Vidalia Onion Tart

Ok, so the hubby and I are planning a cruise in September.  Crazy planner as I am, I've even gone as far as to find the cruise ship's dinner menus online.  One of the appetizers that everyone raves about is a Vidalia Onion Tart.  Being the Georgia girl that I am, and living in a place where Vidalia onions are plentiful (and trust me, they taste different than other onions), I figured it was something I should try.

This was so good that I ate the entire piece standing at the kitchen counter because I didn't want to waste time to sit down!  Some of the flavors remind me of a good southern squash casserole, but of course with onions!  I had to go back for a second piece.  I am going to add this to the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner menu for sure.

I changed up the soup mix and cheese in this recipe from the original source.

Adapted from Allrecipes

Here's What You Need:

3 tablespoons butter

1 large Vidalia onion, diced

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

12 oz fat free evaporated milk

1 packet dry onion soup mix

3 eggs

1 cup Mozzarella cheese 

1/2 cup Cheddar cheese

1 9" deep dish frozen pie crust

Here's What You Do:

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a large skillet, saute onion in the butter until onions caramelize.

Remove from heat.  Whisk in sour cream, followed by evaporated milk, soup mix, eggs, and cheese, one at at time.

Pour mixture into unbaked pie crust.  Place pie crust on cookie sheet and place in oven.

Bake for 40 minutes.  Ensure it is done by checking with a toothpick until toothpick comes out clean.

Hint of Chocolate Summer Salad

Chocolate?  In a salad?  The hint of chocolate comes from cocoa roasted almonds.  I've eaten salads before topped with candied pecans, and when I saw the almonds in my cabinet, I thought it might make a tasty addition to my salad.  This is also my first time adding blueberries to a salad.  I've had one before with the strawberries, and I thought blueberries might be a nice addition (plus I have been trying to figure out what to do with the half pint in my fridge)!  The fruit, cheese, and slight cocoa taste go really well together for a light, yet sweet, meal.  I find that with the sweetness of the fruit, you don't need a lot of vinaigrette...just enough for a light coating.

Here's What You Need:

2 cups fresh spinach

4 grape tomatoes, sliced in half

3 strawberries, cut in half

1/8 cup blueberries

1/8 cup feta

4 tsp raspberry vinaigrette (I used a fat free type)

12 cocoa roasted almonds (I used Emerald brand)

Here's What You Do:

Toss all of the ingredients together!  Eat!

Baked Jalapeno Poppers

I love jalapeno poppers, but I don't love how much fat and calories they contain.  Plus, fried food just always makes me feel blah afterwards.  I've made these baked jalapeno poppers a few times, and they are just enough to fulfill that craving.

adapted from Skinny Taste

Here's What You Need:

5 jalapeno peppers

4 oz fat free cream cheese

1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 egg, beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper

Here's What You Do:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray.

Cut the stem off of each jalapeno, and slice them in half lengthwise.  Remove seeds and membrane. (Remember to wear gloves or wash your hands well when handling peppers.)

In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and cheddar cheese.  Fill each jalapeno half with mixture.

In another bowl, mix breadcrumbs, cumin, and chipotle.  Dip each popper into the beaten egg and then dip into bread crumb mixture, coating it well.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.  You may also want to lightly spray each popper with olive oil before cooking to help breadcrumbs get nice and toasty.

Fiesta Bean and Corn Dip

I love Mexican food, but during the summer I don't want to eat anything too heavy.  My mother-in-law made this yummy dip for one of our pre-wedding festivities a couple of years ago, and I think I probably ate half of it myself!  This is something with all of the Mexican flavor I love, but it is healthy, low-fat, and light.

Here's What You Need:

2 cans black beans, washed and drained

2 cans yellow corn, washed and drained

2 cans of diced tomatoes with jalapenos

1/4 cup lime juice

1 tsp cumin

Here's What You Do:

Pour black beans, corn, and tomatoes into a bowl.  Add lime juice and cumin.  Stir and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

Instead of cheesecake with a little bit of strawberry, how about strawberry with a little bit of cheesecake?  Light and refreshing, perfect for a snack, appetizer, or dessert.

from Do It and How

Here's What You Need:

1 pint fresh strawberries

1 8oz package of fat free cream cheese

3 tsp powdered sugar

Here's What You Do:

Wash the strawberries, remove the leaves, and cut out the centers.

