Hummus and Roasted Vegetable Wrap

Okay, I've recently discovered my new favorite lunch wrap. It's been hiding out in one of my Ellie Krieger's cookbooks, and I just happened to stumble upon it almost by accident. I was looking for a particular recipe, but my eyes wandered to this Hummus and Roasted Vegetable Wrap before I got there. A few hours later, this lovely meal was perched on my table for lunch.



First of all, can I point out how beautifully colorful and vibrant this wrap is? Look at that red, that green, that yellow! It's so fresh and delicious, not to mention super easy to assemble. All you need to do is grill or roast some fresh zucchini and squash (Ellie just used zucchini, but I had the yellow squash so I did half and half), then allow the veggies to cool a bit. Next, you put together the wrap by spreading hummus on the bottom, then sprinkling spinach leaves, pine nuts (toasted or untoasted, your choice), the zucchini and squash, and some roasted red pepper. Roll and wrap, and there's your lunch! Try it with some cheese or olives, too. The possibilities are vast!




Hummus and Roasted Vegetable Wrap
adapted from The Food You Crave
makes 4 wraps

Ingredients
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
1 medium squash, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
2 tsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup hummus (store-bought or homemade; I used my Roasted Red Pepper Spread)
4 pieces whole-wheat wrap bread or whole-wheat tortillas
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 jarred roasted red peppers, drained, rinsed, and quartered
2 ounces baby spinach leaves (2 cups, lightly packed)
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons (I didn't use any)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the zucchini and squash with the oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast the veggies on a nonstick baking sheet for about 15 minutes, until tender. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. Spread 1/4 cup of the hummus over each piece of wrap bread. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. pine nuts on top. Top with 1/4 of the zucchini and squash, 2 pieces of red pepper, 1/2 cup of the spinach, a few sliced onions, and 1 Tbsp. of the mint. Roll each of them up and cut in half on a diagonal.

Greek Panzanella Salad

I don't make the Barefoot Contessa's recipes very often, but it has very little to do with how I feel about her. I actually like her very much; she's such a soothing television host, and her food always looks accessible and drool-worthy. Therein lies the problem; her food isn't exactly fat-free! It usually has a high calorie content, although I wouldn't call her an unhealthy cook. So, I think the best thing I can do when I'm craving one of Ina's recipes is to go for it, but alter it to better fit my calorie needs. As Ina herself might say, "How easy is that?"

So I embarked upon the task of making her Greek Panzanella Salad, because it looked insanely delicious, and quite frankly I was craving bread. This seemed like the perfect way to turn bread into a one-dish meal that is also packed full of fresh vegetables, feta cheese, and a scrumptious dressing. I've made panzanella once before, and it was Ellie Krieger's recipe. That one was wonderful, too; this one is just a different spin on the formula.

This one has spinach, onions, bell peppers, cucumbers, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes (which I roasted first so they would get all soft and concentrated in flavor), and feta cheese. I used a five-grain bread for my toasted bread cubes, which added a nice nutty dimension to the salad. The dressing is a pretty simple red wine vinaigrette; I just used a lot less oil than Ina did. I also decreased my feta to about 2 oz., and used a reduced-fat variety. That said, I think it could have used a bit more feta, so I wrote the recipe below with the option of using 3 or 4 oz. of cheese. Use the amount you feel comfortable with. Even with all my changes, this salad was absolutely wonderful! I didn't feel like I was depriving myself of anything; all the flavors were there, and a serving was definitely filling enough to pass for an entree. Now that I've made this recipe with such rousing success, I can hardly wait to get my hands on some more of Ina's recipes!

Greek Panzanella Salad
adapted from Foodnetwork.com
makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1 (12-0z.) loaf whole grain, crusty bread, cut into cubes
1/4-1/3 cup kalamata olives, chopped
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved (or roasted, like I did)
1/2 a cucumber, seeded and chopped into cubes
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 a red onion, sliced into thin strips
3 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves
3/4-1 cup reduced-fat feta cheese, cubed
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar (I use a pomegranate red wine vinegar; yum!)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange the bread cubes on a large baking sheet and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Bake the cubes in the oven for about 10 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking. Check for doneness; they should feel stale, like croutons. Adjust cooking time if they need a bit longer.

2. Toss the olives and the next 7 ingredients (through feta cheese) together in a large salad bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the red wine vinegar, the mustard, salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano. Slowly stream in the olive oil, whisking constantly.

3. Pour the dressing over the vegetables; toss well to combine. Add in your reserved, cooled bread cubes and toss again to coat the cubes with dressing. Serve in shallow bowls.

