yogurt

Oven Spinach Frittata

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Country Casual Cravings: Oven Spinach Frittata! Frittata is a fancy word for an Italian omelet baked in the oven without a crust. It also cooks in half the time, making it less labor-intensive. Somehow that doesn’t sound near as exciting as a French quiche. Yet, it is because the filling ends up being light, fluffy, and savory. The feta cheese is a crowning point with its rich tangy flavor. And the next time you need something versatile for leftover lunch the next day, think frittata. Even at room temperature, it tastes amazing.

OVEN SPINACH FRITTATA

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 tablespoon Greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 green onion, chopped

1 strip bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup cherrywood deli ham, sliced

1/4 cup baby spinach leaves

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Italian dried herbs, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, Greek yogurt, kosher salt, and red pepper flakes until combined. In an iron skillet over medium heat, warm olive oil. Add the green onions; sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the cooked bacon, cherrywood ham, and baby spinach. Cook one minute, stirring gently. Pour the egg mixture into the pan. Place cubed feta cheese on top. Transfer the iron skillet to the preheated oven. Bake 25 minutes or until the eggs are puffy and slightly browned. Remove pan from oven. Garnish with a pinch of dried Italian herbs. Serve immediately.

Avocado Onion Dip

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Country Casual Cravings: Avocado Onion Dip! Nowadays I look for any reason to eat avocados. Once I’ve have my fill of guacamole, I turn to other creative ways to produce a nutritional boost to the menu. Although stuffed avocados can be baked or grilled, sometimes it’s a real treat to prepare them this way. Some might call it a light lunch, simply because it satisfies the appetite as a filling meal.

AVOCADO ONION DIP

Ingredients:

8 ounce Neufchâtel cheese, softened

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons capers, chopped

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup crispy-fried onions, slightly crushed

2-3 ripe avocados, halved and pits removed

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Green onion snips, for garnish

Whole celery seed, for garnish

Instructions:

Using an electric mixer, beat together softened cream cheese, Greek yogurt, chopped capers, and cayenne pepper until blended. Fold in crushed crispy-fried onions until combined. Transfer to a covered bowl. Refrigerate for one hour. Prepare avocado halves. Brush with lime juice; sprinkle with sea salt and garlic powder. When ready to serve, scoop onion dip into each avocado half. Garnish with green onion snips, chopped capers, and a sprinkling of whole celery seed. Serve immediately.

Bacon Bit Sweet Potato Bisque

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Here Come the Holidays: Bacon Bit Sweet Potato Bisque! My pantry is sometimes filled with good intentions. I envision a nutritious meal and then get sidelined by other ingredients, especially in the Produce Department of the local grocery. I mean, just look at the bin overflowing with organic sweet potatoes. Medium-sized, smooth skin, pretty color, and screaming “Pick me. I’m healthy.” Soon after I get home, I store them out of sight in a cool, dark area only to discover them three weeks later. Thank goodness, sweet potatoes are very forgiving. Their shelf life is easily 5 weeks. If you ever wondered how to tell if it’s time to toss them out, press the skin. If it’s soft, discolored, or has an unpleasant odor, throw them out and promise yourself you’ll do better next time.

BACON BIT SWEET POTATO BISQUE

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, cut in half

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced

1/4 cup celery, diced

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Green onion snips, for garnish

Bacon bits, for garnish

Dollop Greek yogurt, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Brush olive oil over the skins of the sweet potatoes. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Scoop the sweet potatoes into a bowl and thoroughly mash. Discard peels. Warm butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Do not scorch. Add diced onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with garlic powder, oregano, ground ginger, cumin powder, sea salt, and black pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for one minute longer. Add chicken broth; reduce heat to simmer. Transfer sweet potatoes to a food processor and Pulse until consistency is smooth. Whisk sweet potatoes into broth until heated through. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with green onion snips, bacon bits, and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Tzatziki Ranch Chip Dip

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Splurge-Worthy Goodness: Tzatziki Ranch Chip Dip! When you shop the produce department of the grocery store, pay close attention to the different kinds of cucumbers. The fancy ones, wrapped in plastic wrap, are known as English cucumbers. There’s a reason for their madness. The skin is extremely thin and tender. The plastic wrap actually serves a purpose of protection against bruising, punctures, and dehydration. Hmmm. The seeds are much smaller, too. Because the skin is thinner and tender, there is no need to peel the tubular vegetable before proceeding with the recipe. I think you’ll be impressed. The English cucumber is less bitter, making it almost sweet and wonderful for transforming into a fabulous party dip. Be kind to others. No double-dipping.

TZATZIKI RANCH CHIP DIP

Ingredients:

1 English cucumber, seeded, coarsely grated, and squeezed dry

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 envelope ranch seasoning mix

1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons light cream

2 tablespoons olive oil

Fresh dill, for garnish

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine grated cucumber, kosher salt, mayonnaise, ranch seasoning mix, Greek yogurt, and light cream. Stir well. Cover and chill one hour, or until ready to serve. Before serving, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with a sprig of fresh dill. Serve with crinkle-cut potato chips.

Cereal Milk Smoothie

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Splurge-Worthy Goodness: Cereal Milk Smoothie! After yesterday’s post, it’s only fair to give the kids equal time on a delicious treat. Grown-ups, simply tap your heels together to be transported back to a time where you started your day at the kitchen table with a bowl of your favorite cereal. Remember how the sugary sweet morsels crunched their way to mushy softness leaving the milk at the bottom of the bowl tasting like syrup? At that point my brother would put down his spoon and lift the bowl to his mouth to slurp up the remaining goodness. Of course Mother never saw it, as she was usually standing at the counter buttering toast with her back to us. Well nowadays, the nostalgic flavor of cereal milk smoothies are a thing. Anyone with a sugar addiction is jumping for joy. And why shouldn’t they? It brings out the inner child in all of us.

