Spinach Feta Empanadas

This recipe comes from the Food Network. The pastry dough is a little different than usual, but let me tell you, it makes all the difference! I tried it with my regular pie dough, and it was good. The cream cheese dough, however, is fantastic!
To kick it up a notch (this does come from Emeril, after all), we substituted 1/2 cup Feta cheese for 1/2 of the cottage cheese. We thought it was awesome this way, but we do love us some Feta at our house. If you don't care for it, follow the original recipe as is.


Spinach Empanadas

Fabulous Fruit Crisp

This is a healthier version of fruit crisp, a perfect way to get some fiber and fruit while feeling a little indulgent. This recipe has great reviews and less than half the butter and sugar of a traditional fruit crisp!


Fabulous Fruit Crisp Recipe

Mock Cabbage Lasagna

My roommate in college used to make this, and I will tell you that the first time she mentioned it, I thought she was insane. "Who even eats cabbage?" I thought. "And why would you ruin a good lasagna with it?"

I was wrong. I love this meal, and my 10-year-old loves it, and my husband loves it, and my neighbors love it, and - anyhow, you get the idea. Best of all, it is faster to prepare than regular lasagna because you don't have to preboil the noodles or make sure everything is covered perfectly so that you don't have hard noodles. AND it is HEALTHY. Bonus!

Mock Cabbage Lasagna

1 sm head cabbage, coarsely chopped                                    

1/2 tsp salt

2 lb ground beef                                                                                                                                                                        1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 c chopped onion                                                                                                                                                  1 can tomato soup

1 1/2 c. water

1/2 c rice, uncooked                                                                                                                                                  1/2 c grated cheese

Place rice in bottom of greased 9x13 pan. Top with half of cabbage.  Brown hamburger with onion in skillet, salt & pepper to taste.  Spoon half over cabbage.  Whisk soup and water together.  Pour half over ground beef mixture.  Repeat layers of cabbage, meat and sauce.   

Bake covered at 350° for 1 hour. Remove and top with cheese. Return to oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

This recipe can be prepared in a pressure cooker. Brown hamburger and layer as above. Cook on high pressure (9-10 psi) for 5-6 minutes. Release pressure, top with cheese and cover 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Spinach Garlic Soup

I love soup during the winter. This is a really good recipe that our family tried last winter when we had some spinach from our box that needed to be used. It is great with some really yummy rolls, so be sure to pick some up at All Seasons next time you are there so that you can have a nice, warm winter meal!

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Banana Nut Smoothie

This is my go-to recipe after an intense workout when I have a lot of bananas around. It is simple, fast, and filling, and I don't find myself running out of energy in a few hours or having blood sugar dips that leave me feeling cranky and shaky. It is also a good balance of protein and carbohydrate with close to the perfect amount of calories for a post-workout snack to refill your glycogen stores.

2 bananas, frozen & peeled (if you remember to do this)
    5-6 ice cubes if your bananas are not frozen
1 cup plain or vanilla low-fat yogurt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp honey
sprinkle of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped walnuts OR 2 TB ground flax seed

Cut the frozen banana into chunks. Place all ingredients into blender and blend on high until smooth.
With nuts, this recipe is roughly 600 kcal, with flax seed it it is about 500 kcal.

For a fun treat, this is really good with 1/4 cup caramel syrup added to it!

Kale Chips

When I first saw the recipe for Kale Chips, I immediately skipped over it because, I admit it, green chips don't seem that appetizing at first glance. However, a friend recently commented on how tasty kale chips are, so I overcame my reservations, dug out the recipe and gave them a try. Guess what? My family likes them! My husband and I both recognized a similarity in taste between kale chips and pumpkin seeds; I love roasted pumpkin seeds; their yummy crispy goodness warms up a cold fall day. But we rarely make them because separating seeds from the slimy pulp is messy work, and the seeds are gone quickly! Kale is readily available and doesn't require separating seeds and pulp. Bonus!

Today there are recipes for regular kale chips and tangy kale chips. I will warn you that Kale can have a stronger taste than pumpkin seeds; it only takes a handful to satisfy a flavor craving. The tangy kale chips use vinegar which works really well with kale, but can add to the strong flavor, so I recommend trying the regular flavor first or using less vinegar than is called for. Also, go light on the salt, you can always add more later.

So, pick up a box this week from All Seasons and give Kale chips a try. Let us know what you think!


Baked Kale Chips

Tangy Kale Chips


Next post: Wednesday, January 25, 2012

"Mock" Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Few things beat the great taste of real mashed potatoes; they are one of the things we rarely need to cajole our children into eating. But, while they are good for you, sometimes we want to eat something besides potatoes to take advantage of all the other nutritious foods out there.

Enter Mock Mashed potatoes, made from cauliflower! And to make a good thing even better, they take less time than real mashed potatoes because you don't have to peel, slice and boil the potatoes before you mash them.

This recipe comes from The Food Network, with a few changes that we made to make it easier.

Ingredients

• 1 medium head cauliflower
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon straight chicken base or bullion (may substitute 1/2 teaspoon salt)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• *optional*  1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry chives, for garnish

Directions

Steam the cauliflower in the water until fork tender, about 20 minutes (or 10-12 in the microwave). Put the cauliflower, water, cheeses, garlic, chicken base and butter in a food processor or blender and mix until almost smooth. Garnish with chives to serve.