Indian-inspired spinach and tofu

Have you ever eaten something that you liked, but knew you could make better, or significantly cheaper? That’s how I felt when I had one of Amy's Kitchen's Indian spinach tofu wraps. I loved the wrap, and the convenience of it being frozen and easy to grab on the way out the door, but at about $3 a pop, I felt guilty buying them. I knew it couldn't be that hard to recreate, and since the ingredients are all listed on the pack, I just had to try and figure it out.

The recipe was pretty quick to throw together. I made three wraps to freeze for later, and ate the remaining serving with a piece of wheat naan. I really enjoyed it both ways, and even ate it at room temperature, since I didn't have access to a microwave when I ate it. It's fairly healthy, and the spinach and tofu alone is only about 100 calories (though bread or a wrap will obviously add to that).

Indian-inspired Spinach and Tofu
Makes 4 servings, can easily be doubled

Ingredients :
1 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
8 oz baby spinach
1 tsp curry powder*
1/2 tsp ginger powder*
1 tsp cinnamon*
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 block firm tofu, cut into cubes
1/8 cup broth (chicken, veggie, etc.), optional
*Spices can be altered to taste. The addition of turmeric would also be good, though I didn't add any, because I was out.

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large rimmed skillet (a large sauce pan would probably work too). Sauté onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add spinach (you will need to add it in two or three parts, because it won’t all fit in your pan). Add part of the broth with each addition of spinach. Turn the leaves until all the spinach has been added and wilted. Add spices. Remove from heat.
4. Using a food processor or blender, mix together the tofu and the spinach mixture until desired consistency.

If making wraps, I recommend assembling them and baking them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 325, so they are golden on the outside and a bit crisp. They can then be cooled and frozen.

Spinach artichoke grilled cheese.

I have always loved spinach and artichoke dip. Even when I thought I didn't like spinach (because apparently I was confused as a child), I still always wanted spinach and artichoke dip. I love the flavor of artichokes, and the creaminess of the dip. Yum! Of course, when I saw a recipe that blended my favorite appetizer with a grilled cheese sandwich, I knew I had to try it. I changed a few things from the original recipe, adding roasted red pepper, using laughing cow cheese instead of sour cream, and cutting down on shredded cheese. The end product was delicious, with just enough creaminess and plenty of flavor, and, with a filling that was less than 200 calories, I didn't feel guilty eating it.

Spinach and Artichoke Grilled Cheese
Makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients
1 Tb olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups baby spinach leaves, chopped
1/3 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
2 wedges light creamy Swiss laughing cow cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheese
4 slices bread

Instructions 1. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add spinach to the pan and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally, about 2-3 minutes. Most of the liquid should be evaporated.
3. Add artichoke hearts and roasted red pepper. Sauté about 2 minutes and remove from heat.
4. Stir in laughing cow wedges until melted.
5. Scoop half the spinach artichoke mix onto a slice of bread. Add half of the shredded cheese and top with another slice of bread. Toast sandwich in prepared skillet*, turning once, until both sides are golden brown. Repeat with remaining filling and bread.

*I like to spray my skillet with Pam to toast my sandwiches, rather than using butter, though either method would work.

Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats

Sweet Potato Pasta Sauce

What do you do when you have some leftover sweet potatoes that really need to get eaten, but you really wanted pasta for dinner? Make sweet potato pasta sauce, of course. After seeing a few recipes where people used butternut squash to make a creamy sauce, I figured, why couldn't you do something similar with sweet potato? This recipe isn't an exact science, and can be adjusted to your liking. We ate it with potato gnocchi, and it was delicious with just a bit of parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Sweet potato pasta sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked sweet potatoes
1/2 - 1 cup milk
1/2 Tablespoon butter
1/8 cup diced onion
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 - 1 cup pasta water*

1. In a blender, combine sweet potato and about 1/2 cup milk. Blend until smooth, adding more milk if needed to make a thick sauce consistency.
2. In a skillet, melt butter over medium-medium high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes.
3. Add sweet potato mixture to skillet. Slowly add reserved pasta water until sauce if of the desired consistency.

