One, Two, Third Time's a Charm Egg Stuffed Peppers


I was raised to not be a quitter. It was always a rule growing up that if I decided I didn’t want to continue with an activity or an endeavor, I had to at least finish out the year and then choose not to re-enroll the following year. I think it’s pretty well ingrained in me now to persevere through adverse conditions and try, try again until I either get it right or I have at least fought my way through to a point where it’s appropriate to respectfully bow out. It’s not really surprising, then, that I don’t take kindly to recipes gone awry. My reaction isn’t, “oh, forget this!”; rather, I say, “well then, what can I do differently next time to make it work?”


I have been working away at this one recipe since last October. I only made three attempts before finally nailing it, but it was still a pretty drawn out process. Like I said, I don’t admit defeat easily. The first time I attempted to make this grilled egg stuffed pepper, I hollowed out the stem a little too much and the egg leaked out a little bit. So, the second time I figured that I would cut the pepper cross-wise instead of lengthwise, giving plenty of room for the egg and avoiding the issue of the stem. Unfortunately, the pepper had this little, tiny pinprick of a hole at its base – I think just to spite me – and once again, I had a leaky egg. Finally, on my third attempt, I managed to bake an egg in a pepper (I know, I didn’t even grill it – I’ll have to try it on a grill over the summer when I have access to one) without little bits of egg escaping and spilling all over my baking dish. 
In the end, I’m glad I kept with it, because once you get the logistics of it correct, it’s a very fuss-free and healthy meal. It’s also hugely versatile – add in other veggies, use different cheeses (or eliminate the cheese altogether, though I personally liked it there), add in your favorite herbs and spices. I often eat this for lunch at the end of the week when I’m left with part of a pepper and a carton of eggs, a real reminder that a trip to the grocery store is in order.
Now, I read recently that food bloggers shouldn’t mention such things, such “flops.” We’re here to make things look easy and glamorous. Apparently, no one cares about the 2 times I unsuccessfully tried this recipe. Fair enough. However, this blog is called “Floptimism,” and I feel like I owe it to you to admit that no, I didn’t just waltz into the kitchen one day and make this perfectly on my first try. It was a fairly simple recipe, but I hit some snags, and after some persistence and experimentation I have for you a truly enjoyable meal. I hope getting a glimpse of Oz Behind the Curtain didn’t frighten you all away – at least not before you had a chance to print this recipe, anyway.
Egg Stuffed Peppers
In this recipe, an egg is baked into a bell pepper and topped with a thin layer of golden-brown melted cheese. Flavor it to suit your tastes – this is one versatile & satisfying dish!
Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
The Ingredients
1 large bell pepper
2 eggs
3-4 tablespoons egg whites
2 tablespoons “salsa juice”1
hot sauce, to taste
2 tablespoons cheese

The Method
Carefully halve the bell pepper lengthwise, leaving the stem on one half and keeping the lip on the stem-less half as high as possible to prevent spilling. Set aside on a lightly greased baking dish. 

Mix together the eggs, egg whites, salsa, and hot sauce. Divide evenly between the two pepper halves and top each with 1 tablespoon of cheese. Cover the peppers with foil and bake in a toaster oven at 450° Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes, removing the foil to brown the cheese for the last 5 minutes.


Notes:
1A little while back, I told you about a salsa recipe that had you strain out the liquid. I told you to set it aside for another use, and this is how I chose to use mine! If you don’t have any, though, feel free to get creative – regular salsa, tomato sauce, chicken stock, even some extra egg whites would work well. There’s also so little of it that simply omitting it would also be fine, though the end product would be slightly less flavorful.
2Other ideas for this meal: (1) Increase the hot sauce and stir chopped celery and shredded carrot into the egg mixture; top with blue cheese (2) Add other vegetables in general – a small amount of spinach, chopped tomatoes, avocado – just be careful with the volume of the filling compared to the size of your pepper to be sure it won’t overflow (3) Play with the liquids! Try 1 whole egg + stock, tomato sauce, or even some milk per pepper half instead of the egg whites.


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Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna




Mexican meets comfort meets health food – are there many better culinary combinations than that? I have yet to be convinced otherwise. And clearly, because I managed to find a Thirty Minute Thursday post that didn’t summon the flavors of Mexican cuisine, I had to make up for it by telling you about one that does, today.

