Greek Pasta Salad

Dressing
As always, these proportions should be customized to taste

1/4 c. olive oil

3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Red wine vinegar might be nice here too

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

2 - 3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 sliced green onions
1 - 2 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped 

Dash black pepper
Salt to taste
1 scant tsp. sugar

Salad

1/2 lb penna pasta, cooked and chilled

3 chicken breasts, fillet, season cook, chill

1 bag mixed field greens

Whisk together all of the salad dressing ingredients and let sit at least 30 minutes. I made mine the night before for an easy and quick dinner the next day. I also cooked the chicken and pasta then as well for the sake of ease. 

Toss it all together and eat.

Rosie Chicken or Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Chicken and Prosciutto Rolls

I made this for my daughters birthday but didn't know what to call it, and since i'm not a fan of names that are actually descriptions, I decided against naming it "Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Chicken and Prosciutto Rolls" Since the child in question is named Rosie, it is now Rosie Chicken. I didn't think of it till after I had eaten it, but I think a little fresh chopped rosemary might be good in the spinach mix. Other cheese might be great too.

I am also going to send this as a second submission to Presto Pasta Nights #225 hosted by Ruth at "Once Upon a Feast"

And over to "Double Takes" Spinach and Cheese Challenge. At Double take we take two ingredients and make anything you want with them, then post the collection of everyones spin on the same two ingredients.

3 Tbsp butter
4 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 large or 2 medium Boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 large slices Havarti cheese
5 slices prosciutto

1/2 c. flour
2 tsp 5th Season seasoned meat tenderizer
large dash black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder (NOT onion salt)
Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Oil for frying

8.8 oz pasta

Heat the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute until tender. Add the spinach and saute until dark and wilted. Remove from pan and set aside

Remove the fat and any other inedible parts from the chicken. Cut in half lengthwise and the in half in the middle. You should have 4 squareish pieces of chicken when you are done.

Divide the spinach evenly on top of the chicken. Take one of the pieces of havarti and break into fourths. Mine was about 5 inches square, so each piece covered the top of the chicken.

Place a piece of prosciutto on your work surface, place the chicken with the spinach and cheese on top and wrap the sides up around and over the top.

Combine the flour, tenderizer, pepper, and onion powder.

Brush with just enough water to moisten the sides and dip in to flour coating both the bottom and top. Repeat until all four are coated in flour.

Mist with a little water and dip in the bread crumbs.

Place in really hot oil chicken side down first and cook until dark golden brown. Flip and cook until browned on both sides. Drain on a paper towel.





While all that was going on you should have cooked your pasta and then drained it when tender.I cooked the remaining 2 slices of proscuitto in a little butter until crisp and added 3/4 c. half and half and the remaining havarti cheese. once it was melted in and had formed a sauce I tossed it with the pasta

Quiche Florentine

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion
1/4 lb fresh spinach
3/4 c. sour cream

3/4 c. half-an-half
2 oz. Parmesan cheese
5 oz. mozzarella
1/4 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. salt
Dash fresh cracked black pepper
Pinch fresh grated nutmeg
Bash tabasco

1 pie crust

Saute butter and onion until the onion is tender. Add the spinach and saute until wilted and dark. Set aside to cool

Meanwhile whisk together the sour cream and half-an-half. Add both of the cheeses, mustard, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and tabasco.

Stir in the spinach, onions, and butter.

Fit the pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan and pour in the filling.

Bake at 350 for 45 - 55 minutes or until the center is set.

Let rest 10 minutes before cutting.

Pina Coladas and Saag

I have gotten hooked on saag. I have a friend that made me some and it was wonderful (Thank you Cheryl for introducing me to this wonderful dish!) Saag is an Indian spiced spinach curry that you can puree and eat with naan, or in my case soft fluffy pitas. But I only had a little spinach so I could only make a half batch, leaving me with a half can of coconut milk.


So I made pina coladas.


It needed more coconut milk though so I still have a half a can of coconut milk leftover. It's just a different half can than I had with the saag.

I'll post pictures as soon as my computer and cell phone figure out how to bluetooth again.

Pina Coladas
1 (20 oz) can pineapple, undrained
1 can coconut milk
20 ice cubes
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1 - 2 Tbsp. agave

Put all in a blender and blend until ice is crushed and drink is mixed throughout.
Since it was 10 in the morning and I don't drink this is (obviously) a virgin pina colada


Saag
Splash Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 - 6 cloves garlic
3 inch piece of ginger
1 1/4 c. water, divided
1 Tbsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
1 lb. spinach
1 can coconut milk
1 tsp. vegetable bouillon (I used Superior Touch Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base)

Peel and chop the ginger a bit. Blend the ginger and 1/4 c. water until chopped pretty fine. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a pretty large skillet. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant. Add the ginger water and simmer until most of the liquid is gone.

Add the spinach, seasonings, remaining water and vegetable soup base. Let that simmer, stirring, until the spinach cooks down and is dark.

Pour into a blender and puree until smooth and, then add the coconut milk and puree until combined. Taste and season with salt to taste.

A family member had cooked turkey over rice and poured this on top. All the while commenting on the radioactive green color.

Tostadas

One of my favorite dinner. Super fast and easy and yet savory, soft, crunchy, and delicious all in one.

Take a tortilla spread it with your favorite refried beans. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and broil until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

You can also throw of any leftover meat you might have to use up in your fridge

Top with your favorite vegetables and sauces and enjoy. I just fill several bowls with all the veggies and let everyone top their own buffet style.

Mine consisted of
Chopped Spinach
Cucumbers
Carrots
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Leftover corn with caramelized onions

And then a variety of sauces
Salsa Verde
Salsa
Sour Cream
Ranch

Spinach Pizza

Since I love food there are going to be more than a few posts in here about that. I am excited to have a place to really share them, since I do in fact know how to cook with something other than beans. So I went to visit my sister a few weeks ago and she made me pizza. I got home and baked some of my own, the pictures, if not the recipe, are my own.




Spinach Pizza

2 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach, chopped pretty well
3 Tbsp. half-an-half
1/2 small onion, sauteed (In bacon drippings is really nice, or just butter)
1/2 heaping tsp. granulated garlic
Salt

Munster cheese
Pecorino Romano

Pizza crust

Combine spinach, cream, onion, garlic, and salt. Spread on crust like regular pizza sauce, top with munster and a dusting of Pecorino Romano and bake at 450 until cheese is golden on top.