Avocado Crunch Wrap

Avocado Crunch Wrap

* 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
* 1 tablespoon canola oil
* 2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, (see Note)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups shredded red cabbage
* 1 medium carrot, shredded
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
* 1 ripe avocado
* 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
* 2 tablespoons minced red onion
* 4 8- to 10-inch whole-wheat wraps, or tortillas

1. Whisk vinegar, oil, chipotle chile and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage, carrot and cilantro; toss to combine.
2. Mash beans and avocado in another medium bowl with a potato masher or fork. Stir in cheese and onion.
3. To assemble the wraps, spread about 1/2 cup of the bean-avocado mixture onto a wrap (or tortilla) and top with about 2/3 cup of the cabbage-carrot slaw. Roll up. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut the wraps in half to serve, if desired.


* Ingredient Note: Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños packed in a flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, they'll keep at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

Mediterranean Wrap

Mediterranean Wrap

* 1/2 cup water
* 1/3 cup couscous, preferably whole-wheat
* 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 1 pound chicken tenders ** or vegetarian substitute of course:)**
* 1 medium tomato, chopped
* 1 cup chopped cucumber
* 4 10-inch spinach or sun-dried tomato wraps or tortillas


1. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in couscous and remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, combine parsley, mint, lemon juice, oil, garlic, 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Toss chicken tenders in a medium bowl with 1 tablespoon of the parsley mixture and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place the tenders in a large nonstick skillet and cook over medium heat until cooked though, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a clean cutting board. Cut into bite-size pieces when cool enough to handle.
4. Stir the remaining parsley mixture into the couscous along with tomato and cucumber.
5. To assemble wraps, spread about 3/4 cup of the couscous mixture onto each wrap. Divide the chicken among the wraps. Roll the wraps up like a burrito, tucking in the sides to hold the ingredients in. Serve cut in half.

Chicken Parmesan Subs

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 2 MSF chicken strips
* 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 1 6-ounce bag spinach
* 1/3 cup prepared marinara sauce, (see Tips for Two)
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
* 2 soft whole-wheat sandwich rolls, toasted

Preparation

1. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Place chicken between two large pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with the smooth side of a meat mallet or a heavy saucepan until the chicken is an even 1/4-inch thickness. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach, and cook, stirring often, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
3. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pan. Add the chicken, and cook until golden on first side, 1-2 minutes. Turn the chicken, reduce heat to medium, top with the wilted spinach, marinara sauce and Parmesan. Sprinkle with mozzarella, cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the chicken is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve on rolls.

Oat Nut Burgers

Got this recipe from a friend. When she makes them, I tell ya, I could eat the whole pan. They're delicious!!!

Ingredients

4 c. water
1/2 c. soy sauce (I use Bragg's Aminos...tastes the same but healthier)
1/3 c. canola oil (olive works well too)
1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 c. nutritional yeast flakes
1 t. garlic powder
1 T. dried sweet basil
2 t. onion powder
1 t. Bakon seasoning
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. dried sage
4 c. rolled oats (the old fashioned kind...not instant)


Instructions

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients except oats in large pan. Stir and bring to a boil over med/low heat. Stir in rolled oats and remove from heat. Cover and set aside to cool. Make into 3 inch patties and bake for 15 minutes on each side on oiled baking sheets. May serve with mushroom soup gravy or spaghetti sauce topping.

Veggie Bierocks

I've been wanting to make these for a while now-- going to give it a go this weekend. Mine will be using pie dough instead of bread dough, and half of them will be using w shredded potatoes instead of cabbage. Posting the original recipe first, with my notes at the end :)




Bierocks

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs

1 pound MSF burger crumbles
2 small onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chopped cabbage - quick trick: use bagged coleslaw mix!
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce - I'll be using concentrated vegetarian beef stock, less salt, same flavor!

In a large mixing bowl, place 1 3/4 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Heat milk, water, and shortening to 120-130 degrees F. Pour over flour mixture; add the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low until blended. Beat 3 additional minutes on high. Stir in the remaining flour; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl; cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, brown beef, onions, and garlic in a skillet. Add the cabbage, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper; cook until cabbage is wilted. Punch dough down; roll into twelve 6-inch squares. Top each square with 1/3 cup meat mixture. Fold into triangles. Pinch edges tightly to seal, and place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes: If you don't want to make the dough, try two tubes of Pillsbury Crusty French Bread unrolled, flattened, and divided each tube into 8 squares with a pizza cutter. (I like my bierocks in squares rather than rectangles.)

