Hot Naked Pasta

This recipe came out of a book I had long ago. We used to serve it as one of our meatless meals.

Ingredients:
1 lb angel hair pasta (you can use 1 lb any kind of pasta you like)
2 Tbsp basil
2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
Parmesan cheese to taste (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Once drained and rinsed, toss with olive oil, sea salt, and basil.

Notes:

• As is, it is vegan. However, you can cook up some chicken and serve with chicken.

Curried Turkey Burger Sliders with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

We got this recipe when we subscribed to Clean Eating Magazine. 

Ingredients:
1 egg white
1/3 cup coarsely grated apple, left unpeeled
1/4 cup minced or coarsely grated red onion
3 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tbsp curry paste or powder
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2 tsp lemon juice, divided
1 tsp ground coriander, divided
1 lb lean ground turkey (or lean ground chicken)
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup peeled and grated cucumber, drained
Olive oil cooking spray
8 oz whole-wheat naan bread, cut into 24 2-inch squares or rounds

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine egg white, apple, onion, flaxseed, curry, ginger, salt, pepper, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1/2 tsp coriander. Mix in turkey and shape into 12 1/2-inch-thick mini burger patties.
2. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, salt, pepper and remaining 1 tsp lemon juice and 1/2 tsp coriander. Set aside.
3. Heat a nonstick grill pan or large nonstick skillet on medium-high and mist with cooking spray. Cook patties, turning once, until meat is no longer pink in center, about 5 minutes. 
4. Top patties with cucumber yogurt, dividing evenly, and sandwich between 2 squares naan bread.

Notes:

• We actually cook them in olive oil rather than the cooking spray, which I'm sure brings the flavor down by a whole bunch.
• You can also grill them, which we've done as well. However, if you grill them be careful that they do not stick to the grill or slide through the grates.
• As a meal, serves 4.

Alton's Crepes

We have a couple crepe recipes. This one is Alton Brown's of the Food Network. I like our other recipe better. This one is a little harder to work with in the actual cooking of the crepe process.

Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan

Savory Variation: 

1/4 teaspoon salt  

1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatoes

Sweet Variation: 

21/2 tablespoons sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur 

Directions:
In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.


Notes:

• For your filling, you can do an egg and sausage or a sweet with berries and sugar. Try your own flavor combinations.