Stuffed shells

Misfits- The Shining

So today was day two of an unexpected snow day. I made it a absolute To Do: to create a recipe, eat it and post. It's been three months for goodness sake! I've been going to the gym with the new year and have been realizing I need more protein...I'll eat dinner and then eat again and again. My favorite go to for protein....beans : ) I was able to sneak those stinkers into this recipe. For extra protein some veggie crumbles would be good as well.

1 box of jumbo shells

1 can of cannellini beans (white kidney)

15 oz. of ricotta cheese

4 mushrooms chopped

4 chopped green onions

2 cups of chopped spinach

1 Tablespoon of Earth Balance (I used vegan--tastes so much better than butter!)

1 Tablespoon of Pesto

1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley

1/2 cup of feta (I used tomato and basil)

1 cup of shredded mozzarella (optional)

1/4 cup of egg whites (optional)

Panko (optional)

Marinara sauce (optional)

Start out by following the directions the box of shells. Pre-heat oven accordingly.

Sautee the spinach, mushrooms and green onion with earth balance.

In a bowl mix the ricotta cheese, parsley, feta, mozzarella, garlic powder and egg whites. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. I didn't want my beans to be whole, so I used a food processor and added the basil to this, after grinding I mixed with ricotta cheese. Completely up to you if you want to skip this step. Mashing beans works too.

Mix sautéed veggies with ricotta mix.

Lightly spray your pan and stuff your shells to your hearts content! I saved the red sauce for later, but you can pour on top now. I sprinkled with panko and pepper before baking.  I cooked mine for 40 minutes and the last few minutes I warmed up my red sauce in a bowl.

ENJOY!!!! 

  

Five ingredient Chili

Okay...just realized my last post from OCTOBER was chili as well...oops..but this one is yummy and even easier...snow day - crock pot- chili - couch!

Can of spicy rotel (two cans of water)
Half purple onion
Half green pepper
Veggie crumbles
One can of kidney beans

Top with cheese, green onion, cilantro, sour cream or hot sauce. 

Quick Chili (Vegan option)

Too Starvin' for tunes

 

Today was one of those days where I was thinking about food on my way home from work...thinking about food at gym and by the time I walked in door, I needed food so quickly that even the kitty food smelled good... I may be losing it!! Fortunately I had four key ingredients to make this yummy, easy, filling chili..and it took less then ten minutes...no need to eat cat food...always a plus!

One bag of Boca Crumbles

One can of diced Ro-tel tomatoes (I used can with chili peppers added)

One can of Chili Beans(drained)

One can of Black Beans  (drained)

two can fulls of water

Diced Onions

Shredded cheese (optional)

If I weren't so ravenous, I would have added cabbage, celery, kale, fresh zucchini and purple onion..however..needed... food in...my...belly.....fast. Add all of the fixin's til' your hearts content.

For those of you that don't have picky eaters in your household, simply cook in pan and serve with chopped onions on top or a spoonful of shredded cheese or tortillas. Benny is not a fan of whole beans, so I poured everything in a blender and its magical...no one will ever know what you snuck in.

...to avoid the lovely brown color, add more tomato's or use white beans instead of chili and black : )

Enjoy!!!

 

Spinach feta burger -Eminem Headlights Radio

I decided this evening if I went to Roadhouse every time I was craving their Spinach Feta burger I would be broke (they have my favorite feta burger in Kzoo...nom nom especially with onion straws the side) Although eating out would have been my preference, the dishes were well worth it.  My creation turned out lovely and I had extras for lunch all week. This should curb my craving for awhile! This recipe makes 6 burgers.

1Tablespoon of soy butter or regular

3 cloves of garlic

3 green onions

5 cups of spinach

three eggs

Tablespoon of fresh dill

8 oz. of feta

1 cup of panko

pepper and salt

olive oil (for cooking burgers-optional)

1/4 cup of fresh basil
Sautee the butter on low, add garlic, chopped onion, fresh dill and three cups of spinach. Cover the pan and let simmer

  Add two cups of fresh chopped spinach. panko, salt and pepper ( I did ten grinds. But I can never get enough pepper so add as much as you like!), crumble the feta cheese and add three eggs (I used two egg whites and one with yolk) mix well in a separate bowl. Here is where you can be creative. Add your favorite ingredients!  quinoa, black beans, cous cous, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, egg plant or zucchini. This would also be good crumbled up on top of pasta with marinara sauce.

Add all ingredients together in bowl and mix. pour a tablespoon of olive oil on skillet and pack three burgers on skillet (my burgers were 1/2 size)

cook 3-5 minutes on each side of burger depending on how crispy you would like it.

While they are cooking heat oven to 400
After flipping burgers I baked mine 8 minutes.

 

If you have leftovers or would rather not do the burger route, these are very good as appetizers as well....I rolled my leftovers into small (tablespoon full) balls and cooked for 8 minutes (flip and cook another 4)

Enjoy!! 

