Using Up Veggies and Creamy Polenta

I went a little crazy at the farmer's market in the last couple of weeks and ended up with a fridge stuffed full of fresh produce that needed to be used up.  So I threw a bunch of it together in a wok and the result was pretty darn tasty:

Ingredients:
1 c. yogurt whey or skim milk plus 1 c. water
1/2 c. polenta
1/4 c. parmesan cheese (optional)
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 t. olive oil
1/2 onion, medium sized slices
2 garlic cloves sliced thin
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 bunch of beet greens, washed and chopped into large pieces
1 bunch of kale, washed and chopped into large pieces
1/4 c. vegetable stock
3 tomatoes, large dice

Start by boiling the water and yogurt whey in a medium sized pot.  Whole the water is coming up to a boil, chop up your veggies and begin sautéing the onion on the olive oil on medium-high heat.  When the onions are translucent, add in the garlic and cook until fragrant then deglaze with the veggie stock.  Add in the beet greens and kale and cover with a lid.  Turn heat to low and simmer for ten minutes.

When the water/whey liquid starts boiling, add in the polenta and whisk constantly for 3 mins.  After 3 minutes, reduce heat to low and cover with a lid.  Allow the polenta to simmer on low (stirring occasionally) for 30 mins until thick and creamy.  Stir in parsley and parmesan just before serving.

Once the greens are softened, remove lid, add in tomatoes, and allow any liquid to cook out.

Based on 4 servings

Serve the sauteed greens over the polenta.

A couple of notes:

• I saved the stems of the parsley, kale, and beet greens to use in a green monster smoothie later.  A great way to use the whole veggie.
• Quinoa would also be a great with the sauteed greens if polenta isn't your thing or if you want more protein in your starch.
• This is a great use for the leftover yogurt whey that you get when you make greek yogurt.

Quinoa Burgers with Baked Sweet Potato Skins

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I may or may not have developed a slight obsession with Pinterest lately.  I recently stumbled across two recipes in my pinning adventures that I felt would go together very well and it turns out they did.  The original recipes didn't really fit in with my current dietary restrictions, so I did a little bit if an overhaul:

Quinoa Burgers (10 servings/patties)

First, cook the quinoa:
1 c. quinoa, rinsed well (I get it in bulk from Costco.  They carry a good organic brand.)
2 c. water
1/4 t. salt

Bring the water and salt to a boil over high heat, then add in the quinoa and turn the heat to low and cover.  Let the quinoa simmer for 18-20 mins.


Now for the burgers:
Cooked quinoa (above)
1/2 c. fat free organic cottage cheese (blended smooth)
1/4 c. parmesan cheese (optional)
1 large carrot shredded fine (or 1 c. zucchini, lightly salted and drained then squeezed)
1/2 c. egg whites (I am imagine you might be able to use flax a water instead of eggs here)
3 T. whole wheat flour
2 green onions sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic minced fine
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
oil with high smoke point

Preheat a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat with oil.  I use grape seed or avocado oil spritzed on with a misto.  Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Scoop out 1/2 c. servings of the mixture into the skillet and form them into patties with a spatula.  It is best to treat these kind of like pancakes, you want them to be pretty well set before you try to flip them or you will just have a big mess.  Also, it is a good idea to mist some more oil on the uncooked side before flipping.  Cook until they are golden brown and crispy on each side.

Serve them with any normal burger toppings you like.  I ate mine with sliced tomatoes, avocado, and a little geek yogurt with dill mixed it.  It was super duper good :)

Baked Sweet Potato Skins (4 servings)
It is great to get this started as you are waiting for your quinoa to cook.

4 medium-sized sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 t. Italian Seasoning blend
1 T. avocado, grapeseed, or olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat over to 400 degrees, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with oil.  Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and place them cut side down on the baking sheet.  Bake for 30 mins. until tender.  Set potatoes aside to cool.

While potatoes are cooling, set the oven rack so that it is 6 inches from the top of the oven and preheat the broiler.  Combine the Italian seasonings, oil, and salt and pepper in a small bowl.

When potatoes are cool enough, scrape out about half of the flesh from each potato half (keep scooped out flesh for a sweet potato mash at another date).  Cut the sweet potato skins lengthwise into 1/2 inch strips.  Place the strips on the baking sheet.  Brush the skins with the oil/herb mixture and place them in the oven. Broil the potatoes until they are well-browned.

Nutrition Facts: Quinoa Burger                                                             Nutrition Facts: Sweet Potato Skins

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Five Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup

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Tonight I was faced with the question every person dreads.  What should I make tonight for dinner?  At least I dread it because asking myself this question means that I didn't plan a meal and now I have to come up with one on the fly using stuff I already have in the kitchen.  So in my search for inspiration, I came across some butternut squash that had been sitting in the fridge for a while and needed to be used.  "Liiiiightbulb", I said to myself.  I remembered that I had read some research on PCOS and found that reducing meat consumption is a good thing.  So yeah! Go me for listening!

I have never made butternut squash soup before and I was too lazy to look for a recipe online, so I decided to wing it.  Here is what I got:

1 large yellow onion, large dice
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 T. olive oil
64 ounces of butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
8 c. low-sodium vegetable stock
Salt and pepper

Heat a large pot on medium-high, add the olive oil and onions and cook until onions are translucent.  Add the garlic and cook until you can smell it.

Next, add in the butternut squash and vegetable stock and allow to simmer until squash is tender.

Now comes the fun part.  You can puree the soup in a couple of ways.  You could blend is in a blender, or run it through a food processor, orrrrrr you can bust out the fancy immersion blender your husband bought you for Christmas.  I chose to bust out my new immersion blender because I hate dirtying stuff if I don't need to aaaand I wanted to show my husband how much I loved his gift.

Using the immersion blender also allows me to puree the soup in the pot and then salt and pepper to taste.  If I were to use a blender or food processor, I would have to season each batch separately.  Not fun.

The result is a naturally creamy, nutrient packed soup that is only 73 calories per serving.  Whhhhhaaaat!?!  Yes that's right, only 73 calories.  And in each bowl, you get 100% of the vitamin C you need in a day.  Plus loads of other beneficial nutrients.  You can check them all out here.  And did I mention that it tastes awesome and is basically the easiest soup in the world to make.  You seriously can't go wrong here. Pin It