Spiced Apricot Chickpea Patties

Oh heaven this is good. I didn't think to take a (terrible) photo until halfway through dinner, but just take my word for it that if you like the flavors of greece or lebanon you'll love this.

And we're back.... again....

Hello out there! I'm sorry for the slump in new posts lately- I assure you I have been eating, it's just been less than exciting food since we've been so busy. Now that we've sort of fallen back into the rhythm of work/store or cook/gym I can finally start cooking again. It couldn't have come a moment too soon because we recently had a nifty little cold front that made me crave chili. This chili is a little different because it includes sweet potatoes, but man oh man is it good! Give it a try!

Ingredients

Small Slow Cooker

1 Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed

1 diced yellow onion

2 minced garlic cloves

2 cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I used dark and light red)

1 14.5 ounce can of tomatoes

1 tbl chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1/2-1 chipotle pepper cubes

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cup water

Directions

Throw everything into a small slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4, until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.

Review

5 out of 5 honeybees! This was excellent, especially with sweet cornbread. Definitely a make-again dish!

Nutrition

4 servings. Each: 174.5 calories, 1.1g fat, 34.7g carbs, fiber 11.2g, protein 8.6g

Update

Helllooo there! Just an update that I haven't forgotten about the blog- I'm at NACC conference, and eating really delicious food around Austin! I'll be back tomorrow and start updating again next week!

Easy lunch: Mushroom, spinach and goat cheese rollups

Fact: If I could, I would only eat macaroni and cheese, pb&j sandwiches, greek yogurt, oatmeal, bananas and grapes. I swear I have the taste buds of a 5 year old. I'm not into spices or variety, and certainly not most vegetables. So when I eat veggies they have to be GOOD. So in an effort to eat more spinach I decided to work out an easy lunchtime recipe that has spinach incorporated, and I have to say it's pretty great!

Ingredients

2 whole wheat tortillas

1 tbsp (or less) butter

1 tbsp (or less) olive oil

1/2 cup chopped baby bella or crimini mushrooms

1/2 cup fresh baby spinach

2ish ounces goat cheese

1 tbsp chopped garlic

** As a side note, keep a small jar of minced garlic in your fridge and it will cut down on prep time when you are making solo meals. You probably wont even notice the difference.

Directions

Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium.

Add a little butter and a little olive oil.

Add the chopped garlic and chopped baby bellas. Saute until the mushrooms begin to brown.

Remove the skillet from heat.

Add the baby spinach and stir mix. The residual heat from the skillet will wilt the spinach.

Once the spinach is a beautiful bright green color and still a little firm it's ready to go.

Warm your tortillas in the microwave for 5 seconds, just to get them soft.

Spread goat cheese in the center of the tortillas. You want a pretty good layer because some cheese will melt in the cooking.

Add the spinach and mushroom filling to each tortilla, distributing evenly.

Roll up the tortilla so the cheese, mushrooms and spinach are safely inside.

Heat up a george forman grill to medium.

Lightly butter the outside of the tortillas (not required), and place on grill seam side down.

Grill until lightly toasted. It should still be warm through because of the mushroom/spinach.

Cut in half and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving 1 (2 rollups), Calories 533, Fat 40g, Protein 19g, est ww points 13

Review and Notes

I would definitely give this recipe 5 out of 5 honeybees for ease, taste and texture.

* A note about goat cheese. I really recommend seeking out good quality, local and ethically produced goat cheese. You might pay a little more than the 'national' brands, but the money stays in our community and you can seek out high animal husbandry standards, which I think is worth it. Here in DFW we are lucky to be the home of Latte Da Dairy. They care so much for their goats that they are animal welfare approved, plus their goat cheese is some of the best I've ever tasted! You can catch them at several local farmers markets, Central Market or at one of their open houses all listed on their web site.*

We now interrupt this blog to take part in a Texas Tradition!!

Howdy Folks!!

Yup, it's that time of year again- the TEXAS STATE FAIR!! Now, I don't know about you, but I LOVE the fair. In fact, I do believe I have begged (and convinced) Jason to take me every year that we have known each other! I think once we get to year 10 we can officially call it a tradition :0)

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Texas State Fair, it is one of the largest and oldest (it's over 100!) state fairs in the country. The Fair runs for 24 days, and is presided over by that gentleman up top named Big Tex. As a local non-profit, the Fair supports Texas students with college scholarships, memorializes Texas heritage with the Heritage Hall of Honor and has an active preservation roll in it's almost 300 acres of art deco design. Pretty impressive for a self sustaining organization smack in the middle of downtown Dallas!

