Tzatziki Sauce

I love tzatziki sauce! It is good on almost everything, and nothing can compare to the wonderful sour taste of plain yogurt.  I was encouraged to make this to accompany my leftover Spinach and Tofu Triangles (the last post I did), and they were perfect together.  Also might I add that the Blazers won against the Suns last night and they looked amazing! Go Blazers!  So here we go

makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 medium-small cucumber, grated (skin and all)

1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, pressed (in garlic presser or minced)

1 teaspoon dill

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

The Process

1.  Combine all ingredients in small bowl and mix well.  Let chill for at least 1/2 hour and serve.

Spinach and Tofu Triangles

Well how should I start this.  I made these yesterday and yesterday was a better day.  Today is one of those days where everything hits you at once even though you knew all these things were happening in your life.  Today was that day for me and the coldness outside helps but it doesn't.  I just want to go home (at work) and have a warm meal made for me with a large TV with cable so I can watch the Blazers game...  Guess I will keep wishing and write about these amazing Spinach and Tofu Triangles instead.

The Ingredients
1/2 package whole wheat phyllo dough
1 10oz. package frozen chopped spinach defrosted, and water squeezed out
1 medium red onion, chopped finely
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 8oz package of extra firm tofu, crumbled
1 tablespoon baby dill, chopped
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup reduced fat feta cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper

The Process
1. In skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat, add garlic and onions and cook until clear. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. When onions and garlic are clearish, take off heat and add spinach, lemon juice, tofu, dill, parsley, feta, and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.

3.  On dry surface lay out 2 sets (4 layers thick) of phyllo dough and cut each set into 9 rectangles.

4.  Spray all the rectangle with olive oil, then add about 2 tablespoons full of mixture to each rectangle.

5.  Fold rectangles over to look like triangles and take a fork to press the edges together.

6.  Lightly spray olive oil over all rectangles, grease a large cookie sheet and place all of the triangles onto sheet and place in oven.

7.  Takes about 25 minutes to bake, or bake until golden brown.

I paired these with a large steamed artichoke and it was an amazing combination.  I would also suggest making a tzatziki sauce to dip the triangles in.  I used balsamic vinegar as a dip which tasted lovely as well.

This is a pretty healthy meal too considering all the spinach and tofu involved:) And vegetarian friendly.

Pimento Cheese Spread

Alright as I have warned you in the past, there will be some fat kid recipes on my blog, because I mean truly who isn't one at heart....I mean seriously.  So here we go.  This is inspired by Russell Street BBQ, every so often...well more often than not my wonderful friend Rebecca (who has an amazing food blog too) and I go to Russell Street BBQ to grab a drink and their oh so awesome pimento cheese spread.  Now the other day we had one of our rendezvous after a shitty monday at work, and we got our typical drinks and we about to order the pimento cheese spread....but no they were all out.  Before I almost lost my shit we decided on the Frito chili pie, while it was good I still had to have two cocktails to make up for it.  So since then I have been craving the pimento cheese goodness like no other and I decided to make it, knowing of coarse that it wouldn't be as good as Russell St. and guess what I was right....but still this version was pretty damn good.  So make this and get fat and be happy:)

From Paula Deen

makes 3 cups (i.e. more than enough)

Ingredients

3 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sharp cheddar, grated

1 cup monterey jack, grated

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon House seasoning (recipe follows)

3 tablespoons pimentos, diced

2 teaspoons grated onion

The Process

1. Mix together cream cheese, cheddar, monterey jack, mayo, pimentos, grated onion, and house seasoning. 

2.  Serve on mini garlic toasts.

House Seasoning:

1/2 cup salt

1/8 cup black pepper

1/8 cup garlic powder

mix well

I will say that it is a pretty salty recipe even for my likings (and i love salt), so be weary. 

Healthy Chicken Pot Pie

Soooooo this pot pie is sooo amazing, ask Elisa, she was the lucky guest for dinner:)  I'm pretty sure her pug Chula liked it too.  I was looking through many recipes looking for a healthier version of chicken pot pie because often times even when you make the crust with whole wheat flour, there ends up being sooo much butter involved.  Otherwise chicken pot pie doesn't contain too much fat when home made.  This came about on one of the wonderful cold and sunny days last week here in Portland, Oregon.  Fall is my absolute favorite season for many reasons, but one of the top is the internal instinct to cook up hearty and warm meals.  This meal is extremely nutritious and it helped me get through a week full of homework, meetings, work and then a weekend full of class...... thank you chicken pot pie.

 

Adapted from Ellie Krieger

Serves 3

Ingredients

2 medium sized chicken breasts, cut into cubes

2 handfuls of crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 head broccoli, chopped

2 leeks, bottom 4 inches only, wash and chopped

1/2 small red onion, chopped

2 medium golden potatoes, cubed

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

5 sheets frozen whole wheat phyllo dough, thawed (I found this at New Seasons)

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan

salt and pepper

olive oil

The Process

1.  Preheat oven to 350F, and spray bread loaf pan with cooking spray.

2.  Heat up skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil, while it heats season chicken with salt and pepper.

3.  Remove chicken and set aside.  Add more olive oil to pan and add potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms and red onion.  Cook for about 3 minutes.

4.  Add garlic and leeks to skillet and cook for 1 additional minute.

5.  Add milk to skillet. Stir flour into chicken broth until dissolved and add to skillet.

6.  Bring mixture to boil, then lower to medium-low heat and cover and simmer for 10minutes stirring occasionally.

7.  Add chicken, parsley and thyme, stir and set aside.

8.  Take 5 sheets of phyllo and place center of sheets over the center of pan and press down so all corners are touching pan.

9.  Add all of the filling from skillet, then fold end of phyllo sheets over top of filling to cover.

10. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top and put in oven for 30 minutes or until filling is bubbling.

11. Take out and let cool for 5 minutes to set, and enjoy!


I think that steamed broccoli or sauteed spinach would be a great side dish to go with the pot pie, though I just ate the pot pie:)

 

Mediterranean Wheat Berry Salad

This is me really trying to revive my cooking blog.  So I had made this salad a while back, perhaps even before the blog existed.  And I made it once again last week, needless to say I forgot how amazing and healthy it is.  I found it tastes best fresh, but the day after is fine as well.  All the fresh herbs can get a little soggy even though their flavor becomes stronger with time.  Many life changes recently but now I'm getting back on track and hopefully will keep up the blogging, because I love it.

Adapted from Sunset:

Serves 5

Ingredients
2 cups uncooked wheat berries
7 cups water
1 jar (6oz) marinated artichoke hearts
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup feta, crumbled
1/3 cup calamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/4 italian parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste.

The Process
1.  First bring to boil the wheat berries and water, then simmer and cook until done, about 1 hour, then strain.

2.  While wheat berries are cooling, combine all ingredients in one large bowl.

3. Add wheat berries, mix thoroughly, and add salt and pepper to taste.

There is a lot of chopping involved and the wheat berries take a while to cook, but besides that it is a fresh easy meal.

Nutritional info: cal:207, protein:5.4g, fat:9g, fiber:4.8g
Picture from: http://www.purelyamerican.com/images/PH%20OrganicWheatBerries.jpg