Spinach Pistachio Pesto

This pesto was another brain child of my week prior to vacation, when I had to get rid of some fridge staples and didn't want to grocery shop. I happened to purchase a pretty big ol' bag of pistachios not that long ago, and for some reason I was in the mood to make a pesto. Since I had some fresh cilantro and fresh spinach to use up, I decided to see what would happen if I combined all of these ingredients in my food processor!



I have to say, this was a pretty great idea! I generally make my pesto on the coarser side, because I like it to be less oily and caloric. I will drizzle a bit of olive oil into the pesto, and then I will use my hot, reserved pasta liquid in the pasta to compensate for the lack of moisture in the pesto. Normally, about 1/2 cup of the water will do the trick, but you can always add more if necessary. One final thing: I was all out of Parmesan cheese that day, which was a shame because it would have been so good in there. You can definitely add it into the pesto if you'd like, but I really liked the simplicity of this pesto without it. Either way, I don't really think you can lose with this one!

Spinach Pistachio Pesto
recipe by Bri
makes enough to cover 1 lb. pasta

Ingredients
4 cups spinach, loosely packed
1/2 cup cilantro (can use stems and leaves), loosely packed
1/2 cup raw, shelled pistachios, toasted
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2-1 tsp. salt
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions
1. Combine the pistachios and garlic cloves in the work bowl of a food processor; pulse to chop them finely. Add the spinach and cilantro; run the food processor long enough to make a coarse paste.

2. With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil and about 1/2 cup to 1 cup warm water (reserved pasta water works very well for this). The pesto will still be similar to paste, but will be looser and almost creamy looking. Add salt to taste.

3. Toss with your choice of pasta shape; add Parmesan cheese before serving if desired.

Meatless Mondays: Spinach and Parmesan Souffles

The week before we left town on vacation, I was trying my hardest to use up my pantry and refrigerator staples without having to buy more ingredients that may go bad before I had a chance to use them. The meals of that week, as a result, were some surprisingly tasty and innovative dishes, which I am proudly going to be sharing with you in coming days. First up is these Spinach and Parmesan Souffles.

My latest copy of Cooking Light featured several different types of souffle, most of them sweet souffles. While they all sound delicious, and are on my list of things to try, I zeroed in right away on the one savory offering. This one sounded so good, and I had all the ingredients in my house, so I decided to make it for dinner one evening. I figured a side salad and some bread would round out this meal nicely.

This was my first souffle, and I was extremely pleased with the results. There seem to be a few secrets to a successful souffle, which the article in the magazine detailed nicely. The first important step is to coat your individual serving dishes, or ramekins, with something that will allow the egg mixture to cling easily to the sides of the dish and to climb up. In some cases, a sprinkling of sugar may suffice, but for these savory souffles it was breadcrumbs that did the trick. It allows the mixture to rise beautifully, while adding another layer of flavor as well.

The next step is to allow the egg whites to come to room temperature before beating them. Make sure no yolk gets mixed in with the whites; they won't rise otherwise. When beating the egg whites, you want to get them to medium, not stiff, peaks. When you lift a beater straight up in the air, the egg whites should stand at a 45 degree angle, not at 90 degrees.

Finally, the incorporation of the egg whites into the rest of the mixture should be done by gently folding. You don't want to mix vigorously; this will deflate your whites and decrease the lift of your finished product. A great technique when folding ingredients is to scrape the spatula along the bottom of the bowl, then turning the bowl a quarter turn and scraping down along the botton again. Repeat this until the mixture looks uniform.

As you can see, following these steps to the letter results in a pillowy, light, airy souffle that rises high above the rim of the ramekin. You'll want to present and eat them fairly quickly once they are out of the oven; they do deflate dramatically after about 5 minutes.

Not only do these souffles look impressive, they taste wonderful. They are tangy from the Parmesan, with those delicious ribbons of spinach running throughout, and the eggs form a lovely crust on top while being almost impossibly soft inside. I was thrilled with my first souffles, and I do hope you'll give them a try, too. They are so much easier than you think they are!

Spinach and Parmesan Souffles
adapted from Cooking Light
makes 4 souffles

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 1/2 Tbsp. dry breadcrumbs
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
2/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions
1. Place a baking sheet in the oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Coat 4 (6-ounce) ramekins with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with breadcrumbs, tilting and turning dishes to coat sides completely.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray. Add spinach; cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, tossing constantly. Place spinach in a colander; let stand 5 minutes. Squeeze excess liquid from spinach. Coarsely chop spinach.

3. Combine 2/3 cup milk and the next 4 ingredients (through black pepper) in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Cook for 2 minutes or until mixture is thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Spoon mixture into a large bowl, and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in spinach, cheese, and egg yolks.

4. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl, and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Beat with a mixer at high speed until medium peaks form (do not overbeat). Gently stir one-fourth of egg whites into spinach mixture, and gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Gently spoon mixture into prepared dishes. Sharply tap dishes 2 or 3 times on counter to level.

5. Place dishes on preheated baking sheet; return baking sheet to 425 degree oven. Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees; bake souffles at 350 for 21-24 minutes, or until puffy and golden brown on top. Serve immediately.

Roasted Garlic and Pepperoni Pasta

I'm excited about this one! I'm excited because I made it without a recipe, and I was trying something for purely experimental purposes, and it totally worked! I wasn't even sure it would work, but I was willing to allow my family to be the guinea pigs in this particular experiment. You see, I had several heads of garlic, and I really wanted to roast some up. With that as my starting point, this whole meal was born.

I decided to build upon my roasted garlic idea with things I had around the house that I wanted to use up. I was feeling like creating a roasted garlic sauce, but I wanted it to be creamy and not fattening. A tall order, right? Well, wait a minute. Get this: if you put ricotta cheese in the food processor with a touch of olive oil, the whole head of roasted garlic, and some reserved pasta cooking liquid, you get a nice, healthier, creamy sauce! I'm sure somebody out there has already thought of this, and I just caught on to it late. But I was pretty proud of myself, considering I just came up with it on the fly.

I sauteed a red onion, added a huge pile of spinach and a huge pile of Swiss chard to the skillet, and wilted the greens down. Next, I added some turkey pepperoni. Now, this is the part of the recipe where I would have done it differently if I had to go back and redo it. But lucky for you, I have learned from my mistake and I wrote out the instructions to include the change. Why, you may ask? Well, because the pepperoni just ended up getting a bit droopy and limp as a result of adding it in after the veggies. It was still okay, but just a bit tasteless. Next time, I would cook the pepperoni first, until it became crispy, and then I would take it out and reserve it to throw on top of the pasta at the end. Oh well, I'm learning!

Since the sauce I created did turn out a bit thin, I thought fast and added it to the skillet that contained the veggies. By simmering it for just a few minutes, I was able to thicken it up and turn it into a nice, alfredo-y sauce. If you wanted to, you could add some Parmesan cheese to the sauce and really take it over the top. I liked it as is. Best of all, the family liked it too! My husband was none the wiser about me creating this dish, and he started raving about it over dinner. When I told him that I hadn't even used a recipe, he was pretty impressed. That made me feel good; I find that some of my favorite moments in the kitchen come when I am able to "invent." So it's great when the invention works out well!

Roasted Garlic and Pepperoni Pasta
recipe by Bri
makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients
5 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 whole head of garlic, outer papery skin removed and top 1/4 cut off
1 lb. pasta, any shape will do
1 medium red onion, sliced
4 cups fresh baby spinach
3-4 cups Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped
1/2 cup (it's actually 34 slices, but in case you don't feel like counting!) turkey pepperoni, halved
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Drizzle about 1/2 tsp. olive oil over the head of garlic, wrap it tightly in foil, and roast in the oven for about 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow it to cool slightly.

2. Heat a large pot of water to a boil on the stove. Add the pasta to the pot and cook according to the package directions. Reserve at least 1 cup of the cooking liquid to make the sauce.

3. In a medium nonstick skillet, heat 1 1/2 tsp. oil over a medium heat. Add the pepperoni and cook until just heated through and slightly crispy, about 5 minutes or so. Remove the pepperoni to a plate. To the skillet, add the red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add in the spinach and Swiss chard gradually, allowing it to wilt some before adding more.

4. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, add the head of roasted garlic, the 1 cup reserved cooking liquid, the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil, and the 1/2 cup ricotta cheese. Puree the mixture until it is smoth and resembles a thin sauce. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

5. Pour the sauce into the wilted greens and allow the mixture to come to a simmer. Turn the heat back and continue to cook at a low simmer until the sauce has thickened some, about 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat and combine the sauce with the pasta and pepperoni (I added everything back into the pasta pot after the pasta had been drained), tossing well to coat the pasta with sauce. Divide into shallow bowls and serve.

Black Bean Falafel

I thought it would be fun to make falafel again; I believe this is my third time now! Since I've already done the more traditional type of falafel, as well as a creative, fun pea-lafel, I thought this time I'd try a variation with black beans. I found a pretty cool recipe that was pretty much exactly what I was looking for. It worked out so well that I already want to make these again, and I'm eager to share it with you.