CEREAL MILK SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:

1 cup Crispix* cereal

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 banana, sliced and frozen

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons agave nectar, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sprinkles, for garnish

Instructions:

In a blender, combine cereal, skim milk, Greek yogurt, frozen banana slices, cinnamon, nutmeg, and one tablespoon agave nectar. Pulse until smooth. On a sheet of waxed paper, crush a few cereal pieces until almost fine. Add sprinkles; mix together. With the remaining agave nectar, apply to the rim of a glass. Dip the glass into the topping to coat the rim. Fill with cereal milk smoothie. Add a paper straw. Serve immediately.

*I receive no recompense for mentioning this product.

Donut Strawberry Shortcake

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Elevated Edibles: Donut Strawberry Shortcake! Whether you celebrate your own version of “Doughnut Day” or stick to the declared ones on the national calendar twice a year, here is one more reason to indulge yourself. Transform an ordinary glazed donut into a strawberry shortcake. Begin with a delicious deep-fried glazed doughnut, bakery-fresh. Slice it horizontally to remove the top. Ladle on the ripe and juicy strawberries. The fruit filling is nothing but fresh strawberries mixed with a little sugar. For a thicker sauce simply warm a spoonful or two of strawberry jam and stir. Cover the strawberry layer with a luscious blanket of whipped cream. Replace the top and add more berries, if desired. Perhaps now you, like me, see no reason to wait until the declared holidays roll around.

DONUT STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Ingredients:

4 glazed cake donuts, split lengthwise

1 pound fresh strawberries, chopped

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1-2 tablespoons strawberry jam, warmed

1 cup heavy cream, cold

1/2 cup Greek yogurt, cold

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine chopped strawberries, sugar, lemon zest, and warmed jam. Partially mash some of the berries. Gently stir; rest for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer, make whipped cream. Combine heavy cream and Greek yogurt. Whip 4-5 minutes until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whip 1 minute longer until fluffy. Place each donut on a dessert plate. Remove top. Fill with strawberry mixture, then whipped cream. Replace top; spoon additional strawberries over donut hole. Serve immediately.

Yo-Yo Strawberry Froyo

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Graze or Gobble: Yo-Yo Strawberry Froyo! During strawberry season, there are so many ways to serve this jubilant fruit without getting bored. Once one has made a couple jars of jam, a strawberry rhubarb pie, bakery-style muffins, and angel food shortcake, the list goes on. Strawberries are a nice addition to a spinach salad. They also present a festive twist on the classic margarita to offset a platter of tortilla chips and salsa. If you’ve had your fill of strawberries before the season ends, no worries. Wash them, remove the leaves and stems, halve them, then pop them in the freezer for using later on. I like to place them in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer for 24 hours before storing them in ziplock bags. That way they don’t end up as a giant blob of frozen strawberries.

YO-YO STRAWBERRY FROYO

Ingredients:

2 bananas, peeled, sliced, and frozen

1 cup frozen strawberries, halved

2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

1/4 cup frozen strawberry chunks, optional for texture

Fresh mint, for garnish

Instructions:

Using a food processor, combine frozen sliced bananas, frozen strawberry halves, sweetened condensed milk, Greek yogurt, and coconut extract. Blend until smooth and creamy. It will look like softened ice cream. Gently fold in strawberry chunks for color and texture. Transfer mixture to a loaf pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Freeze overnight. To serve, scoop frozen yogurt into dessert bowls. Garnish with fresh mint. Serve immediately.

Homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Graze or Gobble: Homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing! What is it about ranch dressing that practically makes you slurp it with a straw? Ever dip raw veggies in it? Of course. Did you know if you add taco seasoning to ranch dressing, it becomes a popular “Calypso Dressing” at a Mexican cantina? Try dipping tortilla chips in that sometime. Ahhh, you wondered how they did that. One of my favorite concoctions is crumbled bleu cheese. Talk about that briny earthy zing of saltiness. Oh, yum.

HOMEMADE BLEU CHESE DRESSING

Ingredients:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 packet dry Ranch dressing mix

1 cup bleu cheese crumbles

Instructions:

Combine Greek yogurt and mayonnaise. Stir until smooth. Add packet of Ranch dressing mix. Blend well. Fold in bleu cheese crumbles. Refrigerate for one hour. Drizzle over salads, vegetables, chips, cheese sticks, French fries, pizza, or meats. Store leftovers (if any) in refrigerator for one week.

Papaya Banana Boat

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Clean Eating: Papaya Banana Boat! When my son and daughter-in-law visited us in Kauai, I wanted to treat them to a special island breakfast. It was a perfect portion for them after greeting the sunrise sipping on macadamia nut coffee. Ripe papaya has such a naturally sweet flavor. It practically melts in your mouth with its creamy, butter-like texture. If you like cantaloupe, I promise you this: Papaya will take you “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. You may even hear the magical sounds of a ukulele strumming in the background.

PAPAYA BANANA BOAT

Ingredients:

1 ripe papaya, cut in half with seeds removed

1 banana, sliced

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

2 dollops Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons granola

Drizzle of agave nectar

Instructions:

Split the papaya between two plates. Fill half the cavity with sliced bananas. Sprinkle cinnamon over banana slices. Fill the other half of the papaya with a generous dollop of Greek yogurt. Sprinkle granola over top of yogurt. Drizzle entire papaya boat with agave nectar.