This Mexican Lasagna is the result of leftover refried beans, cilantro, and avocado from the various other Mexican-inspired meals (mostly from Rachael Ray) that I have been enjoying recently. I chose to turn it into a lasagna because, quite simply, that’s what I have in my pantry. As the semester winds down and I prepare to move back home, I’m making a concerted effort to get creative with the food I already have in stock rather than spending boatloads at the grocery store and keeping a full kitchen. I pretty much refresh my fresh produce and yogurts each week (and make sure I always have a backup jar of peanut butter on hand for emergencies, naturally), and otherwise make due with what I have. I’ve really enjoyed the challenge, and there’s something oddly satisfying about one by one using up all of those odds-and-ends ingredients I’ve collected over the course of the year.

But back to this lasagna – this tasty, filling, spicy, comforting lasagna. Arguably the best part about this is how downright easy it is, too. When I think of lasagna, I often feel discouraged – it always seems to be one of those labor of love dishes that is best reserved for a leisurely day spent in the kitchen rather than a harried weeknight dinner fix. In that vein, this is not your typical lasagna. Also, because I made it as a single serving, the layering of the noodles got a little bit creative to fit the personal-sized baking dish that I used. If you want to scale it up for a full-size meal, simply layer the noodles as you would a traditional lasagna (and not all “fakockta-ed”  as I did).

Two Years Ago: Lamingtons

Mexican Lasagna
This personal lasagna is the solution to all of your stress woes: healthful nutrients to keep you going, ease of preparation to make dinner a reality in a minimal amount of time, and all of the bliss that more traditional comfort foods have to offer.

Yield: 1 serving
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

The Ingredients
2 whole grain lasagna noodles
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetarian refried beans
¼ onion, diced
¼ bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons cheese
¼ avocado, chopped
cilantro, to taste

The Method
Place a large (or at least deep) pot of water to boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until tender, 10 minutes. While you wait, prepare the vegetables and grease a loaf pan (glass preferably).

Lay 1 cooked lasagna noodle along the bottom of the loaf pan and drape the extra over the edge. Top with 2 tablespoons of beans, ⅓ of the pepper, ⅓ of the onion, ⅓ of the avocado, 2 teaspoons of cheese and a small pinch of cilantro. Place the next noodle over the cilantro and drape the extra over the other side of the container. Repeat the layers. Fold the first noodle over the toppings. Repeat the layers. Fold the second noodle over the toppings and top with any leftover cheese. Cover loosely and bake in a toaster oven at 350° Fahrenheit for approximately 15 minutes.1 Optionally, remove the foil for the final 5 minutes of baking to brown the cheese a little.

Notes:
1You can certainly bake this in a conventional oven – just make sure to preheat it.

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Thirty Minute Thursdays: Elvis French Toast "Sammies"



There was a time in my adult life where I genuinely and wholeheartedly swore off peanut butter. I announced that I would never eat it again, at least not for the next month. It was an aversion that developed all at once due to an unfortunate peanut butter sandwich-mild stomach bug combination. I couldn’t smell the stuff without becoming nauseated. I was dejected, distraught that this silly little sickness had ruined my love affair with this not-nut-nut-butter for eternity.

My abstinence lasted a grand total of 3 or 4 days. If that.

Thankfully, I regained my strength and with it came flooding back my love for peanut butter. It was as though we had never been apart, the two of us – we fell back into our old habits quickly and naturally. And because of that, I was able to enjoy this very delicious, very satisfying spin on French Toast from Rachael Ray. I mean really, this PB&B (peanut butter & banana!)-meets-breakfast-treat is nothing short of amazing. It’s easy to make, healthy, and full of all kinds of gustatory pleasantries. It’s rich from the peanut butter, sweet from the banana, warm and comforting and oh so good. Please make this. Really, you won’t regret it.

 
One Year Ago: Edamame Nachos

Elvis French Toast “Sammies"
The addition of peanut butter and banana to a simple French toast creates a sweet, filling sandwich perfect for any meal, any time, any day.

Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes

The Ingredients
2 whole grain sandwich thins
¼ cup (all-natural) peanut butter
1 banana, sliced
3-4 tablespoons egg whites
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons (pure) maple syrup

The Method
Heat a griddle over medium. Meanwhile, separate the sandwich thins so that there are 4 halves, and place them upside down on a flat work surface. Spread each half with 1 tablespoon peanut butter (on the outsides of the thins, not the insides as you would a regular sandwich), and top 2 halves with the banana slices. Take the halves without the banana and place peanut butter side down on top of the halves with the banana slices, forming 2 sandwiches.

