Girls Night In: Skinny Enchiladas and Homemade Mango Salsa

After reading this article on a few simple steps to detoxing after a holiday/big event/special occasion (ahem, Niner's win and birthdays galore), I was inspired to cook vegetarian this week! Inviting a few close gal pals to mi casa, I decided this is not only a vegetarian, but girl approved meal (Boys are you listening!?)

I've found that many people, trying to lead a vegetarian lifestyle, defer to tofu as their main source of protein. However, I've noticed that many find the texture to be off putting (if not cooked properly that is!) and it's also been proven that too much soy, is actually detrimental to your health!

Side note from my old trainer...he said that too much soy for women also decreases chances of weight loss (that is, if you are weight training, which is the way to go if you want lose inches for good and gain strength!), because of the increased amounts of estrogen. Apparently, addtional estrogen and less testosterone, makes us ladies keep those extra stubborn pounds on. Yikes! Well thank goodness we have this enchilada recipe!

Layered this veggie enchilada, casserole style, with corn tortillas

Enchiladas are an easy way to entertain or impress...they also make for amazing leftovers! So if you are looking to cook a meal for a few people, or just a to last for a few days, enchiladas make for an excellent lunch or dinner anytime.

Yes, it's still winter (boo!) but there are an abundance of lovely vegetables that are available...like butternut squash that make any enchilada lively and satisfying. What I love about this vegetable it has an almost creamy, buttery, texture when cooked, making for a rather filling main dish ingredient. It's also a beautiful, bright orange, which makes any blase dish turn into a piece of art.

Bright butternut squash

I had a few mangos laying around, ripening rather slowly, so I made a mango salsa that compliments this dish or a bowl of tortilla chips. Talk about a colorful meal!

Inspired by several recipes that included goat cheese (go figure!), black beans, butternut squash, and a partially homemade (but still healthy!) enchilada sauce...I present you the detox of enchiladas that doesn't compromise flavor or fullness, but certainly cuts out TONS of added calories, replacing them with more nutritious ingredients.

I tried both the corn tortilla version and whole wheat flour tortilla variety. NOTE: It's more challenging to roll corn tortillas, unless you warm them...if you are like me and got impatient, you stacked them like a lasagna!

Vegetarian Enchiladas with Homemade Mango Salsa

Goat cheese and salsa verde sauce give it a nice tangy taste, paired with hearty sqaush

Kneading Sass original 

Ingredients: 

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced into cubes (TJ's has an already cubed version, go for it!)
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed
• 2 large zucchinis, halved and sliced
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1-2 tsp chili powder (two if you like heat!)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil (for sauteing and brushing tortillas)
• 10-12 corn tortillas 0r 8-10 whole wheat tortillas (these are softer/easier to roll, but also larger in size!)
• 4 oz. soft, goat cheese 

Enchilada Sauce

• 1 cup of your favorite salsa verde
• 2 Tbl low fat sour cream

Mango Salsa (optional)

• 2 mangoes, peeled and diced
• Juice of one lime
• 1/4 red or whine onion, diced
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• Sea salt to taste
• Pinch of chili powder
• 1 avocado, diced

Directions (for enchiladas):

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Chop butternut squash and and zucchini. Lay in one single layer on cookie sheet and season with 1 Tbl. olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Makes sure to evenly coat vegetables with oil and seasonings. Place in the middle rack of the oven to roast and soften for about 20 minutes. 

Post roasting veggies!

1. While veggies are roasting in the oven, chop onion and garlic. Drain black beans under some water. 
2. In a large pan, heat oil to medium low heat, add 1 Tbl. olive oil and onions. Saute for about 4 minutes until translucent and soft. Add garlic and cook for about 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add beans and cooked for 4-5 minutes more
3. Once veggies are done, place them directly into pan with beans, onions and garlic. Add cumin, chili powder and extra salt (if needed!) Saute vegetables together for about 3-4 minutes. They might mush up and lose their shape but that's fine!
4. Lower oven to 350 degrees to bake enchilada in later. 
5. To make enchilada sauce, mix 1 cup of salsa verde and 2 Tbl. of low fat sour cream in a bowl until combined.
6. If using corn tortillas: Layer a few teaspoons of enchilada sauce at the bottom of casserole dish. Add two and half corn tortillas to dish, layer with vegetables and then layer with handful of crumbled goat cheese. Repeat 2 more times, corn tortilla, vegetables, goat cheese. After last layer, pour remaining enchilada sauce into dish. It may seem like the tortillas are drowning in sauce, but remember that corn tortillas are relatively dry and saturate liquid quickly! Bake for 20 minutes, uncovered; at this point, most of liquid is absorbed and top is slightly browned.

