ADORABLE Wonton Pizza Cups, Bagel Sandwich, and Roasted Potatoes with a Dip

Heh, yeah, I'm so behind on this blog, so I'm doing really BIG posts.  Whatever works, right?

Ok, so first up these wonton pizza thingies.  Man, they are the cutest thing I have eaten in for-ever.  I seriously mean that!  Ok, so they were a bit of trouble to put together in the pan, but I didn't really have much else to do that night so it was all good.  Plus, they were so full of flavour and different pieces that I didn't mind what work I did put into them.  Another plus was that there were 24 of them, so there were quite a number of leftovers.  They actually do smell like pizza when they bake, too, so that always such a treat.  What really shocked me was how much the tofu did really taste like ricotta cheese- it had just the right texture in this dish.  One thing about these, though, is you can't eat them with your fingers.. boohoo.

Next up, this lovely bagel sandwich.  I think I have it perfected now!  I have been wanting something different for my breakfast for quite some time now, so I decided today was the day!  Plus, I wanted a nice excuse to use my panini press, so this seemed like the perfect chance.  So, this takes about 5 minutes to throw together, and you can do other things while the bagel cooks.  I got my bagels from Einstein's- they're not homemade, but they coud be if I got ambitious.  They're slightly spicy from the fake sausauge, and sweet from the jam.  All for around 350 calories!  Yum...

Finally, these roasted potatoes.  The potatoes themselves are not a total ingenious thing, but, paired with the dip, they are something that I will certainly be making again when I'm in a pinch for time!  They are so simple to through together, and make a nice addition to any meal.  Leftover sauce is really good on baked potatoes, too.

Wonton Pizza Cups

Adapted from Chow Vegan

Makes 24

24 wonton wrappers          1 cup tomato sauce

1 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1/4 cup cheese

2 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
2-3 small carrots, coined

1 garlic clove, minced

8 oz tofu, pressed

10 basil leaves,

1 tbsp red wine

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375.

Heat a small frying pan, and sauté the mushrooms, carrots, and garlic until tender. Set aside.
Mix together the tomato sauce, molasses, and Italian seasoning in a bowl, and set aside.

Put the tofu, basil, wine, nutmeg, garlic powder, and salt and pepper in a bowl and blend with an immersion blender. Alternatively, put in a food processor or blender and blend. Blend until well mixed but not smooth and creamy- about the consistency of ricotta cheese. Set aside.

Coat 24 muffin tins with nonstick spray (I used a mini muffin tin) and press a wonton into each cup, like a liner. Put a dollop of the tofu mixture in each wonton, then a layer of veggies, and finally the sauce. Sprinkle with cheese, and then bake for about 12 minutes, until heated through and the wontons are slightly browned. Serve.

Bell Pepper and “Sausage” Bagel Sandwich

Adapted from Healthy Happy Life

Serves 1

about ¼ cup red bell pepper strips

1 soy sausage patty

1 bagel, cut in half

1 tbsp apricot sugar free jam, or other jam

Preheat your Panini press, and press the bell pepper and patty for 5 minutes. Spread the lam on both sides of the bagel, and then put the bell peppers and sausage on the bagel. Press the bagel for another 1-2 minutes, until heated through. Serve hot!

Roasted Potatoes with Spicy Dip

Adaptd from Gluten Free Diva

Serves 3-4

2 lbs potatoes, any kind, cut into ½ inch cubes

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup fat free mayo

½ tsp cumin

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp onion powder
¼ tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix together the potatoes, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a plastic container or bag, and spread on a baking sheet. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until tender.
Meanwhile, mix together the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
Serve cooked potatoes with the dip.

Green Flecked Potato Balls- Love 'Em!

These are absolutly amazing and fun to eat, not to mention super cheap and filling.  I'll admit, they do take a bit of work, but it's not all that time-consuming, it's just rather tedious.  What are these litte balls of goodness?  Well, it's potato, kale, and quite a bit of seasoning, all rolled in little balls.  Baked until they have a nice outer layer and become nice and puffy.  Great hot of cold.  What more could you ask for a lunch?  Plus, what I liked, too, was that I got exactly thirty.  It pleased my OCD.  Hehe...

Potato and Kale Puffs




Adapted from Fat Free Vegan
Makes 30

1 1/2 pounds potatoes cut into ½ inch cubes

1 small bunch kale

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp thyme

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 tbsp soymilk

2 tbsp corn starch

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the potatoes, and boil until tender, about 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375.

While the potatoes are cooking, stem the kale. Drain the potatoes, and then reheat your pan to sauté the kale. Cook the kale for 5 minutes, or until almost entirely wilted. Remove the kale with a slotted spoon, and then chop finely. Mash the potatoes, and then stir in the remaining ingredients. Shape the mixture into little balls, and then put on a baking sheet—you should have exactly 30…

Bake for 30 minutes, or when they have developed a nice firm outside, but are still soft inside.

Serve hot or cold.

Mini Sweet Potato Balls!

