Turmeric Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps

I've been trying to include more of the golden spice ~ turmeric ~ in my diet. And I've recently found another simple and tasty way to sneak it in ~ I'll often just add a teaspoon to my tuna salad. So simple and tasty, and when stirred into the salad, it adds a lovely golden orange hue. For a low carb meal, I like to nestle the salad in a lettuce leaf, top it with some avocado and chopped tomatoes, and lunch is served.  If turmeric is good enough for Dr. Oz, it's good enough for me.  :)

Grilled Cheese-Potato Chip Sandwich ~ Meatless Monday

My son is really into the Disney cable show ~ Pair of Kings.  So much so, that he asked me to make one of the meals that was served one night to the teenaged, King Boomer.  It was a grilled cheese sandwich that had potato chips nestled inside.  OK.  Simple enough to do and it made my kid excited to eat his meatless dinner ~ Nice!

This really needs no recipe ~ just make a grilled cheese sandwich like you normally do, but before you put the two slices of bread together...slip some of your favorite potato chips into the middle.  J likes a thicker ruffle potato chip, I'm partial to a thinner, Lay's classic potato chip.  Anyway you make it, expect a meal fit for a kid king...or a pair of them.   :) 

Albacore Tuna Salad ~ making a lunchtime classic using broiled albacore tuna steaks

I recently bought some frozen albacore tuna steaks from Trader Joe's.  I love their frozen fish ~ it's reasonably priced, has great flavor/texture and they have a good selection.  The first time I cooked with it, I was paying attention to what I was doing and the fish turned out great.  The next time I made it, I got distracted and let it cook too long...not a good thing when you're cooking tuna!  Those tuna steaks turned out too well done and were a tad (OK, more than a tad) on the dry side.  We ate some of it, but about half of the tuna steaks went into the fridge. I'm too cheap to toss out anything, so I let it sit in the fridge until I could figure out what to do with it.

The next day, I decided to taste it again and...it was still too dry.  Drats!!   But, as I was chewing it, it now reminded me a lot of canned albacore tuna.  OK, I can work with that!  I chunked/shredded the remaining tuna, added some low fat Hellmann's Mayonnaise, a few spices, gave it all a good stir and we were in business!  I truly enjoyed my 'non-canned, fresh cooked'  Albacore Tuna Salad.  I think I may have just stumbled upon my new way of making tuna salad!  When prepared this way, it's so much 'meater', it's less salty and it's not soggy like canned tuna can sometimes be.  I love it when I can salvage a cooking faux pas and turn it into a success! 

Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap with Avocado ~ Low Carb

Today, the ~ Ides of March ~ are upon us.  Every March 15th, I feel the need to eat a meal that includes the name, Caesar, in it.  Don't know why, I just do...call it a quirk.  :) 

Last year I shared my healthy and good-for-you ~ Kale Caesar Salad with Homemade Vegetarian Caesar Salad Dressing.  This year I'm going for a low carb ~ Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap with Avocado.  Using my favorite precooked, packaged chicken strips & low calorie Caesar dressing  makes it a snap to throw together.  A salad, all wrapped up, nice and snug.  (I think of it as a toga for food :)  Caesar, all hail!  teehee


Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap with Avocado ~ Low Carb

Gather it together ~

• low carb tortillas (I use La Banderita)
• fully cooked sliced chicken strips (like John Soules brand) heated or chilled ~ your call
• chopped lettuce ~ romaine or whatever is in the fridge
• sliced avocado
• chopped tomatoes
• thin sliced onion
• Caesar dressing
• grated Parmesan cheese
• salt/pepper, to taste

Wrap it up ~ 

• layer a bit of all the above ingredients on the low carb tortilla and then roll it up, sandwich wrap-style (OR toss all the chopped ingredients together with the Caesar dressing, just as you would a tossed salad, then fill/wrap the toga...Oops, I mean tortilla.  :)   Enjoy!

Vegetarian Mock Lobstah' Rolls ~ Meatless Monday

Mock Lobstah' Roll ~ A fun vegetarian spin using chickpeas as the base for the classic New England seaside salad!  

