Healthy Broccoli, Mushroom, and Cheese Potato "Skins"

In case you haven't noticed, fall is upon us, and that means football season.  I am not a football fan myself- the only football I have watched in the last couple of decades was the local high school's, and only because my son was in the marching band!  But I know that football season means football parties, and that means appetizers!  One of the most popular appetizers around is the potato skin...baked potatoes with the flesh scooped out, filled with butter, cheese, bacon, and topped with sour cream.  Holy cow, my arteries just clogged up typing that!  I have made a lazy version of this for years, in which I bake potatoes and then slice into rounds, which I then top with the typical toppings, and broil to complete.  They make great finger foods- nice little potato rounds full of everything you want on them!  Just...not very healthy, in fact, very UNhealthy.

So, I started thinking about this.  Could I use the same concept but decrease the unhealthy ingredients and up the healthier ones?  In thinking about potatoes, lots comes to mind: mostly, they are served fried, mashed with lots of fatty dairy ingredients, or topped with umpteen unhealthy toppings.  Maybe I could adjust a bit, keep some of the tasty stuff, but substitute something a bit less artery-clogging.  There are a ton of baked potato varieties out there- everything from meat lovers to vegetarian.  I have always enjoyed a broccoli-cheese topping on baked potatoes, and wondered if I could sort of twist this concept to what I had in mind.

There is a delicate balance to consider, so I couldn't omit the fat completely.  But I did reduce it quite a bit, and the result was very tasty!  This is a nice appetizer that would be great for any occasion.  Once the potatoes are baked, you just have to make the topping, and that can be made ahead of time if necessary.  There is some stove time involved, so factor that in, but it is worth it.  This is a nice, tasty, and WAY less fat-filled and greasy version of the traditional potato skin.  I would have no problem bringing this to a football party, or anywhere else for that matter.  The cheddar cheese compliments the potato and provides a bit of creamy goodness, while the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese give it a good bit of crispy/crunchy quality, as well as flavor.  If you're gluten free, go ahead and omit the bread crumbs- there will still be a tiny bit of crunch from the browned parmesan cheese.

Healthy Broccoli, Mushroom, and Cheese Potato "Skins"

The "skins" is in quotation marks because it's not just the skins.  Baked potatoes are cooled and sliced, then topped with yummy ingredients.

2 medium russet potatoes
Olive oil cooking spray
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup diced onion
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped small
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped small
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp. shredded good-quality parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

1. Prick potatoes with a fork and either bake in the oven, or microwave until tender.  Set aside and cool completely.

2. Heat a skillet on medium-high with 1 tbsp. olive oil.  Add onions, cook 5 minutes until translucent.  Add broccoli and cook another 5 minutes, until just tender.  Add mushrooms and cook 3 minutes.  Add garlic, salt and pepper, and cook 1 minute.  Set aside.

3. Spray a 9x9 square pan with olive oil cooking spray.  Preheat broiler in oven.

4. Slice potatoes into 1/2 inch rounds.  Place in a single layer in prepared square pan.  Spray top of potato rounds with olive oil spray.  Broil about 5 minutes.

5.Sprinkle cheddar cheese atop potato slices evenly.  Broil about 3 minutes or until cheese is melted and barely bubbling.

6.  Top potatoes and cheese with broccoli mixture in an even layer.  Combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and sprinkle over broccoli mixture.

7.  Broil 1-2 minutes until cheese browns on top.

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2012!  We stayed home for New Year's Eve, and I prepared a few tasty dishes for us to enjoy here.  I am going to share two of them here today, both of which I have made and served many times, and they are old favorites around here.  Remember, amounts are estimates- taste as you go, and adjust accordingly.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

This is my own recipe.  Several years ago, my hubby came home raving about the lettuce wraps at PF Changs, and asked if I could duplicate them.  Probably not, I told him, but I might be able to get somewhat close.  Later, after I had developed this recipe, I found where someone had posted the actual PF Changs recipe on the internet.  Mine is not nearly as complicated, but it sure is tasty!  I prefer my simple recipe, which uses ingredients easily found in the grocery store.  My son loves this, and chooses to mix his with rice instead of wrapping in lettuce leaves.