*If you are not cooking pasta, you could just add more milk.

That’s it! An easy, different sauce to go with your pasta and add a few more nutrients(sweet potatoes contain lots of beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin B6, manganese and potassium).

I'm not dead

I'm trying to get back on track, get back to blogging about, not only food, but other beautiful and fun things too. Lately things have been hectic and I haven't been getting posts up, but I have still been doing plenty. I don't have pictures for everything, but I have a few definate recipe recommendations.

1. Eggplant Focaccia(via the Curvy Carrot). This recipe was delicious and simple. The only thing I did differently from the recipe was using swiss instead of Emmentaler and rolling it round, rather than square. AMAZING. If you don't follow the curvy carrot, I suggest you do so immedinately.

2. Cheesy Spinach Soup(aka Witches' Brew, via Annie's Eats). Again, all I did differently was change the cheese to Cheddar(since that is what I had on hand). This soup was very tasty, and I felt so healthy eating it(since it really is mostly spinach anyway). I could not get it smooth enough using my immersion blender, so I used the regular blender, and it turned out great.



I've also been knitting a bunch recently, and even attempting to crochet a bit(though the project was very simple). I crocheted this simple single chain scarf, and I love it. The picture really doesn't do it justice, and I will try to take a better one later on(it is 80 here today, so not really scarf weather).

I also knitted a simple baby hat and mittens for my soon to be niece or nephew. I went with gray, hoping it could work for a boy or girl.

I'm still a very inexperienced knitter, so I try to do simple projects. Next I'm hoping to do a ridiculously adorable blanket I saw on raverly(I'll share the name once I get all my supplies).

So, I am not dead, and will hopefully be back to posting on a regular basis very soon. I should have lots of pretty things to share from the baby shower I am planning, which is coming up in just 4 short weeks.

Layered "enchiladas"

After a week or two of trying to get into a routine, I think I am finally getting somewhere. This week, I have successfully made a few real meals, and, through planning ahead and shopping for just what is on my list, I have successfully cut down on a lot of wasted time, leaving me time to relax, get my studying done, and even clean the house a bit(on the one day I felt so inclined).

Two months ago, I decided to stop eating meat. To be honest, it was a rash decision and I had very little logic behind the decision, but thus far, I have been happy with it. No meat has, however, created some new challenges, trying to come up with new recipes, looking for ways to change recipes to not include meat, and convincing my husband that a meal doesn't need meat (possibly the biggest challenge of them all). When I am feeling less inspired, or just looking for something I know we will both love, I tend to lean toward Mexican fare. I find beans to be so filling, and that it is so easy to leave out meat when it is something you already love (and my husband DEFINATELY loves Mexican food). This recipe is one of those types, easy, Mexican-inspired, not at all lacking in flavor or texture, and great without needing meat. Since the dish is layered, rather than rolled like traditional enchiladas, it is quick to throw together, and much less fragile. I only made two (since there are only two of us), but definitely had enough filling for 2, or maybe even 3 more.

Layered Veggie Enchiladas
Ingredients :
1/2 cup diced onion
1 jalapeño pepper
1 bag (12 oz) frozen corn, thawed
1 pepper (I used a Hungarian pepper, but a bell pepper would work well too)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 Tablespoon Chili powder, divided
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1-2 cups fresh baby spinach
Corn tortillas 1/2 - 1 cup shredded cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large pot, heat oil until shimmering. Add onion and peppers and sauté for about 5 minutes, until onion is softened.
2. Add 1 tablespoon chili powder, tomatoes with liquid (reserve about 2 tablespoons of liquid), corn, and spinach and cook over medium heat until the liquid is almost evaporated, about 10 minutes.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mash beans with 2 tablespoons cilantro, remaining chili powder, and reserved liquid from tomatoes. 4. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread 1/4 of bean mixture evenly on a tortilla. Top with about 1/2 cup veggie mixture, a sprinkling of cheese, and another tortilla. Top with about another 1/4 cup or the veggie mixture and desired amount of cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas until you run out of filling.
5. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Garnish with remaining cilantro, and any additional toppings desired (such as guacamole or sour cream).

