Eggplant and Goat cheese sandwich

I was looking for a way to eat more veggies and I stumbled across this sandwich and I am officially obsessed with it.  It is delicious especially on sourdough bread (another one of my current obsessions). This is the basic recipe but you can modify it and add whatever veggies it want.  I added cooked mushrooms, onions, summer squash, zucchini, and tomatoes.  All worked well. This recipe makes 2 smaller sandwiches

Ingredients:
4 (1/2 inch thick) eggplant slices
olive oil
1 red bell pepper
4 slices sourdough (or whatever you fav is)
2 TBS pesto - I just bought some at the store
1 cup spinach or arugula
pepper
soft goat cheese

Directions:
1. Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet.  Brush both side of the eggplant with some olive oil and top with a little pepper.
2.  Cut bell pepper in half and discard seeds. Place these halves skin side up on the baking sheet with the eggplant; flatten then with your hand.
3. Broil for 4 minutes and turn over eggplant.  Don't turn over the pepper.  Broil for 4 additional minutes and then remove eggplant.
4.  Broil red pepper for 7 additional minutes or until blackened. Place pepper in a ziplock bag and seal. Let stand for 15 minutes; peel and discard skin.
5. Lightly toast bread.  Spread pesto on one slice and goat cheese on the other.  Place 2 slices of eggplant and 1 piece of bell pepper on each sandwich.
6. Toss spinach/arugula with 1 tsp olive oil and black pepper.  Divide this mixture between the two sandwiches

Fresh tomato salsa

This is a really simple and delicious salsa, well I guess it is closer to pico de gallo.  If you want to make it more salsa like you can add a bit of tomato paste to it.  This recipe makes a pretty large batch

Ingredients:
3 tomatoes, chopped - I just used whatever tomatoes were on sale.  mine were pretty big if yours are small add a few extra tomatoes.
1/2 c finely diced onion
1 jalapeno pepper - I used a small one from my plant seeds and all and my salsa came out very spicy.  You could also use 2 Serrano chilies if you like
1/2 cup fresh cilantro - chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lime juice - about a lime

Directions:
1. In a bowl mix together all the ingredients and chill for about an hour in the fridge before serving.

Sweet potato burritos

I know that the thought of sweet potatoes in burritos does not sound that appetizing but these ended up actually being pretty good not to mention super healthy.  They freeze really well, you can pop them straight into the microwave from the freezer and you are good to go.  They are especially good with a little fresh salsa.  This recipe makes 4 large burritos.

Ingredients:
vegetable oil
1 onion - chopped
2 clove garlic - minced
2 cups black beans - you can probably use whatever bean you like best, but black beans are my favorite
2/3 cup water
1 TBS chili powder
3/4 tsp cumin
1 1/4 tsp mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 TBS soy sauce
1 1/3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes - I just cooked 1 large sweet potato in the microwave until it was soft and then removed the insides and mashed em together
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas
Cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, mash beans.  This sucks I like to use a pastry cutter but a fork works too.
2. Heat oil and saute onion and garlic until soft.  Stir in beans.
3. Gradually stir in the water and heat until warm
4. Remove from heat and stir in chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper, and soy sauce.
5. Divide the bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the tortillas.  Top with cheese and fold up tortillas.
6. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes in a oven preheated to 350 degrees.

Kevin approved black bean burger

This black bean burger is really tasty and was even approved by my manly meat eater, Kevin, so you know it must be tasty.  These are good fresh but also freeze really well.  So you can have your own cheaper and healthier version of frozen black bean burgers.

Ingredients:
2 cups black beans - I like to cook my own from dried beans but a 16 ounce can of beans works too just make sure you drain and rinse the beans
1/2 green bell pepper - cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 onion - cut into wedges
2-3 cloves garlic - pressed
1 egg
1/2 to 1 TBS chili powder
1/2 to 1 TBS cumin
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 c bread crumbs

Directions:
1. Mash black beans in a medium bowl.  This can be a pain in the butt, I like to use a pastry cutter but a fork works too.
2. In a food processor, finely chop the bell pepper and onion.  Stir this and the pressed garlic into the mashed beans.
3. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce. Add this mixture to the mashed bean mixture.
4.  Add the bread crumbs and mix well.
5.  Form into patties - you can make them big or small whatever you like.
6.  Grill or broil patties until browned and heated through.