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar.

Spoon or pipe with a zip-lock bag into each of the strawberries.

Hummus

In my opinion, hummus is one of the tastiest "healthy" snacks out there.  I could seriously go through an entire container of it in one sitting.  The great thing I love about it, other than tasting awesome, is that you can add all kinds of things to give it different flavors.  Not only is it delicious and healthy, but it is also extremely easy to make - less than five minutes!  

From Serious Eats

Here's What You Need:

2 15oz cans of chickpeas, drained

1/3 cup tahini 

2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup water

Here's What You Do:

Put chickpeas and garlic into a food processor and pulse until the chickpeas are chopped.

Add tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt.  

Puree until smooth.  Add a little bit of water at a time to help make it creamier.

At this point, you can choose to just have the plain hummus, or you can follow my lead and remove half to enjoy as is, and add 1/3 cup chopped sundried tomatoes to the remainder.  Puree until tomatoes are completely blended.  The mixture will turn orange.  

Enjoy with pita chips or chopped veggies!

Baked Zucchini Sticks

Zucchini has become one of my new favorite vegetables.  I have found so many interesting new ways to prepare it lately.  One that is quite tasty is to bread and bake them.  

Here's What You Need:

2 large zucchini, peeled

1 cup breadcrumbs or panko

1 egg

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp ground pepper

cooking spray

Here's What You Do:

Take your peeled zucchini and slice them in half.  Cut each half into strips about the size of french fries.  Each half of mine gave me about 12 strips.  

In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, garlic salt, and ground pepper. 

In a separate bowl, beat the egg.  Dip the sticks a couple at a time into the egg and then into the breadcrumb mixture.

Place the sticks onto a pan coated with cooking spray.  After all of the sticks are on the pan, lightly spray them again with cooking spray.  (I use olive oil spray).

Bake at 400F for 25 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs turn a golden brown.

Serve with marinara sauce.

Adapted from: Skinny Taste and Eat Yourself Skinny

Spinach and Feta Roll-ups

Try these little roll-ups dipped in marinara for a fun party appetizer or for an easy meal.  They take about five minutes to prepare before cooking.

Adapted from: All Day I Dream About Food

Here's What You Need: 

1 can crescent rolls

1 cup cooked spinach (I used a bag of frozen chopped spinach)

1/2 cup feta (I used one with sun dried tomato and basil seasoning already in it)

1 tsp minced garlic

extra virgin olive oil

Here's What You Do:

Cook fresh or frozen spinach in EVOO until tender.

Mix with feta and garlic.

Roll out crescent triangles on baking sheet.  Put one spoonful of mixture onto each triangle and roll up.

Bake according to directions for crescent rolls.  (Mine was 375F for 11-13 minutes).

Roasted Chickpeas

A friend mentioned these to me about two years ago, and they have become one of my favorite snacks.  You can make them sweet, salty, or spicy, and they are much more healthy, and just as fulfilling, as chips and other snacks.

Here's What You Need:

12oz bag of dried chickpeas/garbanzo beans OR 2 cans of chickpeas

4 tbs extra virgin olive oil

               

And, depending on what you're in the mood for:

                For spicy:

                salt
                pepper
                chili powder
                Tabasco sauce

                For roasted garlic:

                2 tsp minced garlic

                For sweet:

                Cinnamon

                Sugar

Here's What You Do:

If you start with the dried chickpeas, make sure to soak them overnight!  They won't be too appetizing if you forget to soak and then break your teeth. :)

Take your chickpeas and toss them around in the olive oil.  Make sure to coat them really well.  Apply the seasoning of your choosing, with as much of each as you can handle.  As long as you make sure to get some on each of the chickpeas, you should be good.

Put the chickpeas in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for an hour.  Make sure to check on them periodically to make sure they don't burn.  Burning is easy if you don't use enough oil.

Let them cool, and enjoy!