I’ll just go on record and say that this is absolutely AMAZING and DELICIOUS and you might as well double the recipe right off the top because you’ll eat it all and then come back wanting more. I made this for our Christmas morning brunch and it was a hit. I tripled the recipe and came home empty handed. Every single crumb was devoured. I made it a week later for dinner. It worked just as well for either meal!

To top it all off, it’s HEALTHY. (what a nice way to start 2010, no?). The nutritional content on this both surprised and thrilled me and it’s for an entire quarter of the pie! It’s just 192 cals, 4.8g fat (2g sat fat), 10.5g carb, 17.5g protein, 7.8g fiber. Don’t lie. You’re in awe too.

Mediterranean Vegetable-Cheese Pie

Serves 4.
Recipe from SELF, April 2005 courtesy of Epicurious.
Rancho La Puerta Spa, Tecate, Baja California

• Olive-oil cooking spray
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/8-inch rounds
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 8 oz (about 8 cups) baby spinach
• 3 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 2 whole eggs
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup nonfat ricotta or fat-free cottage cheese (I couldn’t find nonfat ricotta, so I went with the cottage cheese and couldn’t tell the difference)
• 1 tbsp feta, crumbled
• 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil or dill, or 3 tsp dried basil or dill, divided into 2 equal portions (I used fresh basil)
• 3 Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 1 1/2 tbsp grated Asiago or Parmesan
• 1 1/2 tbsp grated lowfat mozzarella

1. Heat oven to 350°. Coat a 9″ pie plate with cooking spray.
2. Line bottom of plate with potato slices. Cut remaining slices in half and arrange around side of plate. Bake 12 to 15 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and set aside. Coat a sauté pan with cooking spray and sauté onion over low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add spinach to pan and let wilt, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain excess fluid from onion and spinach mixture. Stir in olives.
4. In a bowl, beat eggs and egg whites. Stir in ricotta and feta. Add half the basil or dill and set aside. Spoon onion and spinach mixture into pie plate over potatoes. Layer on egg mixture, then slices of tomato. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until egg is set and a knife inserted into pie comes out clean.
5. Sprinkle grated cheeses evenly over top of pie and top with remaining basil or dill. Return to oven for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut pie into 4 wedges. Serve immediately.

192 cals, 4.8g fat (2g sat fat), 10.5g carb, 17.5g protein, 7.8g fiber.

Island Sweet Potatoes

• 4 medium orange sweet potatoes (or yams)
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon course kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 cup pineapple, crushed and drained
• 2 Tablespoons butter (or olive oil)
• 1/3 cup macadamia nuts, toasted
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded

1. Heat oven to 375. Wash potatoes and stab with a fork multiple times. Wrap each potato in foil and bake for at least 1 hour, until they are a soft, butter consistency.
2. Let potatoes cool slightly then peel. Mash with a hand masher or, for a creamier texture, use an electric mixer.
3. Add butter, pineapple, coconut milk, maple syrup, and salt. Mash and blend until well combined.
4. Sprinkle coconut and macadamia nuts over the top.
5. Bake 15-20 minutes until hot.

If you don’t want to try all of them, there are two you MUST try: Tomato Olive Butter and the Strawberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese. Don’t ask questions. Just do it! (I even moved them to the top of the post so you could get to them easier.)

Enjoy!!!

This tomato olive butter served with sourdough bread was gobbled down in no time. Everyone loved it – even those people who hate both olives and tomatoes! When they asked me what was in it, I responded with “Will you still eat it???” and they said yes. So, I told. And they still ate it because they were too addicted to stop at that point.

Tomato Olive Butter
From Bluephie’s in Madison WisconsinCajun Spices:

• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/3 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme

Butter:

• 1 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Cajun Spices (from above)
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 4-5 halves sun-dried tomatoes
• 6-7 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

Mix together Cajun spices and set aside.

Bring about 1 ½ cups water to a boil in a small sauce pan. Add sun dried tomatoes and remove from heat. Let sit in the water for about 10-15 minutes. Drain and chop.

Combine the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl and blend until smooth (works best in an upright mixer such as a kitchen aid). Add the remaining ingredients all at once with the mixer still running. Mix until evenly distributed. If you don’t have a mixer, mash with a fork until blended.

