Linda’s Spinach Dip

I attribute this dip to my mother-in-law Linda, but I’ve found it’s a pretty common recipe online as well. Tweak it as you please. Sometimes mayo freaks me out so I minimized that and maximized the spinach.

Ingredients
2 packages frozen spinach (the box kind)
16 oz container of sour cream
2 tablespoons mayo
1 package vegetable soup mix (or onion soup mix)
1 can chopped water chestnuts

1. Thaw and drain the spinach. Usually I microwave it to speed up the process, but you could just leave it on the counter for a while. I squeeze all the water out through a strainer.

2. Chop the water chestnuts if they’re not finely diced.

3. Mix whole thing of sour cream, the mayo and the soup mix in a bowl.

4. Stir in water chestnuts and spinach. Leave to set overnight.

I use reduced fat sour cream and light mayo, but you can use full fat if you want. The dip traditionally goes in a hollowed out loaf of sourdough bread (I highly recommend doing this), but is also great with crackers and vegetables.

The whole thing takes probably 15 minutes to make, which is a giant win. Make this for any party or just because you feel like it and it’s freakin’ good.

What’s In the Fridge Casserole

I haven’t posted anything in a while… I also haven’t cooked in a while. Coincidence? Not likely. In an effort to start cooking again and also make something healthier than pepperoni pizza I put together this tasty low-key casserole from mostly items I already had in the fridge. My intention was to make a bechamel sauce, but realized I didn’t have flour, the result was a bit more rustic.

Fridge Casserole
Box of pasta
Veggies
Onion
Chicken
Ricotta
Half & Half
Chicken Broth
Shredded Mozzarella
Breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put your pasta water on to boil and pop some olive oil in a pan to heat up a little for cooking the chicken. I cooked the chicken with just salt and pep, but if you have a favorite spice, by all means go for it. I think thyme would probably have been delicious, or oregano.

2. While your water boils and your chicken cooks, chop a half of an onion and the veggies. I used bell peppers and broccoli, which we had in the fridge. Green beans, tomatoes, spinach or anything else you have in there would be just as good. In fact, if I did make bechamel sauce, I think a spinach and mushroom casserole would have been bomb.

3. Pull your cooked chicken out of the pan to sit for a minute and pop about a cup of chicken broth in the pan. Cook the onions in this broth and then when those are soft, pop in your veggies to cook just a little before they go into the casserole. I prefer well cooked veggies, but if you like yours crunchy, that works too.

4. By now your water is DEFINITELY boiling so put the pasta in and cook to al dente so it’ll absorb some of the moisture from the veggies etc. at a later time. Shred the cooked chicken.

5. Dump cooked pasta, then veggies, then chicken, then ricotta in a pyrex and mix well. Pour a little half and half over the thing so it can get more saucy when it bakes. Sprinkle any kind of shredded cheese (I used mozz because we had it) over the casserole then sprinkle breadcrumbs over that.

6. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or as long as you can wait before eating it. Everything is cooked so it’s immediately fair game. I gave it 7 minutes before my resolve broke. I then put it back in 2 servings lighter and baked it for a little longer.

This is a perfect after work meal because it’s really fast and takes advantage of stuff you already have. I did have to go out and buy chicken and ricotta for this, but it was more of a situation where I was in the supermarket, had those things in my hands and wondered aloud, “what to cook?!” The casserole is pretty fast, easy and got positive reviews from the roommate. Next time I’ll try that snazzier bechamel version…

Kirsten’s Quinoa Kale Salad

For those of you unfamiliar with quinoa it’s pretty much like rice, but better for you. For those of you who shall remain nameless (Cathy Marzi) who don’t know how to pronounce it – it’s keen-wah. I get this wrong on the regular as well. Is Queens-accent a hereditary trait?

Anyhoo – thank you to Kirsten for sharing! It’s delicious and allegedly pretty healthy.

Kirsten’s Quinoa Kale Salad
2 cup quinoa (makes 8 cups cooked)
1 small red onion
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
½ a bushel of Kale
4 artichoke hearts (the marinated kind)

2 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
6 tbsp olive oil

1. Put some water and salt in a pot to boil – follow the directions on your package of quinoa to see how much water that is. Mine vastly underestimated so keep an eye on it. Wash quinoa in a strainer (I didn’t do this – K, why does this need to be done?).

2. While the water boils, finely dice your onion, red pepper and yellow pepper.

3.  Once the water boils, pop your Quinoa in, stirring occasionally. You may have to add more water. Just a reminder. Don’t be so literal.

4. Put another pot on with a little water in it to boi and finely chop the kale. Also finely chop the artichoke hearts. Pop the kale into your boiling water and mix the dressing in a little side bowl.

5. Drain the cooked kale and put it in a large bowl, dump the rest of your chopped stuff in the bowl and when the quinoa is fully cooked, dump that in too. You now have a giant bowl of awesome all you need to do is stir in the dressing and chill. Stir that in right away and pop in the fridge so it can all blend together.

Things Kirsten says you can add:

– Basil: I love basil, but forgot it when I went to the grocery store. Doesn’t hurt the recipe to leave it out. I bet it would be extra tasty with it in.

– Pesto: I also love pesto, but am a snob. I make my own pesto y’all and I didn’t have time to try this. If you do try it with pesto, leave me a comment. Was it scrumptious? I need to know.

Have a good snapshot of the finished product? Send it over! I forgot to take a quick picture and the salad was gobbled up too fast.