It's very, very easy to assemble the falafel. You basically throw all your ingredients in the food processor and blend it up, and then you add the black beans in last so that they are not quite as ground up as everything else. You toss your falafel balls in some cornmeal, which really gives them a nice, crunchy exterior. I thought that was a great touch; it really contrasted well with the softer interior of the falafel. The flavors were great, although I think the recommended 1 jalapeno could have been increased by one or two. I improvised just slightly (the original recipe called for fresh cilantro; I didn't have any, so I used ground coriander and ground fenugreek) but otherwise stayed pretty true to the recipe. I think it's a great "starter" falafel, because it lends itself to so many different uses. These would be equally delicious in a pita pocket, or tossed with salsa and served in a Mexican salad. I think I'm turning into a falafel-holic!

Black Bean Falafel
adapted from Everything's Eventful
makes 12 patties

Ingredients
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground fenugreek
1 egg
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped (I think I could have used 2)
2 Tbsp. plus 1/2 cup cornmeal, divided
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions
1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the garbanzo beans, scallions, garlic, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, the egg, jalapeno, 2 Tbsp. of cornmeal, and salt and pepper. Process the mixture until nearly smooth, then add the black beans. Pulse the mixture until the black beans are chopped pretty fine, but not completely blended in. You want it to be slightly chunky.

2. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup cornmeal into a shallow bowl. Using a scoop or your hands, form falafel balls by using 1/3 cup of the mixture at a time. Slightly flatten the balls, and then roll each in the cornmeal, gently shaking off any excess. Transfer the balls to a plate as you go. You should be able to get 12 balls.

3. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat it to medium heat (you can also bake these, or use a bit of canola oil to shallow-fry the balls). Working in batches, add three or four falafel balls at a time to the skillet. Fry for about 3-4 minutes per side, until nice and brown on both sides. Remove the balls from the skillet and serve. Some serving suggestions: over a bed of spinach, stuffed in a pita pocket with some hummus, cucumber, and sprouts, or inside an English muffin.

CEIMB: Creamed Spinach

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe is Creamed Spinach, which apparently is in the So Easy book even though I have never noticed it before. This dish was chosen by a good blogging friend of mine, Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen. I can honestly say that this was my first time ever trying Creamed Spinach, and I think it's mostly because I'm scared of things that have "creamed" in the title. I dislike creamed corn, I'm not normally a fan of "cream of" soups, and on top of that I try to use as little cream in my savory dishes as possible. But this was Liz; I had to forge on and make this dish for her!



This was ridiculously easy to make, which I loved. Chop up some shallots and briefly cook them in a bit of oil. Thaw a box of frozen spinach, squeeze it out very well. Add a bit of flour to the pan and cook it out, then add some milk and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Once this has thickened slightly, you add the spinach and simmer it for about 5 minutes. Finally, you add evaporated milk (just a bit, and since I had none on hand I decided to just skip that little step), some nutmeg, salt, and pepper. And you're done!

So, it turns out that I really liked this! I know, what a shocker, right? I went into it almost dreading it, and I ended up enjoying it. I'm not the biggest frozen spinach fan, but if I'm going to eat it, this is the way I'd like to do it. The spinach was just creamy enough, had tons of flavor, and got super bonus points for its ease of preparation. I wouldn't eat spinach this way every day, but I do think it'd be nice for a change of pace every now and then.



Thank you, Liz! I know now that I really would have been missing out on something delicious if I had been too scared to try this. Silly me; I had nothing to fear! For the recipe, head on over to Food Network's website, here. To see the CEIMB blogroll, click here.

Meatless Mondays: Macaroni and Four Cheeses

This Macaroni and Four Cheeses recipe was one of the very first Ellie Krieger dishes to ever catch my eye. I watched her make it on her show several years ago. She takes the classic, delicious, but insanely unhealthy mac and cheese and converts it to something much easier on the waistline. The secret ingredient here is frozen winter squash. Its bright, yellow-orange color is similar to that of Cheddar cheese, and its texture is virtually undetectable in the dish because the squash is pureed before it is frozen. A blend of Cheddar, Monterey Jack, ricotta, and Parmesan cheeses are added to the mix (the Parmesan is actually added to the bread crumb topping, rather than to the rest of the cheeses) to create a dish that is still plenty cheesy, but much, much lower in calories and fat.

Despite my fascination with the dish, the first time I ever saw it I thought, "Well, there's no way I'm ever going to make that!" For one thing, back then I had never tried squash. The idea of blending it into the mac and cheese was just scary. Besides this, the reviews on Food Network's website for this one are very polarized. People seem to feel very strongly about this one; they either really love it or really hate it. So add that fact to my skepticism about it, and I put this one to the back of my mind.