7.  If using whole wheat flour tortillas: Layer a few teaspoons of enchilada sauce. Take tortillas and add vegetable filling and crumbles of goat cheese. Roll tortilla and place seam side down, in casserole dish. Repeat until the casserole dish is full, it will hold about 8-10 tortillas. Top with enchilada sauce and small handful of goat cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes. 

Made a second, smaller version of the recipe above, so this is only 4 wheat flour tortillas instead of 8!

8.  Serve immediately! 

Directions (for mango salsa):

1. Dice all ingredients and place in a bowl, mix with salt and chili powder to taste. Squeeze the juice of one lime and mix again. Store in air tight container for up to 4 hrs (before serving) 
2. Refrigerating over night is even better! Serve with enchiladas, tortilla chips...or literally ANYTHING you'd put salsa on. Check out my post enchilada breakfast below!

Repurposing Food: Turning a Side Dish Into a Chic Appetizer -- "Faux"-sotto Balls

Everyone raves about risotto balls, also known as arancini, as seriously one of the best appetizers they've consumed....I'll take them up on that challenge! And while we all know that I am not the biggest fan of fincky risotto, I am obsessed with it's faux counterpart, farro. I recently featured two farro dishes last time:

• Paella (with the recipe included) 
• Mushroom faux-sotto (where I just listed out the ingredients)

But then I had a stroke of genius (before my morning coffee too!) By using leftover mushroom farro risotto, some breadcrumbs and goat cheese, I'll be turning this three-day old side dish, into an impressively, delicate and delectable appetizer! Great for a spontaneous dinner party or guests that spring up at your home without a moments notice. Go ahead, blow their freakin' socks/tights/leggings/keds off with this one!

Ready for some serious magic?! Yeah that's right Harry Potter, step aside, being resourceful here! (Bet you cant even make faux-sotto balls!)

Okay, so here's how the recipe goes...this is going to be pretty informal (not as detailed as my other posts), but certainly thorough. Serve this as an appetizer with a marinara dipping sauce or pesto sauce. Also, it serves well on its own with a side salad, as I've prepared below!

Leftover Mushroom Farro Risotto Balls

Kneading Sass original

Ingredients:

• 1 cup leftover farro risotto 
• 3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs (half used in risotto, the other for breading)
• 1 Tbl soft goat cheese or mozzarella cheese (cubed) 
• Italian seasoning to taste
• Vegetable oil

Directions: 

Going with step-by-step photos here!

Farro risotto ball assembly line. In no particular order. Added Italian seasoning to my plain Panko breadcrumbs here. 

Get your hands dirty! Mixing it all together in one tupperware makes this easy and efficent. Remember use only half of the Panko breadcrumbs here, the other half will be saved for the outer breading!

Just in case you were wondering...this is my favorite goat cheese! Using cheese instead of eggs as a binding agent allows the farro to sick together when frying. 

I used a teaspoon to help me form these balls into the right size. Don't be afraid to mold these in your hands into a tight ball...the tighter the more it will stay together when cooking!

Using the reserved Panko breadcrumbs, liberally bread these bad boys!

Over medium heat, add about 1 1/2 inches of vegetable or safflower oil. Once oil is hot, gently place farro balls into hot oil. Turn after 2 minutes to get these nice and crispy. 

The final product: Almost perfectly round? Remember farro is significantly less starchy, and thus less robust, than rice. The chances of these breaking apart in the hot oil are higher than usual, so be gentle with these. 

Changing the name of these from faux-sotto balls to AMAZEballs! Made this into a meal with a heaping side of salad :)

Farro or Pharaoh? Rice or Pasta? Even Wikipedia Doesn't Know!

I can't tell which category farro falls under, but what I can tell you is that it's a fabulous and flavor-lovin' alternative to a starchy rice, like arborio rice, which you often find in risotto. A hearty grain that's low gluten, farro is amazing replacement to any side or main dish starch in your diet and WAY easy to prepare.

Getting back to risotto... I have to admit, I've never actually made risotto! But what I do know is that even the most talented chefs find it temperamental and annoying because it's a grain you can't just boil and walk away from. You have to watch and stir...and watch and stir some more (like 45 minutes more! Yikes!). Thus, farro is the alternative or "faux" risotto. 

Faux-sotto? Sounds fancy and complicated...trust me though, it's far from it!

I made farro over the last few evenings, once as a side dish, the other as a main dish, paella to be exact!

