Apple Spinach Salad with Spiced Nuts

 (Photo from Redhead Recipes.)

This recipe was recommended by Katy L. She found it at Redhead Recipes. She paired it with White Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, which I will post as soon as I get permission from the blogger.

Ingredients and Directions: 

Apple Spinach Salad with Spiced Nuts

• 1 bag prewashed spinach
• 1-2 granny smith apples, cored and sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup spiced caramelized nuts (recipe below)

Place all ingredients in a bowl. (Now that's a difficult recipe!) And top with apple cider vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Spiced Caramelized Nuts

• 1/2 cup pecans (or favorite nut)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 small pinch of cayenne (don't get scared!)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Combine sugar, cayenne, cinnamon, and nutmeg thouroughly. Place in skillet over medium heat. When sugar starts to melt stir in nuts. Stir occasionally. Once all sugar has melted and nuts are coated, place nuts on parchment paper to cool. Eat plain, in a salad, or on top of ice cream.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette 

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp dijion mustard
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in a curet and shake.

Apple Nectarine Cashew Spinach Salad

Well, Salad September slipped by with only two posts about salads. Next year we'll try for more. I do have some more salads to put up...it just isn't September anymore.

Ingredients:

• 1 crisp apple, preferably Fuji
• 2-3 tsp lemon juice
• 1 nectarine
• about 1/4 c. cashews 
• 3-4 large handfuls of spinach

Directions:

1. Cut apple into bite sized chunks. Put in a seal-able container or bag with the lemon juice and shake until all the apples have been covered in lemon juice. (This helps your apples to stay fresh and not brown.)
2. Cut the nectarine into bite sized chunks.
3. Put the spinach in a bowl. Put apples, nectarines, and cashews on top. 
4. Enjoy!

Nectarine-Grape Spinach Salad with Pecans

 Fresh fruit in salad is always a plus, in my book.

Ingredients:

• 1 nectarine, sliced 
• about 1 cup of halved red grapes
• 3 to 4 large handfuls of spinach
• 1 or 2 handfuls of pecans

Directions:

1. Put spinach in a serving bowl. 
2. Add all the fruit, then top with the nuts. 
3. Enjoy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Honey Almonds

This is a family favorite at our house. Simple and delicious, even without the almonds.

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 large handfuls of spinach
• 4 or 5 strawberries, sliced
• small to medium handful of almonds, chopped
• honey, between 1/2 Tb-2 Tb...depends on your amount of almonds and how sweet you want them
• poppy seed dressing, we prefer Briannas Home Style (as pictured above)

Directions:

1. Put spinach in a bowl. Add sliced strawberries.
2. Place chopped almonds in a pan and heat on medium low for about 5 minutes, stirring so they don't burn. Then turn the burner off and drizzle honey all over the nuts. Stir until completely coated. Let cool for 1-2 minutes then add to the salad. (If you let them cool too long they will get really stuck together and it will be hard to get them in bite size clumps.)
3. Enjoy! Makes about 4 servings.

Penne Rosa

(Picture from Back To Her Roots, of the original recipe with shrimp. Just imagine it with no shrimp.)

This recipe was sent in by Vanessa H. She slightly adapted it from Back To Her Roots by nixing the shrimp.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz whole wheat penne
• 1 Tb. olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes (about 1/2 lb.) chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 c. fresh spinach
• 1/2 c. marinara sauce
• 1/3 c. 0% plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook penne according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for 2 minutes or until garlic begins to soften.
3. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to release their water.
4. Remove from heat, add in spinach and cover skillet. Let spinach wilt for 2 minutes.
5. Remove lid and place skillet back over low heat. Add the penne, Greek yogurt, and pasta sauce. Stir until sauce is mixed well and all pasta and veggies are coated. Heat until warmed through. Top individual servings with parmesan cheese.

Lasagna Rolls with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

(Picture from My Recipes.)

This recipe was sent in by Rachel S. She found it at My Recipes.

Ingredients:

• Lasagna:
• 8 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 4 teaspoons olive oil 
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
• 1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach 
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt  
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Sauce:
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained 
• 1 (7-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, undrained
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. To prepare lasagna, cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, mushrooms, spinach, and 3 garlic cloves; sauté 5 minutes or until onion and mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat, and stir in cheeses, 2 tablespoons basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
3. To prepare sauce, place vinegar and remaining ingredients in a blender; process until smooth.
4. Place cooked noodles on flat surface; spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture over each noodle. Roll up noodles, jelly-roll fashion, starting with short side. Place the rolls, seam sides down, in a shallow 2-quart microwave-safe dish. Pour 1/4 cup sauce over each roll, and cover with heavy-duty plastic wrap. Microwave at high 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons basil.