Way, way back when, I used to live a few towns south of Boston.  I was about equal distance to Boston, Cape Cod and Providence, RI.  Fantastic seafood in every direction!   I would often go to Cape Cod (aka ~ The Cape) for a bike ride along the Cape Cod Canal Bikeway and then head over to one of the many seafood shacks to enjoy a traditional Lobster Roll.  Man, were they good!!  Since I've been tinkering with chickpea salads again, I decided to give my go-to bean the royal treatment and turn them into one of my favorite seafood salads, one that is often served quite simply, usually in a basic hot dog bun ~ the classic Lobster Roll.  I'm calling my vegetarian version a ~ Mock Lobstah' Roll.  (is it just me, or do you hear the B52's song Rock Lobster in your head when you read that? teehee)

For a little special taste treat, I like using dulse flakes in my mock seafood salads since I think it gives a nice, slightly salty, hint of seaside flavor that reminds me of the ocean.  You could easily replace it with your favorite dried seaweed flakes or skip it altogether if you like ~ it'll just change the overall flavor of the salad a little bit.  I like to go a bit heavier than 1/8 tsp on the dulse flakes, more along the 1/4+ tsp lines.  I'm like that ~ in for a penny, in for a pound.  I also like the subtle sweetness the sweet corn and pinch of sugar gives to the salad.  I'm trying to mimic the unmistakeably soft sweet flavor that real lobster chunks have.   :)  Enjoy!

Vegetarian Mock Lobstah' Rolls
makes 2 Lobstah' Rolls

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canned chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) ~ drained & slightly smashed
• 2 Tbsp low fat mayo (I only use Hellmann's/Best Foods mayo)
• 2 Tbsp diced celery
• 2 1/2 Tbsps drained canned white sweet corn (or sweet yellow, if you like)
• 1/4 tsp lemon juice, or to taste
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp Old Bay Seasoning, or more to taste
• 1/8 tsp dulse flakes, or more to taste (or your favorite seaweed ~ optional)
• pinch of sugar (optional)
• dash of hot sauce
• dash dill weed
• dash paprika
• salt & pepper, to taste

• 2 basic/cheap hot dog buns
• crisp, fluffy leaf lettuce
• tomato slices, optional ~ (If you were to eat a real lobster roll, you'd probably skip the tomatoes, but, since this is a mock lobster salad, I'd have at it :)

Directions
Mix first 13 ingredients (chickpeas through salt/pepper) in a medium bowl until combined.  Line each hot dog bun with crisp, fluffy lettuce leaves and couple of tomato slices (if using).  Divide the Mock Lobstah' Salad between the two buns and enjoy your Meatless Monday lunch!

 For another mock vegetarian seafood sandwich filling, check out my recipe for ~ Mock Tuna Salad ~ HERE.

Vegetarian Mock Smoky Chicken Salad Wrap ~ Meatless Monday

 

I'm having fun coming up with new ways to spin one of my favorite beans, the ever popular and versatile ~ chickpea. (aka ~ garbanzo beans)  I usually turn them into a tasty Mock Tuna Salad (see my recipe ~ here), but, I was getting bored with that sandwich flavor, so...

This time I decided to spin them into a Vegetarian Mock Smoky Chicken Salad.  Using toasted walnuts and a little liquid smoke really gives this vegetarian salad a 'meaty' flavor boost.  To me, the toasted walnuts, when paired with a hint of liquid smoke, really gives a bit of bacon-y flavor.  Oh, yeah!  The cranberries add a nice sweet/tart accent and the other veggies provide a nice, cool finish.  Layer it all in a low carb tortilla, wrap it up and you've got a super lunch for your Meatless Monday.  Enjoy!

Vegetarian Mock Tuna Salad ~ Meatless Monday

Vegetarian Mock Tuna Salad made with Garbanzo Beans ~ This makes such a tasty vegetarian version of the classic Tuna Salad Sandwich, especially when served with some homegrown tomatoes & cucumber.  Mock Tuna Salad is also perfect in stuffed tomatoes, pitas, topping a garden salad or crowning half an avocado.

I was craving a tuna fish sandwich the other day, but we were all out of canned tuna.  Darn!   I started searching in the pantry for something else to eat, when I came upon a can of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) & knew I had the makings of a great meal!  I'd almost forgotten about how I used to make a vegetarian ~ Mock Tuna Salad ~ using those tasty, roundish, pale golden beans.  I'm so glad I remembered, it's been way too long since I enjoyed this simple, but pleasing salad! 

