Tag Archives: spinach

Potato, Onion & Spinach Hash

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Veronica

This is something I threw together to use up a few things before they went bad, and ended up with a plate of magics. Weeks later, we are still eating this once or twice a week and is one of Joshua’s favorite meals. I’ve never been very much of a potato person, but man, you can’t hardly beat crispy seasoned potatoes dipped in runny egg yolk.

Potato, Onion & Spinach Hash

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 medium potato
2 thick slices of sweet onion
1/2 cup fresh spinach
Extra-virgin olive oil
Garlic salt & pepper to taste

Pierce the potato through the middle with a knife and microwave for 3 minutes, or until tender all the way through. Meanwhile, dice the onion. Once the potato is cooked, put a skillet on medium-high heat, and cut the potato into small cubes, removing the peel if you wish. Once the skillet is hot, add a generous swirl of olive oil to the pan, along with the potato and onion. Stir to coat with the oil, then sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook without stirring until golden brown on one side, then stir, trying to turn over as many of the pieces as possible. Allow to sit again until golden brown, then add the fresh spinach and cook for a few more minutes, until wilted and soft. Serve hot with eggs, or as a side dish.

3 Comments

Posted in Breakfast, Side Dishes and tagged Breakfast, cooking, easy, healthy, onion, potato hash, recipe, simple, skillet, spinach, whole foods, wholesome. Bookmark the permalink.

Sweet & Salty Salad Wraps (plus Poppyseed Dressing!)

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Veronica

I probably subscribe to more than fifty food blogs but ranking right up there with my favorite, My Kitchen Cafe, is Our Best Bites, and this recipe comes from them. (What are your favorites?) Though I’m still baking, I’m not doing much cooking so I jumped right on this salad wrap when they posted it a few weeks ago. It is everything the title promises and it is delicious. You will love it!

Sweet & Salty Salad Wrap
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

You’ll need:
Baby spinach
Cooked chicken
Craisens
Crumbled bacon
Feta cheese
Poppyseed dressing (recipe follows if you want to make your own)

In a bowl, toss together everything in the amounts you choose and then wrap in a tortilla, pita, or flatbread wrap.

Poppyseed Dressing

1/3 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon table salt)
A few turns of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon mustard
1 green onion, ends removed (both the “hairy” end and where the green part starts to get floppy)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon poppy seeds

In a blender or food processor, combine vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, and mustard. While the blender is running, add the green onion. Continue running the blender and add the oil in a steady stream and is fully incorporated into the dressing. Pour the dressing into a serving or storage container and whisk in poppy seeds.

Recipe source: Our Best Bites

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Posted in Burgers & Sandwiches, Condiments & ETC. and tagged bacon, chicken, craisens, feta, poppyseed dressing, spinach, wrap. Bookmark the permalink.

Emerald Soup

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Veronica

*Updated 1/16/13: since I’m no longer in touch with the lady that gave me this recipe, I can be totally honest and tell you this was awful and please don’t make it! LOL! I blogged this on MySpace before I cared about the quality of recipes I shared (for the record, I only blog the best ones now) and transferred it here when I started my blog. I can’t bear to delete it so I just want to warn you that you shouldn’t make it!*

With both Thanksgiving dinners (we have one for each side of our family) and all the leftovers out of the way, I’m a little tired of heavy foods and was craving something light and healthy. Since Dennis is out of town for the week, I can cook whatever I want (“whee” for that but “boo” to him being gone) and I immediately thought of this soup, whose title and ingredients had caught my attention when my friend, Rhonda, first posted it on her MySpace blog.

It is creamy & flavorful and I love the delightful color. And the best part is that it’s so healthy that I felt totally justified in pairing it with a light & airy sweet dinner roll (or three)….slathered with butter. :)

Emerald Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 TBSP. butter
1 TBSP. olive oil
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth*
2 cups packed fresh spinach leaves or half of a 10 oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 medium potatoes. peeled and chopped (2 cups)
2 cups broccoli florets or one 10 oz. pkg. frozen cut broccoli, thawed and well-drained
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp. dry mustard
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Dash of bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)
1 & 1/2 cups milk (I used 3/4 cup)

*Chicken broth will work but I stuck with vegetable to keep this dish vegetarian.

