Multi-Purpose Spinach Dip

Multi-purpose.  Yes.  While this is a fabulous dip with tortilla chips or freshly baked bread, it's also a great sandwich spread!  And I'm sure there are other things you could use it for as well.  Pasta sauce perhaps?  Let me know how that works out...I'm sure it will be tasty.  But I'm currently hooked on a light sauce of my own concoction that is still too top-secret-ly delicious to share.  I'm sure I'll share it at some point though. 

Back to the spinach dip...

This dip makes an appearance at just about every dinner party I throw, because it's such a great appetizer with, as previously mentioned, chips or bread.  And, it really doesn't take that long to make. 

Start with frozen spinach.  I usually buy huge bags of it, but I went with a smaller batch this time, and used a 10 oz package instead of my normal "family size" package.  As usual with my cooking, most ingredient amounts are approximate, but I'm pretty sure this dip will come out good as long as you don't go too crazy...

Follow directions on spinach package to cook the spinach. 

Put a large non-stick skillet on the stove, turn heat to medium.

Add 1 large spoonful of cream cheese, roughly 1/2 c alfredo sauce, roughly 1/4 c ranch dressing, a few handfuls of shredded cheese (I use colby/monterey jack blend).  Let these ingredients melt, stirring occasionally to break up lumps of cream cheese and prevent burning.  Once everything is melted, add garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, and salt.  (to taste...).  Add some mustard if you have some in the fridge.  I probably added some of the Jack Daniels Mustard from my fridge to this particular one, but I don't remember...it was almost a week ago.  Add spinach (and chopped artichoke hearts if you want spinach-artichoke dip!)

This makes a spectacularly yummy dip.  But I haven't told you my latest secret ingredient yet....  I used to make the dip just as stated above, and it was delicious.  But lately I've started adding something new, which makes it even more delicious.  Marinara sauce.  Roughly 1/4 of the amount of alfredo sauce you use.  You don't want to use so much that your dip becomes too obviously pink.  Just enough to add some extra flavor.  You might want to stir in a little bit at a time until you think it looks good.  It will change the color pretty fast!

So, like I said, this is a great dip.  But when you have leftover dip and don't feel like eating it with chips...it really does make a great sandwich spread.  That's my preferred method for getting rid of leftover dip.  Fabulous on turkey sandwiches.  And not too bad with roast beef. 

GMcD's Delectable Chicken Salad

Chop some onion.

Chop some grapes.

Cook and shred some chicken.

Add almond slivers.

Add some Honey Mustard and some Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing.

Add some mayonnaise.

Dash of garlic powder, dash of salt, mix it all up.

Chill for awhile, then make a sandwich. 



Whole Wheat Bread Pudding

GMcD's Whole Wheat Bread Pudding

cut approx. 1.5 loaves of sliced whole wheat bread into cubes, set aside

whisk together:
4 eggs
1.5 c heavy cream
3 c milk
1 c brown sugar
2 tsp cocoa powder
3 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp vanilla extract

put the bread in a large bowl, pour liquid mix over bread, dig in with your hands and make sure all the bread gets saturated.  If you used stale bread, let it soak for awhile.  Fresh bread gets soggy very quickly so prolonged soaking is not necessary.  Grease a 12x18 pan with about 1 tbsp of butter, pour in the bread mixture and gently pat down. 

bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes

GMcD's Cinnamon Whiskey Sauce

In a saucepan on medium heat, bring 1.5 c heavy cream, 1/2 c milk, 3 tsp corn starch, 1/4 c whiskey, and 1 tsp cinnamon to a simmer.  (You probably want to whisk together the whiskey and corn starch before adding them)

Once it has simmered for a bit, or come to a boil, remove from heat.  Add 1 tbsp butter, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 c whiskey.

Storage/Serving

Both the bread pudding and the whiskey sauce should be kept in the fridge.  When you want to eat some, put a slice of bread pudding in a microvable bowl, pour some whiskey sauce on top, and microwave for 45-60 sec (until hot). 

Yum.

Handy tip:  this is one of my better ideas...For easier pouring of the whiskey sauce...use a water bottle with this kind of top!

Colorful and Delicious (and easy!)

I'm headed to RI tomorrow and I'll be gone for a week...so the last few days have been spent eating whatever is lying around that is unlikely to survive until I return.  By today...the pickings were pretty slim.  I had a sweet potato on the counter that was starting to sprout...definitely didn't want it to go to waste so I cooked it for dinner.  Actually, I chopped it up and fried it in olive oil.  Along with some chopped radishes and a little bit of onion.  Very colorful.  Quite tasty.

also tasty for breakfast with scrambled eggs

Merry Pasta Monday!