These are soooo cute!  Not to mention fun to make, and they taste fabulous, especially with a dipping sauce.  I was very happy to be able to use my treasured black sesame seeds in these- in fact, they are now over halfway gone.  Boo hoo... but anyway, it was so worth using the sesame seeds, because that added so much more to these delectible little finger foods.  The only down side is that I now am finding sesame seeds all over the floor, because they keep flying off the plates. Which is not really such a big deal, but still. 

Anyway, these taste great, and are good hot or cold, so they make a good lunch item for me, as well as a nice and filling side dish for dinners.

Sweet Potato Balls

Adapted from 175 Quick & Easy Chinese Recipes by Jenni Fleetwood

Makes about 28

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped, and boiled until tender
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garam masala or other curry powder
1 oz grated ginger root
1 cup whole wheat flour
Sesame seeds or poppy seeds, for rolling the balls in (about ½ cup)
Dipping sauce, to serve (I mixed up thick soy sauce, rice wine, and chili garlic sauce, which was excellent)

Mash the sweet potatoes, and then mix in the sugar, masala, ginger, and flour, until they are well blended. Roll into balls about 1 inch across, and then roll the balls in the seeds to coat. Put on a baking sheet, and repeat with remaining sweet potato mixture.
Preheat the oven to 375. Bake for about 12 minutes, until heated through. Serve with a dipping sauce.

Obession With Potato Pizzas?

Here's yet another potato pizza recipe.  I love these things- they are so good for my lunches, and fun to eat and make.  I love how the broccoli on these shriveled up to practically nothing, and became a sort of cumbly thing on top.  But, oh, these did taste really good.  I loved the cheese in place of the tomato paste, as it made a nice change.  I cannot say enough that I am so grateful to have discovered potato pizzas.  They are such a useful thing.
BTW: That's asparagus in the picture.  Yum yum!!

Cheesy Broccoli Potato Pizzas

Adapted from Happy Healthy Life

Serves about 8

2 large russet potatoes, sliced longways, 1 cm thick
1 1/4 cups broccoli florets
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Italian herbs, dried or fresh (thyme, basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage)
pinch of salt
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 415 degrees.
In a bowl, combine broccoli, vinegar, garlic powder, and herbs.

On a baking sheet, lay the potatoes out, and then top them with cheese. Add the broccoli on top of the cheese. Pop them in the oven for 35 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender.

Another Potato Pizza

Here's something new to try: a potato pizza.  These are a lot healthier than normal pizzas, and, I think, a lot better.  Plus they are more fun to eat.  This version was better  than the first type that I tried, and I would totally try several different variations on these.  And they are quick to throw together.  I loved taking them for lunches, too, because they traveled well.  The addition of a few spices to the veggies made all the difference to make this dish stand out.

 Potato Pizzas #2

Adapted from A Dash of Flavour

Serves 8

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 large baking potatoes, sliced the long way into flat pieces about 2/3 cm thick

1 small can tomato paste
1 small onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper
1 cup mushrooms, sliced

8 black olives, sliced
dried chilli flakes to taste

½ cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven 350.
Heat a small, frying pan over medium heat, and add the onion.  Sauté for 3 minutes, and then add the mushrooms and bell pepper.  After those are tender, about 5 minutes, add the cumin, coriander, garlic powder, and chili flakes. 

Put the potato slices on a baking sheet coated with nonstick spray, and then top them with the tomato paste.  Add the veggies, and then olives and cheese.  Bake for 35 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender.

Mini Potato Pizzas

These are so cute!  I got home kind of late when I wanted to make these, and yet I still had no clue how they were going to turn out.  And then I decided to make some last minute decisions about how to make the sauce - which, I have to say, saved me about 15 minutes of prep time.  I was really pleased with how these babies turned out, and they are really fun to eat and make.  I finally have found something that will serve as a pizza crust that I don't have regrets about eating.  Potatoes are one of the most amazing foods, I think. 

Another random tidbit that I found in the Taste of Home magasine that someone has given me a subscription to - appearently, black rice is even healthier than brown.  I guess I would buy that.  I just thought that was rather interesting, and now I feel like I should try it.  The really ironic thing, though, was that I saw that writeup in TOH, one of the least healthy magasines that I know.  Go figure.

Mini Potato Pizzas

Serves 4

Adapted from Practical Pasta and Italian by Fiona Biggs

1 large baking potato
1 cup crushed tomatoes
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 small can mushrooms, drained

½ cup skim mozzarella cheese, grated

Salt and pepper, to taste
Basil leaves, for garnish

Slice the potato into ¼ inch thick pieces, and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Mix the tomatoes, garlic and onion powder, and Italian seasonings in a small bowl.
Preheat the oven to 380.
Top the potatoes with the sauce, mushrooms, and cheese. Bake for 25 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the potatoes are tender. Serve, topped with basil leaves and salt and pepper.

Pumkin Seeds!

