Spinach Torellini Bake

So I read about this yummy Tortellini Bake on Our Best Bites.  I do enjoy their blogs.  I'm not sure if its because the food is normal, its simple, or because its Kate and Sara blogging.  Either way, cheese, pasta, bacon, spinach:  sold.  I had been planning to make this since reading the recipe.  My original intent was to veggie it up with some asparagus I had in the fridge, but it was used in another manner.  I wound up pretty much following the recipe as it published, although i didn't really measure much - just the roux ingredients.  I still like the idea of throwing more veggies in there.  Serious win.  Definitely a re-do.  I could see prepping this the night before and just popping it in the oven when getting home from work for a quick and easy weeknight meal.  Looking forward to leftovers for lunch.

Ingredients
4-6 pieces of bacon,
1 bag spinach and cheese tortellini (12 oz)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbl flour
1 tbl olive oil
2 cups fat free milk
roughly chopped spinach -- about two handfuls
about 1.5 cups cheese -- mozzarella and parmesan mixed.
1 lemon
basil, pepper, salt to taste

Methods
1. I started off frying the bacon at a nice heat to make some tasty crumblies.  Meanwhile the pasta was cooking and the oven preheating.

 

2. After removing the bacon from the pan i wiped up most of the bacon grease and cooked the garlic for a minute or two in the leftover drippings in the bacon pan.  I used the leftover bacon grease and flour to make a roux.  (I actually took out too much grease, hence the added olive oil).  After adding milk, lemon juice, basil, salt, and pepper the sauce simmered until thickened slightly.

3. Meanwhile, with the oven preheating to 350F, I mixed the cooked pasta, chopped spinach, crumbly bacon, and cheese up in my pasta stockpot.  Finish by tossing and coating with the sauce and transferring to a baking dish.  I reserved a little cheese and bacon and threw them on the top before baking for about 25 minutes.  it was awesome, as shown below.

 T

Veggie Pizza

 Ingredients
1 tube frozen pizza dough
olive/canola oil/spray
~1.5 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
tomatoes
spinach
mushrooms
balsamic vinegar
italian seasonings

Method
First I preheated the oven according to the directions on the pizza dough.  I spread the dough out on a baking sheet that was prepared with a little bit of oil.  I added a light sprinkling of the shredded cheese and baked for 7 minutes.

 


Meanwhile, I chopped up two tomatoes, sliced half a package of mushrooms, and grabbed a couple of handfuls of spinach. I tossed these with a little bit of balsamic vinegar.  Take the vegetable mix and top the pizza with the veggies and sprinkle with italian seasonings.  Bake for 7-10 minutes longer until the crust is baked and the veggies are heated up.  Slice and enjoy!

Verdict
Win.  Pizza is one of my favorite foods in the world.  This was a semi healthy version of it.  It makes me happy :)

Green Pasta

Ingredients
2 cups spinach
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup basil
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup Parmesan/Romano cheese mix
1/4 cup water
2 tbl olive oil
3/4 box angel hair
1 bag petite peas

Methods
Mix the spinach, parsley, basil, garlic, cheese, water, and oil in the food processor and blend!  Meanwhile cook the angel hair.  During the last few minutes of cooking the pasta throw in the peas and cook.  Mix it all and have at it!

Verdict
Excellent.  I enjoyed adding the spinach to the pesto.  It was nice and different.  I also enjoyed it.  I stole the idea from my favorite Kashi meal - adding peas to a pesto pasta.  Win.  it was super appropriate for St. Patricks lunch :)

Italian Wedding Soup

Based on The Barefoot Contessa's Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients
1.25 lb Ground turkey
2/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup Paremsan/romano blend
Olive oil
Carrots, coarsely chopped
Celery, coarsely chopped
Chicken stock
1 cup,small pasta
2-3 handfuls baby spinach chopped


Methods
First was the meatballs -- I mixed the turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, and cheese.  I formed a ton of mini meatballs -- they were still a little too large.  They baked in the oven for about 30 to 35 minutes at 350F. 

Meanwhile, I chopped the carrots and celery and sauteed them in the olive oil in the bottom of my stockpot.  once it was cleared up I added chicken stock and brought it to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook to al dente.  Add the meatballas and spinach.  Cook for 1-2 min to wilt the spinach and let the meat balls soak up some goodness.

Verdict
I made this a few weeks ago, so I think this was everything i put into it... but i'm not sure I left out onions/garlic since I was planning to share with david.. then I ate it all for myself.  ooops.  The meatballs were a bit large, and I would have liked more broth.  Otherwise it was repeatable for sure!!!! Yum!! 

Fall Salad

I celebrated October with a simple fall salad the other night.  It totally hit the spot.  nothing new, nothing major, but exactly what the season ordered. Have I told you about my love affair with goats cheese.  because i love goats cheese and fruit!

- baby spinach and leaf lettuce mix
- 1 apple, chopped
- 1 pear, chopped
- handful dried cranberries
- goats cheese
- strawberry balsamic dressing

I mixed the lettuce and fruits and topped with crumbled cheese before adding dressing, tossing and enjoying.  

