Recipe: Guacadilla and Spicy Bean Taco

I love me some Mexican food! Of course, I normally have my Mexican food smothered with cheese. So I need to find a new way to enjoy it. So I made a guacadilla (quesadilla with guacamole instead of queso) and a spicy bean taco. I served with red salsa, sour cream, and green salsa. I need chunkier salsa. And sour cream that wasn't frozen at one point (it just never goes back to the same consistency). And next time, I'll put them in order of the Mexican flag. Because that would be artsy. Also, I was sooo close to making this vegan and skipping the sour cream. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Still, it would be very easy to veganize this recipe :)

Guacadilla
-whole wheat tortilla
-avocado
-lime
-garlic salt
-grape tomatoes

I mashed up 1/4 of an avocado and mixed some garlic salt and lime in. I spread that on a whole wheat tortilla and added sliced grape tomato. Fold it in half and crisp it up on a pan with some cooking spray.

Spicy Bean Taco
-corn tortilla
-black beans
-cumin
-garlic salt

I toasted a corn tortilla on a pan with some cooking spray, then folded it in half and took it off the heat. Then I heated up 1/2 cup of black beans, and mashed them with cumin and garlic salt. I put the beans in the tortilla.

Here is a picture of the first time I made a guacadilla (earlier this week -- I was trying to be healthy). I didn't toast it, but I would definitely recommend toasting now that I've had it both ways. Also, my sour cream was thicker then. But I like the way you can see the guacamole and tomato in this picture.

Recipe: Stir Fry and Spicy Tuna Patties

I sure do love a good stir fry. I put two cups of frozen stir fry veggies and one cup of frozen broccoli into a pan with 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger, and 1 teaspoon granulated garlic. I cooked it until the water was pretty much evaporated. To make the patties, I drained a can of chunk light tuna in water, added 1 tablespoon of sour cream, a dash of tabasco sauce, and about 1 tablespoon dried chopped onion (as a binder). I gently shaped the mixture into four round patties and browned the outsides on a pan with cooking spray. They probably would have held together better if I had actually used oil to fry them, but I'm trying to be healthy here :)

Recipe: Mushrooms Stuffed With Spinach Cream Cheese

Okay, I found a real winner here (as long as you like mushrooms, as I do). I removed the stems from baby portabella mushrooms. Then I microwaved them for 1 minute. In the meantime, I got 3 tablespoons of Greek cream cheese and 1/4 cup of frozen spinach in a small bowl. I pulled out the mushrooms and microwaved the cream cheese and spinach for 20 seconds. I used a paper towel to absorb the moisture from the mushrooms. Then I added 1 teaspoon of grated parmesan and 1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic to the cream cheese and stirred it all up. I scooped the cream cheese mixture into the mushroom caps, then sprinkled the tops with ground red pepper. (The mixture would have been perfect for 10 good sized mushrooms. I only had 9 left, and a few of them were pretty small, so I ended up really heaping the cream cheese on top. It was delicious, but it could have gone a bit further and been more filling with more mushrooms.)

Recipe: Stuffed Mushrooms

Hubby hates mushrooms, but I love them! So any time I'm only cooking for myself, it's a good opportunity to make something yummy that he just wouldn't appreciate. I even splurged when I was at Costco and got the baby portabella mushrooms instead of the normal white button cap ones. I removed the stems and grilled the tops. I made a cream filling using 1 tablespoon of sour cream, 1/2 tablespoon parmesan, and a sprinkle of garlic salt. I used that to fill half the mushrooms. The other mushrooms were stuffed with Greek cream cheese and a bit of green salsa. I cut up a red bell pepper and grilled that to go with the mushrooms too.

Here is my less healthy version from last week. I melted the mozzarella on the George Foreman, and then used it to stuff the mushrooms. It wouldn't be too bad if I hadn't stuffed them to overflowing (but that's what made them extra delicious). I will have to try this again, but only use a measured amount of cheese so I don't have to feel so guilty. I also put the grape tomatoes on the grill until they were warm.

Recipe: Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

So easy, and so delicious. I combined 20 grape tomatoes, 2 oz of mozzarella torn in pieces, 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, and some dried basil leaf. It would have been absolutely amazing with fresh mozzarella and basil, but as it was, it was still really good. I highly recommend this!

Recipe: Apple Berry Salad

I was really craving fresh fruits and vegetables today, so I decided to make a delicious (and very large) salad for lunch. I used an entire head of butter lettuce (I told you it was big!), sliced up 5 strawberries, chopped up half an apple, and threw in 10 raspberries. Then I used 1 tablespoon of poppy seed dressing. It was light, but filling, and only had 200 calories!

Recipe: Bean "Meatballs" and Gravy

This turned out so good. I'm a total meat-and-potatoes gal, but it's not the most conducive diet to getting healthy. This totally hit the spot though!

