roasted eggplant dip

looking for a simple & healthy afternoon snack? look no further…

all you need is fresh eggplant, plain greek yogurt and some basic pantry staples to whip up this simple roasted veggie dip. perfect with blue-corn tortilla chips — or, if you’re really on a health kick — carrot sticks or sliced bell peppers. yummers.

pre-heat oven to 375F

prep the eggplant:
in a large prep bowl, toss the following ingredients together until combined well:
- 1 large eggplant (sliced into half-moons)
- drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
- dash of sea salt
- season w/ ground black peppercorns

roast the eggplant:
- add eggplant chunks in an oven-safe roasting pan lined with cooking parchment paper
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- roast eggplant chunks for approx 15min at 375F
- remove eggplant from oven and set aside to cool for a few minutes before blending

ham & fennel quiche

i heart quiche. and totally loving how easypeasy it is to make a homemade, crustless quiche. simple goodness.

so believe it or not, i still have some leftover ham in my freezer from the holidays! and as much as i love grilled ham & cheese sammies, they can get a little boring — and i can only eat so much bread in a week. the solution? crustless ham & fennel quiche. low-carb, simple goodness. :)

- preheat oven to 375F

the fennel:
- remove 1 fennel bulb from green stems & fronds
- slice bulb into quarters along the vertical and remove the inner core
- slice fennel into thin sticks

quiche batter:
whisk together the following ingredients in large prep bowl:
- fennel sticks
- 6 large eggs
- leftover honey ham (sliced into bite-sized chunks)
- 1.5 tsp herbes de provence (divided)
- 1/3 cup appenzeller cheese (grated)
- season w/ ground black peppercorns

bake it:
- pour quiche batter into a round, oven-safe baking dish
- bake quiche for 20-25min at 375F, or until golden brown
- allow to cool on rack before cutting quiche

food styling:
- cut quiche evenly into pie wedges
- serve quiche wedge w/ organic mixed greens & your fave (homemade!) salad dressing

honey arugula & avocado pizza

avocado makes most things yummy. pizza is no exception. :)

i’m always on the lookout for inventive recipes that feature avocado. while i’ve infused avocado into many a culinary experiment, i thought it was about time i make this lovely tropical fruit a pizza topping. and i was so glad i did. :)

- preheat oven to 400F

prep the dough:
- sprinkle some whole-wheat flour on a clean surface before rolling out the fresh pizza dough (i bought some fresh from the bakery.)
- using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough into a thin, round pie
- sprinkle some more flour on the dough pie, flip over before applying the rolling pin again
- place the prepped dough pie on a pizza stone (at room temperature) or a lightly-greased, round baking pan

prep the toppings:
- 1 cup fresh organic arugula
- 1 haas avocado (peeled, pitted, sliced)
- 1/2 red bell pepper (pitted, thinly sliced)
- fresh light mozzarella (grated)

prep the pie:
- spread 2 tbsp plain, low-fat greek yogurt evenly on pizza dough
- lightly drizzle honey
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- add a bed of fresh arugula, then add sliced avocado & peppers
- sprinkle mozzarella (grated) evenly over toppings
- season w/ ground black peppercorns

bake the pie:
- bake pizza at 400F for 20min, or until crust is golden brown
- remove from oven & allow to cool on rack before slicing

(tip: the drizzled honey may soften the dough a bit, so you may need to adjust the baking time by a few minutes longer, depending on your oven.)