This is unbelievably good and when served with fresh veggies such as cut up carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower and broccoli will erase any guilt you'll feel eating something this rich.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup light sour cream
1 cup light cream cheese
1/3 cup mayo (use light or at least canola/olive oil kind)
2 cups shredded parmesan (yes, stuff out of the green can)
1-2 teaspoons minced garlic
10 oz frozen spinach thawed and drained well
1 can artichoke hearts, drained (tip: Trader Joe's brand is really cheap and good)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop each artichoke heart into about 5 pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine spinach, parmesan and artichoke hearts. Combine remaining ingredients and add the spinach mixture. Bake 30 minutes. Serve hot with veggies or crackers or bread, the possibilities are endless.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Crab stuffed mushrooms
Serve hot for a great appetizer.
1 lb fresh mushrooms
7-8 oz canned crab meat (not imitation)
4 green onions thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (green can stuff)
1/3 cup mayo
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (also from green can)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse canned crab meat. In a mixing bowl combine crab meat, green onions, herbs and pepper. Mix in mayo and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
Clean mushrooms, removing stems and gills making deep cups. Chop stems and add to the filling.
Fill mushroom caps with the filling and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and paprika.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until mushrooms are soft. Serve immediately.
1 lb fresh mushrooms
7-8 oz canned crab meat (not imitation)
4 green onions thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (green can stuff)
1/3 cup mayo
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (also from green can)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse canned crab meat. In a mixing bowl combine crab meat, green onions, herbs and pepper. Mix in mayo and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
Clean mushrooms, removing stems and gills making deep cups. Chop stems and add to the filling.
Fill mushroom caps with the filling and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and paprika.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until mushrooms are soft. Serve immediately.
Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
Prosciutto, asparagus, cream cheese, what's not to like. I buy light cream cheese and lowest-salt prosciutto I can find.
1/2 lb sliced prosciutto
4 oz light cream cheese
about 18 asparagus spears, trimmed.
Blanche asparagus in boiling water for 40 seconds, immediately placed in iced water to stop the cooking process. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread prosciutto slices with cream cheese and wrap each slice around 2 or 3 asparagus spears. Arrange spears in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes and serve immeditely.
1/2 lb sliced prosciutto
4 oz light cream cheese
about 18 asparagus spears, trimmed.
Blanche asparagus in boiling water for 40 seconds, immediately placed in iced water to stop the cooking process. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread prosciutto slices with cream cheese and wrap each slice around 2 or 3 asparagus spears. Arrange spears in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes and serve immeditely.
Baked Brie with Pine Nuts
Very elegant but super simple recipe. Taken from a low carb cooking website. Again, I buy all the ingredients at Trader Joe's.
Ingredients:
1 round (8 oz) brie cheese
1 tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp pine nuts
Heat oven to 450 degrees. With a sharp knife, trim white rind off top of the cheese. Place cheese on a pie place. Mix sundried tomatoes and parsley and spread evenly over the surface of the cheese. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Bake 10 minutes until heated through.
Ingredients:
1 round (8 oz) brie cheese
1 tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp pine nuts
Heat oven to 450 degrees. With a sharp knife, trim white rind off top of the cheese. Place cheese on a pie place. Mix sundried tomatoes and parsley and spread evenly over the surface of the cheese. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Bake 10 minutes until heated through.
Coat in a coat
This is a fun version of a very common russian dish: herring in a fur coat. Unlike the original it travels well and works for a buffet table. The directions look a bit complicated but they just look that way. The resulting dish will be like a stuffed french baguette loaf with veggies and fish inside.
Ingredients:
1 loaf french baguette bread
herring filet (1 small jar)
3 oz unsalted butter
2 tbsp mayo
1 boiled beet
2 boiled carrots
1/2 thinly sliced onion soaked in vinegar and boiling water for 10 minutes
dill
In a small bowl combine room-temperature butter and dill. Cut french baguette along the long side (parallel to the cutting board), opening it up. Be careful not to separate the two halves. Scoop out some of the soft bread inside leaving you with a shell for the filling.
Spread butter mixture on the inside surfaces of the loaf reserving some for later. Now start layering the filling.
Shred beets, combine with 1 tbsp mayo and put them on one half of the loaf. On the other half, put shredded carrots combined with 1 tbsp mayo. On the beets side, put chopped herring, then sliced onions. On the carrots side, finely shred hard boiled eggs.
Your goal is to take the loaf and put the two (still connected) halves back together. To make them stick, take the remaining butter mixture and spread it on the surfaces where the two halves will touch. Now put the loaf back together and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. To serve, cut slices of the loaf and enjoy.
