Tag Archives: cheese

HashBrown Spinach Casserole

25 Jan

I already shared this version of a hash brown casserole with you guys… but this version really came about as a clean-out my fridge recipe.  I was tired of seeing the bag of hash brown potatoes in the freezer, a small container of French Onion Dip, the spinach, the shredded cheeses. 

I challenged myself to cook with stuff that was already “opened” – no need to open a new package of anything to save in the fridge.

 

HASHBROWN SPINACH CASSEROLE

1 lbs (about 1/3 a bag) of frozen hash brown potatoes, somewhat thawed
About 1 cup of frozen cut-leaf spinach, somewhat defrosted too
4oz of French Onion Dip – you can use one from the store or make it yourself
2 tbs plain yogurt
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend – Asiago, Mozzarella, provolone, etc.
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper to taste

 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
  2. Mix together all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
  3. Place the mixture in an oven-proof dish bake in oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the potato is fully cooked and the top is golden brown.

 

No need to salt this dish in my opinion… the times I used additional salt, even a little, it turned out salty.  The dip and the cheeses will provide plenty saltiness to the dish.

Try this with my Watercress Salad with Creamy Horseradish Dressing… super yummy.

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Cordon Bleu Quesadilla

3 Jan

Why anything that has ham and cheese inside gets called Cordon Blue???  I tried to search for the answer but I couldn’t find anything definitive.  So basically, I have no idea…  And because the name “ham and cheese” quesadilla is not as sexy-sounding, I will borrow the Cordon Blue term for this dish. 

Of course we’re using vegetarian “ham”… another reason why I did not want to use this word in the dish’s name…  I buy mine in NYC’s Chinatown, in a small store that sells vegetarian/soy based goods.  We have come to learn that some brands are better than others, but if you have a Chinese neighborhood in your town, seek out the freezer section with many of these vegetarian/soy based goodies.

Here is a picture of the brand we buy- just in case you’re in the NYC area… it’s kind of big and expensive to buy for just one person.  But it keeps super well in the freezer.  I defrost a bit in the fridge and separate a small batch to keep handy with the rest of the sandwich fixings.  I do not eat this frequently, but it really tastes good when you want to recreate some recipe you made in the past with boiled ham.

This is a great snack or quick lunch…

 

CORDON BLEU QUESADILLA

1 whole wheat tortilla
2 slices of vegetarian “ham”
1 tsp olive oil
¼ cup shredded cheese – I use an Italian cheese blend with Asiago, Mozzarella, Parmesan, etc.
About 1 oz of goat cheese, like 1/2” slice crumbled into pieces
¼ cup of Red Pepper Sauce to dip

 

  1. First we cook the “ham” a bit… take a medium skillet over medium heat and drizzle the olive oil (remember these are soy based, so not a lot of fat in these slices).  Place the slices of ham and cook a bit so the slices get some nice color.  Turn to cook on both sides and set aside.  After the slices have cooled a bit, slice into ¼ inch pieces.
  2. In the same skillet, heat the tortilla to make it somewhat pliable.  On one half of the tortilla place the pieces of goat cheese, pace the slices of “ham”, top with the shredded cheese and fold the tortilla to create a half circle/half moon.
  3. Flatten the quesadilla with a spatula a bit to make sure the cheeses melt well and the tortilla browns a bit.  Flip to warm up the other side.

 

Serve alongside Red Pepper Sauce to give it a nice sweet touch…  you can dip it or you can drizzle on top of the quesadilla.  It’s your choice…

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Tortilla Casserole

18 Dec

I work from home quite a lot… and half the time, by the time I get hungry I am too hungry to prepare something to eat.  So I usually have a fridge full of delicious stuff to cook and I end up having a boiled potato or a sandwich for lunch.  I just can’t spend 30-40 minutes cooking something right in the middle of a work day.

I had a bunch of tortillas I had bought to experiment with a few Mexican dishes I learned in Mexico and got tired of seeing them in the fridge, so I searched several recipes and found a few interesting ones, but of course all included some kind of meat.  I had some left-over tofu-chón in my fridge and I decided to mix and match recipes to see what would work.

I liked one in particular because it needed to chill overnight before baking… I thought it was awesome for lunch because I could just pop into the toaster oven at about 11AM, leave it alone and by the time I would get hungry, it would be ready.  My kind of recipe… 

I am not certain if the overnight soak is essential, but I love that this is an easy assembly you can prepare while making another dish the night (or even a few nights) before.  It’ll be ready when you are…

 

TORTILLA CASSEROLE

7 corn tortillas, cut into ½” strips
6-7 slices of marinated tofu, sliced into small pieces – I used this tofu-chón recipe here
1/2 cup mild or medium salsa
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ a packet of white button mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups)
4oz sour cream
½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup of water, if needed

 