But times, they have changed. These days, I am much more willing to try things than I was a few years ago, or even just a year ago. I've eaten squash, and lived to tell about it. I'm still constantly trying to find ways to healthify dishes that my family enjoys. Mac and cheese ranks among my five year-old's very favorite dishes, so I thought I would try to put one over on him and give this one a shot. I made it even more nutritious by throwing in a couple different veggies, fresh spinach and broccoli, for added heft and bulk. I think this may have been a mistake, at least where my son was concerned. There was no hiding the big, green vegetables from him; they were right out there in the open! So he decided he didn't like this mac and cheese, simply based on appearances. Oh, well. We can't win them all, especially with picky kids.

As for the adults in the house, you can place us in the camp of huge fans of this meal! I only used one box of the frozen squash (Ellie uses two) because I was a bit wary, but I'm sure I could have gotten away with two. I really didn't notice its flavor too much, and as far as lowfat mac and cheese go, this one is pretty generous. You get plenty of cheesiness per serving, as well as the homey, yummy bread crumb topping we all expect from scratch-made mac and cheese. Color me converted!



Macaroni and Four Cheeses
adapted from Foodnetwork.com
makes 8 servings

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 (12-ounce) box frozen pureed winter squash (Ellie uses 2 boxes, 10 ounces each)
2 cups 2% milk
4 oz. extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. powdered mustard
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1-2 cups cooked broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces
3-4 cups fresh spinach, wilted
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. unseasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp. olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

2. Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and the milk into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until defrosted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and add the Cheddar, Jack cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, mustard, and cayenne pepper.

3. Stir the cooked broccoli and spinach into the pasta, then pour the cheese mixture over the pasta and vegetables. Stir to combine, then transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.

4. Combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Switch the oven to the broil setting and broil the macaroni and cheese for 3 minutes, until the top is crisp and nicely browned.

Meatless Mondays: Thai Bulgur Salad with Almond Dressing

It's been a few weeks since I've been able to do a Meatless Monday, and I have to say that I've missed it. It's not that I haven't been going meatless, at all, though. In fact, when trying to decide which recipe to blog about today, I realized that I had lots of meatless options to choose from!

In the end, though, I really wanted to talk about this Thai Bulgur Salad with Almond Dressing. This was my first time working with bulgur, and my first time eating it, too. It's quick-cooking, cracked wheat that pretty much behaves like barley or rice in a dish. It's surprisingly hearty and loaded with protein and fiber. The kind I purchased also had roasted soy chips, for an extra punch of soy protein. It's pretty tasy, and very versatile. I'm converted!



This salad is made up of a bunch of fresh veggies, the bulgur, and a tasty almond dressing that is sort of reminiscent of a peanut satay sauce. The secret ingredient is almond butter, another one of my new loves. If you like peanut butter, I recommend trying almond butter just for a change. It's got a very rich, almost sweet flavor, despite containing virtually no sugar. It's better for you than peanut butter; rich in antioxidants and monounsaturated fats, it's also good for your heart and can even aid in controlling your weight. You can get it in smooth or chunky, just like peanut butter. It's great on toast and fabulous in this dressing. I'm planning on baking it into some cookies in the near future!

The dressing also contains rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, honey, and sesame oil, and it is delicious. It was a truly satisfying meal, despite the fact that it was, well, a salad, and contained no meat. By adding protein in varied and unexpected ways, you really don't miss it. This one's a keeper; give it a try!




Thai Bulgur Salad with Almond Dressing
adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publication
makes 4 servings

Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup bulgur
2 cups frozen edamame, thawed and shelled
1 cup sweet red bell pepper, cut into julienne strips (about 1 medium pepper)
1/2 cup diced carrot (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup chopped radish (about 7-8 radishes)
1/2 cup thinly sliced, quartered red onion
4 cups packaged fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. natural almond butter
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
Lime wedges, for garnish (optional)

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to boiling; stir in the uncooked bulgur. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes or until bulgur is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Drain if necessary; transfer to a large bowl.

2. While the bulgur is cooking, make the dressing. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients (rice vinegar through garlic) and whisk thoroughly to combine. Set aside.

3. Add the edamame, bell pepper, carrot, radish, and red onion to the bulgur. Divide the spinach leaves among four shallow bowls. Top with bulgur mixture; drizzle with the almond dressing. If desired, garnish with lime wedges.

Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

Now that I love mushrooms, I admit I have been looking for nearly any opportunity to use them. This recipe for Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas, from the always reliable Ellie Krieger, is a dish that I knew would have me feeling nostalgic. When I was growing up, my dad would make the best homemade quesadillas. They put restaurant quesadillas to shame! They were full of chicken and ooey gooey cheese, and they contained mushrooms. That would not seem particularly revelatory, except for the fact that this was the only way I would ever eat mushrooms. I guess if they were all wrapped up in a cheesy, chickeny package, I could be more easily persuaded to eat them!

