Spinach and Feta Pasta

Spinach and Feta Pasta


8 oz. Penne pasta (if your math brain isn't working right now, that's 1/2 a 16 oz. box; I've used a whole box before and while it was surprisingly not terrible, it wasn't the same. Also, don't use ziti--you want the ridges on the penne to "grip" the sauce)
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
3 c. fresh spinach (you don't even have to chop it! Could life get any better??)
1 onion, finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
A handful of fresh mushrooms, chopped
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste




Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add pasta. Cook according to package directions. In the meantime, heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms and cook until tender. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add tomatoes, heat through, and then add drained pasta and crumbled feta. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat through and serve; you can crumble a little extra feta on top if you feel the urge. Even my pickiest eater loves this meal, so you really can't go wrong! Oh, and not low-carbing it? Try serving it with Rosemary Focaccia or Garlic Breadsticks.



Serves 8
Nutritional Information
Calories: 186
Fat: 5.3
Fiber: 3.4
WW Points: 3

So tell me...what are your "Oh, crap!" meals?

Flat bread & Hummus

Tuscan Flat Bread

adapted from Epicurious.com

1 C lukewarm water (90°F to 100°F)
2 1/4-ounce package dry yeast or two 0.6-ounce packages fresh yeast, crumbled
2 1/2 C (about) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt (you may want to adjust this a bit. The original recipe says tells you to sprinkle 1 Tbs salt on top and not mix it in with the dough. I reduced that to 1/2 Tbs and mixed it in but it’s still a bit salty.)
(I also add a tsp or more of dried rosemary or Italian seasoning)

Pour 1 cup lukewarm water into small bowl; sprinkle with yeast and add 1 tsp sugar. Let stand until yeast mixture becomes spongy.

Add yeast mixture to 2 cups flour, salt and 2 Tbs oil in the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix. Add more flour as needed. Remove dough from mixer and knead by hand for a bit. Coat bowl with oil. Add dough; turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let stand in warm draft-free area until doubled, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Brush baking sheet with 1 tablespoon oil. Punch down dough. Turn out onto floured work surface and shape into 11-inch round. Transfer dough to prepared tart pan or baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic. Let rise until dough is almost doubled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Press fingertips into dough, creating indentations. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with salt. Bake until golden, about 28 minutes. Cool bread in pan on rack 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan; cool completely.


Preheat oven to 400°F. Press fingertips into dough, creating indentations. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with salt (if desired). Bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Cool bread in pan on rack 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan; cool completely.

Hummus

from the Barefoot Contessa

4 garlic cloves

2 C canned chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/3 C tahini (sesame paste) Should be able to find this in the ethnic section of your grocery store.

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons water or liquid from the chickpeas

8 dashes hot sauce

Turn on the food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop the garlic down the feed tube; process until it’s minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste, for seasoning, and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Sock length vs. shoe size conversion chart

SOCK LENGTH
WHAT SIZE SOCK SHOULD YOU KNIT?
Shoe Size to Sock Length Conversion Chart. Total length of sock (including toe) based on US Shoe sizes.


Womens


US 5 = 8 5/8"
US 6 = 9"
US 7 = 9 1/4"
US 8 = 9 5/8"
US 9 = 10"
US 10 = 10 1/4"
US 11 = 10 5/8 "
US 12 = 11"
US 13 = 11 1/4"

Mens

US 3.5 = 8 1/2"
US 4 = 8 5/8"
US 5 = 9"
US 6 = 9 1/2"
US 7 = 9 3/4"
US 8 = 10"
US 9 = 10 1/2"
US 10 = 10 3/4"
US 11 = 11"
US 12 = 11 1/2"
US 13 = 11 3/4"
US 14 = 12"

Infants & Childrens

US 1 = 3 1/2"
US 2 = 4"
US 3 = 4 1/4"
US 4 = 4 1/2"
US 5 = 5"
US 6 = 5 1/4"
US 7 = 5 1/2"
US 8 = 6"
US 9 = 6 1/4"
US 10 = 6 1/2"
US 11 = 7"
US 12 = 7 1/4"
US 13 = 7 1/2"
US 1 = 7 5/8"
US 2 = 8 1/4"
US 3 = 8 5/8"
US 4 = 9"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Easy Dance and Yoga socks

These are a quick easy knit. Designed to keep the heels and toes open for gripping the mat, these socks are totally functional and fun. It's basically a K2P1 rib with some garter stitching at the opening points. Easy. Feel free to contact me or leave a comment if you have any questions. This pattern can also be found on Ravelry.
Easy Peasy Yoga - Pilates Socks


Approximately 80 to 100 yrds of fingering weight sock yarn. The samples are made of Claudia's Hand Painted Yarn in Ingrid's Blues colorway purchased from The Loopy Ewe. Any thicker type sock yarn should work fine.


US size 3 (3.25 mm) dpns or circular needles


Cast on 42 stitches.


Join in round, taking care not to twist stitches.


R1 - Knit all stitches


R2 - Purl all stitches


R3 - Knit all stitches


R4 -Purl all stitches


R5 - Knit all stitches


R6 - Begin K2 P1 rib


R7 through R41 - Continue K2 P1 rib (this was approximately 3.5 inches for me. You may want more or less rows depending on your desired sock size.)


