Fresh Spinach and Artichoke au Gratin

I wanted to make Spinach and Artichoke Au Gratin, but I wasn't sure how it would come out using fresh, uncooked spinach...most recipes call for the frozen stuff. I almost steamed the spinach or blanched it, but ultimately, laziness ruled the day and I just used raw spinach. Worked out fine! Again, there's a recipe I used as a jumping off point (here), but made some significant changes.

Not the most low-cal recipe, but both of my twins will eat vast quantities of this...the only way they'll eat spinach!


Ingredients:

1/3 pound spinach, coarsely chopped
2/3 of a 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts (non-marinated, drained), coarsely chopped
6 oz. cream cheese
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Soften cream cheese and butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds until it can be stirred together.

Mix in artichoke hearts, spinach, and parmesan cheese. Transfer to a baking dish (or just make the whole recipe right in the baking dish from the get-go...that's what I did!)

Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Serve with chips, bread, and/or veggies for dipping.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Lettuce Wraps:


I very, very loosely followed this recipe. I made quite a few changes and while I was extremely happy with the results, the wraps weren't exactly similar to the P.F. Chang lettuce wraps. So if that's what you're looking for, you might want to go to the original recipe. Having said that, here's my version:

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground chicken
4 oz. water chestnuts, minced
6 oz. baby bella mushrooms, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
Splash rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 Tablespoon spicy brown bean sauce**
Lettuce leaves (we used about 2/3 a head of Bibb lettuce)

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown the ground chicken. When it is about 3/4 of the way done, add the water chestnuts, mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Continue cooking, stirring often, until chicken is browned.

Meanwhile, mix all remaining ingredients (except lettuce) in a small bowl. Stir well.

When the chicken is done, add the sauce you mixed in the small bowl. Stir well to coat all the chicken and let cook for about 2 or 3 minutes until slightly thickened.

Place a spoonful of filling onto a lettuce leaf, then roll the lettuce up.

**The original recipe linked above called for red chile paste, but the only brand I could find had peanuts in it, which is a no-go due to food allergies here. So I got House of Tsang brand spicy brown bean sauce. The final recipe was not quite spicy enough. I'd say either use the red chile paste if you don't have to worry about allergies, or add some red pepper flakes in addition to the brown bean sauce.

Spinach Pie

Ingredients
2 pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
4 eggs
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz pkg cream cheese (I use the fat free option)
3/4 c milk
8 oz grated cheddar cheese
1 unbaked pie shell

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375*
Mix all ingredients together, except for half the cheddar cheese
Pour into pie shell and bake for 25 minutes
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake for approx 5 more minutes

Additional Information
For those watching their carb in take, you can always omit the pie shell; still comes out yummy!!

Wine Slush

Hey, all the recipes can't be for the kids! This one is for the parents to enjoy after the twins have gone to bed.

At Thanksgiving last year, my brother-in-law made a delicious dessert: wine slush. I loved it, even though I don't normally like wine. I've made this a number of times since.

I got the basics of this recipe at Thanksgiving, and figured I couldn't really mess it up as it's so simple. I'm sure this isn't precisely the "real" recipe, but it turns out just fine.

Wine Slush

Ingredients:

1 c. red wine (any kind, whatever you've got lying around)
1 1/4 c. water
2/3 c. sugar
3 thin round slices of an orange (I use rounds from the thickest part of the orange)
1 small container raspberries

Directions:

Add raspberries and red wine to a large tupperware container.

In a medium saucepan, add water, sugar, and orange slices. Cook over medium high heat, stirring often, until all the sugar is dissolved. Pour into the container with the raspberries and red wine.

Cover and store overnight in the fridge.

Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the liquid into a container that will fit into your freezer. I use a small metal casserole pan (11" x 7"). Squeeze the oranges to add the juice to the liquid. Discard the oranges.

Next, using a plastic spatula (those flexible scraper kind), squish the raspberries against the mesh and let the juice strain into the wine mixture. Keep doing this until mostly all you have left is seeds (well, use your judgment. The longer you do this, the more likely it is some seeds will make it through the strainer and into your liquid). A lot of raspberry juicy stuff will collect on the bottom of the strainer, so make sure you use your spatula to scrape it off and add to the wine.