Mix the egg whites and cinnamon in a shallow dish just large enough to fit both sandwiches in. Place the sandwiches into the egg wash and let them sit for approximately 30-60 seconds, soaking up the egg. Flip them to the other side and let the other half soak up the egg, another 30-60 seconds. (This is why you made the sandwiches inside out – the inner sides of sandwich thins are much better at absorbing liquid than the tops, which are smoother.)

Place the sandwiches on the hot griddle and cook until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes per side. Feel free to add some weight to the sandwich to make it oozy, gooey, slightly seared and downright irresistible. When  cooked on both sides, serve with maple syrup for dipping – it doesn’t really need it and you certainly don’t need much, but it adds a little bit of extra sweetness for an added treat.

Source (Adapted): Rachael Ray's Classic 30 Minute Meals

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Strawberry, Basil & Balsamic Smoothie



Smoothies are really hip right now, aren’t they? It almost makes me like them a little bit less – yeah, I’m one of those people. It isn’t that I enjoy being the only fan of something, either; I just get a little put off when everyone and their mom goes gaga over one thing. I guess it’s the extremes that unsettle me. Still, even the smoothie trend that’s been sweeping over our country hasn’t been enough to dissuade me entirely. After all, there’s a reason they’re so popular – they’re delicious, and can be great for you, too! To try to buck the trend just a teensy bit without boycotting the nutritious drink entirely, I often like to go for “out of the box” flavors. At least, I’m not the kind of person to just throw random fruit together and call it a day. My smoothies need a theme. They require inspiration.

I really like to recreate some of my favorite dishes in smoothie form, which is how I got recipes like sweet potato pie smoothie and pink lemonade smoothie. My most recent creation was a work in progress, but I think I’ve nailed it: a Strawberry, Basil & Balsamic Smoothie. These flavors come together so well in salads all the time, and when I found myself with a flourishing basil plant and a bag of frozen strawberries in the freezer, I knew I had to give it a shot. I have to confess, my first attempt went down the drain, as much as it pains me to waste food and ingredients. I was too exuberant about the balsamic and even I couldn’t stomach it in the end. Round 2 went much better, and what I have for you today is a very sophistical smoothie. It’s mildly sweet with a tang that doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the drink. It’s certainly not a smoothie for everyone, but if you like these flavor combinations, consider trying it out. You may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Strawberry, Basil & Balsamic Smoothie
This is not your average smoothie! Instead, it blends together sweet with tangy to deliver a more sophisticated breakfast drink. Still, it has the fiber and protein to get your morning off to a fantastic start!

Yield: 1 serving
Prep Time: 2-3 minutes                
Cook Time: 0 minutes

The Ingredients
3 fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup plain, non-fat greek yogurt
⅔ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 tablespoon ground flax
¼ cup loosely packed spinach (optional)

The Method
Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and puree until there are no strawberry chunks remaining. You may need to pause and stir the ingredients up to get the right consistency.


You may also have noticed that I’m writing my recipes a little differently. I read a blog post summarizing some tips on how to write a better recipe, and I think it made some valid points. Notably, I’m going to be trying to incorporate a brief summary of the recipe at the top along with prep and cook times. I hope you like the new format!

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Rad Roasted Radishes

My heart is divided into several compartments. There is one very large compartment for my family, and a special little budding-out of that compartment specifically for my puppy. I don’t mean to diss my family, it’s just, well…they aren’t nearly as adorable as this big guy is:



 Then, of course, there’s L’s compartment. That one’s a biggie.

 The last major compartment is food. Maybe about 40% of that compartment is devoted to peanut butter, and another 30% is devoted to chocolate, and I’d say a good 15% is reserved for the overlap of the two. Eggs factor into the compartment somewhere, too – maybe 10%. And yogurt, of course. We can’t forget yogurt – that has to have at least 20% of my food love compartment. What? That’s over 100% already? Didn’t you know that basic mathematical rules do not apply to hearts? Good, I’m glad we’ve got that covered. Because there’s more. You see, in the far reaches of my heart, in the dusty little corner that has managed to resist being overtaken by peanut butter and chocolate (and eggs and yogurt, though not all in one meal, unless we’re talking about a cake maybe), is another section. I think a little part of my heart may be falling for something new. I’ll give you a hint: they’re totally rad!


…Radishes, that is!

I’m sorry, I had to. L’s affinity for puns is rubbing off on me. Six years of listening to puns will do that to a person.  But anyway, about radishes. Have you ever had them? I overlooked them for the longest time. They struck me as the kind of vegetable that would be bitter (up until about a year ago this was the kind of thing that actually bothered me, because my taste buds were still normal). And I didn’t know how to eat them. They were just a little too weird for me, and it took until I started to like slightly weird food to want to actually give them a shot.

