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! 

Light & creamy Lasagna Rollups!

These are my 'Thinny Roll-ups', I was really in the mood for something rich and creamy, but also didn't want to have a 1,000 calorie dinner! These came out great and the whole family loved them, nobody could tell they were a 'Thinny' Recipe! That was the point, flavor without all the bad stuff, but still not tasting like rabbit food! 

Filling 

15 oz low fat ricotta

1 egg

Hand full of chopped Chives

9 lasagna noodles

2 packages of mushrooms(baby ports or white) Sliced.

Salt &Pepper
1-2 minced garlic clove

Fresh herbs from my garden, Oregano and chives!

Step 1
Sauté mushrooms in a little olive oil and salt-set aside and let them cool down.


Step 2
Combine Ricotta cheese, 1 egg, cooled sautéed Mushrooms, chopped chives, minced garlic cloves, blend it well, add a bit of salt and pepper. 

Step 3
*Cook Lasagna noodles in a pot of boiling water till soft. let it cool off before rolling, put a bit of olive oil on a baking sheet,(very shallow layer, just enough so that the noodles don't stick) lay one noodle at a time on the baking sheet that you will be using, and spread the filling evenly over the noodle (not thick, but a nice layer of mushroom filling) Roll it up, loosely; seam side down, repeat until all Noodles are rolled. Cook for about 30 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.  Check on it after 25 minutes, because some ovens cook faster, you don't want the noodles to crisp up, unless that's how you like it! 

Pre oven Roll-Ups

*Right out of the oven*

White sauce

Shallow layer of Olive oil (for the pan)

5 cloves fresh minced garlic

Bunch of Fresh chopped oregano (but dry can be used)
Juice of 1 Lemon

Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup (frozen) cooked peas

1 larget tomato, diced and drained-Or, if you must- italian style diced tomato can drained

1/2 bar Neufchatel cheese, that's 6 Tbsp. cubed (1/3 less fat Philly cream cheese is what I used, if I had organic cheese I would have used that)

*Take your pan and put it on a medium heat with the olive oil, once the oil is hot, throw in minced garlic cloves, the cubed cheese, chopped Oregano, diced tomato and peas- Stirring gently till it's nice and smooth. Adjusting heat accordingly. Once that's warm and smooth, turn the heat off and add the juice of 1 lemon, salt and pepper to taste,  stir till well blended, pour 1 rounded Tbsp. of warm sauce on finished rollups! Great Served with a side of roasted Asparagus, and a fresh green salad!

MANGIA!!

Holistic Gals "Thinny Pizza"

I use the word "Thinny" cause I think skinny is overly-used. Although I don't think thinny is an actual word, but I like it!

Fresh out of the oven!
The other day I was craving a slice of pizza, but didn't want to sacrifice the calories for it, so I ransacked my kitchen and made a fillo dough mushroom pizza! Easy,healthy, and really good!!  I did use 1 cup of low fat mozzarella but that can be easily omitted to make this vegan, and even less calories. This is one of those dishes that really has endless flavor combinations, Next time I make it, I think I will just use oil and garlic and make it a veggie herb type of pie, again, experiment with your favorite toppings, possibilities are endless with this one, just keep in mind if you start adding meat and more cheese the calories will shoot up! What makes this a "Thinny pizza" is the use of fillo dough, these paper thin sheets are very low in calories and fat, if you have never worked with this simple dough before, I find you will be delighted in how yummy and low cal it is! Not hard to work with at all, and inexpensive!

Only 16 Weight Watcher points for the whole pie! (that's on the old point system) thats 2.6 points(rounded to 3 points per slice!) Don't let this pie deceive you, it is filling!

              Ingredients

• 7-10 sheets of fillo dough 
• (don't open till ready to use, and store in the fridge so it's already thawed when needed)
• 1 package of button or baby portebello mushrooms sliced
• 1 large onion (sliced, fried in a tbsp oil)
• 2 garlic cloves(sliced)
• Olive oil in a mister, or cooking spray.
• 5-6 cherry tomatos (quartered)
• oregano,thyme (dry)
• 1 cup low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
• plain tomato sauce, about 8 tbsps.
• 2 Tbsp parmigiano cheese(grated, optional)
• few dashes of salt,(optional)

Start by washing, and slicing your mushrooms Or buy the pre-sliced mushrooms to save time,  slice your onion, and thinly slice your garlic.Heat up a skillet with 1 tbsp of oil, once hot, throw the onions in and cook till browned on the edges, Get your baking sheet, put down one sheet of foil, spray with your mist oil,  and generously sprinkle oregano and thyme on the foil. Start laying your fillo sheets, lay the first one, then spray with the oil mist, continue till you get to the top layer.

Pre-oven
Top layer; add about 8 tbsps of sauce spread evenly, top with sliced garlic, spread them as evenly as you can, then top with the onions, then the mushrooms, then the cheese, add your quartered tomatoes, sprinkle again with oregano and thyme, top with the grated parmesan cheese. then slightly roll the sides to form a "crust", pop it in a preheated 425 degree oven, cook till crispy and cheese is slightly browned....cool, slice and serve with a salad, or enjoy it as is!  (About 40 minutes in the oven) just check on it.

