Veggie Tortilla Pizza

I guess this would really fall more under a food "idea" than a recipe, but I thought I'd share it anyway! This is a quick lunch idea, I actually ate it with the beet salad I posted yesterday, although it doesn't really need a side dish as it has enough veggies on it already. If you need a quick pizza fix with little guilt, try this out.

Veggie Tortilla Pizza

1 whole wheat tortilla
3 tsp. pizza sauce (or you could just use tomato paste if that's what you have.)
sprinkle of onion powder
sprinkle of Italian seasoning
1 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
zucchini, sliced thin
green pepper, chopped
red onion, sliced thin
grape tomatoes, quartered

Preheat oven to 400. Place tortilla on a foil lined cooking sheet, or a pre-heated pizza stone if you have one, for 3-4 minutes, just enough to get it a little crispier. Remove from oven and spread pizza sauce on tortilla, sprinkle half the cheese and the onion powder and Italian seasoning. Top with all the veggies. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and place back in oven for about 5-7 minutes, until veggies are cooked and cheese is melted.

You can use any veggies you want, this is just what we had in the refrigerator. You could also throw on some turkey pepperoni, or canadian bacon if you wanted to do a meat version. This is one of those great recipes to help you clean out your fridge!

Beet & Orange Salad

This is one of those recipes I've been wanting to try some version of for years. I used pre-cooked beets, but I eventually do want to roast my own. I just haven't been courageous enough to try it yet.

Roasted Beet & Orange Salad

1/2 lb. roasted beets
1 medium orange
2 tbsp. red onion
3 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Cut roasted beets into 1/2" cubes and place in bowl. Cut off peel of orange and cut out sections over the bowl with the beets, add red onion, set aside. In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over beet mixture and toss. This makes about 2-3 servings.

Potato Nachos

Here's another recipe I found in the Weight Watchers cookbook. I had the day off on Friday so I had a little more time to relax and experiment with some new recipes in the kitchen. I decided to make this one as a snack right before lunch. I highly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it as a lower calorie Mexican fix.

Potato Nachos

1 large baking potato, scrubbed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup shredded reduced-fat pepper Jack cheese
1 scallion, thinly sliced
Fat-free sour cream (optional)

Cut the potato crosswise into 3/8 " slices; arrange in a single layer in a microwavable dish. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap, then prick a few holes in the plastic to vent. Microwave on High until tender, about 6 minutes.

Sprinkle the tomato evenly over the potato slices and top with the beans, pepper Jack, and scallion. Microwave, uncovered, on Medium until the cheese melts, 1 1/2 - 2 minutes. Serve with sour cream, if using. This makes 2 servings.

The only thing I changed about this recipe is that I used black bean instead of pinto, because that's what I had in the cupboard.

Easy Crockpot Roast

I actually took this recipe from my sister (hope you don't mind Kailey!). When I was home visiting last October, she made the family lunch one afternoon and she had made this roast in the crockpot that was one of the best roasts I've ever tasted. I've made it once since I came home and another friend has made it, and I have all the ingredients to make it again this week, so you can see that it's become a definite favorite in our house!

Easy Crockpot Roast

1 large roast
1 envelope Italian Dressing Mix
1 envelope Ranch Dressing Mix
1 envelope Brown Gravy Mix
1 cup water

Mix the 3 powder mixes together and spread over both sides of roast, put into crockpot and cover with 1 cup of water. Cook in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours.

That's it, it's really that easy! You won't be disappointed in this dish, I promise you! I plan on serving mine this week with grilled polenta circles and roasted asparagus.

Lebanese Chicken and Pita Salad

I borrowed a couple of Weight Watchers cookbooks from a friend a few weeks ago and have tagged a bunch of the recipes to try out. This was one of those recipes, although, true to my cooking style, I made a few tweaks and additions. I brought this in to the ladies I work with for lunch and I believe they all enjoyed it and it made a nice, fresh tasting lunch!

Lebanese Chicken and Pita Salad

1 lb. thin-sliced chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
6 mini whole wheat pita breads, toasted
24 grape tomatoes, halved
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded and chopped
2 green onions
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup mint, chopped
3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 - 8.45 oz. can garbanzo beans (my addition)

Season the chicken with 1/4 tsp. of the salt and 1/8 tsp. of the pepper. Spray a large pan with non-stick spray. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until cooked through, about 5 minutes; transfer to a serving bowl. Set aside.

Tear the pitas into 1" pieces and add to the bowl along with the tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, mint, cilantro, lemon juice, oil, cumin, and the remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Toss to mix well.

Here's what I changed about the recipe: I omitted the mint (I'm just not a fan), and added some chopped parsley in its place and upped the amount of cilantro. To save time, I also used pre-cooked chicken from Trader Joe's which worked out pretty well. I had a small can of garbanzo beans in the cabinet, so I decided to add that in at the end just to bulk up the salad a little more. I also added about another 1/2 tsp. ground cumin and a splash more of lemon juice.

Houskeeping

If you've been visiting the site the last week or so you may have noticed some changes going on. I've been trying to work on a layout that I don't hate and have been changing my mind very often! So, I apologize for the annoyance of a constantly rotating background and layout, but I think I've settled on one for now - I'm still not convinced it will be the absolute final layout design, but I promise, for the next month or so, this is it!

Asparagus & Canadian Bacon Frittata

We had bought a large bunch of asparagus last week, but never ended up using it, so in trying to find a way to use up the asparagus, I decided to treat myself to a "nice" weekend breakfast on Sunday and made up this frittata. This happens to be my first attempt at a frittata and therefore, there are a few things I'd do differently, but for a frittata beginner I think I did alright.

Asparagus & Canadian Bacon Frittata

3 large eggs
3 egg whites
8-12 slices of canadian bacon, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup asparagus, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small red potatoes, sliced thin
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash Table Blend Seasoning

Combine the first 6 ingredients, whisk together and set aside. Saute onion, garlic and asparagus for 3 minutes in a 9" pan, or until tender, remove from pan and set aside. Arrange potato slices in a circle pattern around bottom of pan to form a crust. Let potato cook in pan for about 15 minutes per side until potatoes are cooked through and crisp. Layer asparagus and onion mixture over potato crust. Pour egg mixture on top and cover with lid and cook for 3 minutes, until almost set, sprinkle with Mrs. Dash seasoning. Remove lid and cover handle (or use oven safe pan) and broil in oven for 3 minutes, or until egg has set. Cut into 4 large pieces, or 8 small pieces.

The only thing I'd really change about this recipe is I'd use at least one more egg white, maybe two as the egg mixture was a little flat and barely covered the potato crust. I think adding 1-2 more egg whites would make it a little fluffier and cover more and wouldn't add that many more calories to the dish. I'd also try adding in another vegetable like red or green pepper. I think this recipe could be one of those one's that is easy to mix and match depending on what you have in the refrigerator.