Source: Adapted from Whole foods

Black Bean Soup

Confession: I ate 3 Klondike bars on Sunday. Confession 2: I may have eaten 2 on Monday also. We are now out of Klondike bars.

After eating all of my delicious ice cream, the weather has cooled down and it has started to feel like fall. I love fall, so this is a welcome feeling to me. To welcome in the new fall weather, I decided to make soup, delicious, hearty, black bean soup. It was a quick meal, and went perfect with my leftover bread(in the form of a grilled cheese), and a nice pumpkin beer. I suggest making this immediately if you too are hoping to welcome in the fall weather.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups Black beans*
2 cups veggie broth
1 tablespoon oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt**

1: In a large stock pot, heat oil. Add onion, garlic, pepper, and spices to heated oil and cook about 5 minutes, until pepper and onion are softened.
2: Add beans and broth, mix well, and simmer for about 10 minutes, uncovered.
3: Stir and cover. Simmer about 10-15 more minutes, until beans are soft.
4: Using and immersion blender, or a regular blender, blend soup to preferred consistency. Serve, topped with cheese, sour cream, or other garnish.

*I cook dried beans, rather than using cans, but 2 1/2 cups would be about 1 1/2 cans, in general.
**If using canned beans, salt can be ommitted, since the canned beans will contain salt.

Potato and broccoli quiche

I had this recipe ready to share yesterday, but due to a killer headache, I never got around to posting it. I'm fighting through today, so forgive me if there are some errors, but computer screens are quite bright when you have light sensitivity issues.
I always thought quiche was delicious, but assumed it was super difficult and incredibly horrible for you. Well, though it may not be the healthiest option out there, a slice of this clocked in with less than 400 calories, and was incredibly filling. Overall, I was very happy with how this recipe turned out. My husband, who apparently had never eaten a quiche before, even complimented it and said he would like to have it again(and good thing, since there are still 6 slices in the fridge). I used a simple crust recipe that I found here, but I'm sure this could be made with any crust recipe, or even those refrigerated, premade crusts.

Potato and Broccoli Quiche

Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold water

For the filling:
1/2 head broccoli, roasted with garlic and cut into bite-size pieces*
2 small russett potatoes, rinsed and cubed into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup white onion, diced 2 teaspooons olive oil
5 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup milk
1/4- 1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder

1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the crust by mixing the flour, oil, salt, and water in a small bowl until well mixed. Press the mixture into a 9" pie pan.
2: Boil a large pot of water. Add potatoes to water and cook for about 4 minutes, until slightly softened.
3: In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high until shimmering. Add cooked potatoes and onions and cook around 5 minutes, until potatoes begin to brown and onion is softened.
4: Mix eggs, milk, and half and half in a bowl. Add seasoning and mix until lightly beaten. Add broccoli and potatoes and mix until combined.
5: Pour egg mixture into crust. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until set and lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

*I roasted the broccoli the same way as I did for the ravioli posted yesterday, but in case you missed it: Place broccoli in bowl with garlic and oil and mix to coat. Pour mixture onto baking sheet and bake 15-18 minutes at 400, until broccoli is soft. Remove from oven.

Roasted Broccoli Ravioli

I'm going to be honest here...I was quite on the fence about posting this recipe. Though I think it tasted good, as did my husband, I'm not sure everyone will love them. They had a much dryer center than your typical ravioli, which took getting used to, but were quite tasty none the less. Be prepared for these to take you some time to put together. I don't have alot of practice making ravoili, so I'm sure if you are more familiar with it, it won't take as long, but preparing them does take effort.

I'm sure these could be made with homemade pasta, but I took the easy route and used wonton wrappers to save a bit of rolling and cutting. These also would have been great deep fried or baked in the oven!I'm planning another recipe for tonight that, hopefully, I will be able to share tomorrow. Everyone cross your fingers!

