Spinach & Feta Phyllo Roll

Phyllo Dough: must be Greek for 'ingredient from Hell'

Seriously.  After tearing my tenth sheet of it and having it crumble under my fingers, I just about cried.  Cooking was supposed to be fun, and this was anything but.  Stupid phyllo dough.

I wasn't even supposed to have it to begin with.  I accidentally grabbed the box for it out of the freezer section while trying to get puff pastry.  They were side by side, and somehow I didn't even notice that I had the wrong one. But instead of taking it back I decided to do something with it.  With a little help from Google and Martha, I knew what I wanted to do.

If only I knew how tricky it was!

Sheet after sheet broke in my fingertips.  I used the damp towel, I thawed according to instructions... but I could not get the hang of it.  So I did what we all do these days: I whined and complained on Facebook.

And because of that whining and complaining I now have a date with a Greek grandma who knows her phyllo business!

Besides, when it was all said and done, the tears I almost shed out of frustration were for naught.  I thought I was going to have a botched recipe, but this dough had other plans and two delicious spinach & feta rolls emerged.

I guess we could say the ingredient from Hell yielded a dish from Heaven... Hallelujah!

** I have heard that it isn't always this hard, so please do not avoid using it because of me.  I know I have not made a strong case for using Phyllo dough, but the end result is more than worth any frustration to be had!

SPINACH & FETA PHYLLO ROLL

Recipe straight from EverydayFood, June 2009

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 packages (20 ounces each) baby spinach
• 1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup golden raisins, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 20 sheets frozen phyllo dough (from an 8-ounce package), thawed and cut to 8 by 12 inches

Directions

1. In a medium pan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Return pan to heat. Working in batches, cook spinach, tossing, until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain spinach and let cool. Press out excess moisture, then roughly chop. Add spinach, feta, and raisins to bowl with onion and season filling with salt and pepper. (To store, refrigerate, up to 2 days.)
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll phyllo. Place 1 sheet on a work surface (keep remaining sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying); brush with oil. Lay another sheet on top and brush with oil. Repeat until you have 10 layers of phyllo. Spread half of filling lengthwise down middle of phyllo stack. Roll into a log, brushing the seam with oil before sealing. Brush log with oil. Using a small sharp knife, make 8 diagonal cuts on top. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling.
4. Place logs, seam side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until deep golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Cut into slices along slashes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cook's Note

When you unroll your phyllo, check to see if the stack measures 8 by 12 inches. If not, cut the phyllo to size. If serving the pie as a main course, double the recipe.

COST: $7.30  
COST PER SERVING (16 little pieces):$0.46
COST PER SERVING (4 large pieces): $1.83 

Get yo' greens! (Banana and Kale Smoothie -- A 'Sundays with Joy' Post)

Let's talk kale, shall we?  I had no idea what this stuff was until I was 25 years old and I spent a summer in Brazil with my future-at-the-time-in-laws.  Every once in awhile my mother-in-law would make this dish of a kind of bitter, but very delicious, green stuff.  That man of mine loved it.  LOVED it.  When I asked what it was the answer came back as couve.  So then I asked what it was in English, and the answer came back the same, couve.  Interesting, I had never heard of couve before...

A few years later, after the wedding bells had rung and the thought of cooking didn't intimidate me so much, I set out to find couve.  Lo and behold, it was something so simple to find -- kale.  Once we figured out that we could find it here in the States, my husband practically begged and pleaded for me to make things with it, as it is no doubt his favorite vegetable.  Sauteed kale with garlic, kale and potato pancakes, chicken and kale casserole... I graciously gave him what he asked for.

I bet he never thought I would turn it into a smoothie, though!

Yes, that's right.  This weeks recipe as we are working our way through Joy the Baker's cookbook (which you should totally go buy!) is kale and banana (and other stuff) smoothies.  Yes, a little odd, I know... but odd is not always synonymous with "bad", right?  Sometimes odd is "just right".  In this case, it means the latter.