Browsing through my blog it may not be obvious, but I eat A LOT of pasta.  It's just that this blog tends to be more about my experiments than the things I eat every day.  But when you're looking for something quick and simple for dinner, which is the point of these Merry Monday posts, pasta is always a good choice.  It goes with anything.  Pasta with chicken, pasta with scallops, pasta with meatballs, pasta with...you get the idea.  And don't forget the vegetables!  Gotta have a balanced meal...

So, for today's Merry Monday post, I give you pasta with shrimp and veggies.

Pasta with vegetables and shrimp is one of my favorite quick dishes.  Why?  Well, I love pasta with any kind of meat, but when I'm in a hurry...it's way quicker to thaw some frozen shrimp than it is to cook any kind of meat.  I know there are lots of people out there who only eat fresh seafood, if they live near the water, and distrust seafood anywhere else.  Well...I don't live on the coast.  And I love seafood enough to take some chances.  I try very hard to always have a bag of pre-frozen, peeled/deveined, cooked shrimp in my freezer. 
For this pasta dish, you're going to start 3 things at once.  Two of them require pots with lids. 

Start by putting some water on the stove to boil.  While you wait for it to boil, chop up your veggies of choice.  I believe this particular dish of mine had zucchini, leeks, carrots, and onions.  I generally throw in whatever vegetables I happen to have.  Carrots are pretty much always thrown in, radishes pretty often, leeks whenever I was feeling motivated in the grocery store (they are SUCH a pain to clean! ...but so delicious...)  Once the veggies are chopped, throw them in a pot with some butter and salt, put on the lid, and let them steam on medium heat.  Take some shrimp out of the freezer, put them in a colander, and run cold water over them until they thaw.  By now your water should be boiling, throw in however much pasta you want. (Tri-color rotini is my favorite). Less if you just want one meal, more if you're feeding a bunch of people or want leftovers.  Once the shrimp are thawed and the veggies are soft, throw the shrimp in with the veggies so they can warm up.  (Turn down the heat if you don't want the veggies to turn to mush).  Once the pasta is done and drained, throw it in with the veggies.  Or if you're like me and steamed the veggies in a really small pot, throw everything in the pasta pot instead.  Mix it all up with whatever kind of sauce you like.  Olive oil is always good.  So is pesto.  My favorite pasta sauce is Classico's Sundried Tomato Alfredo.  Red sauce, white sauce, whatever your heart desires. 

Eat up!

Foccaccia

It's time for another Merry Monday simple recipe!

I just made this for the second time a few days ago, sooo good.  Quicker and easier than the loaves of bread I make (which are also quick and easy... here's a recipe for that)

1 pkg yeast
1 c hot water ( I microwave tap water for 1 min)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
herbs (oregano is my favorite, I also use garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, basil, and sometimes tarragon or rosemary)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 3/4 cup flour (add last)

I stir everything together with a wooden spoon, when it gets thick I knead it.  Cover with a towel, stick it somewhere warm, rise for 20 min

Grease a 9x9 pan with some olive oil and stick it in the oven at 450 for about 15 min. 

You can even press some shredded cheese into the bread before you stick it in the oven.

Great next to some soup, or slice a chunk in half and make a sandwich!  Yummy.

Sandwich and soup!  and chips and guac...of course...



Mouth-watering Carrot-Zucchini Cake

I got my guidelines from this recipe.  Then, being me, I changed it. Of course.

First of all, no way did I want to make that much cake.  So I cut the recipe in half. 

2 eggs
5/8 c vegetable oil
3/4 c sugar
(according to the recipe, it should have been 1 c...but I don't like sugar...)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c flour
(according to the recipe, it should have been 1 c...but I figured with less sugar I should add more of something else.  And I didn't precisely measure...it is highly possible that I put in more than 1 1/4 c)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
(I just poured a little bit in my hand...may have been more than 1/4)
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
"1 1/2 c" grated carrot and zucchini
(definitely didn't measure that either...2 larg-ish carrots and 1 medium sized zucchini)

I used a fork to beat everything together in a glass bowl.  Poured it into a greased 9x9 pan.  Put it into the 350 degree preheated oven (Which was at 325 when I put it in...stupid oven.  I turned it up to 375 and I think that got it to 350.)  Set the timer for 45 min, but thankfully checked after 30 min because it was DONE!  If I had waited til 45 minutes were up it would have been burned.  And that would have been tragic. 

yeah...I took a bite first

 where has the cake gone?

I'm totally eating a second piece right now...it's that good.