These quesadillas are like a kicked-up version of the original that I was brought up eating. With the addition of sauteed onions, shredded baby spinach, and a good dash of cumin, chili powder, and oregano, Ellie's quesadillas are truly some of the most scrumptious ones I've ever had. I love the fact that the spices add so much flavor. The veggies make it even heartier, and the cheese is not excessive, yet it's more than enough. Simple and perfect.

I deviate slightly from Ellie's cooking method, just to keep up my old traditions. My childhood version was baked in the oven, so I choose to do that here instead of pan-frying them. I fill one flattened tortilla with all the quesadilla innards, then top it all off with another tortilla, making a quesadilla sandwich. I count one whole quesadilla as a serving, while Ellie counts just half as a serving. What can I say? We like our quesadillas around these parts!

Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas
adapted from Ellie Krieger, via foodnetwork.com
makes 4 quesadillas

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
8 oz. white buttom mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped cooked, boneless and skinless chicken breast (1 breast half)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 cups baby spinach leaves, sliced into ribbons
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup salsa, optional
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream, optional

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the mushroom liquid has evaporated and they begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken, cumin, chili powder, and oregano and stir until all the spices are incorporated. Add spinach, salt, and pepper and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lay 1 tortilla on a flat work surface and sprinkle 1/4 of the chicken/veggie mixture over the tortilla. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over the mixture, then top with another tortilla. Spray the top of the quesadilla with nonstick cooking spray. Place the quesadilla on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Repeat with remaining tortillas, until you have four quesadilla, two per baking sheet.

3. Bake the quesadillas for about 8-10 minutes, until the filling is very hot and the cheese has completely melted. The top of the tortilla should be nicely browned on the edges. Using a pizza cutter, slice each quesadilla into 4-6 wedges. Arrange on a plate, garnish with salsa and sour cream (if using), and serve.

CEIMB: L.O.V.E. Wrap Sandwich

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly was a very simple, yet totally delicious, wrap sandwich. Ellie calls it the L.O.V.E. Wrap because it contains lettuce (L), onion (O), veggies (V), and egg (E). Plus, it makes quite a "love"-able sandwich, so the name does fit. This week's selection was made by Joanne of Apple Crumbles.



I assembled the ingredients for this wrap gradually, leisurely. I hard-boiled the eggs the day before we were to eat then, and chopped the bell peppers and onions early as well. I set aside just enough egg for my husband's wrap, and I mashed his together with the mayo and mustard. Since I normally cannot stomach mustard, unless it is totally mixed into something, and mayo makes me kinda sick, I just opted to eat my egg sandwich sans dressing. I didn't mind this at all; in fact, I sort of appreciated the simplicity. However, my husband raved about his mayo/mustard/egg mixture! So forgive me for not being able to speak from personal experience, but I do trust his opinion. So it was really good!

Thanks to Joanne for the quick, easy pick this week! I will definitely be keeping this one in mind when Easter rolls around, and I have more hard-boiled eggs than I know what to do with. If you'd like the recipe, it's on Food Network's site, here. For the CEIMB blogroll, click here.

CEIMB: Four Cheese Baked Penne (Or Three Cheese Baked Rigatoni!)

This week's much-anticipated Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was Four Cheese Baked Penne, chosen by Lindsey of 71 Cookbooks. I have been waiting for this one. We are big baked pasta eaters here at my house. It's basically my go-to meal, one of the first things I learned how to cook, and one of my childhood comfort foods. I figured I was going to be in for a big treat.

Of course, it seems I never follow one of Ellie's recipes exactly, and this one was no different. Instead of using all four of the cheeses Ellie did, I omitted the cottage cheese and made up the difference by using extra ricotta. I had rigatoni on hand, not penne, so that was the pasta I used. Otherwise, I did follow the recipe just as written. I also decided to make the salad that accompanies the pasta in her cookbook, but I did not use romaine hearts as she indicates. Instead, I made a spinach salad with all the other ingredients in her recipe.

I have to be honest. I wasn't totally blown away by this meal. I did really enjoy it, but the pasta dish definitely needed a little something extra. I think for me, I like the baked pasta to be saucier, as in tomato sauce. When I usually make it, it has about twice the tomato sauce and I normally use enough crushed red pepper flakes to give it a bit of a kick. However, I wanted to follow Ellie's method because 1) I'm always up for trying something her way, because her way is probably healthier, and 2) if I had followed my instincts and added more sauce, it would have ended up being my version of baked pasta and not Ellie's anymore! Oh well. I'm glad I know for sure now that I like it the tried and true way.