I had the privilege of watching Joy at the Sunset Magazine Celebration Weekend a few weeks ago, and guess which recipe she shared?  This one.  Along with two others that I will share with you when the time is right.  She made a great suggestion -- peel and freeze bananas to put in smoothies so you don't need ice.  Brilliant!  Later the night I went home and made this smoothie with soy milk and guess what?  Instant healthy goodness.  So good you actually don't even realize it is healthy... Actually, it just tasted like you were eating a banana with peanut butter.  All you moms out there, here you go -- time to be sneaky ;)

And that lover of kale that I am married to?  He liked it so much he even asked me to tell him how to do it so -- get this -- he could make it himself. 

WOW. 

That must mean it was good ;)

Cost: $1.70    Cost per glass (2): $0.85

PS - In Brazil they call smoothies just as "vitamins"  I could never figure out why, but today I put the ingredients into a nutrition counter and holy cow -- this thing is basically equivalent to a multivitamin!  221% of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin A?  Tons of other vitamins and minerals represented?  NOW I get it.  Drink your greens and live long and healthy!

Stewed White Beans with Spinach

Don't have much to say about this one, quick and easy, mix and cook, the end.

This is a great dish to have when friends are over because you can easily make it and top with bacon and cheese (which is my style), leave off the bacon to make it vegetarian, or leave off both the bacon and cheese and cook with vegetable broth to make it vegan.  And it takes only about 20 minutes start to finish.  Like I said above, easy.  And fresh.  Perfect.

(A picture of my life, right there.  Food on the stove, Havaianas on my feet, and comfy clothes on my body.  Life.  It's great.)

Recipe adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray, March 2011

Ingredients 

• 4 slices bacon (I used turkey bacon, gave it a lighter feel, but any would taste good)
• 1 pound baby red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 15 ounce cans white kidney beans beans, rinsed
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups packed baby spinach
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat, turning halfway through, until just crisp, 8 to 10 minutes; drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the skillet.
2. Return the skillet to medium-high heat, add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, chicken broth and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Simmer until the liquid is almost absorbed, about 7 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 1 minute. Crumble the bacon on top and sprinkle with the parmesan.

Cost: $9.74                 Cost Per Serving (4): $2.44

Down Home Chicken & Dumpling Soup

Remember how I told you how much I love Martha Stewart's Everyday Food?  Well, there is a reason.  I have actually liked every single thing I have made from this little magazine.  Everything.  That is pretty impressive.  Sure, some I like more than others, but I would be willing to eat every single one again. 

This soup is no different.  Here is the thing:  This soup was not like wow-so-amazing good, but it definitely ahhh-I-am-satisfied-with-life good.  I guess that's what the name suggests, right?  Down home soup.  When I think of being "down home" I think of peace, comfort, and warmth.  This soup fits right into that.  And I even got to steal some lemons from the neighbors to make it happen.  I have been waiting for a chance to steal the lemons.  They just look so good...  (And as you will notice, the lemons are hanging over the fence.  I figure if they are on my side, they are fair game.)

I didn't do what Martha suggested and make my own soup broth.  I just pulled some bullion out of the cupboard.  And as for the shredded chicken, I just grabbed some pre-cooked chicken pieces out of the refrigerator section at Trader Joe's -- Parmesan Caesar style.  I read a review that this soup was bland, but not the way I cooked it.  No sirree.  Besides, anything with lemon tastes better, right?

And then I made dumplings.  From scratch.  Not from the Bisquick box.  Yeah, yeah, I know... that may not be a big deal for you, but it was my first time.  I remember a little less than a year ago I made dumplings for the first time with the Bisquick and I felt amazing.  And now from scratch, well, I guess you can say I am moving on up in the world.

Little side note -- I didn't have buttermilk.  However, a Google search allowed me to figure out that if you take regular mix (1 cup) and let a teaspoon of vinegar sit in it for five minutes, you get a buttermilk substitute.  So not only can I now make dumplings, but I can make buttermilk-substitute, too.  I am a smarty-pants, I tell ya.

