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

Homemade Salsa is the Best and So Easy!

A few days ago I told you about my new favorite kitchen gadget, the Ninja Express Chop NJ100.  I've been using it a lot, and it was so more than worth the $20 it cost me at Target.  This morning I whipped up a batch of home made salsa in no time at all.  The beauty of salsa is that almost anything can go in it, and it will turn out great.  I just made something really basic with things I had in my kitchen.

I forgot to put the fresh garlic in the photo.

I used roma tomatoes, a little bit of fresh cilantro, onion, olives, garlic and sliced jalapenos.  These were no heat ones, but I wish they had a little more kick to them.  My salsa wasn't quite spicy enough.  I also should have added a little salt, I think.  I didn't measure anything.  I just chopped up some of this and some of that and tossed it together until it seemed about right.  How's that for instructions?  lol  If you don't have a chopper or food processor, just chop up everything very fine.  I chopped up 6 roma tomatoes and threw them in a bowl.  I had a can of already chopped olives in the cupboard and used about 3 Tbsp of those.  I put in about 1/4 C of "no heat" jalapenos and 2 cloves of garlic.  My onions were already done from one I had leftover the other day, and I used about maybe 1/2C chopped...more than 1/4C, but maybe not as much as 1/2.  Somewhere in there...put in as much as you prefer.  The cilantro I just cut up with a knife.  A little cilantro goes a long way. I only put in about 1 Tbsp finely chopped up.  Easy peasy.  There are next to no calories in salsa.  I didn't bother doing any calculations because everyone's will be a little different.  But the jar of Herdez I have in the fridge is only 5 calories for 2 Tablespoons.  Add anything you want...diced chiles, fresh seeded jalapenos, corn, red peppers, anything at all.

So I took a small fajita sized tortilla, sprayed a pan with canola spray and turned the heat to medium high.  I put the tortilla in and cooked it until it was golden, sprayed the top side with canola spray and then flipped it over and cooked the other side.

Then I got 1/4 C of the avocado hummus I previously wrote about and spread it on top of the cooked tortilla.  I sprinkled on 1/4 C shredded cheese, and then topped it with about 1/4C of fresh home made salsa.  What a delicious light lunch or protein and fiber rich snack!  And the avocados add some great healthy fats to the mix.  It was so wonderful.  I'm glad I still have more avocado hummus and salsa to make another one later!

Salsa is so easy to make, it's versatile and refreshingly delicious.  You should go make yourself a batch!

UPDATE:  When I went grocery shopping tonight I picked up a small can of hot diced jalapenos.  I added about 1 1/2 Tbsp of that to my batch of salsa, and now it is absolutely perfect!!!  Better than any jar I've ever had.  Sometimes I amaze myself. ;)

Ole!
Lisa
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happyfairylove@live.com

Avocado "Hummus" (Recipe, Pics)

I am very well known the world over, ok, well maybe just in my family, but still...for my totally delicious guacamole.  I love avocados.  Tasty AND nutritious, chock full of good fats.  At the same time, I've tried several kinds of hummus and have never been able to find one that I like.  I take one taste and, like a kid, quickly take a drink to wash the taste out of my mouth.  Strange, too, because I like chickpeas.  Weird.  So when I saw a post for Avocado Hummus, I thought I'd give it a try since I like avocados so much.  I found it on Pinterest.  If you hover over the black bar on the right you can find my Pinterest link.  You can find the original Pin for this on my board called "Recipes That Look Really Good".  Although I did change the recipe just a tad from the original that's posted there.  I think technically it's not really a hummus because it's not made with chickpeas, nor does it have tahini. 

It must be really good because I told my daughter, Sami, to try it.  She sat down, and the next time I looked over she was gone and the bowl was nearly empty!  The kids think it tastes like my "famous" guacamole, with a little more kick.  I think it tastes similar, but different at the same time.  So much more economical, too, because the beans really stretch out one avocado.  So instead of spending $5 or $6 on avocados for our next Mexican dinner, I can buy 1 avocado and make mock hummus instead.  Yea!  Budget Saver that tastes good!  Score!

Here's how to make it:

1 can of white or Navy beans, drained and rinsed.
1 medium sized avocado, nice a ripe...not hard.
2 tsp lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Put everything in a blender and chop it all up.  Stop the blender and mix it up a few times.  You might leave in a few whole beans for good texture.

This will surely be a crowd pleaser!  I have it pictured here with Pretzel Crisps, but it would be so delectable with any chopped or sliced vegetable.  Great for a party, to top Mexican foods, pita chips, or if you just feel like snacking instead of making dinner, have this and still get the nutrition of a small meal with those fresh, crisp veggies.  My avocado was 4.8 oz.  With that size plus the can of beans, I was able to get about 5 servings of about 1/4C each.  The stats for that are:  144.3 calories, 6.7g fat, 1g saturated fat, .8g polyunsaturated fat, 4.6g monounsaturated fat, 74.5mg sodium, 110mg potassium, 16.3g carb, 6g fiber, 5.4g protein. (4 Points Plus) Just make sure to add the calories and stuff for whatever you dip it with. 

I really hope you try this, either as a dip or as a topping.  I bet you get rave reviews for it.  Leave a comment here, and you can also drop me a line at happyfairylove@live.com.

Party It Up!
Lisa
PS  Hover over the black bar on the right to pull out more menu options for my blog.