Sweet and Savory Holiday Edition: Goat Cheese & Honey Stuffed Pastries
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Our gorgeous Valentine’s appetizer plate!
Before I go into this recipe, I need to first admit how utterly ashamed I am of how much goat cheese I ate during the production of this dish. I’m also ashamed at how many of these popable hors’ devours I ate when they were done baking. It’s actually embarrassing. But honestly friends, they were just. that. good. The savory, creamy taste and texture of the goat cheese complimented the sweetness of the honey perfectly, especially when wrapped up and baked in a soft, flaky pastry. My mouth is watering just thinking of them again. Elliot, who has professed a hatred of goat cheese, gobbled these up like they were candy. He even made the “nom nom” sound with every bite. That is a win in my book! Oh, and these aren’t super healthy for you, so try to eat only one or two. [Aka, don’t mimic my barbaric behavior!] However, I warn you, it’ll be VERY hard to just eat one!
Goat Cheese and Honey Stuffed Pastries
What You’ll Need:
- 1 small container of goat cheese
- 4 tablespoons of honey
- 1 package of pastry [can be frozen or puff]
- Cooking Spray
How to Make Them:
- Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and preheat oven to 375.
- Roll dough out until it’s a thin sheet. Cut off long enough pieces so that they can be rolled once stuffed. You can make any shapes you’d like, I chose to go with a slightly deformed ravioli.
- Place a spoonful of goat cheese and 1 tsp of honey into the pastry. Roll and place on the baking sheet.
- Repeat until the ingredients are gone. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.
- Drizzle additional honey over pastries and serve!
Nutritional information per pastry: 135 calories, 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of protein and .5 grams of fiber.
Sweet and Savory Holiday Edition: Tomato and Cheese Bruschetta
I hope your day is filled with lots of sweet messages and treats! [Photo via]
Happy Valentine’s Day friends, fans and lovers! What are your plans tonight? Dinner at a swanky up-town restaurant or a romantic dinner at home with candles, roses and chocolate? I’m a fan of both, but to keep things simple and relaxing, we are opting for a home-made dinner and dessert in. I have a great 3 course menu lined up [below], including two appetizers, a hearty dinner and a light dessert.
Appetizers
Basil Tomato & Mozzarella Bruschetta [recipe below!]
Goat Cheese and Honey Stuffed Pastry [recipe posted tonight!]
Entree
Red Wine & Herb Marinated Steak
Dessert
Strawberry cupcakes with light cream cheese frosting [cupcake recipe posted tonight!]
As I mentioned above, the savory appetizers and the super sweet dessert will be featured on this celebrated love day! To kick off my Valentine’s day inspired menu, I’m showing ya’ll this incredibly easy, fresh and delicious bruschetta appetizer. I got really into the chunks of fresh mozzarella and ripe tomatoes on bread dipped in olive oil dish when I was in Italy. The olive oil was so smooth you could drink it, the tomatoes were fresh and juicy right off the vines, the mozzarella was creamy, soft and rich and the bread was crispy on the outside but hot and moist on the inside. [Mouths watering yet?] Although I don’t have the home plate advantage that the Italians do [with their abundance of fresh and amazing ingredients] I can still whip up an incredibly tasty bruschetta. There’s no better way to say “Cara mia, ti voglio bene” [My dear, I love you] than with a piece of home-made bruschetta!
What You’ll Need:
- 1 loaf of french bread
- 1/2 hunk of fresh mozzarella cheese [it usually comes in a ball shape]
- 4 plum tomatoes
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp of 100% extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh basil leaves [or dried basil]
- Dried oregano
- Dash of salt and pepper
How to Make It:
- Slide bread into 1/2 inch think slices. Slice mozzarella and tomatoes into bite size pieces.
- Drizzle olive oil on bread. Sprinkle with a pinch of basil, oregano and salt and pepper.
- Place cheese on bread and sprinkle with chopped tomatoes. Drizzle a bit more olive oil over and sprinkle with more basil and oregano. [Or serve with a fresh basil leaf on top]
Note: To serve warm, simply bake at 350 degrees for about 5-6 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Nutritional information per piece: 180 calories, 6 grams of fat, 7 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber.
Eat Skinny Be Skinny Vegetarian: Eggplant Parmesan
It was even better today as leftovers for lunch!
Although this is my third dish with the eggplant, I still get nervous every time I go to take a bite. The first try I was turned off by it’s texture in the sandwich and the second time it was squishy because of the oil it cooked in, so I felt I had to give it one strong last try to woo me before I checked it off of my list. I believe in second and third chances in life, so why not bestow the same feelings towards produce? Although I’m not a ravenous carnivore, I do eat a lot of meat. [All jokes aside, kids]. So I decided I’m going to go vegetarian for a few days to see if it has any affect on how I feel. I have an incredibly senstive stomach, so on any given day, I’m facing abdominal discomfort. [TMI? Well it’s my blog, so deal with it!] To alleviate the everyday blahs, I am going to stop eating meat for a bit. K?