As for the spinach salad, it was tasty. I felt like the dressing, which was simply lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper, and oregano, was a bit too acidic. I made the same salad the next evening with the pasta leftovers, except with white balsamic vinegar in place of the lemon juice. What a difference that made! We loved the balsamic version, probably because it was slightly sweeter and far less tart. I really did love how the salty kalamata olives offset the sweet red onions so nicely. It was a pleasant surprise.

Thanks to Lindsey for choosing this dish! If you'd like the full recipe, it's on Food Network's site, here. The blogroll for the CEIMB can be found here.

CEIMB: Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

It was back to making an entree for this week's Craving Ellie in My Belly selection, Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce. This delicious meal was chosen by Jessica of Learning to Love Vegetables. I am so glad she picked this one, because it has caught my eye more than a few times, but for some reason I never got around to making it on my own.

This one is such a snap, too. You puree up a blend of roasted red peppers (I wanted to make my own roasted reds again, like I did recently for soup, but the pickings were slim at the grocery store so I went with jarred), sauteed onion and garlic, a splash of chicken broth, and a healthy sprinkling of feta cheese. My feta cheese was the reduced-fat variety, and I didn't detect a decrease in flavor at all. Anyway, you puree all these ingredients to make a thick sauce. Boil up a batch of fettuccine (mine wasn't whole wheat, unfortunately), reserve some of the starchy cooking liquid to loosen the sauce, and then toss everything together. Sprinkle the pasta with a couple tablespoons of reserved feta and some fresh flat-leaf parsley, and you've got dinner!

I wanted my pasta to be just a tad more substantial, so I tossed it with a bunch of fresh spinach. I have to say, I liked that addition! It gave the dish more bulk, and of course made it healthier, too. I served this with some steamed broccoli tossed in lemon juice. We really loved it. If I had anything to gripe about with it, it would be that the leftovers were very dry. I guess my sauce could have benefited from lots of cooking liquid. We liked our sauce kinda thick, so I didn't use all that much pasta water. Other than that, no complaints! A great, flavorful pasta dish from Ellie, as usual.

Thanks so much to Jessica! I'm always up for trying a new pasta meal. You can find the full recipe on Food Network's website, here. To check out the CEIMB blogroll for this week, click here.

CEIMB: Tortellini-Spinach Soup

For this week's Craving Ellie in My Belly dish, I got to choose! After some careful consideration, I decided on this Tortellini-Spinach Soup. I'm really happy with my choice; it was a surefire winner for us!

As with so many of Ellie's recipes, this one is very easy to assemble. A few veggies are sauteed, then a can of tomatoes and some chicken broth is added and brought up to a boil. Shortly before you are ready to eat, you drop in a package of frozen tortellini and some fresh, thinly sliced spinach, and simmer until the pasta is done. That's it!

As usual, I took some liberties with this one. Just a couple; I wanted to stay pretty close to the original version. I omitted the crushed red pepper and added two roasted, chopped jalapenos. They gave the soup a nice smoky heat. Then, when it came time to add the can of diced tomatoes, I gave them a quick whirl with my immersion blender, so there wouldn't be any large chunks of tomato. I also left off the sprinkling of Parmesan cheese at the end, although everybody else had some on theirs. To each his own!

All in all, we really enjoyed this soup and I'm happy to be adding it to my soup rotation. However, if there's one criticism I would make, it's the fact that my tortellini were a tad on the large side. They weren't easy to eat within a soup. I found myself chopping them up with the side of my spoon so I could have more bites of tortellini per spoonful of broth. It's a small complaint though, and I'm sure it's an easy fix. I'll just buy littler pasta shapes next time!

To find out how everybody else made out with this soup, be sure to check the CEIMB blogroll, here. I couldn't find this recipe on Food Network's website, so I posted it below as Ellie has it written in the book. Enjoy!


Tortellini-Spinach Soup
from Ellie Krieger's So Easy
makes 4 servvings

Ingredients
1 tsp. canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced (1 1/2 cups)
2 ribs celery, chopped (1 cup)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 14-ounce can low-sodium diced tomatoes, with juice
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
3 ounces baby spinach, sliced into ribbons (3 cups)
1 9-ounce package fresh store-bought spinach-and-cheese tortellini (2 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/2 ounces)

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a 4- or 6-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until the onions are translucent and the garlic is softened, another 3 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the broth and bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the spinach and tortellini and cook until the tortellini are cooked through, 6 minutes. This soup will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

3. For a lunch to go, put the warm soup into a wide-mouth thermal container designed to hold food. Pack the Parmesan cheese in a separate small bag. And don't forget a spoon!