Ingredients:
1 loaf french baguette bread
herring filet (1 small jar)
3 oz unsalted butter
2 tbsp mayo
1 boiled beet
2 boiled carrots
1/2 thinly sliced onion soaked in vinegar and boiling water for 10 minutes
dill
In a small bowl combine room-temperature butter and dill. Cut french baguette along the long side (parallel to the cutting board), opening it up. Be careful not to separate the two halves. Scoop out some of the soft bread inside leaving you with a shell for the filling.
Spread butter mixture on the inside surfaces of the loaf reserving some for later. Now start layering the filling.
Shred beets, combine with 1 tbsp mayo and put them on one half of the loaf. On the other half, put shredded carrots combined with 1 tbsp mayo. On the beets side, put chopped herring, then sliced onions. On the carrots side, finely shred hard boiled eggs.
Your goal is to take the loaf and put the two (still connected) halves back together. To make them stick, take the remaining butter mixture and spread it on the surfaces where the two halves will touch. Now put the loaf back together and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. To serve, cut slices of the loaf and enjoy.
Rafaello cheese balls
These are little crab meat and cheese balls that look really cute
Ingredients:
4 oz cheese (plavlennii from Russian deli is best, in case you get those you need 2)
2 hard boiled eggs
1 garlic clove
1 cup mayo
2 whole walnuts (shelled)
3.5 oz imitation crab meat
Shred eggs and cheese. To the mixture, add minced garlic, chopped walnuts, add 1 tablespoon mayo. Form little balls from the resulting mixture. Shred imitation crab meat and put into a shallow plate. Roll cheese balls in the shredded crab meat. Refrigerate 1/2 hours.
Ingredients:
4 oz cheese (plavlennii from Russian deli is best, in case you get those you need 2)
2 hard boiled eggs
1 garlic clove
1 cup mayo
2 whole walnuts (shelled)
3.5 oz imitation crab meat
Shred eggs and cheese. To the mixture, add minced garlic, chopped walnuts, add 1 tablespoon mayo. Form little balls from the resulting mixture. Shred imitation crab meat and put into a shallow plate. Roll cheese balls in the shredded crab meat. Refrigerate 1/2 hours.
Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing
I use this for the spinach orzo salad
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 heads of roasted garlic
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon juiced
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, take a two heads of garlic (one can never have too much roasted garlic), chop off the top and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Wrape heads in foil, place on a baking sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes until soft. In a food processor, combine vinegar, salt, honey and garlic, puree. While food processor is still running, add olive oil and lemon juice. Adjust lemon juice, honey and salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 heads of roasted garlic
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon juiced
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, take a two heads of garlic (one can never have too much roasted garlic), chop off the top and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Wrape heads in foil, place on a baking sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes until soft. In a food processor, combine vinegar, salt, honey and garlic, puree. While food processor is still running, add olive oil and lemon juice. Adjust lemon juice, honey and salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use
Copycat Spinach Orzo Salad
This is a copycat recipe of a spinach orzo salad from Macaroni Grill with minor tweaks. I get most of my ingredients at Trader Joe's, they're much cheaper there. The only thing I get elsewhere is orzo. I've made this with whole wheat orzo and it was great.
Ingredients:
8-10 oz julienned fresh baby spinach
2 diced Roma tomatoes
2 oz lightly toasted pine nuts
2 oz julienned sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil
2 oz shaved parmesan cheese, the really good kind, not stuff from green can (tip: use vegetable peeler to shave the cheese)
1 lb orzo pasta
freshly ground black pepper
lemon vinaigrette dressing (see next recipe)
The original had some julienned chicken breast, capers, olives and radicchio but I don't add those as for me they are an aquired taste that I haven't quite acquired yet.
Combine all salad ingredients except for pine nuts and parmesan cheese in a salad bowl. Add dressing and toss. Add pine nuts, black pepper and most of the parmesan cheese and toss again right before serving. Garnish with remaining parmesan cheese.
Ingredients:
8-10 oz julienned fresh baby spinach
2 diced Roma tomatoes
2 oz lightly toasted pine nuts
2 oz julienned sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil
2 oz shaved parmesan cheese, the really good kind, not stuff from green can (tip: use vegetable peeler to shave the cheese)
1 lb orzo pasta
freshly ground black pepper
lemon vinaigrette dressing (see next recipe)
The original had some julienned chicken breast, capers, olives and radicchio but I don't add those as for me they are an aquired taste that I haven't quite acquired yet.
Combine all salad ingredients except for pine nuts and parmesan cheese in a salad bowl. Add dressing and toss. Add pine nuts, black pepper and most of the parmesan cheese and toss again right before serving. Garnish with remaining parmesan cheese.
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