Creamed Spinach Gratin

The hubs is home today, his day off - he's been on night work for 2 weeks. I asked him what he wanted for dinner and he wanted chicken cutlets. So I decided to try out a new creamed spinach recipe. This one got 5 stars on myrecipes.com. It's a Cooking Light recipe so that's a bonus. It was really really easy to throw together, and so flavorful! And at only 72 calories per serving, it's definitely being added to the stack of usable recipes for some nice homecooked meals like this one. I also served with some (instant) mashed potatoes and gravy (mixed from a packet, just like Mom used to make). See? I like to keep things simple :)

And if you're not near Jersey - I feel sorry for you. There really is something special about a fresh Jersey tomato - I'm not even a fan of tomatoes, but as soon as you slice one of these babies open, it's like discovering a treasure.

CREAMED SPINACH GRATIN

Source: Cooking Light, November 1997

10 oz. of fresh spinach

cooking spray

2/3 cup chopped onion (I just used a little sprinkle of dehydrated minced onion because I'm pretty sure 2/3 cup of onion would be a bit overwhelming)

1/4 tub-style light cream cheese

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup (1/4 inch thick) sliced tomato

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese (I went a little overboard with the sprinkle)

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1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Remove large stems from spinach. Tear spinach into 1-inch pieces; place in colander and rinse under cold water. Set aside. (Umm, I totally skipped step 2 entirely, and I didn't notice anything unusual in the final dish)

3. Place a large dutch oven (I used a deep skillet) over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray and add onion. Saute 3 minutes or until softened. (Again, I skipped the onion step because I used dehydrated onion)

4. Add spinach and saute until wilted, about 2 minutes.

5. Add cream cheese, oregano, salt and pepper and cook an additional 1 minute or until the cream cheese is melted.

6. Spray a 1-quart gratin dish with cooking spray and spoon the spinach mixture into it.

7. Lay the tomato slices on top, followed by the breadcrumbs, then the cheese.

8. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

For the chicken, I just dipped in egg and breaded it with plain panko, seasoned with italian seasoning and cayenne pepper.

Parmesan Pork Chops w/ Creamed Spinach

Hello! Long time no blog! It's been a whole month since my last blog post. I honestly hardly cooked at all in that time! Have you ever gotten into a total food rut? Well that's what happened to me. But I was finally able to pull myself out of it, so hopefully my blog posts will be more frequent now.

The dish to pull me out of this most recent food rut was Giada's Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops. I've only heard rave reviews over this dish, one from my friend Lindsey over at Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings, and it did not disappoint! Seriously, when I took the leftovers into work today and heated them in the microwave - 2 people asked, "What smells so good?!" Followed by, "I'm just gonna go get my plate," and "so you'll come by my house tonight to cook dinner, right?" I think that's one of the bests compliments you can get on your cooking.

PARMESAN-CRUSTED PORK CHOPS
Source: Food Network

For ingredients and directions, visit the source link as I followed it exactly.

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Now, when I was thinking of a side I knew I wanted some simple buttered noodles. I really like Ronzoni's Healthy Harvest extra wide noodles with a touch of Smart Balance and parsley. But I needed a vegetable. I thought of some creamed spinach that I recently had from a local bbq joint. I'm usually not a fan of cooked spinach, but it was so good! So I found a lightened up version from Cooking Light and gave it a test drive. I found that it was relatively simple and easily halved, however I would drastically reduce the amount of shallot. Here's the halved recipe (serves 1-2) with my recommended changes noted.

CREAMED SPINACH
Source: Cooking Light

1 10 oz. bag of spinach
cooking spray
1 Tbsp minced shallot (I would only use 1 tsp)
1 tsp all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg (excluded)
1/4 fat-free milk
1/4 reduced fat cream cheese

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Remove large stems from spinach, and rinse with cold water; drain. Place a large Dutch oven over medium heat, and add spinach. (Spinach will need to be tightly packed into the pan to cook all of it in one batch). Cover and cook 5 minutes or until spinach wilts; stir spinach well after 2 minutes. Place spinach in a colander, and drain well, pressing spinach with the back of a spoon to remove as much moisture as possible.
Place pan coated with cooking spray over medium heat until hot. Add shallots; sauté 2 minutes. Combine flour, salt, and nutmeg; add to pan, stirring well. Cook 30 seconds. Add milk and cheese, stirring with a whisk; cook 1 minute or until thick. Add spinach; cook 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated.

Grandma's Cheesecake Tartlets

Today is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day, MOM! And to all of the other mothers out there who maybe happen to read my piddly blog.

Yesterday my mom decided to have all of her girls over for dinner at her house. Better her than me, because having people over generally causes me anxiety! So I had to offer to bring dessert. Mom wanted crock pot cake, and my younger sister wanted cheesecake. Yes, both of my sisters are also moms so I wanted to oblige my sister's request also.

I didn't feel like cooking a whole cheesecake (umm, I never have, yet, and didn't want to buy 5 packages of cream cheese!). So I called up grandmom who I knew had a recipe for cheesecake tartlets which she used to make at family functions all the time.

So if you're ever looking for something really really simple to please the cheesecake lovers out there, definitely give this a shot!

CHEESECAKE TARTLETS
Source: my grandmom, Joan (where she got it from, I have no idea)

2 packages cream cheese (I used one regular, and one 1/3 less fat)
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (which I just realized while typing this that I totally forgot!)
Nilla wafer cookies
foil cupcake wrappers
cheesecake topping of your choice (the drug of choice in my family is canned cherry pie filling)

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1. Combine first 4 ingredients and beat well.
2. Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake wrappers (keep the white wrapper inside each foil wrapper).
3. Place 1 Nilla wafer in the center of each cupcake wrapper.
4. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour about 1/4 cup of the cheesecake batter into each cupcake wrapper, covering the Nilla wafer.
5. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until set. (mine took exactly 18 minutes).
6. Let cool, then store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
7. Before serving, top with your choice of topping.

Yield: I got 22 tartlets by measuring about 1/4 cup into each cupcake wrapper

What's that you say? You don't like toppings on your cheesecake? Well, neither do I. I much prefer my cheesecake unalduterated. The good news is they're just as good with no topping! It's the only way I eat them :)

What's up, doc?

Ever since I came across this recipe about 4 years ago, it's been a must-have for Easter dinner every single year. If you're looking for a new carrot cake recipe to try, I highly recommend you try this one! It's so moist and has the perfect density. The only change I make is I exclude the nuts entirely, and I prefer it baked in a 9x13 cake pan (which takes about 35-45 minutes).

GIGI'S CARROT CAKE
Source: Emeril Lagasse - Food Network

3 sticks, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Pecan Cream Cheese Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter 3 (9-inch) cake pans with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer.
Add the sugar, and beat.
In a medium bowl or on a piece of parchment, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggs, beating well after the addition of each.
Add the vanilla extract and mix.
Add the carrots and beat on medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes.
Fold in the nuts.
Divide between the 3 cake pans and bake until set and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest in the cake pans for 10 minutes.
Invert onto wire racks, remove from the pans, and let cool.

For the Frosting:
In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly.
Add the vanilla and pecans.

When the cake is cool, place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or stand. Spread the top with cream cheese frosting and top with a second and third cake layer, spreading the icing between each layer. Spread the icing around the sides of the cake and let harden slightly before serving.