Creamed Spinach

There are a lot of foods that while they might be incredibly appealing taste wise, are rather difficult to honestly say look appealing.  For me, creamed spinach is one of them.  I never thought it looked like something I wanted to eat and so for a long time I didn't even try it.  Not that there was a lot of opportunity to do so, but when those rare opportunities presented themselves I quickly passed them up.  I can't clearly recall when this changed but I do know that I am quite glad it did. 

 

Creamed spinach is rather simple to make and because it is so full of leafy green spinach (which I know is good for me) I can pretend that it is super healthy too.  Or at least I can  for as long as I can ignore all the heavy cream I'm generously adding to the pot.  There is always the option of being less generous while making this, but considering that cream gets first billing in the recipe I find that hard to do.  Personally, I would always rather have less of something incredible than be able to have more of a less tasty diet version.  This is exactly why I add an ingredient not usually called for, freshly grated Parmesan.  It snuggles in with the cream sauce and adds a further depth of flavor to an already wonderful dish. 

Ironically, I paired a diet-like version of a recipe with this creamed spinach.  It was not for health concerns that I chose to serve oven fried chicken over deep fried chicken.  I dislike the waste of oil, the lingering smell (and sometimes residue) in my kitchen, and the potential for danger (that oil is HOT) that deep frying nearly always implies. The recipe for the chicken comes from Cooks Country magazine but since I was a bit torn in my opinion regarding the results I will not be posting the recipe (if you are interested it is on their website which you need a paid subscription to access, or it is also in their Oct. '05 issue).  While I loved how tender and flavorful the chicken was after marinating it in some buttermilk, I was not impressed with how incredibly salty and dry the "breading" made of a combo of corn flakes and bread crumbs turned out to be.

Next time I will stick to my instincts and avoid a "diet" version of a recipe.  That and make more creamed spinach because it was good.

Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
2 pounds fresh baby spinach, washed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup heavy cream
2-4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions
To a large saute pan add a tiny bit of water, enough to barely cover the bottom and place over medium high heat.  Add the spinach and cover, allowing the spinach to wilt and start releasing its moisture (don't worry if it looks like it won't all fit, it will cook down a LOT).  Remove as much water as possible by either adding the spinach to a fine mesh strainer and pressing with a large spoon, grabbing fists full and squeezing (ouch it's hot), or rolling inside a dark (to prevent staining) dishtowel and wringing it out. Finely chop the spinach and set aside.

In your now empty saute pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute,stirring, until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and keep stirring, just until the liquid is released. Add the cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and Parmesan, and cook until the Parmesan is melted and the cream is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve immediately with some crusty bread available so that you don't waste any of the creamy goodness.

Amazingly Moist Salmon

Anyone who has glanced at our monthly meal plans may feel safe in assuming that we eat a lot of fish.  After all, it is on the menu at least once a week.  That assumption would be incorrect.  Though it appears regularly on the menu, it appears quite irregularly on our plates.  Hey, Babe doesn't really care for fish, for him seafood is only a vessel for either tartar or cocktail sauce.  He does, however, want us to eat more of it because fish is good for you, and so it is my backup meal. 

I do not typically plan into the menu any potential leftovers, so I know that we are going to have more food than days in the month.  As the kids get older, eat more, and get a bit more predictable in what they will eat, this might change. Or I might just make more food and still have leftovers.  For now, I have two fail-safes in place to make sure that we don't have a fridge full of leftovers going to waste.  One is that I plan on eating leftovers from dinner for my lunch the next day, especially when there is only enough left for one person.  The second is scheduling in fish.  If we do not need to make another meal because of a plethora of leftovers, fish night is what gets skipped.

On Sundays we tend to be out and about, going to church and visiting family, so I have taken to planning salmon salad sandwiches for Sunday's dinner.  Since it is Hey, Babe's only day off, if we are home for lunch or dinner on Sunday I don't want to spend it standing in the kitchen and sandwiches are the quickest thing.  I know that this is the reverse of most people, they plan on big Sunday dinners because they are home to cook.  I would rather take the opportunity for family time and cook more meals during the week.

