Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato-Stuff Eggplant Rollups

Finally, I am back in the kitchen.  It felt so good to cook my own meal after a couple weeks of letting Mom and the Monkey Scientist cook for me.  They both make slam dunk dinners, but I just love the act of cooking - there's something about slicing veggies at the end of the day that I truly enjoy.



The Monkey Scientist had a great idea this week.  Instead of waiting until January to start resolutions, we're going to have some Fall resolutions.  Mainly, this involves eating healthier and exercising more.  I think this is great - I was so good in the first quarter of the year of following my resolutions (blog more, eat better, run a 5K) but I've let a lot of it slip.  This will be a great pick-me-up going into the often unhealthy holiday season.



For me, eating healthier is going to be a lot about eating with the Monkey Scientist without eating as much as him. I've mentioned before that a home-cooked meal lasted me a week before I met him, as I'd eat a little and have leftovers all week.  Now, it lasts that night.  My rule is to try to let him eat 2/3 of what I make - we'll see how it goes.  Also, just making some healthier foods!



This recipe came from the Weight Watchers' New Complete Cookbook, which a friend recently borrowed from the library and let me make a couple photocopies out of it.  It's a super easy cookbook, and it's all available on Google Books, so I recommend checking it out.  I plan to make a few more recipes from it in the coming weeks.  It has loads of options for Meatless Mondays - like this one!



Weight Watchers designed this recipe to make 4 servings, and 1 serving has only 95 calories and 5 g fat (my adjustments only related to spices, so this should still be about right), so even if I ate almost 2 servings that's a pretty light dinner.  (Complete nutrition facts are available in the cookbook, see link in the recipe). The eggplant is meaty and filling so I wasn't left hungry or missing meat.  I served it up with some seasoned brown rice (made in the rice cooker - getting way better at using it!) which is healthier than pasta or white rice.



Of course, I kicked up the spice.  Feel free to leave out the cayenne and red pepper flakes if that scares you. I had a little bit of a portion issue on the stuffing - my tomato was too small and my onion was a little too big, so I'd adjust that next time.  I'd also probably roast the tomato and onion along with the red pepper.  I'm just not a huge fan of raw onion.  I found rolling the eggplant to be pretty difficult and it didn't come out quite as pretty as I would have liked.



Still we liked this recipe.  I liked the small amount of goat cheese instead of loading it with ricotta.  All the veggies made it pretty hearty and I enjoyed the kick from the cayenne and red pepper flakes.  The Monkey Scientist said he didn't know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised (he might not have used exactly those words).  Overall, a nice, easy, healthy dinner.



Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato-Stuffed Eggplant Rollups
adjusted from Weight Watchers' New Complete Cookbook

Ingredients
1/4 c crumbled soft goat cheese
1 large plum tomato, chopped (optional - roasted)
1 chopped roasted red pepper
1 small onion, chopped (optional - roasted)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 (1-lb) eggplant, cut lengthwise into 8 slices
Olive Oil non-stick spray (I used Pam)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Instructions
1. Stir together goat cheese, tomato, roasted red pepper, onion, oregano, 1/4 tsp salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, & cayenne in a medium bowl.
2. Spray Forman grill with olive oil nonstick spray and preheat.  Lightly spray eggplant slices with nonstick spray and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp salt.  Place eggplant on Forman grill and grill until well marked and tender, about 3 minutes. (note: only the bottom got marks on my Forman, but it should be ok!).  Transfer to plate; let cool.
3. To assemble rollups, spoon about 2 tbsp of tomato/onion/red peper mixture on wider end of each slice of eggplant.  Rollup tightly and place, seam side down, on platter (use a toothpick if needed).  (At this point, if you want you can roast in a 450 degree oven for 20 min or so). Drizzle oil over rollups and sprinkle with mint.

Greek Style Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Quiche with Oatmeal Crust

I am a huge fan of using up leftovers.  I reduce reuse recycle and I reduce, coupon clip, buy on sale (not quite the same ring to it)...  So when (never home)maker posted a recipe for Pesto Quiche with Oatmeal Crust the day after I made Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta (which for some reason I kept calling Sundried Tomato Pesto in my head despite a lack of sun, drying, or tomatoes...), and had some pesto leftover - I knew the quiche was meant to be.

