Spinach Smoothie

This is a scary thing to me. Spinach in a smoothie? That sounds, well....disgusting to me. The more I read about it, the more it sounded like maybe something that I would like try. I have read that it didn't taste spinach-y or taste off and it was even sweet. I have decided to go with your basic smoothie with a bit of spinach. Most recipes call for more spinach than this and this may be a good way to get your kiddos to eat their veggies, milk and fruit. Yes, we are Kroger shoppers XD.

Spinach Smoothie
1/2 frozen banana
6-8 small strawberries (frozen)
1/2 cup frozen spinach
1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt
sweetener to taste
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1 tbsp. ground flaxseed (optional)

Blend all until very smooth. Serve immediately.
You can't taste the spinach. I used Splenda this time, next time I will use honey.

Greek Pizza

I know, I know, I have already made this before....But it is so good and I was tired of napa cabbage. I needed a break from it, LOL! Napa Cabbage tomorrow, I promise! For the sauce, I did not have Alfredo sauce nor did I have Parmesan cheese, so I made the Bechamel Sauce recipe from Janet Is Hungry omitting the dijon mustard and sauteing one minced clove of garlic with the melted butter before adding the flour. As usual, I will be using my recipe for pizza dough made with 1 cup whole wheat flour and the rest AP. I have taken to using honey instead of the sugar called for but use your favorite (molasses, King Syrup, corn syrup, sugar....) sweetener. If you are in a hurry, feel free to use frozen and thawed pizza dough.

Saag Paneer/Palak Paneer

I have been wanting to try this for years, and I am just now getting around to trying it out. Cheese and spicy spinach in a cream sauce, how can you go wrong? I have read about this and was determined to make it, I was even going to attempt to make my own Paneer (which I have read is simple to do), but Chris and I went into Richmond and to the Indian Grocer and I got not one but two packages of Paneer (by mistake, they were stuck together) so I just hope that both of us like Paneer If you are vegan, use soy creamer or soy sour cream thinned out with soy milk and tofu. I decided to go with this recipe from Show Me The Curry. I also decided to go with sour cream instead of the whipping cream called for to save calories. I am using reduced fat paneer that I got from Laxmi  Palace (Indian Grocer). This seems like an easy enough recipe, we are eating the curry without chapatis or rice.

So how was it? OH my goodness, it is amazing! Now I am glad that I accidentally picked up two packs of Paneer! Spicy, creamy deliciousness! The Paneer was chewy cheesy deliciousness. This recipe was very authentic and tasted like something I would get from an upscale Indian Restaurant. Make sure that you soak the Paneer after you fry it, it makes it softer, and lightly squeeze the water out.

Veggie Potstickers

Chris and I love Veggie Potstickers. I was looking online for some dim sum recipes and I found this recipe, by  The Vegan Mouse which sounds simple and as an added bonus I have all of the ingredients on hand except for the Dark Mushroom Soy Sauce, which if you are on my Facebook you will know broke because the stupid bar that holds condiments in the door of the refrigerator came loose and the dark soy sauce shattered and oops-a-daisy, soy sauce all over the floor XD......And celery which I hate anyway and I am going to leave out. I am going to make this sauce recipe to go with them. I will be steaming my potstickers for about 10-12 minutes in my bamboo steamer. Below are the dumpling wrappers and the mixture before it went into the dumplings. I am getting Chris to help me with making these. LOL, I ended up making them. Make sure to line your steamer with cabbage leaves or spray with no-stick cooking spray so these don't stick. Bring a soup pot of water to a boil and sit your steamer filled with dumplings on top. The smell of the bamboo will be amazing! Chris was washing dishes (in the background). The verdict: delicious! They went great with the sauce.

Salmon Burgers (with cilantro), Creamed Spinach and Thai Tea

Chris loves these burgers. They are simple to prepare and for us 2 meals since it makes 4 patties. I use the frozen salmon from Kroger that comes in bags so don't feel that you have to get fresh salmon to make this burger. They come together pretty easy with the food processor. I pretty much make it the same as the recipe except today I will be using some chopped up onion since I am out of green onions and I use Panko Breadcrumbs since I love them. I use bottled lime juice for a recipe unless I need the zest, you can get a pretty decent sized bottle for cheap on the juice aisle, I do the same thing for lemon juice. I also skip the cucumbers because Chris hates them, feel free to put them on your burger. Make sure to get some crisp green leafy lettuce to put on this burger. I  like to toast the face of the burger buns, I think it makes the burger taste better. I have been meaning to make this burger for my in-laws, maybe the next time they come over I will.

I make my Thai Tea with this recipe, Cha Yen. I believe I have posted this before so I won't go into a lot of detail except to say that I follow the recipe exactly, and I use 1/4 cup loose tea for 2 servings/glasses of tea. I got this tea from Tan-A Supermarket in Richmond, VA. I would show you a picture of the package, but it was just a clear plastic sleeve.

Here is the creamed spinach recipe that I made to go with our dinner. I added 3 minced garlic cloves in with the onions.

