Spinach + Ricotta Stuffed Shells

I made this much more spinach heavy and less cheese heavy, which I prefer.  Don't get me wrong - it's still filled with a ton of cheese.  It was good, but a little generic - I think next time, I'll cook the spinach first with the garlic, cumin, and throw in some nutmeg in order to get more rich flavor.

Ingredients:

2 cups Tomato Sauce, divided
2 1/2 cups Ricotta Cheese (or 1 container)
24 Jumbo Pasta Shells
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Nutmeg
Salt + Pepper
1 packages Frozen Spinach, defrosted + drained
1 Egg Yolk
2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Boil water and cook the pasta shells. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water.

2. If spinach is not defrosted, then place into a pot with water and heat until thawed.  Otherwise, wrap spinach in a dish towel and squeeze water out.  (See here for a step-by-step)

3. Chop garlic and cook over medium-high heat.  Add in spinach, oregano, nutmeg, onion powder, salt + pepper and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Toss spinach in a bowl with egg yolk and ricotta.  Mix well.

5. Coat a large baking pan with 1 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom.

6. Stuff shells with spinach-ricotta mixture, place in baking pan, and cover with the remaining tomato sauce.

I just did this part by hand - way easier than trying to use a spoon.

7. Bake for 30 minutes.

Yum yum yum.

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Original Recipe:
Cooking Light

Spinach Feta Burgers

These are unbelievably healthy and shockingly filling.  I doubled the original recipe, and it made for 6 large burgers.  It's also the quickest recipe ever.  Eat them with hot sauce and your usual burger toppings.  Delicious.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

2 16oz packages Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 Onion, diced
2 cups Breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
4 Egg Whites
2 Whole Eggs
2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Garlic Powder
6 Hamburger Buns (optional)
Salt + Pepper, to taste

Forgot the onion.  One day...

I used Panko breadcrumbs, which are much lighter than the regular ones.

1. Place frozen spinach in a pot and cover with water.  Warm on the stove until spinach has thawed.

2. Drain spinach into a strainer, and press out water.  Then wrap spinach in a towel, and squeeze out all excess water.

Getting the spinach as dry as possible (no need to go nuts) is essential for the burgers holding together.

3. Mix all ingredients in a bowl together.

I just got in there with my hands - way easier than a spoon, and you need to form the patties by hand anyway.

4. Form spinach mixture into patties and cook in a pan on medium heat for 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

5. Toast buns, add cheese, tomatoes, hot sauce, the works.

So good.

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Original Site:

The Domestic Mama & The Village Cook

Spinach, Feta, Tomato + Pine Nut Pizza

Individual pizzas are my newest obsession.  Easiest, fastest and tastiest things ever.  And you can throw whatever on top. And it looks fancy.

Ingredients:

4 pre-made Naan (2 packages)
1/2 cup Pine Nuts
2 oz Feta Cheese, crumbled
1 cup Baby Spinach
2 tbsp. Fresh Basil, chopped
3 Tomatoes, sliced
Olive Oil
Salt + Pepper, to taste

I threw in the tomatoes because I love tomatoes. And I had three that were about to pass their prime, just sitting in the fridge (yes, they'd already gotten to the refrigerate-or-chuck stage).  But I think that it made the pizzas more flavorful too.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place naan on a baking sheet and drizzle olive oil on top.

2. Crumble feta and put on naan.

I just did it with my hands - feta crumbles incredibly easily.  And I used about half of what I set out.

3. Place handful of spinach on each.  Slice tomatoes and add, then sprinkle with pine nuts.  Last, chop basil and add on top.

I actually just ripped the basil with my hands - easy to do.

4. Heat in oven for 10 minutes, or until naan is crispy and golden around the edges.

The feta doesn't melt, so don't wait for that.

Quick. Easy. Tasty.

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Original Recipe:

Gimme Some Oven

Turkey, Spinach + Mushroom Tacos

Ok.  This may be the least original recipe I have on this blog.  Except that I tried to make my own taco seasoning for the ground chicken, instead of using one of those packets that are usually my go-to So I wanted to throw it up here, so that I remember which recipe I used.

