Friday, November 15, 2013

Spinach Puffs

Spinach Puffs





These are soooo good to snack on or a side for breakfast with an egg, or just as a side with dinner. Really anytime.

I altered the recipe a bit to what I had in the house. But first here's the original link if your wondering where it came from: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/spinach-puffs. You can also see where I altered the recipe as well.

Ingredients (makes 12):
10 oz frozen spinach
1/2- 3/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese (instead of feta)
1/4 cup white onion minced
1 Tbls olive oil
1/2 tsp dried dill (it asked for 1 tsp fresh, didn't have any on hand)
1 close garlic, minced
fresh ground salt & pepper to taste
2 eggs
Phyllo dough - half of package (asked for puff pastry, but I saved money and I can use the rest of the phyllo for something else. Also, no need to grease the pan either)
4 Tbls melted butter
Spatula or pastry brush
1 - 12 cup muffin pan. Makes nice bite size puffs. (Original asked for a standard 6 cup, just seemed too big for me)

Preperation:
Preheat oven to 350.
Thaw frozen spinach. Squeeze wet spinach with your hands, getting as much water out of it as possible. Your hands kind ache after, but it's better than having soggy puffs. Comes out to about 2/3 cup squeezed spinach.
In a small/medium bowl mix spinach, cheese, onion, olive oil, dill & garlic. To taste, add salt & pepper.
Beat egg in separate bowl & fold into mixture. Set aside or toss in fridge.

Take away half of the phyllo dough and put the rest in the fridge for later use.
Prepare sheets with melted butter. I didn't spread butter on each individual sheet, only about 3 sheets. (see package of phyllo dough for instructions)
Divide sheets into about 12 equal parts, about 4-5 inch pieces.

Press each piece of phyllo dough in muffin pan, leaving the tops pointing up.
Equally divide mixture into cups. Press the tops together or fold over.
Beat the remaining egg and brush egg wash over the tops of the puffs.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Next time: I think I would add a full cup of cheese instead of what it asked for since pepper jack is a less intense cheese. I'm going to try fresh spinach as well.

-shan


Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Curry...simple

Curry
This was good, really good. Simple and when you let the flavors sit overnight, the better it tastes. Since I love spicy curry I added a little more cayenne pepper than I have listed below. Go by desired taste with spices.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups almond milk (I choose almond milk because I like the taste better than cow's milk)
2 1/2 - 3 tsp curry powder
2 Tbls flour
2 Tbls butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove - minced
2 to 3 cups of various veggies (I added red onions, various colored mini peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots, & celery.) I like my curry full of veggies, so you can as much or as little as you like.

Preparation:
In a medium sauce pan or wok sauce pan, over low heat, melt butter and curry for a minute or two.
Stir flour & spices.
Mix in milk over medium heat, cook until sauce has thickened and bubbles.
Add veggies and cook until desired tenderness.

Serve with brown rice.




Friday, November 1, 2013

Tortilla Cinnamon Apple French 'Toast'

Tortilla Cinnamon Apple French 'Toast'

In my house we rarely have bread, but always tortillas. My husband showed me a recipe for baked french toast, so I improvised. It's tastes great and it's not as filling. We had a side of pan fried peppers & kale with an over easy egg and were completely satisfied but not full.


Ingredients
2 large tortillas cut in 4ths
1/2 cup milk of choice
1 egg
1/8 tsp vanilla
 1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbls sugar
Dash of salt
1 Tbls butter

Toppings
1/2 apple - chopped
1/4 cup apple sauce
Cinnamon sugar
Powdered sugar
Chopped walnuts
Syrup



 





Directions 
 In a pie dish, stir beaten egg, milk, cinnamon, sugar & vanilla.
Soak tortillas pieces in mixture for about 5 minutes. 
Heat frying pan/skillet on medium heat & add butter.
Cook 2 to 3 minutes each side.

Top with apples, apple sauce, walnut, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar & syrup.