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Garlic Naan Flatbreads - A duo: Pesto/Tomato/Mozz & Mushroom/Mozz/Truffle

Thoughts and Inspiration

Who doesn't love pizza?  I had some leftover garlic naan from the previous night's dinner - so of course why not throw some cheese on there with your favorite fix-ins and turn them into delicious flat-bread pizzas!?  The first one is a pesto/tomato/mozzarella and the second one is a mushroom/mozzarella/truffle.  Enjoy and as always, make it your own and be creative!

Ingredients for both Flat-breads

2 garlic naans

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Fresh mozzarella (I used medallions that I cut in half lengthwise) - the amount totally depends on how cheesy you like your pizza

Pesto Flat-bread

2 Tbsp pesto

1/2 Roma tomato, thinly sliced

Kosher salt

Mushroom Flat-bread

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

5-6 button mushrooms, chopped or sliced

1 tsp olive oil

Sprinkle rosemary and thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp white truffle oil (or any flavor infused oil - basil or garlic perhaps)

For the mushrooms: Saute mushrooms in 1 tsp olive oil on medium heat until cooked through (about 5-6 minutes).  Sprinkle seasoning and remove from heat.

Heat oven to 350F.  Place garlic naans in oven for 3 minutes.  

Assembly:

Pesto Flat-bread - Spread pesto evenly over naan.  Top with tomato slices, fresh mozzarella and a sprinkle of Kosher salt.

Mushroom Flat-bread - Sprinkle 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella evenly onto naan.  Top with mushrooms and fresh mozzarella. 

Place flat-breads into 350F oven for 3-5 minutes (until cheese starts to bubble).  For mushroom flat-bread, drizzle 1 Tbsp truffle oil immediately after taking out of oven.

Cut into 4 pieces and enjoy!

Sprinkle crushed red pepper is desired.

Pesto Flat-bread

Mushroom Flat-bread

Finished product!

Pocket-less Chickpea Wrap

 

Thoughts and Inspiration

A Saturday afternoon light lunch, still tasty and satisfying... what to make what to make?!  
My hubs and I love hummus-like spreads - that is where the base of this wrap stems from!  Throw on a couple veggies, garnish, fold and we are ready to eat!

Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients for Chickpea Puree
15.5oz can chickpeas, drained and washed
4 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp fresh parsley
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tbsp pickle juice from jarred jalapenos
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients
*4 flatbreads - I used Kontos Greek Lifestyle Flatbread
1 zucchini, shredded (separate into 4 portions)
1/4 white onion, sliced thin
4 tsp cherry pepper spread (hot) - I used the Cento brand
Drizzle balsamic glaze (see picture) - I used the Trader Joes brand (Cento also has a great one)

Combine first set of ingredients (chickpea puree) all together in a food processor.  Pulse until combined - you can make this as smooth or as chunky as you want (I kept mine a little chunky),

Assembly:

Heat flatbread in oven for 2-3 minutes at 300F just to warm.  

**Place 1-2 Tbsp of chickpea puree on flatbread and spread all around.  On one side of the flatbread spread 1 portion of shredded zucchini, a couple onion slices, 1 tsp cherry pepper spread and finish with a drizzle of your favorite balsamic glaze.  Fold in have and enjoy!  Repeat for other 3 flatbreads.

*Note: Use any type of pocketless pita bread.

**Note: Spreading the chickpea puree all over the flatbread helps 'glue' the wrap insides together.

Quinoa & Red Lentil 'Porridge' with Veggies

Thoughts and Inspiration

This is another one pot meal.  As always, I wanted to make something that my husband and I could take to lunch that wouldn't require too much effort.  It is a meal in itself and you can definitely have this for dinner as well!

I use canned tomatoes in the recipe, along with some frozen veggies to save time.  This dish has got a punch of protein from the lentils, edamame and quinoa.

Red lentils cook differently (in my opinion) than green lentils.  They are definitely softer in texture and sort of melt away into the dish.  So don't expect to be biting into the lentils here, rather the quinoa and lentils combine into a porridge-like consistency.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 red onion, diced 
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced and diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
*1/2 cup Trader Joes frozen Soycutash
3/4 cup Trader Joes frozen mixed bell peppers (or you can use fresh)
14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes (I used Hunt's)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
**3/4 cup red lentils
**1/2 cup quinoa
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp McCormick Grill Mates Roasted Garlic & Herb Seasoning
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp dry parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot saute onions, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes.  Next, add in all frozen vegetables and saute for an additional 3-4 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, broth, water, lentils and quinoa.  Bring this all to a simmer - once it has reached a simmer place a lid on pot and continue to simmer (not boil) for about 15 minutes.  Add in all spices mixing gently and simmer (uncovered) for 5 more minutes (try a spoonful to make sure lentils and quinoa have cooked through - if not, simmer an additional few minutes).  When serving garnish with parsley and a little crushed red pepper... and maybe even a few shavings of Parmesan!
 

*Note: You can easily substitute with 1/4 cup frozen corn + 1/4 cup frozen shelled edamame

**Red lentils and quinoa generally have similar cooking times anywhere between 12-16 minutes.

Hello Panzanella, Meet Spinach Salad

Thoughts and Inspiration

So where did this salad idea stem from?...

Let's see... my husband despises, and I mean really despises cucumbers.  Can you believe that?!  I mean who doesn't love cucumbers?!  They are so crisp and sweet and delicious!  He's really funny about it too, because he actually loves pickles!

Anyway, so this salad is sort of a play on a traditional panzanella... it's a panzanella meets a spinach salad.  I throw in corn to add a little sweetness that is missing by eliminating the cucumbers.  Enjoy!

Salad Ingredients

1 loaf crusty Italian bread, cut into cubes
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Salt and pepper
8oz. package white mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 slices vegan bacon (cooked according to package and chopped)
7-8oz bag baby spinach
¼ red onion, sliced thin
¼ cup corn
½ cup grape tomatoes, slice lengthwise
**2 hard boiled eggs, sliced

Dressing Ingredients
3 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp dijon mustard
1 dash salt

*Pre-heat oven to 275^oF.  Take bread cubes and lightly drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.   Crisp in oven for about 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. 

Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Cook mushrooms in 1 Tbsp olive oil on medium heat for 5-6 minutes until cooked through.  Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.  At this time, cook bacon according to package, allow to cool, and cut into pieces.

In a large salad bowl combine all ingredients together with spinach; slowly drizzle in dressing, tossing everything together in coat.

Serve in a bowl and top with a couple slices of hard boiled egg.**
 

*Note:  This can be done ahead of time.
**Note:   I didn't do this, but a traditional spinach salad would call for hard boiled eggs.  For those of you that are strict vegan/vegetarians, leave this out.