Stuffed

I've had quite a summer stuffing egg roll wrappers, and this weekend I definately hit the jackpot with two new recipes- one inspired by my cooking muse Lynn Socko and the other- well it just seemed to be a nostalgic way to use up the perishable wrappers and some sorry looking potatoes in my pantry. So in this post we have two recipes and I'm really happy to share them. Here's recipe #1:

Baked Portabello and Ricotta Roll-Ups
Inspired by Lynn Socko

5 egg roll wrappers
10 slices (1/4 inch) Portabella Mushrooms
Tomato/meat sauce- store bought or home made
8 oz part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2/3 cup grated part skim mozzarella cheese divided

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. In medium size bowl mix ricotta cheese, egg, basil, pepper flakes, parmesan and 1/3 cup mozarella cheese.  Set aside. In 9 x 13 inch pan spread tomato/meat sauce on the bottom. Set aside and get ready to rock and roll. Normally I roll my egg roll wrappers on the diagonal, but for this recipe I cut the wrappers in half and rolled them just like you would for canneloni and left the sides open. Place each of 5 split egg roll wrappers on work surface, add a T of ricotta mixture and a mushroom slice.

Top with a sprinkling of mozzarella, make your roll ups and place in baking dish.

Cover with remaining tomato sauce, top with a bit more mozzarella cheese and bake 35 minutes uncovered in pre heated oven. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve 2 or 3 roll ups as a main course with your favorite garlic bread and a green salad. You won't be disappointed.

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If you're not familiar with this blog, you probably don't know that I'm a New York gal, born and bred. And the local deli has always played a major part in my food memories. My grandpa Abe used to drive from Brooklyn, whisk me up on Sunday mornings (from the time I was 4 years old) and we'd go get bagels, lox, smoked whitefish and potato knishes for my family for breakfast. We'd set the table and get ready for a feast that would last until we were ready for nap time. It's a memory that keeps showing up in my recent thoughts.

Anyway, it has been so long since I've had a knish (pronounced kanish) that I decided that I'd make a version of this traditional deli treat using my left over egg roll wrappers. So here's recipe #2:

Egg Roll Potato Knishes
not an authenic knish recipe

4 medium size Russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 small onions finely chopped
2 tsp butter
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Additional salt if necessary
Generous grind of fresh black pepper
1 large egg
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 large egg plus 1 T water to make an egg wash

Cook potatoes on stove top until soft, about 20 minutes. When the potatoes are done, pour into colander and then place back in the hot pot to let any liquid evaporate. 

While potatoes are cooking, sweat onions in butter and oil on low for 10 minutes. I cover the pan. When onions have softened, raise heat a bit and let them brown slightly uncovered.  Add onions to cooked potatoes and mash to a fine consistancy. Add seasonings, cheese and  the egg. (the egg helps the mixture bind together). Now you're ready to roll up the knishes. Pre heat oven to 375 degrees and prepare your egg wash using 1 egg and a splash of water.

I rolled these babies up just like you would an egg roll. Place 2 T of potato mixture on egg roll wrapper.



 

Roll bottom of wrapper over potato mixture, fold the sides over the top, brush edges with egg wash to help seal and complete your roll.

 

 

Brush top with egg wash. This will help the knish brown. Bake in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. Turn over and bake another 15 minutes. Don't these look toasty and good? The combination of the crispy egg rolls and the creaminess of the mashed potato filling was to me, comfort food at its best. 

 

 

They were definately yummy, but I must admit that my tastes have changed since I was a child, and I would have liked to have added some roasted peppers or even some ground spicy sausage or bacon. But for today, this was a blast from the past. And what an easy recipe! Next time I'll be a little more daring. It could be real soon, since I STILL have more egg roll wrappers, potatoes, bacon and cheese on hand. Here's the finished product, served with a yellow mustard and sour cream sauce.

 

 

Refried Bean Cakes

I've been enjoying my spicy little love affair with Tex-Mex cooking, so when Cooking Light had a 20 minute recipe for Black Bean Cakes in their September issue, I decided to give it a whirl. But I didn't have black beans. So I did a quick re-mix in my head and decided to use a can of fat free refried beans, add a few more spices to their already nicely-spiced recipe, and came up with a simple little ditty that took me a bit longer than the anticipated 20 minutes, but well worth the extra 10 minutes.

Refried Bean Cakes
Inspired by Cooking Light
Makes 4 patties

1 large egg lightly beaten
1 16 oz can refried beans- I used Old El Paso fat free
3/4 cup panko crumbs, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground chili powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 cloves of garlic grated
Canola oil for frying

In large bowl combine all ingredients except canola oil.

The mixture seemed a little loose, so I covered it with plastic wrap, and parked it in the fridge for about 10 minutes to set.

