Spinach

Spinach Halloumi Pasta

categories: Pasta, Posts, Recipes

Spinach Halloumi Pasta

Let’s talk ovens for a minute. First off, I’m sure we’ve all heard this before but you really don’t appreciate how good you have it until you’re somewhere where everything is completely different. I love being in the kitchen. It’s my calm space, where I focus on food prep and do my deep thinking (except when people are trying to get in my way). But I never really considered that at home in cozy Northern Virginia everyone uses electric ovens. Sure, gas stove tops are commonplace. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know ovens still ran on gas. We’ll cough that up to ignorance and first world privilege. Well, as you can imagine, Toto we’re not in Kansas anymore (or Northern Virginia for that matter). And, you guessed it. I’m currently learning to use a gas oven. (more…)

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Spinach and Feta Puff Pastry Slab Pie

categories: Recipes, Vegetables & Sides
Spinach and Feta Puff Pastry Slab Pie

I can’t believe we’re coming up on the end of 2018. How is it December already?! While I figure out how to get everything I need to get accomplished by the end of the year, let me tell you a little bit about one of my favorite ingredients; Puff Pastry.

You can find frozen Puff Pastry in the freezer section of your grocery store, and it is an absolute godsend. Puff Pastry is a buttery flaky dough used for savory appetizers and desserts alike. When you bake puff pastry it rises, because of the water used to make the pastry sheets. The water, mixed with heat makes the dough puff up. Frozen puff pastry comes in sheets [usually two in a box], which requires defrosting. The best way to defrost is overnight in the fridge. However, as we all know, I’m very impatient, so I defrost my puff pastry at room temperature, and slowly open up the folded sheets as they defrost, making sure not to break them.

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Veggie Packed Spinach Artichoke Dip

categories: Posts, Recipes, Snacks

Veggie Packed Spinach Artichoke Dip

 

 

I love dips. Love them. My only issue with restaurant dips and pre-packaged dips, is that I don’t know what they’re really putting in there. And also, why are they filled with so many calories? I got to thinking that there has got to be a better way to make my favorite dips with a lot less calories and without sacrificing taste.  Let’s be honest here, sometimes when calories are reduced, flavors dull. I’m not about that life. I won’t eat something that doesn’t taste good just to cut calories. So I set out to make “skinny/healthy” Spinach Artichoke Dip. (more…)

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Spinach Couscous Salad

categories: Posts, Recipes, Salads

Spinach Couscous Salad

It’s T minus 4 days until Noninna, my dearest friend’s Paris wedding. I cannot wait! It’s going to be one of the most magical weddings, I just know it. With her big day just around the corner, I’m struggling to stay away from all the leftover Halloween candy and chestnut praline latte’s – it’s been rough – and getting more greens and protein in. It’s kind of hard to want veggies when .. BREAD! (more…)

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Croissant Breakfast Casserole

categories: Breakfast, Posts, Recipes

Breakfast Casserole

It’s graduation day! Our youngest brother, Tarik, is leaving high school behind to start his journey in college.

It’s a big day for us all. It always seems like the youngest takes forever to catch up to the rest of us who have already found our career paths, or are finishing up college in that first step towards adulthood and responsibility. So when the youngest of the pack is growing up and reaching a major benchmark, that’s a pretty big deal. (more…)

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Roasted Stuffed Flank Steak

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Beef, Posts, Recipes

Stuffed Flank Steak_2

 

I intended to get back to working out, and running (indoors, on a treadmill with TV access). And then, pretty much right after the New Year, I came down with something. A cold, the flu, a virus, I’m just not sure what it is, but I can’t seem to kick it. Added bonus, it’s the coldest it’s been in the U.S. in 20 years! They’re calling it a Polar Vortex. Polar Vortex … who comes up with these terms? They’re absolutely brilliant, but I wonder if there isn’t some meteorologist somewhere with a list of clever names for weather disasters who pulls it out when the time is right. Anyway, we get hit with this Polar Vortex — where no joke, it’s a high of 5 degrees Fahrenheit — which doesn’t quite help the sickness situation. It doesn’t help any situation quite honestly when all you really want to do is hibernate by the heater and watch TV all day. Needless to say, my new years resolution to start working out again (like 99.9% of Americans) has been put on the back burner for now… just until I start to feel well enough to make it through an 8 hour workday without incident. (more…)