Weekday Food

Monday is over, and the week is underway. Is it too early to look forward to the weekend? Meanwhile, here are today’s recipes. Enjoy!

EASY ITALIAN FRITTATA

I discovered frittatas several years ago and fell in love with them. This wonderful one is from Kathy Kingsley, About.com's American Food expert. She writes, “This delicious potato, bell pepper, and olive frittata is perfect for your next brunch, and guests will never know how easy it was go make. Serve it warm or at room temperature. It also makes a quick weeknight dinner.”

Prep time: 10 minutes; Cook time: 40 minutes; total time: 50 minutes; serves 4 to 6.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large Yukon Gold or russet potato, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seed and chopped

1 small zucchini, trimmed, halved lengthwise and sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried

6 large eggs

1/3 cup pitted, chopped black olives, such as kalamata (optional)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup shredded Fontina cheese

2 tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large 12-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Layer half of the potato, onion, bell pepper, and zucchini in the skillet. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining potato, onion, and bell pepper, and season again. Cover and cook, stirring and turning frequently with a spatula until tender, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the thyme over the mixture. Let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the olives,if desired, and then add the potato mixture to the eggs, stirring to blend.

Wipe the skillet clean, add the remaining tablespoon of oil and warm over medium-low heat. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet, and sprinkle with the Parmesan and Fontina cheese.

Cook, drawing eggs away from the sides and bottom of the pan with a heatproof spatula so that the uncooked egg runs underneath. When the mixture is loosely set around the edges, place pan in the oven, and bake until puffed and completely set, about 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and slide out onto a serving plate. Sprinkle the parsley. Cut into wedges and serve.

SWEET POTATO, CARAMELIZED ONION, AND APPLE CIDER SOUP

Ths comes from Soup for Every Body by Joanna Pruess w/Lauren Braun in the 12/2005 issue of Publix's GreenWise magazine. 1 1/2 hours prep time (includes baking time); Serves 4-6

1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes (or yams)

2 Tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil

2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced

2 C fresh apple cider

1 Tbsp unsulphured molasses plus 3 Tbsp water

2 C chicken or vegetable stock

salt and white pepper

2 Tbsp finely chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

1 Tbsp finely shredded fresh sage leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sweet potatoes until tender, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool, then peel. While potatoes are baking, heat butter or oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in onions and adjust head to medium. Sauté until golden brown and very tender, about 20-25 minutes, stirring often.

Transfer onions, sweet potatoes, and apple cider to food processor. Puree until smooth.

Return puree to pan and stir in molasses and water. Add stock to the puree and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into heated bowls. Sprinkle a small amount of chopped walnuts and shredded sage leaves in center of each bowl and serve.

Per serving: 326 calories; 4 g protein; 59 g carbohydrates; 7 g fiber; 9 g total fat (4 g sta., 2 g mono, 2 g poly); 346 mg sodium; Vitamin A, B6, Manganese, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), C, E, Pantothenic acid, Copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium

CRANBERRY APPLE CRISP

Yield: 8 servings

View Online with Photo: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/876.shtml

Ingredients

Filling:

3 cups peeled, cored, sliced apples

2 cups fresh or frozen thawed cranberries

1 cup Equal Spoonful*

Topping:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup stick butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup Equal Spoonful**

* Substitute 24 packets Equal sweetener

** Substitute 12 packets Equal sweetener

Directions

For Filling, combine apples, cranberries and 1 cup Equal in an ungreased 10-inch pie plate.

For Topping, combine flour, pecans, melted butter and 1/2 cup Equal. Mix until well blended. Sprinkle flour mixture over apples and cranberries in pie plate.

