Summer side dish

It's September!  The kids are back to school and soccer and our summer adventures seem like a distant memory but it's still warm and summer weather here in So Cal.  I tried to make soup the other night for dinner but on a hot evening, it felt sort of weird!  I thought I'd share a summer side dish recipe that I made over the summer months.  It's a healthy recipe (0 WW points) and makes a big batch.  I've been putting it in smaller containers and grabbing it for work lunches now that my beach days are on hold for awhile. 

The recipe is pretty basic - you can add or substitute other beans if there are some you don't like and you could change up the seasoning (lemon juice and italian seasoning?) to make it go better with your main dish of choice.  A couple of tomatoes are nice too but they get mushy when you have leftovers. Sometimes I put it over a bed of lettuce and add some grilled chicken to make a main dish.

Bean & Corn Summer Salad
8+ side dish servings

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shelled cooked edamame
1 bag of frozen sweet corn, thawed
a handful of chopped cilantro
1/2 small red onion, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1-2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Stir it all together and refrigerate for half hour or more before serving.  Lasts in the refrigerator for about a week.

Spinach Artichoke Quiche

Thought I should include a photo of my huge children.  It's been fun lately revisiting the early posts when Big was the only child and so, so little. 

This delicious (gluten-free) "quiche" is what we ate with our 2 ingredient bagels for dinner one night.  I topped it with red pepper flakes since my kids weren't eating it with us.  Then, I refrigerated the leftovers and ate them for lunch the rest of the week.

Spinach Artichoke Quiche (serves 6)
from Weight Watchers

1 can artichoke hearts
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 T olive oil
1 box frozen spinach (thawed and drained well)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 T dried basil
1/2 T dried oregano
salt and pepper

Grease a pie pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Drain the artichoke hearts and trim them.  Cut them into halves or quarters and spread them on the bottom of the pie pan. 

In a bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.  Stir in the spinach and parmesan cheese.  Pour egg mixture into the pie pan.  Top with dollops of ricotta.Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Points:  Varies depending on the cheese and milk.  I used whole milk and part-skim ricotta and the entire quiche was about 18 points so 3/slice.

2 Ingredient Bagels

I've seen this recipe circulating around the internet and the WW app and I was pretty skeptical - how good can a bagel be if it's just yogurt and flour?  When a friend said she had made and liked them, I decided to give them a try.  They were actually really delicious and my kids were eating them instead of the store bought bagels (which was not the plan . . . don't eat my low point snacks!).  I've made 3 or 4 batches and while the dough can be sticky and tough to work with, the end result is worth it. The are best if you eat them in the first couple of days (but in my house they don't last long).

Two Ingredient Bagels

nonfat plain Greek yogurt
self-rising flour
egg (optional)
toppings (optional)

Use equal amounts of yogurt and flour.  If you use 1 cup of each, you'll get 6 normal sized bagels (for WW people, this portion is 3 freestyle points).

Stir together the yogurt and flour.  I have used my dough hook in the Kitchenaid mixer with good results.  You want to knead it until it's smooth (doesn't take too long) or I have used the dough hook on my Kitchenaid stand mixer and mixed until it comes together in a ball.

Lightly flour the counter or a cutting board and divide the dough into equal parts (6 if you used 1 cup of each ingredient), roll it into a rope, and make a circle.  Place them on a baking sheet (I lined mine with Silpat or parchment).  If you want, beat an egg and brush the tops of the bagels with the egg wash.  You can top them with Everything Bagel seasoning from Trader Joes or I've also done a little cinnamon and splenda mixture.

Bake for 18-22 minutes at 375 degrees.  At this point, I turned my oven up to 500 for another couple of minutes to make the tops brown. 

Chicken and Fennel in Rosemary Wine Broth

I'll admit that when I picked this recipe and bought the ingredients, I wasn't super excited about it but it turned out way better than I had hoped for and I can't wait to make it again.  The flavors are delicious together and in my opinion, it's what a super light dinner should be - flavorful and satisfying.  I made rice for my kids but I put fresh arugula on the plate for my portion and spooned the hot chicken over the top which slightly wilted the arugula - the peppery flavor of the arugula went great with the sauteed onions and fennel in the recipe.  I also saved a little rosemary and chopped some fennel fronds for garnish when I plated the chicken.  Quick enough for a weeknight, but good enough that I'd serve it if I was having company over.

