179 Days of Dinner - Day 4 - Vegetable Quesadillas on Whole-Wheat Tortillas

Tonight's explosion of flavor was inspired by 100 Days of Real Food. 

This evening's culinary experiment was Vegetable Quesadillas on Whole-Wheat Tortillas.  I should warn anyone who wants to try this out that it is a bit of a process.  The longest part, by far, is the tortilla-making.  I made the tortillas last night and refrigerated them in preparation for this evenings dinner.

Here are the step-by-step photos of the tortilla making:

Dough!

Into the frying pan.

A plate full of whole-wheat goodness.

But if you want to try these out, you'll probably want to follow some better instructions with better pictures than mine ;) - this is the place for you:  Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas.

Now for the main event - Quesadilla Making!

Pick out 2 cups of any veggies you like - I chose corn, grated sweet potato, zucchini and yellow squash.

3-4 minutes in the frying pan.

Add lime juice and chili powder (I don't like spicy food either - just trust me - do it).

Shred 2 cups of your favorite kind of cheese (I chose Monterey Jack) and mix in the veggies.

Spread the mixture onto one tortilla and top with a 2nd tortilla.

Oh my goodness - that looks tasty!

A whole stack of awesome.

I *devoured* this quesadilla.  I was worried that I wouldn't like the whole-wheat-ness of the tortillas and I wasn't too sure about adding chili powder to my food, but everything worked so well together I wouldn't change a thing about either recipe!

Vegetable Quesadillas on Whole-Wheat Tortillas

Ingredients

• 1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup diced onion
• 2 cups mixed veggies, diced or shredded (grated sweet potato is an excellent addition to this recipe, and you can also use bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, & fresh or frozen corn)
• ¾ teaspoon chili powder
• Juice from one small lime
• Salt, to taste
• 2 cups cheese, grated (we prefer Monterey Jack and recommend grating it yourself to avoid the powdery anti-caking agent in pre-shredded cheeses)
• 6 whole-wheat tortillas
• Butter for cooking
• Optional toppings: sour cream, avocado, cilantro, hot peppers, salsa

Directions

1. Heat oil in a medium sized sauté pan over medium heat.
2. Throw in the diced onions and veggies and cook for 4 or 5 minutes until tender.
3. Add the chili powder, lime juice and salt (to taste) to the veggie mix.
4. Heat griddle to 375 degrees or you can cook the quesadillas in one or two pans on the stove over medium heat.
5. In a large bowl mix together the veggies and grated cheese. Spread a thin layer of the mixture on three of the tortillas and then top them with the other three.
6. Melt a little butter on the griddle or in the pan(s). Cook the quesadillas for several minutes until the bottom starts to brown. While I am waiting I like to add a little dab of butter on the top (for when I flip it over).
7. Once it browns flip and repeat on the other side until lightly browned.
8. Let the quesadilla cool for a few minutes before cutting for the best results. I like to use a pizza cutter to make perfect triangles.
9. Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Yield: 4 – 5 servings

179 Days of Dinner - Day 3 - Summer Chicken & Basil Soup

Tonight's dinner was inspired by a blogger called MommyPotamus.  On the menu for this evening was Summer Chicken & Basil Soup.  I chose this meal largely because I still had basil I needed to use up from my pesto-making zeal.  I was pretty wary about basil getting mixed up in chicken soup, but the flavor was perfect!

Here are the pictures from tonight's cooking adventure:

Getting the ingredients ready.

Simmer, simmer.

About 3/4 of the veggies are pureed and then added back into the soup.

The finished product!

A more detailed picture, complete with chicken, basil, and puree.

With great dinner comes great dish-sponsibility.

This soup was tasty and satisfying.  If I made it again, I'm not sure I'd puree the veggies - it made for a confusing texture since only some of them were pureed.  The only thing the soup was *really* missing was a good slice or two or crusty bread to dunk with!!

Summer Chicken & Basil Soup

(Courtsey of MommyPotamus.com)

Ingredients
½ to 1 chicken breast, cooked and diced or shredded
½ large onion, diced
4 tbsp ghee
3 small zucchini, sliced and quartered
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 quart chicken broth
¼ cup basil, chopped
 
Instructions

1. Sautee onions for 4-5 minutes in 2 tbsp butter
2. Add 2 more tbsp butter and zucchini, carrots, and garlic and sautee for 5 more minutes
3. Pour in broth and bring to a boil
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes
5. Ladel about 4 cups of the veggie broth mixture into the blender and puree. Pour back in to pot.
6. Add basil and chicken to soup and simmer for 3-5 minutes.
7. Enjoy!

