Spicy Spinach & Sausage Pasta

I saw this recipe on Budget Bytes (which is a favorite) who saw it on Kevin & Amanda (which I can't wait to explore) who got it from The Best Simple Recipes. Phew. I think that covers my earnest desire to give credit where credit is due. The creators of this recipe deserve all the homage I can muster because it's a win all around! Dirties one dish, cooks in 30 minutes, has kick and includes cheese. Mountain Man is an appreciative audience for my cooking endeavors but this was the first dish in a few months that made his eyes light up. Hence forth and thusly, we will be making this again very soon! Enjoy!

Spicy Spinach & Sausage Pasta

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb smoked sausage
1 medium diced onion
3 cups of fresh spinach
2 cups chicken broth
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz bowtie pasta
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
green onions
salt and pepper

Tip: Choose a skillet that will comfortable hold the entire dish, but preferably not too wide and shallow. You need to be able to submerge the pasta in 2 cups of broth!

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet and add sliced up sausage. Cook until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Add onions and saute until softened, about another 5 minutes, then add the can of tomatoes and green chilies, chicken broth and cream.

2. Add the pasta, making sure it is completely submerged in the liquids, and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat and cover the skillet. Simmer until the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to unstick the bottom of the pan.

3. Add the fresh spinach one cup at a time, giving it time to wilt before adding the next bunch, about 3 minutes. If you aren't accustomed wilting spinach into pasta, don't worry, it will all fit just fine!

4. Stir in the cheese until melted (I liked a good layer on top as well) and salt and pepper to taste. Top with chopped green onions. Serve hot and dazzle your dinner guests.

Makes 4 servings.

Mini Frittata

It's funny how I can get behind on blogging because I've taken too many cool pictures lately and I didn't know where to start! Well, that and a series of family birthdays and more skiing. It does tend to take up some time.

My return post of awesomeness today is about mini frittatas. These are perfect for the plan ahead types, small portion types, I like tiny cute food types, I love eggs types, I have a pulse types... have I covered everybody yet? A frittata is an Italian omelet made to be eaten room temperature, though I also enjoy them hot. The great thing about a frittata is that it can be made with whatever ingredients you have on hand. I've been known to dump in a leftover arugula salad, lonely cold cut shreds and party veggie tray remains.

My introduction to frittatas came from the movie "Morning Glory". I love me some grizzly old Harrison Ford, but put an apron on him and I'm a goner. How could I not want to experiment with frittatas after this?

Mini Frittatas

(makes 4)

3 large eggs

1/4 cup half-and-half

salt and pepper to taste

seasoning of choice (I love sage or parsley)

mix-in items (here I used shredded cheese, spinach, chopped up ham cold cuts and green onion)

Break eggs into a mixing bowl with the half-and-half and seasonings. Beat well until frothy. 

Pour the mixture into 4 sprayed muffin tin cups or silicone baking cups, then add your mix-ins. Keep in mind they will rise as they bake, but mine have also fallen afterwards so don't be afraid to fill them up. I'm VERY OPEN to ideas about keeping them from falling, ps! It may not be possible in the silicone cups since, according to Harrison, the key is a hot pan. I also tried a few of mine with the ham slice shell. It was pretty good, but I could go either way on these.

Bake at 350 F for 20 - 25 minutes and prepare to be impressed and suddenly very hungry.

Are you drooling yet?

From here you have options. You can either serve immediately and enjoy the fluffy warmth, or you can let cool and serve later (frittatas were intended for room temperature, after all). You can even let them cool and freeze them! It's true, I tried it. The chopped spinach in that batch dyed the whole thing a little green as it froze, but really, that only added interest, right?

If you're needing a new healthy breakfast running out the door for work, or perhaps your kids need a change from cereal, TRY THESE! You'll wonder why you never did this before, I promise.

Ski Trip Bento

I caught on a few weeks ago that Mountain Man has been silently wishing I would make him a bento for lunch. Since we both leave for work very early and I'm not enough of a morning person to make a second lunch, drive it the mile over to his house AND make it to work on time, I've been trying to come up with a clever alternative. My perfect opportunity was our ski trip last weekend.

The ski trip bento had to be 1) substantial and energy packed 2) sit light on your stomach and 3) be sufficiently impressive to satisfy the honor of being his first. I would have loved to have included some broccoli florets to round out my colors, but unfortunately, Mountain Man doesn't care for that particular green and it was all I had in the fridge. Shame. Therefore, these were the result. The first bento is the main meal while the second was meant for a snack on our way off the slopes at the end of the day.

Bento #1

• Top Tier
• Onigiri with simple canned tuna/salt/pepper filling and a sassy little skiing dude
• Ham rolls - spread with cream cheese and basil
• Kumquats
• Bottom Tier
• Norimaki chicken (see my recipe here)
• More onigiri and kumquats
• White sauce for dipping

A note about the onigiri - I'm not going to pretend I'm even proficient at making these and offer you a custom tutorial. There are many good resources out there to explain how these are made and filled, but my favorite is Maki at Just Bento. Go straight to the expert, people.

