Crescent Roll Veggie "Pizza"

Here is a recipe that is good for parties, as a snack or a light lunch.  The veggies are not cooked, so it is a cold pizza, if you want to call it that.  It is very tasty, whatever it is!

You will need:

1 refrigerated tube of crescent rolls
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
2 good size cloves of garlic
2.5 oz each chopped broccoli and carrots
1 cup shredded cheese

You'll want the cream cheese to be room temperature for easier mixing and spreading, so take it out well in advance of making this recipe.  The crescent rolls, on the other hand, need to be nice and cold right out of the fridge so they don't stretch and lose their shape. 

You might want to spray your baking sheet very lightly with cooking spray.  I used a piece of parchment paper to make sure the rolls didn't stick.

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375F.
2.  Open the tube of crescent rolls and don't tear apart the triangles.  Pull them apart at the half way line.  Then unroll the rolls carefully so they lay flat on the pan.  Pinch together the seams.  Unroll the other half and lay it next to the first half and pinch those seams, too, so that it makes a rectangle of flat dough on the pan.
3.  Bake for about 12-13 minutes or until it starts to turn golden.
4.  While that is baking, prepare the garlic.  If you have a garlic press, you are so lucky!  (I want one.)  I don't have one, so I had to mince my garlic and then mash it with a fork on a plate.  You'll want to mash the garlic really well so the oils are released.  That way it will add tons of flavor.
5.  Mix the mashed garlic into the cream cheese until smooth and well incorporated.
6.  When the dough is cooked and cooled, spread the cream cheese very carefully (the top will flake off a bit) over the dough.
7.  Either chop the vegetables with a knife, or, for easier preparation, put them in a food processor (like my most favorite tool ever, the Ninja Express Chop.) and chop it up really good. 
8.  Sprinkle a layer each of the carrots and then the broccoli over the cream cheese spread.
9.  Top with shredded cheese.
10.  Cut into 8 pieces (or smaller if you are serving at a party or something.)

Nutritional stats:
181.6 calories, 10.6g fat, 6g sat fat, 1g polyunsaturated fat, 2.5g monounsaturated fat, 17.5mg cholesterol, 359mg sodium, 196mg potassium, 14.4g carbs, .5g fiber and 7.3g protein.  I'm not sure, but I think that the carrots and broccoli are "free" foods in WW, so I calculated the Points Plus at 5.

It would also taste really good with some chopped green onions mixed into the cream cheese with the garlic.  (!  I have to try that next time!)  Two pieces would be a nice lunch.  One piece is a good snack.

Hope you enjoy your veggie pizza!

Lisa
happyfairylove@live.com

Crock Pot Beef with Broccoli and a Vegetarian Version

I sure have been using my crock pot a lot lately.  It's a pain in the butt to clean the huge, heavy ceramic pot that goes in it.  So worth the effort though.  Keeps the kitchen much cooler, the house smells wonderful all day long, its almost effortless, and the meat is always perfect.

I'd like to share this recipe with you that I found on dLife.  My husband thought it had a hint of an Asian taste to it, and he would be right because it has a little ginger in it.  It's not overwhelming...just a hint and a nice change up for a standard crock pot roast.

Here's what you need:

1 1/2 - 3 lb beef roast, lean, cut into a couple pieces
3/4 lb carrots, peeled and in pieces
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
1 Tbsp fresh ginger root, finely grated or minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2 C water
2 Tbsp soy sauce (low sodium is better)
1 packet dry beef gravy mix (I actually used mushroom gravy)
4 C fresh broccoli florets

1.  Place carrots, onions, meat ginger and garlic in a large slow cooker.
2.  In a small bowl combine water, soy sauce and beef gravy mix.  Pour over meat.
3.  Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or on high heat for 4 to 5 hours (mine took about 6 hours to get really tender, so just check it.)
4.  Then put the cooker on high, put in broccoli.  Cover and cook for 15 more minutes until broccoli is crisp-tender.

It was really delicious.  The meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender, the vegetables were perfectly cooked.  My roast today was not very lean, and the crock pot completely filled with fat/juice when it was done cooking.  So I'm thinking that if it was a very lean piece of meat the gravy sauce would be thicker.