I used the last of my bean "meatballs" and made 1/3 cup of brown gravy using 1 tablespoon of dry brown gravy mix. I used instant mashed potatoes to make a single serving. Instead of using butter and milk, I just made them with water. But I added garlic salt, chives, and rosemary to the water while I was heating it up and it made for some deliciously fragrant and savory potatoes, so I didn't even really miss the dairy. I heated up some canned green beans (they really aren't as good as fresh, but they're much cheaper and you can have them all year around), which I seasoned with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Oh, and you can make this whole dish from food storage items! See, food storage doesn't have to taste bland! Really, this dinner was delicious and it's definitely going to be made again!

Recipe: Bean "Meatball" Sandwich

Super easy, and super yum! Sourdough toast, leftover bean "meatballs," a tablespoon of pasta sauce, and a sprinkle of parmesan. Really, that's it!

Recipe: Squash Spaghetti and Bean "Meatballs"

Now, I'm not allergic to anything, and I'm not morally opposed to meat. In fact, I love eating meat and have out-eaten my husband at an all-you-can-eat Brazilian churrascaria. Several times. But I find something strangely satisfying about making a gluten-free vegetarian version of a classic dish. Not to mention the fact that it had way fewer calories than the typical preparation. No, it doesn't taste exactly like spaghetti noodles and meatballs. Yes, you can tell it's healthier. But it's still a dang good dish, and I will definitely be making it again.

1. Prep your squash noodles. You want to "sweat" out the extra moisture, or you'll end up with something really soupy. Slice the squash and lay flat on a plate. Sprinkle with salt and let sit about ten minutes. Use a paper towel to soak up all the moisture. Now cut the slices into long, thin strips. Then microwave the squash until it is tender (stirring every minute so it cooks evenly). Once again remove excess moisture from squash.

2. Make your bean "meatballs." (Recipe here) (I really don't know what to call these, because "beanballs" sounds kind of dumb.)

3. Assemble your dish. Put your "noodles" in a bowl. Top with 1/2 cup of pasta sauce and some "meatballs," then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

While the beans definitely did not have the texture of meatballs (they were much, much softer -- not surprisingly), they had a delicious flavor. The crushed red pepper and fennel seed were a really good addition to the spice mixture, and made it reminiscent of Italian sausage.

Recipe: Spicy Bean "Meatballs"

I used a food processor to mash up one rinsed and drained can of black beans with oregano, thyme, garlic salt, dried minced onion, sea salt, fresh pepper, crushed red pepper, and fennel seeds. I pulsed until everything was combined well, but it still had some bean intact to give it more texture. Form the mixture into balls (about the size of a ping pong ball) -- I got 9 out of this. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet. Cook bean meatballs, browning on all sides.

The texture is definitely a lot softer than a traditional meatball, but you can still pack some great flavor in these and (BONUS!) it was made entirely from things that you can have in your food storage!

Squash Spaghetti and Bean Meatballs

"Meatball" Sandwich

"Meatballs" and Gravy

Recipe: Stir Fry

Well, I wanted to see if I could make my own stir fry, so I don't have to buy the prepackaged stuff. I'd say I was pretty successful. I threw 2 cups of broccoli florets, 2 cups of chopped carrots, 2 cups of sliced mushroom, 1/3 a green bell pepper all chopped up, and 1 drained can of yellow corn into a big pot. I added 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of water. I cooked it on medium-high for about 5 minutes, covered, but stirring every minute or so. Then I added 2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Cooked it for about 3 minutes then took it off the heat. It was good, though my sauce wasn't quite as tasty as the one from the package. And I'm not sure it was less expensive enough to be worth all the effort. Especially since my favorite part of stir fry is the water chestnut, which I don't even know where to buy, or how much more that would make it cost. Also, I'd probably nix the corn next time. My little girl loved picking out the corn and carrots, but for me it was hard to eat and was the highest calorie item I put in. Cauliflower, snap peas, and red bell peppers would have made this really nice. And maybe the baby corn. Where do you even get baby corn? I'll try to do it a little different next time, because I'm definitely not ready to give up!

Recipe: Canned Garden Trio

I'm running low on vegetables, but wanted to have them for dinner, so I decided to see if I could use some of the hundreds of canned foods we have in our pantry. I pulled out green beans, sweet yellow corn, and black eyed peas -- all things you could potentially grow in a garden if you had a green thumb. Which I don't. So I have to settle with a canned garden instead. Anyway, I don't usually experiment with seasonings (I'm more of a follow-the-recipe-baker kinda gal), but I decided to give it a go. I guess this is technically three mini recipes that I prepared for the same dish.

Savory Green Beans
I seasoned the green beans with rosemary, garlic salt, and dried chopped onion. I wish I hadn't cooked them for quite so long, since they lost their natural, vibrant color (which would have made this dish look really pretty).

Sweet and Sour Corn
I seasoned the sweet corn with lemon pepper.

Spicy Black Eyed Peas
I seasoned the black eyed peas with cumin, garlic salt, garlic powder, paprika, ground red pepper, thyme, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, ground white pepper, and a dash of tabasco sauce. I served it with a dollop of sour cream.

I was actually really pleased with the result. They were each really delicious and balanced each other out very nicely. The plates I used in the picture were entirely impractical, but so much prettier than the compartmentalized plastic plate I ended up eating off of. I ended up having 1 cup of each which made the meal about 400 calories (not including sour cream, but I didn't add too much of it).