Dinner Spanakopitas
Posted: March 31, 2009 Filed under: Appetizer, Greek, Meatless, Spinach, Vegetable 11 Comments »This is one of my favorite appetizers. With making them a bit bigger, they make for a great, healthy, meatless dinner. I paired them with a nice lighter mixed greens salad and some seasonal fruit and the meal was complete. Make them smaller and they are great appetizers for your next party.
I found this from Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics by Ina Garten, through Annie’s Eats.
This makes six large ones or 12 smaller sized ones.
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
1 (10-oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup small-crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp. toasted pine nuts, chopped
12 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan, add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the green onions and cook for another 2 minutes until they are wilted but still green. Meanwhile, add the thawed and drained spinach to a large mixing bowl. When the onions are done, add them to the bowl. Mix in the eggs, Parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 tablespoons bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Gently fold in the feta and the pine nuts.
Place one sheet of phyllo dough flat on a work surface. Brush the dough lightly with butter. Working quickly, place another sheet of phyllo on top of the first, and brush it lightly with butter. Continue this process until you have a stack of 4 sheets of phyllo. Cut the stack of phyllo in half lengthwise (I found a pizza cutter useful for this step). Place 1/3 cup of the spinach filling on the shorter end and roll the phyllo up diagonally as if folding a flag. Then fold the triangle of phyllo over straight and then diagonally again. Continue folding the first diagonally and then straight until you reach the end of the sheet. The filling should be totally enclosed. Continue assembling phyllo layers and folding the filling until all of the filling is used. Place on a sheet pan, seam sides down. Brush the tops with melted butter, sprinkle with flaked salt (I used kosher) and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the phyllo is browned and crisp. Serve hot.
Gnocchi di Ricotta
Posted: March 30, 2009 Filed under: Cheese, Italian, Pasta 7 Comments »I love gnocchi. But have never found a recipe that is quite like what you find at good Italian restaurants. So, when I stumbled upon this recipe on the Italian Chef Recipe Site, it sounded great and I decided I would give gnocchi making another shot! I found this recipe to come together easily and have great deep flavor and just what you get in good Italian Restaurants. Great cheese flavor, great “pillows” of goodness and a great marinara sauce! (I used Classico Cabernet Marinara. Normally I would make mine own, but I wanted to focus on the gnocchi instead.)
Serves 6.
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups of flour
2 eggs
1.5 pound of ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese plus extra for sprinkling
pinch of salt & pepper
1 teaspoon of olive oil
4 cups marinara sauce
Directions:
Place 3 cups of the flour in a large bowl. Lightly beat the eggs with a fork then add them to the flour along with the ricotta, 1/2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper. Mix ingredients together to form a dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured working surface and knead lightly for 2 to 3 more minutes, gradually adding remaining flour if the dough sticks to the board or your hands. The dough is ready when it no longer sticks but is still somewhat tacky to the touch and soft.
Divide the dough into four pieces and roll into balls. Using both hands, roll out each ball of dough into a log about the width of your index finger. Cut each log into 1/2 inch pieces.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a teaspoon of olive oil oil and the gnocchi.
Cook uncovered over high heat until the gnocchi rise to the surface of the water, about 2 to 3 minutes. While the gnocchi are cooking heat the marinara in a large saute pan over medium heat.
Remove the gnocchi from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer to the saute pan with the marinara sauce.
Toss gnocchi in sauce until coated, then transfer to a casserole dish sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to taste. Bake in oven for 10 minutes and serve.
Garlicky Green beans
Posted: March 29, 2009 Filed under: Bean, Light and healthy, Low Carb, Quick, Side dish, Vegetable 2 Comments »A quick, healthy, and easy side dish for any night of the week. I found a similar recipe from Martha Stewart, but I adapted it for us.
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
6 oz fresh green beans ends snapped off…per person
evoo for pan
salt and pepper
garlic thinly sliced
Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Once boiling, add green beans and boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain.
