Summer Squash & Spinach Frittata

Things have been crazy, and tomorrow marks my last day shift...I start nights on Monday. Party. I can hardly believe that I'm already over halfway through orientation! Time flies. Plus, I'm super excited about Halloween being next week! Yes, I'm working, but I get to dress up. And I'll be fulfilling a childhood dream. Any guesses? Hint--my costume involves the color pink. (Shocking, I know.) I need to finish it up this weekend.

I whipped together a frittata earlier this week for dinner. Mostly because we had eggs, summer/yellow squash and baby spinach that needed used, and I figured a frittata was the best way to go. Frittatas are really great. There's so much possibility. You can basically throw in whatever veggie you want. You can use more or less eggs depending on how thick or big you want it. Toss in some herbs. Maybe some cheese. It's simple. It's tasty. It's fabulous. 

Summer Squash & Spinach Frittata

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 medium summer squash, thinly sliced

1 bag/box of fresh baby spinach

1/3 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

7 large eggs

Basil to taste

Salt & pepper to taste

EVOO

• Preheat oven to 400*F. 
• Heat up some EVOO in a large, oven-safe skillet. Add the onion & garlic and cook for a couple minutes. Add in the squash and cook until it's pretty soft. Add in the spinach. If your skillet has a lid, throw it on top to help steam the spinach. 
• In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add cheese, basil, salt & pepper. Mix together & pour over the veggies in the skillet. 
• Let it all sit on the stove for like 1-2 minutes before transferring to the oven. Once it's in the oven, bake until set (it took mine like 5 minutes).

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato with Quinoa, Spinach & Cranberries

Here's a great, super easy, fast Meatless Monday dish! I came across it on Pinterest, but it didn't actually  link to a recipe...so I just kind of guessed as to how much of what went into it. I saved some time by having quinoa already cooked (at one point I made a bunch, divided it up, and froze it) and by using the frozen chopped spinach. It turned out pretty tasty!

Here's what you need:
1 sweet potato
EVOO
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup diced white onion
1/2 cup chopped spinach 
2-4 TBSP dried cranberries
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
Salt & pepper to taste

This is how you do it:

• Heat up a small pan with a little EVOO in the bottom. Add the garlic & onion with some salt & pepper; cook until soft. Add in the dried cranberries, followed by the spinach and finally quinoa. Cook until everything's heated up.
• Meanwhile, cook your sweet potato in the microwave. Mine has a really great potato setting. And everything ended up being done at the same time. Perfect. 

I have to say, I'm enjoying this fall weather. And the rain. I switched out my sandals for boots. Pulled out my sweaters. Got out my big, fluffy blanket. There are various fall Scentsy smells warming throughout the house. It's kind of wonderful. Plus, I started watching "Parenthood." Why have I never seen this before?! Decent stuff. Tomorrow I will begin a work marathon of sorts...so I'll be accepting coffee deliveries through Sunday. But Seriously. 

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

Pumpkin, Sausage & Spinach Calzones

I came across a recipe for pumpkin, sausage and spinach calzones in some magazine. Since I couldn't pin it, I lost track of the actual recipe. But what I ended up making was pretty stinking good. Totally delicious. Decently healthy. Yummy goodness.  

I decided on using the spicy/hot Italian chicken sausage from Sprouts. I like a little kick, but if that's not your thing, sweet Italian sausage would work too. Of course, you can go with turkey, pork, or whatever meat you like. You can also use your cheese of choice. I went with a white extra sharp cheddar. Again, I like things that have a little extra bite or whatever. For time's sake, I rounded up a recipe for no-yeast WW pizza crust from Kristin in Her Kitchen. I also saved some time by using frozen chopped spinach. 

Pumpkin, Sausage & Spinach Calzones

Ingredients for the crust:

1 1/2 cups WW flour

1/2 cup AP flour

1 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup EVOO

Ingredients for the filling:

EVOO

8 oz Italian sausage

2 cups frozen chopped spinach

Salt & pepper

4 heaping TBSP pureed pumpkin

3-4 oz cheese, shredded 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 450*F and grab a non-stick cookie sheet.
• In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the crust; whisk together. Add the water and EVOO. Mix well. Set aside.
• In a saute pan, add some EVOO and heat it up on high. Add the sausage. Cook thoroughly. Remove the sausage from the pan. Turn the heat down to low.
• Add a tad bit more EVOO to the pan (may not be necessary if you're using a sausage with more fat). Add the spinach, salt & pepper. Saute for a couple minutes, or until the spinach is warmed up. Remove from heat.
• Divide your dough for the crust into 4 equal parts. Roll out into like 7-8" circles. Place 1 heaping TBSP of pumpkin and spread it around (leave about 1/4" around the edges). Divide up the spinach, sausage, and cheese between the circles. Fold each circle over. Use a fork and go around the edges to seal them. 
• Place the calzones on your cookie sheet. You can spread a little EVOO on top. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until slightly golden. 

