Skinny Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

Normally when you go to a party the hors d'oeuvres are tasty yet usually not very good for you. Whenever I entertain I try to have some healthier versions of favorites so that the only healthy item isn't veggies and dip. The original recipe calls for bacon, but one of my friends is a vegetarian and since this was mainly a vegetable dish I omitted the bacon and didn't miss it at all. At less than 34 calories each, these were a huge hit and I wanted to just eat the leftover filling! If you don't want to make this as an appetizer you could stuff a large portobello mushroom for a meal or even a chicken breast. I made the stuffing ahead of time for less work while guests were over and then filled them right before baking.

Skinny Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms
Serves: 12-20
Source: Skinnytaste

Ingredients:
14oz (1 package) fresh mushrooms, stems separated
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly spray a foil lined baking pan with cooking spray.

Remove stems from mushrooms and finely mince.

Heat a medium sized skillet. Rinse spinach and to the skillet; cook until it wilts, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan, squeeze excess liquid and chop finely, set aside. (You can use frozen (defrosted) chopped spinach if you want to eliminate this step).

In a skillet, add olive oil and garlic, saute until golden, about 2 minutes. Add minced mushroom stems and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and combine mushroom stems with sauteed spinach, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

Season mushroom caps with salt. Fill mushrooms with spinach mixture, rounding tops off. Place on oven safe dish and lightly spray the tops with oil to turn golden brown. Bake 20 minutes or until golden. Eat warm.

White Bean and Edamame Hummus

Happy Monday! How is it that the weekends always go by way too quickly?! Here is a great twist on a healthy snack or snack to start your week off right. Who doesn't love traditional hummus...expand your horizons with a different version. I had bought some frozen shelled edamame a while ago and needed a reason to use them. This Asian-inspired recipe uses cannellini beans and edamame instead of traditional garbanzo beans/chick peas, and sesame oil instead of tahini,  giving the green dip a nutty, toasty flavor. The garlic and sesame oil can be a bit overpowering so start with a small amount and you can always add more.

White Bean and Edamame Hummus
Yields: 2.5 cups
Source: Chow.com

Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups shelled, cooked edamame, thawed if frozen
1 medium garlic gloves, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup water, plus more as needed
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 2 medium lemons), plus more as needed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions:

Place the cannellini beans, edamame, garlic, water, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and sesame seed oil in a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Season with pepper and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. If the dip is too thick, pulse in more water, a tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.

Transfer to a medium bowl, add the cilantro, and stir to combine. Taste and season with more salt or lemon juice as needed. Serve with chips or veggies.

Baked Coconut Shrimp

This weekend some of our friends from our time in Baltimore happened to be going on a family vacation near us. They were kind enough to come a day earlier so that they could come visit us...yay! It is always so nice to have visitors, especially when you can pick up where you left off. They stopped at our house for appetizers before we all went out to dinner at one of our favorite farm to fork restuarants. Here is a cute picture of us all before I get to the all important food!

Jason and I ordered coconut shrimp at a restaurant the other night where it was served with orange slices and did not deliver. Then I saw this post for a baked coconut shrimp instead of fried and using panko instead of heavy bread crumbs and an apricot sauce. I will admit I was a bit leary of baking the shrimp and losing some flavor. Boy was I wrong, these had the perfect crunch and were light and airy with the sweet coconut flavor. The apricot sauce was sweet yet spicy and hot from the red pepper flakes. We ate the entire plate and left me wanting more the next night. I definitely put this in the book as a great party appetizer because it was easy, flavorful and healthier and lets be honest, who doesn't love coconut shrimp?!

Baked Coconut Shrimp
Source: Skinnytaste
Serves: 8  Serving Size: 3 shrimp

Ingredients:

1 lb (24) large shrimp, peeled and de-veined (weight after peeled)
½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
½ cup panko crumbs
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 large egg
pinch salt
non-stick spray

For the Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce:

½ cup apricot preserves (you can use sugar free if you wish)
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
¾ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine coconut flakes, panko crumbs and salt in a bowl. Place the flour on a small dish. Whisk egg in another bowl.

Lightly season shrimp with salt. Dip the shrimp in the flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg, then in the coconut crumb mixture.

Lay shrimp on the cookie sheet then spray the top of the shrimp with more cooking spray; bake in the middle rack for about 10 minutes. Turn shrimp over then cook another 6-7 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and serve with dipping sauce.

For the sauce, combine all the ingredients and place in a small bowl.

Olive Tapenade and Olympics

We had Jason’s family over to watch the opening ceremonies this weekend and ended having a semi-Greek style dinner. I get so excited for the Olympics and hate that it is crammed into 2 weeks with so many sports going on at the same time all day that you inevitably miss them. Although I am sure to the host city and atheletes 2 weeks must seem like a long time. Good thing for DVR so I can watch some sports and record others for later. 

