Mmmm, food!
I've been in a cooking mood lately. It's the cool weather. But I've been trying to come up with interesting recipes that are a little more health conscious. And I feel like sharing recipes!
Yesterday was my brother's birthday, so I went and picked him up and we came back here for movies and food. For the movies we had Transformers and Evan Almighty (which we both enjoyed a lot) and Invisible and The Reaping (which were too weird to be called good and too interesting to be called bad).
For food I made:
This was a merging of 2 recipes I found because I couldn't find one that suited me.
1 10 oz pkg frozen, chopped spinach (thawed and thoroughly drained - squeeze it out)
1 6 oz jar of marinated artichokes (drained and coarsely chopped - reserve the oil)
8 oz cream cheese (I used lite)
8 oz sour cream (again, I used lite)
1/2 cup of grated parmesan (I used fresh)
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T. of butter/oil combination (I used one of butter and one of the artichoke marinade oil)
1 t. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Sautee the onions in the butter/oil for 6-7 minutes over medium heat. Add a little salt (a good pinch) to pull out the moisture. Half way through add the garlic, the red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Stir occasionally to keep from burning.
Over medium-low heat, add the spinach, the cream cheese and the sour cream. Let it warm through to melt and stir to combine. Add the grated parmesan and stir to combine. Then add the chopped artichokes and gently fold them in to keep from breaking up the chunks too much. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Now, you can either let it heat through for a couple of more minutes, pour in a bowl and serve, like I did. Or you can pour it in an ungreased, shallow casserole dish, top with 8 oz of shredded Monterrey jack cheese and put in a 350 degree oven until cheese is melted and browned. I happen to think the extra cheese covers up the other flavors and was going for a little healthier, but to each their own.
I served it with pita chips. Bagel chips or really any other kind would have been yummy, too. If you're going to be fancy, get a round, uncut loaf of sour dough bread, hollow out the center to make a bowl, tearing up the bread into chunks. Pour in the dip and top with cheese then bake on a cookie sheet (surrounded by the bread chunks) for 15-20 min. You might have to retrieve the bread chunks earlier to keep from burning. As you eat down the dip, you can begin tearing up the 'bowl'.
2 lbs of raw shrimp (or 1 lb per person and adjust the other ingredients accordingly)
2 lbs of red new potatoes (halved or quartered if too large but all should be approx the same size)- I like leftover ones cold as a snack.
4 ears of corn, cleaned and broken in half
1 mesh pouch of Zatarain's seafood boil seasoning (or the equivalent)
1 T liquid Zatarain's seafood boil (we like ours spicy)
salt (see below)
1 lemon, quartered
3-4 cloves of garlic (just smack them with the flat of a blade, pull off the peeling and toss them in cracked and whole)
In a large pot add about 3 qts of water. This is going to vary depending on how much shrimp, etc. Add salt. I used about 6 T for everything above. A good rule of thumb is to add the salt to your water, stir to dissolve then taste. If it tastes insipid, so will your food - add more salt. If it seems way to salty to you, dip out some water and add some more fresh. Remember though, this is going to season quite a bit of food.
Toss is the spice pouch and add the spice liquid (if using). Add garlic cloves, squeeze in the lemon juice and toss in the quarters.
When the water comes to a boil, add the potatoes. When it comes back to a boil, add the corn. Bring back to a boil and cook until potatoes are just fork tender. Their heat will continue to cook them, so don't cook them any longer. Spoon out the potatoes and corn into a covered dish to keep warm.
When the water is boiling again, add the shrimp. When it returns to a boil, cook for one minute then turn off the heat and let the shrimp sit in the spiced water for 5-10 minutes depending on the size. (I can't do it for 15 min like Zatarain says. They get overcooked.
I also served some lightly steamed asparagus for a veggie.
Dessert was German Chocolate cake. Sorry, just a box mix.
By the time we were done, we were stuffed and very satisfied. I still feel stuffed the next day.
