Pantry Challenge: Spinach Artichoke Dip

I have had a jar of artichoke hearts in my pantry for a couple of weeks.  It was purchased to be backed chicken bacon alfredo.  But that didn’t happen, and I’m glad it didn’t because as I was looking through my pantry I saw it and knew that Spinach Artichoke dip was in my future.

To Cut Up Messy Canned foods--Like Artichokes 
Just cut them right in the can with your clean kitchen shears or use a knife cutting the food against the side of the can. This recipe takes about 1/2 a jar of artichokes.

Spinach Artichoke Dip
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
2/3 cup sour cream powder (add to ¼ cup hot water mix well, don’t worry if it is a little lumpy, after you bake it the lumps will be gone.)

1 cup FD Spinach (rehydrate in 1 cup hot water and drain)
1 cup coarsely chopped artichoke hearts, drained
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoons

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400°. 

In a medium bowl -combine sour cream and hot water mix well,
Add the cream cheese.  Beat till smooth, either by hand or on low speed with a hand mixer. 

Add in the salt.

Fold in the drained spinach, garlic, artichokes, and Parmesan cheese.

Spread into a small baking dish or hollow our a loaf of artisan bread and fill the cavity with the dip.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.  Avoid over baking to prevent it from separating.

Sprinkle additional grated Parmesan cheese over the top if desired, during the last 5 minutes of baking.

Serve warm with baguette slices, pita chips, crackers, etc...

Recipe Substitutions: 

If you don’t have the sour cream powder that I used, use regular sour cream or 1/3 cup sour cream and 1/3 cup mayo.

If you don’t have Freeze Dried Spinach it is okay to use fresh cooked spinach or defrosted frozen spinach, just make sure that whatever you use is very well drained.

Copy Cat Recipe Using Food Storage: Chili's Southwest Eggrolls

We really like to dip these in Hidden Valley Ranch Spicy Ranch.  At Chili's they are served with an avocado ranch dipping sauce, but I don't love it so we use spicy ranch instead.

1 cup freeze dried chicken
2 tablespoons freeze dried onion
2 tablespoons dehydrated mixed bell peppers
1/3 cup Freeze dried corn
1/4 cup instant black beans
2 tablespoons freeze dried spinach
Water
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Flour tortillas  (I used large tortillas because that is what I had but I think at the restaurant they use 5 inch tortillas)
oil, for frying

1.  Place the chicken, onion, pepper, corn, black beans, and spinach in a large microwavable bowl.   Cover generously with water.  Heat in microwave for 5 minutes.  Allow to sit in microwave for an additional 5 minutes. Drain and rinse. Return to the bowl.
2.  Add the cayenne pepper, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cheese to the chicken mixture.  Mix well.
3.  Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chicken mixture on a tortilla.  Roll up so the tortilla looks like a cigar (not like a burrito.
4. Heat 1 inch of oil in a large frying pan. When the oil is hot place 2-3 egg rolls in the hot oil. Be careful not to crowd the pan.  Fry egg rolls until golden brown.  Roll to the other side and fry until golden brown.  Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.  
5.  Serve the egg rolls with store bought avocado ranch salad dressings or with spicy ranch.

A Green Dinner for Saint Patricks Day

Vegetable Risotto Serves 4
1 Tbsp Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons FD onions 
1 cup rice
4 cup water
1 Tablespoon instant chicken bouillon
1 cup Freeze Dried broccoli
1 cup Freeze Dried Peas
1/2 cup Freeze Dried Spinach
2 Tablespoons Dehydrated Carrots

1 c. chopped tomato (Roma is best)
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp basil or parsley

In large saucepan cook the garlic in oil until tender.  Add water and bouillon and stir to dissolve.  Add rice, and freeze dried vegetables and cook covered for 15 minutes, untill rice is tender.  Stir in tomato cheese, and basil or parsley.  Serve immediately.

Variation:  I love to use Feta cheese in this instead of the shredded cheddar.

Homemade Tortillas and Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas

My sister taught me how to make tortillas when I first went away to school.  But I never loved how they turned out. It seems they were always a little bit crumbly and not quite as delicious as I wanted them to be.   I recently ran across a recipe that was a little bit diferent. It uses both white and whole wheat flour. It also uses both vegetable oil and butter.  We love it. It is easy to make, easy to store, and not crumbly.