I have to admit though that even with all these great attributes, the real reason we go is the food. The FRIED food that is! The Texas State Fair has pretty much become synonymous with crazy fried foods experiments- we've seen fried frito pies, fried beer and of course fried butter! Each year there seems to be one or two new experiments that catch everyones attention and Jason and I always try them out. This year, in addition to his annual corndog and my annual funnel cake, we tried the fried s'mores pop tart.

Well, as you can see it was actually pretty tasty!! We especially liked the middle part where you really got the s'mores flavor and it was mixed with the warm fried graham cracker! I think if you make it out to the Fair this year it should definitely be on your list of things to try.

Big Tex, we'll see ya again next year!

Veggie pot pie with whole wheat crust

Now that the fall temperatures have arrived I've had a craving for something cozy. One of my all time favorite cold weather dishes is a pot pie, so when I saw a healthy version on Cates World Kitchen I knew I should modify it to fit our taste.

Filling Ingredients

Dash of olive oil

1 chopped shallot

2 peeled and diced carrots

2 thinly sliced celery ribs

1/4 chopped red onion

1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

1/3 cup frozen peas

a little whole wheat flour

2 cups veggie broth

1/4 cup plain yogurt (we used greek yogurt)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp dried sage

a dash of tonys herbs and spices

Whole Wheat Crust Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp chilled and diced butter

3 tbsp reduced fat sour cream

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Let's make the dough first.

Mix together the flour, salt and baking powder.

Add in the diced butter and smash it into the dough until there is a good, crumbly texture.

Add in the sour cream and mix with your hands. Yes, it's messy but this is probably the best method to get everything incorporated.

You're dough will still be dry and a little crumbly, it's ok. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Now let's make the filling.

Heat a dash of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the chopped shallot and saute for 1 minute.

Add the diced carrots, celery and onion and cook for 10 minutes or until tender.

Add a little flour and cook for 30 seconds, being sure to mix well and not burn the flour.

Add the 2 cups veggie broth and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

When mix begins to thicken, add the beans, peas, sage, salt and pepper, tonys and yogurt.

Stir, stir, stir until well incorporated.

Divide the mix between oven safe bowls or ramekins. We used 3 of the 2 cup pyrex glass containers and it worked perfectly, plus it makes cutting out the dough a breeze.

Now you're ready to remove the pastry dough.

Roll the dough out between two sheets of Saran Wrap, or two Slippats until it's pretty thin.

If you've used pyrex containers, use a lid to cut circles out of the dough.

If you've used a ramekin just trace the bottom with a thin knife and cut out a circle.

Place dough on top of each filling set and cut a few vents for steam.

Arrange the ramekins on a jelly roll sheet and bake until the crust is browned.

Nutrition

Servings: 3, Calories: 517, Fat: 18.6g, Carbs: 74.8g, Protein: 17g, Est. WW points: 11

The Review

We loved the filling for this recipe, but found the dough a little dry. Next time I might consider checking out other whole wheat recipes first, or going with a Pepperidge Farms pastry sheet. Overall I'd give the filling 5 out of 5 honeybees and the dough 3 out of 5 honeybees.

Product Review: So Delicious Mini Fudge Bars

A few months ago Kroger re-opened down by TCU and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they do an excellent job carrying Veg friendly products. I was shocked to find that they carry an entire section of alternative 'meat' and 'dairy' products, an aisle filled with veg friendly frozen meals and my favorite almond milk all in one place! Today when I popped in I was craving chocolate ice cream, so I decided to see if I could scope out anything new.

Enter So Delicious Dairy Free Creamy Fudge Bar Minis.

Oh Heaven.

These little treats have an organic coconut milk base, and are only 70 calories. Their taste and texture is very similar to a frozen, light chocolate mouse. Did I mention they are the perfect portion size!? Next time you're looking for a tasty non-dairy treat I highly recommend that you try out this line.

I'd give this one 5 out of 5 honeybees.

Enjoy!