Sauteed the side dish above with mushrooms with onion, garlic, farro, and topped with some fresh Parmeasan and chopped walnuts. An excellent faux-sotto side.

Farro is great because it doesn't dry out like rice or get mushy when saturated with too much liquid, like a pasta would. It's tender and holds flavor really well, unlike qunioa (I swear I'm not a  hater but a waivering believer still!), which should be overseasoned more often than not. 

You see I have this thing for over cooking...I sometimes doubt myself and then I end up with burnt paella! So after my embarassing paella kerfuffle a few weekends ago, I decided arborio rice was the devil of starches and I found that the savior was farro, which made for an even tastier, replacement.

I mean seriously, paella is literally throwing a bunch of different ingredients into one pot and simmering it. Despite messing it up the first time, second time was a charm!

FYI...before this paella, I had NEVER cooked with mussels before. Needless to say, all of them opened, cooked to tender perfection and weren't chewy at all (unlike clams when they are overcooked). Mussels are also pretty inexpensive and damn impressive! For less than $2.50, I bought 0.5 pounds of fresh mussels...which allowed me to splurge on with some Spanish saffron :)

I think (hope) I redeemed myself with this rich, hearty and healthy paella dish, great for sharing (hello, tapas party anyone!?) or perhaps a fanciful date night! 

Oh...did I mention that mussels are a natural aphrodisiac? As Borat once said...SEXY TIME!

Farro Paella with Chicken Sausage, Mussels and Shrimp

Kneading Sass original

Ingredients:

• 1 cup farro
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 Roma tomatoes, pureed (or 1 can of diced tomatoes)
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 3 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 sweet pepper, chopped (red, orange or yellow will do, green, however is too bitter for this dish!)
• 10-12 large raw, deveined and peeled shrimp (I used frozen)
•  2 links of you favorite chicken sausage (I used Andouille for to add a kick of heat!)
• 2 Tbl. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• Pinch of saffron (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh lemon

Directions: 

1. Cook your chicken sausage over medium heat, until crispy on both sides. My chicken sausage was pre-cooked so I just heat it for 4-6 minutes in some olive oil. Set chicken sausage aside. 
2. In the same pan cook raw shrimp, 2-3 minutes on each side. Shrimp will continue to cook in paella later, so don't worry about undercooking. You are looking for a bit of pink here. Set aside with chicken sausage. 
3. In large shallow pan, add remaining olive oil, onions and peppers. Cook for about 6-7 minutes on medium-low heat until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
4. Add in farro. We want to toast the farro before adding any liquids, just like you do with basmati rice or quinoa.
5. Add pureed tomatoes, saffron, salt, pepper, paprika and chili powder.
6. Cook for another 2 minutes or so before adding in stock. Slowly add stock and bring pan to a boil. 
7. Once farro and stock come to a boil, bring the heat down to a simmer for about 15 minutes and cover with the lid.
8. Halfway through those 15 minutes, add shrimp, sausage and layer the top of the pan with mussels. Place lid back on and allow to continue to cook on simmering heat. HINT! You'l know when mussels will be done when the steam pushes the shells open (super easy indicator, I know!) 
9. Serve immediately, piping hot and straight from the pan. :)

Note: There might be some liquid after all the cooking is said and done, but this is totally normal! The seafood and sausage will eventually soak it up. I added a squeeze of lemon right before I served it. 

Addicted to Kale Chips: Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Vegan...the Trifecta!

I mean they really speak for themselves don't they?! Kale chips are pretty easy to make at home, and way better that anything you'll ever buy at the store. I've "perfected" my kale recipe after a couple of accidents turned genius.

While I have a a really hard time believing that kale chips are any kind of substitute for eating real chips. (C'mon, Pringles, Hot Cheetos and Doritos, etc. are seriously on a whole other level!) Kale chips are not so surprisingly, crunchy, tart, crispy and salty... and they make you want to lick your fingers clean afterwards!

Dainty I am not. Guess kale chips cause the same knee jerk reaction as when I eat the real deal!

A few changes I made to my kale chip recipe that changed it from darn good to amazing:

• I tore the leaves, discarding the stem all together.
• Squeezing fresh lemon juice, before baking. 
• Baking on the third rack of my oven at 375, instead of the middle rack at 350. This made it crispy and keep its shape, without giving a burnt taste!

