Greek Mason Jar Salad

So I’ve seen a lot of pins for mason jar salads and finally decided to try it. The principle is that all of the ingredients are layered in the jar to keep everything as fresh as possible.

Source: backonpointe.tumblr.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Source: foodiggity.com via Samantha on Pinterest

When I would make lunch salads before, they were pretty boring (lettuce, cheese and dressing) and I would assemble them each morning. Mason jar salads let me make them all on Sunday and just grab a jar each morning.

Last week I started out basic- (layered from the bottom up) ranch, cucumbers, avocado (in lemon juice to stay fresh), onion, a cut up tomato/basil/mozzarella cheese stick, lettuce and sprouts.

This week I got a little more advanced and made up a Greek mason jar salad.

Layered from the bottom up:

Homemade tzaziki

Chickpeas

Cherry tomatoes

Onions

Olives

Lettuce

Feta

Store in fridge in jars, grab in morning, dump onto plate at lunch.

I’ve pinned some other ideas for Mason jar salads and can’t wait to try them out (might try a cob next week). Tried them? Have a good one I haven’t thought of or seen??

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Chickpea Pot Pie with Cornbread Crust

I really love this meal, and John even prefers it to a lot of things I make. This is meat-free, making it pretty darn cheap, and it comes together quickly with things we have in the pantry. It is a great standby. I usually make the recipe early in the week and then use the second portion for dinner later in the week when I get home late. Serve with broccoli or something else green!


Chickpea Pot Pie with Cornbread Crust
as seen on Prevention RD

(I am showing the portions as I have adapted them to make 4 servings. 7 WW points plus each.)

Filling:
1 cup sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (I usually use 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes and call it a day)
1/4 cup carrots, diced
1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/8 cup whole wheat flour
7 oz low-sodium vegetable broth
7 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (half of a can- sometimes I roast the other half of the can to snack on)
1/4 cup frozen baby peas
1/8 tsp kosher salt
cracked pepper, to taste
dash of Tabasco sauce

Crust:
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup fat free milk
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large egg yolk, slightly beaten

Boil the potatoes and carrots until tender but not soft and set aside, about 7-8 minutes.
Spray 4 ramekins with cooking spray. (You can also use a casserole dish- 1.5 qts or larger.)

For the filling, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the 1/8 cup flour and mix. Slowly pour in the vegetable stock whisking well with a wire whisk. Still using the whisk, cook the mixture over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the chickpeas, peas, cooked potatoes and carrots, salt, pepper to taste, and Tabasco. Cook on medium heat until the mixture is heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Distribute the filling into the prepared casserole dish, spreading evenly or divide evenly among ramekins.

Preheat oven to 400 F.
 
For the crust, in a bowl combine the cornmeal, 1/3 cup flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the milk, oil, and egg yolk. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until uniform but a bit lumpy. Spoon the batter evenly over the filling.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 22 to 25 minutes for the casserole and 10 to 12 minutes for the ramekins. Yield: 4 servings (about 1 1/3 cup each).

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Quinoa Radish Salad

When we were in St.Lucia.. sigh.. I miss St.Lucia- let's have a picture to reminisce, eh?

Ahh..

Anyway.. when we were in St. Lucia, our Bed & Breakfast owner cooked us dinner a couple of nights. The salad she served with one of the meals blew me away. If it hadn't been rude to refuse I probably would have, but I figured I'd give it a try. SO GLAD I did. This quinoa salad is a similar take on the radish/cucumber/dill salad that Ellen served us in paradise.(Should say served me- John was not afraid of refusing. Well.. he was, and made me eat his portion.)

You can basically sub whatever you want into or out of the salad, and I've added quinoa to it to provide a little extra protein to carry me through the day. I made a big batch on Sunday and then portioned it out for lunch each day this week. Each serving size (portion shown true in the images) is only 7 Weight Watchers Points Plus. You're welcome.

Quinoa Radish Salad

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup water
1 bunch radishes, sliced thin
1 large cucumber, sliced thin
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced or cubed
1/2 small onion, diced
3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped up
6 oz feta (I like the garlic & herb one)
1 tsp olive oil
sea salt

Rinse quinoa in strainer and add, with the water, to a small saucepan. Bring the water to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer until the water is absorbed (approximately 10 minutes). Fluff up the quinoa with a fork.

Combine all of the veggies, dill, olive oil and feta with the quinoa. Season with sea salt to taste.

Serves: 3 (approx. 1/2 cup of quinoa and 1/3 of the veggies per serving)

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Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Pita Pizzas with Goat Cheese

Longest name ever, but so worth it. I had goat cheese to use up, John was out for supper, lots of onions from the farmer's market.. it was the perfect storm.

