lucky♣plate

Green Bean and Corn Salad

Good for using summer overload of garden grown basil.

2 pounds green beans, trimmed
3-4 ears corn, husked (grilled in husk, soak in water before)
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup black olives, halved and pitted (used "black;" will try oil cured next time e.g., Provencal)
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (only used 2-3 T)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (used white wine vinegar)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
Hot sauce, such as Tabasco, to taste
Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Blanch about green beans in salted boiling water just until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into ice water. Transfer to a large bowl. Cook the corn (boil or grill). Cut the kernels off the cobs when cooled. Add the corn to the beans in the bowl. Add bell pepper, onion, olives, basil, oil, vinegar, lemon juice and garlic; toss to mix well. Season with hot sauce, salt and pepper.

Serves 8
From: Eating Well
Per serving (based on original amount of olive oil): 155 calories; 9 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 5 g fiber

Grilled Jalapeno Poppers

1/2  C  (4 ounces) soft goat cheese
1/2  C  (4 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened (used low fat)
1/2  C  (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2  C  finely chopped seeded tomato (used a little more)
2  T  thinly sliced green onions (used a little more)
2  T  chopped fresh sage (used a little less)
1/2  t  kosher salt
16  jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Cooking spray
Chopped fresh cilantro

Prepare grill. Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Spoon about 2 teaspoons cheese mixture into each pepper half. Place pepper halves, cheese side up, on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill peppers 5 minutes or until bottoms of peppers are charred and cheese mixture is lightly browned. Place peppers on a serving platter. Sprinkle with cilantro.

From: Cooking Light
Serving size: 2 pepper halves
Calories:84
Fat:4.8g

Collard Green (or Kale) & Black-Eyed Pea Soup

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
5 cloves garlic, (4 sliced and 1 whole), divided
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste (I used more)
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
5 cups chopped collard greens, or kale leaves (about 1 bunch), tough stems removed
1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, rinsed
6 1/2-inch-thick slices baguette, preferably whole-grain, cut on the diagonal
6 tablespoons shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese (used light Swiss)
2 slices bacon, crumbled (I used more; original recipe did not use bacon fat for cooking)

Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat. When cooked remove bacon and add the olive oil (if need, I use pretty lean bacon). Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add sliced garlic, thyme and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Increase heat to high and add broth, tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in collard greens (or kale), reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the thyme sprig. Stir in black-eyed peas; remove from the heat and cover.

Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and broil until lightly toasted, 2 to 4 minutes. Rub each bread slice with the remaining garlic clove. Turn the slices over and top with cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve the soup topped with the cheese toasts and bacon.

Serves: 6
From: Eating Well
192 calories; 6 g fat; 5 g fiber.

Minestrone Soup

1 T extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 strips of bacon, chopped
1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks (with leaves), chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, chopped
Bag of shredded cabbage
Large can whole, peeled tomatoes, roughly chopped
1.5 - 2 boxes low sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup small pasta
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1-2 t dried oregano
1-2 t dried basil
1 t fennel seed, ground
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until slightly crisp and the fat has rendered. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion, carrots, celery, dried herbs and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are somewhat soft, about 15 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook, uncovered, stirring, until wilted, about 3 minutes more.

Stir in the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the pasta, lower to a simmer, and cook until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, mash half of the beans with a fork. Add the mashed and whole beans to the soup and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide among warm soup bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Modified from a Food Network recipe.

Zucchini Casserole

6 cups sliced zucchini (about 3-4, cut into ribbons lengthwise)
1 large onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jar low-fat spaghetti sauce
1 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano
2 C fat-free cottage cheese
2 large eggs plus 1 egg white, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 package preshredded light mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350°. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add zucchini; cook 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and cool.

Heat olive oil in skillet, add onion and garlic; cook over medium-high heat. Cook until softened. Stir in the spaghetti sauce, cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Combine the cottage cheese, basil, oregano and eggs in a medium bowl.

Arrange half of zucchini in a shallow 3-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle the zucchini with half of the breadcrumbs. Spread half of cottage cheese mixture over breadcrumbs; cover with half of the sauce mixture and half of the mozzarella. Repeat the layers. Bake at 350° for about 40 minutes.