Making my vegetarian ~ Mock Tuna Salad ~ couldn't be easier.  All you do is gather all of the items you would normally add to your favorite tuna salad & mix them together with a can of garbanzo beans that's already been drained & smashed.  Just make sure to leave some of the beans a little chunky.   When you mix all the ingredients together, the beans have the look & color of light tuna fish chunks & the flavor is surprisingly similar to the real thing ~ especially with the extra ingredients that so often go into a traditional tuna salad.  Some Mock Tuna Salad add-ins that you could include in your salad might be ~ low-fat mayo, diced celery, sweet pickle relish, sliced green onions, lemon juice, dill weed, dulse/nori, capers & maybe even some chopped-up hard boiled egg ~ the sky's the limit!

Make your Mock Tuna Salad as simple or complex as you like.  I usually go for simple, just adding some Hellmann's Low-Fat Mayo, cracked black pepper & a bit of dulse. (a type of seaweed, to give it a salty, 'hint-of-the-ocean' marine aroma/flavor ~ or ~ you could use your favorite dried flaked/ground sea vegetable)  This Mock Tuna Salad is great in a sandwich, as the filling in the center of a stuffed tomato, nestled in an avocado half, or even just plopped on top of your garden salad.  Make it vegan by using a vegan mayo ~ so simple!  Anyway you decide to enjoy it, this vegetarian salad makes for a tempting, satisfying meal.  Enjoy!  :)

Fried Bologna Sandwiches ~ Be a kid again...but with an adult twist

Fried Bologna Sandwiches ~ Using fat-free or low-fat bologna is one way to still enjoy this retro sandwich favorite ~ for the kid in all of us.  :)

Martha, my friend whom I've known almost my entire life, was looking at my blog the other day.  She mentioned that she was surprised (tongue-in-cheek, I'm sure) that I hadn't written about one of our favorite meals that we'd cook & eat together when we where kids.   You know, she was right.  What was I thinking?  I decided to get right on it & write about one of the first meals I learned to make when I was allowed to use the stove on my own.  This is a lunchtime meal that we made together when we were kids ~ Fried Bologna Sandwiches.  Cheap & cheerful food from the 70's.   OK, time to indulge my inner kid & enjoy this classic, old-style lunchtime treat once again.  (she also mentioned eating SPAM, but I won't go there again... for anyone :)

Looking back, bologna was a staple from my childhood & probably was for many others, too.  It was a common lunch meat in a school lunchbox & was always available in our icebox (as we used to call it then).   We never counted calories or fat grams in the old days, we just ate whatever was available.  When I was old enough to use the stove & make hot food for myself, I always got a kick out of throwing the slice of bologna straight into the hot pan.  The bologna would bubble & curl up & you'd have to mash it down to get it to fit into the sandwich.  If I was feeling grownup, I'd cut the bologna slice with a 'X', leaving the middle intact, (so it wouldn't curl up) heat it up in the pan & then just slide the perfectly cooked lunch meat onto my bread.  Now that I think about it, I probably cooked it the grownup way when Grandma Bunni was around & the more rustic, kid way, when no one was looking.  Sounds just like something a kid would do, doesn't it?  :)

Of course, way back then, we used good ol' full of fat bologna, butter & regular mayo ~ but that was then & this is now.  So, I'm making my own healthier adult version ~ otherwise I'd never let this sandwich pass my lips again.  It's a splurge, I don't usually eat a lot of processed deli meats, but sometimes you just need to relive the past & live a little.  Sounds just like something a grownup would say & do, doesn't it?  heehee.  With this new version, I can once again be a kid enjoying her Fried Bologna Sandwich.  Thanks for the inspiration, Martha!  Care to join me in the kitchen?   :)

Be a kid again, but with an eye toward lower cal enjoyment!  Tastes & smells like I remember it.  :)   Going lower cal works for me!

Fried Bologna Sandwich ~ (the adult version) ~ Low-fat, Low-cal & Low-carb

• fat free bologna or low fat bologna ~ as many slices as you like, to make as many sandwiches as you want
• low-carb bread ~ like Healthy Life Bread ~ 2 slices per sandwich
• low-fat or fat-free mayo (optional)
• low-cal margarine (optional)
• yellow mustard  (optional)
• salt & pepper, to taste (optional)
• Butter Flavored Pam cooking spray

Spray skillet with Butter Flavored Pam & heat to medium.

