Carrot Pineapple Muffins

I started to grate the carrots for this recipe, and then quickly realized that it was going to take longer than I had planned. I decided to dice the carrots finely instead, which ended up working pretty well, as long as you’re not trying to ‘hide’ the fact that there are vegetables in there!

One of the reasons I like muffins is because they are easy to freeze and then take out when you need a quick breakfast or snack, but of course I also enjoy them straight from the oven.

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. oats
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 c. canola oil
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple
1 1/2 c. freshly grated carrots
1/2 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl. In a medium bowl stir brown sugar, egg, oil, vanilla extract, and milk until well combined. Stir in pineapple, carrots and raisins. Add wet ingredients to dry, and mix until just moist. Fill muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean or tops spring back when pressed.

-Recipe from Weight Watchers Message Board

Stewed Vegetable Gratin

I saw this recipe in Real Simple, but wanted to lighten it up. It ended up being a nice vegetarian summer meal. The recipe calls for a whole bunch of Swiss chard, which may seem like a lot but it does cook down. Here is the Swiss chard, ready to go into the pan:

And here is the final product, just out of the oven:

1 T olive oil
1 red onion, sliced thinly
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 c. water
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed and leaves torn
1 (15 oz.) can white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. + 1 T shredded Parmesan cheese
3 slices light bread, such as Arnold Sandwich Thins, torn
1 t dried thyme

Heat olive oil in large frying pan. Add onion, carrots, and celery and saute for 10 minutes until soft. Add tomatoes, water, salt, and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, and add Swiss chard and beans. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add Parmesan cheese.

Pour vegetables into a 13″ x 9″ pan, and cover with torn bread slices. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and thyme, and bake for 20 minutes at 400F.

Flag Day Dinner

In honor of Flag Day, my cooking club had a red, white, and blue themed meal. I am always amazed at the creativity of the group. Everything looked fabulous, and my pictures do not do it justice. We started with a blue cheese dip, along with blue tortilla chips and salsa (not pictured), and of course, wine!

We then moved on to the rest of the meal, starting with a delicious blueberry soup, garnished with sour cream.

This was followed by chicken stuffed with sun dried tomatoes and blue cheese, pan roasted white and red potatoes (not pictured), and a watermelon, mint, and feta salad in a blue bowl.

We never forget dessert, and ended our meal with a lovely berry tart.

White Broccoli Pizza

I really wanted to make a creative pizza with the Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough, but didn’t have all that much in the refrigerator. Then I opened the freezer, and saw a package of frozen broccoli. And a very short time later, I enjoyed this broccoli pizza.

4 oz. whole wheat dough
1 c. broccoli, steamed in microwave and drained
1/4 c. mozzarella
Garlic salt

Let dough sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. With floured hands, stretch dough as thin as possible into a circle, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Top with broccoli, cheese, and garlic salt, and bake for 10 minutes at 425F.

Pesto Potato Salad with Green Beans

I got the recipe for this salad from Smitten Kitchen, and since making your own pesto was highly encouraged, I decided to give that a try as well. My food processor wasn’t happy about this decision, but after much coaxing, I was able to make something which resembled pesto. While my pesto making skills need improvement, this recipe was still fantastic! I skipped the pine nuts, only because I didn’t have any on hand, but they would make a nice addition next time. And ‘next time’ for this recipe will be very soon.

2 lbs. small red potatoes, quartered
1/2 lb. green beans, cut into 1″ pieces
1 c. basil leaves, cleaned
2 t minced garlic
3 T olive oil
Salt
Pepper
4-5 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Boil potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until almost cooked. Add green beans, and cook for 5 minutes more. Drain, and allow vegetables to cool. In the meantime, combine basil, garlic, and olive oil in a food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix potatoes and green beans with pesto, vinegar, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Stupendous Stromboli

I can’t believe I let this recipe wait in my “Recipes to Try” queue for so long! I followed the instructions, but changed the ingredients to include 1/3 c. diced zucchini, 1/4 c. diced mushrooms, and 1/4 c. fat free mozzarella. As you can see, I topped the whole thing with about a 1/2 c. of tomato sauce. I probably should have taken a photo pre-sauce, but you get the idea.

It was so easy to use the whole wheat dough from Trader Joe’s, I’d highly recommend it. I separated it into 4 pieces, and put 2 in the freezer. That means there is one left in the refrigerator, stay tuned. Green Lite Bites has other pizza ideas which look great!

Braised Chicken with Baby Vegetables

I was originally inspired by this recipe, but made some changes in the interest of saving time. I had never used baby turnips before, and it’s always fun to use new produce.

The recipe overall was good, however, the gravy did not thicken up as I expected. Either I needed to add more flour, or use cornstarch. The turnips have a very mild flavor, comparable to parsnips. You won’t know if you like them until you try…..

5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
14 oz. vegetable broth
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 t thyme
6 baby turnips, peeled
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2″ chunks
8 pearl onions, peeled
1/4 c. parsley leaves
1 T flour
1/2 c. green peas

Coat chicken thighs with salt and pepper, and brown them in a large frying pan over medium heat. Remove chicken and set aside. Add broth to pan and cook for 1 minute. Place chicken back in pan, and add wine, thyme, turnips, carrots, pearl onions, and parsley. Simmer covered for 25-30 minutes. Remove 1/2 c. broth and place in a small bowl; whisk in flour. Add the mixture back to the pan along with the peas. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes more until sauce is slightly thickened.

Blueberry Balsamic Dressing

I wanted to try using blueberries in a homemade salad dressing, so I took out the food processor and tossed them in, along with a few more traditional ingredients. The result was good, but very tangy. It is certainly less sweet than the strawberry balsamic dressing, but of course it depends on the ripeness of the fruit. The salad itself was very simple – green leaf lettuce with shredded Parmesan cheese, but I should have thrown a few whole blueberries in as well. Next time!

1/3 c. blueberries
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t lemon juice
1 t olive oil
1/8 t thyme

Mix ingredients in a food processor.

Minted Peas and Wheatberries

It all started when my friend Karla brought me fresh mint from her garden. Mint goes so well with feta, which I usually have on hand. Then, I bought spring peas at a local market known for good produce, and found this recipe which tied those ingredients together. But I was craving the crunch of wheat berries, so I used those instead of rice. I had some shrimp in the freezer, so after a quick defrost, I added them in. Finally, it needed some type of dressing, but I wanted to keep it light so I added some lemon juice. This recipe has so many different flavors and textures, I definitely enjoyed it.

1 c. fresh peas, steamed
1 c. cooked wheat berries
1/3 c. fat free feta
1/3 c. diced scallions
1/4 c. chopped fresh mint
1 c. shrimp
3 T lemon juice
Black pepper to taste