024 -- Spanakopizza

The weekends are pizza time at my house. It harks back to childhood and growing up in Chicago. I had some feta cheese left over from last week's lentils, so I decided I wanted to do something with them. I had been reading some recipes on the web and decided to make a Greek spanakopita inspired pizza. MMMM pizza and spanakopita -- a combination that can't go wrong, right? I feel so Rachel Ray in naming my dish :)

Materials
Olive oil spray
1 Can refrigerator pizza dough
3 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Green pepper, chopped
1/4-1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Spinach
Feta cheese
Oregano
Dill
Salt
Pepper
1 Lemon


Methods
First, spray the surface of a baking sheet with olive oil. Roll out the pizza dough to the desired thickness and spray the surface with olive oil again. Bake at 400 (or temperature on can) for about 7 minutes.


Pull the pizza out of the oven and start topping. I put the minced garlic down first, followed by peppers and onions. The spinach took the place as the top veggie. Spread the feta over the spinach. Top with dill, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. Finally, sprinkle with lemon juice.

Bake for about 8 minutes longer and enjoy!

Verdict

Winner! This was excellent, definitely one to enjoy again. I adore dill and feta, making this a yummy combo! Plus it was pretty darn healthy. I thought that the lemon brought out the dill and oregano and made it pretty darn tasty!! Warning, since there isn't a lot of cheese (its really more of a flatbread...) the toppings like to slide here there and everywhere.

020 -- Southwest Veggie Eggrolls

While scouring the food blogs I ran across this recipe at Ezra Pound Cake. It spoke to me and I've been thinking about it ever since I read this recipe. After a great day of springtime fun it was definitely what the doctor ordered -- and at 2 WW points per eggroll it isn't too shabby on the health side. Taste-wise this was absolutely A-Ma-Zing! Plus it was good and filling. I would serve with greek yogurt or some guacamole if I had one of them on hand.

Materials
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
10 oz package chopped spinach, thawed and dried
1 1/2 cup colby jack or mexican cheese
4 oz can of diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
dash cayenne pepper
20 eggroll wrappers

Methods
Combine everything except the eggrolls and mix well.


Place about 1/4 cup of mixture on top of an eggroll wrapper.

Wrap eggrolll up. Roll one corner towards center. Continue rolling and fold sides over center. Wet final corner and roll up to seal. This recipe should make about 20 eggrolls in this manner.

Spray baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. Place eggrolls seam-side down on baking sheet. Spray top of eggrolls with vegetable oil spray. Bake for about 15 minutes at 425 F, until crispy and brown. Turn eggrolls once during cooking.

Serve and ENJOY!

Recipe 18: Spinach and white bean soup

I needed a quick, easy meal the other day, so i turned to my old favorite, soup :) This was a sort of quickie take on traditional pasta e fagioli.

Materials
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 box whole wheat pasta
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
28 oz can diced tomatoes
fresh baby spinach
salt, pepper, and your favorite italian herbs to taste

Methods
Cook pasta according to box. Combine stock, cooked pasta, beans, and tomatoes in large stockpot. Bring to boil and allow to simmer for a few moments until beans and tomatoes are cooked through. Stir baby spinach into soup and allow to wilt. Season as desired and serve.

Verdict
This was ok. I didn't add enough of my favorite hers and spices (i used a tuscan herb mix i had on hand), so it was a little bit bland. However, it was certainly filling between the beans and whole wheat pasta.

Recipe 8: Falafel Pitas with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

I didn't get my traditional Lebanese meal while in DC earlier this month, so I decided to try my hand at some semi-healthy falafel. This is based on a recipe published in Cooking Light. (Thanks for reminding me how I like that magazine MB!).

Materials

~ 1/4 cup minced red onion

~ 1 tsp ground cumin

~ 1/2 tsp paprika

~ 1/4 tsp black pepper

~ 1/8 tsp salt

~ 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained

~ 1/4 cup bread crumbs

~ egg substitute equivalent to about 2 eggs

~ olive oil

~ wheat pitas

~ spinach

~ cucumber

~ 1/4 cup red onion

~ 1 tsp lemon juice

Methods

1/ Mix first 9 ingredients in food processor and process. Form into four patties. Heat about 1.5 tbl of oil to medium-high in a nonstick pan. Pan fry four about 4 minutes per side.

2/ Meanwhile mix chopped, peeled cucumber, 1/4 cup minced red onion, yogurt, and lemon juice in a small bowl.

3/Combine sauce, falafel patty, and spinach in 1/2 of a pita pocket.

Veridict

This turned out OK, but was nothing to write home about. I felt like it was a little bland. I also think that I over processed it to the point that the beans were too broken down. I would recommend not overprocessing and using torn bread instead of breadcrumbs. However, I probably won't make this again but will rather try a similar recipe in the hopes of finding a super yummy falafel for at home.

I ate the falafel with spinach and tomatoes with some of the extra cucumber yogurt sauce. The yogurt sauce is similar to one that I often make for with my salmon. I brought a little something filling with my roasted greek potatoes - just potatoes, canola oil, lemon, and oregano. The sides were more yummy than the falafel -- that says it all.