179 Days of Dinner - Day 2 - Leftovers :)

It's not glamorous, but it's cost-efficient, low effort and still delicious!

Day 2 - Leftover Pesto Pasta

179 Days of Dinner - Day 1 - Pesto Pasta

I was inspired for this evening's dinner by the one and only Pioneer Woman.  One of her latest posts extolls the virtues of pesto:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/08/uses-for-pesto/

So, armed with basil and pine nuts, I headed to the kitchen.  Here are the delicious results:

Pesto Recipe
1 cup basil
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts

Combine all ingredients in a food processor.  Put pesto into a bowl and add enough olive oil for desired consistency.  Enjoy!

179 Days of Dinner

As many of you know, my husband is "out of town" for the next 179 days.  ;)  During this time, it would be all too easy to run up the credit card bill by eating out every night, or, worse, by letting myself fall back on the convenience of frozen dinners. 

For the record, the last time Cody left (for a short 2 weeks) my entire diet consisted of Gardenburgers and Amy's Frozen Meals. 

This time around, I am determined to eat well.  It is my goal to try new recipes and use as little processed food as possible in my diet.  Wish me well on my journey!

Easy Eggs Florentine

Easy Eggs Florentine

They're like cupcakes, but they're made with ham, spinach, cheese and eggs. Adults and kids love 'em! Ingredients

• 3 ounce(s) ham, deli-style, (4 slices)
• 3 1/2 ounce(s) spinach, frozen, chopped
• pepper, black, freshly ground
• 4 large egg(s), organic, omega-3 and DHA-fortified
• 1/4 cup(s) cheese, cheddar, shredded

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Butter 4 cups in a 12-cup muffin tin. Place a slice of ham into each muffin cup and press to form a cup.

3. Divide spinach equally among the 4 cups, about 1 tablespoon each. Lightly season spinach with salt and pepper.

4. Crack an egg into each cup, being careful not to break the yolk. Bake for 10 minutes.

5. Top each egg with 1 tablespoon grated cheese. Return to oven for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

6. Using a heatproof spatula, carefully remove the Florentine cups from the muffin tin. Serve immediately.

 

Comments

I'll admit it - I was skeptical.  A ham, egg, spinach and cheese cupcake?  Wow.  They were good!!  And they were GORGEOUS!  Just think of the brunch possibilities!  This meal also allowed for a single sausage link (the other one in the photo was for Jack).

 

 

Disclaimer

None of these new recipes are mine.  I am on the "Sexy Forever" diet by Suzanne Somers.  All the recipes and credit belong to her!

Ginger Scallion Grilled Mahi-Mahi

 Ingredients

• 2 piece(s) fish, mahi-mahi, (or your favorite fish)
• 1 medium lime(s), juiced
• 8 whole scallion(s) (green onions), (finely chop 2 scallions and reserve for gingered soy sauce)
• 1 cup(s) soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon ginger, fresh, freshly grated
• 3 clove(s) garlic, minced

Preparation

To Make Mahi-Mahi:

1. Place the mahi-mahi, Gingered Soy Sauce, and lime juice in a resealable plastic bag. Marinate for at least 10 minutes, or up to several hours.

2. Preheat grill to medium high. Remove fish from bag, reserving marinade. Place fish and scallions on grill. Grill for 3 minutes per side. Brush scallions with marinade turning as necessary.

3. Serve immediately.

 

To Make Gingered Soy Sauce:

1. Combine soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and chopped scallions and set aside to let flavors meld.

2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

 

Comments

I cannot tell you how incredible this fish tasted!  I should start by saying I'm not a huge fan of fish, in general, but my husband wasn't home when I made dinner, and I was tempted to eat his portion too!  This marinade (lime juice + gingered soy sauce) was so incredible, I'm looking forward to trying it out on chicken and steak too!  The vegetables in the photo are zucchini, fennel and red onion sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper.

Disclaimer

None of these new recipes are mine.  I am on the "Sexy Forever" diet by Suzanne Somers.  All the recipes and credit belong to her!