Broccoli Ravioli
Makes 24 large ravioli

Ingredients
1 head broccoli, chopped into florets
1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced
1/4-1/2 shredded cheese(I used 1/4 cup, but think it would have been better with more)
1 package wonton wrappers
3 Tablespoons grated parmesean
1 egg alfredo sauce

1. Preheat oven to 425. Place broccoli in bowl with garlic and oil and mix to coat.
2. Pour mixture onto baking sheet and bake 15-18 minutes, until broccoli is soft. Remove from oven.
3. Pour cooked broccoli and garlic in food processor and process until finely chopped. Add cheese and mix.
4. Lightly beat the egg and add a bit of water to make an egg wash. To assemble the ravoili, place 1 wonton wrapper on the counter and brush the edges with the egg wash. Place a scoop of filling in the middle, and place another wonton wrapper on top. Press the sides together with a fork all the way around the edges.
5. Boil a large pot of salted water. After assembly, place finished ravioli in boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove and place on a cooling rack to dry.
6. Top ravioli with warmed alfredo sauce and sprinkle with parmesean cheese. Enjoy!

Tasty Vegetarian Meatloaf

Even with the heat lately, I have been looking for a meal that is hearty, comforting, and classic. After seeing a few recipes for vegetarian meatloaf, I decided that that would be perfect. Meatloaf was always a comfort food for me, especially since in my house growing up, it was almost always served with mashed potatoes (a personal favorite). This recipe still has the comforting feeling, but without the meat (obviously) and without that overly greasy feeling that comes from ground beef. I decided to make my own twists on the recipe, mostly because I had foods in the fridge that needed to get eaten, but overall, I think they worked out great, and I will definitely be making this again when it cools down and having the oven on isn’t torture.

Vegetarian Meatloaf>

Ingredients
2-3 cups water
1 cup dried lentils
1 tsp oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/4- 1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed, diced
1/2 cup corn
1 cup oats
3/4 cup shredded cheese, divided (I used four cheese Mexican)
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup enchilada sauce, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt

Directions: 1: Bring water to boil in a saucepan.
2: Add lentils to boiling water, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.
3: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4: In a small skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and pepper to heated oil and cook about 5 minutes, until onion is slightly soft.
5: Add garlic, jalapeño, and corn and cook an additional 30 seconds.
6: In a large bowl, partially mash lentils. Add onion mixture, oats, and 1/2 cup cheese and stir until combined.
7: Stir in egg and 1/2 cup enchilada sauce and mix well.
8: Spoon mixture into a greased loaf pan. Smooth top with a spoon.
9: Bake for 30-40 minutes, until top of loaf is firm and golden brown. Remove from oven and pour remaining enchilada sauce and cheese on top. Cook and additional 3-5 minutes, until cheese is melted.
10: Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes before cutting or serving.

Recipe source: Adapted from Food.com

Eggplant Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Sometimes I make substitutions in recipes and assume they will be delicious. Other times, I dread that the final product will turn out horribly, and that I will be wasting a huge amount of food that no one will eat. That was my worry while making this recipe. As someone who doesn't like zucchini, I am constantly looking at zucchini recipes, trying to decide if I can sub in something else without ruining the dish. When I saw a recipe for veggie enchiladas, I decided I had to try it, but with one of the main ingredients being zucchini, I had to sub it out. I decided to try eggplant instead, changing the cooking method a bit, since eggplant needs to cook a bit longer, and I have to say, it worked out wonderfully. My husband, who loves his typical chicken and beef enchiladas from the Mexican restaurant up the street, said that these were some of the best enchiladas he has ever had. Thumbs up all around.

Eggplant Enchiladas

Ingredients
For the sauce:
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp sugar
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 to 3/4 cup water

For the filling:
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 large eggplant, cut into bite sized cubes
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 can(15 oz) black beans
1/2 cup prepared enchilada sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheese

For assembly: 6-8 8 inch tortillas
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
2-3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped fine

For the sauce:
1: Heat oil in sauce pan over medium heat until shimmering.
2: Add onion and cook about 5 minutes, until softened.
3: Add garlic, sugar, and spices, and cook about 30 seconds.
4: Add tomato sauce and water, bring to a simmer, and allow to cook about 5 minutes.

