Mushroom and Spinach Penne

Sometimes the best dinners come about when you’re just scrounging up random things you have left in your fridge.  This is especially true with pasta.  You can make pasta with anything in it, the random bits of vegetables leftover from previous dishes are perfect to add to a pasta dish.  That’s what I did yesterday when I made this.

I’d been itching to make pasta ever since I got back from spring break (it was fabulous by the way) with the colander my sister bought me.

It would seem she was scandalized last fall when she visited me and found out I was draining pasta with a plate over the top of my pots.  But really, buying a colander seemed so unnecessary…besides, I was absolutely incapable of remembering that I needed one every time I went to the store.  I finally got around to making pasta last night, and decided to throw in all the little bits of veggies I needed to use up.  You can, of course, take the idea of this recipe and use any vegetables you have lying around in your fridge.  In fact, I encourage it!  Green peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, all would be an awesome addition or substitute in this pasta if you’ve got them on hand.  A can of diced tomatoes (which I usually have…gotta go to the store) would be delicious too.  Play around with it and do what’s convenient for you.

Ingredients (serves 4):

12 oz penne pasta

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 red pepper, diced

2 cups mushrooms

salt and pepper to taste

5 oz spinach (frozen or fresh will work, whatever you’ve got)

1/3 c white wine

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, saute garlic and onions in olive oil over medium heat until onions become translucent.  Add red pepper and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper.  Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.  Add spinach, wine, and lemon juice.  Simmer for 5 minutes until spinach is wilted (fresh) or heated through (frozen).

3. Place cooked pasta in a bowl and combine with vegetable mixture and cheese.  Toss and serve with additional cheese.

Kielbasa and Black Bean Soup

I adapted this recipe a few years ago from a weight-watchers cookbook at my grandma’s house.  My grandma is a great cook, and her best dishes are soups.  I think I probably get my love of making soups from her.  Originally coming from a weight-watchers cookbook, this recipe is obviously really pretty healthy, full of spinach and black beans.  The flavor of the kielbasa works really well with the beans, but it could be omitted to make this soup vegetarian (use veggie broth too) without completely losing the delicious-ness.

Serve with a slice of crusty bread.  Yum.

Ingredients (serves 6):

1 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 lb kielbasa (sliced)

1/2 medium onion, diced

2 small carrots, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1/2 red pepper, diced

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

6 c chicken broth

1/2 tsp oregano

pepper to taste

1 (10 oz) pkg chopped frozen spinach; thawed and drained

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the kielbasa and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.

2. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the spinach; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add spinach and cook for another 5 minutes.

Spinach and White Bean Pasta

I love quick pasta recipes.  Especially quick pasta recipes that are essentially: chop a couple things, open a couple cans, boil water.  How much easier can it get, right?  I wouldn’t have had time to make dinner yesterday, what with track practice after school and Tuesday night trivia at 8, if it wasn’t for this recipe.  Simply and tasty, perfect for a weeknight dinner when you’re crunched for time but don’t want to pick up take out or eat pre-prepared food.

Ingredients (serves 4):

8 oz pasta (I used penne, but only because it’s my fav and what I had on hand)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 (14.5 oz) can Italian diced tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz) can white beans (like Cannellini or Great Northern), drained and rinsed

1/4 cup white wine

5 cups spinach, chopped

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Saute garlic and mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, beans, and white wine and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add spinach and continue to simmer until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Spoon bean and spinach mixture over pasta and top with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Spicy Potato Soup

 

I think New Years is easily my favorite time of year.  It really has nothing to do with the holiday, however, and everything to do with the fact that for the last 5 years I have spent NYE with my best friend from college.  It’s fantastic, especially now that we’re all “real adults” now and whatnot.  For the last 2 years, we’ve spent the new year at his place in Chicago, and delicious food always results.  Adam likes to cook, but he claims he doesn’t have the time to do it very often.  Also, I figure living by himself probably contributes to the lack of a desire to cook as well, I know I get lazy when I’m only cooking for myself too.  When we’re together though, we always cook at least half of the time.  Sadly, our NYE ham turned out a little questionable…I’ll take the blame for that one though after a terrible brain fart moment of bad conversion between minutes and hours…yeah, that ham may not have been fully cooked…whatever, it still tasted good.  Plus, the green bean casserole (only the best holiday dish ever, fyi) and sweet potatoes con marshmallows were delicious, so whatever.

