Green Goddess Pasta

Lately, I have been trying to eat more Kale and  incorporate it in my diet. So I have been trying new recipes using Kale. I am pretty happy with this Creamy Chia Kale Pasta, it tastes pretty good and is packed with vitamins, proteins and fiber ! Well healthy food doesn't always have to suck ;) !

Ingredients:

  

1 large bunch of raw Kale (5-6 leaves), stemmed
5 tbsp Chia seeds, powdered
8 oz Cream cheese
1 cup Milk
1 Jalapeno
34 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp Honey
1 can Black Beans (optional, also you can put any beans of your choice)
1 lb of penne pasta - cooked according to the package.
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste






Directions :

1) Blanch kale in boiling hot salt water for five minutes. Drain all the excess water.
2) Blend Kale and Jalapeno to get a smooth paste.
3) In a bowl soak the powdered chia seeds in milk. Let it sit for ten minutes. You'll notice that the mixture will obtain a gelatinous consistency, this is because Chia seeds act as a thickening agent.
4) In a large pot, saute garlic in olive oil over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, until fragrant. Add the cream cheese and let it melt. Pour the kale puree in along with the chia-seed and milk mixture and beans. Mix well. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper and honey. Your rich and creamy kale sauce is ready.
5) Add cooked pasta to the kale sauce. Toss to coat. Serve hot or cold !

Sprinkle some chia seeds on top if you like !

Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients :

8 tortilla - medium sized

3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 

3/4 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup Mozzarella cheese 

1 cup Refried Beans 

2 cups Picante 

1 Onion - diced

1 Bell Pepper - diced

3/4 cup Corn kernels 

1/4 cup olives (optional)

1 Jalapeno - finely chopped

1 tbsp Cajun seasoning

salt to taste

Directions :

1) Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. 

2) In a skillet cook onions, bell peppers, jalapeno and corn until onions are golden brown. Add salt and cajun seasoning.

3) In a bowl mix refried beans with one cup picante.

4) In a baking dish Spread half cup picante. Place 2 tortillas on top, then layer with the refried beans-picante mixture, stir fried veggies and shredded cheese. 

5) Repeat the layers. Top of the last layer of tortilla with half cup picante, olives, mozzarella and any leftover cheese. 

6) Cover the dish with aluminium foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

Let the baking dish sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving, this lets all the cheese to settle a little bit and the slices you cut would come out easily. Serve it with sour cream (and sriracha sauce if you wanna spice it up)!

15 minutes Stove Top Pizza

Preparation - 5 minutes

Cooking time - 15 minutes

Ingredients 

Crust :

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup self raising flour

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp heaped Active dry yeast 

A pinch of salt

Warm water 3/4 cup approx

Topping :

1/3 cup Pizza Sauce (or any sauce of your liking) 

3/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese 

Veggies of your choice

Italian Seasoning 

fresh basil 

Red Chilli Flakes - as per taste

Directions :

1. In a non-stick pan combine all the ingredients for the crust and mix well.

2. Once well combined, spread the mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan. 

3. Add the pizza sauce over the base and spread evenly. 

4. Sprinkle Italian seasoning and then sprinkle mozzarella cheese. 

5. Top with your favorite toppings and chopped basil.

6. Cook on medium with the pan's vent closed for 8 minutes.

7. Open pan's vent and then cook for another 7 minutes. 

Your pizza is ready. Let it sit for 5 minutes before you cut it into slices. This recipe is the adaptation from the chef's tool box. I have tweaked the ratio of the ingredients to get the best results ! Their video is in the link below : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgpjCOFVK4s