Imagine my surprise when I did and discovered that they’re downright delightful! They aren’t bitter or weird; in fact, they’re kind of fantastic. I like biting into them raw with a little dab of whipped feta on them. I like them chopped up and mixed into a yogurty dip and spread on those nifty rice puffs from Wegmans. And I really, really like them drizzled with olive oil and roasted to within a near inch of their life.

One of these days, I need to write a catch-all “Guidelines for How to Roast Any Vegetable” post. But for now, since I didn’t change a darn thing about the original recipe (I even sprinkled salt on them! Can you imagine?), I’ll simply say that you should click on over to Beloved Greenfor the details. Just know that it’s easy, stupid easy in fact, and tastes like Springtime curled up for a nap in your oven for 20 minutes and took on a carmelized crust while it was in there. You know, if seasons could do that sort of thing.

Happy Almost Earth Day!

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30 Minute Thursdays: Vegetarian Burritos, Roasted Salsa & a Questionable Future



 I need to start this post on a little bit of a downer (well, maybe – it might be a good thing in the end): I’m not sure how much longer I can keep up with these 30 Minute Thursday posts. It isn’t that I’m getting close to having cooked my way through Rachael Ray’s entire book – I most certainly haven’t. However, the recipes that I haven’t made and am actually interested in making are dwindling quickly, and I almost feel as though the recipes that I do make and write about are mostly variations of the same meal. Case in point: another Mexican recipe for today, even though I’ve told you about fiesta salads and chicken fajitas and green chile quesadillas up the wazoo. And I’m not even done yet! I have another Mexican-inspired meal in the line up already. Don’t get me wrong, they taste good – I just worry that I’m falling into a rut that you aren’t too interested in following me into. I can’t say that I blame you if that’s the case.

I haven’t made any decisions yet, and likely won’t definitively until after the semester ends (which, by the way, is a frighteningly short 3 weeks away – when did I get to be old enough to graduate?). So for now, 30 Minute Thursdays continue. But I may scale it back to every other week or once a month, and eventually I’ll move on to my next cookbook victim (I wonder which one will come next?). If you have any strong feelings about these posts, please share them! I cook for myself but I do write with you in mind, so I would definitely take your thoughts into account when I make my final decision.

If you’re bored of Fiesta Floptimism, you may want to stop here. If not, though, I have another decent, back-pocket meal for you today. This recipe in the book is called a Make Your Own Burrito Bar, but seeing as how I cook for myself and no one else, the “bar” really just turned into me making a black bean burrito with my choice ingredients like I would any other night. Not so festive, but it worked.

To the glass-half-empty chef, this meal may very well have been a total disaster. I fumbled to get the tomatoes charred the way I wanted them, then I overcompensated and charred the burrito so long that it got a little too stiff to roll and I had to eat the whole thing with a knife and a fork. I added greek yogurt (aka the Floptimism version of sour cream) to the burrito after I flipped it once, which heated the yogurt and actually made it coagulate a teensy bit. It was a hot mess to eat, to say the least.

But to the glass-half-full chef, as I aspire to be, this was a star performer recipe. Eating a burrito with a fork and a knife is no tragedy, nor is it something new for me since I habitually overstuff my sandwiches to the point where eating with my hands is not an option. I actually liked the way the yogurt cooked slightly – it imparted a pseudo-cheesy flavor and worked really well with the other flavors. As a whole, this was a mildly spicy burrito full of flavor, and definitely full of fun. What’s not to love about that?

Two Years Ago: S'more Blondies 

Vegetarian Burritos with Roasted Tomato Salsa, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
4 tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers
2 small onions
fresh cilantro, to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups (30 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed if canned
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot sauce
4 whole grain tortillas
½ cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
2 cups chopped or shredded romaine lettuce

The Method
Prepare the vegetables for the salsa: chunk the tomatoes and one of the onions into thirds. Halve and partially seed one of the jalapeno peppers. Place the prepped vegetables in a dry pan heated over high and allow them to char on all sides. Transfer the charred vegetables to a food processor and pulse with a handful of cilantro to desired consistency. Pour the salsa through a strainer to drain off the liquid (reserve the liquid for another use – sauces, eggs, etc.) and transfer the chunky salsa to a serving dish; set aside.

Prepare the black bean filling: seed and chop the remaining jalapeno and finely chop the remaining onion. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil, jalapeno, garlic, and onions. Saute the vegetable mixture for 2-3 minutes to begin to brown, then add in the black beans, cilantro, cumin, and hot sauce. Lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer.

