Goat Cheese Stuffed Pepper Bites

At a recent event with my husband, there were trays of bite size appetizers made up of all sorts of complicated combinations floating around.  The one we both seemed to enjoy most though was the simplest.  A little spicy, a little sweet, a little creamy, a little crunch….. it's a perfect balance and so easy!

Notes:

* You can buy peppadews in a jar but I also found them on the olive bar, of all places. 

* Soy creamer worked great for me but dairy milk, half and half, whatever you have on hand would work as well. 

12 peppadew peppers, seeded an drained well

4oz. goat cheese

1-2 TBSP creamer, to taste

1.  Place the cheese in a small mixing bowl.  Add the creamer 1 tsp. at a time and stir until the mixture reaches desired consistency.  (I used 1 TBSP = 1 tsp. but the amount you use will depend on the softness of your cheese.)

2.  Scoop the cheese mixture into a piping bag and fill the peppers.

3.  Refrigerate if you're making these ahead of time but serve them at room temperature.

                

                

Sweet Potato with Black Beans, Salsa, and Feta

Ready for a super easy dinner?

Bake a sweet potato and top it with black beans, salsa, and feta cheese.  That's it.  The flavor combination is surprisingly delicious!

1.  Preheat oven to 385*.  Prick large sweet potatoes with a fork and coat with olive oil.  Bake approximately 1 hour.

2. Prep the black beans by rinsing and draining.  Then, in a small saucepan, heat 1 tsp. olive oil.  Add a minced clove of garlic, the beans, and salt, to taste.  Heat through.

3.  Top the potatoes with the beans, salsa, and feta.
           

                       

   

Zucchini Pasta Olio

I had been seeing recipes everywhere that featured zucchini as a substitute for pasta so I finally decided to break in my new vegetable spiral gadget last night.  If you don't have one of these tools in your kitchen, stop what you're doing right now and go get one.  Seriously, it was so easy and fun to use!

I didn't have high hopes that just because the zucchini now looked like pasta, it would be an acceptable replacement, but it was perfect!  I'm glad for starting with something simple but my husband and I were talking over dinner and agreed it would be good to try zucchini-as-noodles in other dishes as well.  Surprisingly, we really didn't miss the pasta.

All you do is run the zucchini through the spiral slicer:
(I used 2 large zucchinis for this recipe.)

                    

Next, prepare the sauce:

1/8c olive oil

1/8c butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4c Parmesan cheese

1.  In a small pan, heat the oil and butter until butter is melted.

2.  Add the garlic and sauté 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper; set aside.


Finally, cook the zucchini:

1.  In a large skillet, heat 1-2 tsp. olive oil.  Add the zucchini and toss to coat.

2.  Pour in 1/4c water (vegetable stock might also be good here) and allow to simmer until al dente, approximately 5 minutes.

3.  Drain, if necessary, and add your sauce.  Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

                      

Yummy low-carb dinner!

Vegetarian Cheese Steak Pizza

My husband and I have been on a bit of a gluten-free kick lately.  Reducing our wheat intake really hasn't been difficult; more inconvenient than anything but still not a big deal.  Gluten-free breads and are definitely an acquired taste for me and I had been quite frustrated lately with the pizza crusts we tried.  Some were tolerable and one in particular was like eating cardboard.

So, I wasn't sure what to expect she I tried a mix for this recipe last night.  Turns out, it was pretty good.  My husband even commented that our dinner was "the best gluten-free pizza" we've had yet.

A few notes:

* For the crust, I used Bob's Red Mill
* The gyro meat was Viana (vegan alternative)

prepared pizza crust

1/2 lb. gyro meat, cooked

1 TBSP butter

1/2c onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, thin sliced

steak seasoning, to taste

2c mozzarella cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 425*

2.  In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add onions and green pepper, sautéing until crisp tender.  Add the gyro meat and toss until combined.  Sprinkle in a little steak seasoning, to taste.

3.  Place crust on a pizza stone and top with approximately 1c mozzarella.

4.  Add the gyro mixture and top with the remaining mozzarella.

5.  Bake approximately 15 minutes, or until crust is golden.

           

Spinach Risotto

This risotto is a good, simple meal on it's own but if you want to get fancy, try this:  heat a little oil in a small pan and sauté sliced mushrooms with garlic, dill, black pepper, and a splash of white wine.  The addition of mushrooms take this dish to a whole other level of yumminess!

1 1/2c baby bella mushrooms, sliced

 1 large clove garlic, minced

1/8c olive oil

1/4c onions, chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

1c arborio rice

1/4c white wine

2 1/2c vegetable broth

4c fresh spinach, chopped

1/2c Mediterranean flavor feta, crumbled

1.  In a medium size pot, over medium high heat, add 1 1/2 tsp. olive oil and sauté onions about 3 minutes, or until golden.  Add the garlic and cook another minute or so.

2.  Add the rice an stir until fully coated with oil. 

3.  Pour in the wine an stir continuously, until all the wine is absorbed by the rice.

4.  Add the broth, 1c at a time, stirring until the liquid is absorbed before adding more.  

5.  Once all the broth is absorbed, stir in the spinach, reduce heat to low and continue stirring occasionally until spinach is wilted.

6.  Top with feta cheese and serve.

                    

Served topped with mushrooms and a side of oven-roasted asparagus.

Crispy Polenta with Mushroom Ragout

My husband and I both recently read the same book on the benefits of a gluten-free diet and decided to give it a try.  The results have been positive - I've dropped 5 lbs. in the last two weeks (It was 6.5 but I slipped).  However, as a vegetarian pasta and bread lover, the switch has been somewhat challenging.
And then I remembered how much I love polenta and the way it satisfies me in a way very similar to that of my beloved pastas and breads.

A few notes about this recipe:

*  Before serving, I did pop the polenta rounds in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
*  I used vegan butter (it's the only kind I buy anymore).
*  I had big plans to make my own polenta but just ran short on time.  And really, the pre-made stuff      worked great.

1 pkg. pre-made polenta

1/2c cornmeal

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 TBSP Italian parsley, chopped

1 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP butter

2 TBSP olive oil

1/3c yellow onion, chopped

2 pkg. mushrooms (I used 1 baby bella and 1 shiitake), sliced

5 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4c Marsala wine

1 1/2c vegetable broth

2 TBSP Italian parsley, chopped

1.  Slice polenta into 1" thick rounds.  Begin heating butter and oil in a large skillet over Medium heat.

2.  In a small bowl, combine cornmeal, salt, pepper, and parsley.  Dredge each round in the cornmeal mixture and add to skillet.

3.  Allow polenta to cook 5-10 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.  Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.  Remove any cornmeal residue from the pan.

4.  To the skillet, add remaining 2 TBSP olive oil.  Saute onions and mushrooms until soft and fragrant.

5.  Add garlic, salt, and pepper.  Continue cooking and stirring another 2-3 minutes.

6.  Pour in the wine and broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to Low and simmer approximately 15 minutes.

7.  Top polenta rounds with mushroom sauce and serve immediately.

                              

                             

                             

                             

The one serving leftover will be my lunch today!