Happy Insides

We have both enjoyed cooking for a long time, but to be honest our cooking wasn't exactly the healthiest.  It consisted of carbs, cheese, fat, more cheese and more carbs.  In the last 4 years we have really worked hard to clean up our diets and work to make some significant changes to the way we eat.  One of the biggest things that spurred this change was Cassie's health.  She was only 25 years old and found out that because of her weight she had high blood pressure.  That was the kick in the butt that we needed to really make some significant changes to our diets.  These changes didn't happen overnight and in some instance we still have more changes to make, but little by little it has added up to a huge difference and meant a significant amount of weight lost for Cassie and blood pressure that is now maintained at a healthy level.

One of the challenges of going to a new way of eating is feeling like you have to give up your old favorite staple meals that you used to always eat.  We really enjoy taking a lot of those recipes and really working to cut out significant portions of unnecessary calories and bad fats without sacrificing  flavor (It helps to really like spicy food).  Some previous posts where we have done just that are our Huevos Rancheros and Pizza along with many others.

We participated in yet another recipe swap this week.  The theme of this week's swap was side dishes and once again we were given another great recipe.  We received this recipe from the blogger over at Lemons & Love.  Definitely check out the blog lots of other great recipes.  We really enjoyed the pasta and it really made a great side dish.  If you are interested we shared browned onion kugel as our entry into the swap.

 

Baked Lemon Pasta
Adapted from Lemons & Love
Makes 4 Servings
6 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
1.5 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 a medium lemon
zest of 1/2 a medium lemon
1/2 c. non-fat Greek yogurt (we recommend Fage 0% yogurt)
1-2 T. chopped flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1/2-1 oz. shredded Parmesan

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil.  Cook spaghetti until al dente.

2) Meanwhile in a separate bowl combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, Greek yogurt, parsley, salt and pepper.  Toss spaghetti with this mixture and put into a oven proof dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle on top with Parmesan and then bake for 15-17 minutes.     

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When we started out to make these we were supposed to be having stuffed zucchini, but we soon realized we had a problem.  We had the tiniest zucchini on the planet.  This is what happens when Jason shops for zucchini.  He always grabs super tiny ones.  As we amassed the stuff we were supposed to actually stuff into this tiny zucchini onto the counter we realized...this isn't gonna work.  So, being the resourceful people that we are we decided to make stuffed bell pepper instead.  Regardless of the mix up it was a great dish with lots of flavor and made eating those veggies to be truly enjoyable.  Plus...bonus, these are really easy to make.    

The recipe for this wonderful side dish came from kind of a funny place...a calendar.  Way back at the beginning of 2010 our Grocery store, Natural Grocers, was giving out free calendars.  We didn't yet have a 2010 calendar so we snatched one up and brought it home.  It was filled with a new recipe card every month and a coupon.  Hooray.  Many many months passed and neither of us spent much time paying attention to our calendar as it was hanging in our spare room next to the very rarely used treadmill.  That was all until a few weeks ago when Cassie injured her knee and was unable to go running outside and had to settle for walking slowly on the treadmill.  As she passed to tedious time her gaze shifted from the wall in front of her to the October page of the calendar to her right.  She was looking at the recipe and decided that it looked pretty good and it needed to make an appearance on our menu sometime soon.  Boy are we glad it did too.  This may become one of our new favorite ways to eat a load of vegetables.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
Adapted from our Natural Grocers 2010 calendar
1 medium green bell pepper
1/2 T. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium zucchini or summer squash, diced 
1 large tomato, diced
4 scallions sliced
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. whole wheat bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 large egg, gently whisked

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice green bell pepper in half from top to bottom, remove the seeds and the stem and set aside.

2) In a skillet heat oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and red bell pepper to the skillet and saute for about 7-10 minutes until they begin to soften.  Add the zucchini, tomato and scallions and saute another 3-5 minutes.

3) Meanwhile in a medium bowl mix together Parmesan, red pepper flakes, bread crumbs and salt and pepper.  Stir till they are well combined and then add the egg.  Mix well into the breadcrumb and cheese mixture until incorporated.  After the vegetables are done add them to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well until they are well coated. 


4) Fill the green bell pepper halves with the vegetable mixture and place in a non stick oven dish.  Bake for about 20-30 minutes until the tops of the stuffed peppers are golden brown.  Serve hot.

