Take-In Thursday ~ Naan Bread

This week we wanted to share a recipe we found from the Culinary Institute of America. We know that any time we go out to a restaurant and we have naan bread, everyone can’t stop about how delicious it is and how it must be impossible to make. We thought we would provide this recipe so anyone who is interested at taking a stab at it can try to make it themselves. Maybe this will be your side dish for the holidays this year. Send in your comments to let us know how you liked it!

Naan Bread ~  makes about 8 flat breads

recipe courtesy of the Culinary Institute of America

Ingredients:

• 14 oz/397 g all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 oz/9 g instant dry yeast
• 6 oz/170 g water, warm
• 2 oz/57 g clarified butter, plus more as needed
• 2 oz/57 g plain yogurt
• 1 egg
• 1 oz/28 g sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp/5 g salt
• 2 tbsp/12 g poppy seeds or black onion seeds

Directions:  

1. Combine the flour and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the water, butter, yogurt, egg, sugar, and salt and mix on low speed for 4 minutes. The dough should be very elastic but still wet.
2. Bulk ferment the dough until nearly doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Fold gently.
4. Scale the dough into 3 oz/85 g pieces. Preshape the dough into rounds. (Work sequentially, here and in later steps, starting with the first piece of dough you divided and rounded.) Let the dough rest, covered, until relaxed, 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Gently stretch each piece of dough into a round 7 in/18 cm in diameter, so that the center is in/6 mm thick and there is a border in/1 cm wide all around. Pull out one edge to elongate each round slightly, creating a teardrop shape.
6. Place the breads on parchment-lined sheet pans, brush with butter, and sprinkle with seeds.
7. Bake in a 425°F/218°C deck oven until golden brown and puffed, about 10 minutes.
8. Cool completely on wire racks.

Get Fit For It,

D & K

photos from:

http://www.recipe.com/images/naan-bread-R057209-ss.jpg

Take-In Thursday ~ Omelets

This week we thought we would provide you with a recipe that will help you serve breakfast easily and help get rid of your leftovers. The best part about this recipe is that you can substitute any vegetables or side dishes that you have in the fridge to use as the filling. Have fun with it and try different mix-ins!

Leftover-stuffed Omelets

serves ~ 6 ppl

Ingredients:

6 eggs

3 egg whites

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cup vegetables (leftover side dishes- try anything from broccoli, carrots, spinach, asparagus even brussel sprouts)

1 Tablespoon olive oil, divided

Directions:

Place medium non-stick ceramic skillet (or any skillet you have) over medium-high heat

Add a teaspoon of the olive oil and coat the pan.

In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, egg whites and water. Whisk together.

Once the oil is warm, add a third of the egg mixture to the pan. Layer in a thir of the vegetables covering the egg mixture. Let the eggs cook until they are almost completely cooked and then flip the omelet over to finish cooking.

Remove from the heat and cut in half. Hold in the oven until ready to serve.

Repeat steps 4 and 5 two more times.

Serve and enjoy.

Let us know what fun combinations you come up with and post a photo of it for everyone to see!

Get Fit For It,

D & K

photos from:

http://seattlefoodgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/crab-omlette.jpg

Take-In Thursday ~ Thanksgiving Apple Cranberry Crisp

We thought that with the big holiday coming up, we would provide healthier recipes for your Thanksgiving feast. Most people expect to see cranberries and apples at the table in some form. We have taken these staple ingredients and provided you with a delicious pie recipe that is much lighter than your grandmother’s pie recipe with her homemade crust made with lard or shortening.  We believe you will love this dessert just as much as that traditional apple pie you have had for years.

Apple-Cranberry Crisp

serves about 8

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups of granny smith apples, cored and thinly sliced

2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed, drained

1 tsp cinnamon

1 T lemon juice

½ cup sugar

Cooking spray

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup regular oats

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cloves

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat an 10” baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and pour mixture into prepared pan.

3. Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, oats, brown sugar and oil, stirring with a fork until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over apple mixture.

4. Bake crisp at 350F for 40 minutes or until bubbly.

Get Fit For It,

D & K

Photo from: www.myrecipes.com

Take-In Thursday ~ Black Bean Burgers

This week we are providing you with one of our vegetarian patty recipes we found a few years ago that we think has a great flavor profile. Try making these and serving them on toast or in a pita. Also, you can make smaller patties to throw over a large, mixed green salad.

Simple Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients:

2 (14 oz) cans of black beans, rinsed

and drained

1 ½ T tahini

1 tsp hot sauce

½ cup whole wheat bread crumbs

2 tsp cumin

1 ½ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper

¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

3 T Vegetable oil

Bread of choice

Directions:

1. Pulse 1 can of black beans in a food processor with tahini, bread crumbs, and

spices until a coarse puree forms.

2. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cilantro and remaining beans.

3. Form mixture into 4 patties

4. Heat oil in a 10-in skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers.

5. Cook burgers until outsides are crisp and golden brown, turning once, about 5

minutes total.

Let us know what you think of them!

Get Fit For It,

D & K

Photo from: www.teacher-chef.com

Take-In Thursday ~ Zucchini Quiche

Take-In Thursday  ~ Zucchini Quiche

This week we have a great breakfast dish for you to try the next time you have to prepare a brunch item but don’t want to slave over the stove. This recipe is great because you can prepare the egg-vegetable mixture the day before and refrigerate it until the morning when you bake it. Try it out and let us know what you think of it!

Zucchini Quiche

Ingredients:

1 Tbs olive oil

1 lb. zucchini squash

4 oz fresh Mushrooms

1 large onion

3 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp dry sherry

1tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp black pepper

5 eggs

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Wheat germ

Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325º. Prepare a 9-inch pie plate by spraying them with cooking

spray and coating with wheat germ.

2. Finely chop vegetables and the garlic. Sauté in olive oil over

medium heat until just tender.

3. Add sherry and seasonings and remove from heat.

4. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add cheese and stir in vegetables.

5. Pour vegetable-egg mixture into prepared pie plate and sprinkle the top with wheat germ.

7. Bake in the oven for 30-40  minutes, until set and lightly browned. Remove and cool

10 minutes before serving.

Get Fit For It,

D & K 

photo from:

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDwVZi1fju2kNdaz94ydkZuUdHR-tfmUtyH0HUsebH5D6GpDfK

Take-In Thursday ~ Mashed Pumpkin Side Dish

This week we thought it would be nice to provide you with a festive dish. With it being halloween, we thought it would only be right to do something with pumpkin. If you are preparing a halloween dinner tonight, try this great side dish. If pumpkin isn’t your favorite, you can substitute any winter squash or potato you would like. We also have done this with acorn squash and loved it!

Mashed Pumpkin

Ingredients:

1 small cooking pumpkin

cooking spray

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ground cloves

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 375F.

2. Cut pumpkin in half and scoop out seeds. (You can eat the seeds if you roast them)

3. Lay pumpkin on a sheet pan, flesh facing up. Spray the pumpkin halves with the cooking spray.

4. Combine all the spices in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture over the two pumpkin pieces evenly.

5. Bake pumpkin for 45-55 minutes or until flesh is tender.

6. Allow pumpkin to cool for about 5 minutes. Scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash. Taste it to see if you want to add more of the seasonings.

7. Serve warm

Hope you enjoy your holiday dish!

Get Fit for It,

D & K

Photo from: www.whatscookingmexico.com

Take-In Thursday ~ Carrot-Chickpea Hummus

This week we are offering you a harvest dip that is the perfect color for your Halloween-themed parties! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Try it out and let us know how you used it. Did you make sandwiches for your kids or serve it with celery sticks and cucumber slices? Take a photo and submit it to us. The person with the most creative/festive idea will win a free training session!

Carrot-Chickpea Hummus

Ingredients:

1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, low sodium, rinsed and drained

4 carrots, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 Tbs fresh ginger, peeled and minced

3 Tbs lemon juice

4 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs Sriracha hot sauce

1 ½ tsp dried parsley leaves

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. In a medium mixing bowl, add chopped carrots, 1 Tbs of olive oil, garlic and pinch of salt and pepper. Mix until carrots are evenly coated with oil.

2. Spread carrots out on a sheet pan coated in cooking spray making sure they are only one layer thick. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on the edges and tender.

3. Using a food processor, combine carrots with the rest of the ingredients .On low, blend together until consistency is smooth. You may have to stop and stir mixture a few times during this process. If the texture is too thick, add more lemon juice and olive oil in small increments.

4. Once hummus is smooth, remove from food processor and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Let us know what you think of this recipe once you have made it!

Get Fit For It,

D & K

Take-In Thursday ~ Roasted Beets

This week’s recipe is Roasted Beets. Beets are one of our favorite foods that we especially enjoy roasted. You can use this recipe for other root vegetables as well. if you want to combine different vegetables, makes sure to cut the pieces into comparable sizes so they all have a similar cooking time.

Roasted Beets

serves about 6

Ingredients:

5 small beets, washed, dried and diced

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon coarse black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1 ½ Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoon fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine beets, salt, pepper, garlic, and olive oil.

3. Evenly spread beets across a 13 x 9 inch pan. Place in the oven and roast for about 30-40 minutes, until beets are tender.

4. Toss in basil and serve warm.

Get Fit For It,

D & K

Photo from:

trialx.com