Spaghetti Carbonara

I have my ever-changing opinions about Rachael Ray. Sometimes she drives me nuts. Sometimes I feel indifferent to her. Other times, like the other night when I made this Spaghetti Carbonara, I feel grateful to her. After all, it was only after watching her on The Food Network about 4 years ago that I became inspired to learn how to cook, once and for all. She seemed so passionate about cooking, and wanted to share that enthusiasm with her audience. Nowadays, I'm every bit as enthusiastic as she seemed to be when I first watched her. I love talking food, I love making food, and of course, I love eating food!

This Carbonara is one of the very first Rachael Ray recipes I had ever made. I had never eaten Carbonara before, but her way seemed very simple and quick, which I loved about it. The first time we did try this, I was in pasta heaven. As I have professed plenty of times, I just adore pasta, and eggs are right up there with it. Put them together, and you have a winner in my book.

Rachael's method goes like this: cook up some pasta, and then cook some pancetta in oil (which I think is redundant; I mean, why would you cook fatty pork products in oil?). Throw in your crushed red pepper, garlic, and white wine to deglaze the pan. Then, you temper 2 egg yolks by adding a bit of hot pasta water to them. This allows you to add in the egg yolks without cooking the egg to a scramble. You toss the pasta with the bacon and oil, then pour the yolks in and toss very well to heat the eggs through and make them almost creamy. So simple, so delicious! Throw on some grated cheese and parsley, and you have dinner!

I made my most recent version more of a one-dish dinner by adding a healthy handful of peas and fresh spinach. All the major food groups were represented here! I also used bacon in place of pancetta, because I think we just like the flavor of bacon a bit more. Instead of frying the bacon in oil, I baked it up in the oven, crumbled it, and then added it to the pan just before the garlic and red pepper. This would be great with shredded chicken, or shrimp, and I've seen Carbonara made with cream and other luxurious ingredients, too. For my money, this version just can't be beat. It's one of those back-pocket recipes that I've made countless times, thus negating my desire to never make the same meal twice. It's that good!


Spaghetti Carbonara
adapted from Rachael Ray
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb. spaghetti
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 lb. bacon
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
5 or 6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 large handful fresh spinach (frozen can be used; just thaw and drain well)
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional, I omitted)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place bacon strips on a cooling rack that has been set over an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 17-20 minutes, until bacon has fully cooked. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate, and then chop once cool enough to handle.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water, add the spaghetti, and cook according to the package directions. Before draining water, reserve 1 cup of pasta liquid.

3. While the spaghetti cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and chopped bacon; heat for 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the wine to deglaze the pan and loosen any bits from the bottom of the pan.

4. In a small bowl, beat the yolks, then add about 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. This tempers the eggs and keeps them from scrambling when added to the pasta.

5. Drain pasta well and add it directly to the skillet with bacon and oil. Add the peas and spinach and allow them to heat through. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Toss rapidly to coat the pasta without cooking the egg. Remove pan from heat and add a big handful of cheese, plenty of pepper, and a little salt. Continue to toss and turn the pasta until it soaks up the egg mixture and thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish with parsley, if desired, and extra cheese.

CEIMB: Spaghetti Frittata with Salad Presto

As much as I love being in the kitchen, and as fun as it can be to make a complicated, elaborate meal for my family, sometimes it's great to have an old standby recipe like this one. For this week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe, chosen by Marthe of Culinary Delights, I made Spaghetti Frittata with Salad Presto. Both recipes can be found in Ellie's So Easy book; they're listed on facing pages, and they're meant to be served together to make a full meal.

We love frittatas around these parts; they make frequent appearances on our breakfast table on the weekends. The thing is, they're usually prepared by my husband, and not by me. When I am in charge of breakfast, we end up with muffins, pancakes, waffles. You know, something nice and carb-y! When the hubs makes the food, however, we will more often than not eat eggs of some kind, preferably with bacon or sausage on the side. It's nice; we balance each other out that way!

Anyhow, I knew I could definitely use the practice with my frittata-making abilities, so I was happy to make this for dinner and give Andy a break. I was really excited for this one. Come on: pasta, eggs, cheese, sundried tomatoes, and spinach, just to name a few ingredients. There was no way I was not gonna love this! It's like comfort food on top of comfort food to me. It's full of flavor, it's very filling, and it doesn't take much effort to get it on the table. The salad is almost ridiculously simple, so it made a great counterpart to the egg/pasta dish. I was able to whip this together in no time flat, and it was gobbled up almost as fast.

So, thank you, Marthe! We loved this meal, and I already told my husband to move over, because there's a new frittata-maker in town! I intend to make this one over and over again. I can't wait to try this with different variations thrown in. I think it would be great with so many things added; just let your imagination run wild!

The original recipes can be found here and here. And of course, the CEIMBers' various interpretations of these recipes can be found by checking out the blogroll, here.