And without further ado, here are the burgers..........

Spinach-Feta Fatayer

I used this recipe Spinach Fatayer and I made mine with a half of a (large) bag of frozen chopped spinach, 1.5 small chopped onion, sauteed on medium low until soft, then cook the spinach in with this, add salt and pepper and I threw in about 1/2 tbsp. of sumac and I also doubled the recipe. After I let this cool I added maybe 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (or you can leave it out). You can make them small like the recipe states or make them larger. They were really good, I will try them with a different dough recipe next time and maybe some vinegar instead of the lemon juice, but overall the filling is great. They are really good, but not like the ones I am used to buying at the Mediterranean Deli, the dough is more like pastry dough in this recipe, stay tuned as I try out different recipes :)

Ingredients:

• For the Dough:
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• For the Spinach Filling:
• 1/2 pound fresh spinach, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon ground sumac

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Add oil and begin to knead dough. Once oil is absorbed, add warm water. Knead into an elastic dough.

Shape dough into 2 inch diameter balls. Cover and set aside.

Preheat over to 425 degrees.

Wash spinach and soak spinach in salted water while you chop vegetables. Rinse spinach and dry thoroughly with paper towel.

Combine and toss filling ingredients.

Place 2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each ball of dough. Cover filling with dough and form into triangular shape.

Bake for 10-15 on greased baking sheet, until golden brown.

Allow to cool 5 minutes and serve immediately.

Tofu Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan)

I used this recipe to make these wonderful cookies...chewy and soft, just like bakery cookies and vegan also :)I was trying to find a recipe that was like a local bakery's recipe (Ellwood Thompson's) and this comes very close. Now I will give the rest of the cookies a good home with my neighbors. It calls for silken tofu, or you could also use soft tofu.

Also I wanted to share with you my recipe for calzones, while not vegan, tastes just as good without the added feta or can of course be made with vegan mozzarella.

Dough

1 cup warm water
1 pkg instant yeast
1 tsp. sugar or 1 tbsp corn syrup, molasses, king syrup or honey
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour or AP flour

Place water, yeast and sweetener of choice in large mixing bowl, let sit for 5 minutes for yeast to bloom. Add 1 cup wheat flour, stir. Stir in one cup AP or bread flour, stir to combine, mixing with hands if necessary. Turn out onto floured board, kneading in additional flour as needed, until elastic about 5 minutes. Set aside and cover with bowl until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes-1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Filling

1 pkg. (14 oz.) soft tofu or 12 ounces silken tofu, mashed
12 ounces thawed and drained frozen chopped spinach
garlic and onion powder to taste
Italian Seasonings to taste
1/2 diced onion, cooked in a little olive oil until tender
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese or shredded mozzarella
Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl.


Divide dough into 4 equal portions, roll out into 1/4" thickness, divide filling into 4 equal portions, seal each calzone and bake 25-30 minutes, until browned.

sauce
1 8 ounce can Hunt's Basil and Garlic sauce, warmed
1-2 tsp. sugar to cut acidity


One final recipe to share to today is a Chai Latte Recipe from Chef Deborah Wolfe of Vegsource. Delicious!

Chai Latte
3-4 chai tea bags cooked over very low heat in 1 cup soy milk (or other "milk" of choice)for about 5 minutes
1/4 cup powdered soy milk beverage
1-3 ice cubes
1-3 tbsp. sugar or other sweetener

Top off milk to come back up to one cup. Cool in fridge overnight. Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. ENJOY!!!!

Greek Pizza

I am surprised that I haven't posted this recipe before because it is something that I love to make and it is my best pizza. This dough also makes a very nice slicing bread. To make into slicing bread, follow directions, let rise for the 1-1.5 hours, punch down, fit into oiled bread loaf pan, cover and let rise for about another 1-1.5 hours until doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and cook around 30-45 minutes until golden and dough sounds hollow when tapped.

For the crust
1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees F)
1 pkg. instant yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. molasses, honey, corn syrup or golden syrup OR 1 tsp. sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2-2 cups bread flour

Place water in large mixing bowl, add sweetener of choice and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes, then add oil and salt. Stir. Add 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup bread flour. Stir to mix and turn out onto floured board, adding the remaining flour as needed. Knead for about 2-5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with mixing bowl for 1-1.5 hours or until doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out dough to fit an oiled pan, use a cookie sheet or pizza pan. If you use a small cookie sheet the dough will be really puffy and stay very soft. Cover with a tea towel for about 20-30 to rise one more time.

For the toppings (I never measure anything for this pizza beyond the crust recipe so use to taste or to cover crust)
1/4-1/2 cup Alfredo sauce
Italian seasonings, onion and garlic powder, parsley and red pepper flakes to taste
sliced or shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
sliced red onions, Roma tomatoes, red onions and sliced button mushrooms
crumbled feta or goat cheese
defrosted and drained spinach
pitted Kalmata olives or canned pitted black olives

Layer toppings as listed and cook 10-15 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheeses melted.