Cooking Challenge: Spinach

immacookie

(I've added pretty much anything I have in my house at the time I feel like making this. Zucchini, green beans, black beans, corn, broccoli, mushrooms, green onion, red/yellow/green pepper, chilis, etc etc etc etc) The recipe is super versatile and you get something different every time! Hope you enjoy!

I love recipes like this!! :flowerforyou:

inskydiamonds

NAME OF RECIPE: Hot Mexican Spinach Dip from http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/hot-mexican-spinach-dip/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp salsa
1/4 of a 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 tbsp Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 package of 8 oz package Neufchatel cheese
5 tsp evaporated milk
1/4 2.25 oz can of chopped black olives
1/4 tsp red wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a medium baking dish combine all ingredients. Mash together.

3. Bake for 15 minutes, until bubbly.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 183 calories, 291 milligrams sodium.

HOW MANY IT SERVES: 6

OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC: My boyfriend's allergic to avocado, so we never get to have guacamole. I love dip for my chips and I kind of had just given up on the possibility of eating chips with anything other than salsa. BUT, this changes things! The consistency was similar to guac and gave me the same happy result. And I had no idea that 1 oz of tortilla chips (which is a serving) is quite a lot of chips! We also had tacos for dinner

PICTURE (optional):

janeeny

Hey

Just came across the post! Recipes are great! Im a cooking novice but i think il try the spinach & chickpea curry. Sounds amazing!

inskydiamonds

Keep on entering! 2 days left!

smarston

Spinach Lentil Soup (from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-Lentil-Soup-2/Detail.aspx)

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup shredded carrots
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups water
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1 1/4 cups dried lentils, rinsed
3/4 teaspoon salt (I omitted the salt and it was still great!)
1 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach, torn
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, saute carrots and onion in oil until tender. Add the water, salsa, lentils and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in spinach; simmer 5-10 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.

This was great! It was easy prep and just required a bit of time at home while it was cooking. I am sure it could be easily adapted to the crockpot as well. (I have another lentil soup recipe which calls for cooking on low for 6 hours or so). It was very filling as well.

NI for original recipe (calculated by allrecipes):
Nutritional Analysis: 1-1/2 cups equals 208 calories, 3 g fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 696 mg sodium, 36 g carbohydrate, 20 g fiber, 18 g protein.

Here are some pics. The first is just the soup and the second is after I topped my serving with a TBSP of shredded parmesan and a TBSP of shredded mozarella (which was great by the way!) We served with "cheesy bread" -- whole wheat bread topped with parmesan/mozarella as well and broiled until the cheese was melted.



]

I have never tried lentils but this looks absolutely amazing. Thanks for sharing.

meagalayne

Just threw the following into the slow cooker for tonight...

Middle Eastern Chicken Stew (adapted from http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/middle_eastern_lamb_stew.html)

Serves 6 (I think 8 is a stretch, esp with the lowered cals from the chicken)

Ingredients:
650g boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 15- or 19-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
6 ounces baby spinach
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
lemon juice, yield from 1/2 lemon

Place chicken in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Mix oil, cumin, coriander, and cayenne in a small bowl. Toss the chicken pieces with the spice paste and rub in well to coat. Top with onion, peppers and carrots.

While you are chopping the vegetables, bring tomatoes, broth and garlic to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour over the meat and vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 5 1/2 - 6 hours (or high for 3 1/2 - 4 hours).

Skim or blot any visible fat from the surface of the stew (if using lamb or beef). Mash 1/2 cup chickpeas with a fork in a small bowl. Stir the mashed and whole chickpeas into the stew, along with spinach and cilantro. Cover and cook on high until the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Mix in lemon juice before serving.

Per serving:
Calories 274
Carbs 25
Fat 5
Protein 32
Fiber 7
Sodium 778

I'll post a pic and my thoughts once I eat! Have a fab day, everyone!
-Meag

nomoremuffintopness

NAME OF RECIPE: Hot Mexican Spinach Dip from http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/hot-mexican-spinach-dip/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp salsa
1/4 of a 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 tbsp Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 package of 8 oz package Neufchatel cheese
5 tsp evaporated milk
1/4 2.25 oz can of chopped black olives
1/4 tsp red wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a medium baking dish combine all ingredients. Mash together.

3. Bake for 15 minutes, until bubbly.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 183 calories, 291 milligrams sodium.

HOW MANY IT SERVES: 6

OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC: My boyfriend's allergic to avocado, so we never get to have guacamole. I love dip for my chips and I kind of had just given up on the possibility of eating chips with anything other than salsa. BUT, this changes things! The consistency was similar to guac and gave me the same happy result. And I had no idea that 1 oz of tortilla chips (which is a serving) is quite a lot of chips! We also had tacos for dinner

PICTURE (optional):

omg, yum! i have to try this... but i would eat it all

jb_sweet_99

bump

meagalayne

Hey all...

Here are my pics from the Middle Eastern Stew recipe!! :bigsmile:




Turned out really delicious! I ended up not having any cilantro to throw in, but otherwise followed the recipe. This is showing only about 4 of 6 servings. One individual that eats with us can't have chick peas for medical reasons, so I had to take a few portions out first!

Enjoy the recipe I sure did!
-Meag

inskydiamonds

Yay! I'm glad there's been so many entries!
Tomorrow night at 5PM PST the voting goes up (and a new challenge as well!) so make sure you enter if you were planning to!

inskydiamonds

It's time to vote for the best spinach dish!

http://www.scribbld.com/customview.cgi?user=whiskey&styleid=27146

You have until Wednesday at 5PM PST to vote! The next challenge will be up shortly.

Evarell

Bump.

virginiagomes

Saving this for my next meals

Alyshe

choped freach spinach on chiken with baked tomato and garlic. yum yum yum. You can bake your chiken or grill your chiken and its still going to taste so good with tomato and garlic.

inskydiamonds

Make sure you keep on voting!

inskydiamonds

Just a reminder that the winner will be announced tonight!

Kwilliams75

bump

inskydiamonds

The winner of the spinach challenge was inskydiamonds (or me...).
The next challenge will be up Saturday, until then continue to enter the banana challenge!

kechiemc

Tagging for later. Looks so delicious! Thank you for sharing.

NotAllWhoWanderAreLost

that soup looks fantastic! I am printing the recipe out now and will pick up spinach tomorrow morning at the local Farmer's Market! Can't wait to try it! I hope my hubby, who grew up eating lots of lentil soup, might like it (not mom's but oh well

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and thanks for the recommendation, Wendy!