Egg Puffs with Stealth Ninja Squash
- Recipes, Stealth Ninja Vegetables
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28 Feb 2010
I’m back! Sorry for the absence – I spent 8 days in New Mexico attending a photography workshop. It was the hardest working “vacation” I’ve ever had! And after a week of struggling to eat well, I’m back home and back at the vegetables! Hallelujah!
So let’s get to it!
It was slim pickings for dinner tonight, as my cupboards are nearly bare – but I did have enough to pull together another recipe from Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious
cookbook. With that, I bring you Baked Egg Puffs with Stealth Ninja Squash! Sadly, there will be no pictures this evening, as I’ve spent so much time with my camera over the last week that we need a couple days apart. (I still have over 1,800 photos to go through from the trip!)
This recipe was super easy to make, and was quite delicious! Whisk together a few ingredients and throw it into the oven. As for its stealth ninja qualities, I think kids (or adults!) could be easily fooled with this one. It’s almost not necessary though, as the squash tastes really good with the eggs! I’ve learned from this stealth ninja vegetable experiment that I actually like squash (butternut squash, in this case). I had my egg puff with a side of veggie sausage patties – a wonderful breakfast-for-dinner!
The recipe suggests making the puffs in ramekins or small coffee cups. I, unfortunately, had neither, so I used larger coffee cups. Be aware that you might need to add a few minutes to the bake time with larger cups – I had to tack on 5 extra minutes. My puffs looked nothing like the picture in the cookbook, but I also used too much squash, so that might have affected it. Handsome puffs or not, they tasted great! I could even see throwing in some chopped peppers or onions (but that would defeat the stealth-ninja purpose).
Cute little egg puffs! Adapted from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food Note that you'll need a few minutes extra to cook them if you're using large coffee cups. This recipe also requires pre-prepared butternut squash puree.
Details- Prep Time:
5 min - Cook Time:
15 min - Ready In:
20 min
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup butternut squash puree
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese low fat, shredded
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Directions
Pre-prep: Bake butternut squash and puree, 1/2 cup.- Preheat oven to 400F. Spray 4 ramekins or small coffee cups with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients.
- Divide up the mixture between the 4 cups (about 1/2 cup each).
- Place cups on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes (slightly longer if you're using larger coffee cups).
Posted: February 28, 2010 at 6:22 pm
{Tags: butternut squash, egg, puree, Recipes}
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Mac & Cheese with Stealth Ninja Squash
- Recipes, Stealth Ninja Vegetables
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05 Feb 2010
The very first time I flipped through the Deceptively Delicious
First, the ingredients (minus the ones I forgot in the fridge – the milk, the squash puree…):
Please forgive the Blackberry-quality pictures. They are pretty terrible, but my G9 and my 50D were both out of commission with charging batteries, and I figured this was better than whipping out the film beast and spending the evening in the garage darkroom!
Note the organic ingredients
I put the pasta on boil and started mixing up the cheesy goodness. I was a little short on cheddar cheese, so my combo was about 3 parts cheddar to 1 part mozzarella. I used low fat cream cheese, though fat free can also be used.The cheese sauce smelled really good as I mixed it up. It was very thick.
Once the macaroni was done, I drained it and dumped it into the cheese pot.
Stirred it up, and omg who wants?
The verdict: This mac and cheese was delicious and very filling. The sauce was super thick – like, stick-to-your-ribs thick. To get 4 servings out of this recipe as described, the servings seemed a bit small, but the density definitely made up for it. Very filling. I think it might be possible that the serving sizes indicated in the cook book are for kids.One thing I did differently in this recipe was to add a bit of Nutritional Yeast Flakes. They’re yellow flakes that dissolve into just about anything with very little to no effect on flavor. They’re described as having a nutty, roasted taste, but I don’t really notice them in anything I’ve tried. They give a great nutrition boost, with some high quality protein, and a slew of vitamins (including big doses of the B’s). Why not?
Much like the quesadillas from this cook book, I cannot wait to eat these leftovers! Warm, gooey, cheesy goodness – and successfully stealthy vegetables! A big thumbs-up to Mac and Cheese with Stealth Ninja Butternut Squash.
Adapted from Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld. Requires pre-prepped butternut squash puree. This one is a dense, filling winner!
