Money Matters: Spanish Potato and Spinach Tortilla with Red Pepper Sauce

I had a lot of trouble sleeping Wednesday night….I was nervous to speak about my blog to a group of dietitians yesterday. I was glad to hear the group would only be about 20…but I was still incredibly nervous.

Nicole, you used to lecture to college students for hours on end, multiple times a week…you got this.

It was fine, the presentation went great. As it ends up, I am the expert on the topic of MY blog (duh).

People asked great questions and I even got to meet Emilie, a reader of my blog — so neat! Hi Emilie!

When I was done with my presentation, I asked if anyone was considering starting a blog and I was THRILLED to see several hands go up. Some women even stayed afterwards to run their ideas past me and swap contact information for future endeavors, blogging and nutrition-related.

Networking is powerful stuff and I am always up for widening my pool of colleagues within the field.

During my presentation, I had one particular slide that received quite a few head nods of approval and agreement. The head nodding was most noticeable when I mentioned my “Money Matters” series and the fact that one of the goals I have for my blog is to help people understand that eating well doesn’t have to be expensive.

This recipe is kind on the pocket book and perfectly timed after yesterday. It doesn’t get more economical (or healthy!) than this meal!

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Spanish Potato and Spinach Tortilla with Red Pepper Sauce slightly adapted from Cooking Light

1/2 cup (3 oz) bottled roasted red bell peppers, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp (1/4 oz) dry-roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
8 oz red potatoes (about 2 medium), cut into (1/8-inch-thick) slices
1 cup water
2 Tbsp half-and-half
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 large eggs
2 large egg whites
3 cups baby spinach leaves

Directions:

Preheat broiler to high.

Combine bell peppers, almonds, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, red pepper, and garlic in a food processor; pulse until smooth. Set aside.

Combine the potatoes and 1 cup water in a skillet over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 4 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Drain.

Combine half-and-half, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper, eggs, and egg whites in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Heat a 12-inch ovenproof or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add potatoes to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until browned. Add spinach; sauté for 1 minute or until spinach wilts. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add egg mixture to pan; cover and cook for 4 minutes, gently shaking pan occasionally. Broil tortilla 4 minutes or until top is lightly browned and center is set. Cool slightly; serve with red pepper sauce.

Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition Information (per serving): 187 calories; 12.5 g. fat; 248 mg. cholesterol; 374 mg. sodium; 8.2 g. carbohydrate; 1.3 g. fiber; 11 g. protein

Result: I don’t know why this is called a tortilla…I would call it a frittata…but, whatever! The end result was good and Mr. Prevention-approved. I don’t think the egg “tortilla” itself had the wow-factor, but the Red Pepper Sauce was delicious — I love the addition of almonds and I actually knocked the garlic back just a bit. Because the garlic is raw, it is very strong, and I would’ve preferred it be more mild. This was quick, easy, would use up leftover potatoes perfectly, and can double as breakfast or dinner. Enjoy!

Money Matters: The roasted red peppers were on sale for $2/jar (I used about half). Eggs are ~$1.50/dozen ($0.13 each — $1.25). Spinach from CostCo was $7 for 2.2 pounds ($0.20/oz — $.50). Potatoes ($0.59/lb) came to $0.30 for 8 ounces and almonds ($7/lb) totaled $0.44/ounce and $0.11 per tablespoon. The remaining ingredients, including the olive oil, total ~$0.60. The total cost of the recipe comes to $3.76 and $0.63 per serving.

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 TGIF! Work, holiday party #2 for work, and grabbing a drink with a coworker! 🙂 Happy weekend!

Be well,