Easy chicken wrap

I was out shopping today and I arrived back home and wanted a quick and nutritious lunch.

My trick to making a great chicken Caesar wrap is the croutons. 

I always take the croutons (this time Parmesan and garlic flavored) put them in a plastic bag and pulverize them.

Then I toss the lettuce, dressing, Parmesan and low fat Caesar dressing and add in some shredded rotisserie chicken.

Wrap it all up in a flour tortilla- 

And you get the perfect lunch wrap.

I have been out for the count with a bug and this is the first day I really felt like eating. This was the perfect dish to re-awaken my appetite.

I hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Vegetarian French Onion Soup.

Last time when I went shopping I picked up a huge bag of onions. I always seemed to be running out of them and I figured they would be good for at least a couple of months.

This did not turn out to be so. Last night I was getting something out from the lower cupboard and I noticed that the big bag of onions was looking a bit worse for the wear.

Enter Vegetarian French Onion Soup. I didn't find any recipes online that were exactly what I was looking for (I didn't want to use vegetable stock and I didn't have any Gruyere cheese) so I decided to wing it.

Most of the recipes recommended cooking the onions on low for about 30 minutes. This IMO is a bunch of bollocks. It took over 2 hours for my large pot of chopped onions to break down and become well caramelized.

A bit of this and a bit of that (see recipe below) and it was time for the soup to go in the oven.

A couple slices of baguette went on top.

A generous amount of Parmesan.

And while this did not turn out with the same flavor as the classic French onion soup that is made with beef stock, it did turn out very tasty.

And I did get to try out this really yummy balsamic vinegar reduction:

The soup ended up tasting somewhere between French onion soup and a really good Thanksgiving stuffing. 

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 yellow onions chopped fine
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1 Tbsp of Earth Balance spread
2 pinches of sage
2 pinches of thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 Tbsp of flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of balsamic vinegar reduction
1/4 tsp of honey
2 cups of water
4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Add the olive oil, Earth Balance spread and onions into a dutch oven over medium low heat. When the onions become translucent add in the garlic, sage, thyme and bay leaf.

Cover the pot and let the onions cook on low to med low heat for about 2 hours. Make sure to stir the pot about every 20 minutes or so.

When the onions have become lightly browned (caramelized) stir in the flour and let cook another 5 minutes. Then add in the water, vinegar, honey and salt and pepper. Turn up the heat to medium and let the soup simmer until it becomes thickened.

Ladle the soup into two ramekins. Turn your broiler to Hi and top the soup with the slices of baguette and a generous amount of Parmesan. Keep a close watch on the soup after you put it into the oven because it takes a very short amount of time (3 -5 min.) for the bread to become crispy and the Parmesan to brown.

Enjoy!

P.S. Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Eggplant Parmesan for one

Eggplant Parmesan with a side of quinoa.

For the record, I love Eggplant Parmesan. I usually stay away from it in restaurants because it is usually heavy on the fat content.

Now, I am not saying this is a low fat recipe but it is lower in fat than most. I found this great recipe here. I did a bit of tweaking and it turned out amazing!

I sliced up one small Italian eggplant, dipped the slices in whipped egg whites and then coated them with bread crumbs. 

I also made a simple tomato sauce using canned tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic and onion powder.

When the eggplant came out of the oven I started with the assembly:

A little bit of sauce.

The first layer of eggplant.

Some more sauce.

A layer of mini-mozzarella balls, sliced.

The last of the eggplant slices.

And this last step is the reason why I love my micro plane grater - I get to eat what looks likes 3 cups of shredded Parmesan but is really only about 3 Tbsp.

The dish was complete after a sprinkle of dried parsley and some black pepper.

What I liked most about this recipe is that it was heavy on eggplant and sauce and fairly light on fat and cheese. 

And while my last eggplant dish turned out to be a watery mess (yup, I didn't bother to tell you about that one) - the eggplant in this dish was perfect - it had a nice meaty texture while still being tender.

And since this dish contained 1 eggplant and was made in a 6" round Pyrex dish - you could eat the whole thing without too much guilt.

And, yes, I did eat the whole thing:-)

Oh, and my first attempt at mantu will be up later today...


Eggplant Parmesan for one

Serves 1-2 (depending on serving size)

Ingredients:

1 Italian eggplant, peeled and sliced about 1/4" thick
2 egg whites, whipped
1/2 cup of bread crumbs seasoned with black pepper
2 tsp of olive oil
1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes
4 mini-mozzarella balls, sliced
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of dried basil
1/2 tsp of oregano
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
1/4 tsp of onion powder
3 Tbsp of finely shredded Parmesan
2 pinches of salt
1 cup of chicken broth

Instructions: 

Put the tomatoes, chicken broth, basil, oregano, onion, garlic and sugar into a sauce pan and let that simmer while you continue with the eggplant.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the eggplant and slice into 1/4" rounds. Line a sheet pan with tinfoil and brush with the olive oil. Dredge each slice in the egg whites and then into the bread crumbs (be careful to shake off any excess bread crumbs).

Cook the eggplant for 10 minutes then carefully turn them over and cook for another 8-10 minutes.

When the eggplant is golden brown on each side - remove it from the oven and set aside to cool.

