Falafel with Mint Yogurt on Pita Bread

To save our grocery budget and our waistlines a little, we have been eating a few more vegetarian meals recently. So last night we made falafels. Which are really good but even better with warm pita bread and a mint yogurt.

Falafel

Ingredients:

2 cans chickpeas (garbonzo beans) - or 2 cups of cooked and drained chickpeas
1 onion, minced
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 egg
1/3 cup of the liquid from the canned chickpeas (or 1/3 cup of the cooking liquid) - may not be needed
Oil to fry the falafel

Using a food processor, mash the chickpeas. Remove to a large bowl, add the onion and mix well. Set aside.

Start heating the oil, you will need about 1 inch in the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium heat until it is about 375 degrees.

In a small bowl combine the breadcrumbs with all of the spices. Pour into the bowl with the chickpeas and mix well. Add the egg and stir to combine. If the mixture is too dry, add the reserved liquid a little at a time until you have a mixture that holds together (much like meatballs). If the mixture holds together well without the liquid, do not add it.

Using your hands, shape the mixture into 1 inch balls.

 
Gently place the balls in the oil and fry until they are browned on all sides.

Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.

Serve wrapped in warmed pita bread with mint yogurt (recipe below) and chopped lettuce and sliced tomato.

Mint Yogurt

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (we prefer the vanilla)
fresh mint, diced, to taste (you can also used dried, just allow time for the herb to "moisten" in the yogurt - about 20 minutes)

In a small bowl combine the yogurt and the mint. Spread onto the pita just before adding the falafels.

Baked Ziti with Garlic Bread

In the winter, I love just about anything that cooks in the oven. So the last night we had baked ziti. I also enjoy baked ziti for another reason, it can be prepared ahead of time and then just put in the oven to bake when you're ready for it.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

1 box ziti (16 oz), cooked according to package directions, drained
1 box frozen spinach (optional, add to the ziti in the last 2 minutes of cooking)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese (divided into 1-1/2 cups and 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

(Cooking the ziti and spinach)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a 13x9 casserole dish with olive oil (or spray with non-stick spray).

Pour 1/2 of the jar of spaghetti sauce into the pot with the prepared ziti (and spinach). Stir well to combine.

Pour half of the ziti with sauce into the prepared casserole dish. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine all the cheeses (except for the 1/2 cup of mozzarella).

Using a teaspoon, spoon the cheese mixture onto the ziti in the casserole dish. Use all the cheese mixture and cover the ziti.

Pour the remaining ziti over the cheeses. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the top of the whole pan of ziti (spreading with a wooden spoon as necessary). Sprinkle the top with the reserved mozzarella.

Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serve with a salad and garlic bread.

Garlic Bread (our favorite!)

Ingredients:

1 loaf of French or Italian bread cut in half, lengthwise
garlic butter (you can buy prepared garlic butter or make your own - recipe to follow)
dried parsley
smoked paprika

Spread the bread with the garlic butter.

Sprinkle with the parsley and paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes, or until the butter is melted and the crust is crispy.

Garlic Butter

1 stick of margarine
5-10 cloves of garlic, crushed (depends on taste, we like garlic so we use all 10 cloves)

Place the margarine and the garlic in a microwave safe dish and cover with a paper towel. Microwave on high for 30 seconds (or more, until the margarine is melted). Allow to sit in the microwave for 10 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the microwave and carefully remove the garlic from the bowl. Cover the margarine and put in the refrigerator to re-harden.

Once hardened it can be easily spread onto the bread.

Macaroni and Cheese with a Kick

We really do like simple dinners and macaroni and cheese is a favorite. But after awhile macaroni and cheese starts to taste bland and boring. So, my 10 year old and I kicked up the macaroni and cheese and took it to another level and it was GREAT!

Ingredients:

1 box (8 oz) elbow macaroni, cooked according to the package directions
2 cups frozen broccoli (add to the macaroni during the last 2 minutes of cooking)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp margarine
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
3 Tbsp margarine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garam marsala
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground ginger
dash of ground black pepper
3 Tbsp flour
3 cups coconut milk (or regular milk)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray or lightly coat with olive oil.

In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, 2 Tbsp margarine, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese and smoked paprika. Mix with your fingers until the margarine is blended in well. Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the 3 Tbsp of margarine. Add all the spices (salt to ground black pepper) and whisk to combine. Allow to cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour until all the fat has been absorbed. Add the coconut milk and whisk to prevent lumps from forming. Stir until the consistency has thickened slightly. Then add the 2 cups of shredded cheddar. Stir until the cheese has melted.

Pour the cheese sauce into the pot with the macaroni and broccoli. Stir well to combine.

Then pour the macaroni and cheese into the prepared casserole dish.

Sprinkle the top with the breadcrumb and cheddar mixture that was set aside earlier.

Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

There's a little kick of spice but not so much that everyone is going to go running for a glass of water. All 3 of my children ate this and never once complained about the spice, and my oldest doesn't like anything with spice (you should see what I have to do to get him to eat chili).


This is a wonderful dinner when you want something fast, easy, inexpensive but with some flavor.

Enjoy!

