Flounder stuffed with mushroom, feta, and spinach

Stuffed Flounder

4 Flounder Fillets
1/2 package fresh mushrooms diced
1/2 bag of fresh spinach
1 package of Feta cheese about 1 cup
olive oil
medeterennean seasoning
salt pepper
1 clove of garlic

Preheat oven to 350
Cooking time 20 minutes

Sautee garlic with spinach, feta, and mushrooms till soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain any remaining liquid. There should be very little. Lay flounder out flat and season on both sides with medeterreanean seasoning and then put mixture along the center of half of the flounder. Roll and secure with toothpicks. Place in oiled casserole dish and cover with foil for 20 minutes.Test with fork and make sure the fish flakes.

I made homeade pita bread, green beans, and parmesan garlic cous cous.

Pita Bread

I love baking bread so I wanted to find a bread recipe that was Medeteranian Diet approved. I think this turned out really really well. I got this recipe from www.mediterranean-food-recipes.com.

What you need:

• 2½ cups (550 g) all purpose flour
• Additional flour for sprinkling
• 1¼ cups (275 ml) water – lukewarm
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil  

1. In a cup or small bowl combine the yeast with ½ cup lukewarm water. Stir until the yeast is dissolved. Set aside for about 7 minutes to proof.
2. Add 2½ cups flour to a bread or large mixing bowl. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and mix with your hands or a wooden spoon.
3. Make a small well in the center of the flour and pour the yeast mixture and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix it with the flour until you get a compact dough.
4. Place the dough on a lightly floured wooden surface and slowly add water as needed. Continue kneading the dough for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic and it doesn't stick to your hands. At the end, shape it into a ball.
5. Wipe a large bowl with half a tablespoon of olive oil. Place the dough in it and rub it gently against the bowl walls so as to cover it uniformly with olive oil. Cover with a tea towel. Put it in a warm draft free area and allow it to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in bulk.
6. Punch the dough down and let it rise again for 10 minutes.
7. Cut the dough into 10 pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball.
8. Sprinkle a little flour on a wooden surface. With a wooden rolling pin, roll each ball into a flat round loaf 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter and about 1/8 inch (4.5 mm) thick. Cover the flattened dough rounds with a cloth and let them rise a little bit for 20 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 450°F (230ºC). Slightly flour a baking sheet and place it in the oven for 5 minutes. Now place the first batch of dough rounds on a baking sheet. Bake on the lower rack for 3 minutes or until the dough forms a puffed up ball. Turn it over and leave in the oven for about 2 more minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and stack the pita bread loaves on top of each other. Wrap the pita bread loaves in a clean tea towel until ready to serve. This will keep them warm and soft.

Baked Veggie Chiken Nuggets

One of Brinley's favorite foods of all time is McDonald chicken nuggets. I have always been wearing about feeding her those but she loves them so much. Lately I have been on a quest to find something she loves just as much only 100% healthier. I stumbled across a recipe for veggie chicken nuggests. I have changed it a lot so here is my take on it. 

What you need:
1 lb white meat organic chicken breasts                         1T. soy sauce
2 large carrots                                                               1 T. garlic powder
1 stalk celery                                                                 1 egg
1 red pepper                                                                 1/2 C. flour
1/4 C. cabbage                                                             pepper to taste
1/2 C. green beans
1/2 C. broccoli
1 C. Panko bread crumbs
2 T. olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. Take all of the veggies and roughly chop. Throw them in a big pot and steam till very tender. After they are steamed take them and place in a food processor along with the chicken breasts. (Chop up the chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces prior) Blend on high till all of the veggies and chicken are ground up. It should look like ground meat at this point and the veggies should almost be in a paste consistency. Pulse a few more times and incorporate the pepper, soy sauce, and garlic powder. Scoop out mixture in 1 inch balls. Roll in flour, then roll in egg mixture, and then lightly roll in Panko bread crumbs. Place on olive oiled cookie sheet. Cook for 20 minutes at 350. I normally serve it with a homeade BBQ sauce and sweat potato

Brinley loves them now. It took a few times for her to get used to them but now she prefers these over McDonalds...thankfully. I normally also make sweet potato fries to go with this. Recipe to come.