I’m fabulously excited to share this recipe because I’m now officially in love with eggplant in this dish. Truthfully though, I’m still not sure I can munch on it without it being covered in cheese and sauce. Either way, this is one of my new favorite Italian dishes. The eggplant is perfectly soft and the sauce and cheese combo magnificently suit the bland flavor of eggplant. It’s rich, flavorful and decadent without carrying the massive calorie and fat count as the chicken variety! Not to mention, it’s a very cheap dish to make [less than $10] and has very, very little prep. Even Elliot, who is weary of things he doesn’t feel comfortable with, ate a few pieces! He would have had more, but he’s slightly lactose intolerant, so i’m happy he didn’t 🙂
Eggplant Parmsean
What You’ll Need:
- 1 large eggplant [1.5 lbs]
- 2 cups of low fat, part skim mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup of shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup of marinara sauce
- Dash of salt and pepper
How To Make It:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Slice eggplant in 1/2 inch slices. Spray the bottom of a casserole dish with cooking spray. Place eggplant on the bottom of the pan. Pour 1/4 cup sauce, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over eggplant. Place eggplant slices over the cheese/sauce mixture. Repeat with cheeses and sauce until ingredients are gone. Sprinkle a little bit more of Parmesan over the dish.
- Bake for 40 minutes until cheese is bubbly and eggplant is soft.
Nutritional Information per serving [6 servings]: 250 calories, 12 grams of fat, 18 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.
Claire
Tags:cheap dinner, dinner under $10, eggplant, eggplant dish, eggplant Parmesan, Healthy, low fat dinner, vegetarian
Easy and Healthy Breakfast: Fruit Salad
As you might have read yesterday, I had a wonderful weekend away at my bridal shower! As much as I loved it, I also am feeling less than stellar due to my rather unhealthy 3 day diet. I have no regrets, of course, but my body was in serious need of some fruit and vegetables come Sunday! Luckily, my aunt must have read my mind because she suggested making a beautiful fruit salad for our bridal brunch! Fruit is one of my favorite things to assemble and photograph because the bright, vibrant colors and the unusual shapes and textures make for some very appealing photos! Not to mention, fruit has a natural sweetness that satisfies my ridiculous sweet tooth!
What You’ll Need:
- 5 kiwi
- 3 star fruits
- 5 mini nectarines
- 1 container of blueberries
- 1 container of strawberries
- 3 bananas
- 1 cantaloupe
How to Make It:
- Slice bananas, kiwis, star fruit, nectarines, cantaloupe and strawberries. Stack into a large bowl. Mix blueberries in and serve! [Told you, the easiest salad EVER].
Nutritional Information per cup: 100 calories, 0.5 grams of fat and 4.5 grams of protein.
Claire
Tags:10 minute breakfast, easy breakfast, easy fruit, easy fruit salad, fruit salad, star fruit
My Bridal Shower Weekend Food Recap…
Aren’t these wedding ducks the cutest?!
I had one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long while, mostly due to the fact that I have such an incredible group of friends and a fabulous family! My aunt and best friends mother [aka second mom] hosted my bridal shower in Cleveland and the overwhelming love and support I got for my upcoming marriage was truly remarkable! Not to mention, I scored some pretty sweet loot! Because this is my foodie/healthy blog and most of ya’ll only like me for my recipes, health tips and witty comments, I’m going to showcase some of the amazing eats I had this weekend! For more bridal shower pictures and deets on the wedding , visit my wedding blog! The shower was held at the cutest little wine bar in Rocky River, OH! The room we were in was cozy with a roaring fireplace and tons of of windows. As a certified wino, this was the perfect place to host my shower! Yesterday before I had to hop back on a plane to reality, my aunt had a fun little brunch at her place with homemade quiche, strata, fruit salad and a delicious Swedish tea cake. Safe to say, I ate a lot of good food that is in no way healthy. Oh, and I also drank my face off, college style. Life’s too short not to eat full fat strata and drink a bottle of champagne for breakfast! [Photos were shot by myself and my amazingly talented Aunt, Sue Weber!]
Personalized m&m’s with our faces, wedding date and wedding bells!
Delicious avocado, tomato and cheese crustinis!
Corn Chowder…amazing!
Buffalo and blue cheese wraps!
Fabulous and trendy lemon cupcakes with sugar C & E letters! They were incredibly moist and flavorful!
And of course there was wine!
Drink table for the brunch! Mimosas and other mixers!
The 4 types of quiche Sue made! I tried one of each, obviously!
Roasted brussel sprouts and asparagus
Beautiful Swedish tea cakes!
Next post will be a very easy Eat Skinny Be Skinny fruit salad! Amazing food, amazing weekend and even more amazing company! Can’t wait to share the next set of vacation food pictures from Vegas! [Er, vacation drunk photos more like it!]
