Spinach and Mushroom parcels - Meat Free Monday

The last 2 weeks have been rather tedious. I was helping my dad out answering phones while his receptionist was away on annual leave. I spent many an hour playing facebook games and wishing I had uploaded some images for blogging. I was not on my own computer so had no pictures with me and so you didn't get any new recipes to try. Sorry :(

However you did get a new look and feel, like a new space to visit. They say a change is as good as a holiday :)

So it is Monday again and with it comes the dulcet sounds of my family moaning at me that they don't understand how 1 day a week can make a difference. With it also comes me ignoring them. Some weeks I just quietly make my own little meal to eat, others I make a dish with several components so those who choose to can eat Meat-free and other days I make something so delicious, they don't care if there is meat or not.

Such was the case with these little phyllo parcels. With the meatiness of the wild mushrooms and the creaminess of the spinach, these edible presents ticked every box in the house.

What you need:

3 bags baby spinach

1 box mixed wild mushrooms

1 tub fat free smooth cottage cheese

1 onion

1 medium potato

½ fairview single salad serving feta (or 1 wheel)

garlic

smoked paprika

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Phyllo pastry

What to do:

Wash the spinach very well (rule of thumb is at least 7 times, no one likes sandy spinach)

Chop half the onion finely, do the same with the potato (the pieces should all be roughly the same size and very small). Heat up some olive oil in a wok or large pan. Saute the onions and potatoes then add the spinach and mix till wilted (depending on the size of your wok/pan you made need to add the spinach in stages). When all the spinach has wilted add the garlic ad stir well. Then add the cottage cheese and crumble in the feta. Turn off the heat and stir well. Slice the other half of the onion into slivers. In another pan toss the onion and the smoked paprika in some heated olive oil, then add the mushrooms and fry until browned. Add the mushrooms to the spinach mixture, mix well then season to taste.

Cut your phyllo into long strips (I use scissors). Brush one piece with olive oil and stick another piece on top of it. Spoon some filling into it and fold as you wish, using a little more olive oil to seal it. Heat up the oven nice and hot and turn on the grill  and grill until golden brown and crispy (you filling is cooked and should be warm, if the filling has cooled then place the parcels into the oven at 180°c for a few minutes and then pop them under the grill)

You can serve them steaming hot, or even instead of sandwiches for school or work the next day

Veggie soup with homemade gnocchi - Meat free monday recipe

My mom has recently decided that meat free mondays is not a bad idea. So I was happy to discover when we went shopping that what she had in mind was a heart vegetable soup which we packed full with everything from peas, to spinach, baby corn and more (no potatoes).

Something didn't sit right with me and I was sure it was missing something but I just couldn't place my finger on it. Then, while browsing through Meeta's "What's for Lunch Honey" archives I came across this recipe. I immidiately called my mom and asked her to buy some gnocchi to add in. She agreed but first had to rush home so the domestic worker could go home and then she would go shopping. I got home shortly after her and while discussing things I decided that it would be quicker and tastier to make our own gnocchi.

This was the perfect opportunity to go to my list of "recipes I have to try" and one of them was JamieWhoSA's gnocchi recipe. I didn't have sweet potatoes but loads of lovely woolworths organic potatoes.

The soup was my mom's creation but its a basic vegetable soup, flavoured with louvage and parsley, below though is my slight variation on JamieWho's recipe. I was so lucky to have some really awesome ingredients on hand.

What you need:
6 small organic potatoes
1 jumbo free range egg
2 cups stone ground white bread flour
pinch of nutmeg
salt to taste (the stone ground flour has no salt in it)

What to do:
Peel the potatoes and boil in some salted water until soft. Mash well. In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients until you get a warm soft dough.Cover with a tea towel and leave for 5 minutes. Roll the dough out into a sausage shape (I did it in batches), then with a sharp knif cut pices from the sausage. I then rolled them into blobs (very technical I know) and pressed them gently with a fork. In the meantime boil up some salted water and put the gnocchi in. When they are ready they float to the top.

To add a little edge to mine I grated parmesan on them as they came out of the water instead of adding it directly to the soup.

Cocacola Chicken (Slimmer style)

When I was a teenager we used to go to a friend of my parents for supper quite often, and most times she made "cocacola chicken". I hadnt had it for years and suddenly I am craving it! So I searched for a recipe, then I searched for how to make it friendlier to the waistline. Unfortunately those who are staying away from Aspartame will have to use regular coke, or cola tonic with soda water.

What you will need -
1 pack chicken pieces
1 can coke zero (I use zero as it is only half aspartame)
4 onions (sliced)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs light all gold ketchup (or if you dont have light ketchup mix tomato puree with a bit of water and a little bit of sugar or xylotol)


What to do:
Layer the onion and chicken in an oven dish or tray. 
Mix together all the other ingredients and pour over the chicken
Bake for about 1 to 1½ hours on 180°C


Serve with some boiled baby new potatoes or wild rice.


Shopping List

General Something

Some of my readers might know that I am getting married in March 2010 and so I have started trying to lose weight. I started with Sports Science and did well and now I am on Weight Watchers. Before all this I would eat anything and so one of my favourite foods was General Tsao Chicken. I was so happy when I found this recipe from WW for my favourite dish and so I immediately tried it out.

I will say this, it was tasty. It wasn't however the dish I was expecting (maybe the place where I used to eat it used a different dish entirely and this is what General Tsao chicken is supposed to taste like)

Here is the recipe from WW and my alteration in brackets

POINTS® value | 6
Servings |  4
Preparation Time |  20 min
Cooking Time |  10 min
Level of Difficulty |  Moderate

You will need:
¾ cup(s) canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium  (I used 1 Tbsp Thelma chicken soup powder and diluted it in ¾ cup of boiling water)
1½ Tbsp cornstarch 
2 Tbsp sugar 
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce  (I used normal soya sauce, I want to remain healthy and lose weight and low-sodium soya sauce has a lot of added preservatives to make up for less sodium)
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar  (I used rice wine vinegar)
1/2 tsp ground ginger  (I used 1 Tbsp of freshly grated ginger instead)
2 tsp peanut oil 
2 medium scallion(s), chopped  (Those are spring onions for those who dont know)
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced 
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or 1 dried chili pepper, minced  (I used fresh green chillies)
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces  (I floured the chicken as it gives it a nice coating)
2 cup(s) cooked white rice, kept hot  (I used Jasmine rice)
 

What to do:

In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger; set aside.
(I kept the corn starch out until just before adding the mixture to the chicken, it works better)
Heat oil in a wok or large pan over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic and pepper and cook 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook until browned all over, about 5 minutes.
Add reserved sauce and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes.
Serve chicken and sauce over rice.