Meanwhile, in a clean, dry pan set over high heat, add the tortillas one at a time. Allow the one side of the tortilla to char slightly, approximately 15 seconds in the hot pan, then flip to the other side. Spread 2 tablespoons of yogurt onto the tortilla and, when the second side has also charred but the tortilla hasn’t stiffened, remove from the heat and repeat with the remaining tortillas. As each tortilla comes off the heat, add ½ cup romaine lettuce and ¼ of the bean filling. Either add ¼ of the salsa to the burrito or serve it on the side for dipping. Wrap and keep near the stove to keep warm while you finish the remaining burritos.



  

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Fresh Herbed Turkey Burger



With Spring finally here – beautiful weather and all – I find myself drawn more to clean, fresh flavors. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a burst of flavor or a robust sauce every now and then – I am still me, after all – but when Spring first arrives it just feels natural to me to scale back on the complexity of my meals and a eat a little more simply.

This recipe for fresh herbed turkey burgers was just the kind of meal I was craving: a modest serving of very lean meat, thinned out with a healthy quinoa filler and an array of fresh herbs. Unfortunately, I left my box of quinoa at my parent’s house the weekend before, and with it being Passover, my hands were tied in terms of being able to swap in any other grains. So, this was just a straight-up turkey burger with a combination of fresh and dried herbs. I did really like it, but I’m still curious as to how the quinoa would have changed it. I feel like it would have been just a little lighter, a little bit less carnivorous. However, the flavors were excellent so if you find yourself in a similar bind, don’t fret! In fact, because I can’t officially vouch for how it would/will turn out with the quinoa, I haven’t included it in the recipe below. If you’re interested in adding it back in, the recipe simply called for 1 cup, cooked according to the package instructions, mixed into the burger along with all of the other ingredients.

I rested my burger on top of a plate of arugula and topped it with a swirl of whipped feta, and called it a meal. The flavor of the feta paired so well with the herbs in the burger! However, feel free to leave that out if you’d like – I also don’t have the recipe for the whipped feta (it was part of a Passover potluck from the weekend before), but I’m sure you could find a recipe online or simply sprinkle a few plain feta crumbles over top the burger in the end. It would also, of course, make a nice sandwich, though I chose to eat it without the bun.


Fresh Herbed Turkey Burgers, adapted from Mother Rimmy’s Cooking Light Done Right
Yield: 6 servings

The Ingredients
20 ounces (1 package) lean ground turkey breast
3 tablespoons egg whites
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
2 tablespoons ground sage
½ tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon fresh minced dill
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
2 teaspoons stone ground mustard
6-9 cups fresh arugula, for serving
½ - ¾ cup whipped feta

The Method
Preheat a grill pan over medium heat and coat with nonstick spray. Combine all of the ingredients except the arugula and feta in a large bowl, mixing well. Divide the mixture evenly into six portions.

Form each portion into a patty and place on the grill, cooking approximately 4-5 minutes per side. Serve atop fresh arugula, topped with the whipped feta (I transferred mine to a Ziploc bag to pipe onto the burger, but you can smear it or, if using regular feta, just sprinkle it on top). Feel free to serve this as a sandwich with your favorite burger rolls, too!







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The Cheesiest Cheeseless Omelet on Earth



Vegetarianism and veganism fascinate me. Although I don’t ever see myself completely ruling out animal products, I can’t help but be drawn into all of the inventive and novel ingredients, preparation methods, and recipes that make being a vegetarian or vegan so vibrant and exciting. I especially love incorporating these concepts and ingredients – and, often, full recipes – into my own diet and cooking, just to add variety and embrace all of the incredible options we have before us for nourishing ourselves.

One of my more recent purchases has been nutritional yeast flakes. I’m sure I’ve mentioned them before in recipes from this past year. I think I’m still getting used to how to use them properly – I tried adding them to homemade popcorn and they all just fell to the bottom of the bowl, and I’ve scorched them more than once believing I could use them as a faux-cheese topping under the broiler (at least I didn’t think they would melt, but I still don’t know exactly what was going on in my head with that last one). But one recipe I just made was spot on, and I still can’t get over how deliciously savory the whole meal was.

