What follows is only in the loosest sense a pizza. I thought about calling it a garden flatbread, but that sounded poncey. Plus my new favorite book, The Recipe Writer’s Handbook, discourages cryptic and silly recipe names. I’m so, so guilty of that.

If you don’t have all of the ingredients I list below, not a big deal. You can use a technique I like to call im-praaaaah-visation. As long as you can cut it into bite-sized pieces and it won’t be ick if you cook it, throw it on the pita. The combo I use below, however, is quite magical and has plenty of iron from the pumpkin seeds, which toast up in the oven. I love the bitterness of the radishes, the sweetness of the squash and pumpkin seeds, and the saltiness of the feta and olives all mingling together.

Garden Pita Pizza

Serves one
Total time: 10 minutes
Cost per serving: $3-5 depending on your toppings

1 whole wheat pita
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup (1 oz) fresh spinach
1/3 cup (1.5 oz) thinly sliced squash
1 radish, thinly sliced
4 green olives, quartered (I used some marinated olives from the olive bar)
2 tablespoons (0.5 oz) raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup (1 oz) feta cheese
Italian seasoning (optional)

1. If you are using a conventional oven, heat it to 350 degrees. I use a toaster oven so I skip this step. If you haven’t already prepped the veggies you could do that while the oven heats.
2. Drizzle the olive oil on the pita, and spread it around with your fingers. Sexy.
3. Spread the spinach out on the pita, then top with the squash and radish slices. Sprinkle on the olives, pumpkin seeds, and feta. Toss a few dashes of Italian seasoning on top, if using.
4. Place in the oven for about 5-8 minutes, or until the pumpkin seeds begin to brown. Serve cut into wedges.

Check out the nutrition information for this meal. The cholesterol should actually be 8%, but for some reason it keeps calculating to 33%. I think it’s just a glitch. More importantly, look at the fiber and vitamin content! You could do a lot worse

This is a weekend meal for me, mostly because it takes about 30 minutes to prepare. The salmon burgers a little on the expensive side, but they are one of my favorite convenience foods at Whole Foods. Plus, salmon is just so darn good for you. I realized when planning for this dinner that I was gonna dirty up quite a few pots, so I made one pot do double boil duty. Check out the deets below.

Double Boil Pasta Madness!!

Total time: 30 minutes
Cost per serving: about $8 (those salmon burgers aren’t cheap, but they are delicious!)

1/2 cup green lentils
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium sized white onion
2 large garlic cloves
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen spinach
2 cups whole wheat pasta (I like to mix shapes like shells and rotini, but if you want to be all boring then just go for one type)
cooking spray
4 salmon burgers from Whole Foods, any flavor
a few handfuls of fresh spinach
a few spoonfuls of pico de gallo
salad dressing of choice

1. Fill a large pot with waaaaaay more water than you think you need to boil the lentils. Put the lentils in the pot and bring to a righteous boil. Low the heat and let the pot simmer. Now pay attention here, we’re gonna do some math, HOORAY! Lentils need about 25 minutes to get cooked through. Some people like ‘em way mushier, but I prefer then to hold their shape so 25 minutes is max for me. Look at the pasta package and see how long it will take to cook it al dente. Subtract that from 25 and that is how long you will let the lentils boil before you add the pasta. Por ejemplo:

   25 minutes for lentils – 13 minutes for pasta = 12 minutes the lentils boil before you add the pasta to the water

   Make sense? This way you only use one pot for both.

2. While the lentils are boil pre-pasta, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized SAUCE PAN. Not a skillet or a fry pan, but a sauce pan that can hold a few cups of liquid. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and add it to the oil. Stir for a few minutes until the onion gets a little translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Dump the entire contents of the canned tomatoes into the pot. Don’t drain them, you want the juice. Let that heat to a simmer, then add the frozen spinach and stir until the spinach is, uh, not frozen. Set the sauce on low heat on the back burner and cover.
3. By now you can probably dump the pasta into the simmering lentils and crank up the heat again just until it boils, then lower back to a simmer. Keep an eye on the time, because there is no sin less forgivable than overcooked pasta.
4. While the pasta cooks, heat a pan over medium heat and spray the pan with cooking spray. Add the salmon burgers to the skillet and cook about 6-7 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, make the spinach salad by tossing the spinach, pico de gallo and dressing in a bowl. This is DOUBLE SPINACH MADNESS, too!
5. When the pasta is done cooking drain the entire pot in a strainer and return the pasta/lentils to the big pot. Add the sauce to the pasta/lentils and stir to combine. Serve along side the salmon burgers and the salad.

