Mediterranean Quesadilla

This twist on the classic cheese quesadilla gives it a bit of extra flavor to a dish that's very quick and easy to prepare.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes 
Cooking Time: 6 minutes
Serves: 1


Ingredients 

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 large flour tortilla
  
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 tbsp garlic and artichoke hummus (or your favorite kind of hummus)
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice (or a few squirts to taste)
• 3 small green pimento-stuffed olives, diced
  
• A few leaves of fresh baby spinach, torn into small pieces
  
• 1/3 cup shredded cheese (the Mexican/taco blend works well)
• Paprika to taste
• Mrs. Dash Chicken Grilling Blend to taste or another seasoning of your choice
  

Directions

1. Place the diced onions and olive oil in a medium frying pan and saute for about 3 minutes (I like my onions crispy, so you may choose to saute them for less time if you don't).
2. Remove the onions from the pan and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
3. Spread the flour tortilla with an even layer of hummus and place the tortilla in the pan.
4. Add the sauteed onion, lemon juice, diced olives, and spinach evenly to the tortilla.
5. Sprinkle on the paprika and seasoning to taste.
6. Sprinkle the cheese on top in an even layer.
7. Fold the tortilla over, and cook on high on the stove for about 3 minutes (or until the cheese is completely melted), flipping the quesadilla over once during cooking.
8. Remove from stove, slice in half, and serve!

Cheesey Egg & Olive Toast

 It seems fitting to start this blog off with a dish that I make extremely often. This only takes about 30 minutes to make (and most of those 30 minutes are just waiting for things to cook) so it serves as an ideal fast meal for people who just need a quick bite to eat after a long day of work and don't want to put too much effort into it.

One of the main concerns for vegetarians is replacing proteins and vitamin B-12 in their diets, as these traditionally come from eating meat. If you still eat eggs and dairy, then those are perfect meat substitutes that can be used in quite a variety of dishes. This dish relies heavily on both.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 26 minutes (or 6 minutes if you have pre-boiled eggs on hand)
Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1 slice potato bread
• 1 egg
• 4 green pimento-stuffed olives (the small variety)
• 1/3 cup shredded cheese (Mexican/taco blends work nicely)
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/3 cup whipped cream cheese (reduced fat or light)
• McCormick's salt-free Garlic & Herb seasoning to taste (or another salt-free seasoning of your choice)
  

 Directions

1. Cover the egg with water in a pot and boil on the stove for 20 minutes.
2. Shell the egg and dice on a cutting board into small pieces.
3. Add the diced egg and shredded cheese into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
4. Dice the green olives and add to the bowl.
5. Season to taste with the salt-free seasoning.
6. Add mustard, lemon juice, and cream cheese.
7. Stir the mixture until all ingredients are mixed evenly and form a paste.
8. Place the bread slice on a small toaster pan and spread the egg and cheese mixture evenly across the top of the bread.
9. Toast the bread in a toaster oven at 425 degrees F for about 6 minutes, or until the edges of the bread are crispy and browned (individual oven times may vary).
10. Remove from toaster oven, slice in half, let cool for a minute, and enjoy! 

Note: I don't actually measure out most of these ingredients precisely when cooking this dish. I've learned from experience how much to add by sight and the above measurements are just estimates of the amounts I usually use. Feel free to adjust portions to your preferences!

About this blog

Welcome to my cooking blog! First of all, please bear with me while I make this thing prettier. I've never done a food blog before so it may take me a bit to get this thing working how I want.

The purpose of this blog is mainly to collect and share my various random cooking endeavors. I enjoy cooking, and enjoy reading online recipes, but always have trouble finding foods that I really like. I'm almost entirely a vegetarian, I don't like sweets, I try to eat healthy, and I am an admittedly picky eater. This combination of things forces me to get creative with my cooking.

My main concerns with cooking are making foods that aren't too time-consuming (most of the time), making sure I eat healthy and get proper nutrition with a meat-free diet, and making sure my food still tastes good so that I'm not bored with my diet. If any of these cooking concerns appeal to you, then hopefully you'll find something in here you enjoy!