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Here we go with another sweet potato recipe.  What did I say before?  We just can't get enough of these things.  They are so great for the cold fall weather.  We found this recipe and couldn't wait to make it.  Not only was it delicious looking, but it also included fresh rosemary which we happened to have on hand and wanted to use up before it dried out.  The recipe can take some time, but it is definitely worth it.  It is perfect for a hearty Sunday night meal.  We really enjoyed the flavor of the squash, caramelized onion and feta all together.  It really created a satisfying meal.  We added bacon to the pie because, well honestly, because we are both a bit of bacon fanatics.  It added another layer of flavor and was a really good addition, but certainly isn't necessary to the overall pie and would be perfectly delicious left vegetarian.

Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato and Feta Pie
Adapted from Christine's Recipes
Makes 4 generous main dish servings or 6 side dish servings

Shortcrust Pastry:
8 oz. whole wheat pastry flour 
4 oz. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 T. cold water

Pie:
15 oz. butternut squash,diced
7 oz. sweet potato, diced
6 cloves garlic unpeeled
3 T. olive oil, divided
3 oz. feta cheese
2 small red onions, thinly sliced
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. sucanat
2 t. finely chopped fresh rosemary
4 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 egg, whisked
shortcrust pastry

To make the pastry:
1) Place the flour and butter into the food processor and pulse until well combined and crumble.  Add the cold water and pulse again until the dough begins to come together.

2) Knead the dough into a circular disc shape and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes until you are ready to use it.

To make the pie:
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the squash, sweet potatoes, and garlic cloves into a baking dish and toss with 1 1/2 T. of olive oil.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until the mixture is tender.  Remove from the oven.

2) Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan.  Cook the onions over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes.  Add the vinegar and the sucanat and cook for another 12 minutes until the onions are caramelized.

3) Squeeze the roasted garlic out of their husks and discard the husks.  Return the garlic to the roasted vegetables.  Add the onions, rosemary, feta, salt, pepper and bacon (if using) into the roasted vegetables.

4) On parchment paper roll the pastry till it is about a 11 inch circle.  Heap the vegetable mixture in the center of the pie leaving a 1 1/2 inch border of crust.  You may have some filling left over.  Fold the edges of the pastry up pleating it as you go.  Brush the crust with the whisked egg.

5) Bake for 25-30 minutes on 400 until the crust is golden.  Serve immediately.

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When we were on vacation in Texas this summer we were staying at a friend's house.  One night while we were sitting around talking he had an episode of Grill It with Bobby Flay playing in the background.  Cassie always has an issue of paying full attention to either a conversation or the show playing when the T.V. is on, so her focus was swinging randomly between the two.  When Bobby Flay started talking about some sweet potato fries her attention was caught for the time being and she watched the recipe.  That night we ran to the grocery store and got the ingredients to make these fries for dinner.

Now months and months later armed with only a faint memory of the recipe we decided to go ahead and try to recreate them at home using our oven rather than the grill.  The grill would have been great, but we only have a cast iron grill pan and no large outdoor grill.  We were not up to trying to grill these.  We would have had to work in small batches and it would have taken WAY too long.  So we adapted this recipe for the oven and I think we did a pretty good job recreating it.  The flavors that caught us the first time around were all there again and it was much easier to do. 

Honey Mustard Glazed Oven Fries
Adapted from Grill It with Bobby Flay

2 medium sweet potatoes scrubbed and cut into thin wedges
1 T. canola oil
1-2 T. McCormick Grill Mates Cinnamon Chipotle Rub (or any other chipotle cinnamon mixture you can find/make)
4 T. dijon mustard
2 T. honey

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly brush the sweet potatoes with canola oil and line them up on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle the cinnamon chipotle rub over the fries, making sure they have a nice thin coat.

2) Bake the fries in the oven for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile in a small bowl mix the dijon mustard and the honey.  Remove from the fries from the oven and brush both sides of the fries with the mustard mixture.  Return to the oven to bake approximately another 15 minutes until slightly crispy and the glaze is nicely browned.