Ready to serve!

Mangia!


*I will post another variation soon*


I would love to hear your variation,  or thoughts on this recipe, please feel free to leave a comment!

Mini stuffed sweet Peppers!

   Fun colorful party food!

Almost gone! Had a ravenous crowd! 

Things you'll need;

• 24 mini sweet peppers
• 
  
• 8 ounce of regular cream cheese, or the choice of your preference,I used a light version. If you have a vegan melting cheese, go for it!
• 
  
• 1/4 cup shredded sharp chedder cheese or regular
• 
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 
  
• 8-10 Baby Portobello mushrooms(or white)
• 
  
• 1 large elephant garlic clove(or 2-3 regular cloves)
• 
  
• 1/4 purple onion
• 
  
• couple of shakes garlic powder
• couple of shakes onion powder
• 
  
• salt & pepper to taste

Baking pan

*You can make it vegan, just sub the cheese with your favorite vegan brand!

Easy Directions;

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Take the cream cheese out of the packet and let it soften, shred the chedder or (buy shredded chedder) and set aside.
• Now, you want to take your peppers and chop the top of their heads off! Make sure to get all the seeds out, (there shouldn't be too many) once done set aside.
• Now, take your mushrooms and mince them. Take your onion and garlic, and mince that too! Put a little bit of vegetable oil in a skillet, about 1-2 tablespoons. Preheat the skillet on a medium to high heat, when that's hot enough add the mushrooms,onion and garlic mixture and cook till moisture is gone. Add a few dashes of salt while cooking. 
• Once that's done, put the mushroom mixture in a bowl and let it cool (10-15 minutes) Once that that has cooled, add the mix to your bowl of cheese and the rest of the ingredients and mix well. 
• Take a plastic ziplock bag put your mixture in it to make a piping tool, snip a little piece at the corner of the bag off and start stuffing your Peppers!! Once Peppers are stuffed, sprinkle with paprika. and put those babies in the oven for around 30-35 minutes! Once done, let sit for 3 minutes so the inside isn't scolding hot- and serve!

Tips;

*If you dont want to make the piping bag-I do NOT suggest using a little spoon to stuff these with because they are narrow and that will be messy, however, you can make a little slit lenghtwise and stuff them like that!-and in the summer months, you can grill these too! *If you have company,-and have some chives on hand chop those up and serve sprinkled on top.


*I think another nice addition to the mix, would be diced celery!

Vegetarian chik'n lentil lemon salad

Vegetarian chik'n lentil lemon salad
Easy, healthy, low cal and pretty darn delicious! 

Things you'll need;

• 1 can of lentils(drained)
• 1 bag of Faux chik'n, I use Qourn(I think it works best) 
• 1 bunch of romaine lettuce, and a quarter of iceberg lettuce(chopped)
• (Or sub one for the other of you don't have both.)
• 1 onion
• Olive Oil
• Dried thyme
• Dried oregano
• Garlic powder
• Onion Powder
• Salt&Pepper
• red pepper flakes
• 1 whole lemon

Recipe

Step 1;

Halve the onion and thinly slice one half ; thickly slice the other.

Chop up the romaine and iceberg lettuce, add the thinly sliced onion and lettuce to a bowl and toss!

Step 2;

take out a pan, and pour 1/3 cup of olive oil, preheat on a medium to a high heat, once thats heated up, add the thickly sliced onion and faux chik'n; tossing well with olive oil, dash with sea salt and stir again, let it cook, once it starts to sizzle stir it around and let it cook some more, nows the time to add all your herbs except for red pepper, and thyme, stir all of them in well, no measurement required just add a few liberal shakes at a time, taste, and adjust accordingly. cover the pan, let it cook for a minute or so, stir, and if everything is tender and to your liking, turn it off, cover and remove from heat.

Step 3;

Take your can of drained lentils and put them in a small pot, add a generous amount of dried thyme, a few dashes of black pepper, and a shake of garlic powder and a little bit of olive oil. blend herbs well, stirring as needed and cook till its warm.

Step 4;
Take the onion and 'chik'n mixture (still warm) and the warm lentils, add it to the salad bowl, add the juice of one lemon, 3 shakes of Pepper flakes, and toss well as to coat everything in the bowl, adding any additional olive oil or more herbs if needed, and serve!

This pairs well with a sweet or baked potato,a chowder type soup...warmed pita bread, a roll, croutons anything you like really, or just by itself, which is how I had it! This is tasty served warm or cold! 

Mangia!

TIPS
This reminded me of a chicken ceaser salad but much healthier! 


If you want this to be vegan and not vegetarian, just use a different brand of Faux chik'n


I was all out of other veggies, but you could add any other vegetables you like, but just remember if you do that it will need more lemon and herbs etc..


A Purple onion would have worked great, but didn't have one on hand, any onion will do. 


And if your in the mood to makes this a little richer, add some parmesan or any cheese you like.

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!