When I make something a little more complicated like this, I try to think ahead to how I can reuse pots and pans, like for the pasta and lentils and then again for the sauce. I don’t have a dishwasher so this saves me time when I clean up, too.

My camera is on the fritz, so I had to use the BlackBerry to take this

Hummus Sandwich and Non-Authentic-But-Still-Delicious Tzatziki

Total time: 10 minutes tops
Total cost per serving: a couple of bucks?

2 cups plain non-fat yogurt
1 small cucumber
1 large tomato
1 small garlic clove
a handful of pita chips
1 piece of whole grain bread (I use Whole Foods Seeduction Loaf here)
about 2 tablespoons of prepared hummus
1-2 tablespoons prepared pico de gallo
a handful of spinach leaves
1-2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
a handful of cherries
1 kiwi fruit

1. Grate the cucumber on the small holes of a box grater, or if you don’t have a grater then chop the buh-jesus out of it. You want small pieces. Chop the tomato and mince the garlic fine. Mix all of that in a bowl with the yogurt. This is the tzatziki, or at least my version. You can sprinkle a little salt in there if you want, but I don’t think it needs that.
2. Cut the piece of bread in half. I am only making a halvsies sandwich here, you could go for a whole one. I just know that with the tzatziki and the fruit I won’t need a whole sandwich for dinner. Spread the hummus on one piece, then spread the pico de gallo and feta on top. Is it weird to put pico on a sandwich? I think it tastes delicious, and it’s so easy. Top with the spinach and the other piece of bread.
3. Serve the tzatziki with some pita chips, with the cherries and kiwi for dessert. I leave the peel on kiwi fruit and just eat it for the extra vitamins and fiber. Also possibly weird, but that’s how people from New Zealand eat it…or so I heard.
   ]]> http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/06/09/quick-and-cheap-dinner-hummus-sandwich-and-tzatziki/feed/ 1 http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/05/18/quick-and-cheap-dinner-omelet-on-a-pita-and-tomato-soup/ http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/05/18/quick-and-cheap-dinner-omelet-on-a-pita-and-tomato-soup/#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 02:20:47 +0000 drmiggy http://drmiggy.com/?p=376 I call this thing I just made up Omelet on a Pita because it’s basically the same ingredients I would whip together for a Sunday morning omelet, except they’re not actually IN an omelet. Just read on and I’ll explain myself.

   

   Omelet on a Pita and Tomato Soup

   Total time: 15-20 minutes
   Total cost per serving: I didn’t calculate exactly, but I’d be surprised if more than $4-5

   2 eggs
   1 can of chunky tomato soup (Whole foods makes a tasty one)
   1 clove garlic
   Italian seasoning
   1 whole wheat pita
   Olive oil
   1/3 cup chopped frozen spinach (eyeball it)
   about 1 oz feta cheese
   grapes

   1. If using an oven (I use a toaster oven) pre-heat to 375 degrees. Hard boil the eggs about 10 minutes. While they are boiling, dump the soup into a pot and squish the garlic clove into the pot with a garlic press. If you don’t have a garlic press then just mince it and add it to the soup. Sprinkle in Italian seasoning to taste. Heat through on med-low heat.
   2. Nuke the spinach for 45 seconds. Drizzle a little olive oil on the pita and spread it around with your fingers. Don’t be shy, olive oil is supposed to be good for your skin Squeeze out some of the water from the spinach and spread it around on the pita. Sprinkle the feta on top of the spinach and place in a toaster oven (or a regular oven). Bake at 375-400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese starts to melt a little and the edges of the pita brown.
   3. Cool the eggs under cold running water and peel. Mash them up in a bowl with a fork and sprinkle about half on your cooked pita. Cut the pita and serve along side half the the soup with the grapes for dessert.