Ingredients:
8 whole lettuce leaves, preferrably large and wide, such as Butter, Boston Bibb, or Iceberg, washed and dried
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 package lean ground turkey
2-3 tbsp hoisin sauce (this can be found in the Asian food aisle of the grocery store)
1-2 tbsp garlic-chili sauce (also in the Asian food aisle)
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped to uniform small pea size
 3-4 green onions, thinly sliced, including green part
Couple drizzles soy sauce (I use reduced sodium)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Sesame seeds for garnish
Optional: fresh pea pods, sauteed in sesame oil until crisp-tender

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add turkey.  Break meat up with a spatula or spoon as it cooks, so that you don't have large chunks, but a fine, even crumble.  Drain fat and return skillet to medium heat.  Add hoisin and garlic-chili sauces and stir to incorporate completely.  The turkey meat should look like it has a glaze over it, but it should not be "saucy".  Start with 1 tbsp. of each sauce and add as necessary.  Watch out- the garlic chili sauce is spicy, so don't add too much!

When you are happy with the turkey/sauce ratio, add the water chestnuts and green onions, and mix well into the meat mixture.  Drizzle soy sauce (I go once around the pan) and mix in well.  Heat over medium heat for a few minutes until the meat sizzles gently.  Don't overheat and dry out the meat mixture.  Add a little more soy sauce if it seems too dry.  Turn off heat and add cilantro, incorporating well into meat mixture.

Serve immediately, or make ahead and refrigerate, then reheat in the microwave to serve.  Spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture onto each lettuce leaf and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  If you also sauteed the suggested pea pods, add those on top before the sesame seeds.  I also sometimes add bean sprouts to the pea pod sautee.

These are delicious- sweet and smokey from the hoisin sauce, and a little bit of a spicy bite from the garlic chili.  You can use ground turkey breast to keep these very lowfat, but if you use regular ground turkey instead of ground turkey breast, don't use turkey that is less than 93% lean.  If you use a leaner meat, these are quite healthy.  The hoisin sauce contains only 35 calories and 8 grams of sugar per tablespoon.  This recipe makes 8 servings, so even if you use 3 full tablespoons of hoisin in the dish, it's only 3 grams of sugar per serving.

Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Toast

This is also my recipe. Several years ago, my husband and I spent our annivesary weekend at the Skamania Lodge in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge.  At dinner in their restaurant, we ordered a goat cheese appetizer that we both just loved.  Soft, warm rounds of goat cheese were served with pita bread wedges, sundried tomatoes, roasted garlic, and kalamata olives.  We liked it so much, we made it at home a couple of times.  Eventually, I decided it would be easier to combine our favorite components into a spread, and this is the result.  I originally tried it with the kalamata olives included, but they make the consistency too watery.  If desired, serve them alongside these toasts.

Ingredients:

1 14 oz. log of goat cheese (I get mine at Costco)
3/4 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained and rinsed well
4-6 cloves fresh garlic
1 french baguette, sliced thinly

Lay baguette slices on baking sheet and spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray.  Broil until lightly toasted, then turn bread slices and repeat on the other side.  Be careful not to let edges brown too much.

Take goat cheese out of refrigerator and let sit out at room temperature.  Peel garlic cloves and wrap in foil.  Put into a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until soft and tender.

Crumble goat cheese into food processor and add garlic and sundried tomatoes.  Process until smoothe.

Spread a couple tbsp. of goat cheese mixture on each slice of toasted bread, then put under the broiler until cheese has warmed and just began to brown.  Serve immediately.

This can be made ahead and refrigerated.  Remove cheese from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving so that it can soften.