Posts tagged spinach

Spinach & Tomato Strata – ON THE GRILL

May 28, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , , ,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ingredients:
5 – 6 pieces of tomato basil bread, dry and torn into pieces
8 – 10 fresh spinach, cooked and set aside to cool
8 oz shredded Swiss cheese
4 beaten eggs (we used 2 duck eggs and 2 SMALL chicken eggs)
1 ¾ cup milk
2 – 3 small tomatoes chopped
½ cup sour cream
1 tbsp Dijon style mustard
¼ tsp caraway seeds (crushed)
1/8 tsp pepper

directions:
1. place ½ of the torn bread in a 2 qt baking dish (we used a square baking dish)

2. sauté the spinach until cooked and add in tomatoes – place on a paper towel lined plate to cool and drain
3. in a mixing  bowl (at least a 4 cup capacity) beat your eggs, add in your milk, sour cream, pepper, caraway seeds and onion
4.  place cooled spinach and tomatoes over torn bread in baking dish, top with all of your cheese

5.  top with remaining torn bread
6. pour your egg mixture, over your bread/veggie/cheese in your baking dish
7. chill for 2 – 24 hours
8.  When you are ready cook at 325 for 50 – 55 mins, check for doneness with a knife or toothpick – if it comes out clean TADA it is done!

*We baked our strata on our new ELECTRIC grill, we used a thermometer to check/maintain heat and baked it outside and kept the heat out!!  It worked great… just make sure you have some space between your heating element and your baking dish OR use indirect heat… meaning don’t place the dish right over the heat… bake it on the side without the burner turned on.

**adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook – page 238

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NO FAIL Gnocchi

May 16, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , ,

So I started making this “no-fail gnocchi” that Light & Tasty magazine (Feb/Mar 2007 issue) says will be “stress free” and guarantee “success”… well I did NOT have success.  So here is the recipe:
• Ingredients:
o 2lbs russet potatoes
o Water
o 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
o 1 egg
o ¾ tsp salt
o 5 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

• Directions:
o Boil potatoes until tender, drain and begin cooking potatoes again in the same pot until steam stops coming off them
o Put the potatoes through a ricer or a fine mesh strainer
o Allow to cool a bit and create a well in the potatoes
o Sprinkle flour over potatoes and into the well
o Whisk egg and mix in salt/spinach, then pour into the well
o Mix all the ingredients together until soft dough ball forms, knead 10-12 times to achieve soft dough
o Divide into 4 portions, roll out into rope ~1/2 inch thick
o Cut into ¾” pieces
o Press with a floured fork
o Boil for ~30-60 secs, toss and serve

Let me know how this goes for you!!!

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Eggs in a Nest – adapted from Babara Kingsolver: Animal Vegetable Miracle

May 14, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , , ,

So this evening was split down the middle.  I only made 5 eggs in a nest, and also I used spinach, not swiss chard – and instead of onions I used leeks.  I am not a big fan of brown rice, so for me that is where I found it hard to enjoy the taste… I did add a bit of soy and that helped a bit.  I also immediately began thinking what I can do to improve the dish later to add some more flavor to the rice itself.  S, our oldest, liked the dish.  He added soy sauce as well, but really enjoyed how the eggs were cooked.  He enjoys eggs that “run” and the poached egg fit his fancy.  The good ‘ole hubby J did not like the poached eggs.  He normally eats his eggs one of three ways: fried, scrambled or in an omelet.  So this poaching business was new to him and he would rather not revisit it again.  This is a light meal, depending on how heavy tasting you make your rice… AND it was super easy to do.  Check out the recipe here: http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/recipes-spring-eggs-in-a-nest.htm 

Barbara Kingsolver wrote a good book, and if you have time/effort to read it, give it a go.  I love the book.  My aunt is currently borrowing my copy, but if I had it here again I would turn to it for a gardening resource, cookbook and a good read/laugh! 

Hope you enjoy your eggs in a nest!

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Ricotta & Spinach Calzone

May 10, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , ,


ingredients:
1 pizza dough
10oz fresh spinach, chopped (we forgot to chop ours again, oh well)
8oz ricotta cheese
8oz mozzarella
½ cup spaghetti sauce (or sauce of your choice)
1 small onion, of your choice, chopped
Olive oil
Favorite seasonings (we used pizza seasonings)
1 small egg

what I did:
1. roll out dough into a large circle, large enough to cover your pizza pan
2. mix ricotta, mozzarella and seasonings, set aside
3. sauté onion in olive oil, ~5-10 mins (until they are starting to become translucent)
4. spread the ricotta mixture over half of the circle, ~1” from the edge
5. top with chopped spinach (we put our spinach on raw, we SHOULD have sautéed it first, at least that is my opinion), place onions on top of the spinach and sauce on top of onions
6. fold the pizza over and seal the edges together
7. brush the calzone with a whisked egg and cut some venting slits into it

8. bake @400 for ~20-25mins

**adapted from Fast Weeknight Favorites – page 260

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Spinach & Leek Pizza Rolls

May 10, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , ,

ingredients:
1 pizza dough, divided into 4 equal pieces (balls)
10oz fresh spinach, chopped
8oz ricotta cheese
8oz mozzarella
4oz parmesan
~8-10 tbsp white sauce or spaghetti sauce
2 med/large leeks, sliced
Olive oil
Favorite seasonings (we used pizza seasonings)
1 small egg white, whisked with 1 tbsp water

what I did:
1. roll each pizza ball into individual ~9” pizzas, set aside

2. mix ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and seasonings, set aside
3. sauté leeks in olive oil, ~3 mins, add in half of spinach with a dash of salt and a dash of pepper, continue sautéing for ~3mins, add remaining spinach with more dashes of satl/pepper and finish sautéing ~3 more mins, set aside
4. place ¼ of the ricotta mixture in the center of each 9” pizza