I'm a little unsure of the nutritional stats because I think it all depends on your specific cut of meat.  For a 4 oz serving of meat with carrots and broccoli, it will be approximately 300 calories, 700mg potassium, 600mg sodium, 20g carbs and 35g protein.

Also, whenever I made anything like a beef roast before my vegetarian daughter was completely out of luck because I did not have any suitable vegetarian products that I could convert the recipe to.  Until now.  I found a new product that I am totally excited about.  It's been around for a while, but it is really hard to find.  I found just a couple different items at Safeway.  You can go to Gardein's website and look at there store finder, although I will warn you, it was not accurate for me.  They listed several stores that did not carry it.  You'll just have to look around.  I found these "beefless tips":

It was enough to make 2 single serving meals, and it was under $4.  Such a bargain.  Sami is so excited now that she can have pot roast again.  Here's what hers looked like:

I steamed the vegetables, mixed them in with gravy, heated up the "meat" and then stirred it all together.  So easy, and she was in Heaven.

Hope you enjoy your Beef with Broccoli stew!
Lisa
PS Hover over the black bar on the right side of the screen to pull out more menu options for my blog, such as the one to follow my blog, the blog archives and also the search form.
happyfairylove@live.com

Nutty Quinoa (Recipe, pics)

Originally I found this recipe on dLife, but it was made with brown rice.  It was very good that way, and I'm sure I will make it again that way, but I decided to try it this time with quinoa instead.  Quinoa is awesome.  It's got a very plain flavor by itself, in my opinion, and it takes on the flavors of the things you cook it with.  For example, use chicken broth instead of water for a more flavorful dish.  You can use sweet ingredients, like apples and cinnamon, for a breakfast quinoa, too.  And it's very healthy.  It's got slightly more fat than brown rice, but it edges out brown rice in terms of fiber and protein.  Quinoa, a seed rather than a grain, has all essential amino acids in it for complete protein, whereas brown rice does not.  Both are good to have in your diet, but if you are vegetarian or vegan, quinoa is a good source to get complete proteins.

It's very easy to prepare.  Use 1 part quinoa to 1.5 parts liquid.  Put them both in a cold pot, bring to a boil and cover.  Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 more minutes.  Super easy--nothing to it.  Quinoa will expand about 3 times during the cooking process.  This recipe uses 1 1/2 C quinoa and makes about 8 servings of 1/2 C each.  Also, I highly recommend buying your quinoa from the bulk bins at your local healthy food store like Sprouts.  It is a fraction of the cost of the prepackaged stuff.

Here's what you need:

Oops.  I didn't put the chicken broth, oil and red pepper flakes in the photo.  Where was my head at? :)

1 1/2 C quinoa
2 1/4 C chicken broth
2 C rough chopped broccoli slaw
4 Tbsp slivered almonds
1 tsp red pepper flakes (omit if you don't like a kick)
3 Tbsp sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp olive or canola oil
1 Tbsp dried parsley

1.  In a pot heat oil over medium high.  Add in broccoli slaw and cook 2 minutes.
2.  Add almonds, sunflower seeds and red pepper flakes and cook 2 minutes.  Put into a bowl and set aside.

3.  Put quinoa and broth in the pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
4.  Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, covered.
5.  Take off lid, add back in the broccoli and nuts, stir, cover it back up and let sit (off the heat) for another 5 minutes.
6.  Stir in parsley flakes.
7.  Serve.

btw, you can always click on the photos for a larger view, too.

This is a very filling little side dish that is packed with nuttiness and great flavors.  I like the red pepper flakes, but my daughter thinks it's too spicy.  It's got great crunch to it.  I served it tonight with Chicken a la King over toast and it made a very healthy, protein rich dinner.

