Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

• 8 oz uncooked rigatoni
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 c chopped onion
• 1 (10 oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed
• 3 c cubed, cooked chicken breasts
• 1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive & onion cream cheese
• ½ t salt, ½ t pepper
• 1½ c shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare rigatoni according to pkg directions.  Spread oil on bottom of 11×7 in baking dish; add onion in a single layer.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or just until tender.  Transfer onion to large bowl, set aside.

Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels.  Stir in rigatoni, spinach, chicken, & next 4 ingredients into onion in bowl.  Spoon mixture into dish & sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover & bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

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Spinach, Mushroom & Pesto Lasagna

Spinach, Mushroom & Pesto LasagnaFrom: The Other Side Of Fifty

Ingredients
9 lasagna noodles
10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
2 cups diced onion
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
dash of crushed red pepper flakes
8 ounces of button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups Half & Half
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp basil pesto
12 oz mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8" X 11 1/2" baking dish with cooking spray.

In a separate baking dish place lasagna noodles and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 15 minutes while making the sauce.

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta cheese, garlic powder and egg. Season well with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions and bell pepper, season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes and saute until onions are translucent, 6-7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until mushrooms lose their moisture, another 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to combine. Continue cooking and stirring over medium heat for two minutes. Add the milk and half & half, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes until sauce has thickened a bit. Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 cup pesto. Taste to see if salt and pepper are needed.

Drain lasagna noodles.

Spoon 2 Tbsp of the pesto on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Lay three noodles on top of the pesto. Top with 1/3 of the basil cream sauce (about 1 1/2 cups) and spread to cover noodles. Dollop 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce, then top the ricotta with 1/3 of the cheese slices. Repeat layers two more times. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place dish in oven. Bake for 25 minutes, uncover, then bake for another 25 minutes, until bubbly and browned. Let dish sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

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Spinach Artichoke Cups

Spinach Artichoke Cups

Yield: 18-24 cups

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of spinach, blanched and chopped (or one package of frozen spinach)
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
1/3 Cup mayonnaise
1/4 Cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon hot sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lemon, zest only
1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
Wonton Wrappers
Vegetable Oil

The Filling

The thing to remember about this filling is that it’s a filling and not a dip. So I cut way down on the creamy stuff. You basically just want enough mayo and sour cream to keep the filling together.

Not Pictured: Parm cheese

When it comes to prepping the spinach, just toss it in some salted boiling water and let it cook for about 30 seconds. Then pull it out and let it cool briefly on some paper towels.

Once the spinach is cool enough to work with, press it with the paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible. Then just chop it up!

You could use frozen in a pinch.

The artichokes are just as easy to prepare. Just drain the can of artichoke hearts and roughly chop up the artichoke hearts.

Important Step: After you dice up the artichoke hearts, again press them with a few paper towels like you did with the spinach. The artichokes retain a lot of water and if you don’t press out most of it, your filling will be super-watery.

Once your spinach and artichoke are pressed, you can mix them all together!

Just good flavors.

There’s a lot of great flavors in this filling, but the two that really pop in my mind are the lemon zest and the garlic.

I used a microplane to zest my lemon and very finely grate my clove of garlic.

Remember when you’re zesting citrus that you just want the outside layer of rind. If you get into the white part, it becomes very bitter.

Just the zest!

Just grab a bowl and mix the spinach and artichoke with all the other filling ingredients.

It’ll probably need a good pinch of salt, but should be pretty much ready to go!

Are you feeling the filling?

Making the Cups

There’s no magic here unfortunately. It’s just ridiculously easy to make these.

All you need is some wonton wrappers, a muffin tin, and a bit of vegetable oil.

The multi purpose muffin tin.

Lightly oil each muffin tin with a bit of oil.

Then kind of just form a wonton wrapper into the tin. Don’t worry too much about making them pretty or uniform. All of the little folds end up getting really crispy and are fantastic.

Ready for a bake.

Bake these guys at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. You could go a bit longer if you like your more crispy. I baked mine for 15 minutes for a really crispy final product.

Nice and crispy.

The cups should pop right out of the tin without any problem and once they are cool enough to handle, you can fill them up! I recommend about a tablespoon and a half per cup.

http://www.macheesmo.com

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Spinach and Mozzarella Egg Bake

Use a whole 5 oz. package of organic spinach in this, which is about 4 cups of baby spinach.

Saute the spinach just until it's barely wilted.

Then spread it out in a layer in the bottom of the 8 1/2 X 12 casserole dish.

Spread a generous layer of cheese over the spinach.  (I use this low-fat Mozzarella blend, which has only 6 grams of fat in 1/4 cup.)

No matter what else I'm using, I always add green onions!

Pour the beaten eggs over the spinach and cheese.

Then use a fork to "stir" the mixture so the spinach, egg, and cheese is well combined.

Bake about 35 minutes, or until the mixture is set and lightly browned.  Serve hot, or cut into portions to keep in the fridge and microwave for a minute or two for a quick healthful breakfast!

Spinach and Mozzarella Egg Bake
(Makes 6 servings; recipe created by Kalyn.)

Ingredients:
5 oz. organic fresh spinach (4 cups packed)
1-2 tsp. olive oil (depending on your pan)
1 1/2 cups low-fat mozzarella (I used a low-fat mozzarella blend from Costco with 6 grams of fat in 1/4 cup.)
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
8 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. Spike seasoning (or use any all purpose seasoning mix that's good with eggs)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.  Spray an 8 1/2 inch by 12 inch glass or crockery casserole dish with olive oil or nonstick spray.  

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add spinach all at once, and stir just until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.  Transfer spinach to the casserole dish, spreading it around so all the bottom of the dish is covered.  Layer the grated cheese and sliced onions on top of the spinach.

Beat the eggs with Spike Seasoning (or other seasoning mix) and salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  (I use only a tiny pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.)  Pour the egg mixture over the spinach/cheese combination, and then use a fork to gently "stir" so the eggs, spinach, and cheese are evenly combined.

Bake about 35 minutes or until the mixture is completely set and starting to lightly brown.  Let cool about 5 minutes before cutting.  (The egg bake will settle down some as it cools.)  Serve hot.  This is good with light sour cream.  I also like a little Green Tabasco Sauce sprinkled on the top.

This can be cut into individual servings to keep in the fridge and microwaved for a quick breakfast during the week.  Don't microwave longer than 1-2 minutes or the eggs can get slightly rubbery.

http://www.elanaspantry.com

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