The butter is read to eat, but keep the remaining butter refrigerated. Before serving, it’s best to let the butter soften at room temperature. Don’t put the compound butter in the microwave or stove-top to speed softening. The ingredients will separate.

Serve with fresh sourdough bread.

Makes about 2 ½ cups.
Serves: Approx. 20 people

My sister made this amazing salad. I could almost have made my meal out of this recipe. She originally found it at allrecipes. She made the dressing exactly per their directions, but did her own thing with adding the goat cheese. Also, she prefers either regular olive oil or vegetable oil rather than extra virgin olive oil. Extra Virgin seems to overpower on the flavor a bit. So, here’s how we make the recipe.

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (get vegetarian Worcestershire here)
• 1 tablespoon minced onion

Salad:

• 10 ounces fresh spinach – rinsed, dried
• 1 quart strawberries – cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
• 2/3 cup crumbled goat cheese

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Cover, and chill for one hour.

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries, goat cheese, and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Appetizers

• Fresh Mozzarella balls
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Fresh Basil, finely chopped
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Course ground pepper and sea salt

Place mozzarella balls and tomatoes on party toothpicks. Mix half balsamic and half olive oil with basil, salt and pepper. Drizzle over the toothpicks and let it sit for 4-5 hours or overnight.

Mint Syrup
Serve as a side to sweeten and flavor iced tea or lemonade.

• 1 bunch fresh mint
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar

Wash the mint and pull leaves off the stems. Place medium sized sauce pan. Add water and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool slightly and strain syrup to remove leaves. Let cool completely and serve with tea or lemonade.

In the craziness of trying to serve everything, I forgot to take a picture of the actual dish, so I grabbed the one off the Vegetarian Times website where I found the recipe. I would definitely make this dish again. The flavors with the mint pesto gave it a bit more of an exotic flavor from maybe India or Thailand. It also says to serve warm or at room temperature. I prefer it warm.

Green Beans and New Potatoes with Mint Pesto

• 2 Tbs. chopped walnuts
• 1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh ginger
• 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 tsp.)
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 lb. new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
• 1 lb. green beans, or 1/2 lb. green beans and 1/2 lb. wax beans, trimmed

Toast walnuts in small skillet 4 to 5 minutes over medium heat, or until nuts are fragrant, shaking pan frequently. Cool.

Purée walnuts, mint, parsley, oil, ginger, lemon juice, garlic, sugar and salt in food processor or blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl once or twice. Transfer to bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface of pesto to keep from turning brown, and let stand at room temperature for 1/2 hour, or up to 3 hours.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook 8 minutes. Add beans, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes more, or until vegetables are tender. Drain.

Transfer vegetables to large bowl, and toss with pesto. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 8

Shepherd's Pie

Right after Trader Joe’s discontinued my all-time favorite Veggie Shepherd’s Pie (I’m still bitter), I attempted a number of recipes. None quite stood up to the test until recently. And to top it all off, it’s a Fake It Don’t Make It recipe shamelessly taken from Real Simple Magazine (You’ll soon find that I love quick and easy meals above all else, which means RS’s Fake It Don’t Make It section is perfect for me.)

In the recipe’s original form, it calls for meat, but that didn’t detour me in the least. I just grabbed my favorite ground meat substitute and whipped up this savory dish in no time. The end result was very impressive (even my meat-loving husband agreed, asking for seconds).

Easy Shepherd’s Pie

by Real Simple, Oct 07

• 1 pound (1 pkg) ground meat substitute
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce (Anchovy-free by The Wizard)
• 8 ounces frozen mixed vegetables (such as carrots, peas, and corn), thawed
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded Cheddar (optional)
• 1 – 16-ounce package refrigerated or frozen and thawed mashed potatoes

Heat oven to 400° F.

Place the ground meat product in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until warm, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ketchup and Worcestershire. Add the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Spoon the mixture into a baking dish.

Mix the cheese (if using) with the potatoes in a medium bowl. Spread the potatoes over the beef and bake until heated through, 10 minutes. Divide among individual plates.

YIELDS: 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 384(40% from fat); FAT 17g (sat 8g); SUGAR 6g; PROTEIN 22g; CHOLESTEROL 88mg; SODIUM 827mg; FIBER 3g; CARBOHYDRATE 28g