Sunday, January 18, 2009

Recipe Round Up - Spinach

Spinach and Goat Cheese Penne
1 pound penne pasta
2 garlic cloves
4 ounces goat cheese
Juice of 1 lemon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook about 12 minutes.
Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, lemon juice, and half of the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set the cheese and spinach mixture aside.
Place the remaining spinach leaves and cherry tomatoes in a large bowl.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Spoon the pasta on top the spinach leaves in the bowl. Scrape the cheese and spinach mixture over the pasta mixture and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Parmesan over and serve.





Spinach and Sundried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 clove garlic, minced
6 sun-dried tomatoes(in oil), diced
1 (10-ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese - room temp
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Splash white wine

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the spinach, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic together in a bowl.
Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the chicken. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture.. Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.
Warm  1 tablespoon olive oil 
in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Put chicken in the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers. Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes.Keep warm. Spoon some sauce over the chicken before serving.

Asian Salmon over Wilted Spinach(sorry no pic!! was too hungry to stop and take one!!!)
6 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
4 salmon fillets
4 teaspoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
8 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 lime, quartered
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Cut 4 (12-inch-square pieces) of aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Working with 1 foil sheet at a time, place the foil sheets on the work surface. Place 1 1/2 cups of spinach in the center of each foil sheet. Top with a salmon fillet. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic, then drizzle 2 tablespoons of Marsala, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil over the fish and spinach. Gather the foil sheets over the fish. Fold in the foil edges and pinch tightly to seal. Place the foil packages on a heavy large baking sheet.
Bake until the spinach wilts and the fish is just cooked through, about 15 minutes. Open package and squeeze the lime juice over the fish. Sprinkle with the basil and serve.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Popeye the Sailor Man

So, I have been called out.... by more than several people now. Friends, co-workers, and even family. Over my taking a "sabbatical" , and not posting any recipes lately. Well, I have been informed that "lately" has really been a couple of months. Whoops. Its not that I haven't been cooking, but I have been lazy or busy - whatever you want to call it!!!! I could give you some excuses, but we are all in the same boat. Busy with life, busy with family, busy with job, busy with trying to find time for ourselves etc,etc. I will make you happy (maybe) and post a couple of recipes soon. They all have an ingredient in common - SPINACH!!!! My fav - seriously. I used to eat it as a snack when I was young. And, yes, I do realize that is not the norm. I promise you these recipes will change your opinion (if its a bad one) about spinach. They are super yummy!!! We are always trying to eat healthier and make good food choices, so I hope I can help you enjoy it more!!!
 Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, and vitamin B6. It is a very good source of dietary fiber, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc and vitamin E. In addition, it is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, niacin and selenium. There is just sooo much you can do with it. Why wouldn't you want to eat more!!! I will try to convince you with the pictures and recipes in my next post!!!!!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Christmas Fun!


You can now call her DJ AM
Most everyone knows how much Amelia loves to dress-up. It is an all day affair at my house - from the moment she wakes up. Literally. Christmas morning was no different, of course! We got to see Amelia in her cute Christmas PJ's, then Amelia as Cinderella, then Amelia as a Bride, and finally Amelia as Ariel. She spent a good 45 minutes "swimming" around on the floor. Thought my little sweetie was going to fall asleep right in the middle of all her hard swimming. She loved all her new outfits and have grown especially fond of the bride one which she wants to change into when she wakes, when she goes to bed, etc. 
Taking a swim across the floor
Admiring herself in the mirror - no shocker there
Impromptu dance courtesy of new Scary Singing Barbie Head(see 2nd pic below)
Her new Chihuahua
Scary Singing Barbie Head
Her Barbie Dreamhouse

Monday, December 22, 2008

Making memories.... of any kind!!

Last night, some friends and I were discussing how who ever made up the phrase, "the terrible two's", must of not made it to the 3's and 4's. From what I've been told, and experienced thus far, the closer the girls get to 4, the more dramatic they become. They are sooooo right. Case in point, our lovely trip to the Enchanted Forest today.

                                                                 The Happy Girl
At first, Amelia was super excited and ran around in awe of the animals, fake snow, and lights. Yeah, that lasted about 5 minutes!!! She quickly became very frustrated and mad because I would not allow her to climb over the white fence to join the animals in the snow. Now, I kind of understand this. Who wouldn't want to go play in the beautiful snow with all the fun animals??!!! Then, my excited little angel turned into a foot stomping, crying, trying to scale the fence almost-4 yr old - girl!!! So fun, right!

                                                          Stomping my foot
                                                      Pouting face - look at that lip!!!
                                                            Trying to scale the fence

                                                                      Full-on meltdown!!
Gigi and I should have wasted no time getting Amelia out of there. But, the blogger that I am now (hahaha), had to get pictures of her, before I could carry her out of there! That's another thing - my "blogging friends" and I were talking about... How, if we catch our children doing something funny, precious, or naughty, we quickly go get our cameras. We all think to ourselves, "this would make a great post on the blog'!!! Today was no different, which I think just infuriated Amelia even more. I think we like to capture all moments... the good, the bad, and the ugly!! Because they all do make great memories!!!

Friday, December 19, 2008

The day has finally arrived








Finally, I was able to watch Amelia during her ballet class. Her teacher, Ms Mary, invited the mommies in for the last 15 minutes of class. I have been waiting "patiently" for this moment. All the girls in Amelia's class are just precious and she has loved going to see all her "ballet friends", as she refers to them!! We are definitely going to sign up for the Spring!!!  I think I took over 150 pictures. It was just too cute!!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Happy Birthday???

The finished product
Happy Birthday!!
Hard at work
Another Happy Birthday
So careful
Ahhh, Christmas time!!! It is the best, isn't it?? Decorating the house, ornaments on the tree, buying gifts, making cookies. Amelia LOVES all of it!! Every morning when she wakes up and every night before she goes to sleep, she greets all the decorations. "Goodnight tree", "Goodnight reindeer", "Good morning Baby Jesus". "Good morning Nutcracker"!! She has really enjoyed listening to Christmas music and dancing to it. Amelia and GiGi were busy making cookies tonight. Amelia continues to impress me with her baking skills. She might already be better than me :) She made me laugh so hard tonight as she would throw flour into the air and shout out "Happy Birthday"!!!!!!!! I tried, unsuccessfully, to tell her to shout "Merry Christmas", but no, she insisted (man, I use that word a lot!) it was "Happy Birthday"! In my head, she is saying Happy Birthday to Jesus.... that would be so sweet! And, I am including a picture of our Extreme Makeover Gingerbread House. After I read the directions, I was able to put it back together. Thanks for the helpful hint Amelia!

Monday, December 8, 2008

The Nutcracker


We had such a wonderful time at The Nutcracker!! Amelia loved it as much as I hoped she would. She has been pretty obsessed with Clara and her "Cracky Nut" for a while now. She loves to watch the movie, hum the music, read the stories, and play with them :) My sister, Sara, and I grew up going to The Orpheum to see The Nutcracker. Sara was actually Clara in the same ballet 15 years ago! Its hard to see anyone else in that role now. Amelia watched with her mouth open. She even waved to the mouse king when he came out!! I am so excited to start this tradition with her!!