  1. Prepare the tofu… first you need to press the tofu for about 1 hour and marinate in the adobo mixture for about an extra 2-3 hours.  So I recommend you making this tofu ahead and save them in the fridge and have them ready for you when you want to make this recipe. 
  3. Add salsa, mushroom soup and onions to a medium bowl and stir to combine.  If you find it too thick, add the ¼ cup of water in small increments to avoid making it too watery.  Set aside. 
  4. Now mix together the sour cream and yogurt in a separate bowl.  Set aside too.
  5. Spread 1/2 cup of the salsa mixture in bottom of a medium baking dish that can fit into your toaster oven. Place half of the tortilla strips in an even layer over salsa mixture
  7. Followed by half of the tofu, half of the mushrooms, half of the remaining salsa mixture, half of the sour cream/yogurt mixture, and half of the remaining cheese. Repeat process with remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  10. Uncover and transfer baking dish to a 300F degree oven. Bake until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted ad golden brown on top, about 1 hour.

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Pumpkin Polenta

30 Oct

I am a fan of Italian flavors… and this recipe fits very well with the flavors of autumn.   We do not have autumn here in Puerto Rico, but pumpkin is a favorite of mine and I wanted to do something that would highlight the flavor and nutrition of the pumpkin.  Plus, I still had some pumpkin seeds in my fridge I wanted to use up…

 Pumpkin Polenta

 

PUMPKIN POLENTA

1 ½ cups of pumpkin, peeled and cubed
4 tbs quick cooking polenta
½ cup of water
½ cup of milk
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
¼ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted – as garnish

 

  1. First we steam the pumpkin… place in a steamer for about 10-15 minutes to cook thoroughly.  After the pumpkin is done, mash it well and place it in a colander lined with a coffee filter or a paper towel and let the moisture of the pumpkin drain out a bit.  This can be done well in advance before moving on to the rest of the steps.
  2. Then we make the polenta… I heat the water, milk and salt in a medium pot and bring to a boil.  Add the polenta while stirring to avoid getting lumps.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue stirring until the desired consistency, which is like a smooth cream of wheat.  I’ll be honest; I follow the instructions on the polenta package I buy.  If the instructions on your package are different, follow the instructions on your package, but what I do is to replace ½ the water the recipe calls for milk – makes a creamier polenta, in my opinion.
  3. When the polenta reached the desired consistency, add the drained pumpkin puree, the grated cheese and season with pepper.  Stir well for the cheese to melt and the pumpkin to combine well with the polenta cream.
  4. Serve warm and sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds.

 

Great vegetarian alternative for Thanksgiving lunch or dinner… don’t you think?

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A Vegetarian in Paris… Snacking in the Champs Elysées

23 Oct

With all the walking we did in Paris, we had to do our three meals and a few snacks in between… these were a few of our favorites from our week in Paris.

champs elysees 2    champs elysees 1

Frites and Orangina at the Champs Elysees

I love French fries and it was a real pleasure to sit down at a café to taste a small plate of frites with ketchup and Dijon mustard.  You could taste these did not come from a frozen bag.

frites   orangina

Orangina was my beverage of choice during my week in Paris.  I remembered it well from my first trip to Europe.  It’s a natural soda with orange juice and pulp.  It’s refreshing… not something to drink every day, but certainly, a vacation treat.

A picnic at the Tour Eiffel

One of my dreams was to go to a street market, buy fresh fruits, cheese, bread and take it to a Parisian park to enjoy the company and the views.  When we drove past the Tour Eiffel and the Champs de Mars I immediately knew this was the location for our picnic.

Our initial plan was to visit the Marché Breteuil , open weekly on Thursdays and Saturdays, and then head for the Champs de Mars.   The thing was the market is open and available early in the morning, so when we went at about 3PM for our afternoon picnic snacking, there was nothing there except the empty area where usually the market stands are. Lesson learned there.

Alternatively, we went to a small market on our way to Champs de Mars and bought our fixin’s – crackers, fromage de chevre, Roquefort, strawberries, and the very Parisian BBQ flavored Lay’s potato chips.  It was truly wonderful… a dream come true.  It was a bit chilly, but very enjoyable. 

picnic 1

picnic 2

 Next time… a picnic somewhere we can see the Seine.

A few things to eat at home

Because we were staying at an apartment with a full kitchen… – full in the sense that had everything we needed, but super small according to US or PR standards. – We headed to a supermarket to gather some “munchies” and breakfast alternatives.

We were amazed by the amount and variety of cheeses in the cheese case.  To cheese lovers like us, we felt as if we were in cheese heaven.  We just could not bring ourselves to choose…  Among our purchases:   whole grain baguette, citrus juice, goat cheese crottins, comte cheese, some nectarines and peaches, among a few other necessities. 

fromage supermarche 1    fromage supermarche 2

It was really nice to arrive to our apartment, relax for a bit watching some French-language TV and enjoying French cheese, French bread before heading out to a late dinner… felt really Parisian, just like we wanted.  But please do not dare ask me how many pounds we gained in just that week…  OK?

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