Stir it all up, and put it in the freezer. Every 45 minutes or so, use a fork to scrape it up so it doesn't freeze solid. You only have to do this a few times, and in my experience, it was okay when I forgot for more like 3 hours instead of 45 minutes.

That's it...it's ready as soon as it freezes (give it at least 2.5 or 3 hours).

Yummy!

Fresh Salsa

I make a very simple, fresh salsa. All raw, very bright, uncluttered flavor. I make it with nothing spicy so my boys will eat it. It is one of the few relatively healthy foods they'll eat, so I keep it plain and find it's still outstanding. However, feel free to toss in some spicy peppers or hot sauce to jazz it up. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Tomatoes (any kind...I've even made it with halved grape tomatoes)
Scallions
Cilantro
Salt
Diced jalepenos or other hot peppers, or tobasco sauce (optional, I usually omit so my kids will eat it).

Directions:

You may notice this recipe lacks quantities. Can I say it's all to taste? Well, I'm going to! But, I'll try to give some hints here in the directions.

Cut tomatoes in half and squeeze out seeds. You can use your finger to squish some out, or even just gently squeeze the tomato. You don't have to perfectly get all the seeds out. In fact, if I use grape tomatoes, I don't even bother seeding them. You just don't want your salsa to be drippy with seeds.

Dice the seeded tomatoes.

Finely slice the whites of the scallions. Reserve the green part for something else. I would say as a rule of thumb, if you're using medium sized tomatoes, you'll want to use one scallion for every two tomatoes. Or more or less, depending on your taste.

Chop some cilantro leaves. How much? Oh, it depends on how much you like it. I use a few sprigs for each tomato, then add more if I feel like it needs it.

Mix the tomatoes, scallions, and cilantro leaves, then start adding the salt. I use a salt cracker (actually, I let my boys add it), so I just keep tasting. It does take a bit of salt, and I don't like my food very salty. I've made it with very little salt, but I find it's the salt that really makes the flavors of the salsa pop. So be guided by your own taste buds on this one.

Eat immediately. We rarely have leftovers, but you can store it for a day or two. You'll probably have to drain off some excess water if you keep it in the fridge overnight, but it still tastes wonderful.

Derby Casserole

Every year, for Christmas, my mom makes Derby casserole. It's an egg-y, bread-y, casserole-y, bacon-y dish of deliciousness. LauraC posted a link to a similar casserole the other day, which I must admit sounds even delicious-er, though I was shocked to find someone made something far more...shall we say, RICH, than the recipe I use. I mean, this isn't health food by any stretch, but just check out that link if you want to feel good about eating this recipe. Huge quantities of it, which is what I do every Christmas morning.

Ingredients:

6 eggs, beaten
6 slices of white bread, crusts removed and cubed
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 lb bacon (or sausage, or a combo of both), cooked, drained, and crumbled
2 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a 9x13" baking pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

That's it! Pretty easy, huh?

And for those of you who are interested, this type of dish is technically called a strata. There are lots of variations on how to make them, though the bread/egg combo is pretty constant. I've made a fancy-dandy one once with fresh herbs, sun dried tomatoes, and goat cheese. But I always come back to the good ol' plain Derby casserole!

Java Chip Cookies

Me? A sweet tooth? You don't say!

I started with a recipe from the December/January 09 Taste of Home magazine for Java Cream Drops. The recipe seemed kind of fussy (making two different doughs and pressing together for each cookie), plus, it contained walnuts, which one of my sons is allergic to. But come on! Coffee, chocolate, and chocolate chips? This was still worth trying! So here it is. My adapted version of the recipe:




Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. instant coffee granules (I'd use more in the future...3 or 4 tablespoons. The coffee flavor is very mild)
1.5 Tbsp. half-and-half cream
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the coffee granules and cream. Stir well and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and coffee/cream mixture.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix. Gradually add to the creamed mixture, stirring well.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

These are good cooled, but hot out of the oven, I think this is my all-time favorite cookie. So make sure you plan to sample a few before they cool!