Tomato & Bean Crostinis

I wasn't sure what to make for dinner last night, when I was suddenly struck with inspiration! I mentioned to Jeff what I'd concocted in my head driving home, and he was totally game.

And the Tomato & Bean Crostinis were born.

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15-20 min
Total time: 30 min

Yield: 2 servings (or more if served as appetizers)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• vegan cheezee sauce
• french bread, sliced
• shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Stir together tomatoes, beans, and spices. Set aside.
2. Spread vegan cheezee sauce on sliced bread.

3. Spoon bean mixture onto bread.

4. Bake in toaster oven for 15-20 minutes, until bread is toasted around the edges. If adding shredded cheese, sprinkle over bean mixture in the last few minutes of baking.

To keep these vegan, simply leave off the mozzarella cheese or use a vegan shredded cheese substitute.

These seriously turned out so good!

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Easy Breakfast Lettuce Wraps

It's been awhile, and while I've made some delicious recipes, I haven't found the time to blog about them. This morning, I made something so yummy for breakfast, that I simply had to share it will all of you!

Easy Breakfast Lettuce Wraps

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 2 leaves butter lettuce (or any other leaf lettuce)
• 2 slices tomates
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper, to taste
• shredded cheese
• Frank's Red Hot (optional)

Directions

1. Rinse and dry lettuce leaves. Chop tomato slices.
2. Scramble eggs over medium heat, season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide scrambled eggs evenly over lettuce leaves. Top with shredded cheese and chopped tomatoes. Shake on Frank's Red Hot, if desired.

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Italian Enchiladas

I'm trying to get creative with all these wraps that we have. Hmm. How about making enchiladas, but with spaghetti sauce instead of enchilada sauce and a filling similar to lasagna?

And voila! The birth of the Italian Enchilada.

Ok. So, it's possible that someone else has already come up with this idea, but it was new to me and turned out so delicious! I'm excited to call this my own, and I hope you enjoy it, too.

Yields 4 hearty enchiladas.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 of an eggplant, thinly sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 egg
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup torn fresh spinach
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 Tomato Basil wraps

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease square cake pan.
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add eggplant and cook until tender.

Add chopped red onions and garlic.

Sautee 1-2 more minutes until onions are translucent.
Add crushed tomatoes. Stir until mixed. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, mix together egg, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, spinach, herbs, salt and pepper.

Spoon a layer of eggplant mixture onto a wrap. Top with the cottage cheese mixture.

Roll up wrap and place seam-side down in a greased square cake pan.

Spread spaghetti sauce over tortillas. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.

Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is nice and gooey.

Enjoy!

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Broccoli Cheese Roll-ups

If you follow me on my other blog, you might know we're in wrap-heaven right now thanks to Bountiful Baskets. We'll be eating a lot of wraps and other things with tortillas, so you've been warned. :-)

Last night, I made the most delicious broccoli cheese roll-ups. And they're so very easy to make, too! I roasted just enough broccoli for two wraps, but this is simple enough to adjust to however many wraps you need want to make.

Ingredients
Broccoli
Olive oil
Seasoned Salt & Pepper
Garlic & Herb Tortillas
Shredded Fiesta Blend cheese
Chopped red onions

Directions
Toss broccoli in olive oil and season with seasoned salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes at 400°F or until broccoli is nice and tender. Cool slightly and chop.

Place tortilla on a plate. Sprinkle with shredded cheese, onions, and chopped broccoli.

Microwave for 1 minute or just until cheese is melted.

Cool slightly, so you don't burn your fingertips rolling up the tortilla.

Enjoy!

What are you cooking this week?
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Bean 'n Mushroom Enchiladas

I wanted to try the recipe for enchiladas on the back of my package of shredded cheese. I'd been meaning to try this recipe for awhile, but by the time I got around to it, the cheese was gone and the new package had a different recipe.

I had to improvise.

So I  decided to do a little fridge clean-out. I found beans, mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, and chipotle chiles that needed to be consumed. Add a couple other ingredients and the Bean 'n Mushroom Enchiladas were born.

Jeff is not a big fan of mushrooms (neither am I, really) so I was nervous that he wouldn't like this, but he surprised me by saying they were very good. I don't think I ever told him there were mushrooms in there. Shhh... It will be our little secret.

Banana-Nectarine Pancakes

In my quest to use successfully use all the delicious produce we received from Bountiful Baskets, I found this intriguing recipe on Pinterest for Blueberry Banana Pancakes.