Jason's sister is a vegetarian so it took me a bit to figure out what to make but decided on my favorite spinach pie. Another Greek flavor is olive tapenade, which I love, but sometimes it can be too salty when I buy it premade or order it at a restaurant. The best solution is to make it at home where you can control the salt and what you put in it. I find this is something that is really easy to make, essentially you throw everything into the food processor and let it do the work. We had this with triscuits and toasted french bread crostinis.

Olive Tapenade
Yields: 2 cups
Adapted slightly from: Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:

12 ounces pitted black olives, such as Kalamata, Nicoise, or Gaeta (I used kalamata)

3 ounces capers, drained and rinsed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves finely chopped

3 Tablespoons chopped parsley

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/3 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Combine olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, mustard, thyme, parsley, crushed red pepper, vinegar and lemon juice, and half of the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine well, then allow to process until mixture is coarsely pureed, adding more olive oil as needed to obtain desired consistency. (A thicker product will better suit serving on crostini, whereas a looser consistency will work better as a sauce for pasta or cooked vegetables.) Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, then serve as a dip alongside crusty bread, grilled vegetables or chicken, or tossed with cooked pasta and fresh herbs.

Zucchini Tots

Happy Friday! We all survived another week and this time with record heat! We are big fans of summer squash and zucchini but am never too creative in how to use it aside from saute, steam or grill. During the summer they are fresh and affordable so take advantage! I wish I had a garden to grow some in, but have a feeling this Florida heat would not cooperate well. This is a perfect recipe for a party food, side dish or even part of breakfast! There is built in portion control with the mini muffins and they have a little golden crunch on the outside. They are great for sneaking in vegetables since there isn't a strong flavor from the zucchini but mainly the seasonings. I am going definitely keeping this recipe on hand for the future.

Zucchini Tots
Yields: 12 mini muffins
Serving Size: 4 per person
Source: Skinnytaste

Ingredients:
1 cup zucchini, grated
1 large egg
1/4 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.

Grate the zucchini into a clean dish towel. Wring all of the excess water out of the zucchini. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

Fill each muffin section to the top, pushing down on the filling with your spoon so it's nice and compacted so they don't fall apart when you take them out of the tin.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the tops are golden.  Use a plastic knife or rubber spatula around the edges of each tot to remove them from the muffin tin.   

Buffalo Hummus

One thing that I love for lunch or snacks is hummus. It tastes delicious, is easy to make and is full of protein from the chick peas. I came across this recipe that combined hummus with the flavors of buffalo wings! How can you go wrong with that combination?! Essentially, the hot sauce that you add gives the hummus the heat you would get from wings. Serve it with some veggies, on a sandwich or crackers and its a great dish. Another excuse to make this is that only uses 1 pan, the blender, which makes clean up that much easier.

Buffalo Hummus
Yields: 2 cups
Recipe from The Sweets Life

Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed (1/4 cup liquid reserved)

2 cloves garlic

1/8 cup tahini

1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp paprika

1 Tbsp barbecue sauce

2-3 Tbsp hot sauce depending on how hot you like it (I used Frank's buffalo sauce)

1/2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar

3/4 tsp kosher salt

Directions:

1. Add the chickpeas, chickpea liquid, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, paprika, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, vinegar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth and creamy. If it is a little bit thick, add some olive oil slowly to thin it out.

Chip-crusted Honey Mustard Chicken & Grape Skewers

I originally saw this recipe in a Rachel Ray magazine with a yogurt marinade. When we tried it out that way it just didn't taste right. After thinking about ways to spice it up I decided to use honey mustard instead and then some more on the side to dip in. Instead of a breading you use crushed up kettle chips that provide a nice crunch. These skewers are crunchy on the outside, sweet and tangy from the honey mustard and then sweet from the grapes. I had never cooked grapes before and was a bit skeptical of how it would taste, but they were surprisingly good and sweet! This made for a perfect party appetizer or as dinner on the night I "practiced" since it's never a good idea to serve something at a party you have never made before.

Chip Encrusted Honey Mustard Chicken & Grape Skewers
Serves: 10

Ingredients:
1 cup Honey
1 cup Dijon Mustard

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into sixty 1-inch cubes

60 red seedless grapes (about 1/2 pound)

10 ounce bag salt and pepper kettle-style potato chips

Directions:

1. Combine 1/2 cup honey with 1/2 cup mustard and whisk until combined. Add the chicken and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and a cookie sheet. *By putting the chicken on a baking sheet it allows it to brown and crisp up on all sides and not get soggy on the bottom.
3. Thread twenty 6-inch skewers alternately with 3 chicken cubes and 3 grapes. Using a rolling pin, crush the chips in their bags. Transfer to a plate. Roll each skewer in the potato chips and place on the prepared baking sheets.
4. Bake the kebabs, switching the pans halfway, until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with remaning honey and mustard mixed together as a dipping sauce.