Southwestern Superbowl Spectacular

Well before the Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Frosting made an appearance, there was a spectacular buffet at the party I attended.  A few of us helped to coordinate the offerings, and then each guest could make their own bowl.  To start, there were three bases: mashed potatoes, nacho chips, and lettuce.  And then there was a wide variety of toppings:
Meat Chili
‘Way Better than a Can’ Black Beans
Diced Ham
Corn
Olives
Scallions
Peppers
Shredded Cheese
Bacon Bits
2 kinds of salsa (more spicy and less spicy)
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Chopped Red Onion
Chopped Cilantro

It was impossible to get everything in one picture!

 

People made some really creative bowls, and it was a fun theme for a Superbowl party.  Although the Patriots lost, at least we can say we ate well.

Hearty Miso Soup

I admit I was pretty intimidated by this recipe for Hearty Miso Soup from Fat Free Vegan!  First, I had to find miso paste.  I didn’t see it in either Stop & Shop or Shaw’s.  At Whole Foods, I found the miso paste in a plastic tub in the refrigerated section near the tempeh and other soy products.  That is the only ingredient you have to find to make this recipe.  You could easily substitute linguine for the soba noodles, and any green for the baby bok choy.  If you don’t have garlic ginger paste, you could use a combination of minced garlic and fresh ginger.  I left out the seaweed and wasabi because they just aren’t my thing.  So the bottom line: there is no reason to be intimidated, just take things one ingredient at at time.

After all that, I was so happy with how fresh this soup tasted!  The vegetables are bright and the miso is mild here and not too salty.  It’s the perfect bowl of soup on a cold day, and well worth the time I spent searching for miso.  I hope you feel the same way if you try it.

 

 

 

Hearty Miso Soup

1 t canola oil
2 T garlic ginger paste
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4″ slices
1 (10 oz.) package mushrooms, sliced thinly
8 c. water
1 c. shelled edamame
4 oz. buckwheat soba noodles
1 lb. baby bok choy, thinly sliced
1/3 c. miso

Heat oil in a large pot.  Add garlic ginger paste and stir for 2 minutes.  Add carrots and mushrooms and stir to coat.  Add water, and simmer covered for 15 minutes.  Add edamame, and simmer covered for 5 minutes.  Add noodles and bok choy, and boil for 7-8 minutes.

Remove 1 cup of broth from pot and place in a small bowl.  Add miso and whisk to combine.  Return broth to pot.  Stir well and serve (do not boil after this point.)

-Adapted from Fat Free Vegan

Strawberry Feta Quiche Cups

Another week, another muffin.  Except these aren’t quite muffins, they have a much fluffier egg-like texture so I am calling them quiche cups.  I was looking for a breakfast recipe with a little more protein, and I remembered the Mushroom Thyme Muffins that I made a while ago.  I modified that recipe again and ended up with a new version.

The quiche cups are still savory; the strawberries add just a hint of sweet.  I like the combination of the strawberries, feta, and walnuts.  The cottage cheese and eggs hold everything together and add some protein for staying power.  I still think there’s room for improvement though in this version.  And that’s OK, because there’s always next week….

 

 

Strawberry Feta Quiche Cups

1 c. low fat cottage cheese
1/2 c. fat free feta cheese
1/4 c. flour
1 c. walnuts, ground into crumbs
1 t baking powder
1 c. frozen strawberries, thawed and chopped
4 eggs

Mix ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes.

Broccoli Mac & Cheese

Looking for some comfort food?  This Broccoli Mac & Cheese from Skinnytaste will definitely hit the spot.  I followed the recipe almost exactly, although I used whole wheat rotini pasta instead of elbows.  It was fun to make your own cheese sauce for this dish, and there was plenty of sauce to cover the pasta and broccoli.  I kept going back for just another spoonful, and this is a dish that I will look forward to eating for lunch!

 

Spinach Feta Pizza Roll

I love Spinach and Feta Pizza, and make it all the time for dinner.  This is just a slightly different twist on the concept.  I buy whole wheat pizza dough and fat free feta at Trader Joe’s, but you should be able to find both ingredients at a regular grocery store.  The Garlic Gold is a special ingredient, generally only available online.  The little bits of toasted garlic are amazing and I highly recommend the product.  But of course, you don’t need it to make this recipe.  Just about anything you stuff into this pizza roll will be good!

 

 

Spinach Feta Pizza Roll

4 oz. whole wheat pizza dough (such as Trader Joe’s)
5 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 c. fat free feta cheese
1 t Garlic Gold toasted garlic bits (optional)

Stretch dough into an 8″x5″ rectangle.  Don’t get out a ruler though.  Mix spinach, feta, and Garlic Gold in a small bowl, and spread on dough to within 1″ of the edges.  Roll up the dough.  Place on a cookie sheet, and bake at 400F for approximately 15 minutes.

Honey Beans and Kale

I was pretty excited about the latest recipe from Stephanie O’Dea, Honey Beans and Spinach.  I substituted kale mostly because it was in my freezer, but also because I just couldn’t bring myself to buy a beautiful bag of fresh spinach and then stuff it in the crockpot!

