Artichoke, Kale & Ricotta Pie

If you've been following my posts for any length of time you'll see the ridiculous amount of dessert dishes I make.  It's just not normal.  After all, it's just me and my husband at home.  I'm not feeding a family or an army.  I just get swept up in the recipes and visions in my head of all these heavenly delights.  You know what that leads to?  Me feeling like poo when I've eaten too much of it. 

For the record, I don't eat all of it. Far from it.  I bring a large chunk of what I make to whatever yoga studio(s) I'm teaching at that day.  Luckily for me, not every yogi is into a strict vegetarian (healthy) diet.

That said, I'm seeking to go back to a more mindful and healthy way of eating.  Granted, I have to clear the fridge and cabinets of whatever leftover supplies I used, but I'm getting back on track.  And what better way to do both than with this next recipe for Artichoke, Kale and Ricotta Pie.  (Original recipe is found here).

By the way, it's cooking right now and smells absolutely sinful!

ARTICHOKE, KALE & RICOTTA PIE

INGREDIENTS:
Olive oil
4 eggs, beaten
8 ounces ricotta cheese
4 ounces Parmesan, grated
1 cup canned artichokes, chopped
1 bunch kale, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan lightly with olive oil. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and cheeses. Roughly chop the veggies and add to the cheese/egg mixture. Stir until combined. Pour contents of bowl into the greased cake pan and cook until custard is set, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool on a wire wrack for 5 to 10 minutes and serve.

PERSONAL NOTES:

This pie didn't need to be in the oven as long as the directions state.  I left it in for 40 minutes and checked; it was more than ready to come out.  Next time I make this (and I will be making it again because it turned out delicious!) I'll check it at 30 minutes and possibly lower the temperature to about 375 degrees.

As far as the flavor goes, I like putting garlic and onions in almost everything I make and this was no exception.  However, I discovered I ran out of fresh garlic.  Boo.  Happily, I have a good amount of onions on hand so I decided to thinly slice up a couple of shallots.  Hooray!

So even though it cooked a little longer than I would have liked, it still came out fantastic.  My husband gave it his two thumbs up as well!

Roasted Acorn Squash & Quinoa Pasta

This dish is probably the best thing I've come across in a LONG time.  Not only is this a keeper, but I think it'll be something I make several more times through the end of the winter.

I made this dish twice.  It's based on a recipe found here.  I adapted it to make a pasta sauce, baked pasta dish as well as a soup.  It's more than fair to say that this is a versatile recipe.

ROASTED ACORN SQUASH & QUINOA PASTA

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup onion

1 tablespoon butter or oil

1 garlic clove

2 cups pureed acorn squash (from 1 roasted corn squash)

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (divided in half)

Parmesan for topping

2 boxes elbow pasta (8oz boxes)

DIRECTIONS:

1. To roast acorn squash, cut squash in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down in a pan filled with about a 1/2″ of water. Roast at 400˚ until squash is tender (mine took about 30 minutes.) Remove and let cool. Scoop out the insides and set aside (this can be done the day before as well.)
2. Cook pasta according to package (or about 2-3 minutes less to make it al dente).
3. In a bowl, stir together the acorn squash, ricotta cheese and Parmesan.
4. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Finely dice onions and add to pan along with chopped garlic. Cook until onions are translucent and cooked through.
5. Add onions/garlic and squash mixture and puree in a food processor till smooth.
6. Once everything is ready, spoon squash mixture onto pasta.
7. **If you're making the baked version** Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Combine cooked pasta and squash mixture. Put it in the casserole dish and top with either breadcrumbs or parmesan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, just enough to get the top a little crispy.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Okay.  So I've made this dish twice now.  It was delicious both times.  Actually, the first time I made the acorn squash mix, I was spooning it out from the food processor right into my mouth.  I could have made a meal just out of that alone.  It was that good.

That said, I decided to see what else I could make from the original recipe. 

Let me rewind for a moment.  Since I didn't have pasta shells, I decided to use the quinoa pasta I had which was elbows.  I made the acorn squash mix as a sauce.

Then the wheels started turning and I thought that it would make a good baked dish, similar to a macaroni and cheese - in the loosest sense of the phrase. 

But then I also thought it would make a great soup if it was thinned out to the right consistency.

Oh - the acorn squash.  It's easier to cut through and set up than butternut squash, but once cooked, it's still a little challenging to scoop out the cooked parts.  There's probably an easier way to do it, but I find my hands get mighty dirty in the process.  Then again, maybe it's good to get the hands dirty now and again ;)

TO MAKE ROASTED ACORN SQUASH SOUP:

Add 1 cup vegetable broth and 1 cup half and half (I used fat free, but the real thing would make it even creamier :) to a large saucepan with the acorn squash mix and simmer for about 30 minutes.

YUM.

Spinach and Mushroom Frittata

I'm so glad I discovered frittatas.  I've always been a big fan of quiche but the crust is typically so calorie-laden that I tend to shy away from eating too much of it.  But since I've been making these frittatas, I can have the quiche without the crust.  Plus they're easy to make and not guilt-inducing.  Which makes me an even bigger fan!

The following recipe is based on this one from allrecipes.com

SPINACH & MUSHROOM FRITTATA

INGREDIENTS:

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed thoroughly to remove liquid

4 eggs or equivalent egg substitute 

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

3/4 cup chopped portobello mushrooms 

1/2 cup finely chopped scallions with some green tops

1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings

1 pinch Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients until well mixed. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray and fill with the spinach mixture.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, or until browned and set. Let cool for 20 minutes, cut in wedges and serve.

PERSONAL NOTES:

The Monterey Jack cheese is my addition to the recipe.  And I also used Egg Beaters to lower calories and cholesterol. 

This is so easy to make there's really no excuse not to go for this when you're looking for a good (and low-cal per slice) meal.

At 6 servings, each slice is only about 230 calories! Whooh!