In a saucepan, cook onion and garlic in hot butter and olive oil over medium-high heat 4 to 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in broth, spinach, potatoes, broccoli, oregano, mustard, salt, nutmeg and hot pepper sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Cool slightly.

Use an immersion blender to blend the soup, or transfer it to a blender or food-processor bowl. Cover; blend or process until smooth. (Warning: leave the middle part out of the blender so steam can escape, otherwise the lid will explode off once you start blending and boiling hot soup will go everywhere!) Return to pan. Stir in milk. Heat through. Serve with croutons, if desired.

Makes 4 side dish servings (or you could double up to make it a meal in itself).

Recipe courtesy of Rhonda C.

2 Comments

Posted in Lighter Fare, Soups & Stews, Vegetarian & Vegan and tagged brocolli, emerald soup, spinach. Bookmark the permalink.

Baked Pasta with Spinach & Sausage

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Veronica

So much for meatless Mondays! I was so excited about trying this recipe that I totally forgot that Monday is supposed to be our meatless day. I wonder how hard it will be to convince Dennis that this means two meatless days next week to make up for it?

We both really enjoyed this and it’s fairly simple. I liked it so much, in fact, I’m thinking about trying it with mushrooms in place of the meat next Monday!

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage

from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pound rigatoni (I used whole wheat rotini)
10 ounces frozen baby spinach, thawed and drained well (I used a pound)
12 ounces precooked smoked chicken (or turkey) sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick (I used 3 links of spicy Italian sausage, cooked on the grill)
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, 4 ounces cut into 1/2-inch cubes and 4 ounces shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic. Cook for another minute.

Stir in tomatoes, oregano and basil; simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add cream; cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions. (If using fresh spinach, add it to the pot of boiling pasta right at the end and cook until wilted.) Drain, and return contents to pot.

Add tomato sauce, sausage, spinach and cubed mozzarella to the pot; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Scoop pasta into lightly greased 9X13-inch pan (or divide evenly between two 8X8-inch pans). Top with grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until browned and edges are crisp, 20 to 30 minutes.

*Freezable Meal: Prepare recipe right up until the baking step and then cover with a double layer of aluminum foil. Freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. To bake, increase baking time to 1 to 1 1/4 hours. If baking from frozen, bake covered for 1 hour and 15 minutes, uncover and bake 30 minutes longer. Makes a heaping full 9X13 pan.

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Posted in Italian, Pasta and tagged baked pasta, sausage, spinach. Bookmark the permalink.

Spinach & Black Bean Enchiladas

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Veronica

It seems the older I get, the less meat appeals to me. Thus, Meatless Mondays were born into our household–my sneaky way of making a day without meat sound fun so Dennis plays along. :)

This recipe made both of us happy–the enchiladas are filling, have good flavor, and are figure-friendly. I do realize the picture isn’t too appetizing, but they really are good, I promise!

If you have any favorite vegetarian dishes and are willing to share the recipe, please leave it in a comment or message me!

Spinach & Black Bean Enchiladas
from The New Holly Clegg Trim & Terrific Cookbook

makes 8 enchiladas

1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 (1 1/4 oz) pkg. taco seasoning mix (or 3 tablespoons homemade)
1 c water
1 c fat-free sour cream, divided
8 (6-8 inch) flour tortillas
1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
1 1/2 c shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
2 T sliced green onions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a non-stick skillet, heat the spinach, black beans, taco seasoning mix, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened. Remove from the heat, and stir in 1/2 c sour cream.

In each tortilla, spread 1 T enchilada sauce, about 1/3 c spinach mixture, and 1 heaping tablespoon cheese. Roll up each tortilla placing the seam-side down in an oblong baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the remaining enchilada sauce over the filled enchiladas, cover, and bake for 15-18 minutes.

Uncover and garnish with the remaining cheese. Continue baking for 5 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted. Serve with the remaining sour cream, and sprinkle with the green onions.

Veronica’s notes: I felt the filling was creamy/liquid enough without putting the enchilada sauce on the inside, so I just poured it over the top.

Nutritional info per serving: 266 cal, 14 g protein, 39 g carbs, 3 g fat, 5 g fiber, 11 mg cholesterol, 1198 mg sodium
Diabetic exchanges: 1.5 very lean meat, 2.5 starch