Meatless Mondays: Grilled Vege Hummus Pitas

It's been awhile since I've done a Meatless Monday.  I made this last week and really loved it!  I got it out of my Cooking Light magazine.  It's super easy, quick and super healthy.  If you haven't tried hummus or are a bit scared of it then you can always leave it out. I've listed substitutions at the bottom. 

Ingredients:
1 red onion, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 red bell pepper, sedded and quartered
1 12 oz. eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Hummus
Flatbread or pitas
Feta or goat cheese 




Brush each side of all the veges with olive oil and grill on each side for 3 minutes.  I did mine on a grill pan on the stove.  You can grill on a regular grill or even broil it if you don't have either of those options.

Chop all of the vege's into bite-sized chunks.

Combine the chopped vege's, 1 tablespoon EVOO, parsley and salt.

Spread hummus in pita and stuff with vege mixture and sprinkle some feta cheese in as well.

With the leftovers I spread 1 T hummus over a multi-grain cracker and added some vege's.  Delish snack that wasn't very high in calories.

I have only really started cooking with eggplant in the past year and this is a great way to use this veggie.  We've found that most vege's that my hubby or me didn't really like as children are really delicious grilled or roasted.  Grilling just adds a depth of flavor that you can't beat!

There are so many variations you can make, here are some substitutions if you are apprehensive about any of the ingredients:
-Mozzarella cheese for the feta or goat cheese
-Zucchini or summer squash for the eggplant
-Instead of hummus a vege or herb cream cheese spread

Happy Cooking!
-

Salmon & Spinach Parchment Packets

I've been on the hunt for new low-cal recipes as I'm into week 7 of working out hard and really watching what I eat.  My sister-in-law had this great Everyday Food (by Martha Stewart) magazine when we were at their house that I had to buy it when I got home. I was trying to find a new way to eat fish/Salmon and found this recipe.  This is such an easy, good and healthy recipe.  I'll list out what the recipe is and all the different ways you can alter it at the bottom.

Ingredients:
8 ounces baby spinach
1 tablespoon grated orange zest, plus 3 oranges, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
4 skinless salmon fillets (1 1/2 pounds total)
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips (1/4 cup)
1 shallot, thinly sliced
S&P
EVOO

Take 4 pieces of parchment paper.  Divide the spinach and add the orange zest on top and then the orange slices.  I only used 2 oranges myself for 4 packets as I knew my kids wouldn't eat them.

Add the salmon on top of the oranges and salt and pepper liberally.  Add the ginger and shallots on top of the salmon and drizzle with the EVOO.

My husband went Salmon fishing last summer and this Salmon was from that trip.  I had to take the skin off the bottom and I did not have a proper fish knife.  It was tough work, but you definitely don't want fish skin on the bottom mingling with your spinach so skin it if it's not already skinned.

Fold down the parchment paper lengthwise and then tuck under creating little packets.  I labeled each of my packets because my kids got less spinach and seasonings due to their pickiness.

Cook for 15 min.  I really think it would be done in 10-12 as mine was a touch dry.

Ways to alter this recipe:
-I had leeks to use so I swapped those in place of the shallots.  You could also sub in green onions or leave out onions all together.  Chives or dill would be good here too in addition or instead of the onions.
-Use lemon in place of the orange zest and slices. I wouldn't do lime slices, but lime zest would be yummy too.
-I keep ginger in my freezer so I just grated that on top of my salmon instead of cutting into nice sticks.
-When drizzling with EVOO add some fresh lemon or orange juice on top too.
-If you don't like Salmon then swap with halibut or tilapia which are super mild fish.  Depending on the thickness you may need even less time in the oven-especially the tilapia.

Roasted Carrots

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged...well I guess I can.  I had sinus surgery in November, plus a few sicknesses and then Christmas and then more sicknesses and then my birthday so wow it's been a few busy/crazy months.  My 2 year old always wants to be in the computer room bugging me so that has made it hard to blog lately too.  Hoping for a laptop sometime in the near future.

I'm really trying to amp up my vegetable eating and I do like some vege's in their raw state, but I really am loving them lately either roasted or grilled on our outdoor grill.  I saw this recipe awhile ago, but really started incorporating it lately into our dinner rotations.  It's so easy and simple and you don't even have to peel carrots.  What I really love about roasting carrots is that it brings out the natural sweetness in them. 

If you don't really like carrots so much, try these and they'll change your mind.  3 out of 4 people in our house approve of these!  Can you only guess who doesn't.....yep, my picky son!

First up: Preheat your oven to 375.

Then scrub your carrots really well and cut off the tops and bottoms and halve them lengthwise.

Throw them on a rimmed sheet and pour a little olive oil and seasonings.  I have been using Italian seasoning, but you could use oregano or fresh oregano and fresh thyme - that's what the real recipe calls for, but I don't ususally have it in my house.  Even just salt and pepper would work great.  Anything really!

Mix everything together thoroughly to coat the carrots.  If you happen to get too much olive oil on the pan (which I've done before) just move your carrots to one side and wipe off the excess oil.  You want just enough to coat the carrots, but you don't want your carrots swimming in it.

Arrange them nicely on the sheet so they aren't overlapping each other.

Cook for 35 min.  Seriously easy and delish!