Feta and Vegetable Frittatas

This is a Weight Watchers recipe that I found and it is awesome!! For any of you on WW, these are 1 point a piece! The original recipe says to cook them in a regular muffin pan, but I do mine in a mini muffin pan to make it seem like I get to eat more, haha! They are 2 points a piece if you choose to do them in a regular muffin pan.   6 large eggs 4 large egg whites 1/8 cup water 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 2 cups fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped 1 cup canned artichoke hearts in water, chopped 1 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, packed in water, chopped 1/2 cup uncooked scallion 1/4 cup low fat cream cheese, at room temperature   Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat two 16-hole mini muffin pans with cooking spray (or use one 24-hole pan and 8 holes from another mini muffin pan). In a medium bowl, beat eggs, egg whites, water, salt and pepper until blended. Stir in spinach, artichoke hearts, feta, roasted peppers, scallions and cream cheese; mix well. Spoon about 1/8-cup egg mixture into each prepared muffin hole. Bake until just set, about 18 to 22 minutes. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen edges of frittatas with a rubber spatula, sliding spatula underneath frittatas to loosen bottoms and lift frittatas out of pans; serve.  They don't taste like they would be a Weight Watchers recipe at all! I freeze my leftovers and then pop them in the microwave for breakfast or a quick snack. Super yummy!

Marinated Tomato Salad

I love this summery salad! I love to eat it with a sprinkle of feta cheese. I also loved it with a scoop of brown rice mixed in for a fantastic, light lunch. It would also be great served on toasted baguettes.

 

 

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

a pinch of black pepper

3 whole green onions, sliced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon ground thyme

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1-2 lbs sliced tomatoes

feta cheese, if desired

Whisk together all ingredients except for tomatoes and feta in a glass bowl. Add tomatoes, cover and refrigerate for 24ish hours. Serve with feta on top.
 Easy peasy! 

Cranberry Salsa

1 bag fresh cranberries

1/2 medium red bell pepper

1/2 medium red onion

3 tablespoons jarred jalapenos

1 medium granny smith apple, cored
3 tablespoons cilantro

Place above ingredients in a food processor, blend until finely chopped. (I don't own a food processor, so I just used my chopper.) Place in a bowl and add the following:

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons lime juice

1/3 cup apple juice

Stir it all up, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.

Once you try this it'll become a Christmas tradition.

It's even great on turkey enchiladas.

Zucchini-Feta Pancakes Topped With Sour Cream

You know, there are some foods that I just can't make when my husband is home. And seeing that these are called pancakes and yet are nothing like the traditional pancake, I knew there would be no way he'd be interested in eating them. So, Genevieve and I made them for lunch. Just the two of us. She made sure to let me know that we needed to save some for the boys, but half way through eating her first one, she stated that the boys didn't need any. She loved them and so did I. We halved the recipe and ate them all. Delicious!

Recipe from Williams-Sonoma's Cooking from the Farmer's Market

Here's what you'll need:

4 cups grated zucchini

salt and pepper

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

4 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

2 Tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh mint (I omitted this)

olive oil for frying

Sour cream for serving

Put the zucchini in a strainer set over a bowl. Sprinkle with 2 tsp. salt and let stand for 15 minutes. Squeeze out any excess liquid. In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1 tsp salt. In another bowl, stir together the zucchini, feta, egg yolks, green onions, parsley, and mint. Stir in the flour mixture. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold into the zucchini mixture.

In a frying pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Drop 4 spoonfuls of batter into the pan and fry the pancakes until crisp, about 2 minutes per side. Keep warm while cooking remaining pancakes. Serve topped with sour cream. The melted feta really makes them delicious. Enjoy!

Remy's Ratatoulle

Have you ever watched Disney's Ratatouilee and really wanted to eat the Ratatouille he makes in the end? Well I don't know if I am wierd or not but it just looks so good to me! So a while back when I got an eggplant in my Bountiful Basket, I tried it & I loved it!! I googled the recipe, found the one I liked the best, added a few of my own elements & went to town. So here is my modified version. (The original version is from www.smittenkitchen.com)

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup tomato puree

1 small eggplant

1 smallish yellow zucchini squash

1 smallish zucchini

1 longish red bell pepper

1/2 tsp. Thyme

1/2 tsp. Basil

2 garlic cloved, very thinly sliced or minced (I like mine minced)

2 tbls. olive oil, divided

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Italian blend cheese

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish. (I don't see why this wouldn't work with a square or rectangular dish if you don't have an oval one.) Stir in garlic, onion, one tbls. olive oil and seasonings. Salt and pepper to taste.

Slice all vegetables into thin slices and arrange concentrically on top of tomato mixture. (For really big pieces, most of the eggplant, I cut them in half so they would fit better.)