I put the Sauteed Spinach + Mushrooms in these tacos, which is just the best.

Ingredients:

1 package (1 lb) Ground Chicken or Turkey
2 tbsp Oregano
1 tbsp Chile Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Water
Canola Oil
1 can Black Beans
1 Tomato, diced
Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms
Soft Flour Tortillas
Cheddar Cheese, grated
Salsa

I didn't have onion powder.  Oh well. I also didn't put the spices out that I needed for the chicken - so here they are:

1. Place black beans into a pan and cook on high until most of liquid is evaporated.  Stir occasionally.

2. Add ground chicken to pan and cook until thoroughly browned.  Stir constantly to break it up into small pieces. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan, CAREFULLY drain into trash can.

(Consider yourselves warned - this is difficult).

3. Add 1/2 cup water and all spices to the chicken and mix well.  Cook until water is absorbed.

4. Dice tomatoes and grate cheddar cheese. Cover tortillas in tinfoil and place in pre-heated oven or in toaster for 2 minutes.

If you don't have tinfoil, as I realized too late, you can still do it - the top one just gets a little crispy.

5. Put everything in a tortilla.  Add copious amounts of cheddar cheese and salsa, and the sauteed spinach and mushrooms.

So simple. So messy. So good.

You can also do these with just the veggies in the taco, and it's still delicious.  I'd add corn then, though.

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Original Seasoning Recipe:

About.com Mexican Food

Sauteed Spinach + Mushrooms

This recipe comes from Martha Rose Shulman's "The Very Best of Recipes for Health".  She's the resident writer of the NYTimes Recipes for Health, which is a great place for inspiration.  Her recipes are the best - all healthy, all easy, all tasty, and all with simple ingredients.  But the reason I have a soft spot in my heart for Martha Rose is that hers was the first cookbook I ever used.  A friend lent me her book, and I wound up copying nearly the entire thing.  And then went out and bought my own.  So thank you, Martha Rose, for hooking me on cooking.

This both goes well in tacos and on top of bruschetta (with a great garlic-yogurt sauce from Martha Rose that I'll post up here someday).

Ingredients:

1 bag Spinach
1 Onion, diced
1 package Crimini or Button Mushrooms
2 tbsp Cumin, divided
2 tbsp Paprika, divided
Coconut or Olive Oil
Salt + Pepper, to taste

A bunch of these ingredients are for the tacos I was making, so don't get too confused.

1. Dice onion.  Heat coconut oil in large pan or pot, and cook onion for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.  Add 1 tbsp of both cumin and paprika and stir in.

2. Add in mushrooms and the rest of the cumin and paprika.

3. Stir in spinach, one handful at a time, until wilted.  Covering the pan/pot with a lid can help speed this up.

Et voila.
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Original Recipe:

The original is in her book, but here is the link to her website (with plenty of online recipes).

Martha Rose Shulman

Goat Cheese Quinoa Spinach Pilaf

This feels so decadent, but is really quite healthy.  A great side for anything - though salmon would go great with it.  This version makes a lot, so I recommend halving it.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 bag Spinach
1 cup Quinoa
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Raw Sunflower Seeds
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Goat Cheese, crumbled (or Parmesan)

The un-crumbled goat cheese worked just as well.

1. Boil lightly salted water in a small pot.  Add quinoa and cook until tender - 15-20 minutes.

2. Drain quinoa in a mesh strainer and rinse under cold water. Set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in the drained pot and add sunflower seeds.  Cook until lightly toasted and brown, about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Stir in garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

5. Stir in cooled quinoa.  Add in spinach by the handful, stirring into the quinoa.  Cook until all spinach wilts.

If you cover the pot, the spinach will wilt quicker!

6. Stir in lemon juice and cheese; mix until cheese has melted.

I actually used too much cheese (though is there ever too much?), and could have only used 1/4 of the packet I bought.  Non-crumbled worked just as well.

Presto - healthy decadence.

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Original Recipe:

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