Bacon & Caramelized Onion Quiche

I love quiche.  It's delicious and is a great holding vessel for all types of wonderful things. I love quiche for breakfast and lunch.  It makes me feel fancy.

Since I love bacon and had an onion laying around I decided to make a quiche with those.  I cooked the onions low and slow until they were nice and caramelized to add a nice sweet flavor to the quiche.

Bacon & Caramelized Onion Quiche:

1 pie crust
4 eggs
1 cup half and half
1 teaspoon corn starch
3 strips bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/3 red onion, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup swiss cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 large tablespoon greek yogurt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat melt the butter.  Add the onion and let slowly cook until it is translucent and a caramel color.  It'll take a decent amount of time, I think mine cooked about 15 minutes... but I should have let them go for 20.

Fry the bacon and hold the cooked bacon off to the side until the onions are finished and the custard it finished.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place your pie crust in a pie pan.

In a bowl beat the eggs.  Stir the corn starch into the half and half, making sure it is incorporated well, and add that to the eggs along with the greek yogurt, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Mix well and add the cheese, bacon, and onions.

Pour the egg mixture in the pie shell and make sure the bacon and onions are spread around evenly.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top of the quiche starts to turn golden brown.

Chicken enchiladas with Chili-Yogurt Sauce

It's Mexican night!  It's our favorite night of the week.  This is another Pinterest recipe find.  (I'm so glad that website was invented)

I made some changes to the original recipe to cut a couple of calories and use what I had at home.  The Greek yogurt worked really well in this.  I really didn't feel like I was missing out  

Chicken enchiladas with Chili-Yogurt Sauce:

(inspired from Joyful Momma's Kitchen)

10 soft taco shells (I used whole wheat)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 jalapeno, diced
1 small onion, diced (or 1/2 a large onion)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
2 tablespoons hot sauce
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup greek yogurt
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika


To make the shredded chicken:


Place a package of chicken breasts in a crock pot.  Add 1 teaspoon cumin, paprika, chili powder, and garlic power.  Cover with water and cook on low for 8+ hours.  Remove chicken from water and shred with a fork or tongs.


To make enchilidas:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan with non stick spray.  Mix the shredded chicken, corn, diced jalapeno, onion, hot sauce, and 1 cup of shredded cheese.  Fill and roll up in tortillas and place in pan, seam side down.

(I had some extra chicken/corn mixture so I just plopped it on top)

















In a sauce pan melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook about 1 minute, until a light golden brown color.  Add the chicken broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly, stirring occasionally. 

Add the Greek yogurt, chilies, and spices.  Keep stirring until everything has come together and is warm.  Do not let the mixture come to a boil, it will cause the dairy to curdle. 

Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Lighter Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

I have a soft spot for pasta with alfredo sauce on it.  It's so good.  Pasta dishes are great ways to get vegetable into people too.

This is a lighter pasta dish but it was delicious.  The broccoli was tasty and the alfredo sauce got soaked up in all of the little nooks of it and the pasta.  This also makes a great lunch the next day.

Broccoli Chicken Alfredo:

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and cut into chunks (about 2 cups)

2 cups roasted broccoli florets

8 ounces whole wheat pasta, I used rotini
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup skim milk

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 pinch ground nutmeg

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Whisk in the flour until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, Greek yogurt, milk, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring gently, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup Parmesan.

Add cooked chicken and broccoli to sauce mixture, followed by the cooked pasta. Toss to combine and serve with more Parmesan, if desired.

Bean Tostadas

It's Meatless Monday!!  I've been slacking a little bit in updating but here we are.  We all know that my family eats a lot of Mexican Food and this is yet another tasty recipe!

This one is easy to make and if you don't like certain toppings or want something else then it's easy enough to change around.

Bean Tostadas:

8 corn tortillas
1 can reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can vegetarian re-fried beans or a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans smashed
1 red onion, diced
1 cup reduced fat Mexican blend cheese
1 cup fat free salsa
Sour cream or Greek Yogurt


Preheat oven to 350.  Place the tortillas on a pan and place in oven to start crisping up.  I used a pizza pan that has holes in it to bake the tortillas.  Bake about 5 minutes.

Remove the tortillas, leave the oven on, and start to layer each one.  I spread some re-fried beans on mine and then topped them with black beans, onions, salsa, and cheese.  Bake them for an additional 10 minutes or until the tortilla is crunchy and the cheese has melted.

Top with sour cream or Greek yogurt.  These taste great with yellow rice or a guacamole salad.

Yogurt Smothered Chicken

My Aunt Becky makes a chicken dish for dinner that she and my mom love.  I decided to take some inspiration from her and make my own version.  She uses mayonnaise but I opted for Greek Yogurt (my new best friend).

I felt like this needed to cook a decent amount of time for what it was so make sure you check it before you dig in.  The yogurt gave the chicken a nice tangy flavor and the onions added some crunch to the meal.  Mr. T wasn't the biggest fan but I really enjoyed it.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, those purple things on the plate are actually roasted purple carrots.  They were really good.

Yogurt Smothered Chicken:
(Inspired from my Aunt Becky)

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (depending on how many people you're serving)
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 cup Greek yogurt
2/3 cup French's French Fried Onions
1 tablespoon garlic and her seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375.

