recipe of the week: ny quesadilla

i cannot lie. this recipe, i'm pretty pleased with.


a few months ago (or weeks...pinterest time gets away from me) i found a recipe for reuben quesadillas that i thought sounded amazing.  i even put it on our menu. 


and then, less than a week before i was to make it...i realized.  my husband does not like cabbage, does not like pickles, and especially does not like german pickled cabbage. and while i had taken that into account when i planned the menu and figured i'd leave the kraut off his...i realized that it would be really boring to eat corned beef and a smattering of cheese on a tortilla.


even though he loves corned beef
and cheese
and tortillas


so i got out about half the following sentence before he interrupted me with a resounding "YES!"


"hey, how about i try making a new yorker quesadilla instead of the reuben one?"


what he didn't realize until after the fact was that i didn't actually have a RECIPE, i just had the model of his favorite sub at firehouse subs, and the fact that meat and cheese always get a resounding reception in this house. not just from him...from me, from the cat...


so between his approval of my suggested ingredients and my imagination, here's what i came up with.  it really is QUITE simple. but it's also simply amazing if you are a fan of the new yorker deli sandwiches.

ny quesadillas


(makes 4 large quesadillas)
4 ounces each pastrami, peppered salami, and corned beef*
6 slices provolone cheese
italian seasoning
8 flour tortillas
german mustard
mayonaise


*way easier to get deli slices of each of these, and that's what would be served on a new yorker sandwich anyway! i got my corned beef from the deli and pastrami and salami from trader joes.





begin by putting all the meat and the italian seasoning into a food processor and pulse until it's roughly chopped

 add cheese, and pulse again

for each quesadilla, spread one entire tortilla with german mustard and the other with mayo

 top with generous portions of meat and cheese

 and cover with the second tortilla

pan cooking this didn't seem like an option. i decided to pop them in the oven at 275゜

keep an eye on them. when the cheese is melted to your liking (and the tortillas are browned to your degree of satisfaction. in my case satisfaction on both arrived in about 12 minutes)

 this is my husband's plate, which he filled with chips

 mmmm

this is my messily cut quesadilla hanging out with a fresh tomato and a couple of pickles

the verdict? as intrigued as i was by the idea of reuben quesadillas, i think this one is more for us.  definitely staying in the meal rotation!

let's be real and mention that this is not the most figure friendly meal.  here's the info for each serving if you care :-)

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recipe of the week: spanakopita quiche

spanakopita quiche

 

here’s the problem with this quiche. i usually just toss stuff in. so all measurements here are approximate, mmmkay?

here's our favorite (at the moment) quiche :-)

sprinkle of powdered (non-flavored) coffee creamer

olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 large handfuls of spinach leaves (this is approximately 4 cups loosely packed. i think. it'll come out to be about 1.5-2 cups when processed)

3 eggs

1 cup feta cheese (preferably with mediterranean herbs)

1 cup mozzarella

1 cup whipping cream

nutmeg, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste

1 deep dish pie crust

secret to an awesome crust? poke holes in the bottom of your crust with a fork and sprinkle coffee creamer powder on it.  pop in the oven for 5-10 minutes. 

 meanwhile...

 heat oil on stove and saute onions for about 3 minutes.

throw spinach in the food processor and process into chopped spinach

mix with onions, add the spices, and saute until the spinach cooks down a bit. 3-5 minutes should do it.

 whisk eggs and then add cheeses.  

pour in the spinach-onion mixture and mix together.  

 pour entire mixture into pie crust.

 make whipped cream out of the whipping cream. once it’s ready, fold VERY carefully into the rest of the quiche.  you don’t want to mix too much just because the creaminess of the whipped cream is very important to the texture of this quiche.

 bake at 350 for as long as it takes…usually between 45 minutes to an hour.  you can tell it’s done with a toothpick comes out clean :-)

 enjoy!

recipe of the week: greek chicken pasta

we love greek food

we love pasta

so when  i found this recipe for greek chicken pasta, i decided to try it.

upon reading the recipe, however, i decided to take what i liked about it (the artichoke hearts and feta cheese, namely) and create a new recipe based loosely on it.

here's what happened

greek chicken pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

salt, freshly ground pepper, greek seasoning, oregano

1 sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound of chicken, cut into cubes (i used boneless skinless breasts)

1/2 cup white wine (this is how much was left in the bottle in my fridge...so use more or less depending on your preference)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 can diced tomatoes with oregano, basil and garlic

1 can artichoke hearts, drained

1 container feta cheese with mediterranean herbs (or reserve a bit for sprinkling on top)

penne or bow-tie pasta, cooked according to package directions

begin by heating your olive oil and spices

 toss in the onions and garlic, saute for 5 minutes

 add the cubed chicken and a second round of spices (including a whole lot of greek seasoning)

 add the white wine, and cook down for about 3 minutes

add the chicken broth, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and feta

 simmer sauce together for at least 15 minutes (enough time for the pasta to cook)

 it smells and looks amazing after that time...

 serve up over your warm & freshly cooked penne, sprinkle with reserved feta

 enjoy!

 (assuming 6 servings, pasta included)

*in the future i will likely marinate the chicken first, perhaps in lime juice and greek seasonings. i dislike chicken that is bland, and it just didn't have the great flavor of the sauce to me. however, leftovers were a little better in that regard, so i'll be playing around with this a bit!

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recipe of the week: (slow cooker) thai red curry beef

i'm having quite the blossoming relationship lately with my slow cooker.
wednesdays are SLAMMED for both my husband and me, so wednesday has become "crock pot night" at our place
sometimes that's tossing everything together wednesday morning, but more often than not i prepare it tuesday night and plug it in as i head out the door.


i made this recipe for the second time this week.  the first time, i followed it nearly exactly (from the williams-sonoma website).  but i felt that while the sauce had great flavor, the meat itself just tasted like lumps of beef.  well, they were after all!


so i've revamped the recipe a bit, and we had it for dinner again this week.  this time was a little more to my liking, so here's my adaptation of the recipe!


thai red curry beef

marinade for the meat:
2 - 3 tbsp red curry paste
salt & pepper
garlic powder
juice of 1/2 lime
mint flakes


2.5 pounds lean stew meat
olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup (or more to taste) red curry paste
2 cans coconut milk
salt, pepper, cumin, a smidge of cayenne, crushed coriander seeds, mint leaves (to taste) - i use a mortar & pestle to combine
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 can bamboo shoots
fresh mint and cilantro


begin by combining the stew meat with the marinade ingredients.  mix well, and then refrigerate for at least an hour.

heat 2 tbsp (ish) of olive oil in a large pot.  in batches if necessary, brown the meat a bit on all sides.  you're not cooking through, just getting a little color on the meat.

transfer the meat to the crockpot.

add the onion and garlic to the pan, as well as the spice combo.

cook for five minutes, and then add the red curry paste.

stir the paste into the onion/garlic mixture and cook through for another minute or so.

pour in the coconut milk and stir well, scraping any reside off the pan while you're doing so.  add the fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar.

bring mixture to a boil, then transfer to the crockpot as well.

cook on low for 6-8 hours, and 5 minutes before serving stir in the bamboo and a second round of that spice combo.  i also added another tablespoon or two of the red curry paste.

serve over rice and garnish with the mint and cilantro.

this is not a low-fat recipe.  after all, it has two cans of coconut milk in it.  however, fat (especially good fat) is not the problem, at least not for me.  i try to stay low-sugar, and this recipe fits the bill.  here's the screenshot from myfitnesspal of the breakdown (including rice...we use brown basatmi).

(lots of fun recipes linked up if you click on this button!  yummy!)