Salmon and Spinach Pizza

Every once in awhile I like to treat my family to a dinner that is more "gourmet" than usual. Most days I try to keep a meal under $5.00 total. Today was a special day.

My kids and I worked really hard in the yard today. We had a tree fall a few weeks ago (it was half dead and needed to come down anyway). Since then we've been working on chopping it up into pieces that will fit in the wood stove (our main heating source in the winter time). Well, today, everyone went above and beyond. I did not even realize how much wood I had cut up with the chainsaw until my 10 year old yelled from the front of the house, where we stack the wood, "Mom! The wood pile's collapsing!" I ran around front to find the kids had piled the wood so high that the one end just gave away completely and 1/2 the wood pile was now un-piled.

So we had a hard day working in the yard. I decided tonight was a night to treat the family since everyone had worked so hard. To make the dinner even better, I let the kids eat at the card table in the living room and watch "The Princess and the Frog" while they ate.

In any case, the salmon and spinach pizzas were a hit! It also helps when there are so many part the kids can help with. From spreading the pizza dough to layering the toppings and sprinkling with cheese, there's a job for most any age.

Ingredients:

2 pizza crusts (you can get pre-made crusts, I bought the pizza crust mixes and made 2 of them - if you do make the crust, pre-bake them at 450 degrees for 5 minutes)
4 oz softened cream cheese
6 oz plain Greek yogurt
1 box frozen spinach, thawed, with all the water squeezed out
2 oz. smoked salmon (lox), chopped into small pieces)
1 red onion, sliced into rings
2 oz. Feta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray the pizza pans with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil. Place the prepared crusts on the pizza pans. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and yogurt and mix together until well blended. Spread 1/2 of the mixture on each pizza crust.

Spread the spinach over the cream cheese mixture, try to spread evenly over both pizzas. Do the same with the chopped, smoked salmon.Layer the rings of red onion on top of the salmon and spinach. Next, sprinkle the Feta cheese evenly over both pizzas.Finally, sprinkle the top of each pizza with 1/2 the mozzarella cheese.

 (The pizzas, prior to baking)

Place the pizzas on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes (check to make sure the bottom is done and crispy).

Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese.

(After baking)

All the kids enjoyed the pizza too. The onions may have been picked off by some but I didn't have any complaints. But then, my kids are used to different foods being fixed and placed on the table. In any case, this is definitely going to be a repeat for another special day! So I'm glad I typed out exactly what I used to make this before I forget.

Apple-Cinnamon Overnight Oatmeal

This turned out wonderful! Again, I did not make it too sweet. I figure if someone wants it a little sweeter, they can add sugar to taste.

Ingredients:

3 cups water
1 cup milk (or the non-dairy milk of your choice, I used coconut milk - yum!)
1 cup steel cut oats
1 can apple pie filling
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Generously spray the slow cooker with non-stick spray (or olive oil). Add all the ingredients, stir, cover and set on LOW. Cook for 8 hours. (8 hours is the best, 9 hours is pushing the end time, anything past 9 hours and you get a goopy, icky mess)

It is so wonderful to wake up in the morning to an already cooked and still hot breakfast. These are so easy to fix as well. The kids love it!

You can fix this up a little more int he morning by adding cream or a dash of sugar (mmm, brown sugar would be nice), some maple syrup, or an extra sprinkling of cinnamon sugar, or maybe even some raisins. The possibilities are endless.

(The apple-cinnamon oatmeal before anything was added. I did add a dash of cinnamon sugar and it was wonderful!)

Slow cooking for Breakfast

We have been exploring the use of our slow cooker to wake up on these chilly (or flat out cold) fall/winter mornings to a nice hot meal, without having to get up extra early to prepare.


We now have quite a few recipes for slow cooker oatmeal that have turned out wonderful!

Being fall time we like to enjoy the fruits of the season, pumpkin and cranberry are featured prominently at this time of the year. So to begin our exploration of slow cooker oatmeal... Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oatmeal

Ingredients:


1 cup steel cut oats (Has to be steel cut, all other forms of oatmeal will turn to complete mush - steel cut can be fond really cheap at more natural food stores for much less than any other but if you have no other choice, Quaker has steel cut oats and they are usually hiding in the oatmeal section of the grocery store)
1 cup milk (you can use regular milk, I used almond milk and it turned out really good)
3 cups water
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (from a can is fine)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Spray the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil. (This is VERY important, I forgot to do this and the clean up was awful LOL)

Combine the oats, milk, water, pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves and brown sugar in the crock pot. Mix well. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours (8 hours is the best, 9 hours is the maximum for this, any longer and you get a gelatinous mass of goo).

Stir well before serving. Add the walnuts and raisins if desired.

Makes 4-6 servings.

There are lots of things you can add once this is finished cooking. I added a splash more almond milk and a pat of butter to mine and it was delicious! Liam added a dollop of maple syrup. Ascher added just a touch of butter.

I tried not to make this too sweet, that way everyone could adjust it to their taste once it was finished but we weren't all subjected to overly sweet oatmeal. But the hard part is already done, the oatmeal is cooked and hot and ready to eat first thing.

Tonight I am setting up the slow cooker with an apple-cinnamon overnight oatmeal. We'll see how it turns out!