Potato Cakes-Thinny style!

Thinny Potato-Cakes! I was in the mood for something crunchy on the outside and yummy in the middle! So I decided to make these...What I love about these cakes is that when it comes to the topping there is a lot of versatility, they taste great with so many flavors! I have been addicted to Tzatziki sauce ever since I was a kid after eating it in a greek diner. So I like to top mine with a dollop of that, (see recipe at bottom of page) if that's your thing.

Things you'll need
2 large peeled potatoes or 4 small cooked then mashed, I used my little food processor
1 onion diced
3 minced garlic cloves
1 package mushrooms (diced)
1/2 pepper diced
1 stalk celery diced
2 eggwhites
1 whole egg for coating, but you will probably have some left over. (I did)
Garlic powder
breadcrumbs for coating (italian style)
Fresh dill
Chives-(optional)
Oil for sautéing the veggies.

Step 1

Get your mushrooms, celery stalk, onion and 1/2 a pepper-wash, and dice them all up. (set aside)

Step 2

Peel your potatoes and steam them, or boil, or even microwave them till soft-If you do microwave them, check on them so that they don't burn. Once they are done, either blend them in a food processor or a potato masher. (if using a food processor add a tiny bit of oil before processing.) After its mushed, put it in a bowl, let it cool off.

Mashed up potato and fresh dill

   Step 3

Get your pan, pour a shallow layer of oil and heat it; once hot, add all your diced veggies and cook till soft and translucent add a bit of salt, set aside and let it cool down, while that is cooling, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Once the mushroom mixture is cooled add it to the potatoes, along with 2 whisked egg whites, 3 minced garlic cloves, and the chopped fresh dill, salt, pepper and a little shake of garlic powder and Mush that all up well using nice clean hands.

Step 4

Take your breadcrumbs and shake some onto a plate, take 1 whole egg and crack and whisk it into a bowl.  Start forming patties one at a time, if you have a brush, use it to spread a little egg on each side of the cake, if you don't ..Do what I did, hold the patty in one hand and dip your fingers into the egg and brush it onto both sides of the patty (evenly), then coat with bread crumbs and place onto a baking sheet (after you have sprayed it with cooking spray) Do this until all cakes have been made -it should make 8
once they are all on the sheet, use the cooking spray and give it a good once over.
*Pop them in the oven!

Cook for 30 minutes, gently turn cakes over half way through cook time.

Topped with Romano cheese and Chives

Tzatziki and chives

Condiment ideas

Sourcream(light)

little parmesan or romano cheese

Tzatziki sauce

Applesauce

Ketchup

Hot Sauce

Tartar sauce and lemon

Drizzle of Honey mustard, ranch, any lite dressing of your preference, I think it works best with something in the creamy family! 

Salsa, and/or guacomole,

Another yummy topping for this is my white sauce, (see creamy lasagna rollups for recipe).

Tzatziki Recipe
1 container of reduced fat sour cream, or greek yogurt, the sour cream has a slightly sweeter thicker flavor and consistency, the yogurt is thinner and more tangy, so this is your preference, I like both. You could even do half greek yogurt, half sour cream..this is one of those recipes that everyone has a certain version of how they like it. So taste as you go! :)

1 cucumber, peeled, then cut lengthwise, scooped and shredded,  whatever you can't shred, dice it up, using a cheesecloth or paper towels, drain as much water out of the cucumber as you can, once that's done, cut the shredded cucumber pieces, so they are not sooo long.

Add the cucs and the rest of the ingredients below to a bowl, combine well 

1 tbsp. olive oil
Juice of a half a lemon (or a little more, taste as you go)
3 regular sized minced garlic cloves,  or 4 small ones.
Salt  to taste

Fresh dill, about 1 tsp.(optional)

Fresh oregano (optional) 

Put in the fridge for at least one hour, and serve with whatever you like! 

Thinny Stuffed Mushrooms!

I used the basic method for making stuffed mushrooms, but with no cheese for this protein packed dish,  I used Garbanzo beans for the base of the filling instead, and I think they came out great! These are not only tasty but low in fat, calories and healthy! I used lemon to top it off, Lemon is what really brings the flavors alive!

Things you'll need

2 Packages of Button mushroom
1 lemon
About a 1/4 cup bread crumbs
3 stalks celery diced (including the leaves)
1/2 purple onion diced(or one regular white onion) 
5 garlic cloves minced
1 can garbanzo beans. (chickpeas)
salt, pepper, garlic powder-onion powder which I love! 
Olive oil, or canola oil, ( I used canola oil to fry the onions, celery and stems of the mushrooms)Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. 


