Spinach Alfredo

Another fat buttery thing that I love to make myself knowing  its healthier and refuse to order at a restaurant....

½ cup half and half
½ stick of 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
1  cup chicken broth
4 cups fresh chopped spinach/broccoli * I did nearly double and that was not a good idea.
4 slices of  bacon…..cook and crumble...then use it as a topping
1 box fettuccine 
1 cup parmesean cheese
4 cloves crushed garlic

Boil fettuccine like normal, when draining save 3/4 cup of the 'pasta water'

Meanwhile, chop up the fresh spinach. If you want to use frozen be sure to thaw it out completly and to pat it dry, you don't want the spinach water it will take over the taste. To be honest I would avoid frozen chopped spinach for this recipe.

In empty pot combine half cup pasta water, butter and cream cheese (and garlic!) and bring to a boil then reduce heat and thoroughly mix (takes a few minutes, make sure to stand over and constantly mix)

Meanwhile in a separate bowl combine flour and chicken broth..

Pour into the  pan over medium heat (be careful it starts to turn doughy if you don't  have it mixed in the separate bowl and continue to mix as you add) add in the spinach and brocolli and mix in the half and half.

Keep mixing this all together adding salt & pepper. I did way too many veggies and had to actually add in additional broth/flour/cream cheese. So in order to appease to the sauce measurements do not add any more than 4-5 cups of veggies total(combined) I did about 4 cups spinach and 4 cups broccoli. so the 8 cups was a bit overwhelming for the sauce ingredients

Add your pasta in, mix around and cook over medium heat for about 10 mins.

If your sauce needs to thicken a bit let the pasta sit for about 10 mins before serving. Top with parmesean and  bacon to serve!

Spinach Lasagna Rolls Ups Part 2 of Calzone ingredients

I had A LOT of meat sauce and veggie filling left over from the calzones from Friday. Early the next week I made Spinach Lasagna roll ups. There are a bit more labor intensive than things I typically make however because I already had the fillings ready to go it wasn't too bad.

Ingredients: Veggie Filling & Meat Sauce from Part 1

One box of Whole Wheat Lasagna

You want to prepare the assembling station.. Veggie Filling, meat sauce and empty casserole dish to the right.

Add about 1 cup or 2 of the meat sauce to the bottom of your empty casserole dish .

Next, boil your lasagna about 5 pieces at a time. This helps with the timing when assembling. I add plenty of salt to my boiling water and drop in my lasagna.. You want a really deep pot bc it makes it easier and the lasagna pasta doesn't curl up. If you don't have one, just do less pasta at a time.

Boil pasta for about 7 mins then gently remove with tongs onto a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb excess water. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of veggie filling and spread over cooked pasta.

Gently roll up, not to tight or else you will break the pasta. It doesn't have to be perfect. Then place upright into casserole dish... It looks so fancy and fabulous

The minute I take all the pasta out I drop another 5 pieces into the pot and begin to assemble the cooked pasta pieces.

Do this again...

And again...like a factory line..

Now pour your meat sauce ALLLLL over this yummyness. In between the rolls etc..

Bake on 425 for about 30 mins.

Then EAT!!! I had to add both pictures because  I couldn't decide which one looked more delicious.

Friday night Calzones Part 1

We invited our friends over for a 'calm' little evening of calzones and jenga (not kidding.) The calzones were delicious however this posts' pictures will get progressively worse as I consumed more and more red wine throughout the night, BUT this was a realllly good meal and will actually has a part 2 to follow using the same two calzone fillings  in a completely different way.  So don't judge by the final picture, because the picture sucks.

I made two fillings, a veggie filling, and a meat filling with a side of mushrooms and had everyone make their own calzones. Keep in mind these measurements are meant for two meals, so you would want to half this recipe if you truly plan on making the calzones.

1 tube Pillsbury pizza crust (this makes four large calzones)

2 cups mushrooms (optional)

Veggie filling
8 cups fresh spinach (turns into about 4 cups once its chopped)
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 cup thawed broccoli
salt and pepper to taste

Meat Filling/Sauce
10 Hot Italian sausages
5 Jars Pasta sauce (I used one jar of plain marinara then added crushed tomatoes and made my own sauce but you could just use all jars)
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic

Cook the water out of the mushrooms. To do this, add the mushrooms to the pan, and cook on medium high for about 7 mins, stirring occasionally.

In your pan add the garlic/onion and saute until tender, then add the sausages. (remove from the casing)

Mix and chop the sausage cooking the sausage about 1/2 through.

