Frittata!

Well, I've made this recipe twice in the past three days, and we've eaten it at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  So it's versatile.  And even my kids loved it, which always means I'm going to be adding the meal to our regular rotation!  Therefore, I figured I ought to share it with you!

Spinach and Potato Frittata
2 T olive oil
6 small red potatoes, sliced
1 c torn fresh spinach
2 T sliced green onions
1 t minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
6 eggs
1/3 c milk
1/2 c shredded cheese of your choice

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Place potatoes in the skillet, cover and cook about 10 minutes until tender but firm.  Mix in spinach, onions, and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Continue cooking 1-2 minutes, until spinach is wilted.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and milk.  Pour into the skillet over the vegetables.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 5-7 minutes or until eggs are firm.

Notes: I think this would cook better in a non-stick skillet. I think egg dishes always cook better in those.  It always took longer than 7 minutes for my eggs to finish cooking, but keep your eye on it because I did overcook them once and that's never good.  You can substitute rice milk or not use any milk at all; it will still work.  Also, this is a really yummy dish - good for breakfast, lunch or dinner!!

More New Recipes

Here are two more delicious recipes.  They are also my variations of recipes found in the All Recipes cookbook (which is based on the website).  These are both really fabulous, easy meatless meals.

Spinach & Tortellini Salad
1 (9 oz) pkg cheese-filled tortellini
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
1 c Parmesan cheese
6 c cherry tomatoes, halved
bottled Italian dressing
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta according to pkg directions.  Rinse under cold water and drain.
2. Combine tortellini, spinach, cheese, and tomatoes in a large bowl.  Add enough Italian dressing to coat.  Toss and season with salt and pepper.

Linguine with Broccoli and Red Peppers
1 (16 oz) pkg linguine
1 lb (or so) fresh broccoli, chopped
3 T olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
a pinch of garlic salt
Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to pkg directions.  Drain.
2. Steam broccoli on stove top in covered pan for 10-15 minutes, until desired tenderness.
3. Heat oil in saucepan over low-medium heat and sauté garlic and peppers.
4. Drain broccoli and add to skillet. Sprinkle lightly with garlic salt and sauté until peppers and broccoli are soft.
5. Serve over hot pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Spinach-Cheese Swirls

I'm not going to type this recipe out because it's already in cyber space, right here, but I did want to point them out to you because they are a delicious way to use up that remaining sheet of the puff pastry that you bought for the chocolate croissants. And since I didn't buy the right kind of puff pastry (i.e. all butter) the spinach cheese swirls actually tasted better than the chocolate croissants. I didn't realize anything could taste better than chocolate! ;o)

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

These were delicious! They were also easy (if involved) and cute. And I even took a picture. Totally a make-ahead-and-bake-whenever kind of meal.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, cooked and well drained

2 c cottage cheese

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

1 beaten egg

1/8 t nutmeg

8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

Spray 2 qt rectangular baking dish with nonstick spray. For filling, in a bowl stir together all ingredients, except the noodles. Spread about 1/3 c of filling on each noodle. Roll up, jelly-roll style, beginning at the short end. Place seam side down in dish, cover with foil, and cook at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sauce

1 large onion chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

14.5 oz canned tomatoes, undrained

1/2 t dried basil

8 oz can of tomato sauce

1/2 t sugar

Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer.

The sauce was okay, but I might save myself the trouble next time and just use my favorite spaghetti sauce (which is and always will be Prego).

Penne with Sausage and Spinach

I’ve been making this for Mike for the past 2 years. I was tweaking it every time, but now I think I finally have it. Mike asks for it at least once a month in the fall and winter. It's also a pretty cheap meal! It comes from my favorite magazine that was discontinued which was made into a book, Fast Fix, family foods by Better Homes and Gardens.

Servings: 6

Ingredients
1 pound cooked smoked sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into ½ inch thick slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped (or 2 teaspoons of jarred garlic)
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 32oz. of reduced-sodium chicken broth or stock
1 cup of water
1 pound of penne
1 6-9oz. package of fresh pre-washed baby spinach
¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup whipping cream

Directions

1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, cook sausage, onion, and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat until onion is tender and sausage is lightly browned.
2. Add broth and the water; bring to a boil.
3. Add pasta; cook until tender, stirring frequently.
4. Add spinach and pepper; cook about 1 minute or until spinach is wilted.
5. Stir in cream and serve.

Note: When you’re cooking the pasta, it may look like there isn’t enough liquid; there is, but if you need to, you can add water at ½ cup increments. You want a thick (not soupy) finished product.

P.S. The leftovers are delicious!

Sausage and Tomato Risotto

Yet another recipe from Smittenkitchen.com (she borrowed it from Martha Stewart - Everyday Food). Actually, Neil found it and made it for his game night, then he and I made it when we had some dance friends over for a game night. It's quite yummy, but you do need to keep an eye on the risotto.

Also, we made a double batch of it for New Years and found that it's better to make two single batches (of the risotto) and one big pot of the broth. Otherwise you'll end up with too much thick risotto and the broth won't be able to be incorporated. You'll get burned risotto.

Tomato and Sausage Risotto
Martha Stewart Everyday Food

Serves 4

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bunch flat-leaf spinach (10 to 14 ounces), washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 7 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons butter

1. In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.

4. Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).

5. Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.

Just Popping in...

I'm so afraid I'll lose my membership through lack of posting! :D I haven't been baking as much as I'd like (turns out, I have a baby who likes to be IN the sling, but hates BEING PUT into it...hmmm. Most days it's easier to not bother and just carry him around on my hip, like Mom used to!) and The Elimination Diet has reduced my dinnertime repertoire to Variations of Chicken/Fish plus green beans. BUT! I do have a fun and fast little trick to zest up an otherwise boring dinner: Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Dried Figs, and Honey Mustard dressing!

I know dried figs can get expensive ($4.99/lb in the bulk section of the health food store) but you only need a small handful, sliced in half. Toss the spinach leaves (baby spinach is best - no tearing needed) with crumbles of goat cheese*. In a (preferably glass, so you can watch the levels) measuring cup, pour 1/3 c. olive oil, salt, and pepper, and add honey and mustard by the tablespoon to taste, muddling as you go. Dump in the dried figs. When the oil starts to get low in the cup (meaning, of course, that the figs are soaking up the oil-honey-mustard goodness) toss the figs in the leaves and cheese. Serve immediately. SO delicious!

*If you don't like goat cheese, or it's prohibitively expensive, of course substitute your favorite salad cheese! Goat cheese happens to be MY favorite! :)

Linkage

I'm planning on making these this week. But I'm just linking to them since I already typed up the recipe. This a delicious way to eat spinach AND a good lenten recipe.

Enjoy.

Popeye!

Peter loves spinach. Just plain old cooked spinach. I do not. I do enjoy spinach in other dishes or when it's doctored up. So here's a lovely quick way to make spinach taste good, coming from my very own mother in law. She sometimes substitutes kale for the spinach in the recipe - also good and good for you!

Panned Spinach
1 lb spinach-wash and remove coarse stems, shake off as much water as possible
In a large, heavy skillet heat the following:
1 T butter
2 T olive oil
Add 1 clove minced garlic
Add spinach. Cover at once and cook over high heat until steam appears. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 5-6 minutes in all.
To make this Sicilian spinach: add 2 or more chopped anchovies

Burritos and Spinach and Salsa, oh my!

This was lunch today. And it was good! And easy to make. I'm glad there are leftovers!