Easy veg weeknight meal!

Sometimes all we need for a good meal is something easy to prepare and that taste good right? With all the studying and attending classes for my masters degree plus life as a stay home mom, take to school, pick up, soccer practices, playdates, and more, there are days when I don't have that much time to get dinner on the table, so the less complicated the dish the more appealing it is to me.
This is a recipe that fits perfectly for such days, easy and quick to put together, tastes delicious and makes everyone happy! Serve with a side salad, maybe some rolls or something of the like, and you are good to go! (just make sure to have your phyllo dough defrosted)
Could not be better!
I got the recipe idea from one of my favorite magazines, Vegetarian Times. I like their recipes a lot, usually pretty flavorful and uncomplicated, and vegetarian to boot, score!
Another plus of this recipe? You can adapt to whatever veggies you may have in your fridge, just make sure it is not something too moist/watery, and you are good to go! :-)
Ana

Spinach, Feta, and Tomato Quiche
(Adapted from Vegetarian Times)

8 sheets of phyllo dough
Olive oil to brush the dough
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out (make sure to really squeeze this baby, they have a lot more water than you imagine) - by the way, I seasoned my spinach with salt, pepper, and garlic powder before adding it to the quiche.
1/3 cup feta cheese - I used ricotta salata since I had that at home
Cherry tomatoes to fill the top - I used a combo cherry tomatoes from the backyard and chopped roma from the CSA box as that was what I had on hand
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
dash of Salt and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven 350F.
Brush a pie plate/pan with olive oil and layer one sheet of the phyllo dough in it, brush dough with olive oil and repeat the layering and brushing with all other phyllo dough sheets. When done tuck in the parts of dough that are hanging around the plate (or trim if you prefer, I love the crispy borders and don't like wasting it, so I tuck it in!).
Sprinkle the crust with the cheese, top with the spinach and layer the tomatoes on top of that.
In a bowl beat the eggs with the milk, season with salt and pepper, and pour over the veggies in the prepared crust.
Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the egg is set.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hey everyone, I am back! Yay!!
While it took me a bit to recover from the tonsillectomy (oh my, does that hurt... ouch!), right after I got better I managed to cut my right-hand index finger and now got a couple stitches to take care of. Thankfully it is nothing big or serious, so I am still around the kitchen, of course!
St. Patrick's is not something we celebrate, no Irish backgrounds in our families and we actually only got to learn about this here in the US.
However, Matheus learns about everything at school and come home with his little head full of ideas. One of those being that today he wanted a lunch box full of green food, and who am I to argue with that, right?!!
So, we went for green grapes, broccoli, and these yummy Spinach Muffins, which actually comes from my friend Akemi's kitchen!!
Her recipe is in reality for a Spinach Pie, but I thought that muffins would be more "lunch-box-friendly" and gave it a try, and it worked perfect!
I actually made the full recipe, scooped part of it into 4 muffin cups, and the rest I put on a pyrex dish and baked as a pie. Both came out great. We had the pie yesterday for dinner and the muffins were taken today to school.
And since it was my day to volunteer at the classroom I ended up going to have lunch with Matheus at the school too and have to say that the muffins were a success! The kids loved his "green bread" and he was so happy with his green food that he devoured all the veggies, muffins and fruit! Tell me about a "eco-friendly-green-boy"!!!
This is soooo easy to make, and I love the addition of onions and garlic to the batter, it gave it so much flavor, really cool!
I mixed my filling (chopped ham and grated mozzarela) into the batter so it would be easier to pour into the muffin tins and it all came out perfect, we all liked and I hope you will also enjoy, pretty healthy and cool colors too!
Thanks Akemi!!
Ana

To see the recipe in Portugues click here: Torta de Espinafre!

Akemi's Spinach Pie
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon salt (add more to taste)
Leaves from 1 bunch of spinach (I used about 2/3 of a bag of spinach - added until it was green as I wanted it to be!)
1 garlic clove
3 tablespoons chopped onions (about 1/4 onion)
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a blender process the eggs, milk, oil, salt, spinach, garlic, and onions until all mixed up and no pieces remain. Pour batter into a large bowl and add to that the flour and baking powder. Mix until incorporated.