To freeze:  Form patties and place them on a cookie sheet.  Place them in the freezer until firm, about an hour.  Wrap in plastic wrap and place in a ziplock bag. To cook:  take it straight from the freezer and throw it on the grill or under the broil and cook till heated through.

Stuffed pepper soup

This is sooooo much easier than actually making stuffed peppers and it tastes exactly the same.


Ingredients:


1 pound ground venison - you can use ground beef, chicken, or turkey

• 2-3 green bell pepper, chopped - or more depending on your tastes
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• 1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• I threw in some random spices that I like
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup brown or white rice - cooked

Directions:

1. In a large pan brown the round meat. Drain fat and add pepper and onion. Cook until onion is translucent, not letting them brown.  Add garlic in the last minutes not letting it brown.
2. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, spices, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until peppers are tender.
3. Add cooked rice to soup and let it heat through.
4. Top with cheddar cheese and enjoy.

Thin crust pizza dough

This is a really easy and really good dough for thin crust pizza, which is my favorite type. This recipe makes a about 3 crusts depending on the size of your pizzas.  While it is really easy you have to make sure that you plan ahead because it has to sit in the fridge over night.  It also freezes very well.  When you want to use it just let it thaw in the fridge and you are good to go.  This dough also works wonderfully for things like strombolis or calzones.


Ingredients:

• 1  package active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1  cup  warm water 
• 1 1/4  cups  cold water
• 2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 1  teaspoon  sugar
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• about 5 1/2 cups flour, divided - depending on the stickiness of your dough you may need anywhere up to 7 cups
• Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Combine 1 1/4 cups cold water, oil, sugar, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

2. Combine 5 1/2 cups flour, yeast mixture, and cold water mixture in a large bowl.  Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a ball. (If you have a dough hook for your mixer feel free to use that instead)  Knead until smooth and elastic (about 2 minutes); add enough of the remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel kinda sticky).

3. Divide the dough in thirds, and place each portion in a large zip-top bag coated with cooking spray. Seal and chill overnight or up to 2 days. 

4. You can use the dough straight from the fridge and you will not have to roll it out.  Simply form it in your hands handing it by one end and let it stretch itself.  Rotate the pizza so that it is even.  Place on a pizza stone and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Tip:  I do not preheat my pizza stone because I feel like the crusts always cooks way before the cheese is even melted that way, also the pizza tends to stick more.  I place the crust on a cool stone and just cook the pizza in a preheated oven and it has turned out perfect multiple times.  Be careful not to press down on the pizza dough when dressing it because otherwise it may stick.

Healthy smoothies

There is no exact science to smoothies, you kind of just have to play around with them and figure out how you like them.  I prefer mine to be more on the frozen side so I regularly use fruit that I have frozen instead of ice because all the blenders I've had have never done well with ice.  You really can put almost any fruit or vegetable that is easily blended into a smoothie, you just have to figure out the best combination.  This recipe is based on one that I have been making a lot lately.  I've never actually measured the ingredients before so these are just my best guess.

Tip for using vegetables:  Always blend the vegetables first with your liquid so that they are sure to get really smooth.  I'm ok with getting a chunky bit of fruit in my mouth but chunky veggies in my smoothie skeeve me out.


Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh spinach or more - I usually just fill up my magic bullet.  Remember if you are using frozen spinach that it has been cooked down so it really is a lot more spinach than when it is fresh so I would half the amount of it you use compared to fresh spinach.

1 carrot - I found the blender handles this best if it has been peeled and then shredded

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of a liquid (juice, milk, V8 fusion, etc...) - I use orange juice because it masks any bitterness that could potentially be there from the spinach

2 - 4 TBS of yogurt - you can use a yogurt cup or I find it more cost effective to just buy a big guy of plain yogurt.

1/2 cup fresh or frozen fruit - As I mentioned above I prefer to use frozen fruit, just make sure you cut it into smaller pieces so it is easier for the blender to handle.  You can use any combination of fruit you want.  I usually use strawberries and something else.  I like to add peaches, cherries, grapefruit, blueberries, etc...  Blueberries help to take away the green color by the spinach. Depending on what fruit you use this smoothie can be interesting colors

1. Blend spinach and liquid until smooth.
2.  Add carrot, blend until smooth
3. Add yogurt and fruit and blend until smooth.  Add more liquid if it is too thick
4. Enjoy getting 1 1/2 servings of veggies and 1 serving a fruit or more depending on what you add!