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash & Spinach Quesadillas

Another successful Meatless Monday! I adapted these delicious quesadillas from the Pioneer Woman, making them a little healthier and much simpler to make. I don't know about you, but I don't like waiting around for butternut squash to roast in the oven. I've become a huge fan of the frozen kind that I found at Sprouts. I also ended up using spinach that chopped and frozen, so it took no time at all to steam both the butternut squash and spinach together in my Pampered Chef steamer thing. I did take the time to make my own whole wheat tortillas, but that is totally optional. 

The mother and I thought they were quite delicious. The brother, surprisingly, didn't complain too much. He just said they tasted "insanely healthy." The recipe I have made 3 generously filled quesadillas, so adjust it to your needs. Enjoy!


Butternut Squash & Spinach Quesadillas

Ingredients:
2 cups cubed butternut squash
3 cups chopped spinach
4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded/grated
Salt, pepper & chili powder to taste 
6 whole wheat tortillas (click here for recipe) 
Cilantro, for serving

Directions:

• Preheat a griddle to about 400 degrees. Prepare with cooking spray.
• Steam butternut squash, spinach, salt, pepper, and chili powder until the squash is soft.
• Assemble quesadillas, one at a time. Begin by spreading about 3/4 cup of the squash/spinach mixture on a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, and top with another tortilla.
• Place the quesadillas on the hot griddle and cook for about a minute on each side.

Apple, Goat Cheese & Spinach Stuffed Chicken

I made some yummy chicken this past Tuesday evening as kind of a "last supper" before two days of camp food. I looked at several recipes online and took out what I didn't like (like breading and frying) and put together the things I did like. I was pretty excited about it. I don't believe I've ever done stuffed chicken before. My favorite party was beating the chicken breasts with a mallet. It's really pretty fun. I kind of expected the brother to be weirded out by the apples and spinach, but he said it was "fantastic." Score. Of course, I thought it was pretty good too. I'll admit, though, I'm a little weirded out by having my chicken wrapped around something. Not as much as I am by having it cubed (I actually won't eat cubed pieces of chicken...), but still. I really prefer chicken that is a piece, sliced, or shredded. Judge me. The flavor of this chicken was so good that I could getting over weird part. Also, it smells amazing while it's baking. Enjoy!


Apple, Goat Cheese & Spinach Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
4 oz goat cheese
1 apple, cored and finely diced
2 cups of spinach, chopped and steamed
Salt & pepper to taste

White Wine Sauce:
2/3 cup white wine
1/2 cup natural applesauce
2 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp corn starch
2 TBSP water 
Rosemary, sage, salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare like an 8x8 baking dish.
• Place the chicken breasts between wax paper and pound (I used a mallet) until they're about 1/4" thick. Season with salt & pepper.
• In a bowl, mix the goat cheese, apple, and spinach. Evenly divide the mixture between each chicken breast. Fold over or roll up each piece. Place in baking dish.
• Bring the wine, applesauce, agave, and seasonings to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and water until smooth. Add to the sauce to thicken it a little. 
• Pour the sauce over the stuffed chicken. Bake for about 35 minutes or until done. 

*A good variation would be to simply place the apple/goat cheese/spinach mixture on top of the chicken breasts to bake. While that's happening, you could make your sauce to serve on top or on the side. Whatever you like!

Spinach Stuffed Sweet Potato

I am digging this Meatless Monday business. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good piece of meat. Especially something nice and juicy off the grill. But I like Meatless Monday because then it somewhat narrows down the options for what to cook...kind of...maybe I'll start Fish Friday too. This was a Pinterest find. I decided I should probably make it this week since the brother is still gone, and he doesn't like sweet potatoes or spinach. I think they turned out to be quite delicious. I did change up the original recipe a little bit by just omitting the water chestnuts (who really likes those anyways?), and I "baked" the potatoes the first time around in the microwave (instead of in the oven)...because we have a really great 1-touch sensor setting thing that works really well (and it's really easy). Enjoy!