Pancakes with only 3 ingredients? No flour? No sugar? No oil? Sounds a bit crazy, but I had an over-ripe banana on my counter that really needed to be used, so I figured, why not? Of course I had no blueberries, but lots of nectarines, so I changed it up a bit. Don't I always?

Banana-Nectarine Pancakes

Yield: 3 pancakes

SW Bean Burgers

Yes, I'm still here. And yes, I even still spend a little time in the kitchen. Though not nearly as much as I'd like.

Tonight, I made the most delicious bean burgers. I was slightly inspired by this recipe, but I changed so much of it, that I'm totally going to call it my own!

These are quite possibly the BEST bean burgers I've never made (or enjoyed!). And super easy to make as well.

SW Bean Burger

Yield: 4 burgers

WIAW #4 - Oops!

They say the third time's a charm, right?

Well, it's the third time I'm starting to participate with What I Ate Wednesday. The first time lasted one week; the second time, two weeks. Hopefully, I'll be able to stick to it much longer this time... perhaps at least 3 weeks. :)

I was also hoping that at least on the day of the picture taking, this would help keep me in check and on track for healthier eating.

This is kind of embarrassing, but here's What I Ate Yesterday.

I started out pretty good, but things took a real turn after I got home from work. :(

Breakfast - leftover pancakes topped with pure maple syrup and bananas. almond milk
Lunch - leftover baked pasta. small side salad. applesauce.
Snacks - wasabi almonds and string cheese. dark chocolate almonds.
Dinner - Cadbury Mini Eggs.

I'd intended to just have a couple to relax after getting home from work, but then I got distracted and lazy and never made it back to the kitchen to make dinner or even warm up some leftovers.

Not pictured above - I also had a small handful of potato chips and onion dip, much to Jeff's dismay. He wanted them all for himself.

So, not the very best day, or start to WIAW, but I've got to start somewhere, right?!

What did you eat today?

Pasta with Chickpeas and Garlic Sauce

I got really excited when this recipe appeared in my Inbox. It looked soooo gooood! And sounded even better. I finally got around to actually making it on Valentine's Day. Something about V-day always screams pasta to me. I don't know why.

This dish turned out to be so flavorful! I loved it!! Jeff, however, didn't care for the texture. :(

Pasta with Chickpeas and Garlic Sauce

Yield: 4 cups

Black Bean Soup

I love black beans. And black bean soup has always been one of my favorites, so when I saw this recipe over at Happy Fit Mama for Roasted Corn Black Bean Soup, I could hardly wait to try it out. I didn't have any peppers, roasted corn, or zucchini, so I had to modify it a bit with what I had on hand.

The last soup I made had been a complete disaster, so I decided to stick to the recipe instructions for this one and not attempt to make it in the slow cooker. It probably would've been fine since there is no kale or pasta in this soup, but I didn't want to risk it. I mean, really, it doesn't take that long on the stove top anyway.

I did, however, risk making this with the salvaged broth from the disaster soup. Turns out, it was a risk well taken. It cleared out some space in my fridge and tasted pretty good in the soup. Well, it didn't taste bad, at least.

Black Bean Soup

Yield: 6 cups

Healthy Recipe: White Bean Soup

This recipe has been in my drafts since 2010. It was in a Healthy Living company newsletter.

Simple and nutritious, this hearty soup is incredibly rich in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals that will fill you up without filling you out.

Doesn't that sound perfect? I've been wanting to try it ever since but never seemed to have the ingredients on hand (namely, the kale). Since I've resolved to try 2 new recipes a month in 2013, I figured this week was the perfect time. I added kale to my shopping list and was very excited to give it a try.

It was a complete disaster! Even though it didn't turn out seriously, it was so bad that we ended up eating pizza for dinner instead. 
I figured I'd still share the recipe.

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

I found this delicious looking recipe over at Nutritious Eats. Ok, well, I actually saw it first over at Happy Fit Mama's menu plan for the week. These sounded and looked so good, I couldn't wait to throw them on our menu plan for the week.

Yes, I actually made a menu plan this week.

I excitedly added egg roll wrappers to my shopping list, and made these the very next night. I was nervous about them because they have spinach in them. Jeff doesn't normally like anything with cooked spinach, so I had pretty much braced myself for having to eat the majority of them.

Turns out the spinach is hardly noticeable AND Jeff really liked them.

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

Yield: 21 egg rolls