For the enchiladas
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in large skillet over medium heat until very hot. Add eggplant and cook until slightly brown, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
2. After removing eggplant from the skillet, heat remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and red pepper and cook until slightly softened, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add garlic and jalapeño and cook about 30 seconds.
4. Add eggplant, black beans, and 1/2 cup enchilada sauce. Cook about 3-5 minutes until warmed through. Mix in 1/2 cup shredded cheese
5. To assemble, add about 1/3-1/2 cup filling to center of tortilla. Roll tightly and place in 9" x 13" baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas.
6. Pour 1/2 cup enchilada sauce over rolled enchiladas. Sprinkle cheese and cilantro over the top. Cover with foil and bake 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Uncover and bake an additional 3-5 minutes.

Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats.

Barley Salad

As much as I love macaroni salads and other salads smothered in a mayonnaise based sauce, sometimes, you need something less creamy and more refreshing. Enter this salad. It's light, with a hint of lime and a great zing from the cilantro. We eat this as a side dish generally, but sometimes we even eat it as a whole meal. It tastes even better as it sits, so try to plan ahead and make this at least a few hours in advance.

Barley Salad

Ingredients
1 1/3 cup uncooked barley
~2 cups(1 15 oz can) black beans
~3 1/3 cups (1 16 oz bag) frozen corn*
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
hot sauce

1: Cook barley by covering with 2 2/3 cup water and simmer 30-40 minutes.
2: In large bowl, mix beans, corn, and barley.
3: Add lime juice and oil to barley mixture. Stir to mix well. Add cilantro and stir.
4: Refrigerate at least 1 hour, until ready to serve. Top with hot sauce to taste.

Recipe adapted from Eatingwell.com *I like to leave the corn frozen so it helps to cool down the barley, but if you are eating it right away, you will want to thaw your corn.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Last week, I tried to make homemade tortillas. They turned out ok, and tasted pretty good, so I posted the recipe, and just assumed my problem was in rolling the dough, but when I tried the recipe again, I still had the same issues. I could not get the tortillas to stay thin and soft so, although they tasted good, they weren't really usable as tortillas.
This new recipe has completely changed that. Though it is not a low fat recipe like the other one, they are not horrible for you, and no worse nutrition wise than store bought tortillas. These tortillas turned out soft and pliable, and were delicious to use for everything from chocolate quesadillas to bean burritos, and so easy to make. These are so easy, in fact, that I actually made them while I was home sick, because I was hungry and low on food. Everyone should try making these; you will not be disappointed.

Flour Tortillas

Makes 12 8 inch tortillas

Ingredients
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened
3/4 to 1 cup warm water

1: Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in mixer bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or 2 forks, until mixture is crumbly.
2: Using mixer with dough hook*, slowly add water while mixing until dough becomes a cohesive ball.
3: Kneed for about 30 more seconds until dough is tacky, but not sticky. If dough is too sticky, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
4: Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Cover with a clean damp kitchen towel and let rest for about 10 minutes.
5: Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Working with one dough piece at a time, roll the dough into an 8 inch circle.
6: Carefully transfer the rolled dough to the heated skillet and heat for about 20 seconds on each side, until bubbles form and tortilla is lightly browned. Do not overcook.
7: Repeat with remaining dough pieces. Store finished tortillas in airtight container in fridge for about a week, or freeze for longer.


*This recipe can easily be done without a mixer and dough hook. Start slowly adding water while mixing by hand, then kneed until it becomes a smooth, cohesive ball.

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

Parmesan Fried Eggplant

Until recently, I was convinced I did not like eggplant. I had only ever seen it coated in tomato sauce, and since I'm not really a fan of tomato sauce, I wouldn't even taste a bite. However, last week I decided to be adventurous, and bought an eggplant I saw at the grocery store. I'm glad I did, because it was delicious, and now I am hooked. This past weekend, after a few healthy meals, I decided I was craving something fried, and thought that fried eggplant might be the best of both worlds, something fried and delicious, yet still more healthy than fast food.

