Food In Many Forms

The coronavirus is becoming more and more real every day. People are starting to practice "social distancing", and we have accepted that we probably shouldn't go out in crowds anymore. So instead of going to our friend's party tomorrow and watching Boston's St. Patrick's day parade. We will be sharing brunch with an intimate group tomorrow morning. I volunteered to make quiche, because it is the easiest way to consume eggs with a crowd, and I can at least make sure there are vegetables involved. I originally wanted to do a red onion & gruyere combo, which I still think would be good. But I had a block of Manchego already in the house, so I added red peppers to go with the more Spanish vibe. I normally don't shy away from whole eggs, but I had egg whites already, so I figured I would stretch my small egg supply. INGREDIENTS 1/2 red onion 1/2 red bell pepper 1/2 cup shaved Manchego cheese 3 cloves garlic 3/4 cup unflavored soy milk 2 eggs, ...

From the archives... originally written in 2018... The last time I mentioned this quiche was back in 2011. But, I have definitely used this recipe over and over again. Short on time and need to make lunch for the week? Make a quiche! Want to bring food to a friend with a new baby and cook for yourself too? Make two quiches! In the past month or so, I have been experimenting with the ratio of eggs to milk, as well as using milk alternatives, such as soymilk. Ultimately, I like the recipe as it is. The soymilk made the quiche inflate in the oven more than normal, and it collapsed once it came out. It was "original" (i.e. not vanilla) soymilk, but it still had some sweetness to it and it was a little weird the first day. For some reason, the sweetness had dissipated on Days 2 & 3, which made it more palatable. Although it seems like a lot of milk to add, the texture was very much impacted by using less. So, this is one recipe, I do recommend you follow pretty closely. ...

We had our first dusting of snow last week, which means it's casserole season. Baked ziti, lasagna and baked macaroni and cheese bring me comfort on cold days. They give me an excuse to heat up the house, and stand in the warm kitchen for most of the evening.   At the store the other day, I came to the blog to find a ziti recipe, and was surprised to find nothing I had actually tried myself. I had wanted to try out a recipe a while back, but never actually did it. So, I found a new recipe, and adapted it to my preferences. I used a penne pasta with added flax seeds that was absolutely delicious the night I made it, but not as great after a few days. Next time I want to see how it works with a true whole wheat pasta, or one of the new high protein lentil, quinoa or chickpea pasta options that are coming out.  Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce Serves 4-6 Ingredients 1 1/3 lb ground turkey, 93% 2 tsp Italian seasoning 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 4 cl...

How do I find time to cook at home?  How do I prevent getting bored of the same foods when I am cooking for one? How do I incorporate seasonal produce into my food routine? These are typical questions that come up during a nutrition counseling session. My clients often want easy answers at first. They want a meal plan; they want to be told what to eat. But the more they learn about good nutrition, and the more they prepare their own food, the more they learn to eat their own favorite foods in different ways and to plan out their meals in a way that works for them.  Let me tell you about my experience when I first was learning to cook and feed myself. I remember when I started this blog, back in college, around 3-4 pm, I would start running through the mental inventory of the food in my fridge. Would I start with rice, pasta or tortillas? Did I have a good protein? Did I have leftovers I needed to use up?  By the time I was walking home after class, I...

I was sitting at home at 4 o'clock in the afternoon today contemplating what to do with some leftover corn tortillas, when I found a cooking light recipe for "Smoky Potato and Greens Tacos". Although the resulting tacos were a bit different, they were quite tasty. Cooking Light recommends potatoes, radishes and greens with fresh cheese. I substituted sweet potatoes and used lightly cooked onion instead of radish to give me the same crunch. The queso blanco was also delicious as an appetizer all by itself until I could pull everything together.  Ingredients 2 corn tortillas 1 medium sweet potato 1 cup spinach/ arugula/ your favorite greens 1/2 cup sliced onions 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro 1 oz queso blanco Salt and pepper, to taste Fresh lime juice (optional) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Poke holes in the sweet potato, and bake for 45 minutes. Dice sweet potato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute onions and mix in greens prior to taking it off...

