Hawaiian Turkey Quesadillas

As all of you know I love this food blog called Budget Bytes.  I have never been disappointed with any of the recipes I have tried from this site.

Budget Bytes has a recipe for Hawaiian Ham Quesadillas that I decided to alter based on what I had on hand in our pantry, as well as make just a tad healthier.

Here are my alterations:

Hawaiian Turkey Quesadillas

Ingredients:

8 oz Low-fat Cream Cheese (room temperature)
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup 2% shredded mozzarella cheese 
1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 -1/2 pound of deli turkey, chopped
1 Package of flour tortillas (about 8) - whole wheat would be great, however I only had white on hand

Combine cream cheese, green onions, and mozzarella cheese until combined.  Then add the drained crushed pineapple and deli turkey.

Once combined add some of the mixture to one side of the tortilla (make sure not to put too much because this is very rich.  Fold the other side of the tortilla over and cook in a skillet until both sides are light brown.

Cut and serve!

Cucumber Dip

When I was working I would always look forward to the potluck lunches we would have to celebrate almost any occasion.  People in the south love to find a reason to come together around food.

One year someone brought this delightful cucumber dip served with crackers.  I decided to make it and substitute the mayo with plain greek yogurt for our falafel balls this week.

My husband said this dip was so good he could eat it right out of the bowl.  I personally prefer the dip on the falafel balls myself.

Cucumber Dip

Ingredients:

1 English Cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced very small
8 oz Neufchatel cheese or low fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 Cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 Cup onion, very finely chopped
1/2 Tsp garlic salt

Peel and dice the cucumbers.

Mix together the neufchatel cheese, yogurt and garlic salt.  Fold the cucumbers and onions into the mix well.

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

This dip is great with crackers, pita, on sandwiches, and with falafel balls.

Spinach Cheese Balls

We had a fun at our house this week with appetizer night for dinner. The kids thought it was cool and there was something for everybody.

One of the appetizer I prepared was Spinach Cheese Balls. This is a take on the traditional Sausage Cheese Balls, without the meat.

Recipe was slightly adapted from the original Betty Crocker recipe.

Spinach Cheese Balls

Ingredients:

2 Cups fresh spinach, chopped (cooked until wilted) - it looks like a lot, but once it cooks down it really is not that much
1 Cup Heart Smart Bisquick
1 Cup mozzarella cheese
1 Cup cheddar cheese
1 Egg
1 Tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 Tsp garlic salt
1 Tsp fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 400° and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Shape into 1-2 inch balls and place on cookie sheet.

Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. May be served with pasta sauce or pizza sauce.

Star Wars Darth Maul Meatballs

My husband came up with the name for these delicious, but very ugly meatballs. To entice our kids to eat their dinner my husband usually comes up with creative names for each dinner item. We are huge Star Wars fans so Darth Maul seemed appropriate for these meatballs. I found the recipe in my pressure cooker cookbook and after some adjustments put it to the test.

Although, the meatballs were ugly they did have great flavor and were perfect for Super Bowl night.

I placed them on a slice of fresh bread to make an open face sandwich. Let me know what your kids think.

Star Wars Darth Maul Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 Pound ground beef
1/2 Cup uncooked rice (I used Mahatma, but would suggest using parboil rice instead)
1-2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
1 Garlic clove, minced
1 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp pepper
1 Tbsp parsley
1 Tsp Italian Seasoning
1 Can tomato soup
1 Cup water

Combine all ingredients except soup and water. Form into balls.

Mix soup and water in the pressure cooker pan.

Drop the meatballs in the pan. Cover and cook about 10 minutes after pressure cooker control jiggles. Cool according to the directions of your pressure cooker.

Great served over or in fresh bread or a hoagie topped with cheese. The side to our meatballs was roasted asparagus.

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

As much asparagus as you like
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder

Place asparagus on baking sheet and toss with oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Broil until they cooked how you prefer. We cook them until the tips are dark, it makes them crispy.

Homemade Hummus

Although, this is not a dinner recipe I thought It was worth sharing anyway. In our house, we have hummus at least once or twice a week for lunch. I usually send my oldest son to school with homemade hummus, crackers and carrots for his lunch.

After spending an enormous amount of money each week buying hummus I decided to research recipes and come up with one that I could make at home for less money.

Homemade Hummus

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic (press with a garlic press)
  
• 1 can (15.5 oz) of chickpeas or garbanzo beans (save the juice - see below)
  
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• couple dashes of cumin
• 1/4 cup of the chickpea juice from can

Pour garbanzo beans/chickpeas into food processor. Place lemon juice, tahini, pressed garlic, salt and a couple dashes of cumin in food processor. Blend until creamy and well mixed. Pour some of the juice from the jar into the food processor.

Use a little juice if you like your hummus thick and a lot of juice if you like your hummus thinner. We like ours thinner so I use almost 1/4 cup of chickpea juice.

Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate. If you are serving right away for guests I would suggest sprinkling 1 tbsp of olive oil on the top. It adds moisture and tastes great.

Serve with pita bread cut into triangles or pita chips. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about this hummus.

*Please note that you should not substitute peanut butter for tahini in this hummus recipe. Tahini is ground sesame seeds. It is a lot like peanut butter, but in this recipe peanut butter would not work as a substitution.*