Category: Main Dishes

English Muffin Pizzas

INGREDIENTS:

1 package 100% whole wheat English muffins or sandwich thins (about 12 halves)
1 can pizza sauce
1 small container cottage cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh baby spinach
1 small can black olives
Turkey pepperoni
Raw broccoli or cauliflower
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Olive oil
Dried oregano or Italian seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On an ungreased cookie sheet, place bread halves face up. Brush each lightly with olive oil. Top each first with 1-2 tablespoons of pizza sauce, followed by about 1 tablespoon of cottage cheese (if desired).  Layer pepperoni, vegetables, and olives on top, followed by mozzarella cheese and spices. Bake at 350 deg for about ten minutes, or until bread is crisp and cheese is bubbling.

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Tomato and Spinach Dinner Strata

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Ingredients:

4 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

15 oz. container ricotta cheese

10 oz. package of chopped spinach, cooked and drained

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

2 cups marinara sauce

8-10 dinner rolls or day-old sliced bread, shredded into cubes

1 cup mozzarella cheese

3 eggs

1 cup milk

Directions:

Grease a 7×11 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Heat 2 tsp oil in a medium skillet over medium. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Transfer onions to another bowl. Heat remaining oil and cook mushrooms on medium-high for about 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl with onions, and stir in 1/4 tsp. of pepper and salt each.

Stir together ricotta and spinach with nutmeg and remaining 1/4 tsp. pepper.

Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce evenly into the bottom of the baking dish. Add half of the pieces of bread on top of the sauce. Spread ricotta/spinach mixture over bread, and top with other half of bread. Spread mushrooms and onions over bread. Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce.

Whisk together eggs with milk and pour slowly over the pan, distributing evenly on top of all ingredients. Bread should be saturated.

Coat a piece of tin foil with cooking spray and cover pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 deg. Bake for 40 minutes, uncovered. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more. Let casserole cool for ten minutes before serving!

Recipe courtesy of Eatingwell.com

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Chicken Curry Divan

I found myself wanting to play around a bit with the traditional Chicken Divan- broccoli, chicken, cream of mushroom soup, etc. etc. Instead, I added cauliflower, made the sauce out of light mayo and sour cream, and threw in some mild curry powder. It turned out well! I think next time, however, I will mix the sauce into the chicken mixture before baking in order to have more of a uniform flavor in each bite. This is definitely an easy way to use up leftover rice, chicken, and veggies!

Ingredients:

2 cups broccoli/cauliflower florets, cooked and drained

2 chicken breasts

1 tsp seasoned salt

3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup light sour cream

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tbsp chicken bullion powder

1/2 tsp curry powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

2 tbsp bread crumbs

1 1/2 cups rice, cooked

In a medium saucepan, steam or boil broccoli and cauliflower until almost tender, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, saute mushrooms in butter with garlic powder until almost tender. Defrost chicken breasts (if needed) and sprinkle both sides with seasoned salt. Microwave on high for 4 minutes or until center is no longer pink. Dice into ~1/2″ cubes.

Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, curry powder, chicken bullion, and pepper. Add lemon juice and stir into mixture.

In a greased 9×9 baking dish, layer rice, broccoli, chicken and mushrooms. Spoon sauce on top. Spread evenly, or mix into vegetables. Top with cheese and bread crumbs.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes, until cheese gets bubbly and delicious-looking!

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Spicy Five-Ring Stew

Named in honor of the upcoming Summer Olympics, this is a pretty spicy stew I invented that has flavors from five different continents represented in the five Olympic rings- the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa, and “Oceania.” Yes, I looked up the meaning of “Oceania” and discovered that it includes the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Australia.

So in this stew, we’ve got the following ingredients representing these nations:

Pinto beans- Americas

Tofu- Asia

Spinach- Europe

Sweet Potatoes- Africa

Rice- Oceania (…OK cut me a little slack on this one! Who knows what ‘Oceanian’ food is like anyway?)

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Ingredients:

1 cube low sodium vegetable bullion

1 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 tsp corn starch

~1 tbsp teriyaki sauce

~1 tbsp honey

~ 1/8 tsp dried, crushed red pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 sweet potato, diced

1/8 cup raw onion, chopped

1 cup raw broccoli/cauliflower, chopped

1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves

1/4 cup baby carrots, chopped

1/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup diced, firm tofu (1/2″ cubes)

1/4 cup cooked pinto beans

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp olive oil

Parmesan cheese, for serving

1/4 cup white or brown rice, cooked

Directions:

In a medium bowl, add water and bullion cube and stir until dissolved. Stir in corn starch, teriyaki sauce, honey, and crushed red pepper. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a baking dish, add chopped onion, sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Add garlic powder, garlic, and ginger. Mix together until evenly distributed throughout pan. Stick in the oven for 20 minutes or until broccoli and potatoes begin to brown.

Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in saucepan on high. Add tofu and cook on high for about 4 minutes, or until browned. Add broth mixture to saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add spinach and pinto beans and reduce heat to medium.

When vegetables in the oven are browned, add to saucepan and reduce heat to low. Continue to cook for three minutes to allow flavors of broth and vegetables to meld.

Remove from heat. Serve over rice and garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

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