Details- Prep Time:
5 min - Cook Time:
20 min - Ready In:
25 min
Posted: February 5, 2010 at 11:30 pmIngredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole grain macaroni elbow or shell shaped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1/2 cup butternut squash puree
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese reduced fat, shredded (8 oz)
- 4 ounces cream cheese reduced fat or fat free, 1/2 block
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
Directions
Pre-prep: Puree a roasted butternut squash.- Boil water and cook macaroni according to package instructions.
- While the macaroni is cooking, in a separate sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture forms a thick paste, 1-2 minutes.
- Add the milk and continue cooking until mixture thickens, 3-4 minutes.
- Add the butternut squash puree, cheddar, cream cheese, nutritional yeast flakes, salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir until smooth.
- Drain the cooked macaroni and add to the cheese mixture. Stir until the macaroni is well coated and serve warm.
{Tags: butternut squash, cheese, macaroni, nutritional yeast, puree, Recipes}
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Quesadillas with Stealth Ninja Squash
- Recipes, Stealth Ninja Vegetables
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01 Feb 2010
Another smashing success in the Stealth Ninja Vegetable Experiment!
I made 2 more recipes out of the cookbook, Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
In addition to butternut squash, the quesadillas also had stealth ninja white beans! What a crazy amount of ninja going on in there!
I did not have my camera nearby, so alas, I have no photos, but the prep was super easy (and therefore not worthy of Adventure status here at Epic Organic). All I can say is – these quesadillas were wonderful and the guacamole was heavenly! I used all organic ingredients and can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Insanely delicious, and again – not a single sign of odd vegetable tastes anywhere (aside from the flamboyant avocados). If you’re a fan of chicken quesadillas, these are gooey-delicious and filling (and a great source of vitamin A!)
Here are the recipes as I prepared them, along with approximate nutrition info at the bottom of each one:
Adapted from Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld. Serve with fresh salsa or Stealth Ninja Guacamole. Makes 4 servings of 2 wedges per serving.
Details- Prep Time:
15 min - Cook Time:
15 min - Ready In:
30 min
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1/2 cup white beans canned
- 1/2 cup butternut squash puree
- 1/2 cup sour cream reduced fat
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese low fat
- 4 whole whole wheat tortillas 8 inches round
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon chili powder or to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
Pre-Prep: puree a roasted butternut squash.- Preheat oven to 400F.
- In a small bowl, mix together salt, pepper, and chili powder.
- Heat a large skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray over medium-high heat. Once hot, add olive oil.
- Add chicken breasts to skillet and sprinkle with spice mixture. Cook 5 minutes per side, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 9-10 more minutes or until cooked through.
- While the chicken cooks, in a small bowl or mini-chopper, mash the beans and sour cream together.
- In another bowl, mix the shredded cheese and butternut squash puree.
- When the chicken is done, cut it into small cubes or strips.
- Place 2 tortillas on a baking sheet.
- Spread the bean mixture over the 2 tortillas, then add the chicken.
- Spread the cheese mixture over the other 2 tortillas, then press the cheese tortillas on top of the chicken tortillas, sandwich-like.
- Bake at 400F until tortillas are crisp, 6-8 minutes.
- Cut into wedges and serve with salsa or guacamole.
Adapted from Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld. Actually, there's nothing rally stealth about the vegetables in this one! But this recipe goes quite well with the Quesadillas with Stealth Ninja Squash!
Details- Prep Time:
8 min - Ready In:
8 min
Posted: February 1, 2010 at 12:25 amIngredients
- 1 cup avocado puree
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt low fat
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise reduced fat
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
To puree the avocado:- Slice the avocado in half, lengthwise. Remove the seed and scoop out the flesh.
- Blend the flesh in a food processor for 2 minutes or until smooth.
- Stir together all ingredients with a fork.
{Tags: avocado, beans, butternut squash, chicken, oikos, puree, Recipes}
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Stealth Ninja Vegetable Experiment: Prep
- Adventures in Chopping, Stealth Ninja Vegetables
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29 Jan 2010
*queue Mission Impossible music*
Actually, I think this mission is quite possible! I am embarking upon what I call the Stealth Ninja Vegetable Experiment. You are about to bear witness to Phase 1: Prep.
It all started when my sister in law Amanda suggested that I check out this book: Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
The basic premise of the book is that you puree a variety of vegetables and store them in 1/2 cup portions in little ziplock baggies, then sneak them into recipes as needed. Sounds good to me!
Posted: January 29, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Continue reading this post
{Tags: beet, broccoli, butternut squash, cauliflower, chopping, peapod, puree, roasting, steaming, sweet potato, zucchini}
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