I need a catchy name for this (I’m open to suggestions!), but for now, we’re going to go with the Cheesiest Cheeseless Omelet on Earth. This omelet bites back with its hot sauce and black pepper, and then it apologies for its enthusiasm by offering up a comforting, cheesy flavor that really could fool you if it weren’t for the fact that melty strings of cheese don’t get stuck between your fork and the plate. Feel free to add more vegetables – broccoli in particular would taste phenomenal – but personally, I kind of liked the simplicity of eating it as is. The only other change I would recommend would be to reduce the oil (and, therefore, the calories) if you plan to eat this with a side of some kind – toast, home fries, etc. A full tablespoon for one serving is no laughing matter, but it’s also not something to be too afraid of (think of all those heart healthy fats you’re getting!), especially if you’re eating this omelet on its own without tons of other accompaniments.



One Year Ago: Savory Oatmeal

Cheesiest Cheeseless Omelet on Earth
Yield: 1 serving

The Ingredients
1 tablespoon sesame oil
¼ onion, sliced
several glugs hot sauce
2 teaspoons lime juice
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
1 whole egg
¼ cup egg whites
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes

The Method
Heat the sesame oil over medium and add the onion, hot sauce, lime juice, pepper, and garlic powder. Cover the pan but stir occasionally, cooking for approximately 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg and egg whites, then add that mixture to the pan. Cook, lifting up the edges, until the top is mostly set (but not quite!). Sprinkle the top with the yeast flakes and cover the pan again to cook mostly (but not quite!).  Carefully flip the omelet completely so the yeast flakes are in contact with the pan, turn off the burner, and let the omelet sit for no more than 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate, season with a little more black pepper, and enjoy!


In other news, I might need a 12-step program for quitting eggs/egg whites. It's getting to be absurd how often I write about them in here. I can't help it; I just love them so much!

 

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Banana Breakfast(-Snack-Dessert-Anytime) Wontons





A while back, I decided to spring at the grocery store and I bought wonton wrappers to play around with. After using them once for ravioli, I froze the extras since I knew I could never go through a full package on my own in time. When I thawed them for a second attempt at ravioli, I was nervous that refreezing them would wreak havoc on their chemical structure and just ruin them. So, I needed a way to use them, and use them quickly.

Enter these adorable little breakfast wontons, filled with banana and cinnamon and brushed with honey before being baked to warm, golden perfection. They were simple and easy, yet absolutely delicious – and they do freeze well once baked so making a large batch is no problem. I don’t think they needthe honey drizzle – they’re plenty sweet without it – and would love to try brushing them with olive oil instead to get a crisp golden finish. I also wish I had added some chopped walnuts for a little extra oomph, but should really experiment with that a little bit before just guessing at quantities and ratios for you to try. I would imagine that maybe ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts for the full batch would be the upper limit, but I’ll let you know if I try it again. For now, I’ve just been sprinkling a handful of nuts on top of them before eating. When there’s a will there’s a way, right?

Oh, and definitely don't let the name limit you - these aren't just for breakfast. They make a perfect snack or healthy dessert, too!


Banana Breakfast Wontons, adapted from Take Back Your Table
Yield: approximately 3 dozen wontons

The Ingredients
2 large, overripe bananas
30-36 wonton wrappers
1 teaspoon cinnamon
water, for sealing wrappers
honey, for drizzling

The Method
Preheat the oven to 425° Fahrenheit and line 2 baking sheets with lightly greased foil. Arrange the wonton wrappers on the prepared sheets and place a small bowl of water nearby.

In a medium bowl, mash the banana with the cinnamon. Place a heaping ½ teaspoon (up to ¾ teaspoon) of the banana filling in the center of each wonton. Dip your finger into the water and lightly coat the perimeter of each wrapper with water to moisten it. Fold two opposing corners to meet in the center, followed by the other two corners to make a little package. Press lightly along the seams to reinforce them. Work several wontons at a time to prevent the water on the edges from drying before you get a chance to fold them. Drizzle very lightly with honey and bake for 10 minutes until golden-brown.

Allow to cool slightly if eating right away (the centers will be hot!) or cool all the way if planning to freeze in a Ziploc bag. (To enjoy later, simply place in the toaster oven and warm over low heat, watching carefully to prevent burning.)







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Thirty Minute Thursdays: Green Chile Quesadillas & Side Succotash Salad




 
I think next year I’ll kick Passover off with a post about what I like to eat during the holiday to stay healthy and satisfied. It slipped my mind this year, and by the time someone suggested it to me, I wasn’t sure my advice would be particularly helpful – after all, in just over 24 hours we can all eat grains again. This year has been particularly challenging for me, as I left my box of quinoa at my parent’s house – talk about low carb meals! I admit that it has forced me to make some less healthy choices than I would like – as excited as I get about a successful and filling low carb meal here and there, I don’t like actually following a full on “low carb diet” – and I am very, very much looking forward to dinner tomorrow night. I’m not sure what I’ll make yet, but the box of lasagna noodles in my pantry is looking mighty fine right about now.