While water is boiling, heat evoo in pan. Once warm add garlic slices and saute for 30 seconds. Add drained beans and saute 2-4 minutes. Serve very warm.
Flaky Dinner Rolls
Posted: March 29, 2009 Filed under: Breads, Light and healthy, Side dish 6 Comments »Perfect dinner rolls for any meal. I wanted something close to crescent rolls and found this recipe from Cooking Light to be just what I wanted. They were easy to put together, even with several steps and were flaky, butter, and soft. Check out Cooking Light for more wonderful recipes that wont hurt your waistline!!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm fat-free milk (100° to 110°)
3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces), divided
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, softened
Cooking spray
Directions:
Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm milk in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 3/4 cups flour and salt to yeast mixture; stir until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth (about 5 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky). Cover dough with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Roll dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle on a lightly floured baking sheet. Gently spread butter over dough. Working with a long side, fold up bottom third of dough. Fold top third of dough over the first fold to form a 12 x 3-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap; place in freezer for 10 minutes.
Remove dough from freezer; remove plastic wrap. Roll dough, still on baking sheet (sprinkle on a little more flour, if needed), into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle. Working with a long side, fold up bottom third of dough. Fold top third of dough over the first fold to form a 12 x 3-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap; place in freezer for 10 minutes.
Remove dough from freezer; remove plastic wrap. Roll dough, still on baking sheet, into a 12 x 8-inch rectangle. Beginning with a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll fashion; pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends of roll). Cut roll into 12 equal slices. Place slices, cut sides up, in muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat tops of dough slices with cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Bake dough at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan, and cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve rolls warm.
Cake Pops dressed up for spring/Easter
Posted: March 28, 2009 Filed under: Cakes/Cupcakes, Candy, Chocolate, Dessert, Holiday Recipe 22 Comments »I have seen these cake pops on Bakerella’s Site for a while now. She makes them in all kinds of ways and I have been dying to make them. Well I never found the time or need to until now. Once I saw these fabulous, super cute chick pops, I knew the time had come. Here is the directions for cake pops (decorate them anyway you want..pumpkins, ornaments, flowers, ghosts, etc..) and here is the recipe for making chicks.
These are time consuming, but if taken in steps they are worth the effort!!
ENJOY and HAPPY SPRING/EASTER!
Cake pop directions: CHICKS BELOW
1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can frosting (16 oz.)
Wax paper
candy melts
Lollipop sticks
Edible ink pens
sugars to decorate with
Directions for basic cake pops: chicks are below
After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl. Mix thoroughly with 1 can frosting. (I use the back of a large spoon, but it may be easier to use fingers to mix together. But, be warned, it will get messy. Also, you may not need the entire can of frosting, so start out by using almost the entire can and add more if you need to.)
Roll mixture into quarter size balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50)
Melt chocolate in the microwave per directions on package. (30 sec intervals, stirring in between.)
Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in a little of the melted candy coating and insert into the cake balls. (Insert a little less than halfway.)
Place them in the freezer for a little while to firm up.
Once firm, carefully insert the cake ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered. Once covered remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Don’t tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off, too.
Place in a styrofoam block to dry.
Once dry, draw faces/decor with an edible ink pen/decorative sugars/candies and allow ink to dry!
Chick pops:
yellow cake mix
white frosting
decorative writing pens
decoative candies for feet and wings
Once the round yellow candy covered cake pops are dry use a toothpick to dip into the melted candy coating. Dab a little dot of the coating where you want the beak to go. Then, just take one of the orange rainbow chips and attach it to the pop. It works like glue.
For the feet and wings, use the same technique to glue on the other sprinkle shapes.
Use the edible ink pen to draw the eyes.