For the cabbage, I'm substituting most of one 14-ounce bag of shredded coleslaw mix. Put 1/4 cup of filling in each bierock before pinching the edges closed. You may have extra filling, which you may promptly devour by itself as the bierocks are baking.

Also, I'll be using pie crust instead of bread dough -- makes them a little lighter. If you're trying the potato version, add a bit of gravy to the filling to keep it moist. And don't forget, they're amazing w brown gravy over the top of the finished product. Enjoy! :)

School Lunch Quickie

Won't have time to post this Sunday while putting it together... sharing it now instead :) Maybe another mom out there can use it for their kiddos' school lunches, too. I'm going to be revisiting my appetilla recipe for Monday's lunch. I'll be keeping the same ingredients but adding green chiles and vegetarian deli sliced turkee. Quick and easy and the DD's love them. So do I ;)

Homemade Pizza Pops

Great for on-the-go school lunches!!

Homemade Pizza Pops -- ingredient options are endless

* 1/2 cup chopped wham
* 1/2 cup chopped vegetarian pepperoni
* 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
* 1/4 cup sliced black olives
* 1 cup grated cheese
* 1/2 cup pizza sauce
* 1 (14 oz) package pizza dough

Instructions

Mix together wham, pepperoni, pepper, olives, cheese and pizza sauce in a large bowl until well combined. Set aside.

Roll pizza dough into a 10x20 inch rectangle. Cut the dough in half lengthwise creating two long strips 5x20 inches. Cut each strip into 4 creating a total of 8 (5 inch) squares.

Divide filling among squares. Brush 2 adjacent edges of squares with water, bring opposites side across filling to seal into a triangle shape (make sure it is sealed well so that no filling will escape). Using your hands, maneuver the filling in the sealed triangles to spread evenly throughout the pocket.

Place pizza pops on a parchment lined baking tray. With a sharp knife, poke three holes in the top of each pop to allow the steam to escape (this will keep the sides from bursting). Bake at 400ºF for 15 minutes or until golden brown and filling is bubbling through holes.

Cool to room temperature before transferring to resealable plastic bags and storing in the freezer.

Makes: 8 pizza pops

Greek Burgers w Tzatziki

In the absence of vegetarian pastitsio (I haven't given up yet!), we've had Greek Meatloaf, Greek double baked lemon potatoes, lemon scallops, and Greek rice pudding straight from Papui. Why not add one more :) I LOVE Greek food!!

Greek Turkey Burgers With Tzatziki Sauce
Start to Finish: 20 min
Ingredients

Tzatziki Sauce:

1 container (6 oz) plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill weed or 1 teaspoon dried dill
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Burgers:

1 lb your favorite turkey substitute. I'm trying MSF California Turkey Burgers this time, but I'm looking ahead to using leftover Thanksgiving Tofurkey. So Good!!!
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (4 oz)
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 whole wheat burger buns, split
1 medium tomato, thinly sliced

1. In small bowl, mix 1/2 cup yogurt and remaining sauce ingredients; refrigerate until serving.

2. Heat gas or charcoal grill. In medium bowl, mix all burger ingredients and remaining yogurt. Shape mixture into 4 patties, about 1/2 inch thick.

3. Place patties on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook 8 to 10 minutes, turning after 5 minutes, until thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160°F. Place burgers in buns with tomato slices and sauce.

How-To Broil patties with tops about 6 inches from heat 4 minutes; turn patties. Cook 6 to 8 minutes longer or until meat thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160°F.

Substitution Finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese can be substituted for the feta cheese.

Grilled Zucchini Sandwiches

Grilled yellow squash
Grilled zucchini
Tomato slices
Red pepper hummus
Fresh spinach
Gouda or provolone cheese
Bacon -- Completely optional, but make the veggie bacon crisp. The crunch will add a nice texture to the sandwich.

BBQ Tofu Sandwiches

This one's definitely a keeper!


BBQ Tofu Sandwich

Makes: 4 servings
Active time: 25 minutes | Total: 25 minutes

Though vegetarian BBQ may be an oxymoron, once you take a bite of this delicious tofu sandwich topped with coleslaw and dill pickles you will love the contradiction. Serve with: Baked beans and corn on the cob.