Greek Quesadillas

This recipe was sent in by Vanessa H. She found it over at Annie's Eats. Head over there to see a picture of these yummy quesadillas. Vanessa says, "This is seriously to DIE for!"

Ingredients:

• 4 large (10-inch) whole wheat tortillas
• Olive oil
• Fresh spinach leaves, chopped (about 2 cups)
• Diced red onion (about ½ cup)
• Roasted red peppers, chopped
• Oven-dried tomatoes
• Sliced black olives
• Mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1-1½ cups)
• Crumbled feta cheese (about 2/3 cup)
• Oregano (dried or fresh)
• Red pepper flakes
  

Directions:

1. Place tortillas on a work surface. Very lightly brush one side of each tortilla with olive oil and flip over so the oiled side is facing down. Sprinkle the chopped spinach leaves over half of each tortilla, leaving a small rim around the edge. Layer in a similar fashion with red onion, roasted red pepper, tomatoes, olives, cheeses, oregano, and red pepper flakes as desired. Fold over the bare half of each tortilla, enclosing the fillings.

2. Warm a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat and if needed, lightly oil the cooking surface. Carefully place assembled quesadillas in the pan and cook, turning once, until each side is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Slice into triangles and serve warm.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I've tried it with oven-roasted tomatoes and with sun-dried tomatoes. Both are amazing.

Tofu Spinach Lasagna

(Don't mind the cut down the middle of my piece of lasagna...I was really excited to start eating it and then decided I should probably snap a picture before I forgot.)

I made a post about this amazing lasagna way back in July 2011. Since then I have adapted it, which means now I can post it on the blog without copyright issues. I adapted it from a recipe found in The Vegan Table Cookbook by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Seriously, this lasagna is so good (as in, my hubby and toddler both devoured it). Lactose intolerant friendly, and might I mention, a whole lot cheaper to make than the other meat and cheese types. (Meat and 3 kinds of cheese add up v.s. buying a package of tofu.)

Ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles (about half of a 1 lb pkg), regular or no-boil...either is fine
• About 9-12 oz. of fresh spinach, chopped, blanched, and drained
• 1 pkg firm tofu (16 oz)
• 1 Tb. sugar
• 1/4 c. rice milk...or any kind of milk really (regular, soy, etc)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 Tb. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. dried basil (or you can use 2 Tb. fresh, minced basil)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-24 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce, I prefer a tomato and basil type but any kind will work

Directions:

1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package.
2. Meanwhile, blanch spinach.
3. Next put the tofu, sugar, rice milk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil, and salt in a blender and blend until thick and smooth. This is going to be your "tofu ricotta," as the author Colleen Patrick-Goudreau calls it.
4. Put the "tofu ricotta" and the blanched spinach together in a large bowl and mix together.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (my oven heats up really fast...so to make it less hot for me in the kitchen I wait until I absolutely have to before turning it on. If it takes your oven a while, then turn it on as step 1 in the directions.)
6. Now it's lasagna assembly time. Use a 9 by 13 baking dish. Start with a little bit of the spaghetti sauce and cover the bottom of the pan. Then put 3 noodles down, covered with 1/2 the "tofu ricotta." Repeat the layers with about 1/2 of the remaining sauce, 3 more noodles, and the rest of the "tofu ricotta." Last put on 3 more noodles and use the rest of the sauce to cover the noodles up.
7. Bake for 40 minutes.

Asian Bowtie Pasta

This recipe was submitted by Vanessa H. She found it at the blog, Week of Menus. The original recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, but Vanessa left it out and turned into a delicious veggie meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb farfalle (bowtie) pasta (I used the mini farfalle)
• 1/3 cup canola, safflower or other mild tasting oil
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, cut julienne
• 1 cup of scallions, diced
• 3 tablespoons roasted sesame seed
• Pepper to taste
• 3 cups washed baby spinach
• 1/4 cup cilantro, OPTIONAL
• 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes, OPTIONAL
  

Directions:

Boil and cook pasta according to directions. Make sure to salt the cooking water. Drain pasta and set aside. Return the pasta pot back to the stove. (You don't need to wash it.) Add the canola oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and rice wine vinegar. Heat over low heat until the honey is dissolved. Remove from heat and toss in the pasta. Add the bell peppers, scallions, pepper, sesame seeds, cilantro (optional) and red pepper flakes (optional). Toss well to coat all the ingredients. Before serving, toss the pasta with the spinach, to keep the vibrant green as much as possible.

