Tag Archives: spinach

Store Bought Savior

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This is for the people like my sister that never really want to cook food and are 100% ok with just “preparing food”. Luckily, this quick and yummy week night fix requires no actual cooking. Simply assemble and bake. I got the idea from an appetizer at one of my favorite fusion Indian spots. Hope you guys dig it as much as I do. It’s ridiculous easy and tasty, what’s not to love about Naan Pizza.

  • Store bought naan (I buy the Trader Joe’s garlic naan, but plain or onion naan works)
  • Store bought tikka masala curry (Again the TJ stuff is great)
  • Spinach salad packet (I mean ‘cuz your not actually gunna make salad out of it, are you?)
  • Fresh mozzarella (Any cheese would work really)
  • Rotisserie chicken (or if you wanna make it veggie friendly try eggplant slices or mushrooms)

Smear a tablespoon or two (depends on how saucy you want your “pizza” to be, I do 2 myself) on to the slice of naan then take a fistful of spinach and layer on with the cheese and shredded chicken. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees or until the cheese melts and everything is warmed through. You can cut up and serve as an appetizer or have it as dinner with wine at about a naan piece per person. Package has four naan pieces usually and that’s generally enough for the chicken, spinach, curry, and cheese to cover.

Happy Eating, XO.

Soup obsession continues…

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For all you haters who think soup isn’t a meal, wait till you try this one. It’s so filling I can guarantee you wont need anything else! There is a starch, a protein, some veggies, etc. Its a meal in a bowl so save your judgments for something else.

Yo on a real tip- grab a big soup pot/pan! Ideally, like a dutch oven type cookware move. Don’t pull a me and start in something too small for all the ingredients and have to transfer to a bigger item half way through. Its going to mess up your whole soup making mojo. Trust me.

  • Chop a medium to large yellow onion into small pieces
  • 3 tbsp. of minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp. of grated parmesan cheese
  • 4 tbsp. of light cream
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 box of low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 package of uncooked, raw, store bought cheese tortellini
  • 1 bag of kale
  • 1/2 bag of spinach
  • 1 package (about 1-1.5 lbs.) of spicy Italian chicken sausage (remove meat from casing and create mini meatballs so they can cook evenly in the broth).

Anyway, once you have figured out your cooking vessel, sweat the onions and garlic with salt, pepper and some olive oil for about 10-15 min on high heat. Add the can of diced tomatoes (whole can, with liquid) and the chicken broth. Once the liquids are brought to a boil, reduce heat and add cheese & cream while stirring add in “meatballs”. Raise heat back to high to bring liquids to a boil again and add the greens. Simmer for 10-15 min (greens will be wilted and meat will be cooked) before adding the tortellini, let that cook for 5-7 min (once they rise to the top of the soup, cut the heat & serve).

Total cook time should be about 45 min, prep is very short max 5 min.You will have multiple meals out of this recipe so its worth the time.

Happy Eating, XO.

Breakfast bites

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As many of you know by now from this breakfast recipe, we’re not really morning people. We want the easiest, “throw-it-together” breakfasts. You can only have cereal so many mornings in a row. So what’s easier than mixing a couple ingredients and throwing it in the oven? I whipped up these puppies on a Sunday morning and was able to put them in the fridge and freezer for later in the week. They’re damn delish and travel easy.

*Makes 6 muffins

  •  6 eggs
  • 1/2 cup chopped spinach
  • 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup chopped onions
  • 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tbsps milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin or use muffin cups. Mix all of the ingredients together and pour in to the tin. Cook for 20 minutes until the tops are slightly browned.

 

Breakfast bites

 

Happy Eating, XO.

Rolling with My Homies

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So as per usual, I was hung-over & laying on the couch watching the Food Network channel. Much to my dismay though the show on the screen was making something much too difficult for anything I’d want to replicate. So I took the basic premise of the dish they were constructing and watered it down to the point that the home cook can make it (i.e. I tossed out the whole section about making your own fresh pasta dough, I mean please, if I could do all that I wouldn’t need to dine out. I don’t have the time nor the energy to get down like that). Anyway, I liked the concept of the dish and was craving some home cooking, good ole Italian food. Some prefer some southern comfort food, but pasta or anything Italian is the way to get me feeling all cozy & loved. So when I was finally hydrated and rid of the shakes from a super fun weekend with my homies- I got rolling in the kitchen. (ha get it, rolling because its a rollatini recipe!) Hope you guys enjoy & if you have any suggestions or spins of your own, please do comment below!

  • 3 oz. Prosciutto de Parma (thinly sliced, finely chopped)
  • 1 box of Lasagana Sheets (I think you could even use manicotti tubes & stuff those, but I guess that takes away the “rolling”/”rollatini” fun?!)
  • 1/2 cup Whole milk ricotta
  • freshly grated parmesan (I just grabbed a lil chuck of the reggiano from Whole Foods, try to avoid the pre grated stuff if you can)
  • 1 tsp. of crushed garlic
  • a pinch of black pepper and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  • 12 oz. frozen spinach (completely thawed & drained of excess water, this is imperative so don’t rush past this step)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp. of butter

Boil the pasta just al dente. You want the lasagna sheet to be ply-able, but not so over cooked it tears when rolling. I’d say about 10-15 minutes in salted water. While the pasta boils: combine the egg, dried/thawed spinach, garlic, seasoning, cheeses, & prosciutto. Lay out the pasta sheets and pat them dry. Layer the mixture of the other ingredients like you would for a lasagna, but then roll the pasta up (don’t make too thick of a layer the stuffing will spill when rolling, also it helps to leave a little margin at both ends so that you have a seal to create when all rolled up). Flip it so its standing upwards in the pan, not laying down (See photos below). Repeat with all sheets. When the pan is filled, brush the tops with the butter and grate some more cheese on top. Stick in the broiler at xxx degrees & cook for xxx minutes while keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. Serve warm with marinara sauce.

photo

Happy Eating, XO.

Pear Salad

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So all my lamenting about it feeling more like fall & winter than Spring finally paid off! This was the first time we had nice weather and it lasted all weekend long! I mean we had to turn on the AC that’s how nice it was! Having said that, its time to eat lighter and more spring like now. So below is my quick and easy salad. I served it with the are you too chicken last night. Yum-o!

  • 2 Bartlett pears (fairly ripe)
  • 1/2 of a medium yellow onion (Vidalia works, but so does a Spanish onion)
  • 1 bag of the Sorrento Salad Mix from Trader Joes (it just has arugula, baby spinach, and lettuce in it. I also throw in a fist full of shredded raddicho just because I had some in the fridge and I like the purple color).
  • 1 cup of sesame sticks (photo below & also bought from Trader Joes-sorry that’s where I grocery shop, but I will say most stores will have them in nuts & snacks aisle, look near trail mixes)
  • 1/4 cup of champagne pear vinaigrette with gorgonzola from Trader Joe’s (I know homemade dressing is better, but I was hung over so I did a short cut, big deal, its yummy nonetheless).
  • Optional is to add some crumbled gorgonzola on the top but I was trying to keep it light so I left out, the vinaigrette is creamy and silky enough you shouldn’t miss the added cheese.

Slice the pears in long, Julienne strips. Do the same for the onions and toss with the sesame sticks, salad packet and dressing. Serve immediately and a good tip is to make sure the pears and onions are cold from the fridge when serving, I don’t know what it is about a cold salad on a warm afternoon! Oh and the peppery arugula coupled with the sweet pear and the sharp onion and crunchy sesame sticks is the perfect combo of different taste bud pleasers we try to achieve in all of our sultry salads 🙂

photo

Happy Eating, XO.