Mushroom Quiche

If you follow my blog regularly then you already know that I'm a lover of mushrooms. It's a weird food to love, I know, but I've always enjoyed them, raw or cooked. When I found this recipe in Costco's cookbook In the Kitchen: The Costco Way, 2008 I was very excited. When I think about picnics with my family I think of quiche. And with the warmer weather approaching (I hope!) I thought you might enjoy this quiche for your next picnic.

Famous Mushroom Quiche

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

4 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

2 tablespoons flour

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cups milk

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Bake pie shell for 10 minutes, remove and let cool.

Saute mushrooms in butter over medium-high heat until tender. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. 

In a bowl, toss cheese with flour; add eggs, milk, parsley, garlic salt and pepper. Stir in mushrooms. Pour into crust. 

Bake for 1 hour, or until set, covering edges with foil to prevent overbrowning, if needed. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Take to the park and enjoy!

This recipe is from the cookbook In the Kitchen: The Costco Way, 2008. 

Lemon Vinaigrette

I just want to start by saying thank you to everyone who reads this blog. I appreciate all of your comments and feedback and I love knowing that people are looking forward to the next recipe I post...even if it may take me weeks to do it. :) 

On my blogsite there is a place for others to submit their favorite recipes and I'm so excited to share the first submission I received! Thank you Evelyn for sharing this Lemon Vinaigrette recipe with us. "Here's one of my favorite, and very easy, dressing recipes. I've made it a number of times. The only thing I would recommend is make sure to add at least as much zest as it calls for - don't skimp. I personally love lemon, so maybe that's why I'm a fan!" 

Lemon Vinaigrette
Yield Makes 1/2 cup 

Ingredients
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Combine mustard, lemon zest, and juice in a jar; season with salt and pepper. Add some of the oil, then cover and shake to combine. Continue adding more oil and shaking until all the oil is incorporated and mixture is thickened and uniform in color. Serve immediately.

Evelyn found this recipe at Martha Stewart.com. Thanks for sharing, Evelyn!

If you would also like to submit a recipe to Meals By Mel, click here. This form can also be found on the "Contributions" tab at the top of the page. Thanks!

Fruity Quinoa Yogurt

The last "no oil, no fat" recipe that I made while Josh was prepping for surgery was Fruity Quinoa Yogurt. I originally made it as a snack but it ended up being served as dessert two nights in a row. On it's own, it's got a  interesting texture, but if you use it as dip for strawberries, apples or pears, it's great. And knowing that I'm eating a healthy dessert rather than ice cream or pie makes it even better.

Fruity Quinoa Yogurt
1/2 block firm, silken Tofu
1 c. Strawberries (I used frozen)
1/2 c. cooked Quinoa
1 t. Maple Syrup
1/2 t. Vanilla

Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth. The quinoa will give it texture, in addition to lots of protein and fiber. Eat this straight or with sliced fruit.

This recipe was found, along with many other great vegan recipes, at FatFreeVegan.com

Tilapia with Mango Salsa

This is an original Melissa recipe! Bet you never thought you'd get one of these. :) Remember my very first blog post when I said I was a recipe follower, well as true as that is, every once in a while I can get creative. I'm not a big tilapia fan, or at least I wasn't, but I was on a mission. My goals were to: use white fish, not use any oil and find something to do with a very ripe mango. Tilapia with Mango Salsa is what I came up with. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty Tilapia can be. Hopefully you'll agree. I'm not very good with measurements when I'm being creative in the kitchen so bare with me. 

Tilapia with Mango Salsa

2 - 4oz tilapia fillets

1 lemon, sliced

parchment paper

1 large mango, diced

1/4 red onion, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 1/2 teaspoons agave nectar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place the tilapia fillets on a flat sheet of parchment paper and place lemon slices on top of fish. Bring long ends of paper together and fold down 3 times to make a seam. Place on baking pan and tuck ends underneath so your fish is completely sealed. Place the fish on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 12 - 15 minutes. If fish isn’t opaque at center, reseal packet and return to oven. Check again after 5 minutes.