The nutritional info for a 1/2 C serving is:  207.7 calories, 7.9g fat, 1.4g saturated fat, 2.1g polyunsaturated fat, 1.5g monounsaturated fat, 183mg sodium, 235.9mg potassium, 24.9g carbs, 2.8g fiber, 7g protein.(5 Points Plus)

Healthfully yours,
Lisa
PS Hover over the black bar on the right side of the screen to pull out more menu options for my blog.
happyfairylove@live.com
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A Savory Side (Recipe Pics & Review)

I've been giving you recipes for main dishes, like the Honey Pecan Chicken, Tilapia, and Chicken Eggplant Casserole.  I've given you some good recipes for sweet treats like Strawberry Dream Mousse and Diet Soda Cake.  Now I thought I should give you a recipe for a side dish.  One of my family's favorite vegetables is broccoli.  We have it a lot, just steamed, no butter or salt or anything.  I got them used to eating it plain and they like it that way.  Sometimes, though, a little cheese and seasoning is a nice switch.

I got this recipe from one that I pinned on Pinterest.  I am not real good with Pinterest yet, and I don't know who the original recipe was from.  But the pin is on my Healthy Cooking board if you want to figure it out.  (To find me on Pinterest, hover over the black bar on the right and look for the Where to Find Me tab.  My links are on there.)

The ingredients are:

16 oz fresh or frozen broccoli, steamed and chopped
1 C Italian seasoned bread crumbs
3 Eggs
1 C shredded colby/jack or cheddar cheese (the original recipe calls for 1/2 C, but I don't think that's enough cheese for that much broccoli)

Preheat oven to 375F

Put everything into a bowl and mix it up.  I tried mixing it with a whisk (definitely didn't work) and a spatula (not good either), and it came down to just getting my hands dirty and mixing it up the best I could.

Then the original recipe says to line a pan with parchment, but I didn't have any of that.  I used aluminum foil with pan spray on it.  Now, mine did stick to the foil a bit, so if you have it try the parchment, or maybe even waxed paper.

Anyhoo, make some patties...it was a little difficult because the mixture kept sticking to my hands when I tried to "pat the patty" (hehe)  So I ended up just putting a small mound on the pan and then shaping it from there.  There will be enough mixture to make 8 patties of a fair size...a little bigger than a golf ball maybe.

Bake for 15 minutes, turn patties over and then continue to bake for another 10 minutes.  I served 2 patties per person.

I made a pork chop dinner tonight.  Whenever I have pork chops it seems that all my target numbers for calories, saturated fats, proteins, etc. all fall in line.  I don't know what it is about pork.  I think maybe because it fills me up well enough that I don't feel like snacking at all.  I also made mashed potatoes and gravy.  One serving of pork chops is about 4 oz, mashed potatoes are 1/3 C and gravy is 1/4 C.  I used Walmart brand instant potatoes and Walmart brand Mushroom Gravy packet.

For just the broccoli patties, the nutritional information for 2 patties (of 8 total) is:  118 calories, 3.8g fat, .9g saturated fat, 73mg cholesterol, 248.8mg sodium, 228mg potassium, 2.48g fiber and 6.6g protein. (3 Points Plus)

If you'd like to have this entire dinner, the nutritional info (including pork flavored shake & bake) with the serving sizes I mentioned is:  577 calories, 8.6g fat, 4.9g saturated fat, 157mg cholesterol, 754mg sodium, 1005mg potassium, 42g carb, 4.5g fiber and 41.6g protein. (10 Points Plus for whole dinner)

Now, what did my family of taste testers think of the broccoli patties?  They were a success!  Everyone liked them and ate them up just fine.  To me, they seemed a little dry, but that could be from a couple different things.  1) I was in a super hurry and didn't have time to really mix the ingredients well, so the eggs and cheese weren't evenly spread throughout the broccoli.  and 2) the directions say to cook at 375F.  I cooked mine at 400F because that's what my pork chops were cooking at.  I could have turned down the heat on the chops and cooked those 5 minutes longer, but the way I did it the broccoli patties somehow got a little dry.  But that didn't take away from the flavor.  And, I don't know about you, but when I've got a plate of potatoes, meat, gravy and vegetables, everything goes in on a bite, so the gravy moistened up the broccoli perfectly.

My family and I do recommend trying this recipe.  It was a nice switch up from the plain steamed broccoli we normally have.  I hope you enjoy it!  Leave a comment here or drop me a line at happyfairylove@live.com.

Merry Meals,
Lisa
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