Chicken and Fennel in Rosemary Wine Broth (4 servings)

2 fennel bulbs
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 T flour (regular or gluten free)
1 small red onion, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
14 oz chicken broth
2 tsp. minced garlic
arugula, for serving
salt, pepper, olive oil

Slice just the bulb of the fennel into thin pieces.  You should have approximately 3 cups.  Chop the chicken breasts into small chunks.  Put chicken on a plate and sprinkle with 1 T of flour and rosemary and toss to coat.

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes.  Chicken will not be fully cooked through at this point.  Transfer to a plate.

In the same skillet, heat 2 tsp olive oil.  Add fennel and onion and saute until lightly browned and almost tender, about 7 minutes.  Add wine and garlic.  Deglaze the pan and simmer until almost all of the wine has evaporated, about 1 minute.  Add the broth, increase heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 1 minute.  Add chicken and cook, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and garnish with additional chopped rosemary or chopped fennel fronds.  Serve over arugula.

1 c = 2 freestyle points

Spaghetti Squash

Until a few years ago, I never made or ate spaghetti squash but recently, it's on regular rotation.  I haven't been eating a lot of pasta lately and I've found that spaghetti squash is a good pasta sauce delivery device.  Then, I found this spaghetti squash casserole recipe that was delicious.  I made it to go with instant pot chicken parmesan and the whole meal was amazing.  It's gluten free and vegetarian so will make a good addition to a meal as a side dish or would be a good main dish as well.  You could also add some cooked protein to this (sausage, chicken) when you toss it all together before baking.

Spaghetti Squash & Ricotta Casserole (6-8 side dish servings)

3 pound spaghetti squash (halved and seeded)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cups grape tomatoes (halved)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 oz baby spinach
15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3 T grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
salt, pepper, olive oil

Bake spaghetti squash in the oven or cook it in the instant pot until tender and the squash can easily be scooped out with a fork.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook the onion until golden and tender, 5 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes and garlic; stir until tomatoes start to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add spinach, stir until it's wilted (about a minute), and remove from heat.

Scoop the spaghetti squash strands into the skillet and toss to coat.  Stir in ricotta, 1/4 cup of the mozzarella, 2 T of the Parmesan and the basil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake until bubbly around the edges and golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

Soup in the Instant Pot

I know that soup is a popular type of recipe in the instant pot, but so far this is the first one that I've made.  I was initially resisting the instruction to dump it all in and turn it on without sauteing the onions or browning the chicken, but I needed a quick meal on a busy evening so I followed the instructions - measured, dumped, and pressed the button.  Because I haven't made something with so much liquid before, I was worried that I pressed something wrong because it took a lot longer than normal to come up to pressure and start counting down the minutes.  I texted my sister about this and she told me it would be okay . . . and it was!

Bottom line:  Although the setting is for 13 minutes of pressure cooking, plan on 40 minutes total start to finish.  I don't think it would have been any better with additional steps of sauteing so go ahead and put all the ingredients in and start it up.

Recipe notes:  No instant pot?  I think the same results could be achieved with 4-6 hours in a slow cooker.  My kids added sour cream and all 3 ate it!  I wanted more spice which I achieved with the optional chopped jalepenos.  Chicken breasts would probably work just as well.

White Chicken Chili (non-dairy / Instant Pot)
serves 6
Original Recipe from A Pinch of Healthy

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
5 cups chicken broth or stock
2 cans white beans (like cannelini), drained and rinsed
1 can diced green chilis (mild)
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
For serving:  chopped cilantro, chopped jalapenos, sour cream (all optional)

Add all the ingredients (except cilantro, jalapenos, and sour cream) to the instant pot.  Place the lid on and lock it.  Make sure the valve is seat to "sealing."  Use the manual setting to pressure cook for 13 minutes.  Do a quick release.  Remove the chicken thighs and shred them with two forks.  Return to the pot and serve immediately.  Serve the cilantro, jalapenos, and sour cream on the side.
4sp (0sp with chicken breasts)