These pizzas are not too bad for you! I made mine with whole wheat pitas and actually the rest of the ingredients are real food also. They come out to about 8 Weight Watchers Points Plus each- I had two.

Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Pita Pizzas with Goat Cheese
Makes two pizzas

1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, sliced thin
pinch of table salt
1 tsp olive oil
8 oz baby bellas, sliced
pinch of rosemary
2 oz soft goat cheese
2 whole wheat pitas (small)

-Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

-Melt the butter over medium low heat and add the onions. Sprinkle the salt on top of the onions and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened. Turn the heat down to low and continue stirring until the onions start to turn a golden brown around the edges. You can continue cooking and stirring the onions until they are completely caramelized and golden all the way through, but I like mine with a little substance, so I took them off at the almost caramelized point. Set the onions aside once they are cooked.

-Add the olive oil to the same pan that you cooked your onions in. Add mushrooms and rosemary to the olive oil and stir to coat. Cook over medium low, again stirring frequently. Once the mushrooms soften, remove from the heat.

-Place the pitas on a cookie sheet. Spread/crumble the goat cheese over the top of each pita. On top of the goat cheese layer the onions and then the mushrooms.

-Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes, just enough to warm the pita and get the cheese a little melty and warm. Serve warm.

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Stuffed Portabellas

YUM. Look at all of those veggies! Needless to say, John did not partake in this meal. This is super easy and quick to make, not to mention, super healthy!

Stuffed Portabellas

2 portabella mushrooms, outsides wiped with a damp towel and guts torn out to leave a shell
1 bag of fresh (or frozen) spinach
1 onion, diced
3 or so cloves of garlic, chopped up
1/4 cup or so of parmesan cheese

Over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with a tiny bit of olive oil. While this is happening, put the mushroom caps under the broiler for a few minutes (5-10). Once the onions are translucent, add ALL of the spinach. Toss the veggies a few times- all of the spinach will wilt pretty quickly & you want to make sure that you get all of it.

Pull the portabellas out of the oven and top with the spinach mixture. Top with a tiny sprinkle of parmesan cheese and stick back under the broiler until the cheese gets golden. Eat. Done and done.

**If you would like, you can marinate the mushroom caps before they go under the broiler. Sometimes I just toss them with a little Italian dressing. I am not a fan of balsamic vinaigrette, so I'm sure you could do that too.

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Stuffed Zucchini

This was delish. Even John didn't complain too much (which is AMAZING given the amount of veggies that this meal contained). I pretty much just used Annie's recipe. I used 97% fat free ground turkey in lieu of sausage. Also after I hollowed the zucchini, I sprinkled a little steak seasoning in the shell. I love some steak seasoning.


C&P from Annie's Eats:

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Ingredients:
1 zucchini, about 12 inches long (or 2 6-inch)
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
½ cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup mushrooms, chopped
1 lb. turkey sausage or ground turkey
2 tbsp. dry white wine
2-3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

Directions:
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides, leaving a shell about ¼-inch thick. Reserve about half of the insides.

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and reserved zucchini insides to the skillet and sauté another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in the sausage or ground turkey and cook until lightly browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cooked onion and mushroom mixture. Add the wine to the pan along with the tomatoes, basil and rosemary. Cook for 1 more minute. Drain of any excess fat, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Once the turkey mixture has cooled a bit, mix in the Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Fill the zucchini shells with the mixture. Fill a baking dish with ¼-inch of water. Place the filled zucchini shells in the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the zucchini from the pan and serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Simply Recipes

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Shrimp Fajitas

This is another of my "healthy" recipes- shrimp fajitas.

I marinated the shrimp (lime juice, cilantro, 3 cloves of garlic, a splash (less than a tsp) of olive oil, and a shake of red cayenne pepper) and then grilled them, along with an onion.

I plopped the shrimp, onions and a little bit of low fat sour cream in a flour tortilla and rolled it up. I only had one tortilla and then ate the rest of my shrimp and onions with a fork. It was really yummy and filling.

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Healthy Turkey Parm

As part of my quest to eat more naturally/healthier, last night we had a turkey parm. John actually made it since I wasn't feeling well after getting home from work.

This isn't anything special or fancy. We dipped turkey breasts into egg whites and then lightly breaded them. They breasts were baked until done (maybe 15 minutes at 350?). While the turkey was baking, John saute'd diced tomatoes (half of a can- fresh would be perfect too), half of an onion and some garlic. The juice from the tomato should be enough liquid for cooking that you won't need any oils. After the turkey is done, pour the tomato "sauce" onto the turkey and top with just a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. I had a side of green beans with this.

This was super filling and as you can tell, not "saucy"- the worst ingredient, I would say is the bread crumbs, possibly the parmesan cheese, and these were both kept to a minimum!

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