R42 - K2P1 for 21 stitches (this is the top of your sock), K 21 (this is the bottom of your sock)


R43 - K2P1 for 21 stitches (top), P 21 (bottom)


R44 - K2P1 for 21 stitches (top), Cast Off 21 (bottom - I add an extra knitted stitch every 5th stitch for a bit of extra give)


R45 - R46 will be worked back and forth


R45 - Slip 1st stitch. K1P1, K2P1 to end. Turn work.


R46 - Slip 1st stitch. P1K1, P2K1 to end. Turn work.


R47 - Slip 1st stitch. K1P1, K2P1 to end. Cast on 21 stitches. Join in round, taking care not to twist stitches.


R48 - K2P1 for 21 stitches (top of sock); K21 stitches (bottom of sock)


R49 - K2P1 for 21 stitches (top of sock); P21 stitches (bottom of sock)


R50 - K2P1 for 21 stitches (top of sock); K21 stitches (bottom of sock)


R51 - K2P1 all stitches.


R52- R86 - Continue in K2P1 pattern. This is the point to add more rows of the K2P1 pattern if you wish a longer top to your sock.


R87 - K all stitches


R88 - P all stitches


R89 - K all stitches


R90 - Bind off loosely. For a bit more give, I place an extra knit stitch every 6th bind off stitch.

Breakfast quiche

Mini Breakfast Quiches

4 eggs
1 C egg substitute*
3/4 C shredded low-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 C cottage cheese
5 oz frozen spinach (that's half a standard frozen box)
1/3 C roasted red peppers, diced (jarred, or make your own)
1 oz finely diced ham, canadian bacon, or crumbled bacon (about 1/4-1/3 C)
1/4 C finely diced onions
1/4 t kosher salt
1/8 t black pepper
1/2 t hot sauce
hot sauce

foil muffin tin liners

*1/4 egg substitute = 1 whole egg, so if you're using all eggs, or some eggs and some egg whites, you can adjust accordingly.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

Thaw spinach (you can nuke it in the microwave) and squeeze out all the liquid. Putting it in a clean kitchen towl and ringing the heck out of it works well. After it's drained of all the liquid, give it a rough chop.

In a bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well.

Place foil cupcake liners in the muffin tins and spray with cooking spray. Don't forget this step! And yes, they really do need to be the foil ones. If you have a silicone muffin pan, those work great and you don't need to line them. My silicone pan makes them taste like soap, so I don't go there. As you're dividing the egg mixture into the muffin cups make sure to keep stirring it so all of the ingredients are well-dispersed. My pan takes about 1/4 C in each hole and it fills them up perfectly. You want them to fill right up to the top.


Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. The tops should be just barely set on top. Over-baked eggs get tough and spongy so don't do that! They'll puff up while baking and then sink down when cooled. You can store them in an airtight container in the fridge, or freeze them. When reheating in the microwave, make sure to take off the foil liner! And if you're reheating from frozen, I try to take them out the night before so they can thaw in the fridge. Then when you microwave them, set them on a folded paper towel to drain excess moisture.


Eat them alone, or for a well-rounded breakfast crumble on top of a piece of whole grain toast along with a glass of milk and a piece of fruit. Makes 12.


Nutritional information for 1 mini-quiche:

83 Calories, 7.5 g Protien, 3 g fat
2 Weight Watchers Points
Southbeach Diet Phase 1

Print this page

Frozen Butter Brickle Pie

Frozen Butter Brickle Pie


Crust:
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 10 crackers)
3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
Butter Brickle:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup oats
1/3 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup butter
Filling:
8oz cream cheese, softened (I used light)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
12oz Cool Whip
Topping:
1/3-1/2 cup of caramel ice cream topping

For crust, mix crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into 2 pie plates. Bake at 350 for 6 minutes; cool.
For brickle, combine all ingredients till crumbly and pat into a 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or till light brown. Remove from oven and crumble. Cool completely.
For filling, Beat cream cheese till fluffy; gradually beat in milk. Fold in Cool Whip.
To assemble pies, spread half of the filling in the two pie crusts (a fourth of the mixture in each.) Sprinkle with half of the crumbs. Drizzle with half of the caramel. Repeat the filling and crumb layers. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving and drizzle remaining caramel over the top.

-Makes two 9" pies or 1 springform pan

Notes:
-This can also be made in a springform pan, it just takes longer to freeze.
-I used pecans, but you can use any nuts you like.
-I like to drizzle the caramel over the individual slices, I think it makes for a prettier presentation

Super moist chocolate bundt cake

Super Moist Chocolate Bundt Cake
submitted by Melanie Christensen

1 devils food cake mix
1 -4 serving instant chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
½ cup warm water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Place all ingredients except chocolate chips, in a large mixing bowl. Blend with electric mixer 1 minute.
Stir down sides. Continue to mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan.
Bake 45-50 minutes at 350. Cool 20 minutes. Invert onto serving platter.

Frosting:
8 Tbsp butter (not margarine)
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup evaporated milk (I used 2%-it worked great)
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Whisk in cocoa and milk. Bring mixture just to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Beat in powdered sugar with electric mixer until thickened and smooth. Pour warm frosting over warm cake. This recipe makes a lot of frosting.