Fried Parmesan Eggplant

Ingredients
1 medium sized eggplant, cut into 1/4 thick rounds
2 eggs, lightly beaten*
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Oil for frying

1: Place eggs in small bowl. Mix bread crumbs and cheese in another small bowl.
2: Dip eggplant into egg mixture, then into bread crumbs and coat.
3: In deep, heavy skillet, heat about 1/2 inch vegetable oil to about 375 degrees F. Fry eggplant pieces, about 1 minute on each side, until golden brown. Transfer to paper towel to drain and cool before serving.

I ate mine with tomato slices on the side, but I'm sure they would also be great topped with tomato sauce.

*I used egg whites, rather than whole eggs, because I had some left over from a previous recipe, but either egg whites or whole eggs will work.

Mexican Pizza

This week, my husband told me I wasn't allowed to go grocery shopping until we cleared out some food from the pantry and freezer. To some, this would be an annoyance, but to me, it was a challenge. After finding a can of refried beans and a bag of pizza dough, I knew exactly what I wanted, Mexican Pizza! I found a similar recipe here, but decided to change it up a bit to fit the ingredients I had.

Overall, I think the pizza turned out great. It had just enough spice, and was plenty filling without the addition of meat. The whole meal was pretty easy to put together, and was ready in under an hour, with even less active time(most of the time was for the oven and stone to preheat).

Ingredients

Pizza dough*
1 cup refried beans
1 small can diced tomatoes with green chilis(Rotel)
2 green onions (chopped)
1/4 large yellow onion(sliced)
1 cup shredded cheese

1: Preheat oven and pizza stone to 500 degrees.
2: Drain tomatoes and reserve the liquid.
3: In a small bowl, mix refried beans and about 1/4 cup of liquid from tomatoes. Heat in microwave about 25 seconds.
4: Roll out pizza dough to about a 12 inch circle(this may be different depending on your dough). Brush the perimeter with olive oil.
5: Spread bean mixture onto shaped crust.
6: Sprinkle tomatoes and yellow onion slices.
7: Sprinkle cheese evenly across the pizza. Top with green onions.
8: Move to preheated stone and bake 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

*I use Annie's Eats' pizza dough recipe, which can be found here.

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats.

Barley Stuffed Tomatoes

Last night, I made a delicious recipe that I felt I had to share. I love tomatoes, but cannot always find fun things to do with them, and my husabnd tends to complain if we just have sliced, raw tomatoes as a side(though I would happily eat this daily). This was a good solution for that problem. We both thoroughly enjoyed the dish, and it was a fun to way to eat some veggies.

1/2 uncooked barley
4 tomatoes on the vine
1/2 small white onion, chopped small
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green bell pepper,chopped small
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
Shredded cheese(optional)


1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Cook barley. To do this, boil about 1 1/2 cups of water or broth. When boiling, add uncooked barley, lower heat, and simmer until soft(about 35 minutes).
3. While barley is cooking, slice off the very top of the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp and juice. Reserve pulp and liquid.
4. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 2 minutes.
5. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
6. Add green pepper, spices, and about 1/4 cup of reserved juice from tomatoes. Lower heat and cook about 10 minutes, adding more liquid if necessary.
7. Add cilantro to pepper mixture, and cook about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
8. Mix pepper mixture with cooked barley.
9. Lightly spray a square baking dish with cooking spray. Place tomatoes in, open side up, and fill with the barley-pepper mixture. Poor about 1/4 cup reserved tomato liquid into the bottom of the baking dish, and cook for about 10 minutes.
10. If adding cheese, sprinkle it on top each tomato and place back in the oven 5 minutes(if not adding cheese, leave the dish in the oven for 5 more minutes)
11. Remove from oven and let stand at least 5 minutes before eating.


I'd have to say, I was concerned this recipe wasn't going to work, but overall, I think it turned out great. I served it with some spiced black beans on the side for protein, but I'm sure it would also go great with grilled chicken or other meats.