Spinach and Chickpea Salad

Spinach Chickpea Salad

One of my problems with "healthy" food options is that they always leave me hungry. It just seems like there is no substance to them. A while back I found this recipe on active.com and it turned out to be really good and filling. It is a great source of iron and protein, making it a great salad to enjoy after a workout. I have added a few ingredients to it over the years, but it is still mostly true to the original.


The Recipe:

The Tools:

• Large Bowl
• Citrus Reamer
• Pot

The Ingredients:

• 1 Package of Spinach
• 2 Boiled Eggs - Chopped
• 1 Can of Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) - Rinsed
• 1 Large Lemon - Juiced
• Olive Oil 
• Salt and Pepper

The Method:

Probably one of the best things about making a salad, is the simplicity. That stays true for this one. First, boil water the eggs. This usually takes about 10 to 12 minutes. I like to put the eggs in when the water is cold. It seems to cook the eggs more evenly and faster.

Once the eggs are done, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Some of the ingredients I've added over the years include feta, green onions, tomatoes, olivers, capers, and feta.

Weekly Favorites 04/13/19 to 04/20/19

Every Saturday, I go through Twitter with #foodblogger and find my favorite food related articles.

These are this week's favorites!

It was a slow week for this batch, only one article really caught my eye!

There has always been something about spinach and white bean soups that I have always loved! I can't wait to check this one out!

What's for Dinner? Spinach & White Bean Soup @Delish More Recipes @redibasecooking See what’s cooking https://t.co/zPCeRr0tTn #soup #foodporn #foodie #yummy #instafood #healthyfood #lunch #dinner #vegan #homemade #cooking #chicken #noodles #seafood #foodblogger #rcfinefoods pic.twitter.com/BUxDhYZhi8

— Redi-Base Cooking (@RediBaseCooking) April 21, 2019

Weekly Favorites 08/05/18 to 08/11/18

Last week, for Weekly Favorites, I decided to go with a sweets and desserts theme. This week, I decided to go with another theme, and include all pasta articles!

Baked Lumaconi Pasta Shells with Chicory and Porcini - via The Pasta Project

I've always loved stuffed and baked pasta dishes. Pasta stuffed with mushrooms is one of my favorites!

These scrumptious lumaconi #pastashells are filled with ricotta, chicory and porcini mushrooms and then baked in a roasted cherry tomato sauce!! Sounds delicious, right? https://t.co/JdxonsKn7x #lovepasta #italianfood #pasta #bakedpasta #vegetarian #pastagarofalo #foodblogger pic.twitter.com/Dg7U6WPelh

— Jacqui DeBono (@jacquidebono) August 8, 2018

Creamy Tomato Alfredo Tortellini with Sautéed Arugula and Hot Sausage - via The Sweet & Savory Couple

If I'm being honest, I have to admit that I've never been a huge fan of Alfredo sauce. I am however, a fan of tomatoes and Italian sausage. And, I've always been fascinated by tortellini!

Creamy Tomato Alfredo Tortellini with Hot Sausage. Easy meal sure to please the whole family. #foodblogger #italianfood #pastadishes #easydinnerrecipe #dinnertime #sweetandsavorycouple https://t.co/88B9irnbnD pic.twitter.com/Zh9hLbgZlE

— The Sweet and Savory Couple (@sweetsavorycpl) August 4, 2018

Corn Pasta with Bacon and Pecorino Romano - via Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

We've been cooking with a lot of corn lately. Coincidentally, we made a corn and bacon pasta dish just like this a few weeks ago with some chicken! This combination of pasta and bacon and corn is great!

Grab some sweet summer corn and try this fresh and tasty Corn Pasta with Bacon and Pecorino! https://t.co/bEsJAmdMKz #FarmersMarketWeek #pasta pic.twitter.com/QNPWQu0fHB

— Hezzi-Ds Books&Cooks (@HezziD) August 8, 2018

Rigatoni Filled with Spinach and Gorgonzola - via Make it Kitchen

Maybe it's because I watched a lot of Popeye when I was little, but I love spinach! It's great in salads, but especially in pasta! Pasta stuffed with cheese and spinach is a delicious combination!

Here's another video of the MakeItKitchen guys ! https://t.co/2HCnIAAwIO#pasta #spinach #gorgonzola #Recipe pic.twitter.com/Wc4wmLLWLP— MakeItKitchen (@MakeItKitchen1) August 8, 2018

Mushroom Risotto

Mushroom Risotto

Risotto is one of those things I always heard was really hard to make. But once I watched someone make it, and how simple it is, I had to try it fr myself.

The Recipe:

• 1 Onion - Diced
• 3 Garlic Cloves - Minced
• 1 Quart Chicken Broth
• 1 Cup Arborio Rice
• 2 Tablespoons Butter - divided
• 1 Package Portobello Mushrooms - Sliced
• 1/4 Cup Dry White Wine
• Spinach - Rough Chopped (optional)
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/4 Cup Ricotta Cheese
• 1/4 Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Sauté the rice in butter
until translucent

In a saucepan, heat the chicken broth to a slow simmer. In a heavy bottom Dutch oven, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Over medium-high heat, sauté the arborio rice until translucent, or not quite browned.



Remove the rice from the pot. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Sauté the onions and garlic until slightly browned. Deglaze the pan with the dry white wine. Return the arborio rice back to the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the broth one ladle
at a time

The next step is where it can get a little tricky. It's not hard, it just takes patience. Add the chicken broth to the rice, one ladle at a time. The rice is going to slowly absorb the chicken broth. Don't rush it by turning the heat up too much or the chicken broth will evaporate instead of absorbing in to the rice. Stir the rice occasionally. As the chicken broth absorbs into the rice, add another ladle one at time.