This can be chilled or served warm at room temperature (which was really delicious.)

Serves 6-8

Notes about this recipe:

1. I did NOT stir in the spinach at the end. I don't want soggy spinach in my leftovers, so I put some spinach on each plate and spooned the pasta on top.

Crustless Spinach Quiche

(Picture from Allrecipe.com)

This recipe was submitted by Liz D. She says she was "surprised at how fast and easy (and yummy) it was." She found it at Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups shredded Muenster cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft. Stir in spinach and continue cooking until excess moisture has evaporated.
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. Add spinach mixture and stir to blend. Scoop into prepared pie pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven until eggs have set, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Saag and Homemade Garam Masala

Over vacation we made Chicken Saag for our families using this recipe from Allrecipes.com. When I made it for my family we experimented by making it without the chicken and added a few other adaptations to the recipe. The end result was quite tasty and my 18 month old daughter had 4 helpings.

This recipe is quite small and will only serve about 2 or 3 modest servings. With the recipe doubled we fed about 5 adults and 1 child.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of spinach (8 oz)
• 1/2 an onion, chopped
• 1 1/4 cloves of garlic
• 1/8 tsp ginger powder
• 3/4 can of a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (if you are really into the tomatoes just put the whole can in)
  
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground turmeric
• less than 1/8 tsp ground cardmom
• 1 whole clove
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tb rice milk (or regular milk, or soy milk, you could probably even just add water)
• 1/4 tsp garam masala****
  
• 1 1/2 Tb plain yogurt

Directions:

1. Put the spinach into a large pot with 1/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, and remove from heat. Set aside for 10 minutes (so spinach can steam). Put steamed spinach in a blender and puree. Set aside.
2. Put onions, garlic, and ginger into a large skillet or soup pot with a little olive oil (no more than 1 Tb), fry over medium heat until onions are browning.
3. Add tomatoes, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, turmeric, cardamom, clove, and salt. Add a tiny bit of water if mixture is looking too dry.
4. Add the pureed spinach and garam masala. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add yogurt, then serve with rice or naan bread.

****If you can't find garam masala at the store, you can make your own using this recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Linguine with Spinach

(Photo from Baby Center by gbentolu)

This recipe was submitted by Whitney H. She found it at Baby Center.

Ingredients

• 1 pound regular or multigrain spaghetti
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 1 pound fresh spinach, washed, with tough stems removed, and roughly chopped (or 1 8-ounce package frozen spinach, defrosted)
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped (or 1 pint sweet, ripe cherry tomatoes, sliced)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)
• Salt, pepper, and Parmesan to taste

Preparations

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta. Meanwhile, combine the garlic and red pepper flakes with the oil in a large bowl. When the pasta is nearly done, plunge the spinach into the water and cook until it wilts - less than a minute. Drain pasta and spinach together quickly, then toss into the olive oil mixture. Add the tomatoes and pine nuts. Toss well, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with an ample topping of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

(Makes 4 to 6 servings)

Notes about this recipe:

1. Use fresh parmesan if you can - it's expensive, but the taste difference is amazing.
2. Don't skimp on the spinach - that stuff really shrinks down when you cook it.
3. I use fresh cherry tomatoes.
4. I don't like pine nuts so I put slivered almonds in instead - very delicious.

Crispy Quinoa Cakes

I found this recipe at Vegetarian Times. Super super delish. My hubby gave it 2 big thumbs up. The website recommends serving them with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, although I didn't try it.
Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tbs. tahini or nut butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. red or white wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup finely grated sweet potato
• 1/2 10-oz. pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts, optional
• 2 oz. crumbled feta cheese, optional
• 2 Tbs. finely diced onion
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine egg, flour, tahini, and vinegar in bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients, then mash together until mixture is firm enough to shape into cakes. Shape mixture into 1/4-cup patties with wet hands. Bake on prepared baking sheet 25 minutes, turning once, or until cakes are browned.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I used margarine instead of tahini or nut butter.
2. I used water instead of red or white wine vinegar.
3. I only used 1 cup of quinoa because I felt like 1 1/2 was a lot and I wanted the other flavors to stand out.
4. I did not use the cheese or nuts, but I imagine adding both is probably delish.
5. I tried to flip one of them 1/2 way through the cook time, but it just crumbled so I didn't flip the others.
6. I greased my pan before putting the quinoa cakes on it.
7. I believe that the best part of these cakes was the sun dried tomatoes (but that could be because I LOVE sun dried tomatoes). I used some homemade ones with rosemary and other herbs.

