Broccoli with Ground Turkey Spanakopita

My kitchen is in serious broccoli overload right now...our CSA has been blessing us with loads of the delicious green vegetable these past couple of weeks, and I have been having fun experimenting with new ways of using it. Yesterday I came across a recipe for Broccoli Spanakopita that I thought sounded like a tasty starting point and jumped right into creating my own by tweaking it and adding a few other ingredients.


Start by chopping garlic, onion and broccoli. Then sauté it in a pan for around 10 minutes until slightly soft. Remove from pan and place in a large bowl to cool. Add a dash of salt and pepper - to taste. In the same pan cook your ground turkey with seasonings. Once cooked add into the same large bowl that the broccoli mixture is in. Stir to combine. Once slightly cooled (no longer steaming) add in your eggs and 3/4 cup feta until all is fully mixed together.

Lay one filo sheet down on a flat surface and paint with melted butter. Lay an additional sheet on top of the first and then put 2-3 tablespoons of your turkey broccoli feta mixture and roll up.

 Brush tops of spanakopita with butter and then place seam down on baking sheet. Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 400F flipping halfway through so that filo browns/crisps evenly. Makes ten spanakopita.

Recipe

preheat oven to 400F

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 onion diced (I used a red onion)

3 cloves garlic minced

1 lg head broccoli

salt and pepper

1 lb ground turkey

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

dash of red pepper flakes

3/4 cup crumbled feta

2-3 eggs

20+ filo dough sheets - Some of the spanakopita I wish I'd have wrapped one more sheet around to have a more even outer shell.

melted butter - for basting on filo sheets

**Directions written into text above. Enjoy!!

Recipe adapted from Steamy Kitchen

Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble

   

 Do you have a food that just makes you happy when you eat it? I do...Butterscotch. But that is for a totally different post! Ha! :) Today I want to share with you a recipe using another of my happiness foods, rhubarb. I'm not sure why it is that rhubarb puts such a smile on my face; perhaps it is because it was such a part of my childhood, or perhaps it's because for me it's been so hard to come by now that I don't live anywhere near where it grows. (Although I am trying to grow some here in Texas....my husband thinks I'm crazy but so far it's still living!!) Regardless rhubarb to me speaks of summer, family, friends and of good good times.

 

My little rhubarb plant!

Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble

 Filling:

¾ cup  brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1 Tbsp cornstarch

4 cups chopped Rhubarb

2 cups chopped strawberries

1 Tbsp Orange or Lemon Juice (can also add 1 tsp zest if you'd like)

Crumble:

1 cup quick oats

1 cup flour

½ cup melted butter

½ tsp cinnamon

½ cup brown sugar

dash of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix together your brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger & cornstarch. Once mixed add in the rhubarb, strawberries and orange/lemon juice and stir until combined. Place in 11x17 pan, or a similar cake pan that has been oiled.

 In a separate bowl mix together your oats, flour, cinnamon, brown sugar and salt. Add in the melted butter and stir until mixture is well combined. Spread the crumble evenly over the top of your rhubarb strawberry mixture and bake for 40-50 minutes or until edges start to bubble and crumble is golden brown. Eat warm, cold, at room temperature, alone, with ice cream, cream or in any manner that adds happiness to your life and belly. :)

Strawberry Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Why hello there... Yes, yes...I know it's been a while, a loooooong while. These past couple of weeks I've started getting the itch to start blogging again about the food I've been creating. So here I am. I don't promise that I will post weekly, but I will keep posting...

My overall hope and goal is that you my reader will read my blog posts and the recipes within them, take them and recreate them in your kitchen. Please make them your own and share them with your family and friends!!

This recipe is a fabulous one for using up bananas! I am always trying new ways to use my overripe bananas and this one is a keeper.  It is quick and easy to put together; everything is thrown in the same bowl, mixed together and done before you know it! Try it out...I think you'll find it is not only a wonderful day to day treat,  but it is also a great dessert to take to a gathering or brighten someone's day with.

Strawberry Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

**Makes two 9inch round cakes or one 9x13 sheet cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened or 1/2 cup unsalted butter & 2 heaping tbsp non-fat greek yogurt
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp rum (optional)
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (aprox. 3 bananas)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 lemon & zest of (can substitute 2 tbsp lemon juice)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup diced strawberries

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 8oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened
Powdered Sugar - to desired consistency
optional - 1 tbsp. rum or milk or 1/2 & 1/2


Preheat oven to 325 F and spray two nine inch rounds with PAM baking spray, or line with parchment paper and lightly grease.

In a mixer or bowl put the sugar, butter, vanilla and rum in and cream together. Also add in the yogurt if using (I find by using the yogurt it make a slightly denser cake but still tastes just as good). Add in the eggs, mashed bananas and lemon juice and zest. Mix well.

