Citrus Tea Infused Millet Cheese Tarts

Tea-Infused Millet Cheese Tarts

I’m a HUGE tea drinker. Have been for decades. It’s my preferred breakfast beverage and during the winter I drink it all day long.  I like green, black, white, herbal, all flavors. I haven’t, however, used tea in cooking applications except one time many years ago when I made brownies that used blackberry tea. They were amazing. So I was very excited when I found out that the theme for this month’s Recipe Redux is cooking with tea. Our task is to create a healthy recipe that is inspired by tea.

I decided to use one of my favorite teas, Good Earth Citrus Kiss. I made millet the usual way, except that I used a strong citrus-flavored tea in place of water or broth. It came out delicious. These cheese cups are easy to do and are great for summer party appetizers. Don’t have millet on hand? Just substitute brown rice or quinoa.

Here’s the recipe:

Tea-Infused Millet Cheese Cups

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 cup dry millet (uncooked)

2 cups strong tea made from 3 citrus or lemon flavored tea bags

1 lean Italian turkey sausage link (about 3.4 ounces), uncooked and casing removed

1/2 medium fennel bulb, chopped (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

Cheese Tarts:

Non-stick cooking spray

8 ounces 50% or 75% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

Equipment Needed:

baking sheets

parchment paper

mini muffin pan

Make Filling:

Toast dry millet in a non-stick 10-inch frying pan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until millet just begins to turn brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add  2 cups of strong tea to toasted millet, reduce heat to medium and cover. Gradually reduce heat to simmer and let cook covered for about 20 minutes. One cup of dry millet yields about 4 cups of cooked millet. Only 1 cup of cooked millet is needed for this recipe. The rest can be used for another recipe or use.

Brown Italian sausage in large, 10-inch non-stick frying skillet over medium-high heat until completely browned on all sides, breaking it apart as it cooks. Reduce heat to medium. Add fennel and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes, or until vegetables are crisp tender. Stir in cooked millet. Cook over medium heat for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat. Set aside.

Make Cheese Tarts: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray with non-stick spray. The cheese cups will likely need to be baked in batches. The parchment paper can be reused until all the cheese cups have been baked.  With large holes on a box grater, shred cheese. Place cheese in 1 tablespoon piles on parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving about inch between piles to allow for spreading. Flatten piles slightly with back of spoon. Bake 8 to 10 minutes on middle rack of oven until bubbly and slightly brown around edges. Don't over bake to prevent toughness. Remove baking sheet  from oven and let set for 1 minute. Then carefully lift each cheese circle and press in bottom of mini muffin pan. Let cool about 5 minutes before removing from muffin pan. Note: cheese cups can be made up to several days in advance, if desired. Keep at room temperature in airtight plastic container lined with paper towels to absorb moisture.

Assembly:

Using a tablespoon, scoop a heaping tablespoon of filling into each cheese tart. Garnish with feathery fennel fronds, if desired. Serve.

Makes 16 appetizers or 8 servings (2 appetizers each).

Nutrition Information per Serving using 75% reduced fat Cheddar cheese):  (Note: one serving is two cheese cups.)

111 calories, 3.8 g total fat, 1.8 g saturated fat, 16.3 mg cholesterol, 0.8 g dietary fiber, 11.8 g protein, and 281 mg sodium.

Nutrition Information per Serving using 50% reduced fat Cheddar cheese):  (Note: one serving is two cheese cups.)

121 calories, 5.8 g total fat, 3.3 g saturated fat, 21.3 mg cholesterol, 0.8 g dietary fiber, 10.8 g protein, and 251 mg sodium.

Cost per Serving (2 Cheese Cups per Serving): $0.88

Pricing Note: all ingredients were at “regular” prices.

Millet browning in pan before tea is added

 Be sure to check out these other tea-inspired creations.

An InLinkz Link-up

Black Bean Soup Mix in a Jar

Black bean soup mix, recipe, and bowl showing final product

The theme for this month's Recipe Redux is "Adding merriment to mixes," or to create a recipe gift in a jar.  Eons ago, I made and gave away a spiced tea mixture in a jar that contained Tang and other ingredients. (Boy, does this date me.)  So the theme this month was for me to come up with something more contemporary.

I love soups in the winter and I've seen a number of recipes for bean soups in a jar. I decided to make a black bean soup where all the seasonings are in a separate plastic bag. The recipient simply needs to add onion, turkey bacon, and a can of no salt added diced tomatoes.

Of course, you have to include the recipe so the person can see what to do with it. I found a few free (as long as you don't sell them) recipe cards with a winter theme on the internet.





Here are a few additional photos:

Black Bean Soup Mix

Wrap it up with a nice bow

Here is the complete instructions and recipe:

Black Bean Soup Mix in a Jar

 

Bean Soup Mix

1-1/2 cups black beans, rinsed, dried and picked through

Seasoning Mix

2 tablespoons dried sweet pepper flakes
1 tablespoon low sodium chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried celery flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper (or to taste)
1 bay leaf

Assembly Directions:

Fill glass jar with beans. Combine seasoning ingredients in resealable plastic bag. Place seasoning packet inside jar, on top of bean. Cover. Tie with bow. Attach the recipe for preparation.

 

Attach these instructions to the jar:

Black Bean Soup

1 jar Black Bean Soup Mix in a jar (with seasoning packet)

6 cups water

8 slices lower sodium turkey bacon, diced

1 large sweet onion, peeled and diced
1 (14.5 ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
1/2 medium avocado, peeled and sliced into 6 thin slices (for garnish)
2 tablespoons white cheese, such as Mexican Queso or feta (for garnish)
Fresh cilantro leaves (for garnish)

 Place beans in large bowl and add enough water to cover beans by one inch. Let soak overnight. Drain beans and place in Dutch oven. Add 6 cups water, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer about one hour, or until beans are almost tender. Set aside.

Cook turkey bacon in large frying pan until crisp. Remove bacon from pan. Add onion to skillet and cook over medium heat until soft, about 6 minutes.  Add onion, bacon, and canned tomatoes to beans in Dutch oven. Stir in seasoning packet. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer 30 minutes, or until beans are tender and soup thickens. Remove bay leaf.  Divide soup into 6 bowls. Top each serving with a slice of avocado, a teaspoon of crumbled cheese and cilantro sprig.  

 

 Makes 6 servings (about 1-1/2 cups each).

Nutrition Information per Serving:

279 calories, 7 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 22 mg cholesterol, 10 g dietary fiber, 16 g protein, and 471 mg sodium. One serving of this low cost recipe provides an excellent source of fiber, protein, folate and thiamine and a good source of vitamin C and calcium.

 

Click here to download and print a copy of this recipe.

Be sure to check out these other gifts in a jar, just in time for the holidays.