We are all busy, and forget to shop on occasion. We run out of fresh meat and vegetables, and are tempted to eat out, eat a tub of ice cream, or skip dinner altogether. This meal is full of pantry staples that you can always have on hand and does not fail to satisfy! If you are feeling extravagant, add an extra 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to the tuna mixture, in addition to the cheese on top.  Recipe Makes 4 servings Cook the egg noodles, and combine the following ingredients in the saucepan: 6 oz yolk-free egg noodles 2 5 oz cans chunk light tuna 2 8.5 oz cans mixed vegetables, ex. Essential Everyday No Salt Added Mixed Vegetables with Carrots, Potatoes, Celery, Peas, Green Beans, Lima Beans 2 Tbsp Gulden's Spicy Mustard 2 Tbsp Nasaya Vegan Mayonnaise Ground pepper, to taste Spread the tuna mixture in an 8 x 8 pyrex pan, and cover in: 1/2 cup shredded 3-cheese blend, ex. Fontina, Asiago, Parmesan Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. ...

This recipe totally made me rethink enchiladas - the nontraditional ingredients really worked well together! I felt like the original recipe could use even more vegetables, so I changed the recipe to double up the veg for next time. Ingredients : 8 (5 inch) corn tortillas 1 unpeeled butternut squash, seeded 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 onion, chopped 4 cups fresh spinach, chopped 8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped 1 cup enchilada sauce 1/4 cup goat cheese,  crumbled 1/4 cup cotija cheese,  crumbled 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional) 1/4 cup sour cream, for topping (optional) Directions : 1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). 2. Lay the tortillas flat onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Meanwhile, place the butternut squash half into a microwave-safe dish cut-side-down, and pour in the water. Cook in the mic...

I just finished testing this recipe to prepare for my demo tomorrow - it actually turned out really well, I would even say it exceeded my expectations! I learned about the "Simply Cook" online cookbook from a fellow dietitian, and former classmate. The cookbook is kind of like a dietitian's dream come true - it includes cooking basics, nutrition education, food safety and storage information, and most importantly, recipes! The recipes are even designed to focus on food staples found in many food pantries! I chose the Mexican Skillet Rice for the demonstration for tomorrow because previous participants asked for one-pot meals that were affordable and easy to make. This recipe was a little vague on some details, so I added amounts for the tomato and cheese. I also recommend cooking the onions prior to adding the turkey if you want them to brown well. I estimated that the recipe would produce four portions, but they are very large portions, and are proportionately hig...

Look Familiar? I last posted about this recipe in March 2010. This Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe from Juan Carlos Cruz has served me well over the past few years, so it is too bad that they took down the recipe from the Food Network website. Luckily, one of my fellow bloggers shared her version of the recipe, and I tend to agree with most of her revisions. Thanks, "Tiny Kitchen Cooking" .  Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe courtesy Juan-Carlos Cruz & the Food Network Ingredients: 1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed 1 cup light sour cream 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella 8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, plus more as needed 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained Carrot sticks, celery sticks or baked tortilla strips, for serving Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Squeeze all excess liquid ...

 This week was my turn to work the weekend, which meant I had Thursday off, so I spent the day grocery shopping, prepping veggies, making dip and baking lasagna. With the thermometer stuck below 20 degrees, it was too cold to do much else.  I was inspired by a roasted root vegetable lasagna that I had at Kramerbooks in Dupont Circle a few years ago. You wouldn't think that radishes, squash and leeks would make for delicious lasagna, but it did. So I had high hopes for this recipe from "The view from great island" blog. Ingredients: 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and sliced (I used the pre-cut squash) 1 leek, sliced 1 fennel bulb, sliced a couple of handfuls of Brussels sprouts, quartered about a cup and a half of thickly sliced mushrooms 3 garlic cloves,whole with skin on olive oil 1 package of no cook lasagna noodles (I used a little more than half the box) 1 large jar of your favorite tomato sauce, or tomato puree 1 1/2 lb of whole milk ricotta cheese ...