 Then add the sauce directly into the same pan with the meat. If making your own, add basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

I had stopped by my parents house after work so my mom sent me home with one of her last batches of her garden tomatoes so I added all of them to the sauce as well.

Cover and simmer on low for about 15-20 mins stirring occasionally.

While the meat sauce was cooking, I made the veggie filling.

To your mixing bowl add 8 cups of spinach (you may want to chop this up in batches.. if your bowl is too small)

Chop up your spinach, add in your feta, Greek yogurt, garlic and mix together thoroughly. Do not add your broccoli in yet. (its gets too smooshy if you add it in too soon)

Once the veggie filling is mixed well add your broccoli and gently fold it in. Mix Nicely.

Now this is where the pictures get terrible/non existent.

Unroll the pizza crust and cut into four rectangles. Pour filling on half of the calzone. If using the meat sauce be sure to use a slotted spoon to strain out the extra liquid.  You can mix and match. For my calzone I did veggie with a very little bit of meat sauce. For the boys it was heavy with meat sauce. Add in mushrooms if you want.

That was the last of the assembling pictures, so you'll have to use your imagination. Fold over the remaining dough and bake at 375 for about 20 mins or until golden brown, lets be serious I really don't remember how long.  This is the final product. Again really bad picture, but really good food.

See look how happy and full they look!

Persian Mom Spaghetti

I spent a few nights at my parents house while my roomie was on the West Coast and my mom made me one of my favorite meals growing up, her Spaghetti.

You won't understand how great this Spaghetti is until you try it. My mom simmers the meat sauce with the noodles for about 30 and it has an awesome potato crust that I STILL fight my brother over. 

1 Jar pasta sauce (or homemade pasta sauce)
1 lb ground turkey
1 Box Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 Potato
Olive oil

First you make the meat sauce, combine the sauce and the raw ground meet in a skillet and brown on medium high.

Boil your spaghetti per the box's directions and drain.

Meanwhile peel and slice the potato. You will want the slices to be about 1/4" thick. The thinner the crispier the potato 'crust' or tadeeg (persian word for cripy rice or in this case cripsy potato) mmmm.

Add about a teaspoon of olive oil to the bottom of the pot, line the pot with  the slices of  potato.

 Add a layer of noodles, a few scoops of sauce, a layer of noodles and a few scoops of sauce. Mix well being sure not to disturb the bottom potato layer. There will be left over pasta/meat sauce which is good for those people who want more meat sauce on the side when serving.

When preparing to simmer your pasta a tip to make sure the water won't drip back into your pot is to put a paper towel on top of the pot then put the top to the pot over the towel.

This prevents the water from dripping back into your pasta while simmering and making it all mushy. Simmer on medium high for about 5-7 mins to make the potato crispy, then on low for about 30 mins.

When its ready, my mom carefully empties the spaghetti into a dish then tops it with the potato...here is a shot of the potato crush flipped over sort of  like the bottom of a cake.

This picture doesn't do it justice..but this is one of my three servings...mmmm.

Mom's Chicken Marsala

This is one of my favorite meals my mom would make growing up, makes sense considering it was full of red wine :)  

What you'll need

2 Chicken Breasts

1 cup flour

1 clove crushed garlic

3-4 cups favorite red wine (I used Shiraz)

lotsss of mushrooms

1 box thin spaghetti

Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Marsala wine is known for its sweet taste, personally I like this dish with the same red wine I would drink in a glass so I went with the Shiraz. This is a meal that is definitely for a red wine lover...

Get your water boiling for your pasta, in another pan start cooking your mushrooms, remember, no oil, no salt, no nothing, just a pan and mushrooms. Let the mushrooms sweat out the water for about 15 mins on medium high heat stirring often. Drain the mushrooms and set them aside.  

Slice the 2 chicken breasts in half making it into 4 thin chicken breasts and cover the chicken breasts with flour.  Put the chicken breasts into a heated pan (medium high, closer to high) with olive oil, I like to lightly salt and pepper the chicken at this point too. Cook them for about 3-5 mins on each side, you will want to cook them about 75% through, you will cook them completely through with the wine.  

Once the chicken looks mostly cooked, remove from pan and add in your red wine and crushed garlic. Let wine reduce for about 5-10 mins, this lightens the tart taste of the wine and just gets really good.  Add your chicken and mushrooms back in and simmer for about 15 mins. Flip over the chicken and stir the pan often.

Drain your pasta, add olive oil, salt and pepper and Parmesan cheese to taste.

Generously pour the red wine sauce over the pasta and serve the chicken and mushrooms all over it.

Dinner and Drinks in one plate :)