I served this up with a veggie and fruit side, along with some wheat bread.

Spinach-Artichoke Stuffed Shells

This recipe was submitted by Vanessa H. She found it over at Rachael Ray's website. She says "Spinach and artichoke. The. perfect. combination."

Ingredients:

• Salt
• 20 large pasta shells
• 1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 7 to 8 leaves basil, torn
• Ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 1 10-ounce box chopped frozen spinach, defrosted or 3/4 pound fresh baby spinach, chopped
• A few grates fresh nutmeg
• 1 10-ounce box frozen baby or regular artichoke hearts, defrosted and chopped
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil the pasta. When the water reaches a bubble, salt it well, drop the shells in and cook them to al dente according to package directions. Drain the cooked shells and shock them under cold water to stop them from cooking. Reserve.

While the shells are cooking, mash up the tomatoes in the bottom of a casserole dish. Stir in the butter, basil, some salt and pepper into the dish, and set aside.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the garlic to the pan and cook until aromatic and light golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the spinach, and nutmeg to the pan, and cook to heat through.

Transfer the spinach to a large bowl and stir in the artichokes, ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano, lemon zest, thyme, egg yolk, parsley, some salt and pepper. Fill the reserved pasta shells with the mixture, arranging them on top of the sauce in the casserole dish as you complete them.

Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Bake covered for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and turn the oven up to 425˚F. Continue cooking until the filling is golden brown and bubbly, about 15 minutes more.

Makes 4 servings with 4 shells to each person topped with some of the sauce.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I have tried it with fresh basil leaves and with dried basil leaves. I didn't really notice a difference. So if you don't want to buy the expensive fresh basil, just use the dried stuff you have in your pantry :) Same goes for the parsley...
2. I have tried using the frozen chopped spinach and the fresh baby spinach. I hated working with the frozen chopped stuff, so it's fresh from now on.
3. I have yet to find frozen artichokes at the store, so I just use artichoke hearts out of a can.

Blueberry Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

• About 14 oz of liquid---1/2 orange juice, 1/2 water
• 1 banana
• 5-6 frozen strawberries
• 1 c. frozen blueberries
• 1 1/2 handfuls of spinach
• 1/2 c. oatmeal

Directions:

Add liquid first, then all the other ingredients. Blend.

Pineapple Carrot Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

• About 12 oz of liquid--1/2 apple juice, 1/2 water
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 3 or 4 small chunks
• Leaves from 3 stalks of kale
• 1 handful of spinach
• 4 large spoonfuls of pineapple chunks (could use fresh pineapple as well)
• About 8 frozen strawberries
• 2-4 Tb milled flax seed

Directions:

Put liquid in first, then add other ingredients. Blend.

Spinach Strawberry Salad Smoothie

If you like spinach strawberry salad then I'm pretty sure you'll like this.

I have found that if I make this (or any smoothie) in the morning and put the extra in a cup, then it's an easy, cool snack to grab when you get the munchies during the day; AND you feel good about it because you are eating your fruits and veggies. You could also freeze extra smoothie into popsicles.

Ingredients:

• About 12 oz of liquid---1/2 apple juice, 1/2 water
• 2 heaping spoonfuls (big spoon, not a little spoon) of plain yogurt
• leaves from 1 large stalk of kale
• 1 1/2 handfuls of spinach
• About 10 frozen strawberries
• 2-4 Tb milled flax seed
• 2-4 Tb walnut chunks
  

Directions:

Put liquid in first, then add all the rest of the ingredients. Blend.

Spinach Banana Strawberry Smoothie

I made my first "green" smoothie!

Ingredients:

• About 12 oz of liquid---1/2 was water, 1/2 was orange juice
• Almost 1 banana (my baby got a few slices before it went in the blender)
• 1 1/2 handfuls of spinach
• The leaves off of 2 stalks of kale
• Milled flax seed (I didn't measure, but it was probably 2-4 Tb)
• About 2 handfuls of frozen strawberries

Directions:

Put liquids in, then add the rest of the ingredients, and blend!

Notes about this recipe:

1. "Green" smoothies are usually green, but if you add berries or other red fruits they turn brownish. Don't let the color scare you!
2. My baby LOVES smoothies, and she liked today's "green" one too! I think kids and smoothies are a great combination.