So OK, I could have eaten a little less, but as far as meals go (except for the cake) this one was pretty damn healthy. Besides, it was a special occasion!
Yesterday was my brother's birthday, so I went and picked him up and we came back here for movies and food. For the movies we had Transformers and Evan Almighty (which we both enjoyed a lot) and Invisible and The Reaping (which were too weird to be called good and too interesting to be called bad).
For food I made:
This was a merging of 2 recipes I found because I couldn't find one that suited me.
1 10 oz pkg frozen, chopped spinach (thawed and thoroughly drained - squeeze it out)
1 6 oz jar of marinated artichokes (drained and coarsely chopped - reserve the oil)
8 oz cream cheese (I used lite)
8 oz sour cream (again, I used lite)
1/2 cup of grated parmesan (I used fresh)
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T. of butter/oil combination (I used one of butter and one of the artichoke marinade oil)
1 t. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Sautee the onions in the butter/oil for 6-7 minutes over medium heat. Add a little salt (a good pinch) to pull out the moisture. Half way through add the garlic, the red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Stir occasionally to keep from burning.
Over medium-low heat, add the spinach, the cream cheese and the sour cream. Let it warm through to melt and stir to combine. Add the grated parmesan and stir to combine. Then add the chopped artichokes and gently fold them in to keep from breaking up the chunks too much. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Now, you can either let it heat through for a couple of more minutes, pour in a bowl and serve, like I did. Or you can pour it in an ungreased, shallow casserole dish, top with 8 oz of shredded Monterrey jack cheese and put in a 350 degree oven until cheese is melted and browned. I happen to think the extra cheese covers up the other flavors and was going for a little healthier, but to each their own.
I served it with pita chips. Bagel chips or really any other kind would have been yummy, too. If you're going to be fancy, get a round, uncut loaf of sour dough bread, hollow out the center to make a bowl, tearing up the bread into chunks. Pour in the dip and top with cheese then bake on a cookie sheet (surrounded by the bread chunks) for 15-20 min. You might have to retrieve the bread chunks earlier to keep from burning. As you eat down the dip, you can begin tearing up the 'bowl'.
2 lbs of raw shrimp (or 1 lb per person and adjust the other ingredients accordingly)
2 lbs of red new potatoes (halved or quartered if too large but all should be approx the same size)- I like leftover ones cold as a snack.
4 ears of corn, cleaned and broken in half
1 mesh pouch of Zatarain's seafood boil seasoning (or the equivalent)
1 T liquid Zatarain's seafood boil (we like ours spicy)
salt (see below)
1 lemon, quartered
3-4 cloves of garlic (just smack them with the flat of a blade, pull off the peeling and toss them in cracked and whole)
In a large pot add about 3 qts of water. This is going to vary depending on how much shrimp, etc. Add salt. I used about 6 T for everything above. A good rule of thumb is to add the salt to your water, stir to dissolve then taste. If it tastes insipid, so will your food - add more salt. If it seems way to salty to you, dip out some water and add some more fresh. Remember though, this is going to season quite a bit of food.
Toss is the spice pouch and add the spice liquid (if using). Add garlic cloves, squeeze in the lemon juice and toss in the quarters.
When the water comes to a boil, add the potatoes. When it comes back to a boil, add the corn. Bring back to a boil and cook until potatoes are just fork tender. Their heat will continue to cook them, so don't cook them any longer. Spoon out the potatoes and corn into a covered dish to keep warm.
When the water is boiling again, add the shrimp. When it returns to a boil, cook for one minute then turn off the heat and let the shrimp sit in the spiced water for 5-10 minutes depending on the size. (I can't do it for 15 min like Zatarain says. They get overcooked.
I also served some lightly steamed asparagus for a veggie.
Dessert was German Chocolate cake. Sorry, just a box mix.
By the time we were done, we were stuffed and very satisfied. I still feel stuffed the next day.
So OK, I could have eaten a little less, but as far as meals go (except for the cake) this one was pretty damn healthy. Besides, it was a special occasion!