I adjusted the Quiche recipe to fit the ingredients I had on hand.  It was entirely yummy!  I loved the olives in it!!



GREEK-STYLE ROASTED RED PEPPER PESTO QUICHE WITH AN OATMEAL CRUST
(Adapted from (never home)maker)

Ingredients:
For the crust:

• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons milk

For the filling:

• 3 eggs
• 3 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons greek-style roasted red pepper pesto
• Ground pepper, to taste
• 1 heaping tablespoon dijon
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 2/3 cup crumbled feta
• 1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives (no pits!)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray.
2. In a food processor, pulse together the oats, flour, and salt. Three pulses should do it.
3. Then cut in the butter (just cut it into smaller pieces) and pulse until it gets crumbly (maybe 10 times).
4. Add in the milk. Pulse until it is well combined and forms a ball. About 10 pulses.
5. Then take this dough ball and place between two sheets of wax paper. Roll with a rolling pin until it is about 10 inches in diameter. Then place it in your prepared pie dish. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
6. In the meantime, heat a pan over medium-high heat and put a little olive oil in it. Cook your onions and peppers until they are soft and lightly browned. About 8-10 minutes.
7. By now your pie shell should be done. Set it aside and lower the oven temp to 350 degrees F.
8. Whisk together your eggs, egg whites, milk, pesto, pepper, and mustard.
9. Then sprinkle your cheese over the pie crust. Distribute the onions/green peppers (I only needed about 1/2 of the mixture) and olives over that layer. And pour your egg mixture over that.
10. Bake for 35 minutes -- until set and lightly browned.

Roasted red pepper pesto pasta with olives and feta

I saw this recipe this afternoon and knew I had to make it for dinner!  I keep trying to quit eating carbs, but it just doesn't tend to work out.  A good recipe makes it totally worth needing to run a little more often!

This recipe is actually a series of 3 recipes from Closet Cooking.

 The first is recipe is really just a set of instructions of how to roast peppers when you don't have a grill or gas stove.  Instead, you roast them in the oven. Super easy!













The next recipe is a greek-style sundried tomato pesto.  Check out the adorable measuring spoons I got for Christmas!

 The peso is simple.  You just throw everything in the food processor and blend away!

The final result is a lovely smooth sauce for the pasta!

 

You can use any pasta you like.  I'm a big coupon user and I got a great deal on mini versions of classic pasta shapes from Barilla.  They're an awesome shape.

Finally, I mixed the pesto into the pasta with feta and kalamata olives.  The olive bar at Giant only had pitted kalamata olives - it was a pain to depit them all.  I recommend searching for the pitted kind.

The final result was pretty tasty.  I probably wouldn't make it again, but a recipe has to be SUPER good for me to want to make it again.  I'd give this about a 3 out of 5.

Here are the recipes from Closet Cooking:

How to Roast Red Peppers

(makes 1 roasted red pepper)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
red peppers

Directions:
1. Cut the red peppers in half, remove the stem and seeds.
2. Place the red peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down.
3. Preheat the oven to 450F and then change it to broil.
4. Place the baking sheet on the top shelf in the oven and broil until the outer layer of the skin has blackened, about 10-20 minutes.
5. Place the peppers in a zip-lock bag or other sealable container, seal and let them cool until you can handle them, about 20 minutes.
6. Remove the skins from the peppers. The skins should easily "pinch" off.

Greek Style Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

(makes 1/2 cup)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 large roasted red peppers
1 tablespoons fresh oregano (optional)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoons pine nuts (toasted)
2 tablespoons feta (crumbled)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Place everything into a food processor and puree.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta with Feta and Kalamata Olives

(makes 4 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound pasta (I used whole wheat penne)
1/2 cup greek style roasted red pepper pesto
1/4 cup kalamata olives (pitted and coarsely chopped)
1 handful parsley (chopped)
1/2 cup feta (crumbled)

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta as directed on the package.
2. Drain the pasta reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
3. Toss the pasta with the pesto, pasta water, olives and parsley.
4. Serve garnished with crumbled feta.