The last of the Tortilla Pizzas are baking in my oven, and they look spectacular! I think scallions and tomatoes are the perfect toppings for these little gems, and they toasted up very nicely. I am even considering eating one for breakfast tomorrow morning so I don't have to wait til dinnertime to enjoy them!  Of course, I always end up tweaking the recipe a little bit when I'm making it, mostly if I'm missing ingredients. This time, I left out the chopped onion that was meant to be mixed into the refried beans. Since I only used about half of the refried beans in the can, I'm glad I skipped that step.  Also, since the recipe makes so many servings, I'm testing the stability of the pizzas in the freezer and in the fridge. I'm always looking for new delicious leftover foods! Honey What's Cooking? Mexican Tortilla Pizza Number of Servings: 4  Serving Size: 1 pizza Ingredients Non-stick cooking spray 8 small yellow corn tortillas 1/2 can ref...

I'm totally on a Mexican Food Kick these past couple months... Mexican Noodles, Mexican Pizza, Mexican Dip... but hey, I will always take advantage of an opportunity to use taco seasoning and tons of fresh vegetables! So when my work today brought me to the CDC recipe database -  http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnparecipe/recipesearch.aspx  - I obviously chose the tortilla pizza to go in the cookbooks we are sending home with students next week after they visit the University Farmer's Market.  And isn't it only fair that I try out some of these recipes first?   And just to make this a little more interesting, I'm going to have a little nutrition face-off with a fellow blogger's Tortilla Pizza recipe - someone who "watches her weight" and tells us how her recipe is full of protein, fiber, calcium, vitamin A and vitamin C. We will see about that!  Skip below for recipes - I'm warning you, I might ramble a bit! Honey What's Cooking Mexican ...

Hungry Girl is a great resource for low-calorie recipes, but as with most things, it's all checking your nutrition labels and making the best choices at the grocery store. I learned that the hard way when I tried to make Hungry Girl's Chicken Flautas . The Hungry Girl (HG) wants fat-free cheeses, corn tortillas and plenty of spices. My little downtown grocery store has none of this.  Let me cut to the chase - this 188 calorie recipe became a 420 calorie recipe out of no where! Mostly, I blame the tortillas, only afterward did I realize that flour tortillas have more calories than corn tortillas. It is still a great recipe even with my inadequate groceries, and it makes me think I want to start an under-500 calories series . It is a bit overdone, but being informed is always a good thing! Ingredients: 1/4 cup salsa 1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese 4 oz. cooked and finely chopped skinless lean chicken breast 3 tbsp. diced onion 1/8 tsp. cayenne ...

Don't let it's looks deceive you, this Turkey Noodle Casserole is pure delicious-ness. The peppers gave it a nice little kick without being overwhelming. Now if you like a little heat, you could probably use two or three chipotle peppers with no problem, but I liked it with just one. Doing the recipe analysis for this recipe, I was shocked how many calories 1 cup of cheese can have (about 400 calories for the brand I chose)! It's easy to forget at the grocery store that the cheese is all made with whole milk, unless it says otherwise. I feel especially silly for buying whole milk cheese, since I know 2% tastes exactly the same . Just making that simple switch could save you around 120 calories in this recipe and 12 g of fat ! Turkey Noodle Casserole (Serves 6) Ingredients 1/4 cup canola oil, plus more for preparing the pan 10 ounces rigatoni or other shaped pasta 1 medium onion, diced 3 large garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon taco seasoning 1 teaspoon drie...