Brush each chicken breast with dijon mustard and season with salt, pepper, and the garlic seasoning.  Place in the pan you're going to use to bake in and cover the chicken with Greek yogurt.  Top with the onions and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until cooked through.  The onions should be a little golden.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

The Mexican restaurant we frequent has a stuffed poblano pepper dish that is on special most of the time.  It's Mr. T's favorite and he orders it almost every time we go.  I decided to try making a vegetarian version at home for "Meatless Monday" (or Meatless Friday for Lent) and this is what I came up with.

I have to say, I impressed myself.  These were really good.  Even if you aren't the biggest fan of stuffed peppers the filling would be great alone or inside of a burrito.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers:

2 poblano peppers
1 small package of yellow rice, prepared per the package directions
1 can reduced sodium black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat cheese (I used a mexican blend)
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt to taste

Set oven to 375.  Take the peppers; cut off the tops and remove the seeds and membrane inside.  Set aside. 

In a small bowl mix together the rice, beans, cheese, and greek yogurt.  Trim the tops of the peppers, chop them up, and add them to the bowl too.  Add the spices and mix everything together.  Stuff the rice and bean mixture into the peppers and bake for 15-20 minutes or until everything is warm and the pepper has started to soften.  Just make sure it doesn't get soggy.

Roasted Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is a great weekend meal.  It doesn't use a ton of oven heat and since it needs to sit in the fridge for the flavors to come together it's the perfect thing to make when it's hot outside.

Roasted Chicken Salad:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon season salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1 carrot, shredded or chopped
1-2 stalks of celery, chopped into small pieces
1/3 cup dried cranberries


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season the chicken breast with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.  Drizzle a little olive oil over the chicken and roast until cooked through, about 20 minutes.


When the chicken is cooked allow it to cool then cube it.  Mix the cooled chicken with the Greek yogurt, carrot, celery, dried cranberries, and salt and pepper to taste.

Tzatziki Chicken

I had some extra taztziki sauce in the refrigerator and decided to experiment.  I always love it when an experiment works out.  The greek yogurt adds a little bit of a tang to the chicken which makes it stand out a little more than the normal week night chicken breast dinner.

Tzatziki Chicken:

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 cup tzatziki sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Pour tzatziki sauce into a zip loc bag and add chicken, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Let marinade for 20-30 minutes.  Transfer the chicken cubes to a pan and save some of the yogurt.

Heat broiler and let the chicken cook for 20 minutes, turning half way through to make sure that both sides cook evenly.

While the chicken is cooking heat the left over greek yogurt in a saucepan.  Cook it just long enough for the sauce to thicken up some.

When the chicken is finished drizzle the sauce on top and enjoy.

Buffalo Yogurt Dressing

It's been like 900 degrees outside thanks to those pesky hurricanes in the Atlantic. I was not in the mood to cook a giant dinner on Sunday night so we opted for a salad. I threw some veggies in a bowl, broiled some chicken breast, and topped it with this great salad dressing.

Buffalo Yogurt Dressing:
(Clean Eating Magazine: March 2011)

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons Buffalo Sauce
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 onion
Salt
Pepper

Chop the onion some so it'll blend easier.  Place everything in a blender. Mix unto it's a smooth consistency.















Serve on top of your salad!

Tzatziki Sauce

We had our own meatless Thursday the other night.   I made a friend's buffalo chick pea patties for dinner.  We served them flatbread with some tzatziki sauce on top.  It was a great dinner and it never hurts to go out of the box once in a while.

Tzatziki sauce is wonderful.  It's nice and cool and is pretty light.  It also helps with with my new love affair with greek yogurt.

Tzatziki Sauce:
(Chobani)

Ingredients:
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, shredded, and squeezed dry in a kitchen towel
2 cups Plain 0% Greek Yogurt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh or 1 tsp dried oregano

Mix all ingredients together in bowl.  Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

Strawberry Scones

Someone at work brought in a whole bag of strawberries. I'm trying to branch out and make new things.  I was looking around at strawberry options and came across this recipe.  As luck would have it I just bought a container of Greek yogurt.

Strawberry Scones:
(adapted from Chobani Yogurt)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1-2 tsp for flouring work surface
1/4 cups sugar plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling on top
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 cup chopped strawberries
3/4 cup Greek yogurt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425˚F. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Add butter, using hands or fork, work until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in strawberries, and then Greek yogurt to hold dough together. Do not overmix.

Turn dough onto floured surface and with floured hands, knead 2 to 3 times. Gently press dough into rectangle, about 1½-inches thick. Fold rectangle into thirds, like a letter. Press dough into 9-inch round.  Cut into 8 wedges.

Arrange wedges on a parchment-paper-covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle each wedge with a little sugar. Bake until golden, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

We made fish tacos for supper the other night.  I love fish tacos but I tend to get in a rut with them.  I got a container of greek yogurt and was trying to find a use for it.  I decided to make a taco sauce with it.

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce:(inspired by Chobani)

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chipotle sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped finely
1 tablespoon lime juice

Mix everything together in a bowl and let cool in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.