I was surprised when Hey, Babe told me that he liked this dinner, and even more surprised when he actually finished his entire piece (actions speak louder than words, especially when it comes to fish).  Not because I didn't find it delicious, (I did) but simply because it was fish.  I didn't use Salmon, replacing it instead with milder Tilapia.  Right now we use salmon for sandwiches and Tilapia for the occasional cooked dinner.  Eventually I am hoping that fish will grow on Hey, Babe and we can move on to Salmon.  I prefer it, and I believe it is supposed to be healthier. 

The Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole was something that I threw together at the last minute in an attempt to get Little Man to eat more of his broccoli.  It didn't really work, but since Hey, Babe and I found it to be delicious I will definitely be making it again.  Thankfully I am beginning to develop the habit of noting measurement down when I am experimenting in my cooking.  This makes it much easier to reproduce a recipe I created on the fly, such as this one.  This casserole may undergo further experimentation in the future, perhaps being turned into a full meal in itself with the addition of chopped chicken and then spread into a casserole dish, topped with more cheese and baked in the oven until heated through.  Until then, I can still recommend it as it is, a wonderful and filling side dish.

Amazingly Moist Salmon

Ingredients
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
dash powdered thyme
pinch Old Bay Seasoning
4 salmon fillets (or tilapia!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 500F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray (important! I forgot this and mine stuck a bit). 

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, parsley and spices.  Sprinkle the salmon with the salt and pepper. Coat each fillet with some of the mayonnaise mixture and set on the baking sheet.  Roast 10 to 12 minutes, until done.

Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Ingredients
6 cups water
1 cup brown rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dehydrated minced onions
1 cup half and half
1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 bag frozen broccoli florets, defrosted

Instructions
In a large pot, bring the water to a boil and add the rice, salt, and onions.  Continue boiling 30 minutes, uncovered.  Using a fine mesh strainer, drain the water off the rice, allowing rice to stay in strainer for the moment.

In the now empty pot, heat the half and half, cheddar, salt and chili powder over medium heat until cheese is completely melted and mixed in.  Return rice along with broccoli to the pot, stirring until thoroughly combined.  Keep over medium low heat, stirring, until broccoli is heated through.

Garlic Bread

You know that incredibly easy bread I told you about yesterday?  One of the many times I made it I turned it into the most delicious garlic bread.  Store bought garlic bread is usually too greasy for me and the flavor falls a bit flat so when I came across this recipe in Cooks Country I jumped to try it.  I've made it before (their way) and have since tweaked it to make it my own.

The first time I made this I froze a portion of it to eat at a later meal.  Hey, Babe and I don't need a whole loaf of garlic bread to ourselves and I was able to use some later straight from the freezer without any prep work.  Another option would be to make extra of the butter mixture and place it in either the fridge or freezer to use on fresh bread later on.  It would take up less room in your freezer but you cut out a bit of time since you only need to slather some on the bread and toast it under the broiler.  Normally this is something I would serve with pasta dishes but it occurs to me that this would be the perfect accompaniment for Minestrone Soup. 

Since the bread does not take long in the oven, toasting the garlic cloves while they are still in their skins helps prevent the garlic from being to sharp and raw.  I use my little blender attachment food processor to mix this together, but if your butter is softened you should be able to mix it up with a fork.

Garlic Bread
Ingredients
9 - 10 cloves garlic, skins left on
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I admit that I have so far only used the pre-grated powdered stuff but this is still good.  I can't even imagine how incredible it would be with the fresh grated variety)
1 loaf bread (about 1 pound), halved lengthwise

instructions
1. Preheat oven to 500°F with oven rack in middle position.  Meanwhile, in a small pan placed over medium heat, toast garlic cloves until fragrant, about 8 minutes being sure to shake pan occasionally so they do not burn. Carefully remove skins and place in food processor along with the salt, onion and parsley.  Pulse a few times.  Add the butter and Parmesan and pulse until thoroughly combined.

2. Spread each of the cut sides of the bread evenly with garlic butter mixture. Place the loaves, buttered side up, onto a baking sheet and place in the oven 8 to 10 minutes. Rotate the pan if necessary to ensure that the loaves are browning evenly.  Cut each half into 2-inch slices and serve immediately.