Crustless Quiche

I found this recipe on the Weight Watchers website many years ago. You can use any vegetables you'd like or have on hand. Most recently I made it with just onion and red pepper. I also doubled the recipe to make it in a 9X13 pan. If you do so you need to add about 15-20 minutes to the cooking time so the center finished cooking.

1/4 green pepper, diced
1/4 yellow pepper, diced
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 crown broccoli, chopped
1/4 Onion, diced
6 Egg Whites or 3 Eggs
3/4 C. Cottage Cheese
Salt
Pepper

Saute the vegetables in pam. Beat eggs and add cottage cheese mixing well. Add a
little bit of salt and pepper for flavor. Spray a 8X8 pan with Pam. Combine the vegetables with the cottage cheese mixture and pour into prepared pan. Cook at 350 for approx. 20 minutes or until lightly brown and set.

Baked Omelet

I came across this recipe for Egg Vegetable Casserole on a blog I recently started reading. I used to make something similar several years back but it also had cottage cheese in it (I can't find that recipe so if you know what I am talking about please pass it along). It sounded simple, good and kid friendly.

(Sorry the picture is so bad-my camera is sort of broken)

We renamed it Baked Omelet:

1 Tbls. Olive Oil
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 C Fresh Spinach, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
18 eggs
2 Tbls. Skim Milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. Seasoned Salt
1 C. Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, shredded (optional)

In a large skillet, saute the peppers and onion in the olive oil. Add in the spinach for a minute or two. Allow to cool. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and seasonings. Pour the eggs in a greased 9 by 13 pan. Add in the sauteed veggies and tomatoes. Stir everything in the pan. Stir in mozzarella cheese. Make sure everything is distributed evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes or until the eggs are set and golden. Sprinkle the casserole with Parmesan cheese if desired.

The recipe says that the Parmesan is optional however I thought it added a lot of flavor. My husband toasted some whole wheat bread with the Parmesan cheese and added the eggs to make a sandwich which sounded like a good school lunch to me. Also-just like any omelet, you can change the vegetables and spices. I think the key is the cheese and making sure the egg is set when you cook it. A hit in our house. I may even attempt these in muffin form next time for a good portable breakfast.

Part Whole Wheat Pizza

After last nights chili disaster I decided to move back into the kids comfort zone. I decided to make the same pizza I always make them but making the crust part whole wheat-repeat after me-baby steps. The recipe for pizza dough that I always use is from my 7th grade home economics cooking class. So thank you Mrs. Purtell. I just change the white flour to part whole wheat.

Part Whole Wheat Pizza

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
3/4 C. warm water
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. oil
3/4 C. whole wheat flour
1-1 1/4 C. white flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, oil, whole wheat flour and 1/4 C. white flour. Stir. Slowly add remainder of white flour until moderately stiff. Turn dough onto greased board and kneed until smooth and elastic-approximately 5-10 minutes. Place dough in a bowl sprayed with Pam. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 15 minutes. Refrigerate for 2-24 hours.
Roll out dough to cookie sheet or pizza stone. Add sauce, shredded cheese and toppings. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Everyone loved it and nobody had a clue that I changed anything. I guess that is the key-slow, small changes.

Chili

Tonight I made chili for dinner. I based it on this recipe I found for Four Bean Chili.
I made a few changes however. I could not find pinto beans so instead I used a can of Spicy Chili Beans. I also didn't include the meat so it was vegetarian. Lastly, I did not prepare it in a crock pot but in a pot on the stove. So I present to you my version of

Four Bean Vegetarian Chili:

1 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1-15 Oz Can White Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Chili Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1-28 Oz Can Chopped Tomatoes with Juice
2-15 Oz Cans Tomato Juice
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tsp Salt
Grated Cheddar Cheese

In a large pot over medium heat heat oil and saute onions for 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute another minute until the onions start to caramelize, then remove and place in a crock pot. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and stir to combine. Cover and simmer the chili for 2-4 hours on low. Top with cheese and serve.

My husband and I loved it. My kids- not so much. Part of the problem I think was that it was slightly spicy. Not sure if that was because of the chili powder or the chili beans. When it was reheated the next day it was not as spicy. The other problem is that my kids don't like to try new things and this was way outside their comfort zone. Perhaps I tried this too early. I am not giving up though-I will try this one again(perhaps with meat next time). I highly recommend it with the cheddar mixed in. Also, my kids enjoyed mixing in the cheese and watching it melt.

Slightly Healthier Homemade Mac and Cheese

Yesterday I discussed baby steps and how adjusting to healthier versions of what my kids are used to eating was a little complicated. Thursday night dinners are very predictable in our house- it is either Wacky Mac or homemade Mac and Cheese using white pasta and American Cheese(read: processed). Again, like yesterday, I decided to take some baby steps and keep my kids in their comfort zone. So I present Slightly Healthier Homemade Mac and Cheese:

4 C. Uncooked Pasta(I used 2 C. White Pasta and 2 C. Whole Wheat this time)
2. Tbls Butter
2 Tbls. Flour
1 1/2 C. Milk
1 1/2 C. Cheddar Cheese

Cook the pasta (if using a mix of white and whole wheat cook it together making adjustments for the different cooking times between the 2 pastas). Drain. In the same pan melt the butter. Whisk in the flour making a roux being careful not to burn. Add the milk and cheese and whisk until smooth. Add the pasta and serve.

Don't judge a recipe by it's photo. I planned on taking another photo of this once it was in a bowl but the kids were so hungry and then before I knew it the entire pot was empty!

I was surprised at how light in color and in weight the whole wheat pasta was. I haven't had whole wheat pasta in years and I remember it being dark in color and very heavy. I think nobody would have noticed if I used all whole wheat pasta in this one. That is my plan for next time. I am also going to use whole wheat flour in the roux next time. Baby Steps.

All Day Burritos

Yesterday Danya picked a recipe out of the Kosher by Design Kids in the Kitchen cookbook that she wanted for dinner. It was for Bean, Rice and Cheese Burritos. I felt like this was a good chance for me to take a recipe that wasn't so healthy and make it a little healthier. I started last night by making my own refried beans using pinto beans. I didn't take a picture but be glad as they weren't pretty. Then I went a little too far and made my own whole wheat tortillas. They were very tasty however it was a lot of work, hard to do and my stove was a bit too hot so they all got a little too crispy which made them hard to wrap.

Next time I would just buy whole wheat tortillas. However, if you are looking for a challenge, or own a tortilla press, I recommend this recipe. The recipe called for white minute rice and I substituted it with brown rice. So what should have been a simple recipe became an all day process. In the end they were really good.

Josh, Danya and I liked them a lot. Jordy took an itsy bitsy bite and said yuck and Nadav said "no, no, no" as I tried to hand it to him but neither of those responses were unexpected.

Here is my altered recipe.

Bean, Rice and Cheese Burritos

4 wheat tortillas
1 C. brown rice prepared with a packed of taco seasoning
4 Tbls. refried beans
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Spread 1/4 C. of rice, 1 Tbls, beans and 1/4 C. cheese on each tortilla. Roll each tortilla and wrap in foil. Place all the burritos in oven heated to 425 and cook for 15 minutes until cheese is melted.