5. top ricotta mixture with ~2tbsp of white sauce or spaghetti sauce, then top with ¼ of spinach mixture from pan

6. roll up (like rolling a burrito) and seal WELL… seal both the seam and the ends, keep it all inside, brush the outter layer with the egg white and top with some parmesan if you’d like
  

7. bake @425 for ~20-25mins

THIS is the reason you want to SEAL WELL!  I am not a great sealer, as you can tell!  :P

**adapted from Great American Home Baking – Main Dish – card 27

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HOMEMADE Herbed Fettuccini

May 8, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , , ,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley
1 tbsp vegetable oil (we used safflower oil, no veggie oil in the house)
1 tsp salt
1 garlic clove, pressed

**we doubled the recipe – so everything up top x2

what I did:
1. place flour in a large mixing bowl
2. whisk eggs, then mix in parsley, oil, salt and garlic
3. create a well in the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture
4. mix well until dough ball forms
5. knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface, till dough firms up
6. let sit covered for 30 mins
7. divide your dough into 4 ~equal balls  
8. roll each ball to a dimension of 12×4 (or as close as you can get it)

9. cut (I found using a pizza cutter worked well for this) into ¼ inch strips and then separate

10. allow noodles to dry for 30 mins or more

11. place in boiling water for ~3 mins, or until desired firmness
12. toss with desired toppings and serve

We tossed our noodles with sautéed leeks, spinach and asparagus, then dusted with fresh parmesan.  We sautéed in mainly olive oil, with a hint of butter… it tasted great with a fresh butter lettuce salad.  It wasn’t too heavy or to light, it was perfect for our 67 degree evening. 

**Pampered Chef: Cooking for two & more – page 11

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Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken

May 7, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , ,

 

ingredients:
4 thinly sliced chicken breasts
~1cup spinach
4oz feta cheese
8 toothpicks

What I did:
1. pat dry and thin out chicken to desired thickness
2. place fresh spinach leaves on chicken, they should stay in place and “stick” to your dry chicken
3. crumble ¾ of your feta on top of the spinach

4. roll chicken up and close with toothpicks, 2/chicken if you are like me and need extra help keeping it all in
5. bake covered @375 for 30 mins, remove cover and top with remaining feta crumbles – bake additional 10 mins
6. serve with your choice of side

**used Fast Weeknight Favorites – page 158 as a guide in this recipe.

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Market Frittata

May 6, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , , , ,

ingredients…
~ 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped (I forgot to chop mine, but no biggie)
~ 1 cup diced (maybe one inch) asparagus
6 eggs, whisked
¼ cup mozzarella
4oz crumbled feta
salt
pepper
1 small tomato, diced
2 small leeks, thinly sliced
~3-4 cloves garlic (or less if you don’t like garlic much), minced, chopped, diced or whatever you prefer – we chopped for this one
olive oil

what I did…
1. heat oven to 425 FIRST – as soon as this frittata is ready it needs to go in
2. whisk eggs, mix in all cheeses
3. boil chopped asparagus for ~3mins drain and set aside
4. in the same pan place oil and leeks/garlic and sauté for ~3mins
5. add in all the spinach and cook for ~2mins, season with salt and pepper as you see fit
6. add in asparagus, cook for ~2 mins
7. toss in tomatoes
8. pour egg mixture over all and allow egg to cook

9. once the edges start to firm up, ~3-4mins put in oven for ~13-15mins… I started with 10, checked with a knife for doneness, then tacked on mins as I saw fit

10. turn upside down, slice and serve

**Fast Weeknight Favorites – page 250 was used as a guide for this recipe

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Sauteed Spinach

May 6, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , ,

Here is the site I used to figure out “how to” sauté spinach: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/emerils-spinach-saute-recipe.htm

 This is what I used:

1 medium leek, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

5oz of fresh spinach

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Soy sauce

Worchester sauce

 This is what I did:

  1. I sautéed the leeks and garlic for ~3mins, then added in ½ the spinach with some salt, pepper
  2. I cooked the first half for a min or two, then added the second half with some more salt and pepper – just a dash
  3. I continued cooking for a min or two
  4. turned the heat off, tossed it in the soy/Worchester sauce and served

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Garden Pizza – OUR way

May 2, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

We started with homemade pizza dough – we used The Essential Baking Cookbook, page 256, to make the dough.  We followed the recipe exactly.  If you’d like the recipe please email us and we’ll forward it.  The reason I am not including it here, is because there are so many dough recipes already I didn’t want to add something basic.  IF and WHEN we alter the recipe or change it, I’ll include those directions.

1 package refrigerated pizza crust (or your own homemade one – we made our own)
½ cup mayo
½ package dried ranch seasoning mix
½ diced red bell pepper
3 small carrots sliced
1/2 onion chopped
½ cup sliced mushrooms
½ cup chopped fresh spinach
1 cup crumbled feta ~4oz
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1. mix your mayo and ranch seasonings
2. roll out pizza dough, brush with olive oil (make sure you get the edges/crust, then spread the mayo mixture on pizza, ½ inch from sides
3. sauté onions for ~3 mins, add in mushrooms, carrots and peppers and continue sautéing for ~5 more mins
4. spread sautéed mixture over the pizza, top with chopped spinach, top with crumbled feta and finish with fresh parmesan
5. bake at 350 for ~30 mins or until desired doneness

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