Polenta Vegetable Casserole

16 Nov 2009 7 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I love Polenta! (of course I do, it is made from corn and I love corn!!) It is such a comfort food for me. Adding veggies and cheese made this such a comforting and complete meal that we both really enjoyed! This is also super fast and something everyone will love. Plus there might even be leftovers to enjoy 🙂

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Polenta Vegetable Casserole
Makes 6-8 servings

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium eggplant, chopped into small cubes
1 small zucchini, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 cup water
10 ounces baby spinach
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
14 ounces prepared polenta, sliced
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella (I would use Vegan Mozz Daiya now 🙂)

1.Preheat oven to 450F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large 12″ + nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggplant, zucchini, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 6 minutes. Add water and spinach; cover and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir marinara sauce into the vegetables and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add in basil.
3. Place polenta slices in a single layer in the prepared baking dish, trimming to fit if necessary. Sprinkle with half the cheese and top with the vegetable mixture and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake until bubbling and the cheese has just melted, 12 to 15 minutes. Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving. ENJOY 🙂

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Pizza Night!!!

25 Oct 2009 3 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Who doesn’t appreciate a good pizza night? So good, quick, but healthy? Healthy is not a word that normally goes with pizza but we managed to come up with a scrumptious version that is good for you too! mmmmmm! Whole-wheat Eggplant and Pesto Pizza, just hearing the name and I am thinking how good it sounds! This was a real winner! It also helps out that I chose not to make the dough this time around. Whole foods sells whole-wheat pizza dough ready to go. That helps make this super simple, quick and very enjoyable 🙂 Let me know what you think.

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Whole-wheat Eggplant and Pesto Pizza
Serves 4

1 unbaked whole-wheat pizza dough
1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/4″ slices
2 cloves of Garlic
1 tomato, sliced
12-16 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced into thin slices (or vegan mozzarella, like daiya)
1/3 cup pine nuts
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch basil
Celtic sea salt
1/3 cup Grated Parmigiano (or use vegan parm.)
Unbleached, all-purpose flour (for rolling out the dough, you only need a little bit)

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Coat a baking pan with olive oil or non-stick foil. Brush the sheet pan with olive oil. Place slices on baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Salt and pepper them. Place in the heated oven for 10 minutes or until golden.
  2. Flour a clean surface and roll out the dough until the same size as your baking sheet. Place it on the baking sheet and let it rise for 15 minutes.
  3. Toast the pine nuts. This can easily be done in a pan in the oven for 4 minutes. Make sure to watch this so they do not burn.
  4. Sprinkle the pizza with garlic powder or fresh garlic slices and cover with mozzarella slices and eggplant. Put in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Check to make sure the dough is cooked through. The cheese should be bubbling 🙂
  5. After you place the pizza in the oven make a pesto by processing the basil, garlic cloves, toasted pine nuts and 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor. Add in the grated Parmigiano until well combined.
  6. When the pizza is done, drizzle with pesto and let cool.
  7. Serve and enjoy! I know you will!!

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Quick Fig & Fontina Flatbread

05 Oct 2009 5 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , ,

Looking for a fast and deeelish snack or lunch? Here is a great option that I just put together. I think I have mentioned before how much I love figs! I am really taking advantage of them while they are still in season. This is such a simple and easy way to enjoy them.

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Quick Fig & Fontina Flatbread
2 servings

6 fresh figs, sliced thin
1/2 tbsp Honey or agave
1 whole wheat or multi grain pita bread
1 1/4 ounce fontina cheese, sliced thinly (I use mozzarella daiya)
dash of celtic sea salt

Pre-heat a toaster or regular oven to 350 degrees. Split the pita bread into two halves. Spread the cheese out evenly on both halves. Place in the oven for 2-4 minutes till the cheese is melted and the bread is nicely toasted. Remove from the oven and place the sliced figs evenly onto the both halves. Sprinkle some salt and drizzle the honey on top. Enjoy!!

I have been looking up what I am eating to see the nutrition stats, so I will post them when I can 🙂

Here you go! Per serving: 244 Calories, 7g Fat, 4g Sat fat, 21mg Cholesterol, 303mg Sodium, 40g Carbs, 6 g Fiber, 24g Sugar, 9g Protein

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