In my excitement over the beginning of the squash season , I decided to buy a pound and a half of pre-cut butternut squash. I definitely overestimated my squash needs , but now I get to make Lauren and Mary's Pumpkin-Butternut Squash Risotto ! They served it at their fall-themed theme meal, along with roasted acorn squash and a pork stew. Everything was delicious, and since I only got to try a bite of the risotto, I was excited to make it for my self with the scaled-down version of the recipe. Unfortunately, mass-produced meals don't scale down well, so there was some guess work involved. It definitely tasted different from the original meal, but I thought it benefited from a dash of salt.  Ingredients: How can you beat this 300 calorie lunch with 8 grams of fiber? 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed 5 fl oz pumpkin, pureed 2/3 cup, onion, coarsely chopped 1 cup arborio rice 4 3/4 cups water 1 Tbsp vegetable broth 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese, grated 2 Tbsp bas...

Remember that menu I made for the week? It went out the window tonight in favor of enchiladas. I walked to the grocery store just to get sauce and taco shells, even after buying all my groceries for the week based on my "planned" menu. Oh well.  Sandra Lee has a recipe that uses the leftover components of black bean burgers to make black bean enchiladas. Well, I   didn't want black bean burgers, but I have to give Sandy Lee some credit for the idea. Ingredients: Filling: 1/4 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/2 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained, divided 1/4 cup canned corn 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes Enchiladas: 1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce 4 soft taco shells 1/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onions in a small pan until browned. Turn stove to low and add garlic, beans and corn. Cook until heated through. Stir in cilan...

This past Sunday, I fully intended on running the 3 miles to the nearby Safeway and taking the bus back with groceries in hand. Well turns out, I forgot my knee brace, I was dehydrated and tired, and it was already starting  to get dark when I finally set out at 6:30 pm. Darn, I had to go to Whole Foods.  I was hungry by the time I got there, and ravenous by the time I got home . So this was a good compromise. I bought the beef and bean chili from the hot salad bar, and the chips and Mexican cheese from Whole Foods, but I had Safeway "salsa fresca" at home. It is so easy to make , and really it's " healthy enough " when you're in a pinch. Pour beef and bean chili over top of a handful of blue corn chips. Sprinkle Mexican cheese on top. Microwave 30-45 seconds, or until cheese is melted. Spoon salsa on top - be generous, it's probably the healthiest part!  The only way that this recipe is moderately healthy is if you use the cheese sparingly , lather o...

In my attempt to give some store-bought crescent rolls a little boost of nutrition , these crescents are filled with spinach, Parmesan and caramelized onions. Plus, these little guys can be made the night before and refrigerated until breakfast time. This also means you don't have to cook (or eat) all 8 at once ! Ingredients 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup chopped onion 2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 (8 ounce) Open Nature refrigerated crescent rolls Directions Caramelize onions. Add spinach, Parmesan cheese, onion, oil, salt and pepper to a bowl.Unroll and separate the crescent dough into eight pieces. Spread spinach mixture evenly over dough to within 1/8 in. of edges. Roll up and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Check out this gooey deliciousness... Adapted from:...

This November has been a month a white sauces... and I never make white sauces. Last week I made an attempt at cheese fondue, and it didn't turn out, so I made macaroni and cheese from the melted cheese/milk/butter mixture. Last night I made cheesy potatoes because the potatoes were sprouting and I needed to use them up. Both of them required a white sauce and both of the white sauces were kind of funky. The macaroni cheese sauce was grainy, and the potato cheese sauce wouldn't thicken!! Clearly I need to learn how to make white sauces!                         

Friday was Spinach Artichoke dip day and it was way delicious! I noticed that almost all the ingredient measures are based on the commercially available size, not what actually produces the best taste. Why is 1 8 oz tub of cream cheese the correct amount? Why not 6 oz or 7 oz? I will have to experiment with less cheese and see if it tastes the same. The one alteration I did make is use half the sour cream and it didn't seem to make much difference! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®