Baked Kale Chips

Kneading Sass original 

Ingredients: 

• 1 bunch of dinosaur or lacto kale, washed, dried and torn into bite size pieces
• 1 Tbl olive oil
• Garlic salt
• 2 garlic gloves, minced finely
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Chili powder
• Fresh grated Parmesan (optional)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. After washing (because sometimes there is sand), drying and tearing kale into pieces, place an even layer of kale on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
2. Squeeze half of a fresh lemon, season with fresh garlic, garlic salt, pepper, paprika and chili powder. I use a few dashes of each spice, but I'd say a 1/4 teaspoon of each spice is how much I season with. 
3. Massage kale, by mixing with your hands. This evenly coats all of the leaves with seasoning and oil. 
4. Top with freshly grated Parmesan. This is optional, especially if you are looking to cut out dairy or going vegan!
5. Bake on the third rack (generally, you bake most dishes on the second rack), but placing the cookie sheet on the third allows for the kale to retain flavor, without crisping up too quickly and leaving a burnt aftertaste. 
6. Bake in oven for about 10-12 minutes, keeping an eye on the kale crisping on the edges of the sheet. 
7. Let it cool for a few minutes, and it should easily peel off of the sheet, without losing it shape and falling apart. 
8. Note: To keep your kale chips for later...well if you even have any left, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

How to Make Qunioa Taste Good

Everyone in San Francisco raves about quinoa, coveting its nutritious qualities and the novelty of its replacement to complex starches like pasta and rice. I felt like I gave quinoa a fair shot a few months ago, after several attempts of preparing it in different ways. I found it to be bland and was not a fan of its texture; quinoa was on my "sorry, i just can't" list, along with mayonnaise and kombucha (YUCK! Sorry...)

But then I found that baking and pan frying quinoa gives it this wonderful, crispy texture that reminds me of that lovely, big crunch found in Panko breadcrumbs and that delicate, crust you might find when pan frying slices of polenta. FINALLY! Quinoa finds some redemption with my palate.

I love the crispy texture of the pan fry, but the oven bake is pretty amazing as well!

Quinoa reminds me a of a small grain, sort of like a lentil, but with the potential of having a texture that can be crispy and crunchy, when cooked right. After reading many recipes that use quinoa as a binding agent, I was inspired by several bloggers that used quinoa to make burgers!

Yes, burgers, my second favorite thing to eat, next to brunch, of course :).

Sidenote...I have this odd, sweet spot for buffalo chicken anything...it must be the tangy/spicy combo. Otherwise, good luck spotting me eat a chicken burger!

Anyways, after scouring in the Internet, I found an appetizer recipe made of buffalo chicken and quinoa and turned it into an insanely, flavorful and crunchy buffalo chicken, gorgonzola and quinoa burger patty. YUM! I took something I once despised and married it with the sassy flavors of buffalo chicken. Plus, if you eat quinoa on the reg, then this is a excellent recipe to use your leftover quinoa in!

A nice drizzle of sauce going in! Careful, because too much will make your patties fall apart.

So, yeah, you're welcome. Now you can fit in with all your San Francisco hipster friends, that may or may not, actually be allergic to gluten. Go ahead and bask in the glory of quinoa...covered in buffalo sauce of course!

Crispy Buffalo Chicken, Quinoa and Gorgonzola Burgers 

Ingredients: 

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded 
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup white onion, diced 
• 1/4 cup buffalo sauce 
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil (if you decide to pan fry) or cooking spray (if you bake these)

Directions: 

1. Season and cook your chicken breasts; I like to bake mine in the oven. Bake them at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes, until its no longer pink inside and cuts through clean. I wrap my chicken in foil like a present or wrapped piece of candy (twisting both ends of the foil so that none of the liquid escapes) and place it on a cookie sheet. 
2. Cook 1/2 cup of quinoa to package instructions. I substituted the 1 cup of water with 1 cup of chicken broth instead, this will give the quinoa much more flavor! Quinoa takes about 15 minutes to cook, you'll know when it's done because it will be tender and will have absorbed all of the broth. 
3. Once quinoa is done cooking, set aside, and let it cool until cool enough to hand with your hands. 
4. Once chicken is cooked, place it on a cutting board or plate and start too pull apart chicken with two forks, shredding it into pieces. 
5. Combine the chicken and cooled, quinoa into a mixing bowl with crumbled gorgonzola, shredded cheddar cheese, buffalo sauce, egg, and onion. Mix well. 
6. With your hands, ball up mixture (about 2 heaping teaspoons worth) and then form into patties. Be sure to flatten them so that it will cook evenly.
7. Now you can either bake or pan fry these. 
8. To pan fry: In a shallow pan, heat about 1 inch of vegetable oil on medium heat. Carefully drop patties into hot oil and cook for 3-4 minutes, on each side. It should be crispy, but not burnt. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to let any excess oil drain. 
9. To bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with cooking oil. Place patties on the sheet and in the oven for 10-15 minutes. You want both the bottom and top to be crispy, but be careful not to burn! 
10. Enjoy these on a gluten free (or regular bun) with all your favorite condiments! 