 

This is just a quick little recipe that I have made several times with the seeds from pumpkins.  Basically, all you do is chuck the seeds in a bowl with enough cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg to coat, and mix it all together.  Then roast the seeds in the oven for about half an hour at 325, until they are slightly browned.  Quite delicious.

And a word on the seeds- wash the stringy pumpkin bits off immediatly after you finish carving up the pumpkin.  That way it's a lot easier to get the strings off, and they have not dried on the seeds.  The clean seeds can wait in a container in the fridge for quite a while- I know atleast a day or two.

More Fall Recipes!

I feel like I have been doing so much cooking today.  They have all been really small and quick dishes, but it's been quite a creating-leftovers sort of day.  I'm kind of stocking up for next week... Which is going to be, I think, over the top crazy.  Which really stinks.  I want Thanksgiving holiday to be here so bad- I know both M and I are tired of the hectic lives we have.  But ever onward we shall go...

In the meantime, I whipped out another two delish things for dinner tonight.  Pumpkin dumplings, and tomato soup.  They were rather interesting, and, although they were nothing to rant and rave about, I was pleased with the day's results.

The soup is just tomato soup.  Nothing super special, unless you count the basil, but sometimes a person just really wants tomato soup.  It's a comfort food, I think.  I know M was especially grateful for the soup, as she has been rather sleep deprived.  And I just like tomato soup.  So there.

The dumplings were interesting, to say the least.  I think the filling took all of 3 minutes to mix together, and filling them took about half an hour.  I was so pleased with the results too, because I managed to use up all of our wonton wrappers and all the filling.  That never happens.  And so in the oven these went, where they developed a nice crispy shell.  I'm still trying to come up with a good sauce, but as of right now I think the best option would be apricot preserves watered down with something.  Milk, maybe?  Soy sauce?  Anyway, the pumpkin flavour was different from what M and I normally eat, and was a nice change of pace.  Although, I do have to say I didn't do all that neat of a job filling them, because the wrappers were being very breakable.

Ricotta-Pumpkin Dumplings

Adapted from Taste of Home

Makes about 40

15 oz can pureed pumpkin

1 cup skim ricotta cheese

Salt, to taste
40 wonton wrappers

Mix together the pumpking, cheese, and salt in a small bowl.  Spoon about 1/2 tbsp in a wrapper, wet the edges of the wrapper, and seal.  Place on a plate.  Repeat with remaining filling.  Freeze until frozen through, or you are ready to use.

For baking: Preheat the oven to 375.  Coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray, and place dumplings on sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned, crispy, and heated through.  Serve with dipping sauce.

Tomato Basil Soup

Serves 6

Adapted from Cooking Light

2 cups roughly chopped onion

2 cups roughly chopped fennel or leek

3-4 cloves garlic, roughly minced
4 cups vegetable broth (or 4 cups water and bullion cubes)
1 28 oz can tomatoes, any form (the original says diced, but whatever you have on hand works)
½ tsp thyme
2 tbsp fresh basil, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat. Sauté the onion for 3 minutes, and then add the leek or fennel and sauté for 3 more minutes. Add the garlic, and after two more minutes add the remaining ingredients except salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 35 minutes.

Remove from heat and blend with either a blender or immersion blender (how I would love one of these). Return the soup to the pot if necessary, and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Eggs N Potatoes

So, last night I attempted to use up the potatoes from the farm that I got two weeks ago.  Haha, I guess you could call them old new potatoes- they actually had some sprouts growing out of them.  Anyway, they weren't entirely used up, but I only have 5 to go!

I ended up making a traditional dish- rosemary potatoes.  I roasted about 5 cups of potatoes and 1 onion with a dry sherry and teryaki sauce dressing with a couple tsp of freshly chopped rosemary from the garden.  (I am proud to say that the plant is thriving dispite M and mine's incapability to grow anything!!)  The potatoes turned out great after sitting in the oven for half an hour or so on convection.

And for recipe number two:
A while back I had found a really neat recipe called Mini Wonton Quiches from none other than the Incredible Edible Egg website.  The company that runs that incredible edible egg campaign never ceases to amuse me, for some reason. 

I modified the recipe, making it healthier and vegetarian friendly.  They actually turned out very photogenic, and so adorable!  Not to mention they tasted good, too.  I don't imagine that they would keep very well as leftovers, but they sure are easy to make, and the amount of servings is very easy to manipulate.

Mini Wonton Quiches

4 servings, 140 calories each

Adapted from the Incredible Edible Egg website

Ingredients

• 16 wonton wrappers
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup veggie burger crumbles (I bet you could also use tofu)
• ¼ cup green onion, chopped fine
• ¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped fine
• ¼ cup carrot, chopped fine
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp fresh basil, chopped

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Coat 16 muffin cups with cooking spray. Gently press 1 wonton wrapper into each cup.  Mine got all nice and prettily wrinkled on the edges!

2. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl . Add burger, green onion, carrot and bell pepper; mix.  Stir in the salt, pepper, and basil, and divide among the wonton wrappers.
3. Bake until filling is set, about 11 to 13 minutes.