To make the salsa, combine the mango, red onion, cilantro, lime juice and agave nectar. Refrigerate salsa while fish continues to cook. This will give the salsa a little time to infuse all of the flavors together.

When fish is done, remove lemons and serve with mango salsa. Brown rice is a nice accompaniment to this dish. Enjoy!

This recipe is an original creation from Meals By Mel. 

Creamy Clam Chowder

Josh and I are so happy we found this recipe. It's currently one of our favorites. Who knew Clam Chowder could be so easy to make, taste so good and still be healthy! It takes 5 minutes to throw everything into the pot, 15 minutes to simmer and voila! The best part of this recipe is the coconut milk. It gives the soup a creamy buttery taste. Mmm. Last night I served this with wheat sourdough bread. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

Creamy Clam Chowder
2 cups cubed russet potatoes (about 2 medium)
1 cup sliced carrots (about 2 medium)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can broth (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 - 6.5oz cans whole baby clams, undrained (frozen also works)
1 can (15 oz) - white beans, drained

1 can coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups)
2 Tbs chopped fresh chives (1 Tbs dry*)
1 tsp paprika

Put everything except the coconut milk, chives and paprika in a large enough pot. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 15 - 20 min. or until potatoes are tender. Stir in remaining ingrediants, and heat through. *If you're using dry chives, add it in the beginning.

Serve with bread and salad.

I stumbled across this recipe when looking for recipes with no oil. So happy I found it in this forum. 

Smoothies

Last week we found out that Josh needs to have his gallbladder removed. The gallbladder is used to help digest fats so when we found out that he was on a strict no fat, no oil diet it gave me a opportunity to find some new recipes. (We have to look on the bright side with these sorts of things, right?) We've really been enjoying the meals we've been making. All this week I plan to post the recipes we've been making beginning with smoothies! One of the easiest way to eat lots of fruits and veggies is by blending them up. Here are two of the smoothies we tried and we enjoyed.

And for those wondering, Josh's surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Once the surgery is over he won't be on such a strict no fat diet so Josh has put in a special request for: homemade pizza, hash browns, a burger and cookie dough. :) 

Creamy Pumpkin Smoothie
1 15oz can Pumpkin
1/2 cup Soy Milk
1 tablespoon Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Banana
1/3 cup Apple Juice Concentrate
Ice
Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

I also recommend:

Green Goddess Smoothie 
1 cup non-dairy Milk
1 peeled Orange
2 cups Kale or Spinach
1 peeled Banana
1 Pear, cut into quarters
1 cup Grapes, red or green
Blend all ingredients until smooth. This is best cold so either use frozen bananas or refrigerate for 30 minutes before eating.

Both recipes can be found at FatFreeVegan.com

Quick & Crusty French Baguettes

HELP! Back in March I attempted to make this quick bread recipe -- twice. Neither time was I able to get the dough to form. I decided to go ahead and post this recipe anyway despite my failure at it. If any of my readers are able to be successful at this recipe I'd love to hear about it. I want to know how I can make quick baguettes so I'm asking for your help. Please try this recipe and report back. Was it a flop for you too? Or were you able to enjoy this simple recipe?

Quick & Crusty French Baguettes

2 cups very warm water

1 packet yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and sugar.  Set the bowl on top of your preheating oven for ten minutes.  Stir in the salt and add the flour a half-cup at a time, until the dough becomes soft but not sticky.  Knead the dough until elastic.

Cut the dough into four even pieces.  Roll each of them into four long, thin ropes.  Twist together two of the ropes to form one loaf.  Twist the other two ropes together to form a second loaf.  Transfer both onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

You can now bake the loaf right away (if you’re in a hurry) or allow it to rise for an additional 15-30 minutes on top of your warm oven.

Now for the SECRET: Fill a large bowl with 3-4 cups of ice.  Open your hot oven and place the baking sheet with the baguettes inside, then toss the ice cubes on the bottom of the oven and quickly shut the door.  Do NOT open your oven for 15 minutes.  Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.

Serve fresh and hot with your favorite olive oil for dipping.

Recipe found at Babble.com