Recipe #86 - Cheese Straw-Spinach Casserole

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A Betty Crocker recipe served at this years Thanksgiving feast.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13"x9"-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic in butter, stirring frequently, until golden.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and flour until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in salt and pepper. Beat in half-and-half with wire whisk until blended. Add spinach, Cheddar cheese and onion mixture. 

Spoon mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese straws (aka cheese crackers). 

Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. 

It was a little dryer than I'd like.  I think I would have added a little less spinach and a little more onions and half-and-half. I also didn't enjoy the Cheese Nips. I'm more of a Cheese-Its kind of girl. So all-in-all not my favorite recipe. I think it was geared more towards trying to get little kids to eat something at Thanksgiving. Not an "adult" recipe. Lol.

Rating: 5 

Time: 50 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Per serving: Calories384; Total fat 31 g; Sodium 714mg; Total Carbohydrates 12g; Protein 12g.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 large onion, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups half-and-half or milk

5 boxes (9oz each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed ro drain

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8oz)

2 cups cheese straws, coarsely crushed (I used Cheese Nips)

Recipe #76 - Artichoke Cheese Oven Omelet

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Spread salsa in a greased 9-inch deep dish. Top with the artichoke hearts.

Add cheeses.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sour cream.

Pour mixture over the cheeses. 

I had to leave half veggie off for the veggie haters in the house.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Garnish with tomatoes, onions, and chives if desired.

I think breakfast eggs are a lot like tacos, you can make them 100 different ways and they still taste the same. Omelets, scrambled, over easy - dosen't matter. However, I think that this recipe has potential. Maybe add a spice of some sort to add some more flavor.

I made this recipe the night before and threw it in the oven the next morning. It was nice to be able to prepare a meal before hand.

Rating: 7

Time:  50 minutes

Serves: 6-8 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup salsa

1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, rindes, drained and chopped

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

Chopped fresh tomatoes, sliced ripe olives and minced chives, optional

Recipe #11 - Reuben Mac n Cheese

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This one is so simple and tasty! Compared to the last casserole that I made. Which was very good, but it took 2 hours to make. Granted the other one was all fresh cut veggies. I digress...

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente (which I just found out meant "not all of the way cooked").
 
While pasta cooks, toast rye bread in toaster then butter hot bread. Coarsely chop bread and place in food processor. Add parsley and paprika to bread and process into bread crumbs, reserve.

Heat a sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter to pot and melt, whisk in flour 1 minute then milk. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, thicken sauce 5 to 6 minutes then stir in mustard. Melt 2/3 of the combined cheeses into the sauce.

Preheat broiler.

Drain pasta and return to hot pot. Toss hot pasta with chopped meat and sauerkraut to combine, stir in cheese sauce and coat. Transfer mac n cheese to casserole and top with bread crumbs and remaining cheese. Brown under broiler 3 to 4 minutes, serve.

I'm not a huge sauerkraut fan, but pairing it with the hint of mustard and corned beef - yum! It was really weird because when I opened up the sauerkraut I practically gagged by the smell. I took it over to the sauce to mix it in and the smell of the mustard with the smell of the sauerkraut was so appetizing!

Again... so simple. I would recommend this to a working family that needs a flavorful, quick meal to throw on the table. It would be really easy to pre-make and throw in the oven the next day or later that night as well.

Time: 30 mins
Rating: 8.5
Recipe:
Salt
1 pound cavatappi, hallow corkscrew shaped pasta or, other short cut
2 slices rye bread
3 tablespoons butter plus some for buttering toast
A handful fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup spicy brown deli mustard (recommended: Gulden's)
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup shredded Gruyere
1 cup shredded yellow Cheddar
3/4 pound good quality deli corned beef, sliced as thick as bacon, chopped
1 pound sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained

Recipe #4 - Green Pastitsio

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"Pastitsio is a Greek baked pasta dish traditionally made with ground lamb or beef, often with bits of spiced or cured meat mixed in – this is a heavy Greek alternative to Lasagna Bolognese. In this make-ahead recipe, Rach uses an equally traditional phyllo tart filling to lighten up the end result. Though it remains rich, it's not heavy – envision a well-made spinach or vegetable lasagna."

I wanted to make a vegetarian dish this time and I found this recipe off the Rachel Ray website. I bought all the ingredients from Whole Food Market and everything was organic except for the milk and butter. I substituted the Ziti noodles for whole wheat Ziti noodles (which I, personally, like better).

This one took me a lot longer than I was expecting to make. The prep alone took close to two hours. I think that since all the veggies were fresh and I had to cut them all up individually, it made the process a little more difficult. I had three pans going at once: one for the sauce, one for the noodles, and one for the veggies. Then I throw it all together in a casserole dish.

Put all together - before baked in the oven

Since this is a make ahead recipe, I put it all together tonight and will throw it in the oven for lunch tomorrow. Will letcha know the results!

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The Result:

Put it in for lunch today. Delicious! I had two servings. 

Rating: 8
Time: ~2 hours
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 pound ziti or long, hollow pasta tubes, such as Buon Italia or Greek macaroni #2*
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
1 large or 2 medium bundles chard, stemmed and chopped
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill leaves
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 brick Greek feta in water, drained (about 1 cup crumbled feta)
1 cup freshly shredded or grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Salt