Spinach Stuffed Sweet Potato

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
2 cups spinach (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup light ricotta cheese
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
EVOO for drizzling your pan
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

• Bake your sweet potatoes in the microwave or oven, whichever you prefer. If you use the microwave, go ahead and preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
• Meanwhile, drizzle a saute pan with your EVOO and heat it up. Add onion and garlic and cook until the onion is becoming translucent. Add the spinach and cook until it just begins to wilt (fresh) or thaws (frozen). 
• In a large bowl, combine the yogurt and ricotta. 
• When the sweet potatoes are done baking, slice them down the middle and scoop out some to mix with the yogurt/ricotta mixture. Don't scoop out too much...you want it to hold it's shape. Place the skins in a baking dish.
• Add your onion/garlic/spinach mixture to the yogurt/ricotta/sweet potato one and mix it together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon the mixture into the skins and bake until warmed through. (I think I just did about 15 minutes.)
• Sprinkle the parmesan on top and put back in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Quinoa & Spinach Egg Bake

I was super excited when I found this on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago. I'm always up for an easy, protein-packed breakfast. I really like that I can make this once and have breakfast for 6 days. It's also pretty yummy, unless you do not like spinach. This is what I ended up making on Friday night...or really early Saturday morning...when I could not sleep. The original recipe is from Whole Foods. I changed it a little, using mozzarella instead of Romano or Parmesan. The caloric value will change depended on what kind of cheese and milk you use, but mine turns out to be around 219 calories with 16 grams of protein per serving.


Quinoa & Spinach Egg Bake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa 
8 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk (I used fat-free organic)
1 TBSP chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups packed baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I recommend shredding your own)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a non-stick cooking spray to grease an 8x8 pan. 

Whisk everything but the spinach and cheese together in a bowl; stir in spinach. Pour mixture into prepared 8x8 dish. Gently jiggle so the quinoa falls to the bottom. Cover with foil and bake until egg is set, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Grilled Mozzarella Sandwiches with Marinara

I am very behind on my posting... Here it goes: A little twist on a favorite indulgence. I will go ahead and admit that there's nothing quite like a warm, grilled cheese (Velveeta) sandwich with heated up, canned tomato soup on a cold day. It's just good...at least it tastes good. I got the main idea for this meal on Pinterest, of course. But, I decided to make it a little more complicated, obviously, and make the marinara sauce from scratch. I also sauteed up some mushrooms and spinach to go on the side. (Yum!) All in all, this is healthier than the average grilled cheese. Definitely less preservatives and that kind of junk. Also, quite tasty.The whole fam loved it!

For the sandwiches...

• Use whole grain bread. I really like the Sprouts variety, which only has 6 or so ingredients.

• Use a butter substitute on one side of each slice of bread. Again, Sprouts has one that I really like. 

• Sprinkle a mixture of Italian seasonings on the "buttered" side of the bread

• Use a block of fresh mozzarella cheese and cut slices to fill your sandwich.

• Grill 'em 'til they're perfect!

For the marinara sauce...
I recommend this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. Make sure to get the crushed tomatoes that do NOT have salt added. Also, cut the preservatives by buying organic. 

For the (mu)shrooms and spinach...
All I did was saute the shrooms with some EVOO and garlic. Then, I added a bag of baby spinach leaves and an unknown amount of white (cooking) wine. Cooked it down. Pretty easy.

Scrambled Eggs with Spinach, Tomatoes & Feta

On most Saturdays, breakfast is the highlight of the day...at least as far as meals go.  Lunch is practically non-existent, and dinner is random.  This morning I made scrambled eggs with baby spinach, Roma tomatoes, and reduced-fat feta cheese crumbles.  The inspiration for this meal?  "We need to use up the tomatoes and spinach, and I'm tired of seeing the feta in the fridge."  Conveniently, we had eggs.  It was delicious, filling, and decently healthy. 

The rest of the day consisted of fairly successful errand running and house projects.  I think we ran errands to 8 different places, one of which was feeding and watering a turtle.  The brother continued his electrical work at the house, so we have had varying degrees of electricity today--very exciting!  I think everything is done, except for the light in my bathroom.  For some reason only the light that's part of the fan is wired, while the light over the sink is not...makes getting ready fairly interesting.  I put together (with some help) and painted (by myself) a piece to go inside our entertainment center; it will make it possible for the U-verse box and game systems to be under the TV.  I also went to a lovely wedding this evening at OC.  It has certainly been a full day, and there's still plenty of things to do...including working out...Better get off and get to work!