Our other meal, I am happy to say, was much more successful.  I actually made this soup for Adam for the first time last year during my new years visit, he liked it so much that he requested it again this year.  Even our friend Derek, who doesn’t like spinach, thought it was delicious!  I’ve made this recipe with both the andouille and with the chorizo, frankly it’s just a matter of what I can find at the store.  Both turn out delicious.  If you have the option though, go with the andouille sausage, it’s far less greasy.  If you’re not a fan of heat, you can always make this soup with polish sausage or a mild Italian sausage instead.

Ingredients (serves 8):

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil (omit if using chorizo)

1/2 onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb andouille sausage, sliced into rounds OR 1 lb chorizo, casings removed

6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups milk

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions if using andouille (or other sliced sausage):

1. Heat the butter and oil together in a large stock pot over medium heat and cook onions and garlic until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add sausage slices, cook and stir another 5 minutes.  Stir in potatoes; cook and stir 15 minutes.  Add chicken broth, milk, heavy cream, and Italian seasoning.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Stir in spinach and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until spinach has heated through.  Top with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Directions if using chorizo (or other crumbled sausage):

1. Heat butter in a large stock pot over medium heat and cook onions and garlic until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add chorizo and cook until meat has browned thoroughly, about 5-7 minutes.  Drain excess grease.  Stir in potatoes; cook and stir 15 minutes.  Add chicken broth, milk, heavy cream, and Italian seasoning.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Stir in spinach and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until spinach has heated through.  Top with Parmesan cheese to serve.

 

Spinach Black Bean Lasagna

Well, it’s been a really long time since I last posted a recipe.  I hope everyone reading this had a fantastic Thanksgiving.  I definitely needed the break.  I went on a little mini vacation with my two of my best friends to Vegas.  It was absolutely fabulous.  I even won some money!  Yay for beginners luck, right?  We were way too busy gambling, drinking, and eating Denny’s (an unreasonable amount of Denny’s actually…) to be cooking anything.  Then of course there was Thanksgiving, but my mom, Em, and I didn’t really make anything particularly interesting.  Just the usual Thanksgiving deliciousness.  I did, however, make apple cider roasted potatoes and squash, which was a big hit.

Wednesday of this week I finally found myself back in the kitchen.  My friend Frodo (no, that’s not his real name, but he really looks a lot like Elijah Wood) came over for dinner.  We were really great friends while we were at Institute (TFA teacher training), but we’ve failed at hanging out ever since we’ve been teaching.  Last time we saw each other at professional development we decided we definitely needed to hang out, which gave me a perfect excuse to try this recipe!  My friend Daniel made this lasagna for my old roommate (his girlfriend at the time) last year.  It was fantastic and I’ve been meaning to try it for myself.  The original recipe comes from this blog, which looks like a fantastic site that I think I’m going to add to the blogs I keep an eye on.

The combination of black beans and spinach might seem a little weird at first.  Trust me, you won’t question it when you’re eating this lasagna.  Actually, you’ll probably stop questioning anything once the amazing smells from your oven hit you.  The layers of beans and spinach/ricotta are really different, but they come together really well and compliment each other well in every bite.  Katie and Frodo both really loved it.  If you try it, please let me know what you think!

Ingredients (serves 6):

2 Eggs, beaten

15oz fat free ricotta cheese

2.5 cups fresh spinach, cut into long strips

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, rough chopped

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups  shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2 (14oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 jar pasta sauce (tomato/basil us best)

1 tsp cumin

9 lasagna noodles (get the oven-ready ones, seriously, so much easier)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix together the first 5 ingredients and 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese and set aside.

3. Mash the beans a bit with a fork in a large bowl.  Stir in pasta sauce and cumin.  Spread 1/3 of bean mixture on bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

4. Layer 3 noodles, half of spinach mixture and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese. Repeat the layers.  Top with remaining noodles and remaining bean mixture and remaining Monterey Jack cheese.

5. Bake, covered for 1 hour.  Garnish with chopped cilantro and freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you’d like.

Sausage, Spinach, and White Bean Soup

Today’s recipe was supposed to be a pot roast.  I cut up all my vegetables, prepared the roast, and put everything in my crock pot last night so it would be ready in the morning.  I took it out of the fridge this morning and then I went to school.  In the middle of tutoring this afternoon as I was thinking about texting the folks I wanted to invite over for dinner, I realized…I never turned the crock pot on.  Damn.  I was pretty pissed.  Not only would dinner not be ready when I got home, but I’d wasted all that food.  I wasn’t happy.