Then again, so does this recipe for grilled chile quesadillas! I know, I know, I just told you about quesadillas – how repetitive of me! But hear me out. First of all, it’s National Grilled Cheese Day, and I still don’t have a legitimate grilled cheese recipe for you so I want to make do with what I have. Second of all, this one speaks to all of the vegetarians out there (I haven’t forgotten about you!), whereas yesterday’s recipe contained chicken. I thought it would be a nice 30 Minute Thursday post to follow up a very unconventional quesadilla with a much more classic one. Plus, I ate it with a side of succotash salad, which – if you don’t follow the corn rule – could actually be eaten on Passover. So I like to think that this post does a good job of pleasing everyone this week.

This quesadilla was absolutely delicious. There was a perfect amount of cheese and using the smoked cheddar was incredible. All I would change next time would be to increase the amount of chile peppers slightly. I poured a spicy salsa verde on top (which, by the way, could not have been easier to make), which I made a little hotter by not removing the seeds, so that made up for the lack of kick from the quesadilla itself.  The succotash salad was equally tasty, and even easier to make. It wasn’t overly flavorful – it made a good pair for a spicy dish because it was refreshing and cooling. All I would say with this is to choose your oil for the dressing wisely – I used sesame and could absolutely taste it. A canola oil would be much more neutral, but otherwise go for a decent quality oil with a flavor that would go well with the rest of the dish, because you can definitely taste it. Also, if you have a little leftover succotash and a little leftover salsa verde, try mixing them together - it's fantastic!


Grille Chile Quesadillas with Succotash Salad, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup beans, drained & rinsed if canned1
½ small red pepper, chopped
¼ small red onion, chopped
½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon oil
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 poblano peppers
4 whole grain tortillas
2 cups shredded smoked cheddar cheese
plain greek yogurt, for serving
salsa verde, for serving
cilantro, for garnish

The Method
Combine the corn, beans, pepper, onion, vinegar, cilantro, and oil in a medium-large bowl. Toss until well mixed. Season with pepper, to taste, and set aside.

Place the peppers under the broiler of your oven or toaster oven and allow to char on all sides, watching closely. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the seeds for a milder version. Chop the peppers and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high and place one of the tortillas in the hot pan. Allow it to blister on one side, approximately 20 seconds, before flipping to the opposite side. Sprinkle ½ cup of cheese and ¼ of the chopped peppers over half of the tortilla and fold over. Continue cooking 15 seconds, flip to the other side, and cook another 15 minutes. Wrap the finished tortilla in foil and place in a warm oven to keep it hot while you make the others. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.

Garnish each tortilla with a sprinkling of cilantro and serve alongside the succotash salad, yogurt, and salsa verde.

Notes:
1I used a combination of black and cannellini beans; I also cooked them in the same crockpot at the same time, which is why the cannellini beans turned an appetizing shade of grey. Lovely, I know.









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Tandoori Chicken Quesadillas




Call it a mental Passover block or some subliminal knowledge that tomorrow is National Grilled Cheese Day, but out of the blue today I got a hankering for a good grilled cheese sandwich. Just my luck! Unfortunately, the closest I’m going to get to chowing down on a good sandwich of any kind between now and Saturday is telling you about this cheesy Tandoori chicken quesadilla that I made just a few weeks ago.

This meal actually began as grilled tandoori chicken, which was easy and quick to make. It was…nice. Not at all spicy as I had imagined, though I did admittedly play with the spices slightly to better accommodate what I had in stock. Still, it was enjoyable, and it worked really well with the sautéed spinach with garlic chips that I made as a side. I only halved the spinach recipe and ate the whole thing, meaning I ate a full 2 cloves of garlic – and while the spinach wasn’t too much for me, the garlic was. So if you’re a veggie lover and think you’ll eat a hefty serving of this, consider reducing the amount of garlic (that’s probably going to be the first and last time you’ll ever hear me say that). The only other thing to say about that spinach recipe is to really stick to the 1 minute or less cooking time – spinach is very delicate, and it continues to cook even after you remove it from the pan, so flash-cooking is really the best way to get the texture right.

