Spinach Cream Cheese Crescents

Ingredients:
1 small frozen package chopped spinach
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 package refrigerated crescent rolls



1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Defrost frozen spinach, drain well. Place in bowl.

2. Place cream cheese out of wrapper in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds, and then add to spinach. Set aside.

3. In medium pan, melt butter in medium high heat. Add onions, saute until translucent. Drain on paper towel.


4. Add onion, Italian seasoning, and garlic to spinach cream cheese mixture. Mix all ingredients well. Place in refrigerator.

5. Take out your roll of crescent rolls. Lay each one out flat. Take your spinach mixture out of the refrigerator. Spoon tablespoon sized mixture onto the middle of each crescent roll. Fold each side up until completely covered over mixture. (I rolled out half the can and then applied the mixture because I wanted small finger foods)


6. Bake in oven for about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Photos Courtesy of Amanda, food photography extraordinaire:

Breakfast Casserole for two

I love breakfast casserole, but sometimes it will feed the masses and leftover casserole just isn't the same.  Here's a way to feed 1 or 2 people and not have half a pan left to throw away.

3 slices of bread cubed
3 eggs
4-5 tbs milk
1/2 cup cooked ham diced (or breakfast sausage)
2 dash of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp dry mustard
Salt & Pepper to taste

*Note, I baked the casserole in a six muffin pan.

Combine all the ingredients (minus the bread) and mix well.  Place a few cubes of bread in each muffin cup. Evenly distribute the rest of the ingredients. Muffin cups will be at least 3/4 full. Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.

Caesar Pasta Salad

This recipe caught my eye on New Year’s Eve. I had some leftover romaine lettuce to entertain, so why not?! I had most of the ingredients on hand with the exception of anchovies and penne pasta, so I made a dash to the grocery store. After I weaved in and out of people buying buggies full of booze, I was able to take my loot home.

Just before the cooking began, I hopped online to get the exact recipe. You see, the original recipe was from the Today Show video segment with a local New York chef. All I could find was the video with no direct recipe, so I was forced to brave this one on my own.

I put on my penne pasta to boil.

While the pasta was boiling, I started to chop the garlic and shallot. This is my first time cooking with a shallot, so naturally I was a little nervous.

Put the garlic, shallot, and red pepper flakes in a pan and combine with a little chicken stock and anchovy paste.

Once that cooked for a few minutes, turn off the heat. I’m not sure why but the chef said turning off the heat would maintain the integrity of the fats. And who would want to get rid of the fat?!

Throw in your butter and toss.

The next step is to add your romaine lettuce.

Then throw it in a bowl and toss with the Parmesan cheese.

And taste it. Several times.

Although it looked really pretty and smelled great, I knew Ben would not eat these two things combined. He has food combination anxiety. So I separated the lettuce from the pasta and honestly I think it turned out better.

The lettuce had the sauce. The pasta had the sauce.

Served with a steak and voila!

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 can chicken stock
2 cups penne pasta (uncooked)
3 tbs butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot
1 tsp anchovy paste (or the real things)
Pepper to taste

Boill your pasta, drain and set aside. Combine garlic, shallot, red pepper flakes, anchovy paste, and chicken stock. Heat on medium to high to let the ingredients marinate. Toss in the penne pasta and turn off the heat.  Add your butter and combine. Then add your romaine lettuce and toss. Transfer to your serving dish, add Parmesan cheese and combine. Serve warm.

Oven Roasted Fries

Ben and I enjoyed a New Year's Eve dinner-in which consisted of chicken tenders and french fries.  The chicken tenders were something to desire and the oven roasted fries were perfect. I'll post the chicken tender recipe later.

2 large Idaho potatoes (I sliced mine pretty thin)
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Chili powder
2 cloves garlic (minced)

Combine olive oil and other ingredients in a large bag and mix well. Toss in the potatoes until they are evenly coated. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Make sure to flip the fries half way thru.

Note: I baked the fries on a cookie sheet covered in foil for easy clean-up:)

They make the house smell delicious and the taste is amazing!

Cane's Sauce Knock-Off

I ate at my first Cane's early in my college career while visiting some friends in Baton Rouge. It was love at first bite with not only the chicken but also the sauce!  As I was browsing some blogs, I found a make-shift recipe that claimed to replicate the delicious Cane's sauce. I must admit that it is dangerously close.

You probably even have all of the ingredients sitting in your fridge and cupboard. Just try it:)!

 So simple. Just throw it all in a big bowl. Mix. And let it sit. Supposedly the longer it sits, the better it gets.

 Then grab some chicken and start to dippin.

1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2-1 tsp black pepper

Mix together all ingredients, blend well. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to use. Serve with chicken!

Spinach Soup

Thank you Pioneer Woman for showing me this green delicacy! PW's spinach soup looked much greener and tasty, but I guess that's why she has a cookbook! Despite my "chunky" looking spinach soup, it was still delicious.

If you have an Aldi in your area you must go. A bag of spinach is .64 cents (regular price)!

The green color was so beautiful that I stared at it over and over and over again.

Here's the recipe. Don't forget to check your teeth after eating a couple of bowls!

Ingredients

* 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 10 ounces, weight Spinach
* 2 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
* 4 Tablespoons Butter
* ½ whole Medium Onion
* ¼ cups Flour
* 5 cups Whole Milk
* 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
* ½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper (Optional)
* Freshly Ground Black Pepper
* 4 ounces, weight Gruyere Cheese, Grated (other Cheeses Are Fine)

Preparation Instructions

In a large skillet, heat olive over over medium heat. Add spinach and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, or until wilted. Add spinach to a blender or food processor. Pour in 1/4 cup hot water and pulse until pureed. Set aside.

In a large soup pot, cook onion in butter over medium heat until onions begin to soften. Sprinkle flour over the top and stir to combine. Cook for about 2 minutes, then pour in milk, stirring occasionally. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in pureed spinach, then cook another 3 to 5 minutes until thickened.

Check seasonings, adding more salt, pepper, or cayenne as needed. Serve in a bowl. Add a little grated Gruyere.

Lasagna

I love Italian food, but sometimes I am just too cheap to go to Carrabas or Olive Garden. Why not make some lasagna at home for at least half the price and have a vat left over for the next day and the next.

Then you combine the egg and cottage cheese.

Throw in some mozarella and parmesan.

Now it's time to start putting this bad boy together. Put in a layer of marinara sauce.

Add a layer of noodles (I used the no boil kind because I'm lazy). Then top with your cottage cheese mixture, meat, mozarella cheese and cup of sauce.

Keep doing that for a while or until your pan gets full:). Specific details below.

Ingredients
1 box Barilla Lasagna
2 eggs
15 ounce cottage cheese
4 cups (16 oz) shredded mozarella (divided)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 lb ground beef (cook, crumble and drain)
2 jars of marinara sauce (I used Kroger brand)

In medium bowl, beat eggs. Stir in cottage cheese, 2 cups of mozzarella and the parmesan.

To assemble:
1. Spread 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of baking pan.
2. Layer 4 uncooked sheets, 1/3 of cottage cheese mixture, half of browned meat, 1 cup of mozzarella, and 1 cup of sauce.
3. Layer 4 uncooked sheets, 1/3 cottage cheese mixture and 1-1/2 cups of sauce.
4. Layer 4 uncooked sheets, the remaining cottage cheese and browned meat, and 1 cup of sauce.
5. Layer 4 uncooked sheets, the remaining sauce, and remaining 1 cup of mozzarella.

Bake, covered with foil for 50-60 minutes. Uncover and cook until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes). Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.