At this point the tomato sauce should have reduced a bit. Remove the sauce from the heat and using an immersion blender or regular blender - puree the sauce. Make sure to allow the sauce to cool a bit before blending and be very careful about any splatter.

Ladle some sauce into the bottom of a 6" Pyrex bowl.  The layering should be done in the following order: sauce, eggplant slices, sauce, mozzarella, sauce, eggplant slices, Parmesan cheese.

You can alter the order of the layers to include more mozzarella cheese if you prefer.

Place the dish into a 400 degree oven and cook for 15 - 20 minutes. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the eggplant slices. Mine were pretty small so I ended up cooking the dish for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Ceasar salad

I did have a craving for Caesar salad when I woke up this morning. I don't know whether it was a craving for the anchovy/fishy thing or the strong garlic flavor in the dish.

But it all started off with this:

I coddled the eggs by boiling some water and then gently placing two eggs in the pot ( I always have one for a backup) - take them off the heat and let them sit for one minute.

Then I filled the pot with cold water and assembled the rest of the dressing.

The garlic, anchovies, salt, pepper, olive oil and Parmesan went into a bowl. I peeled one of the eggs and scooped out the still runny yolk. I whisked all together in a bowl.

Then I tossed in the romaine and blended everything together with my fingers. It works best that way.

Then a little grated Parmesan.

And some black pepper.

Toasted orzo salad

As most of you know - making the same thing day after day is not my thing.

But I do have the same goals each morning - get in some healthy fats, protein and a bit of carbohydrates.

Toasted orzo salad.

 When I woke up I realized I had this to work with:

Red corn on the cob, leftover green apple slaw, orzo, chicken broth, a carrot, leftover lemon dressing from Panera and a hard boiled egg.

At this point I have no idea where this is going either.

Then I spotted this recipe and I figured that might do with a lot of modifications.


I toasted a 1/4 cup of orzo in 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil.

Toasted orzo.

I minced one clove of garlic and shredded 1/2 of the carrot, 1/2 of the red corn (the kernels cut of the cob) and added that to the pan after the orzo had browned.


Then I added in some chicken broth and let everything simmer. No measurements on the broth because my skillet has a wonky lid and lets out a lot of steam.

Just add more broth if the orzo looks dry and let the moisture evaporate off after the orzo is plump and tender.

At this point in the venture I decided to drop the lemon dressing issue, the thyme and I realized chopped egg would be just the thing.

I whole egg (the dogs split half of the yolk) chopped with a teaspoon of Parmesan.

It was simple, fast (about 10 minutes) and filled with protein - just what I wanted to start my day. 


Toasting the orzo made a big difference - it added a great nutty/roasted flavor to the dish.

Toasted orzo salad adorned with a light dusting of dried parsley.

I am sure I am biased but my green apple slaw was stupendous after hanging out in the fridge for a couple of days. I strongly encourage you to make it - as soon as possible.

I did scale the recipe down for one portion and it still yielded 2 generous size portions. 


I am off to bring some DVD's to a friend who is recovering from shoulder surgery. I really want to bring her Otis - but I figure the whole dismemberment theme may not sit well after surgery:-)


I kid - I am bringing her Under The Tuscan Sun and 27 Dresses - light and cheery girly movies.


But I will watch Otis later today - hmm, either Otis or Black Christmas - it is a toss up.

Pan-fried mashed potatoes

Pan-fried mashed potatoes with asparagus tips.

This was a fast breakfast made out of leftovers.

Shepherd's pie filling, Tofutti sour cream and leftover mashed potatoes.

I took a Tbsp of the mashed potatoes - made a well in the potatoes and placed in a tsp of the Shepherd's pie mixture.

Next came a dollop of the Tofutti sour cream - because sour cream makes everything better.

A bit more of the mashed potatoes went on top and I pressed everything together to form a ball.

Two patties went into a frying pan on medium heat for about 8 minutes on each side. I wanted them to be nice and brown.

This was, in fact, one of the best breakfasts I have made in a while.

They came out crispy one the outside and creamy on the inside - my favorite texture combination.

And they were made even more perfect with a sprinkle of Parmesan.

You will be glad to know that this is the last of the leftovers. I know I am eager to get on to new stuff.


I have been craving Chicken Marsala lately. I would love to try to remake the dish I enjoy so much at Don Giovani's.

Yesterday I realized that I only have an overnight bag for luggage. I guess I will have to buy some new luggage since my trip to the east coast in October will be for two weeks.

Anyone have a brand of luggage that they love?

Pizza blintzes

Pizza blintzes for breakfast.

I had some leftover batter from the crepes I made yesterday
 so I decided to try my hand at making blintzes.


It turns out blintzes are pretty much just crepes that are folded a different way.


The assembly:

Pizza sauce.

Leftover crepe filling.

A dusting of Parmesan.

Then they went back into the pan with a little olive oil.

These were delicious and can be easily made sweet. I think I would have enjoyed one stuffed with some marscapone cheese and some jam.

But I was happy with the savory version. The only thing that would have made this pizza blintz better is if I had some mozzarella cheese to put in the middle.


Oh, and if you were curious about how my henna tattoo was holding up:

It is tough starting back into the week after the long weekend.


Happy Tuesday everyone!