Crowd Pleasers: Warm Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Hi Friends!

It's been too long, sorry for being MIA! Just to make it up to you, I'm going to share one of my absolute favorite appetizers, spinach & artichoke dip.  We all know that this tasty dip can be a bit of an indulgence - but the ingredients in this particular recipe put a healthy twist on a traditionally sinful favorite.  Once again, I attribute this great find to Ellie Krieger and one of my favorite cookbooks, The Food You Crave.  And don't miss Regan's homemade pita chips below - they're a perfect match for this recipe!

Warm Spinach & Artichoke Dip: Courtesy of Ellie Krieger

• 1 tablespoon canola oil C: I use extra-virgin olive oil instead, either works
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups) C: I only use about 3/4 a cup - it seems like a lot of onion to me.
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 (9-ounce) package artichoke hearts, defrosted, rinsed and dried C: Jarred or canned also work great.
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, excess liquid squeezed out
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) Neufchatel cheese (reduced-fat cream cheese)
• 2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese C: I usually use about another 1/4 c to sprinkle on top.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F

1. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes, or until onions are light-golden but not browned. Remove from heat and cool.

C: I like my dip with a little more texture as opposed to a spread-like consistency, so here's where I change things up --

2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, Neufchatel, mozzarella, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Process until smooth.  Scoop out into medium sized bowl.

3. Place spinach and artichokes into processor bowl and pulse until broken up, but not completely incorporated. Spoon into bowl with other ingredients and mix to combine all ingredients.  

4. Spread into an 8-inch glass square baking dish or 9-inch glass pie plate which has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through. 

C: I've often made double batches and found that it takes about 45 minutes to be heated throughout.  

Regan's Homemade Pita Chips

2-4 Pieces of pita bread

Dried oregano

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F

1. Cut the pita bread in half and then in two inch strips. Cut through the center to make thinner chips.

2. Place on cookie sheet so that the chips do not overlap. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with oregano, a dash of salt and pepper.  

3. Bake for 10-12 minutes until brown and crispy.

It's that easy!  The pita chips also go great with salads, and you could probably switch out the herbs to explore different flavors.

Cheers!

Claud

Treasured Recipes: Couscous-Stuffed Chicken w/Feta, Sun-Dried Tomato & Kalamata Olives

If you're a food lover and bride-to-be, then listen up!  Some of my most treasured wedding gifts were recipes from my family and friends.  Back in October, I was fortunate enough to be given a gorgeous bridal shower by a wonderful group of ladies, and each invitation was accompanied by a recipe card.  Guests filled out the cards with one (or sometimes two!) of their favorites, and brought them to the shower to be placed in a recipe card box next to the guest book.  I just loved it!

The recipe below is from my long-time family friends, neighbors and Israel natives, the Zreik's.  Growing up, I was close friends with their daughter, Maya, and spent many an evening at their house for dinner.  It was their that I was introduced to pita bread, couscous, grape leaves, Greek yogurt, and tabbouleh.  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

So needless to say, I was especially excited about this one because not only do I have fond memories of eating with the Zreik's, but both Matt and I love every ingredient in this recipe (his favorite food is "olives").  I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did! It's a keeper for sure.

Couscous-Stuffed Chicken w/Feta, Sun-Dried Tomato & Kalamata Olives

For the Couscous:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. kalamata olives, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 c. chicken stock

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (or more if desired)

1- 10 oz. box of couscous

4 tbsp. sun-dried tomatoes, drained & chopped

1/2 lb. crumbled feta

For the Chicken:

4 - 6oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt

fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. butter

For the Sauce: 

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. white wine

1/2 c. lemon juice

6 tbsp. sun-dried tomatoes

4 tbsp. kalamata olives, chopped

2 tbsp. butter

1/4 lb. feta cheese, crumbled

Couscous

In saucepan over medium heat add olive oil, when hot, add the garlic & red pepper flakes.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes and saute a few minutes more.  Add olives and chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Add the box of couscous, turn ff heat and let stand, covered for 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork and season with salt and pepper.  Spread 2 cups on large plate, add in 1/2 lb. feta and let cool. Keep the remaining hot to serve with chicken.  

Chicken

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Trim chicken w/ a boning knife, if needed.  Start at top of breast and carefully make a length-wise cut from top to bottom and making a pocket about 2 inches, making sure not to pierce the other side of the breast.  When couscous is cool enough to handle, carefully spoon couscous mixture into pocket.  Even out the stuffing by gently moving it around with your hands.  Wipe off any excess couscous from outside of breasts and season with salt and pepper.  

Heat olive oil and butter in the saute pan and brown off both sides of chicken.  Place chicken on baking sheet and place in oven for 20 min.  While chicken is baking, make the sauce.  