The only redeeming quality about this whole incident is that it gave me an excuse to make this soup today instead of on Thursday.  I love soups with spinach, I have another really great one with potatoes, cream, and spicy sausage.  I’ll have to make that one sometime soon as well.  This was the first time I’ve made this soup, but it turned out really delicious, and it’s pretty healthy to boot!  The sausage really makes this soup, I like to use turkey sausage, but of course that’s all personal preference.  If you’re a vegetarian, I’m sure this soup would be good sans sausage (but if you aren’t a veggie you should definitely keep it in!).

Ingredients (serves 8):

1 lb pre-cooked sausage, sliced

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

4 cups chicken broth

2 (14.5oz) cans white beans, undrained

1 (9oz) package spinach, thawed and drained

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup grated parmigian0-reggiano cheese

 

Directions:

1. In a large pot, saute onions, garlic, and sausage in olive oil over medium heat until sausage has browned and onions are transparent.  Add chicken broth, beans and spinach.  Season with bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Top each bowl of soup with parmigian0-reggiano before serving.

Spinach and Feta Pasta

Quick pasta recipes are a must.  I think everyone should have a few quick and easy pasta recipes in their cooking arsenal.  That way, on those days when you just don’t have much time or don’t feel like putting forth too much effort, you can still have a delicious dinner that didn’t come from a box or a drive-thru.  Quick pasta dishes are also great because you can use whatever random bits of vegetable (or even meat) you have left over from previous meals to make them.  This Greek-inspired pasta is perfect for that.  You’ve got half an onion and some random tomatoes leftover from yesterday?  Perfect!  No mushrooms?  That’s ok, use that half a jar of artichoke hearts you’ve had sitting in the fridge for two weeks.  No extra trips to the store necessary.

Ingredients (serves 4)

8oz pasta (I used spaghetti this time because it’s what I had, but in the past I’ve used penne or similar shaped pasta and I think that tends to work a bit better in a dish like this)

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 a small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 cups chopped tomatoes (thanks Ms. Adam’s for the cherry tomatoes!)

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

2 cups spinach leaves

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of crushed red pepper

splash of white wine (maybe 2 tbsp?)

8 oz feta cheese, crumbled

 

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onions and garlic and cook until golden brown.  Mix in tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach.  Season with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and wine.  Cook until tomatoes are heated through and spinach is wilted, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in pasta and feta before serving.

Roasted Potatoes with Spinach

Red potatoes are pretty much the best kind of potatoes.  Maybe you noticed that based on the fact that they’re the only kind of potatoes I’ve cooked with since I started sharing my recipes.  I was looking for a different way to make potatoes tonight, and allrecipes delivered yet again with this recipe for red potatoes with spinach!  I suppose you could make this with another type of potatoes if you have them, but obviously I think red potatoes are the best.

Ingredients:

4-6 red potatoes, cubed

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup spinach leaves

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place the potatoes in a single layer in a baking dish. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook until golden. Stir in the rosemary. Pour over the potatoes in the dish. Season with sea salt and pepper.

3. Roast uncovered for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove from the oven, and toss with the spinach leaves. Return to the oven for 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach has wilted.

Spinach-Artichoke Lasagna

Love this recipe.  It is absolutely one of my go-to company recipes, especially when that company involves vegetarians.  I attempted to make this recipe last year for a lovely little dinner party I was throwing for 3 friends, 2 of which were vegetarians.  The fact that we were all teachers, however, really got in the way of that.  One of them ended up being sick (I’m gonna blame the kids for that one) and the other two had so much work to do that they had to reschedule.  This did not, however, stop me from making this lasagna, because darn it my roommate and I had our hearts set on spinach-artichoke-y goodness and the lack of company was not going to stop us!  Later that night I took some of the leftovers to my friend who was sick to make her feel better.  She seriously raved about this lasagna for a week!

I used my own homemade tomato sauce for this recipe, but feel free to use the store-bought stuff if that’s easier for you.  I’m just cheap, and I made this on a Sunday, so I had plenty of time to devote to making tomato sauce instead of just opening up a jar.

Ingredients:

cooking spray

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (14.5 oz) can vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you’re not feeding this to vegetarians)

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 (14 oz) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 (16 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry

1 (24 oz) jar tomato sauce, or make your own with this recipe

9 oven-ready lasagna noodles

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 (4 oz) package feta cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high. Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes, or until onion is tender-crisp. Stir in broth and rosemary; bring to a boil. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce.

3. Spread 1/4 of the artichoke mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with 3 noodles. Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese over noodles. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with artichoke mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.

4. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.