1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
1 14-ounce package extra-firm or firm water-packed tofu, drained
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup prepared barbecue sauce
1 1/2 cups coleslaw mix or finely shredded cabbage
2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4 whole-wheat hamburger buns, toasted
4 dill pickle sandwich slices

1. Place onion in a small bowl, cover with cold water and set aside. Stand tofu on its long narrow side. Cut lengthwise into 4 rectangular slabs, each about 1/2 inch thick, and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu slabs (depending on the size of your pan, the tofu may slope up the sides a little). Cook until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Reduce heat to low. Add barbecue sauce and carefully turn the tofu to coat with the sauce. Cover and cook for 3 minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, combine coleslaw (or cabbage), mayonnaise, vinegar, garlic powder and pepper in a medium bowl. Drain the onion.
4. To assemble sandwiches, place about 1/3 cup of the coleslaw (or cabbage) mixture on each bun and top with a tofu slab, a pickle slice and a few onion slices. Spread any sauce remaining in the pan on the top buns.

Veggie Souvlaki

Chicken Souvlaki goes veggie :)

This quick-cooking Mediterranean-style chicken & simple homemade yogurt sauce make this a perfect dish for a busy weeknight.

Servings: 4
Prep time: 10 mins.
Cook time: 20 -25 mins.
Total time: 30 mins.


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 pound gluten style chicken, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 medium)
1 cup thinly sliced green bell pepper (about 1)
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup grated English cucumber
1/4 cup 2% Greek-style yogurt (such as Fage)
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 (6-inch) whole-wheat soft pitas, cut in half
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

Directions:
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until done. Remove from pan.

Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 3 minutes. Add chicken, garlic, and oregano; cook 30 seconds.

Combine cucumber and next 6 ingredients (through 1/8 teaspoon salt). Serve chicken mixture with yogurt sauce, warmed pita, and tomato slices.

For Simple Salad:
Combine 5 cups torn romaine lettuce,
1/3 cup sliced red onion, and 3 sliced pepperoncini peppers. Combine 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; toss with salad. Top with 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese and 3 tablespoons halved kalamata olives.

**Yield: 4 servings
(serving size: 1 cup chicken mixture, 1/4 cup sauce, 1 pita, and about 1/4 cup tomatoes)

Mediterranean Pita Pockets

Mediterranean Pita Pockets

Servings: 8
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 45 secs for pitas
Total time: 5 mins

Ingredients:
Protein of choice (Fri-chik, falafel, breaded & fried cutlets, cashew patties, etc)
1 cucumber
1 sweet onion
1 tomato
hummus (garlic, onion would be nice here)
feta, if desired
crumbled veggie bacon, if desired
8 pita pockets



Directions:
Cut up chicken and tear up the meat. Dice the vegetables. Place pitas in the microwave for 45 seconds, with a paper towel covering. Place chicken, onions and cucumber inside pitas,dress with hummus. Enjoy

Lunch - Southwest Style

This is my kind of recipe... cheap, easy, and delicious. Enjoy!



Southwest Falafel

Patties
1 15oz can pinto beans- drained,rinsed (any bean, canned or 1.5 cups home cooked)
1/2 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
1/4 cup finely crushed tortilla chips -- we're gonna use Doritos :)
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1 large egg white
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Spread – mash an avocado with salsa and fat free yogurt (Greek-style is best)
1/4 cup mashed peeled avocado
2 tablespoons finely chopped plum tomato
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 (6 inch) pita's, each cut in half crosswise

To prepare patties, place pinto beans in a medium bowl; partially mash with a fork. Add cheese and next 5 ingredients (through egg white) stir until well combined. Form into 4 (1/2 inch thick) oval patties.

Heat oil in a lg nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties; cook 3 min on each side or until patties are browned and thoroughly heated.

To prepare spread, while patties cook, combine avocado, tomato, red onion, sour cream, lime juice, and salt. Place one patty in each pita half. Spread about 2 tablespoons of spread over patty in each pita half.

Zucchini Sandwiches

Grilled Zucchini Sandwich
Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds mixed zucchini and yellow squash

2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for grates
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Coarse salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint plus whole leaves

5 ounces herb and chive cream cheese

4 ciabatta rolls, split

2 ripe tomatoes, cored and thickly sliced

Directions
1. Heat the grill to medium. Trim tops and bottoms of zucchini and slice each 1/2 inch thick lengthwise. Place in a large bowl, add oil and thyme, and season with salt. Lift zucchini from bowl (reserve bowl) and grill until tender, turning the zucchini as it browns, about 3 minutes per side. Return to bowl, add mint, and toss.

2. Spread goat cheese on one side of each ciabatta. Top with zucchini, tomato slices sprinkled with salt, and whole mint leaves. Close.

To bulk this up, try adding fresh grilled portabellas! Might also be yummy with a little pesto sauce added for zing.