Tomato, Apricot & Ricotta Flatbread

Here’s another recipe from my latest Cooking Light magazine (two in a week!) I thought peaches were in season but for some reason Publix didn’t have any, so I substituted apricots instead. 

You could grill your flatbread, but since it was pouring rain the other night when we made this, we just baked ours in the oven.  It was ready in less than 15 minutes.

Tomato, Apricot & Ricotta Flatbread: (adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup ricotta cheese
• 2 T finely chopped green onions, divided
• 1 T finely chopped fresh oregano
• 2 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• ½ t black pepper
• 1 package naan breads (like Stone Fire)
• 1 medium tomato, sliced (we also had a baby tomato from our garden we threw in since it was ripe)
• 1 apricot, pitted and sliced
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 T fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/8 t sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle 1T olive oil over the naan and cook in the oven for about 5 minutes.  

2. Combine the ricotta with the other 1T olive oil, 1T green onions, oregano, and pepper. 

3. Remove naan from the oven and spread ricotta mixture evenly over.  Top with tomato and peach slices, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. 

4.  Put back in oven for 5-10 more minutes or until the flatbread gets to your desired crispness. 

5. Sprinkle with remaining 1T green onions, bail, and salt.  Enjoy!  

Grilled Tilapia Bowls with Spicy Avocado Drizzle

 

I tried a new healthy recipe last night – grilled tilapia bowls with spicy avocado drizzle.  The original recipe was inspired by Chipotle’s burrito bowls, but with all healthy ingredients. 

It called for 3 cups cooked quinoa – but since we just ate lots of quinoa the other day in our stuffed acorn squash, I reduced it to about 1 ½ cups cooked (since quinoa quadruples in size when cooked, it only took 1/3 cup uncooked). 

I also doubled the original fish amount from two to four filets just so we could have leftovers for fish sandwiches another day. 

The avocado cream made WAY more than it took to drizzle over the fish, but the spicy sauce is so delicious, I think it’s worth making the extra and saving the rest as a chip dip. 

Lance claims that this is one of the best meals I've ever cooked - which is a huge compliment.  I'll definitely make it again!

Grilled Tilapia Bowls with Spicy Avocado Drizzle (adapted from Joyful Healthy Eats)

Ingredients:

Spicy Avocado Drizzle:

·        1-6 oz container plain Greek yogurt

·        Juice of one lime

·        1 large avocado

·        1 garlic clove

·        1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed

·        Salt and pepper

Seasoning:

·        2 t chili powder

·        2 t smoked paprika

·        2 t cumin

·        2 t garlic powder

·        1 t salt

·        ½ t pepper

Other Ingredients:

·        4 large tilapia filets

·        1/3 cups uncooked quinoa

·        1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

·        1-15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained

·        Drizzle of olive oil

·        ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

·        1 medium tomato, diced

 

Directions:

1.  In a food processor, add the yogurt, lime juice, avocado, garlic clove, jalepeno, salt, and pepper.  Blend until smooth, then place in the refrigerator. (I was excited to use my new citrus juicer for the first time!)

 

 

 

2. Put the 1/3 cup quinoa and 2/3 cup water on the stovetop and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover the pot. 

3. Meanwhile, mix the chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

 

 

4. Rinse and pat dry tilapia filets, then rub both sides with the seasoning.  You should have some leftover – put that to the side. 

 

4. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with a drizzle of olive oil, then add the canned corn.  Add the remaining spice mixture to the corn, then turn down the heat to medium-low and let the corn get slightly blackened. You can also add the black beans and diced tomato to the skillet if you’d prefer them warm (the original recipe kept them cold, but I heated mine for a few minutes).   

 

5. In a large greased pan, cook the tilapia about 3-5 minutes on each side.  You could finish the cooking on the pan, but I finished it on the George Foreman to give the fish grill marks (I would have cooked the whole thing on the grill, but ours doesn’t have temperature controls). 

 

 

6. Remove from the grill and set aside. 

7. Assemble your bowls, placing quinoa at the bottom, adding the black beans, tomato, corn, cilantro, and tilapia. 

 

8. Top with the spicy avocado sauce.  If you want a light drizzle, you can pour your sauce into a Ziploc bag, cut a small hole in the corner, then use it to drizzle over the dish. 

Spinach Meatball Sliders

This was a super easy meal – the crock pot did most of the work.  It makes more meatballs than will fit on the sliders, but the leftovers can be combined with pasta or eaten on their own. 

Spinach Meatball Sliders

Ingredients:

• 1-26 oz bag frozen pre-cooked meatballs
• 2 cups Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (I actually used a mix of cheddar, fresh mozzarella, and shredded mozarella)
• Grated parmesan cheese
• 9 Hawaiian bread rolls
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Combine the meatballs, pasta sauce, tomatoes, garlic, spinach, and dashes of salt and pepper in a crock pot and stir to combine.  Cook on high for 3 hours. 

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Slice Hawaiian rolls almost in half, leaving the top still attached.  Top with mozzarella, then with meatballs and sauce from crock pot. 

3. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread becomes toasty. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and then put tops back on sandwiches.