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.

Stuffed Pork Loin

Well even though the Quinoa was enough protein for me, Alex was coming back in town finally so I knew a meat-less meal would be just plain evil. I took the 1/2 cup leftover spinach dip and a handful of mushrooms to stuff a pork loin.

If you don't have leftover spinach dip you could just as easily use a handful of fresh spinach and cheese of your choice. This is a really simple thing to make and looks/tastes like you worked all day on it.

Take your pork loin, and cut it in half almost all the way (similar to a french baguette)

before

after

Salt and pepper the meet then spread your filling and add whatever other veggies you want, I added more mushrooms....



Be sure not to over stuff because you will have to fold the other half of the pork back over. Alot of times when folding back over I use the long side of the knife to hold the stuffing in place as I fold. Once folded over secure with a handful of toothpicks...

Bake on 350 for about 20-25 mins

Serve with a side of risotto quinoa :)

Quinoa Risotto

I had this box of Quinoa for a good month before I decided to experiment with it. and i L.O.V.E this recipe. It is one of the only 100% plant based food that also has complete protein value (fact of the day : A complete protein (or whole protein) is a source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of all nine of the essential amino acids necessary for the needs of humans.)  Quinoa comes in Red or White form and sort of reminds me of couscous but better!

1 onion finely minced
4  Garlic Cloves-crushed
16 oz Quinoa (1 box from traders, not the red kind)
1lb spinach
2 cups white wine- you could do less I just really like the taste
1/2 cup Gorgonzola or goat cheese, I used Gorgonzola/feta
handful of Parmesan
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, I did a little more...oops :)
Chicken broth (you won't use the whole carton)



Saute the spinach lightly in olive oil, just enough to get it wilted a bit and set aside. (Pictured is less than 1lb.

Finely chop your onion..that took 10 seconds and I didn't cry!

Add this to the pan with 1 tbsp butter and some olive oil. Cook until tender, then add the four cloves of crush garlic and cayenne pepper and cook for another two minutes.

Add your quinoa and white wine.Stirring frequently cook this on medium heat until the white wine is almost evaporated.

Then add enough broth (I used chicken broth) to cover the quinoa in the pan. It is pointless to measure this amount just keep pouring until it covers the quinoa, Cook on medium high heat stirring frequently for about 20 mins.

 Quinoa will get bigger and more of a couscous texture.

Add back your spinach, stir in your Gorgonzola and cook for another 2-3 mins. Salt to taste!

Serve as a side, top with parmesean.

Pesto Chicken Panini

This is a recipe that I have made a few times and every time I do something different and its still awesome. Ingredients used this time:

Chicken

Mushrooms

1/2 bag of fresh spinach

Feta Cheese

Grey poupon

Crushed red pepper

Basil pesto

Salt

Sandwich Thins (any bread)

When cooking mushrooms I learned a trick from who knows where to cook the water out of the mushrooms first. No seasoning, no oil, just a pan, high to medium heat for about 10 mins stirring the mushrooms often. TRUST ME. This will make them tender and not rubbery. You will see the mushrooms 'sweating' shrinking and browning...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Meanwhile, season the chicken with pesto, salt crushed red pepper and bake for 20-25 mins on 350. If you have no pesto on hand try any herbs in your pantry.. oregano, basil, etc.

Once the mushrooms have 'sweat' the water out you may need to drain some water, this time I didn't have to. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Gently saute the spinach with the mushrooms.

We only had sandwich thins for bread so I went with it. Unless you have a baguette or some hard sort of bread make sure you toast your bread before panini'ing it in your pan. This is to make sure the bread doesn't get soggy and mushy.

I don't have a panini machine so I made them in the same pan I cooked the veggies in, think grilled cheese with some pressure. Place one slice of toasted bread down in the pan , add feta, then spinach & mushrooms and chicken, spread grey poupon on the other slice of bread and top off the sandwich. With the pan on medium-high press the sandwich down firmly with a spatula. Once you see its melting, flip over the sandwich carefully so the insides don't fly everywhere.