Fillo cups two ways (sweet and savory)

Remember these beans? Remember when I said they would be back. Well here they are on whole wheat tomato and feta sourdough bread. This was not what I had in mind, it was just a happy accident that I needed to use my starter, and I happened to have these beans. So good! I had to take a picture and share, these beans are quite versatile.

Back to the filo cups though. I thought it would be fun on a hot day such as today to feast on cold appetizers and have a game night. We ate these garlic bean filled fillo cups as well as the "yummy pink cups" as my daughter dubbed them, along side some homemade salsa and chips. Everything went over really well. Both children were hesitant to eat the cups at first, because I've told them that cups aren't for eating.

I am marking these as make ahead, even though in the strictest sense they are not. You can make the filling ahead of time, but I would recommend filling them right before eating as they might get soggy otherwise.

The "pink yummy cups" are really an adaptation of learning to live egg free. I used to fill fillo cups with a combination of lemon curd and yogurt, and top them with fresh raspberries (YUM!). No longer an option in our household. This new recipe was not only a hit, but a suitable substitute. If I ever figure out how to make an egg free, soy free, lemon curd I'll post it on here.


Garlic Basil Bean and Roma Tomato Fillo Cups

1 recipe garlic basil beans
2 diced roma tomatoes
1 tsp vinegar (balsamic or otherwise, I used raspberry basil vinegar)
30 mini fillo shells (2 boxes)
shredded cheese (optional)

Thaw filo cups according to directions on box. Mix together the garlic basil beans, roma tomatoes and vinegar. Distribute evenly into the filo cups. Sprinkle cheese on top if desired. You could heat these if you like the bubbly cheese element. They were very tasty cold though, especially on a hot day.


Pink Yummy Cups

1 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup organic vanilla yogurt
2 tbs fruit preserves (I used this)
15 mini fillo shells

Thaw mini fillo cups according to directions. Soften the cream cheese in a bowl. Stir in yogurt and preserves. Distribute evenly (about a tsp to each) into fillo cups. Chill and serve.

Organic Tomato Bisque with Garlic Basil Beans and Croutons

Whew...that was a long title. And guess what, I spelled "bisque" right on the first try. Go me! Really it's everything in the title....plus a variation on the soup. The tomato bisque is canned...shhhh don't tell.

The hubster and I eat it straight out of the can (pictured), but I kick it up a notch (calorie wise) for the kids. So I'm including the recipe for the garlic basil beans, and also the recipe for the creamy version of the soup that I make for the kids. The creamy version is actually really, really, really, really, good....but I don't need all of those calories, because I'm not growing (on purpose that is). The croutons are simply whole wheat rosemary bread that I cubed and toasted in the toaster oven.


Garlic Basil Beans

1 can of white beans
1-2 cloves of garlic, pressed
2 tbs chopped basil leaves
1 tsp olive oil

Drain and rinse the beans really well.

Combine the beans, oil, pressed garlic, basil and beans in a bowl.

Add salt if desired. I felt like it wasn't needed because I used canned beans, but that was my preference.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

This will be making a comeback again later this week...keep an eye out for it. :)



Creamy Style Organic Tomato Bisque

1 package cream cheese
1 can of organic tomato bisque
2 tbs butter
1 clove of garlic, pressed

Combine the cream cheese and soup in your food processor and process until smooth.

Meanwhile in a pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook one minute.

Slowly add the soup to the pot, stirring and lowering heat as necessary to avoid burning.

Heat through.

Enjoy!

Little man ate two bowls of this, and little girl (who didn't nap) insisted she didn't like soup.....because it was too soupy....even though soup is her favorite dish...go figure. After being persuaded to try a bite, she finally confessed it was indeed good and ate the whole bowl. There was much rejoicing and merriment in all the land....err...at least our house.

Jalapeno Cheese Bread Strata

Say hello to my little friend.....

Stratas are a fantastic way to use up left over bread or veggies that are about to go bad. For this one I used jalapeno cheese bread, caramelized onions, baby spinach, and feta cheese. In the summer I make one with pesto and roma tomatoes that is also quite delicious. So never throw away that old bread*, it is just a strata in the making!

*unless it is moldy, then for goodness sakes throw it out!!! Bleck!