From: Modified from Cooking Light (note: original used ground beef, no onion)

Walnut No-Knead Bread

2.5 C white flour
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/4 t quick yeast
1 1/2 t salt
1 C chopped walnuts
3/4 C water (room temp)
1/2 C darker lager (room temp)
1 T white vinegar

Whisk flour, yeast, salt and walnuts in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until a "shaggy" ball forms (it should look wet; don't over mix. Add a splash more beer if dough looks dry and mix in). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for about 18 hours.

Lay a sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.

Thirty minutes before baking adjust oven rack to lowest position, place a heavybottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 420 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 205-210 degrees, about  20 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature (about 2 hours).

By: K2

Frisée Salad with Maple & Bacon Dressing

6  cups  torn frisée leaves
4  cups  diagonally cut Belgian endive (about 3 heads)
1  small head  thinly sliced radicchio
8 slices center-cut bacon
1/2  cup  chopped shallots (I used reg onion)
4 tablespoons  champagne vinegar
2  teaspoons  maple syrup
2  teaspoon  extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoon  Dijon mustard
Salt
Black pepper
3  ounces  (about 3/4 cup) crumbled blue cheese

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl (I doubled dressing amount; reflected in amounts above). Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings; crumble. Add shallots to drippings in pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in champagne vinegar, maple syrup, extra-virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Pour dressing over salad greens; toss well to combine. Add crumbled bacon and cheese to greens; toss gently.

Serves: 8
Calories:96 (original)
Fat:6g
Fiber:2g

From: Cooking Light

Spicy Tofu Bento Bowl

Spicy Tofu:
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup hot chili-garlic sauce (I used some hot chili sauce and some sweet Thai type)
2 Tbs. dark sesame oil
Package extra-firm tofu, cubed
5 green onions, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup nonfat yogurt (I used 1/2 cup)
2 Tbs. lemon juice
 
Salad:
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. hot chili-garlic sauce
2 cups cooked short-grain brown rice
4 1/2 cups mixed baby greens (I used finely shredded romaine)
2 carrots, peeled
1 cucumber, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds (un-toasted works fine, too)

1.To make Spicy Tofu: Whisk together soy sauce, chili sauce and sesame oil in bowl. Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat. Dip tofu in chili mixture. Cook 10 minutes, or until browned, turning occasionally. Cool. Add green onions, yogurt and lemon juice to remaining chili mixture. Toss with tofu.
2.To make Salad: Whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, ginger and chili sauce in bowl. Mound rice in bowls. Top with greens. Shave strips of carrots over top with vegetable peeler. Top with tofu, cucumber and avocado. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve with sauce.

From: Vegetarin Times
Serves: 6
Calories 297
Total fat 15.5g

Turkey Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1-2 t dried oregano
1-2 t ground cumin
2 pounds lean ground turkey
1/4 cup chili powder
Hot pepper flakes to taste
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 t salt
Dash ground cinnamon
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
4 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
3 15-ounce cans small white beans, rinsed, drained

Chopped red onion to top in bowl
Spaghetti if want to serve it Cincinnati style

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until light brown and tender, about 10 minutes. Add oregano and cumin; stir 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add turkey; stir until no longer pink, breaking up with back of spoon. Stir in chili powder, bay leaves, cocoa powder, salt and cinnamon. Add tomatoes with their juices, breaking up with back of spoon. Mix in stock and tomato sauce. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add beans to chili and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes longer.

From Epicurious with a few modifications

Veggie Hoagies

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion, separated into rings
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 16- to 20-inch-long whole wheat baguette
2 slices provolone cheese (about 2 ounces), halved
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini

1. Place onion rings in a small bowl and add cold water to cover. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
2. Combine artichoke hearts, tomato, vinegar, oil and oregano in a medium bowl. Cut baguette into 4 equal lengths. Split each piece horizontally and pull out about half of the soft bread from each side. Drain the onions and pat dry.
3. To assemble sandwiches, divide provolone among the bottom pieces of baguette. Spread on the artichoke mixture and top with the onion, lettuce and pepperoncini. Cover with the baguette tops.

From: EatingWell
Serves: 4
Calories: 264 calories
Fat: 8 g fat