At this point you can add your filling right to the batter or pour half the batter into a baking dish, fill it with desired filling, and then pour rest of batter on top, smoothing it up with the back of a spoon.
To make it easier I mixed up chopped ham, grated mozzarela, and a couple tablespoons grated parmesan right into the batter.
You can also use diced tomatoes if you want here, I just didn't use it because I didn't have it on hand... Another good option would be a chicken filling, yummm!

Bake your pie for 35 to 40 minutes at 350F. In case you are making muffins check on them after 18-20 minutes, they should be done by then!

And here is Matheus' lunchbox for the day! Yummy!

As the warm weather calmly comes upon us I start to look for recipes using cold veggies, instead of the warmed up ones we have been making during the past few months.
I decided to venture myself with rice paper a couple weeks ago and made some vegetable spring rolls. They came out great and the rice paper was not difficult to use at all.
For these I used zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper and carrots, all sliced into thin strips, and a few fresh spinach leaves. To soften the rice paper as I was making the rolls I simply dipped one sheet at a time in warm water, put them over a flat surface, arranged the veggies in a bundle form near the border and rolled like a wrap, tucking in the sides so nothing would escape.
There was a little prep time for chopping everything, but other than that it was pretty easy to make and quick to put together. I served ours with two kinds of vinaigrette, one made with Dijon mustard and a second made with orange juice - the orange vinaigrette paired up nicely with the vegetables making everything taste super fresh, and ended up being the choice of dipping sauce for the following times I made the rolls. (I know, not Asian or oriental at all, but this is the sort of things we like, Oh well!)
We all loved these rolls, they are light, tasty and very fresh when the temperature is high. I see that we are going to make them a lot during the summer, especially since Matheus already declared this to be his favorite way to eat raw vegetables! He thought it was the funnest dish to eat of all!
Enjoy!
Ana

Another picture of the rolls. The photo above shows one roll sliced in half and standing up.

Sunday’s Pasta

We were all sneezy with our alergies at its peak this weekend, so to make us a little happier I decided to make something different than our usual Sunday' pasta with either red or white sauce. Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Florentine came out perfect, creamy and cheesy! It was delicious, and the best thing is it was a one-dish meal, with starch, vegetable and protein included in one yummy bowl!
I used whole-wheat penne and white cheddar cheese. Also, I don’t actually like these canned soup things, so for the canned soup I substituted 1 1/4 cup evaporated milk + 1 tablespoon cornstarch + a little bit of chicken bouillon, which I put in a pan and cooked over medium heat just until thickened, let it cool a bit and added to the dish as indicated for the soup. (I used evaporated milk but I am pretty sure regular milk would work nicely here)
Very good dish, comfort food at its best! We all enjoyed it and hope you will too!

Ana

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Florentine
1 teaspoon olive oil
Cooking spray
3 cups thinly sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (16-ounce) carton 2% low-fat cottage cheese
4 cups hot cooked penne (about 8 ounces uncooked tube-shaped pasta)
2 cups shredded roasted skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup, undiluted

Preheat oven to 425°.
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add spinach, oregano, and black pepper; sauté 3 minutes or just until spinach wilts.
Place cottage cheese in a food processor; process until very smooth. Combine spinach mixture, cottage cheese, pasta, chicken, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, milk, and soup in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.
Cooking Light, March 2006

Bean soup

We were in a soup mood last week, so today I am posting one more comforting concoction. I like beans a lot, especially chickpeas and white beans, so when I saw this recipe I immediately copied it and placed in on top of the never-ending-to-try-pile. And I am glad I did! It is a very simple but flavorful soup. I like white beans because they are creamy and almost melt in your mouth, and chickpeas I believe is one of my all time favorites. It has such a nice flavor and is versatile, as it can be prepared in many different ways, you can varying its texture by cooking it more or less, use it soaked raw when preparing falafels, cooked into soups, pureed into hummus (yum!), you can even roast it and turn them into crunchy salty snacks.
In this dish a combination of both beans is used and then pureed into a nice velvety soup! I wasn’t sure about the addition of spinach but it ended up complementing the soup nicely. I really enjoyed it and so did Matheus. But don’t be fooled by the 8-servings the recipe states, as I believe they are supposed to be really small portions. I made half recipe, we ate it all and ended up wanting some more… oh well, next time I will definitely make the whole batch!
Right now I am in a quest to find a tasty recipe for a “Milk-free Egg-Free Nut-free Cake”. Yes, I know, it seems like a lot of no-no, but as far as my testing are going I think I may actually be getting close to what I need. So, you can expect to see some cake recipes around here soon!
Ana

