette with Roasted Potatoes

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Goat Cheese Omelette and Roasted Potatoes

One of my current obsessions is the goat cheese omelette with herbs at Bonnie Ruth’s restaurant in Watters Creek.  Sadly, I haven’t been there in a couple of weeks, so I figured I could attempt one at home.  I was also motivated by the fact that my daughter Samantha has started stealing all the goat cheese off my salad at Bonnie Ruth’s, so it was a good opportunity to make something she would love for dinner too.

I used Allison Fishman’s herbed omelet with goat cheese recipe as a rough guide.  The omelette at Bonnie Ruth’s is brimming with tarragon, which I didn’t have, so I went with chives.  And I wouldn’t dare try to replicate Bonnie Ruth’s amazing french fries, so I made a simple side of roasted baby Yukon gold potatoes.  All in all, I was quite happy with my first omelette attempt.  I definitely got my goat cheese fix, but as I’m typing this, I’m now craving the real thing (french fries and all), so we will be heading back to Bonnie Ruth’s soon.  Hey, I tried, right?

Goat Cheese and Chive Omelette

1 tbsp butter

5 eggs

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs

Salt and pepper, to taste

1.5 oz fresh goat cheese

Preheat the broiler.  Melt the butter over medium heat in a medium ovenproof skillet.  Combine the eggs, herbs, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and beat lightly.  Add to the skillet and let the eggs begin to set, about 2 minutes.  Crumble the goat cheese over the eggs, then put the skillet under the broiler for about 1 minute, until the eggs are set.  Fold in half.  Serves 2 adults and 1 seven-year old.

Roasted Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes

1 lb baby Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

Generous sprinkle of salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Toss all ingredients on a baking sheet and roast for about 20-25 minutes, turning half way through.  Serves 4.

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Mar2

Shrimpy Biscuits

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Shrimp Puffs

Confession:  normally when I see a recipe starting with a tin of biscuit dough, I quickly turn the page.  They just don’t taste like real biscuits in my opinion, and many of them contain trans fats and ingredients I can’t pronounce.  But I saw this recipe for Shrimp Puffs in Food Network Magazine on two occasions, and I kept thinking about how much my daughter Samantha would like them.  And I seem to have a weakness for recipes that call for fresh dill.  Once I tracked down a tin of biscuit dough without any funky ingredients (Pillsbury‘s Simply brand), I decided to give it a go.  I had a larger tin of biscuits than the recipe called for, so my youngest kitchen helper Lauren broke eight pieces of dough into thirds and then we pressed them into all 24 mini muffin tins (the recipe states 20).  Even with this change, there was a ton of the shrimp-cheese filling, so we didn’t need all of it.  I had chives on hand (and thought they would go over well with the kids) so I used those instead of scallions.

As expected, Samantha loved these cheesy shrimp-topped biscuits.  So did my husband.  Lauren adores plain biscuits and was not happy about having shrimp stuck to the top of them…she was looking around for her usual strawberry jam.  And not surprisingly, I thought they were “okay”.  They would be a good party snack, but we had them with a big salad for a quick weeknight dinner.  Even though they weren’t my favorite creation to date, I will make these again since Samantha enjoyed them so much (and Lauren had a lot of fun “helping” with the dough).