Tag Archives: vegetarian

Tartine with Eggs and Asparagus

How is everyone feeling after last week? Good because you behaved yourself and ate well? Or bad because you ate way too many cookies, along with anything else you could get your hands on? I’m in the second category and while I loved every little morsel that touched my lips, the guilt has set in and I’m not waiting for the calendar to hit January to get things back to normal. I got home from visiting my sister on Saturday and yesterday I decided no more cookies, no more chocolate, and no more throwing restraint out the window. I woke up and the first thing I did was go over to the produce stand and load up on fruits and veggies. I have found that when I commit to eating some kind of fruit or veggie with every meal or snack, I always do better. So now I have a loaded fridge and I’m feeling good going into this week. I’m starting it off right today with this Tartine with Eggs & Asparagus.

Asparagus, which is cooked until perfectly crisp and bright green, is partially chopped and added to eggs mixed with milk and Parmesan cheese. Thin slices of bread (I used leftover sourdough) is broiled until golden and toasted and then rubbed with garlic. Once the egg/asparagus mixture is scrambled to your ideal consistency, it is piled on top of the toast and garnished with the remaining asparagus tips. To keep the calories down, I used skim milk instead of whole milk and not as much Parmesan cheese. The best part of this open-faced breakfast sandwich in my opinion? The garlic! Just a little rubbed onto the toasted bread provides such a pleasant flavor to the eggs that I devoured this dish in an embarrassingly short period of time. Getting some veggies in with my breakfast feels like a step in the right direction – especially after eating cookies for breakfast last week.

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In a skillet, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Salt the water, add the asparagus and simmer until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the asparagus to a large bowl of ice water; let cool and drain. Cut the top 4 inches from the asparagus spears and set aside. Thinly slice the bottom halves of the asparagus spears.

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Preheat the broiler or a grill pan over high. Cook the bread until toasted and charred in spots. Rub the toasts with the cut sides of the garlic clove. Drizzle with the EVOO and sprinkle with flaky salt.

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In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, thinly sliced asparagus and cheese. Season with pepper.

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In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium. Add the egg mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggs begin to firm up.

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Mound the eggs on the toasts and arrange the asparagus tips on top.

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Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

  • Skim milk
  • Sourdough bread

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine

Spinach Custard Pie

It’s almost Thanksgiving which means it’s appropriate to eat as much pie as you want, right? Well, maybe not. Pies in general are pretty easy to make yet seem so daunting. I admit, I’ll plan on making a pie for dessert next Thursday but this week, I still need to try to eat healthy. But who says you can’t have a healthy pie? Not all pies have to be sweet or have to have crust. So, when I came across this recipe for Spinach Custard Pie, I knew I’d found exactly what I was looking for.

Frozen chopped spinach is the base for this pie which has a little onion, red pepper, eggs and Parmesan cheese. Fat-free (or light) sour cream pulls all of this together, giving the mixture the consistency of spinach dip. Topped with a dash of paprika, this vegetarian pie bakes until golden brown and fragrant. Because it’s easy to portion out, this pie is a perfect option for the quick grab-and-go meal that’s packed with veggies. I’m eating this all week for lunch but one could argue that because of the eggs, this could be a breakfast option too. Pie for breakfast or lunch? Yes, please!

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Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook spinach according to package directions; drain well. Place spinach in a large bowl.

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Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chopped onion and bell pepper; sauté 2 minutes or until tender.

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Add onion mixture, eggs, and egg whites to spinach. Add flour, cheese, butter, salt, pepper and sour cream; stir to combine.

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Spoon mixture into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with paprika.

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Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light magazine

 

Sweet and Spicy Pepperonata

Years ago, my friend lived in an amazing apartment in a big old Victorian house in a small town in South Jersey. The first floor of the house was a dentist’s office and his apartment took up the entire second and third floor. Because the office downstairs closed around 5pm every night and on weekends, we never had to worry about parking or how loud the music was. Quite often, we would walk a few blocks to the main street in town and sit at the bar of a shady Italian restaurant. There was nothing particularly charming about the restaurant except for it’s location but they served perfect bread and peppers. I’d never in my life eaten bread and peppers together before (mostly because I rarely ever ate peppers at this time) but these peppers, roasted and oily, served with soft doughy baguette, was the perfect bite for us every single time. The restaurant is no longer there and my friend has long since moved out but we still talk about those bread and peppers. When I saw this recipe for Sweet and Spicy Pepperonata, I knew it wouldn’t be a perfect alternative but it was pretty darn close.

A combination of peppers (I used mini peppers, poblano and long hots) are slowly cooked with shallots until soft and tender. A little sugar, red wine vinegar and fresh thyme are added to give a flavor boost. These peppers aren’t nearly as oily as the peppers from that restaurant but that’s not a bad thing. I served these peppers with some toasted whole grain bread and drizzled a little bit of olive oil over the top (perfection!). But these peppers, with their mild sweetness and heat, would be a perfect accompaniment to chicken or pasta or on a salad, especially if you are trying to eat more vegetables. Plus, just look at those colors! If you want to eat colorfully, you can’t get much more color than this.

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Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add salt, peppers, and shallots; cook 3 minutes or until shallots begin to brown. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, 20 minutes or until peppers are tender.

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Increase heat to medium-high. Add vinegar, sugar, and thyme; cook 15 minutes or until peppers are tender and shallots are golden brown, stirring occasionally.

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Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light magazine

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