Crab Spinach Artichoke Dip

Dips. I enjoy them. There are many foods I view simply as vehicles for dip delivery- crackers for example; like little portable mouth sized plates.

Here are three of my faves  all melded into one.

This recipe does not have all the greasy/fatty/guilty ingredients you are used to but I promise you it will still be creamy, rich and delicious.

In Blender combine:

2 C Cottage Cheese (FF/LowFat)
1 Egg
1-2 Cloves Minced Garlic

Blend til smooth

~8 oz fresh spinach Coarse chop and cook til barely wilted

In baking dish combine:

Blender mix of egg, cottage cheese and garlic
Spinach
1/2 C Shredded Mozzarella
1/2-1C Crab
1/2-1C Chopped Artichoke Hearts (I use prepared Artichoke hearts. If you are using fresh, cook them first.)
Top with a bit more shredded cheese

Bake @350 for 20 minutes
For a more browned top you can broil for a couple minutes under a watchful eye :)



Edits:
-You can add more or less crab and artichoke depending on availability. If you are using frozen spinach be absolutely sure to get all the water out.

-I am on a fancy, annoying diet called the IC Smart diet which means some super yummy foods are off limits. If this diet was not in play I would have also added sauteed minced onion cooked with an amazing amount of red pepper flakes.

Creamy Jalapeno Spinach Pesto Casserole

Mmmm pesto. Pesto is part of practically one meal a week, if not more. We love it in all its many forms. One of my favorite ways to make it is with spinach and some spice.

I have also been on a bit of a casserole kick. Throw a bunch of stuff in a baking dish and bake it in the oven. How easy is that!? My husband seems to love casserole too. Me not so much. I am one of those terrible people who picks through things like casserole and only takes what they like. So it seemed wrong to make it knowing the temptation I would face. But I'm over it. He likes all the stuff I avoid so these meals turn out super for all involved. 

I get I cut the chicken first and cook it while working on the pesto. 

For the pesto you will need a large blender. Combine:


1 Can Cream of Chicken

1 Can Cream of Jalapeno

9 or so oz Fresh Spinach

Red Pepper if desired

Pulse in spinach a handful or so at a time til all is incorporated. You may need to stir down sides every so often. 

In a large casserole dish combine:

Fresh/Frozen Tortellini, about 8-12 oz (The frozen cheese tortellini from Target is inexpensive and yummy)
Chicken 1-2lbs cut small and precooked
Frozen broccoli, 1 bag about  16 oz
Frozen cauliflower, 1 bag about 16 oz
Pesto Mix from above

Sprinkle top with Monterey Jack or whatever cheese makes you happy.
 
Do not precook veggies or tortellini, if u use dry tortellinin add 1C of water and cover
Bake in advance or combine in advance and bake when ready to eat.

Bake 25-35 min @ 400 for thawed or 45 min @ 350 for unthawed

Spinach Pesto Marinara

So I really like pesto, my husband does too. I think the fact that I make homemade pesto is one of the reasons he married me. We make all kinds and have a fairly loose definition of pesto.  Last night was spinach, tomato. It was super simple, yummy and full of leafy greens, Vitamin A, lycopene and iron among other wonderful nutrients.
Here's how it went: The other night we made pizza and had a bit (about 1/4 jar) of red sauce leftover, any flavor/version will do, ours was Capers and Olives. Yum.

~ Put some water on to boil for pasta and decide what you will be cooking from step 6. Get that going too. Add your pasta when the water is ready. ~

1. Red Sauce into blender- Do not heat first
2. 2-3 T of Extra Virgin Olive Oil into blender
3. + fresh baby spinach a handful at a time, pulse until it incorporates, repeat 'til you use it all~ 9oz or so.
4. + 2-3 T grated parmesan
5. *Optional* Salt and red pepper. We like spice so we added red pepper and just a pinch of salt to help the spinach flavor bleed into the sauce a bit more. Add whatever you like-get creative.
6. Add to a hot pan of whatever you like (we used chicken sausage) and toss about to blanch the spinach a bit and gently heat up the sauce.  The pan just needs to be hot but not on. Turn off the burner or toss over low heat...we are not cooking anything here, just heating it up. The heat from the pan and whatever you cooked will do the job nicely.

Instead of chicken sausage try cooking up some sliced chicken breast, mushrooms/onions, zucchini or anything else that strikes your fancy.

7. Toss with pasta. This is a thicker sauce so it works best with a shapely pasta like penne or farfalle (bowties) rather than something like spaghetti.
8. Enjoy.

Be Creative! Consider as a filler for a meatballesque sub on a whole grain roll, or simply serve over more veggies like strips of zucchini or spaghetti squash, also an excellent filler for lasagna or a pizza sauce.