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This dish is so delicious.  Now most people would read that the chicken is cooked in bacon grease and automatically put this dish in the "better not eat" category.  Now normally we would agree, but this uses only 1 slice of bacon.  That is only about 45 calories and that 1 slice packs a serious flavor punch!  Not only is this dish tasty, but it is relatively easy too.  We frequently make this dish on Thursday nights.  Why Thursdays?  Well Thursday nights seem to be the nights that we are most likely to not want to cook and just order pizza.  That always leaves us feeling gross and wishing we hadn't  This is so good that we look forward to cooking and eating.  The thought of pizza never enters out mind.  We served this with some steamed summer squash and brown rice.  

Caraway Chicken Breasts with Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage
 Adapted from February 2010 Bon Appetit Magazine
Makes 2 servings 
1 t. caraway seeds
1/2 t. ground allspice, divided
2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 slice thick cut applewood-smoked bacon
3 c. thinly sliced red cabbage
1/2 c. sliced shallots
1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. sucanat

1) Sprinkle caraway and 1/4 t. allspice on both sides of chicken breasts and then sprinkle with salt and pepper

2) Cook bacon until crisp in a skillet over medium heat.  Transfer to a plate.   Chop bacon.

3) Add chicken to drippings in skilled.  Sautee until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.  Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

4) Add the cabbage, shallots, broth, vinegar, sucanat, and 1/4 t. allspice to the skillet.  Cook over medium high heat until the liquid is reduced to glaze and the cabbage is crisp-tender.  Mix in the bacon and season with salt and pepper.  Serve.

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Well it is that time of year again...Rosh Hashannah.  One of Cassie's favorite New Year's treats is kugel.  For those who have never had kugel it is a dish made with either egg noodles or matzoh (during passover) with cottage cheese, sour cream and eggs.  Kugel can take many forms, but Cassie mainly grew up with her grandmother's sweet kugel.  When she found this savory individual kugel recipe on epicurious.com she knew we would be making these for Rosh Hashannah.  When Jason tried them he decided that these kugel may need to make semi-regular appearances through-out the year.  They are made in regular muffin tins for an individual kugel for each person.  This recipe makes 12 kugels.    Sorry for the less than perfect photo on these.  The weather was gloomy and they didn't stick around for an extra day to try again.

Browned Onion Kugel
Recipe from Gourmet February 2005 found through  Epicurious

6 oz. egg noodles
1 stick unsalted butter
3 c. chopped onions
1 1/4 c. sour cream
1 1/4 c. cottage cheese
1 T. poppy seeds
4 large eggs
1 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper

1) preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2) Cook noodles until aldente, drain in colander and then rinse with cool water and drain well.

3) Melt the butter in a skillet over moderate heat.  Brush the muffin cups with butter.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned (~20 minutes).  Transfer to a large bowl and sir in noodles, sour cream, cottage cheese and poppy seeds.  Lightly beat the eggs with salt and pepper and then mix in to the rest of the ingredients until well combined.

4) Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 cups of the muffin tin and bake until puffed and golden, about 20-25 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

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We tried this dish for the first time this week and it was SO good. We found it in the cookbook "Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey" by Najmieh Batmanglij. This cookbook is one of our absolute favorites, as it has some amazing and authentic vegetarian recipes. It follows the Silk Road and you can find a variety of delicious dishes that you would never think to make. The Persian Cauliflower Kuku is no exception to that. It is a hearty meal that is much like a Spanish tortilla made using cauliflower instead of potatoes. It would be good paired with yogurt and flat bread or some quinoa.

Persian Cauliflower Kuku
Silk Road Cooking: A vegetarian journey
6 eggs
1/2 t. baking powder
1 T. flour or bread crumbs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese or fresh mozzarella shredded
1/4 c. vegetable oil, butter or ghee
1 small red onion thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 small head of cauliflower coarsely chopped
2 t. salt (we used less about 1 t.)
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. paprika
1/4 t. turmeric
1 green bird chili chopped or 1/8 t. cayenne
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley or basil

1. Break the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the baking powder, flour, milk and cheese. Whisk lightly.

2. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over low heat. Add the onion and stir-fry for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, cauliflower, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, turmeric, chili and parsley. Stir-fry for 5-10 minutes until the cauliflower is soft.

3. Pour the egg mixture over the cauliflower in the skillet. Cook over low heat 6-12 minutes until set.

4. Place the skillet under a preheated broiler for 1-3 minutes to brown the top.

5. Serve warm of cold.

4-6 servings
300 calories per serving for 4 servings.
200 calories per serving for 6 servings.

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