Sauce

In saute pan that you cooked chicken breasts in, heat and add garlic.  Deglaze with white wine and add lemon juice.  Reduce by 1/3.  Add in sun-dried tomatoes, let reduce for 2 to 3 min.  Add the olives, turn off heat, add the butter, stir to combine.  

To serve, place warmed couscous on plate, cut chicken breast in half, top with sauce, crumble remaining feta cheese over.  

The only thing I forgot to do was season the chicken! It still turned out great, but I'd recommend adding the salt and pepper. 

Cheers!

Claud

DIY: Roasted Tomato & Garlic Hummus

One of my favorite middle-eastern treats is hummus.  It's a great, healthy snack, and makes for a tasty appetizer, too!  Next time you're thinking about picking some up, try making it yourself. It's super easy, and only takes minutes.  This recipe is one I threw together after discovering my love for roasted tomatoes from my previous post.

Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato & Garlic Hummus

1 can garbonzo beans

2 medium tomatoes, roasted

1 garlic clove, papery outermost skin removed, but left unpeeled.

1/4 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of pepper

4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Slice tomatoes into 8 wedges and discard the seeds. Place the tomatoes and garlic in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil.

Rinse the beans under cold water (rinsing removes a good amount of the sodium). Let drain for a few minutes.

Place beans into food processor (or blender) along with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Pulse until creamy.  Add garlic, tomatoes, salt, pepper and remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil and pulse until desired texture is achieved.  If you want the hummus to be completely creamy, you can pulse all ingredients at once. I like the bits of tomato, so I prefer to add the remaining ingredients after the beans are blended. 

Cheers!

Claud

Healthy Eating: Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and White Beans

Matt and I have crazy work hours and often eat dinner late, so I'm always looking for healthy, light recipes to make.  One of my favorite finds is a cookbook by Ellie Krieger called The Food You Crave. It has tons of easy, healthy recipes, that still have a lot of depth.  A lot of times we think of eating healthy as boring or not as satisfying, but it doesn't have to be! 

There are a lot of things you can do with vegetables or fresh herbs to make a dish both tasty and healthy.  For example, roasting.  This particular dish calls for roasted tomatoes and garlic, which is something I'd never tried. The flavors change so much through roasting and it could not be easier.  The sweet, tart flavor of the tomatoes, with the texture of the beans and strong, but somehow still subtle taste of garlic was an amazing combination. 

Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and White Beans: Courtesy of Ellie Krieger

3 large ripe tomatoes 

6 large garlic cloves, papery outermost skin removed, but left unpeeled

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste 

Freshly ground black pepper

Once 15.5 ounce can cannellini or other white beans, preferably low-sodium (C: I used navy beans)

1/2 box (8 oz.) penne pasta (C: I use whole wheat)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/3 c. fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (C: I used Kraft blend from my last post)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Slice each tomato into 8 wedges and discard the seeds.  Put the tomato wedges and garlic in a 9x13-inch roasting pan, toss with 2 tbsp of the oil, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and a few turns of the pepper.  

Roast, uncovered, until the tomatoes lose their shape and become slightly charred. 35 to 40 minutes. C: Start checking them at about 30 minutes

Drain the beans in a large colander in the sink. C: helps reduce the sodium

Cook the pasta according to the package direction.  Drain the pasta in the colander containing the beans, so that the hot pata water warms the beans.  Return the drained pasta and beans to the pasta pot.  

When the tomatoes are done, carefully pick out the garlic cloves, squeeze the garlic out of the skin into a small bowl, and mash with a fork.  add the lemon juice, the remaining 1 tbsp pil and 1/4 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper, and stir to combine.  Transfer the roasted tomatoes to the pasta pot, add the garlic lemon mixture and basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss to combine. Serve with the Parmesan. 

 

Serves 4

Serving Size: 1.5 cups

Per Serving

476 calories

14.5g fat

A couple of notes:

• Although this is pasta dish, a lot of the calories usually come from the sauce, so since this doesn't have any, its still pretty healthy. However, the above nutrition facts may vary based on what kind of pasta you use. 
• Watch the tomatoes and garlic closely while roasting.  Mine were a little overdone, but I only roasted them for 35 minutes. 
• Go easy on the salt. There are a lot of strong flavors in this dish, and it's not really needed.

Cheers!

Claud

Quick Dinner Fav: Italian Turkey Sausage & Sun-dried Tomato Rigatoni

I've made this for dinner a couple of times now, and I have to say that its become one of our favorites.  Sometimes the best recipes come from the days you're rummaging through your pantry just trying to throw something together. This is definitely one of those recipes.

