Spinach Pancakes. It can be done and be GOOD.

It's no secret I've been trying to find some "healthier" recipes and really cut down on the refined foods (hello, bread anyone?).  I came across this recipe and decided to give it a whirl, though of course I modified it quite a bit so that it looks like a completely different dish. 

The pictures don't do justice to this dish.  The pancakes come out looking all weird but they are really so good!  Although they are densely "spinach", they're still pretty thick.  However, I wouldn't call them bready.  The flour in the recipe is just enough to get everything to stick together.  The end result is a hearty and healthy meal.

SPINACH (and sweet potato) PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup chopped spinach (or use one package 10oz frozen spinach)
1 cup sweet potato fries, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 large egg
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Canola or Vegetable Oil
Accompaniments: Marinara sauce, Ketchup, or Mustard

Or see this recipe for the Ka-Pow dipping sauce. It is absolutely, RIDICULOUSLY good!


DIRECTIONS:
Place the vegetables in a food processor and pulse to chop fine.

Add the chopped vegetables into a bowl along with the flour, salt, egg, basil and garlic powder. Mix to combine.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and place 1 tbsp of the batter into the pan for each pancake.
Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side.

Serve with marinara sauce or dip of your choice.

PERSONAL NOTES:

These pancakes came out much heartier than I originally anticipated.  I love it that there's hardly any flour in the mix so the pancakes are really very spinach-sweet potato.  And because of the egg/flour additions the pancakes came out nice and thick.  So good.  Not to mention, they're very filling.  I probably eat 2 for each serving.

As I mentioned above, these pancakes are really, really good with the Ka-Pow sauce.  You should try it!!!

Scalloped Potatoes

In an effort to use some potatoes I had lying around, I found this recipe to make scalloped potatoes.  As it turned out, I had all the ingredients.  Well...kind of had the ingredients.  Actually, I had to substitute some things because I didn't have everything the recipe called for.  I'll explain in a little bit...

SCALLOPED POTATOES

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1-1/2 cups fat-free milk

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

1-3/4 pounds potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 5 medium)

1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

In a small nonstick skillet, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until blended.

Place half of the potatoes in a 1-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray; layer with half of the onion and cheese sauce. Repeat layers.

Cover and bake at 350° for 50 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly and potatoes are tender.

Yield: 6 servings.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Well... a few things:  As I was preparing to make this dish, I discovered I had no more flour.  NONE.  So I had this idea of using ground cornmeal as a substitute.  The same stuff I use to make polenta. 

Then I used fat free half and half because I had it on hand.  And instead of using cheddar cheese (because again, I had none), I chose to use Monterey Jack cheese.  Then I doubled the amount of cheese. 

Finally, for the onion I used a bunch of scallions.  Again, I used them because I had them. Oh, the potatoes.  I used 2 new potatoes and 2 sweet potatoes.  As I said, these were all items I had on hand. 

As I was mixing the milk/cheese sauce I noticed that the mixture was super soupy.  So I added in another tablespoon of cornmeal.  Then once it thickened, it thickened in a serious way.  Like, maybe I shouldn't have used that extra tablespoon of cornmeal.  Anyway... I put the whole kit and caboodle together and it looked great. 

Once it baked up, the sweet potatoes and cornmeal gave it a golden/orange color.  And while the sauce thickened to a cornbread-like consistency, the whole dish tasted great.  So, I'm not sure these would pass as your traditional scalloped potatoes, but they are really delicious.  My husband tested them too and liked them.  I'll be making these again.

Baked Zucchini & Sweet Potato Chips

Since I had the zucchini I decided to make these baked zucchini chips.  Then I decided that since I also had a sweet potato to use, I'd try it as a baked chip too.  They're fun, no doubt about that.  But they were a bit time consuming to prepare.  In an effort to save time, I used my food processor, but that wasn't the time-killer.  Dipping the slices into flour-->egg-->bread crumbs (back to)-->egg-->bread crumbs took some time.  Then I had to contend with everything sticking to my fingers which was a little gross.  Then as I'm dipping one piece into the next mix, I'm dragging bread crumbs and things are clumping up and well, take my word for it; it was time consuming.

Once I filled up a cookie sheet with all the chips, the rest was easy.  They don't come out super crispy or anything, but they're just tasty.  Even as leftovers, they're good :)

BAKED ZUCCHINI & SWEET POTATO CHIPS

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs 

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 

2 egg whites

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
2. In one small bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Place the egg whites in a separate bowl. Dip zucchini slices into the egg whites, then coat the breadcrumb mixture. Place on a greased baking sheet.
3. Bake for 5 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn over and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until browned and crispy.

PERSONAL NOTES:
I think I cooked mine at about 375 degrees, not 475... that seems awfully high.  I also ended up cooking them for about 10-15 minutes each side.  So my advice to you on this would be to cook them as directed and check to see if they're done or need more time.  Everyone's oven is different. 

And on second thought... since I made the leftover slices the next day, it was too much work.  I'm not sure I'd make these again.  As I said though, they taste really good. They're just time consuming :(

Sweet Potato and Fennel Frittata (with Leeks!)

This is a creative combination right here (and I wish I'd thought of it!): Sweet potato and fennel.  I wouldn't have thought to bring these two together but I'm glad someone else did.  Since I wasn't sure how I'd feel about fennel (beleive it or not I've never actually had fennel before except as tea) so I picked up some leeks to split the frittata into two parts: one half fennel and the other half leeks.  As it turns out, both halves are delicious!  Although I'm still glad I grabbed the leeks.  They offer good flavor combinations as well as textures.  So good.


SWEET POTATO & FENNEL FRITTATA (AND LEEKS)

INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs (or egg subsitute)
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup milk
1 large sweet potato (peeled and sliced really thin with a mandolin
1 large fennel bulb (cored, and sliced thin)
2 leeks (optional)
1/4 cup fresh grated Pecorino cheese
1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or oregano)
Salt and pepper as needed
2 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together the eggs, mascarpone and milk together. Season with salt and set aside. Brush the bottom of your tart pan with butter. Arrange one-third of the sweet potato slices in a single layer on the base slightly overlapping the slices. Sprinkle a third of the fennel slices evenly. Season with salt, pepper and a third of the thyme. Pour a third of the egg mixture over the veggies. Sprinkle some of the Pecorino cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers ending by sprinkling all the remaining Pecorino on top.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes until the center is set. Remove to rack and serve immediately.

PERSONAL NOTES:

As I mentioned above, I split the frittata into two halves.  One side for the fennel, the other for the leeks.  Also - and this is a BIG note - my frittata cooked for 50 minutes NOT 30 minutes.  I kept checking to see if the eggs were cooked in the middle and they weren't.  I have no idea why it took so long, but there you have it.  Check it at 30 minutes and see if you need to keep it cooking or not.  50 minutes is quite a bit of time - and considerably longer than what the recipe originally called for.  But let me tell you, the end result was worth the wait.  SO GOOD.