Orzo/Tofu soup - Cat Stevens Radio

 

So I know its a little early for soup, however two weeks ago we got a little peak at fall, the wind was blowing, the temperature had dropped....even though I knew the feeling would be short lived, I still had a mad hankering for some orzo soup....not exactly sure why orzo--have never had in soup form, but either way...I needed it bad...here's what I came up with.

What you will need:

Orzo-(usually by the noodles/rice section) I used one serving

Vegetable Broth--(I always like to have this on hand-especially in the fall winter, very helpful when you need to throw something together last minute and use up extra veggies) I used whole box

One zucchini

Cherry tomatoes (I had an assortment from the farmers market)

Batch of green onions

Handful of spinach

Fresh parmesan

Black pepper

Soy sauce (optional)

Fried tofu-also optional-(....so I had some left over fried tofu from Rice Kitchen that I wanted to use up, you can either skip this ingredient your sauté your own in a pan and then add to soup when finished)

Also, add whatever other veggies you have in your fridge, celery, onion, green pepper...I just went with what I had on hand.  

Pour your broth into pan, follow directions on orzo package, I went with the option of half way cooking it and then adding to broth. Chop your tomato, green onion. If you do go the tofu route and it is uncooked, now would be a good time to chop into cubes and sauté, I like to add soy sauce to mine with black pepper and a little bit of olive oil. Add your chopped ingredients and tofu, as well as orzo about ten minutes before you want the soup to be served.

I put a handful of spinach at the bottom of each bowl (still crisp and not slimy when you pour soup on top).

Sprinkle with black pepper and fresh parmesan.

ENJOY!!

 

Eggplant for Angie- Its about Time!

OK, OK, I know I have been slacking like crazy!! You would think I would have time about to sit down and spend twenty minutes on a post (working lovely summer teacher hours, having no children and nannying two days a week) but in reality I have been spending so much time eating out...eating in...drinking out...drinking in...that I just couldn't force myself to open my laptop...I knew I would be forced to check my work emails and actually sit down and focus for a minute...I have however had lovely company Ms. Katie from Ohio....Ms. Ronja from Germany...Ms. Allegra's get together in Traverse City...spending time with Ms. Kali when she had an hour off and honestly, the lighting isn't that great for a laptop on a sunny beautiful day in Michigan...so yes...food blogging does seem to be easier in the cold winter months.  So here is a recipe from a month ago...its been along time coming..and I was so hot in my kitchen that I didn't take the time to make it look purty...but in the words of Dan..."mmmmm this good."

One Large Egg plant

olive oil

Goat cheese (or your favorite cheese-kiddos may prefer mozzarella, feta would be good too)

Marinara sauce (vodka or mushroom is yummy)

1/2 cup Cous cous (use pasta, orzo  or rice if you prefer)

shredded parmesan

Salt and pepper

Garlic powder

Fresh basil

Pre-heat oven to 350

Chop your egg plant and cook in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper...I love a lot of pepper, but your welcome to take it easy...cook just long enough to add a little color to the egg plant, and flip...about four minutes on high on each side...set aside on a sheet pan.

While your are cooking your egg plant...have your rice, noodles or cous cous cooking...I like cous cous because it is less heavy...for more kid friendly you could use Annie's bunny noodles : )

While your cous cous is cooking, take your cooked egg plant and spread a thin layer of goat cheese on top. Sprinkle with garlic powder and set aside.  

On top of your goat cheese layer (or your favorite cheesy layer)  Add the cous cous...(I mixed mine with marinara ahead of time...but you can also spread it and add a spoonful of sauce on top of your noodles)

After you have your wonderful layer of eggplant,  Cheese...cous cous and marinara, add another egg plant on top and sprinkle a little fresh parmesan with a small teaspoon of sauce. Put in oven and bake for ten minutes. Sprinkle with fresh basil, salt to taste and ENJOY!!!

Casa Bolero

116 Portage St.

Kalamazoo, MI 49007

(269) 382-3148

www.casabolerokzoo.com

Benny and I had a wonderful date night riding our bikes downtown Kzoo to Casa Bolero. We had wonderful service in the bar area. Our food came quickly as did our drinks (the bartender was our server and was very on top of things) I have been dreaming of these Enchiladas since I had them a couple of weeks ago (and ate them so fast I forgot to take a picture)....this time I was able to slow myself down and enjoy every bite of it. They also had tequila flights on special....so we sampled two : )

Casa Enchiladas (Mushroom)

(gluten free and vegetarian) -seasoned mushrooms with garlic mushroom cream sauce and Monterey jack cheese. Served with cilantro lime rice and tortilla chips. Mmmmmm these babies left me full and happy. Stuffed with sautéed mushrooms and a sauce that had just the perfect amount of kick. I was so full from guacamole that I was able to take one home and enjoy later.

Tableside Guacamole  (Gluten free)

Tequila Flight with tomato chaser 

Cucumber-jalapeno margarita