The next day, I used the leftover tandoori chicken in an Indian-inspired quesadilla, and that’s where the recipe really stole my heart. Naturally, I overstuffed my quesadilla, insisting on only using 1 tortilla but keeping the same amount of filling, which means that my sandwich was a little messy to eat. If that’s a turn off but you, like me, would prefer to just use a single tortilla, consider reducing the chicken by just a little bit. However you choose to navigate the tortilla-filling conundrum, this is a delicious “sandwich.” I personally didn’t add any toppings, but think that it’d be even better with them! You could go the traditional Mexican route with salsa, sour cream/greek yogurt, avocado, etc.; or – and I think this sounds incredible – you could keep with the Indian flavors and top it with some plain greek yogurt and fruity chutney.

 

Grilled Tandoori Chicken Quesadillas, adapted from Closet Cooking
Yield: 1 serving

The Ingredients
¼ + ⅛ small onion, divided
2 tablespoons (nonfat)plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¾ teaspoon grated garlic
¾ teaspoon grated ginger
¾ teaspoon garam masala
¾ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground coriander
⅛ teaspoon chili powder
4 ounces chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup bell peppers, thinly sliced
2-4 tablespoons smoked cheddar cheese
¼ cup tightly packed spinach
1 whole grain tortilla wrap

The Method
Grate ⅛ onion and slice the remaining ¼. Set the slices aside. Place the grated onion, greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, garam masala, paprika, coriander, and chili powder in a large Ziploc bag and seal. Mix together well, then re-open the bag and add in the chicken. Seal again and shake/mix so that the chicken pieces are well coated. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour but preferably overnight.

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and coat lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Using tongs, remove the chicken from the bag and gently shake off excess marinade. Add the chicken pieces to the hot pan and cook, approximately 3 minutes per side. Remove the pan from the heat and set the chicken aside to cool.

Add the oil, bell peppers, and reserved onion slices to a sauté pan and cook over medium heat until softened, 5-7 minutes. While the vegetables cook, shred the chicken and measure 3-4 tablespoons out for the quesadilla filling (it should be close to all of it).

Remove the vegetables from the pan and add the quesadilla. Sprinkle half of the tortilla with half of the cheese and top with the vegetables, chicken, and spinach. Finish with the remaining cheese and fold the tortilla over onto itself. Cook until the cheese has melted and the tortilla has turned a golden brown, flipping halfway to give both sides of the quesadilla time to cook.




 


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Cucumber-Tomato Omelet





It’s the Monday after a very big holiday weekend, and I’ll bet even if your celebrations occurred on Friday or Saturday, you’re still feeling the effects of all of that food-and-family time. The amount of leftovers in my fridge is astonishing, and I found myself this morning reworking my meal plan for the week before going grocery shopping to try to use more of the leftovers instead of cooking too many new things. It can be overwhelming to be presented with so much food – even if the majority is healthy.

Sometimes, after a big holiday, you just need something simple to eat. It’s even better if it’s very healthy, since many people find themselves in “detox mode” (I use that term loosely – we’re not talking about an actual detox here!) after a holiday filled with culinary indulgences. This cucumber-tomato salad and omelet is the perfect meal for the morning after a holiday – it’s easy, it’s simple, it’s good for you, and it tastes really good, too. Of course, I made this in the middle of February when no one on the East Coast of the United States should be buying tomatoes, so this meal wasn’t given the opportunity to shine as it would in, say, July. Someone really should slap the back of my hand with a ruler for even attempting it. Still, even with the lackluster tomatoes, I liked it. I have every intention of making this as tomatoes come more into season.

And maybe even before that, with all of these leftover cucumbers and tomatoes from seder crudite I have on my hands…

One Year Ago: Black bean Burrito

Cucumber-Tomato Salad topped Omelet, adapted from The Food Network
Yield: 3 servings

The Ingredients
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ seedless cucumber, diced
2 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
handful of chopped cilantro
½ medium red onion, chopped
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 whole eggs
¾ cup egg whites
¾ cup loosely packed spinach

The Method
Whisk together the vinegar and oil in the bottom of a medium-large bowl. Add the cucumber, tomato, cilantro, and red onion, and toss to combine and evenly coat the vegetables with the dressing. Season with freshly ground pepper to taste, and let sit while you make the omelets.

Heat a small, non-stick frying pan over medium heat and coat lightly with cooking spray.  Combine the eggs and egg whites in a bowl or cup with a spout. Finely chop the spinach and mix into the eggs. When the pan is hot, pour ⅓ of the egg mixture into the pan and cook, lifting up the set edges to let the liquid run off and come into contact with the pan. When the top is mostly set, flip completely and cook for another 10-15 seconds. Repeat for the remaining 2 omelets. Serve each omelet topped with ⅓ of the salad.







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