Sizzle and salivate.

Note: Mine is stacked high on a poppy seed bun (not gluten free) with dijon mustard, spinach, and tomato slices! This recipes serves 4 hungry people. And yes, one burger (bun and all the fixings) is only 305 calories!

A Brunch Martha Stewart Would Be Proud Of and It's Gluten Free!

FYI, Run-of-the-mill scrambled eggs, Eggo waffles and Lucky Charms are NOT brunch.

Clearly this is no run-of-the-mill dish!

You see, my favorite meal of, all time, is brunch. Brunching is pretty sacred in my book, so forgive me if I get touchy about it...I mean it is the most important meal of the day! In fact, it's a ritual I partake in each weekend and where I have no limit when it come to money because it's that important to me. ALL HAIL HOLLANDAISE!

Has a nice kick to it with that Tapatio!

Admittedly, I've wait 2 hours for a brunch reservation before, but in the brunch haven, that is San Francisco, it can be pretty challenging to round up all your friends to sit at a teeny tiny table, sipping on bottomless mimosas and ordering 10 Eggs Benedict, all without breaking the bank. But I'm pretty sure brunching from home is SUPER IN!

A few brunch staples (as snobby as that sounds!):

• Learning to poach an egg (easier than it seems, especially after a few trys!)
• Making hollandaise sauce...in a blender (try ruining that!)

Dude, Ina Garten and her, beloved husband (who isn't obese!?!) Jeffery, would leave their gorgeous, Martha's Vineyard mansion to attend this brunch!

Best part? No reservations needed...

With a mimosa in hand, I have faith that you can do it!

Spicy Hollandaise Poached Eggs with Cheesy Polenta

Ingredients:

• Eggs (for poaching)
• Distilled white vinegar (for poaching)
• Water (for poaching and polenta)
• 1/2 cup Polenta
• 1/2 Tbl butter
• Fresh baby Spinach
• 1/2 cup of sliced red pepper
• 1/4 shallot, minced
• Shredded cheddar cheese

For Spicy Hollandaise Sauce: 

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 Tbl lemon juice
• 1/2 cups melted, hot butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp Tapatio hot sauce

Directions:

1. Cook polenta to package instructions. It usually takes about 25 minutes for polenta to become creamy and cooked over the stovetop. 
2. While that's going make your hollandaise. Crack 3 egg yolks (the yellow) into a blender or food processor, add salt to taste, 1 Tbl of lemon juice and Tapatio. 
3. Pulse for about 20-30 seconds until all the ingredients come together.
4. Melt 1/2 cup of butter in the microwave until completely melted and hot, about 1 minute should do. 
5. Slowly pour about 1/3 of the hot butter into the processor. Pulse, then do this again two more times with the rest of the butter. Viola! Hollandaise in a hot second!
6. While polenta continues to cook, sauté red pepper and shallots with olive oil, salt and pepper on medium heat. Once they start becoming soft, add in fresh spinach. Cook until wilted and removed from heat.
7. Once polenta is done, spoon polenta onto a plate and top with a small handful of shredded cheddar (helps the cheese melt better!) Then add veggies. Top with poached eggs and hollandaise. 

Poaching an Egg (thanks Smitten Kitchen!):

No need to channel your inner Martha Stewart to make poached eggs!

1. In a saucepan, bring a few inches of water and splash of distilled vinegar to an almost boil. Bubbles will form at the bottom of the pan, but they will not be moving up, as if they are boiling. The water should be hot, NOT boiling. Medium-high heat should get you here.
2. Crack one egg into a bowl, this makes it easier to slide into the water.
3. Once water is at the right temperature, take a spatula or spoon and create a whirlwind motion in the water by stirring rapidly for a few seconds. 
4. Add egg to spinning water. Reduce heat to medium low and let the egg white start to cook around the egg and the middle to remain runny. If the egg starts sticking to the bottom of the pan, gently use the spatula to move it. BEST THING TO DO IS LET IT BE! Don't move the egg around a lot, let it sit in the water for 3-4 minutes. FYI, If you are using non-stick, it probably won't stick :) 
5. Use a slotted spoon (a spoon with holes in it for draining), to scoop egg from water. Carefully let egg drain and transfer to folded paper towel. 
6. The water can be reused, several times over, just make sure to bring the temp back up and add a splash more vinegar!

Note: Hollandaise sauce can be kept in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container.

Happy Brunching! ;)