Double-Post Tuesday

Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Here are six recipes to help you through the day, including Parisian-style Sweet Crêpes (which are really very easy) and Whole Wheat Penne Pasta with Summer Vegetables. Enjoy!

LEMON BARS

This yummy recipe comes from Ina Garten, star of The Food Network show, Barefoot Contessa.

Total: 1 hr 35 min; Prep: 10 min; Inactive: 30 min; Cook: 55 min; Yield: 20 squares or 40 triangles; Level: Intermediate

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

For the crust:

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

6 extra-large eggs at room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup flour

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

PARISIAN-STYLE SWEET CREPES

This was in the September, 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “Cafés and brasseries in the French capital sell passersby sweet crêpes slathered in butter, jam, chestnut purée, and (VT favorite) Nutella. The experience is easy to re-create at home for breakfast, Sunday supper, or a snack.”

Makes 8 servings, and can be viewed online at https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/parisian-style-sweet-crepes.

Ingredients

Crêpes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup low-fat milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Fillings (optional)

Nutella

Peanut butter

whipped cream

strawberries

Preparation

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in bowl. Whisk in egg; mixture will be shaggy. Whisk in milk 1/4 cup at a time. Whisk in vanilla. Cover, and chill 30 minutes, or overnight.

Whisk 1/4 to 1/2 cup water into batter to thin. Lightly grease 9-inch nonstick skillet with canola oil. Heat skillet over medium-high heat.

Pour 1/4 cup batter into hot skillet, tilting pan to swirl batter so it coats bottom of pan. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until edges begin to brown and center is dry. Flip; cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more.

Transfer crêpe to plate, and repeat with remaining batter. To serve crêpes: Reheat 1 minute in lightly greased skillet. Spread with desired fillings, fold into quarters, and serve.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 132; Carbohydrate Content: 25 g; Cholesterol Content: 28 mg; Fat Content: 2 g; Fiber Content: 0.5 g; Protein Content: 4 g; Saturated Fat Content: 0.5 g; Sodium Content: 168 mg;Sugar Content: 10 g

CORNY GREEN ENCHILADAS

This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. Serves: 4; Preparation time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

12 corn tortillas

1 can of fiesta corn (drained)

1 can of black beans (drained)

1 can of green enchilada sauce

2 cups of vegan cheese

2 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

Directions:

This is a layered casserole. You can vary the layers to your liking.

Mix the spices with your enchilada sauce and stir until well incorporated. Taste the enchilada sauce to see if it needs salt. Normally the canned sauce is seasoned very well.

Using a casserole dish, layer the ingredients, starting with 1/4 of sauce on the bottom. Layer sauce, tortillas (torn or whole), corn, beans and vegan cheese. Continue layering and end with a layer of tortillas and then sauce.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of vegan cheese over the top and cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until it starts to bubble. Remove the foil the last 5-10 minutes to let the vegan cheese brown.

Serve with a salad, salsa and smoothie! Good eats!

WHOLE WHEAT PENNE PASTA WITH SUMMER VEGETABLES

This is from Diabetes Self-Management, and can be viewed online here.

Yield: 4 servings. Serving size: 1 3/4 cups.

Ingredients

6 ounces uncooked whole wheat penne pasta (about 2 cups)

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh broccoli

1 medium zucchini, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)

1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

8 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

3 ounces (about 1 cup) mushrooms, sliced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting any salt or fat. Drain and keep warm.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, broccoli, zucchini and bell pepper. Cook and stir about 2 minutes or until vegetables just begin to soften.

Add tomatoes, mushrooms, and oregano; mix well. Reduce heat to medium and cook and stir about 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender and tomatoes release their juices.

Mix vegetables with pasta. Toss in feta cheese.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: Calories: 264 calories, Carbohydrates: 41 g, Protein: 15 g, Fat: 7 g, Saturated Fat: 3 g, Cholesterol: 8 mg, Sodium: 374 mg, Fiber: 7 g

Exchanges per serving: 2 Bread/Starch, 1/2 Fat, 2 Vegetable, 1 Meat.

TROPICAL GREEN SMOOTHIE

This comes from the American Heart Association, and begins, “This sweet, delicious smoothie includes both fruit and vegetables.”

This recipe (along with a photo) can be viewed online at https://recipes.heart.org/recipes/2094/tropical-green-smoothie. Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon flax seeds

1 cup coconut water

1 teaspoon honey

1 orange

3/4 cup frozen mango chunks

1/2 banana

2 handfuls, about 1 ounce handfuls spinach

ice (until consistency you like)

Directions

Put Coconut water, spinach and honey in the blender until blended.

Place the rest of the fruit in blender and blend until smooth.

Add ice until desired smoothie consistency.

SPINACH OMELET

This is from a Weight Watcher's emailing list from y-e-a-r-s ago, and began, “If you like, add a chopped tomato to the mixture just before folding the omelet.”

When this was sent, it had a points value of 5.

Servings: 1; Preparation Time: 8 min; Cooking Time: 10 min; Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup spinach, coarsely chopped (do not dry)

2 large egg(s)

2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp olive oil

Directions

In a medium saucepan, cook spinach with just the water that clings to it until just wilted, about 2 minutes.

Drain well, squeezing out all liquid. Cool, then chop finely.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon water.

In a small nonstick skillet, heat oil. Pour egg mixture into pan; reduce heat and cook until base is set and top is still a little creamy, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle spinach over one half of eggs; fold omelet in half and cook until eggs are completely set, about 1 minute longer. Serve at once.