   The cool thing about this “recipe” is that you can serve two by adding another pita and some more spinach and feta, or you can repeat tomorrow night in even less time because the eggs are ready to go.

   In case you haven’t noticed, I love chopped frozen spinach. All the work is done for you and there is no worry of the spinach going bad before you can eat it all. I live alone, so bagged fresh spinach often gets all nasty before I can eat the whole bag. In this recipe in particular the chopped frozen spinach works really well, almost like a spinach spread. Is that gross? It sounds a little gross, but it’s really good, I promise! Of course you could use fresh spinach in this recipe, too. I’d tear it up and sprinkle it on the pita with the cheese and put it right into the oven.

   ]]> http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/05/18/quick-and-cheap-dinner-omelet-on-a-pita-and-tomato-soup/feed/ 3 http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/05/12/quick-and-cheap-dinner-salmon-and-summer-bean-salad/ http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/05/12/quick-and-cheap-dinner-salmon-and-summer-bean-salad/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 01:35:23 +0000 drmiggy http://drmiggy.com/?p=277 I’m going to make this a regular feature, so check back often. I’m tagging each one of these posts with the main ingredients so when I post enough you’ll be able to search through many quick and cheap dinners.

   I don’t go out to eat much at all, which saves me money and keeps me fit. Although I love to cook, most weeknights I can’t spare more than about 15 minutes in the kitchen. Over the years I have developed a rotation of my favorite throw-together meals, and now you get the benefit of all that work There’s only one rule to making quick and cheap dinners for yourself, and that’s to keep a stocked pantry. I always have canned beans, whole wheat pastas, vinegars, spices and frozen veggies on hand. You’d be amazed what I can come up with when it looks like there’s nothing in the house. I give you exhibit A:

   

   Sesame Salmon and Summer Bean Salad (I just made up that name)

   Total time: 5-10 minutes
   Total cost per serving (for 2): about $6

   For the salmon (2 servings):

   3/4 lb prepared sesame crusted salmon from Whole Foods (it’s a convenience, and only $8)
   no stick spray

   For the salad (2-4 servings, depending on your appetite):

   1 ~15 oz can of navy beans, white beans, cannelini beans, or great northerns
   one med tomato
   one very small clove garlic (trust me, go small)
   about a cup of frozen spinach
   2 teaspoons olive oil
   1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
   1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
   salt to taste

   1. Heat a pan over medium heat. Fish is delicate so be sure to use medium. Once the pan is hot, spray with no stick spray. Lay the salmon in the pan and cook on one side for 4-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Flip and cook another 4 minutes until cooked through.

   2. While the salmon is cooking, drain the beans in a strainer and rinse well. Coarsely chop the tomato and mix with the beans in a bowl. Mince the garlic clove and add along with the oil, vinegar and seasoning. Nuke the spinach about 90 seconds and add to the bowl. Stir and inhale deeply. It’s heavenly when the hot spinach hits the garlic olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle a little salt to taste and serve.

   I pretty much planned this on the fly, throwing in things that I thought would taste good together. Don’t worry if you are a total noob in the kitchen. Eventually you will learn what pleases your palate and you’ll be making stuff like this, too. The best part about this side dish? It’s mega healthy and it tastes wonderful. Salmon is full of vitamins and good fats, you get fiber from the beans, good fats from the olive oil, vitamins from the tomato and spinach, and all the medicinal properties of raw garlic. That’s why you use a tiny clove, cuz too much raw garlic is no ones friend, and no one will want to be your friend after you eat it.

   And for dessert? I have a late night sweet tooth, which is not good for my girly figure. Instead of dessert I drink an aromatic caffeine free tea, like TeaGschwendner’s Rooibush Creme Caramel, with just a touch of local honey and nonfat milk. Don’t believe it will soothe your craving? Give it a try and tell me I’m a liar.

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