Our newest member...

Hi everyone!  Sorry for my delay in posting...but I think you can forgive meJ  Our little chocolate chip Katie was born on March 2, 2012 and we've been in a blissful whirlwind ever since...

Hopefully once things 'settle in,' I'll be back to trying out some new recipes and sharing them with you.  For now, we've been cooking the EASIEST meals humanly possible (combined with the occasional nights where cereal is the only effort I can muster) and plan on doing so for the next few months.  Here's a list of some recent favorites:

PF Changs Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken with Leeks

Rigatoni with Salami & Capers

Mozzarella Stuffed Red Pepper Burgers

Slow Cooker French Dip

Shrimp Newburg

Taco Salad

Turkey Spinach Meatballs

Pasta with Cabbage & Potatoes

Shrimp Pad Thai

Crisp Gnocchi with Pesto & Goat Cheese

Roasted Corn Tostadas

Chicken Club Salad with Guacamole Dressing

Cheesy Pasta with Spinach and Capers

Sweet Potatoes with Apples, Onions & Sausage

Hopefully you can bear with me till we settle into our *latest* journey!  Until then, thanks for following along!J

Another Meatless Mid-Week

So, what's a good way to shake up your mid-week routine??  Try going meatless!  And one of the more unique recipes I stumbled on lately was for this lovely (AND EASY!) Potato & Greens Torta.

First up, I boiled about 3 peeled potatoes until they were easily pierced with a fork.  Then I drained them and let them cool for a bit. 

While the potatoes were cooking, I went to work sauteing the greens in garlic & olive oil.  I used 2 cups of spinach & a half a bag of arugula.  (Who knew arugula wilted down the same as spinach??)

Next, I mashed up the potatoes and added the green to mix together...

Lastly, I added:

• 1/2 cup of 1% milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 diced green onions
• 3 torn slices of fontina cheese
• a few tablespoons of grated cheese
• SALT (VERY important to salt and/or season this dish.  It is VERY easy to make it TOO BLAND!)

I spooned the mashed potatoes and greens into a pie pan that I had coated with cooking spray and dusted with some seasoned bread crumbs and let it bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 350. 

After 10 minutes, we topped the pie with MORE grated cheese, sliced it up and devoured...  

Again, I will stress that you NEED to season this heavily!  The strong cheese & flavorful arugula helped, but the potatoes can EASILY mellow out this dish if you don't season...so don't be stingy!  You'll thank me!!!

And we served our light and creamy pie with even MORE greens.  Who couldn't use more greenery, no?? 

This was a GREAT dinner to go meatless for the night.  Which, again, is not only healthy to do as often as possible, but it also helps sometimes in slashing your budget.  I figured when all was said and done, this 4 serving pie probably cost around or under $5.  How can you beat that???

So that's all I got for you today...and potentially for AWHILE.  Our new little member of the family is actually due TOMORROW, so you may or may not be hearing from me soonJ  If not, I've actually gone through this blog and picked out about TWENTY of our favorite SUPER FAST dinners that I'm going to *attempt* to make as we adjust to our new life (along with the 82 pounds of meatloaf & lasagna in our freezer!)  I'll TRYYYY to post what we're having on Facebook so you can have an idea for your OWN quick and easy meals.  Who couldn't use enough of those recipes, right???J

Until tomorrow...or until a while...have a good one!J