Three Cheese Mini Macs
Posted: March 26, 2009 Filed under: Appetizer, Cheese, Mac and Cheese, Pasta, Quick 6 Comments »A great appetizer or side dish to any dinner/lunch. I did make ours in muffin tins instead of mini muffin tins as I wanted this as the main entree for our dinner tonight. I also cut the recipe in half for the two of us and have just a bit of leftovers for meatless Friday (LENT!!). I found this fabulous recipe from Food and Wine. The mix of cheeses and smaller portions are OMG so good. I am normally a “blue box” girl and have never really liked homemade Mac and Cheese. I know, I know crazy, but I just love the blue box. But after having this recipe, I dont think I will fall for the blue box anymore. Plus these were easy to make up ahead of time, thru step 4 and bake whenever we were ready for dinner. Nothing is better than a quick, comforting meal anytime.
Plus the mini size is perfect as an appetizer. They go great with chicken fingers, veggie trays, and fruit trays. A perfectly well rounded appetizer table!
And apparently mine fell apart once they were out of the muffin pan. Maybe the mini ones hold up better?? LOL!
ENJOY!
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for brushing
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 packed cup)
4 ounces deli-sliced American cheese, chopped
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, shaking off the excess water.
Brush four 12-cup, nonstick mini muffin tins with butter. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the Parmigiano; tap out the excess.
In a large saucepan, melt the 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking, until boiling, about 5 minutes. Add the cheddar and American cheeses and whisk until melted. Off the heat, whisk in the egg yolk and paprika. Fold in the macaroni.
Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of the macaroni into the prepared muffin cups, packing them gently. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmigiano on top.
Bake the mini macs in the upper and middle thirds of the oven for about 10 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Let cool for 5 minutes. Using a small spoon, carefully loosen the mini macs, transfer to a platter and serve.
Soft Pretzels with dipping cheese sauce
Posted: March 25, 2009 Filed under: Appetizer, Breads, Cheese, Fondue 2 Comments »For our snack this week I wanted to make something different.I have been meaning to make soft pretzels and decided this was a great time to do it especially since I had extra cheese on hand and could make a great dipping sauce. I found this recipe from Strotthotte online and they were simple and delicious. I dipped them in a great cheese sauce listed below!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
For 3 dozen 6-inch sticks or
For 1 dozen 6-inch Pretzels
1 tbsp Yeast
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
2 tbsp softened butter or softened margarine
1 cup warm (115-+ deg F) water
2 3/4 cups flourCoarse Salt to sprinkle on Pretzels before baking
5 tsp baking soda mixed in 4 cups water in a non-aluminum saucepan.
1 large slotted spoon to “go fishing”
Greased cookie sheet
Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 F
Put yeast, sugar, salt, butter/marg, water and ONE CUP of the flour into a medium mixing bowl and pour in the water. Stir till all smooth, and yeast starts to bubble. At this point add the rest of the flour, stir till it is mixed in. When mixture is too stiff to stir with a spoon, begin kneading. Knead dough till smooth and till it no longer sticks to the bowl and your hands. Allow dough to rise to about double its height.
While dough is rising, grease the cookie sheet. and prepare the baking soda-water mixture and bring to a boil on stove. When dough is risen enough, punch down, knead for a minute or so, then divide and roll the 6-inch sticks with your hands, to about 1/2 inch in diameter, or 12-15-inch long rolls to make into the pretzel shape. Allow sticks or pretzels to sit for about 1-2 mins.
Place them into boiling water-baking soda mixture one or two at a time. Let the pretzels boil for 1 minute 10 seconds, then flip them over with the slotted spoon and boil on the other side for 1 minute and 10 seconds. This boiling step gives them a firm skin and adds some flavour. Not boiling long enough leaves them too soft and allows them to rise too much. Boiling too long makes them tough. Fish them out of the water, let them drip off and place them on the greased cookie sheet. When all the pretzels or sticks are done, sprinkle the coarse salt on them. Bake for 12-15 minutes or till sticks or pretzels are golden brown.