Drizzle remaining olve oil over vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Add a bit of cheese on top and a few sprinkles of thyme.

Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside.

Bake approx. 30 to 35 minutes to where the veggies are cooked but not totally limp. The tomato sauce should be bubbling up around the veggies. I like to put a little more cheese on the top of mine after I serve it, because I LOVE cheese!!

I was going to be all fancy & make my own garlic bread, but got lazy & just threw some frozen stuff in the oven. We had this last night with some breaded chicken strips & it was so very yummy!!!

Stuffed Artichokes

Okay so I forgot to take a picture, but they looked and tasted so YUMMY! and they are super easy, really!

3 artichokes (we used 4 and just doubled the recipe and had plenty of stuffing, so if you want to just make one or 2 that is fine!)
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 c celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs
1/3 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c butter (we used more...)
1/2 c chopped mushrooms

To prepare the artichokes: Remove coarse lower leaves. Trim off the tops of the artichokes 1 inch. Cut stems off so artichokes will sit. Boil artichokes in a large sauce pan for 30 mins, or until tender. Remove center and dig out fuzz with spoon.

In butter, saute onions, celery, galic, crumbs, mushrooms. Remove from heat and add cheese. Mix and stuff the three artichokes. (Stuff the middle by the heart, and in between the leaves.) After stuffing, sprinkle lightly with parmesan cheese. Bake on a metal or glass pan at 350 degrees until hot. ENJOY!

Shaved Zucchini Salad

I saw this recipe on www.tasteandtellblog.com It was a great way to use up some of the veggies from our garden.
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2 tablespoons grated onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 zucchini, shaved with a vegetable peeler into ribbons
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved (or whatever you have in your garden)
1 small bunch scallions, thinly sliced
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Whisk together the onion, lemon juice and mustard. Add the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add in the shaved zucchini, tomatoes and green onions. Stir to coat and serve.
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This girl of mine was all over the salad!
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I feel the need to explain her look....we were outside playing in the sprinklers. Otherwise, she would be dressed with her hair combed. There, I feel better.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.

Green Beans with Prosciutto and Gouda

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I found this recipe on www.tasteandtellblog.com after receiving way too many green beans from my bountiful basket. It was pretty amazing, but had a little too much olive oil for me. So, I'm going to cut it down a little for the following recipe.

serves 8

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3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced white onion
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed
1/4 lb prosciutto, thinly sliced
1/4 lb Gouda cheese, cut into sticks
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Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, onion, 4 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add additional salt and pepper if needed. Set aside.
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and boil for about 3 minutes or until bright green and a little tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.
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Toss the green beans and dressing together and let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature.
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Heat remaining olive oil in a medium saute pan over med-high heat. Add the prosciutto to the hot oil and cook for just about 2 minutes. Add the prosciutto and Gouda to the green beans and serve at room temperature. It's also good cold the next day.

Creamed Corn

This is so different from the canned creamed corn and you can't have just one serving.

1 cup milk
1 cup whipping cream
6 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3-4 cups fresh kernal corn (I use the organic frozen corn from Costco)
3 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons butter (use real butter, not margarine)

In a medium sauce pan combine the first five ingredients and heat over medium-high heat until almost boiling , stirring occasionally. Add corn and continue to cook until mixture comes to a medium boil. Continue to boil stirring more frequently for five minutes. In a pan melt butter then add flour and cook for one minute to cook out flour taste. Add flour paste to the corn mixture and boil another two minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Mixture will thicken upon standing.

I will actually substitute the milk and cream for fat free half & half and it is just as good but I NEVER substitute the butter. Enjoy!!!

Butternut Squash

Cut the butternut squash in half and lay face up in 9x13 pan. Fill pan 1/2 inch with water. Generously spray insides of squash with spray butter. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon. (maybe a little ginger)

Cook at 400 for 1 hour. Leave in longer if needed.

Spoon squash into serving bowl. Spray with more butter or use real butter, add more cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle with salt. Lightly mash so it is chunky. Serve! That is the lowfat version. If you think your family may not eat it, let them sprinkle some brown sugar on their portion.

(sorry about the funny picture positioning, haven't figured out how to move them around...I wanted the one in the bowl at the bottom, oh well, I guess you at least get the idea, :) right?)

Sweet Potato Hash

Sweet Potato Hash with Bacon

found on Shazam in the Kitchen, adapted from Bon Appetit

1/2 pound bacon sliced in 1/2 inch strips
2 small onions chopped
1 large red pepper diced
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Transfer to paper towel lined plate to drain. Leave drippings in skillet. Add onion, bell pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are softened. Stir in potatoes and another shake of salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes. Remove cover and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally so that any excess liquid evaporates and potatoes start to brown. Stir in thyme and bacon.