Creamy Bean Soup With Fresh Herbs And Spinach
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
3 garlic cloves -- minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 to 16-ounce cans white beans -- drained
2 to 16-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) -- drained
1 package baby spinach leaves -- (6 ounce)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
Grated Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Add rosemary and stir 1 minute. Add all broth and beans. Bring soup to boil; reduce to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes.
Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth; return to pot. Mix in spinach and sage; stir until spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.
Makes 8 first-course servings
Bon Appétit, January 2006

Stroganoff

The husband had lunch with us today and requested an easy and delicious dish, Chicken Stroganoff. It is simple to make but so good! I always liked stroganoff, and when I was younger it was considered sort of a gourmet dish, which means we did not have it very often. Nowadays it has definitely become a common dish, but we still celebrate when my Mom makes stroganoff at home!
I like it made with chicken, and it can be made with beef too. It can be served over noodles, but we like it over rice, and preferably accompanied with potato sticks! Yum! (This is how we normally eat this dish in Brazil, how about here; do you guys have heard of potatoes sticks with stroganoff??)
I also made a new recipe today, as I wanted to serve some sort of veggie along with our lunch. I had bought some nice grapefruit and had spinach in the fridge, so I looked for a recipe and came out with sort of a “winter salad” for us. It may not have been the best accompaniment to the stroganoff, but Wilted Spinach-and-Citrus Salad was actually quite tasty! However, I was the only one who liked it here… luckily I only made half recipe (I knew the husband was not going to eat it). It was a nice way to have some warm spinach, other that the usual sautéed or creamed versions. My grapefruit was very juicy, so I ended up with more dressing than needed, but other than that I enjoyed my little salad!
Oh, and remember I mentioned a dessert yesterday?! Well, it was a flop! Yes, the kitchen is full of successes, but sometimes even with the best of intentions some recipes do not come out right. It was a simple one, but the flavors just did not do it for us. Even though I had a feeling that yogurt and chocolate would not be the best of combinations I decided to try the recipe anyway, I guess I was right in the first place…
So, to compensate for the not so good dessert (none of us was able to finish it) the “boys” asked me for some chocolate pudding, and that is what we are going to have tonight! (Not the boxed stuff though, I made it myself! Let me know if anyone wants and I can post the recipe later)
Planning for a new recipe to come, tune in tomorrow to see!

Ana

My Chicken Stroganoff
1 kg chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil (or canola oil)
1 large finely chopped onion (or 2 small)
½ cup tomato extract (or tomato paste)
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
A small jar of whole mushrooms
½ cup heavy cream (more or less as needed)

Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onions for a minute, add chicken and sauté it until it is cooked, stirring constantly. Add the tomato paste, ketchup, and mustard; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a few minutes to thicken the sauce a bit. Turn off the heat, add mushrooms, heavy cream and stir. Serve it with rice and potato sticks!

(Not the prettiest picture, I know...)

Wilted Spinach-and-Citrus Salad
2 large grapefruit
2 large oranges
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion, separated into rings
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 cups loosely packed torn spinach leaves
1/4 cup plain croutons

Peel and section grapefruit and oranges over a bowl; squeeze membranes to extract juice. Set sections aside; reserve 1/4 cup juice. Discard membranes.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 30 seconds. Stir in reserved juice, vinegar, honey, and salt. Add fruit and spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach begins to wilt, tossing gently. Arrange spinach mixture on individual salad plates; top with croutons. Yield: 4 servings.
Cooking Light, January 1995

Chocolate Pudding, I love it!!