Other Items you'll need
Cooking spray, I like to make my own, get a mister bottle, and fill it with olive oil! Healthier then the chemical cooking sprays!
food processor, or blender or you can use a fork(to mash the beans)
baking sheet


Step 1
Pre Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Wash mushrooms and pat dry, pop stems out, be careful not to break the shroom., place stems aside, along with minced celery,onion and garlic cloves.

Step 2

Take 1 can of beans drained and rinsed, and mash them up by any of the above following method, I used a food processor. Put your mashed beans in a bowl and set aside

Step 3
Take all ingredients from step 1, and cook them up in a pan, with your oil, and onion powder, garlic powder salt and pepper, eyeball it, don't hold back on the garlic and onion powder, you can always add more salt and pepper to them once finished. Cook till onions are translucent and celery is soft.

Step 4
Let the mixture cool, about 10-15 minutes, once cooled add it to the bean mash, with your 1/4 cup bread crumbs and with clean hands combine together well, spray baking sheet with mist oil and start filling up your mushrooms,  pop them in the oven for about a 1/2 an hour...once done, let them cool for 4 minutes, and serve with lemon wedges!

PRE-OVEN Shroom

Ready to serve!

Tip 1: This mixture also makes delicious patties, but for them to stick in patty form, I add 3 egg whites, or a vegan substitute! I also added in a bit of thyme and then a little tartar sauce and lemon to top, reminiscent of a 'crab cake'.  See pic below..

Tip 2: If you only have one package of mushrooms, you will have some left over mixture, I made them into small patties, without egg and they were very tasty as well.

Greek Vegetarian "meat" fillo dough pie!

It's Greek cause I used Fillo (phyllo) dough!

Things you'll need;

9 x 13 inch pan

12 fillo dough sheets

1 bag of vegetarian meat crumbles(I used morningstar)

1 small bag of rice(I usually use brown rice, but I used white cause I was out of brown)

1 package of whole white mushrooms

6 garlic cloves

2 onions

1/2 jar of tomato sauce

dried oregano

Olive oil, salt &pepper,paprika,onion and garlic powder, garlic pepper

(if you don't have the onion powder or garlic pepper on hand its not a big deal and won't change the taste much.) 

   

Step 1

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Step 2

Slice onions, and quarter mushrooms.
pour a bit of olive oil in a pan, and preheat the pan on a medium to high heat, once oil is hot enough throw in the mushrooms and onions stirring often, cook till onions are translucent and mushrooms are nice and soft. Once thats done, add the "meat crumbles" and a little more Olive oil as needed, mix well;  at this time you will also want to mince your garlic directly into the pan while the mixture is cooking, stir well and adjust flame accordingly, (while thats cooking, feel free to throw the rice in a pot of water)

Step 3
Once step 2 is done, add 1/2 jar of  tomato sauce, and a generous amount of Oregano and mix it in good! Once that is all done, the rice should be just about ready, drain, and add it to the mixture and combine it well. taste it, see if its to your liking, at this point if  you think it needs more oregano, add more. Same with the salt and pepper or garlic powder and onion powder. Now that the mixture is put together, put it on the lowest heat and stir, cover for a minute, then taste it again, if its good to you, turn off the pan and let it cool down a bit.

Step 4
While thats cooling,  Get your 9x13 pan out, coat the bottom with olive oil, not a lot, just enough to cover the bottom, Take your thawed fillo dough out of the fridge and, unroll it, and layer one sheet at a time,lightly brushing with olive oil between each sheet, 6 on the bottom, 6 on the top, After the first 6 layers are done, spread the filling evenly covering the the entire dough, then do the same thing you did with the bottom half, to the top half!

Step 5
Once the thats all done,  glaze the top layer of fillo with olive oil, and sprinkle paprika, pepper, and oregano, cut 5 diamond shapes and pop it into a 375 degrees pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes, till its golden brown and crunchy, once its finished, let it cool;

Serve with a potato and a salad for a hearty meal, enjoy!

Moms plate! :)

TIPS;
I like to pour a bit of olive oil in a cup with some herbs, mix it and then brush it onto the layers!


Take your dough out of the freezer the night before and put it into the fridge so it has plenty of time to thaw.


If you don't have a brush you can pour a little oil at a time, and with very clean hands, gently spread it evenly on the sheet.


Peel your garlic before you start the cooking process, it's just easier.


Variations;
Try adding peppers, I didn't have any on hand, if i did I would of used them! I think baby spinach would be good too!


Hope you enjoy this recipe! If you have a twist on this recipe, feel free to post it!