Bento #2

• Top Tier
• Pretzels
• Kumquats
• Bottom Tier
• Strawberries
• Hummus/olive oil/paprika

I know I'm just bursting with kumquats here, but as someone who doesn't like cherry tomatoes these are a great little space filler. Plus, Mountain Man really likes them and I had to throw him a bone since he doesn't care for strawberries and hummus isn't his favorite either. However, he was the envy of the lodge when he pulled this out for lunch! I was there, I saw that snow boarder's face.

What are your favorite skiing foods and how would you pack them into a bento? While you're pondering that and preparing to leave me comments, enjoy this picture of how to breath on a ski slope with a hacking cough. Or avoid the paparazzi.

How to Plan A Bridal Shower: Part 2

SUCCESS!!! WHEW. We had about 20 people show, a very respectable number but not so many that you want to run and hide under a draping table cloth, silently clutching a fistful of hors d'oeuvres. But seriously, it was great fun. I drew a lot from the hosting experience of the mother of the bride, including the importance of not stressing! If you're enjoying yourself, chances are your guests will as well.

Our menu was as follows:

• Christmas cookies and brownies
• Fruit and veggie trays
• Cucumber Cups Stuffed with Spicy Crab (courtesy of Domestic Fits)
• Onion and Goat Cheese Mini Pitas (2nd generation of my Onion and Fig Pizza, originally inspired by My Fancy Pantry)

After all this, we also baked a few pizzas from a local place that sells them uncooked. They were to die for, even though we may have overfed everybody! :) Let me talk about these Onion and Goat Cheese Mini Pitas, though. YUM.

Ironically enough, I left the fig butter from Thanksgiving at my parents house, which was kind of the whole point of this combination. I realized it at around 11:45 PM the night before the shower so I decided to improvise and skip that flavor all together. Honestly, I like this better than the pizza!!

Onion and Goat Cheese Mini Pitas

3 large sweet onions

1/2 package of Trader Joe's Chevre with Honey (goat cheese)

prosciutto, chopped into small pieces

pistachios, roasted and salted

Publix Mini Pitas

olive oil

salt

Slice and caramelize the onions in the olive oil and salt. This takes a a good 30-45 minutes so plan for it! (An awesome tutorial on how to do this on Serious Eats) Once those are nice and amber, place them in a mixing bowl and combine with the chevre, proscuitto and pistachios, proportions to taste. Slice your mini pitas in half and stuff with the mixture. They're good as in, they are amazing baked at 350 F until slightly crunchy and warm through. I have to admit, I was very pleased with these. They were gone in no time! (NOTE: there's something funky with the picture I took on my phone and I can't get to it... will make these again and take a real picture to post later!)

We didn't have to decorate since the mother of the bride had her Christmas stuff out (super handy) but I did put together:

• A Jar of Dates - invite guests to fill out a card with a date suggestion for the bride and groom to remind them to continue to "date" each other throughout their married life! Bonus points if you volunteer to babysit in the future. I hadn't planned on reading the cards aloud, but we did by popular demand and only had to censor one, haha.

• He Said/She Said on Facebook Cards - create a list of things posted or 'liked' by the couple on Facebook and see who can guess them correctly! I passed them out early and read the answers off as the official closer of the shower.

Thanksgiving 2012: Caramelized Onions and Fig Pizza

I love Thanksgiving with my family. There's a ton of us so it's always busy, a bit loud and plenty of great food. I mentioned last time I was in charge of bringing the creamed corn, but I also had another dish up my sleeve (so to speak). I have been wanting to try this out on a group and what better time than when I have my hungry family all lined up like so many Thanksgiving guinea pigs?? I have to admit, I liked this one. It was, in short, a win.

I don't really know what to call this masterpiece as it has so many elements! But my hat is off to Shari over at My Fancy Pantry for the primary inspiration behind this pizza. I mixed it up a bit as my taste and ingredients allowed, but she was definitely my muse. Thanks Shari!

Onion and Fig Pizza

1 1/2 large sweet onions
1/4 package of Trader Joe's Chevre with Honey (goat cheese)
Trader Joe's Fig Butter
prosciutto
pistachios, roasted and salted
Trader Joe's pre-made pizza dough
olive oil

First, I chopped up my onions and put them in the skillet to caramelize. Next, I greased up a pizza pan and rolled the dough out as thinly as I could and brushed a little bit of olive oil along the edges of the crust so it wouldn't dry too much while baking. Spread a nice layer of caramelized onions over the dough and top with short pieces of prosciutto, pistachios and dollops of chevre and fig butter. (Next time I make this, I'm going to mix the chevre and fig butter and spread it as a base AND put dollops on top... their creaminess was the best part to me!) Preheat oven to 400 F and bake for 15-20 minutes or until at desired crispy deliciousness!

I hope you enjoy!