Add in the flour, baking soda and salt and stir to combine and then add in the milk while stirring. Mix until smooth. Fold in the strawberries and then pour half into each pan.

Bake for approximately 60 minutes but begin checking at 45 for doneness. Depending on your oven it may take more or less time. Cake is done when tester comes out clean or when cake slightly bounces back when lightly pressed on in middle.

Take cakes out of oven and as soon as possible out of their pans. Place on a drying rack sitting on their parchment paper or on a silpat mat which works great as well. Place in freezer for 30 mins (I flip the cake at 15), and then remove from freezer and allow to cool completely before icing.


To make the cream cheese frosting combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla & rum/milk/1/2 & 1/2 (if using) and beat until smooth. Add enough powdered sugar for your desired consistency and taste! (I usually end up using at least 3 cups)

Frost and top with fresh berries and almond slivers if desired. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Recipe adapted from thekitchen.com

Banana Buttermilk Pancakes

      Almost every Saturday since we've been married, minus a few random ones, and the ones that we've been traveling/moving I've made my husband pancakes. He is a pancake fiend....at least for my pancakes. :) 

For that very reason...that he loves MY pancakes....they don't get old to make. In fact I really love making them...just to see him smile and devour them! Doesn't hurt that they are healthy and delicious as well!! No added Sugar or Oil in them!!

Any of the left overs I let cool, spread out on a cooling rack, and then place in a airtight container or two to a ziplock bag, then into the refrigerator they go. During the next few days I make pancake sandwiches out of them...if they are for a breakfast to go I toss two of them into the toaster to heat up, and then spread peanut/almond butter on them and place fruit (bananas or strawberries or blueberries or a mixture of the all) in the middle and wrap it up in a paper towel to be eaten on the way to work. If they are for a snack later I do the same minus the toasting part and place them in a ziplock. Yummy!! I dare you to try them sometime soon!

Banana Buttermilk Pancakes

makes about 12 pancakes

 Separate Bowl                                                                                                

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour                                                                                       

1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour                                                 

1/2 Cup Oats                                                                        

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder                                                                        

1/2 tsp Baking Soda                                                                   

Dash Salt                                                                                      

             

Mixing Bowl

1 Egg, Beaten  

2 Ripe Bananas, smashed with fork

1 1/2 to 2 Cups Buttermilk  or (5 Tbsp Buttermilk Powder & 1 1/2 to 2 Cups Skim Milk)

Optional Additions

Chopped Walnuts, Pecans,  &/or any other fruit (I love adding in blueberries!)

1. Sift Flours, B. Powder, B. Soda, and Salt together.
2. Combine Egg, Bananas & milk. Stir dry ingredients into liquid until just combined. Fold in any additional ingredients.

 Pre-heat griddle or large skillet over medium heat and grease lightly. Pour even amounts of pancake batter onto griddle and allow to cook until tops of pancakes are bubbly; turn over and cook until light brown.      

We use plain or vanilla yogurt & fresh fruit on our pancakes, but I promise they are equally delicious with peanut butter, syrup or any of your favorite toppings!!           

                                                 

My husband helping with the fruit topping/decorating. :)

Strawberry Yogurt Oat Scones

 Strawberries are in season around here right now, and I've been buying at least a few pints every week for the past month. The last pint in the fridge was ready ready for the eating so I thought I'd make some fresh strawberry scones. 

For a long time I thought that scones were "fancy food", food you only ate at teas or showers or in sophisticated coffee shops. The older and wiser I get the more I'm realizing that foods that I may have previously deemed "fancy only" are really only just foods...foods that if I want to I can make or buy and eat at any time! So..if you've ever thought that scones were a food only to eat on special occasions, think again! They are actually quick, easy and a delicious breakfast or of course great when hosting a tea party/shower. :)

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup oats
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ cup brown sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
⅓ cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 egg, lightly beaten for egg coating

Lemon Icing
Juice of 1 lemon
Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 400F.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or baking sheet.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, sugar, and lemon zest. Add the cubed butter and use a fork blend to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it is the size of small beans. Add the yogurt and strawberries and stir with a wooden spoon gently until just mixed together. Do not over mix!!

Lightly flour a surface and place the ball shaped mixture on it. Softly press it into a square about 2 inches thick. Cut into 8 triangle shaped scones. Place onto baking sheet and  brush with beaten egg coating. Bake until golden brown, about 15-17 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack if you can!! :) Drizzle the lemon glaze on top of scone & enjoy!!

Scones are really best the day that they are made but they’ll keep for a few days in an airtight container. ENJOY!!

YUMMY!!