Recipe from Everyday Food by Martha Stewart, Jan/Feb 2012

Yield Serves 6

 

Ingredients

• 10 cups broth
• 4 cups shredded chicken
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 ounce baby spinach, roughly chopped (1 cup)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Lemon wedges, for serving

 

Directions

1. In a large pot, bring broth to a simmer over medium-high. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. With a fork, stir in buttermilk and spinach to form a dough.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls on top of simmering broth. Cover and cook until dumplings are cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Gently stir in chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook until chicken is warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Cost: $7.65                   Cost Per Serving (6): $1.28

Baked Eggs in Chunky Tomato Sauce (Vegetarian)

If you are a lover of veggies, you have come to the right place.

Onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, spinach, and garlic... cook them up, drop eggs in the mixture, bake, and top with goat cheese and cilantro.  Ta-da!  It is really that simple, and quite amazing actually.  This is a recipe I would have never thought of myself, which makes me appreciate all of those cooks in the food magazine kitchens all the more.

 Let me warn you, however -- your house will smell like onion and bell pepper long after the food is gone.  As I was driving to work I kept smelling this oniony-smell so I rolled down the window to see if it was coming from outside, and then I realized that it was I that smelled like onion.  Or rather, my clothes did.  Clothes that were tucked away in my closet while I was cooking.  Curse of a small apartment, I guess.  At least it wasn't the smell of fish, right?

This brilliant recipe comes from the January/February 2012 issue of Everyday Food by Martha Stewart.

• Prep Time 20 minutes
• Total Time 45 minutes
• Yield Serves 4

 

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange), stemmed, seeded, and diced small
• 1 large yellow onion, diced small
• 3 garlic cloves, minced  (I did six.  We love garlic.)
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 2 1/2 ounces baby spinach (2 1/2 cups)
• Red-pepper flakes (optional)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 large eggs
• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium. Add bell peppers and onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and pinch of red-pepper flakes, if using. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Transfer sauce to four 14-ounce gratin dishes or a 2-quart shallow baking dish. With the back of a large spoon, make 4 wells in sauce and crack 2 eggs into each. Bake until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 25 minutes, rotating dishes halfway through. To serve, top with goat cheese and cilantro.

Cost: $8.67                    Cost Per Serving (4): $2.17

A Week of New Recipes -- Day 5: Spinach & Mushroom Pasta with Walnut Pesto

I have actually made this recipe before, nothing "new" here.  I had snatched it up as a recipe I wanted to try before I decided to do the weekly meal plan.  But I liked it last time, so I wasn't too disappointed to see it on the menu again.

Like last time, I substituted chicken sausage in for the ham.  I love me some chicken sausage!

And this recipe is dairy free, which also make me a very happy woman.  Cheese... I have quite the love/hate relationship with it.  My taste buds love it, my stomach hates it.  So whenever I can make a good recipe without cheese or any other dairy product I get excited. 

However, this time didn't out as good as last time.  I don't know what happened, but it just wasn't very flavorful.  I was able to fix it by adding a little more lemon juice and some salt.  Maybe that was my problem to begin with, the lemon I was using was a little dry.  So, this time it didn't get the best of marks (7 and 8), but if memory can be trusted (along with that blog post I put up at the time), it was a pretty solid 9/9.5 last time.  That just means I need to make it again and make sure I have a fresher lemon this time!

My changes are in italics. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound penne rigate pasta
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Half a pack of chicken sausage, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 2 cups white mushrooms (about 5 ounces), thinly sliced
• One 6-ounce bag baby spinach
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup walnut pieces (about 4 ounces), toasted
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
• Grated peel and juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and return the pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Push the sausage to the side, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
3. Using a small food processor, mince the garlic. Add the walnuts, parsley and lemon peel and process until finely chopped. With the machine on, add the lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Process to form a paste.
4. Add the walnut pesto and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pasta; toss to coat thoroughly. Stir in the sausage mixture, adding more pasta water if needed; season with salt and pepper.

COST = $8.15       PER SERVING (3) = $2.72