Turkey Sausage & Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

Half a box of Whole Wheat Rigatoni Pasta

3 Italian Turkey Sausage Links

12 oz. Pasta Sauce 

• (My Fav: Fire-Roasted Tomato & Garlic, by Classico)

1/2 c. Sun-Dried Tomatoes, chopped

4 oz. Black Olives, sliced

1/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 tbsp Basil, chopped

1/4 c. Shredded Cheese 

• (I used Kraft's Shredded Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago)

1. Bring 4 cups of lightly-salted water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan. Add a 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and pasta to water and cook for 10-12 minutes. 

2. Remove sausage from casing and cook until lightly browned, breaking up into small pieces.

3. Warm pasta sauce, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes in a small saucepan until heated throughout. 

4. Drain cooked pasta, toss in medium sized bowl with remaining olive oil.

5. Add sauce to pasta, top with ground turkey sausage, and toss until combined. 

Serve with a sprinkle of cheese and enjoy!

Cheers!

Claud

Sooo Worth It - Simple Chicken Curry

Hello friends! It's been too long! Things have been crazy lately, but trust me, our kitchen has NOT been lonely. I've got pictures upon pictures and many a recipe to share, so here goes...

So in an attempt to venture outside of my kitchen comfort zone, I hesitantly asked my friend Sheena if she had any simple Indian food recipes she could share.  Now I say hesitantly because the thought of cooking something I'd really only eaten maybe 2 times in my life, was a little intimidating!  But Sheena assured me that I could do it.  So I gave it a shot, and not only was it a huge success, but I got to use my rice cooker for the first time ever!

Sheena's Chicken Curry

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts C: I also added a half a pound of shrimp.

2 tsp Cumin Seeds C: I used about 1 tsp, but might cut it out next time. Cumin can be very strong, so it's just a personal preference.

2 tsp Coriander Seeds C: Fun fact - Did you know that coriander is the seed to the cilantro plant?

2 tsp Black Peppercorns (or however much you'd like)

1 Whole dry red chili (this can be substituted with chili powder) CN: I used 2 and would consider using a 3rd. I like it spicy!

1 peeled, 2 inch piece of fresh ginger

5 Garlic cloves

3-4 tbsp. of Olive Oil

1/2 c water

1 Onion, chopped

4 Large Tomatoes C: When you're cutting the tomatoes, it seems like A LOT, but add all 4! I only added 3, but they reduce quite a bit, so I wish I would've added the 4th.

1. Heat pan and dry roast the coriander, cumin and peppercorns. After a few minutes, grind to a coarse powder. C: I didn't have peppercorns or cumin seeds so I roasted the powder which seemed to work.

  

2. Grind/grate red chilies, ginger and garlic to a fine paste. C: I didn't have a food processor or a coffee grinder for the seeds, so I tried putting it all in a blender (be sure to cut ginger into small pieces). It didn't work out so well at first, everything was flying to the side and nothing was being ground.  I added a little olive oil and water to bring everything together, and that seemed to do the trick.

3. Heat oil in a shallow pot, add onion and saute until lightly browned.  Add the dry powders and the paste and continue to saute for 3-4 minutes. 

 

4. Add chopped tomatoes and salt and continue to saute until the tomatoes become soft.

5. Add chicken/shrimp, water and stir. 

6. Cover and cook on medium heat until the meat is cooked throughout. Add cilantro leaves and serve with rice or naan. 

 

Absolutely delicious!!

Cheers!

Claud

 

Lemon Ricotta Biscuits, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways....

Where oh where do I begin? Let's start with the texture... One of my favorite things about these "biscuits" is that they are more like a cross between a biscuit and a scone- which I just looove.  The melt-in-your-mouth kind of scone or biscuit, the kind that makes you reach for your coffee, close your eyes and say "mmmm." 

Don't believe me? Well let's talk flavor. The lemon, almond and ricotta are like best friends in this recipe.  The subtle tangy lemon, the sweet but bold almond, and the fluffy creamy ricotta create an impressive balance.  With none too overpowering, the results are pure perfection. 

Nonna's Lemon Ricotta Biscuits: Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis
2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling 
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 c. thinly sliced almonds

Yield: 12 Biscuits

1. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl to blend. C: Use the paper cups!! I did not, and wish I would have because, although they still tasted great, the outside layer of the biscuit that touched the pan was a bit more cooked than the top of the muffin. (See pictures below)  

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter , and lemon zest until light and fluffy

Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be think and fluffy).  C: In my opinion, the batter will resemble sticky mashed potatoes. 

3. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and some sugar over the muffins. C: Pretty please don't forget the sugar on top!

Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on the top, about 20 minutes. Cook lightly serve warm or at room temperature. C:Definitely serve warm!

C:Notice the bottom of the muffin is a little more cooked, it could be that I left them in too long, but I bet using the muffin cups would have helped.

A note on lemon zest: 

The white, inner part of the rind holds the bitter taste, so be careful not to over-grate the lemon.

Over-grated lemon

Nicely-grated lemon :)

Cheers!
Claud