Remove from refrigerator, separate bean mixture into four portions and shape each portion into a 3/4 inch thick patty. Dredge in remaining panko and get ready for a quick saute. In large nonstick skillet add about 1-2 T canola oil. Add patties and cook three minutes on each side.

You can serve these with fried eggs and a salad as Cooking Light suggests. I gobbled mine down with some homemade pico de gallo, low fat sour cream and spicy sriracha sauce and loved every bite of it.

But the fun has only just begun, because tonight I think I found the real reason I made these bean cakes. These creamy, slightly spicy, healthy little darlings were meant to be married between 2 mini corn tortillas, stuffed with cheese, sriracha/mayo sauce and pico de gallo, then sauteed in a med/high skillet. Here's the procedure I used to make one:

Make a mixture of equal parts of light mayo and sriracha. Take 2 small corn tortillas (6 inch) and spread mixture on one side of each tortilla.

Now sprinkle a tablespoon of low fat shredded cheese over the sriracha mixture.

And cover the cheese with a bean patty topped with pico de gallo.

Top with a little more cheese, cover with second tortilla (sriracha side down) and press down slightly so the bean patty will spread to almost the size of your tortilla (it's that pliable). Spray cooking pan with PAM or similar product, heat burner to medium or medium high and add tortilla sandwich to the heated pan. Cook about 3 minutes, and right before you're ready to flip the tortilla, spray top with PAM. Flip and cook another 3 minutes. Let cool a bit and serve with anything your little heart desires.

It's as easy as making a burger, but cheaper, healthier with a lot more crunch. I promise you, all of your senses will thank you.

Chicken Chimichanga Appetizers. Baked and Dairy Free

I seem to be on a Tex-Mex cooking kick this month and decided I'd re-mix my ground beef chimichangas with a rotisserie chicken melange, and use as many store bought ingredients as possible. Plus I've been contemplating a dairy free diet, so I included that in the mix. The recipe turned out great. But the portions (to me) were still not appetizer size. I was looking for something about the size of an egg roll, and the 8 inch tortillas were still too big. The good thing I discovered in my little expedition was that the supermarket has everything you need to put together a healthy, quick app or dinner for yourself or your family. And I didn't seem to miss the gobs of sour cream I usually slather on top of any Mexican dish. And the Veggie Shreds (soy product) did the trick melting and tasting just like cheddar cheese, which normally wouldn't have been my cheese choice if I weren't avoiding dairy.

Here are some of the store bought products

I used to complete the dish:

Cheddar was the only selection they offered in my limited

"soy department", so I ran with it.

40% less sodium sounded good to me so I grabbed this Ortega product. Honestly, I could not tell the difference between the less sodium and the full flavor.

I don't seem to have a problem eating fat free beans, so I picked these up. There's so much going on in the chimichanga, you won't even notice the difference. I never do.

This little package of heaven is worth keeping around for anything you might be making. Plus it was a dollar off because the expiration date was coming up. Hah- I used one bag and froze the second, which you know I'll put to good use.

Oven Baked Chicken Chimichangas

serves four

Cooking spray

3 T canola oil, divided

3/4 cup onions diced

3/4 cup green pepper diced

1 jalapeno seeded and diced

1-1/2 cups cooked chicken sliced or shredded

1 pkg taco seasoning mix

1 cup re-fried beans

1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce (you won't need all of it)

4 8 inch flour tortillas

1 cup lactose free cheese shreds

1 pkg Wholly Guacamole for garnish

Chopped lettuce, tomato and scallions for garnish

Pre heat oven to 450 degrees. Cover baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Set aside. In large sauce pan, on medium low heat add 1 T canola oil. When oil is warm add onion, green peppers and jalapenos. Cook until soft and aromatic. You can add a pich of salt if you like. I did. Now add the taco mix with 3/4 cups of water. Simmer until it thickens (3-5 minutes). 

Now add the shredded/sliced chicken and combine with sauteed pepper/onion mixture.

Get out the tortillas and begin the assembly process. On each of 4 tortillas, spread 1/4 cup of refried beans down the center of the tortilla, leaving edges free of beans. Top with 1/4 of chicken mixture and 1/4 cup of cheese shreds.  

Tuck in 2 sides of the tortilla and then fold into thirds (like a business letter). Place tortillas seam side down on prepared baking sheet and brush tops with canola oil and bake 8 minutes. Flip tortillas and brush with more canola oil.

Bake another 8 minutes and remove from oven. Top with warmed enchilada sauce, chopped lettuce, tomato and scallions, and of course some cool Wholly Guacamole. And maybe a little dab of sour cream if you're not depriving yourself of dairy. I'm going to try this again with 6 inch tortillas if they are to be found. I don't think I need to post another recipe, but I'll let you know if that size fulfills my dream of the perfect appetizer.