But right away I had trouble with this recipe.  After 3 hours, it looked very dry but the potatoes weren’t soft, so I added water and balsamic vinegar.  After another 2 hours, the potatoes were cooked but it tasted pretty bland.  I added some salt and pepper and another spoonful of honey, and it was passable.  However, I didn’t like it enough to try to make it again with more changes.  There are just too many other recipes to try, but I like to share both my failures and successes!

 

 

 

 

Honey Beans and Kale

1 (15 oz.) can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 t minced garlic
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ chunks
2 t cumin
1/2 t coriander
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. honey
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen chopped kale
Salt and Pepper to taste

Add beans, onion, garlic, and sweet potato to the crockpot.  Add spices, lemon juice, water, honey, and balsamic vinegar and stir well.  Place kale on top of ingredients.  Cook on High for 4-5 hours, until potatoes are soft.

-Lightly adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking

 

Justin’s Almond Butter

A lot of bloggers rave about different nut butters, but I am generally loyal to peanut butter.  I became more interested when I spotted these single serve packs of Justin’s Almond Butter.  The packaging seems really convenient for eating on the run, and it might be nice to try almond butter for a change of pace.  My Mom picked up a few packs of Classic Almond for me to try, and I finally dove in.

 

You knead the pack before opening, in order to make sure the nut butter has a consistent texture.  I squeezed it onto a piece of toast, and smoothed it out with a knife.  I know it’s hard to see because the color of the almond butter is similar to the color of whole wheat bread.
(That’s Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat, one of my favorites.)

 

 

Overall, I really liked it!  Almond butter has a mild flavor, and I ended up adding a drizzle of honey to this piece of toast.  The squeeze pack was convenient though, and I think you could squeeze it right onto something like sliced apples for an extremely portable snack.  I also hear they have a Chocolate Hazelnut flavor….

 

Italian Seafood Soup

I was at Trader Joe’s the other day and spotted a frozen Seafood Medley containing shrimp, scallops, and squid.  I don’t get the chance to eat seafood as often as I’d like, so I picked up a bag.  I found this recipe for Zuppa Di Pesce which sounded like a nice weekend meal.  A ‘weekend’ meal of course because it calls for red wine, and we all know what happens when you open a bottle of wine for a recipe, right?

But first, a quick word about sustainability.  It seems that Trader Joe’s received some negative publicity about their lack of sustainable seafood practices.  It also seems the company has committed to turning things around by the end of 2012.  So how does the Seafood Medley stack up?  I turned to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, and it looks like the shrimp, scallops, and squid from Thailand are not on the worst list, but not on the best list either.  Next time I am at TJ’s I’ll check out other products to see if I can find the best seafood choices.

Now back to the soup, because it was indeed a nice weekend meal.  I really liked the rich tomato broth, and there was plenty of seafood to keep it interesting.  However, the first bowl was by far the best.  The texture of the seafood wasn’t quite as good the next day, so this isn’t the type of thing you’d want to pack for lunch.  (Not to mention, people get upset when you heat up seafood in the office microwave, right!?)  Still, it was a nice soup for a cold winter night.

 

 

Italian Seafood Soup

1 T olive oil
1 Vidalia onion, peeled and diced
1 t minced garlic
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
28 oz. water
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
1/2 c. red wine
1 bag Trader Joe’s Seafood Medley

Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Add onion, and cook for 10 minutes until softened and lightly browned.  Add garlic, and cook for 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, water, and seasonings.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Add wine and seafood, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes.

-Lightly adapted from Comfy Tummy

 

Spicy Carrot and Pumpkin Soup

This week has been a bit “wintery” and no winter week is complete without using the crockpot.  I was inspired by this recipe for Slow Cooker Spicy Carrot and Pumpkin Soup, published by Healthy Food Guide in New Zealand.  Normally I don’t like crockpot recipes that require you to saute ingredients beforehand, but I made an exception here.   I am glad I did, because this was a very rich and flavorful soup.

Normally I also make soups that are one-pot meals, but I made another exception.  I paired this soup with a container of Greek yogurt to add some protein and make it a meal, but it would also be a nice first course for any dinner.

 

 

Spicy Carrot and Pumpkin Soup

1 T canola oil
1 Vidalia onion, diced
1 t minced garlic
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
1 large potato, peeled and cut in 1″ chunks
5 carrots, peeled and cut in 1″ slices
3 c. vegetable broth
3 T flour
2 t paprika
1 t curry

Heat canola oil in a large frying pan.  Saute onion and garlic until lightly brown, and place the cooked onions in the crockpot.  Add pumpkin, potato, and carrots to the crockpot.  In a small bowl, whisk together broth, flour, paprika, and curry.  Pour liquid over vegetables in the crockpot.  Cook on High for 6 hours.  Mash carrots and potatoes with a potato masher.  Stir well and serve.

-Adapted from Healthy Food Guide