Bake in preheated 350F oven 55 to 60 minutes or until fruit is tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 145; Protein: 1 g; Fat: 8 g; Sodium: 67 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Carbohydrates: 18 g; Exchanges: 1 fruit, 1-1/2 fat

CHOCOLATE-CRUSTED PUMPKIN PIE

This comes from the October 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 71. It starts off, "Tweak the holiday pie tradition with a chocolate crust and pumpkin filling that's thickened with cornstarch, not eggs." Makes 1 9-inch pie (serves 8)

This recipe can be viewed online here.

Crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 stick Earth Balance margarine, cubed

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Filling

1 1/2 cups Oven-Roasted Pumpkin Purée or 1 15-oz. can puréed pumpkin

1 cup almond milk

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

6 Tbs. Earth Balance margarine, melted

To make Crust: Pulse flour, cocoa, and confectioners’ sugar in food processor until combined. Add margarine, and process until mixture resembles sand. With processor running, add vanilla and 3 to 4 Tbs. cold water, and process until smooth dough forms. Chill 2 hours.

Roll out dough to 11-inch circle on floured work surface. Press into 9-inch pie pan. Chill 30 minutes.

To make Filling: Drain pumpkin in mesh strainer over bowl 30 minutes.

Combine almond milk and lemon juice in bowl. Whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves in bowl. Whisk in almond milk mixture, then pumpkin and margarine.

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Place Crust on baking sheet, top with parchment paper, and fill with dried beans to weigh down. Reduce oven heat to 350˚F, and bake Crust 10 minutes. Remove parchment and beans, and bake 5 minutes.

Pour Filling into Crust, and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until Filling is bubbling in center. Cool completely before serving.

nutritional information Per Slice: Calories: 377; Protein: 3 g; Total Fat: 20 g; Saturated Fat: 8 g; Carbohydrates: 47 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 361 mg; Fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 24 g; Vegan

VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

I’d been making lasagna for years, using a favorite cookbook. One time, my oldest son took the same recipe, and replaced the meat with eggplant. His came out tasting better than when I made it.

I tried recreating the eggplant version, but it never quite came out the same. So, I ended up changing the recipe drastically, changing ingredients and amounts. The funny thing is that, while I use one or two packages of tofu crumbles instead of meat, it tastes enough like meat to fool several non-vegetarians. One person, after eating this, even looked at me aghast, asking, “What are you, some kind of vegetarian?” Never heard from him again.

Tomato sauce:

2 – 3 onions, chopped

3 – 5 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz. can tomatoes

2 – 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

2 – 6 oz. cans tomato paste

2 T oil

1 T oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. dill

1 tsp. anise

1 or 2 – 10 oz. package tofu crumbles

Brown onions & garlic in oil. Add remaining ingredients, stir well, simmer for 1 hour. While sauce is cooking, in a separate pot, cook 16 oz. lasagna noodles & make cheese layer.

Cheese layer:

2 C sour cream

2 C cottage cheese

2 eggs

4 C mozzarella, grated

2 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 C Parmesan cheese

Mix ingredients together in large bowl.

Assemble:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In 9” X 13” pan, place half the cooked lasagna noodles length-wise. Top with half the cheese mixture, then half the tomato sauce. Repeat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before cutting, as it tends to be a little runny when it first comes out of the oven. Serve with a salad and a loaf of hot Italian bread. Very yummy.

TURKEY POT PIE

This is from a long-forgotten emailing list. Great for after next week's leftovers. Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed under cold water

5 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 3/4 cups turkey or chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2 1/2 to 3 cups diced cooked turkey or chicken

Pastry for 9-inch two crust pie, prepared or purchased

Preparation:

Drain peas and carrots; set aside. Heat butter in 2-quart saucepan over low heat until melted. Stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat then stir in broth and milk. Place back on heat; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in turkey and vegetables. Prepare pastry. Roll 2/3 of the pastry into a 13-inch square; ease into ungreased 9-inch square pan. Pour turkey mixture into the pastry-lined pan. Roll remaining pastry into 11-inch square; cut out designs with small cookie cutter. Place square over filling; turn edges under and crimp. Bake in 425° oven until golden brown, about 35 min.