Cheese Sauce: I don’t know where I got this recipe. If it is yours, please let me know and I will cite you!
1 cup grated cheese
1 tbsp flour (thickener)
1tbsp milk
4 oz cream cheese
a dash of garlic powder and cayenne pepper
Directions:
Take the grated cheeses and put into a bowl. Stir in milk and flour (add more as needed). Then heat in the microwave until cheese has melted or until hot. You should try doing it in minimal parts so as not to over heat. Serve warm or cold as a spread.
Orange Glazed Chicken
Posted: March 25, 2009 Filed under: Chicken, Quick Leave a comment »A very easy recipe from Martha Stewart. The marmalade was just enough to give the chicken legs wonderful flavor and paired well with steamed veggies and potatoes.
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
4-8 chicken legs
3/4 cup orange marmalade
s and p to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 475. Season chicken legs on a roasting pan with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 mins. Glaze legs with marmalade and roast another 15 mins, re-glazing every few minutes with remaining marmalade, rotating legs as you do. Serve very warm.
Lime Chicken Tacos
Posted: March 24, 2009 Filed under: Chicken, Crock Pot, Light and healthy, Low Carb, Mexican 5 Comments »A great crock pot recipe that is light, healthy, and easy to put together. This recipe utilizes ingredients many of us have on hand so throwing this together before you head out to work is easy. I did use frozen chicken breast and they worked just fine. No need to defrost the breasts before putting in. I liked the lighter, less salty, less greasy Mexican taste and they were perfect paired with rice and chips and salsa. We put ours over low carb tortillas and it was a perfect meal!
I found this recipe on, Taste of Home webiste. Check it out for more delicious meals!
I also used a Pyrex dish as in insert to my crock pot to keep it from cooking too fast with a smaller portion. To cook for just the two of us, I find my 6 qt crock pot to cook too fast with less it in. I found this suggestion and it worked out PERFECTLY!
Pyrex inside crock pot for smaller portions
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup chunky salsa
12 flour tortillas (6 inches), warmed
Sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and shredded lettuce, optional
Directions:
Place the chicken in a 3-qt. slow cooker. Combine lime juice and chili powder; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender.
Remove chicken; cool slightly. Shred and return to the slow cooker. Stir in corn and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve in tortillas with sour cream, cheese and lettuce if desired.
Makes: 12 tacos.
Whole Wheat Sandwich Rolls
Posted: March 24, 2009 Filed under: Random Thoughts about cooking 2 Comments »I wanted to change up our bread for the week. I found this recipe on Rose’s Recipes and found this recipe to come together very easily and it rose very well. I was happy with the results and they were great with our lunches! They were soft, fluffy, and flavorful. These are a perfect addition to our lunches and will now make it into our bread rotation more often!
ENJOY!
Yield: 16 rolls
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 T active dry yeast (1 1/2 packages)–use a little less with instant yeast
2 T brown sugar
3/4 cup warm milk
4 T butter, melted
1 T salt
2 T raw sesame seeds
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
4 -4 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour or bread flour
Directions:
Pour the water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of brown sugar over the surface of the water. Stir to combine and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 min.
In a large bowl, using a whisk, combine the milk, butter, brown sugar, salt, seeds, and whole-wheat flour.
Beat hard until smooth, about 3 min.
Add yeast mixture and the unbleached flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 5 min., dusting with flour only as needed, to make a smooth, soft, slightly sticky dough.
Place the dough in a greased deep bowl. and cover the plastic wrap.
Let rise until doubled in bulk, 45 min. to 1 hour.
Gently deflate the dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
Grease or parchment-line 2 baking sheets.
Divide the dough into 16 equal portions and shape each into an oblong oval.
Place the rolls 2 inches apart on the baking sheet, cover, and let rest until puffy and almost double, about 30 minutes.
Brush with the egg glaze.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bake rolls for 20-25 min. or until lightly browned.
Egg glaze: 1 large egg mixed with 1 T milk