Prepare the bread, 2 slices per sandwich ~ by spreading it with any combo of the following that you like ~ mayo, margarine and/or mustard.

Prepare the bologna ~ Cut an 'X' on each bologna slice , leaving the middle intact OR just throw the slices in & let them bubble up as they will.  (it's OK, no one is watching, :)

Throw in as many slices of bologna as your little heart desires, or that will fit into the skillet. (it's OK, no one is watching  :)

When both sides of the slice(s) are good & hot and starting to get a little color, (they don't get as much color as the full fat version, since they are so low fat) take them out of the pan & put them on the prepared bread.  (if you'd like to have a Grilled Fried Bologna Sandwich, spread a little margarine on both sides of the completed sandwich & finish it in the same skillet ~ just like you would a grilled cheese sandwich)  Add some salt or pepper, if you are so inclined.

Serve the sandwich with an ice cold glass of skim milk & your favorite lower cal chips. (or an ice cold glass of regular milk & the full calorie chips ~ it's OK, no one is watching & I won't tell :)    heehee         Enjoy!

Updated 11/27/2012 ~ 
Robin, a reader of the blog, posted a comment sharing her memory of eating her bologna sandwich with ketchup & mustard, like a hot dog.  Very cool!  I just ran into my kitchen & made myself one - one 1/2 on soft bread & one 1/2 on toasted.   Soft Bread = Hot Dog   and   Toasted Bread = Corn Dog ~ YUM!!

 Robin, thanks so much for sharing your childhood memory.  My son will be getting one of these when he gets home from school today!  

 

Creative Leftovers ~ Irish Soda Bread & Corned Beef Seitan

Strawberry Shortcake ~ made with leftover Irish Soda Bread ~ This was amazing!  The soda bread was perfect as a stand-in for traditional shortcake. I just cubed up the leftover soda bread & spooned sugared strawberries over the top.  We like to pour a little half & half (or milk) over our strawberry shortcake, as well as a bit of whipped cream.  It was a perfect dessert to go with the warm temps we have been enjoying this past week.

Remember the Irish Soda Bread and the Vegan Corned Beef & Cabbage I posted about last week?  Well, I had some leftovers from that St. Patrick's Day meal & I always get creative with my 'leftovers'.  When I get through tinkering, you'd never know you were eating the same thing for the second (or third) time.  You could easily use regular Corned Beef, if that is what you have hanging around ~ it would taste amazing no matter which type of Corned Beef  (vegan or regular) you use.

Grilled Open-Faced Vegetarian Corned Beef & Swiss Sandwich with Roasted Red Peppers ~ made with leftover Vegan Corned Beef Seitan ~ I basically started making a grilled Swiss cheese sandwich, but didn't put the two slices of bread together.  Instead I topped each slice of  melted Swiss cheese/bread with some hot, sliced corned beef seitan & then added diced roasted red peppers with a bit of yellow mustard & parsley.  It was sooo good!

Grilled Vegetarian Reuben ~ made with the leftover Vegan Corned Beef Seitan ~ This is addicting!  I thin sliced the corned beef seitan with my mandolin slicer & then cooked the thin slices in a single layer, in a medium hot pan, with a bit of oil - just until it started to get a bit golden.  I heated some sauerkraut & grilled some bread with Swiss cheese & layered it all together with some Thousand Island dressing & mustard.  I served it with some pickled green tomatoes that I made at the end of last summer.  Man, this was crazy good!!!

All ready to assemble...

Slicing it thin...

Vegetarian Reuben with homemade Pickled Green Tomatoes ~ Awesome!!

Vegetarian Pâté ~ made with leftover Vegan Corned Beef Seitan ~ This was so easy to make.  Just take some slices of the corned beef seitan, mash it up with a fork, until you get it fairly smooth.  Then add some of your favorite mayo, a little at a time, until you get a thick, creamy blend.  Since the corned beef seitan is already spiced, you don't have to add any more spices - but get creative if you feel like it.  If you are using regular corned beef, I would use a food processor to blend it, otherwise you would be there all day trying to get it smooth.  :)  I was inspired to make this vegetarian pâté after I made a regular chicken liver pâté, for my Mad Men Cocktail Party post.

I hope these photos give you some ideas on what to do with some of your St. Patrick's Day leftovers.  Now, I'm guessing there are no leftovers of this, hanging around in your fridge... and if there are, I'm sure you know exactly what to do with them.  :)