When the last ladle of broth has been added, add the mushrooms. The mushrooms will cook quickly. When the broth is fully absorbed, the mushrooms are done.

Add the spinach
at the very end

If you are adding the spinach, stir it in just before turning off the heat. The remaining heat in the rice will cook it.

Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the ricotta and mozzarella cheese. 

Some other variations to try are mushroom and asparagus, summer veggies, or pumpkin for the fall!

Happy eating!

Italian Sausage Zucchini Soup, Slow Cooker Style

Some nights, you need something that is easy to make. The crock pot comes in to play here. A lot of times we will try to rework a recipe we already have for the crock pot, so we can focus on other things. Last weekend we did that with Italian Sausage Zucchini Soup. Check out the original recipe here.

Italian Sausage Zucchini Soup, Slow Cooker Style

The Recipe

• 1 Package Italian Sausage - Sliced
• 2 Onions - Diced
• 2 Zucchini - Sliced
• 1/2 to 1 1/2 Cups Merlot
• 2 15 oz Cans Whole Tomatoes
• 2 Boxes Beef Broth
• 1 Teaspoon Basil
• 2 Garlic Cloves - Diced
• Salt and Pepper
• Chopped Parsley
• Pasta - Penne, Farfalle, and Rigatoni work really well

Brown the sausage in a pan. Sauté the onion and garlic in the juices left from the sausage. Combine all the ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. If time permits, add the pasta about 30 minutes in. This will help keep the pasta from over cooking. 


Happy eating.

Italian Sausage Zucchini Soup

I'm feeling a little nostalgic lately, so I decided to share a recipe we always made growing up. This soup recipe was past down from my aunt.

The Recipe:

Italian Sausage Zucchini Soup

• 1 Package Italian Sausage - Sliced
• 2 Onions - Diced
• 2 Zucchini - Sliced
• 1/2 to 1 1/2 Cups Merlot
• 2 15 oz Cans Whole Tomatoes
• 2 Boxes Beef Broth
• 1 Teaspoon Basil
• 2 Garlic Cloves - Diced
• Salt and Pepper
• Chopped Parsley
• Noodles 

Brown the Italian Sausage in a large heavy bottom stock pot. I prefer to use either sweet Italian sausage or spicy Italian sausage. The mild sausage doesn't quite fill out the flavor profile of the soup. 

Remove the browned Italian sausage from the pot. There should be about a tablespoon of grease left behind from the sausage. If not, add a little bit of olive oil. 

Sauté the onions and garlic. Add the Italian sausage back in to the pot. Add the remaining ingredients bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Add the noodles, zucchini, and parsley and simmer another 10-15 minutes. Penne or Rigatoni pasta work the best, but I usually use whatever is lying around the pantry.

Sometimes I'll add a can of Great Northern White beans as a substitute for the noodles. Other times, I'll use both the beans and noodles to make the soup a little bit more hearty. Sometimes I'll stir in a little spinach at the end too.

Happy Eating!

Chicken and Rosemary Meatballs with Sautéed Tomatoes and Spinach

I've been thinking about this one for a while, but have only recently gotten around to making it. I wanted to try something different with meatballs besides beef and veal. I haven't tried it yet, but I would imagine this would go great with lamb in place of the chicken. I'm a big fan of the lamb and rosemary flavor profile.


For the Sauce:

• 2 Garlic Cloves - Minced
• 1 14.5 oz Can Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Bunch of Spinach - Rough Chopped
• Salt & Pepper
• Pasta
• Olive Oil

Sauté the garlic in olive oil over medium heat until light brown. Add in salt and pepper and tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce reduces. Stir in the chopped spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. 

Chicken and Rosemary Meatballs with Sautéed Tomatoes and Spinach

For the Meatballs:

• 1 lb Ground Chicken
• 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan
• 1/2 Cup Italian Breadcrumbs
• 1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary - Chopped
• 1 Teaspoon Water
• 1 Egg
• Salt & Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. This best done by hand. Roll the mixture in to balls a little bigger than a golf ball. If they are much bigger than, the outside will burn before the inside cooks. Arrange the meatballs on a sheet pan and place under the broiler. Cook until the top is brown. Remove the meatballs from the broiler and flip. The bottom will likely be brown already, but the middle still needs to cook a little more and you don't want to burn the top. Place back under the broiler for a more minutes. Serve the meatballs with the sauce over pasta. 

Chicken Florentine

Last night I made one of my favorite recipes. It started out as a recipe my dad gave a few years back, that was actually meant to be a recipe for roasted pork. I played around with it a little bit and eventually I was able to turn it in to Chicken Florentine

The Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Thighs
• 3 Tbsp Butter
• 3 Stalks of Rosemary - Minced
• 6 Roma Tomatoes - Chopped
• 2 Cloves Garlic - Chopped
• 2 Tbsp White Wine
• Salt
• Pepper
• Crushed Red Pepper
• Capellini Pasta
• 1 Bushel Spinach

Melt butter in a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven (I prefer a porcelain enameled cast iron dutch oven), over medium high heat. Rinse the chicken thighs and dry. Season generously with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Brown chicken in the butter for 5 to 10 minutes per side.

Remove and set aside, leaving behind the butter and chicken juices. 

Add the white wine to the pot to deglaze. Add tomatoes and saute until soft. Add the garlic to tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to the mix. Saute for a few minutes, stirringly occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to loosen up. Place the chicken back in to the pot and cover. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for another 20 minutes. 

Rinse the spinach and saute and olive oil with salt until the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat.

To serve, place cooked capellini on a plate. Place spinach on top of the pasta. Add a chicken thigh on top of the spinach, and top off with a few spoonfuls of the sauce.