Adapted from Completelydelicious.com

Quick & Healthy Granola Bars...

In my opinion people spend WAY too much money buying store bought granola and granola bars. Yes, I'm guilty too...it's pretty easy to just snag a box of granola bars off the shelf at the grocery store. A few months back however I decided to give making granola bars a go...I figured they couldn't be that hard to make, and I could probably create some that were even healthier than the ones I purchased at the grocery store. With this recipe you can make up to two dozen bars!

These granola bars are great as an on the go snack, or in your lunch; my husband wants at least one in his lunch bag each day! You can crumble them up and mix them in with some yogurt and fruit for a quick and healthy breakfast, or over ice cream for dessert. I've given them to friends who are pregnant/have a new baby, for a quick healthy bite to eat when they really need one. My hunger strikes usually right after the gym or while I'm running errands so I've started carrying one in my purse so my blood sugar doesn't plunge, or worse that I decide to buy something quick to eat while I'm out. (Which usually means something not very good for me!) The possibilities are endless!

Quick & Healthy Granola Bars

Work time: 15 min
Total time: 3 hrs (includes cooling time)

Lightly spray a 9x13in baking pan and line with parchment paper! (This is a must do step!)
Preheat Oven to 350F.

Mix together the following ingredients on a rimmed baking tray. Toast in oven for 10-12 min, stirring once.

2 Cups Whole Oats
1 Cup Sliced Almonds or  Chopped Walnuts/Pecans
1 Cup Shredded Coconut
1/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds or Pumpkin Seeds
2 TBS. Sesame Seeds

While the dry mixture is in the oven mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl together.

1/2 Cup Agave Syrup or 3/4 Cup Maple Syrup (Agave syrup will make them chewy/ Maple Syrup will make them crunchier).
2 TBS. Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Dried Cranberries or any other Dried Fruit of your choice (I've used Strawberries, Apricots and Dates so far!)

Once toasted remove from oven. Turn oven down to 300F.

Mix all the ingredients together really well, and then place in parchment lined baking pan. Press mixture firmly down with the back of a spatula around the bottom of the pan until the top is even.

Bake 25-30 min. until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack for 2 hrs. Grab the edges of the parchment paper and gently remove it from baking pan. Slice into bars & place into bags or cling wrap.  Enjoy!

Recipe Adapted from The Good Neighbor Cookbook

Banana bread with love...

It has been entirely too long since I've posted. These past almost 9 months have been like a roller coaster health wise, and I finally feel like it's changing to a fairly smooth ride again. Yay!! Today I decided that it was time to start writing on my blog again...and since I haven't written in a while I decided I'd start with something that makes me feel loved and happy!

I have been eating banana bread since the earliest I can remember. My mother use to make it religiously when I was a child. She'd pack it in my lunch (yes I know now that I was spoiled) with a little butter smeared in-between two slices and no matter when, or what time I ended up dragging it out of my school bag it just made life a little better. It was perfect for a mid school day snack, as a pick me up either between school and whatever sport practice I was practicing for, or as something to tide me over on my way home from said practice.

Nowadays I make it myself...not near as often as my mom did but often enough to make my hubby happy. It's my go to procrastination baking food...yes, I I'll admit it I love love to bake when I should be doing something else. Especially when I should be packing. :)  In my defense though, it is a great food to travel with! One way or the other....there is just something about the smell of it baking that makes me smile, and puts me in a better mood than I was before.


Banana Bread with love
Heat Oven to 200C or 350F

1 1/2 C.  Whole Wheat Flour
1 C. Whole Oats
1 C. All Purpose Bread Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg/ginger/cloves

3/4 cup brown sugar 
3 eggs or 4 egg whites
dash of vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt/applesauce/vegetable oil (your decision)
3 to 4 ripe/mashed bananas
1/2 to 1 cup skim/low fat milk or buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans/walnuts) - optional

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips - optional but oh so delicious!!

Directions
1. Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl

2. In a separate mixing bowl mix together wet ingredients

3. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture just enough to combine. Do not beat. Fold in chopped nuts (walnuts are wonderful) &/or choc. chips (1/2 cup) if desired.

4. Mixture should be slightly runny, too thick and your bread will end up dry. I usually start with a half cup milk and add a bit more if needed after ingredients are mixed together.

5. Spray 3 bread loaf pans, 4-5 mini loaf, or 24 muffin pans, and bake in oven for 45min to 1 hr. If baking in muffin pans it should take around 30 min. Toothpick should come out clean when checking loaves.

6. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then cool completely on wire baking rack. Store lightly covered (towel on counter) or in refrigerator. Can also be frozen for up to 1 month. If freezing, cool completely, wrap in foil and then place in airtight plastic bag in freezer. Enjoy!!