Bento Cookbooks!

As clearly outline by My Bookshelf, I love books. I rely on books. I need them heaping over their assigned shelves, introducing me to their friends and keeping me up at night. I am an equal-opportunity book owner who does not discriminate based on binding, page texture, age or origin. I even own a few books written in languages I don't speak just because they're purty. So clearly, it was time to buy some books on making bento boxes.

I started with The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches To Go by Makiko Itoh and Yum-Yum Bento Box: Fresh Recipes for Adorable Lunches by Crystal Watanabe and Maki Ogawa. (Note: this is how the book cover credits the authors, but Barnes & Noble has the authors listed as Quirk Books Staff, Makiko Ogawa, Pikko Pots, Crystal Watanabe)

 

I chose these two for their combined practicality and creativity. The Just Bento website has been my main source for recipes and practical tips as I've begun learning about the world of bento making, so getting the cookbook was a definite yes. It's chock full of recipes I can't wait to try and a few different versions of ones I already love.

Yum-Yum Bento Box takes the prize for creativity though. I can pack a practical bento, no problem, but not being an especially "cutesy" girl by nature I need ideas for things like penguins made of rice and hot dog octopuses! But really, I love the first few pages that are dedicated to the tools and tricks of the trade. Very well done!

If you're looking for a place to start, I recommend both of these together. Now I wonder what my mom would do if I showed up tomorrow with artistic creamed corn for Thanksgiving...?

Norimaki Chicken: Cooking at 6:30 AM...?!

Is this really happening? Am I seriously getting out of bed EARLY to get up and cook for the day's bento?!? I can't believe this. I'm the girl who sets her alarm a full hour early so I can have time to pitch a fit about not wanting to get up. Yet this morning, I got out of bed early to make this little bad boy:

norimaki chicken, sauteed mushrooms, sushi rice with black sesame seeds
(shrimp sauce lurking in the background)

Ok, so it looks a little weird and the color palette is narrow and unimaginative, but that's what happens when you think you have yellow and green squash and you have NEITHER. Oh well. Let's talk about the odd looking little chicken things, because they were really really yummy. (especially with shrimp sauce generously donated by one of the girls in my office who ordered hibachi for lunch)

I first saw a recipe for norimaki chicken on The Soy-sauce Queen and thought how tasty that would be in a bento. But being me, I like to experiment with flavors, even on the first try sometimes. SO. Here's my version:

My Norimaki Chicken Recipe

low sodium soy sauce
mirin
chili Thai sauce
nori (seaweed)
chicken thigh, cut into finger-length strips
oil

1. Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl, 4 parts soy sauce, 2 parts mirin, 1 part chili sauce (or however spicy you like it). This is your marinade, so only make as much as you need for how much chicken you're using.
2. Marinade chicken pieces 10 - 15 minutes. Soy sauce will toughen meat quickly, so you don't want to leave it in long.
3. Wrap pieces of chicken in nori and place on a lightly oiled pan.
4. Bake at 375 F for 15 minutes or until done... my oven is screwy so I have no idea how long my invention recipes take in standard ovens!!

Note: I just discovered Soy-sauce Queen... only to realize the site has moved but I can't find where they moved TO. All I get is a "Go Daddy" page. If you know where they are, please let me know, I'm loving their recipe collection!

Stress Relief Miracle Cure

Remember how I said I would be lighthearted most of the time? Now I'm going to prove it to you! I've been interning with a congressional campaign in my district. The primaries are tomorrow which means it's way past crunch time and I've been a little stressed today. I'd love to share all the crazy details that go into coordinating a grassroots campaign with youth volunteers... but the competition might spy out this post. :) Finally at the end of my day, tired and gross feeling, I flopped into a chair to have dinner.

Still waiting for the light-heartedness? Here we go.

After a plateful of pasta primavera, I found my last Oreo truffle waiting for me in the freezer! I'm not sure where to begin describing this fantastically easy dessert... it's something like "hmmmm....nom nom nom....sigh"! I'd like to share it with you in all its chocolaty glory...

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 pkg. (or 3 sleeves if you buy a family sized box:) of finely crushed Oreo cookies

2 pkg. (8 squares) of baking chocolate, melted

Just crush up your Oreos finely - I like to put them in a large ziplock bag and take a rolling pin to the bag! Then take your softened cream cheese and mix it and the cookie crumbs into a batter. Then roll it into little balls and set them aside. Melt your chocolate and dip the truffles in the chocolate, coating them fully and evenly. Using two forks to hold the truffles works best for me. Then set them on a pan, pop them in the freezer and let them set for at least an hour.

If you want to get fancy, drizzle them with melted white or dark chocolate, sprinkle them with extra cookie crumbs, coffee grinds, or whatever you want! Also, try making the whole batch with Mint Oreos.

WARNING - These Oreo truffles are highly delicious, incredibly rich, and disturbingly addictive. However, they are the best stress cure I know and go great with girls nights!