Printable Recipe


Flour Tortillas
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons vegetalbe oil
2 tablespoons butter, softened

1. In a large bowl mixing bowl, wisk together, the flours, salt and baking powder.
2. Add oil and butter.  Using your hands rub the fat into the flour, until it has the texture of cornmeal. 
3. Add 1 1/4 cup warm water. Mix well
4. Knead for 2 minutes.  The dough should be soft and pliable. It should not be sticky.
5. Cover dough with saran wrap or a wet towel (you don't want it to dry out) and let dough rest for about 10 minutes.
6. Form dough into 12 balls.  
7. Heat a dry (don't grease it) cast iron skillet over medium heat.
8. On a lightly floured surface flatten one dough ball and using a rolling pin roll into a think 8 inch circle.  
9. Place tortilla in the hot pan.  cook for 1 minute and flip over. It should have brown spots.  Cook for 1 minuet on the other side.  Remove from pan and cover with a clean towel.  Repeat for remainder of the dough balls.  

I was inspired by a recipe in the book DIY Delicious by Vanessa Barrington.  It is a great book. If you have not looked at it you should!

Mushroom Spinach Quesadilla

makes 2 Quesadillas
4 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup freeze dried spinach
1/2 cup freeze dried mushrooms
Feta Cheese
4 Homemade tortillas

1. Rehydrate spiach and mushrooms by placing them in a 2 cup measuring cup and covering with hot water for 3-5 minutes.  You will know it is rehydrated when you pinch a peice of spinach between your fingers and it is soft all the way through. Drain off the water. Squeeze the mushrooms and spinach in your had to remove excess water.
2. On a tortilla spread 1/2 the spinach and mushrooms. Sprinkle liberally with feta cheese. Top with second tortilla.

3. Microwave for 30 seconds until cheese is melted. Cut with pizza cutter in quarters. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

 I took this to a party and had five people ask me for the recipe so it must be good. 


To Cut Up Messy Canned foods--Like Artichokes 
Just cut them right in the can with your clean kitchen shears or use a knife cutting the food against the side of the can. This recipe takes about 1/2 a jar of artichokes.

Spinach Artichoke Dip
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1/3 cup sour cream powder (add to 2 Tablespoon hot water mix well)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 cup FD Spinach (rehydrate in 1 cup hot water and drain)
1 cup coarsely chopped artichoke hearts (canned or marinated)
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400°. 

In a medium bowl -combine sour cream and hot water mix well,
Add the cream cheese and mayonnaise.  Beat till smooth, either by hand or on low speed with a hand mixer. 

Add in the salt.

Fold in the drained spinach, garlic, artichokes, and Parmesan cheese.

Spread into a small baking dish.  (2 small Pyrex dishes - to keep at home for my own snacking later - and one to take to the party).  You may wish to spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray for easier cleanup later.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.  Avoid over baking to prevent it from separating.
Sprinkle additional grated Parmesan cheese over the top if desired, during the last 5 minutes of baking.

Serve warm with baguette slices, pita chips, crackers, etc...

Spinach and Lemon Soup with Rice

I love Greek Food.  All of the Greek food I have ever eaten I have liked.  For a couple of years I have been looking for great Greek Lemon Rice soup.  To have a great soup you need to start with a great base.  I often use bouillon but for a really great soup you need stock.

Spinach and Lemon Soup with Rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (crush in your hand to release the flavor)
1 cup freeze dried spinach
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I cook it in the microwave while I am getting everything else ready)
1 cup cooked chopped chicken (I like to use left over roasted chicken)
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 eggs
Juice of 3 lemons
Fresh parsley, chopped (to serve)
Feta Cheese or Fresh-grated Parmesan (to serve)

Cook rice according to package directions.

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven. Cook the garlic and onion over medium heat until fragrant and slightly translucent. Turn the heat to medium high and add the red pepper flakes, and spinach(dry not rehydrated). Cook for about a minute, and then add the broth.

Bring to a light simmer, then turn the heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes. Take the soup off the heat and let it cool down for a moment or two.

Whisk eggs vigorously in a largish bowl, then whisk in the lemon juice. Whisk for a couple minutes; the mixture should be thick, pale yellow, and creamy. Add a small ladleful of the soup broth to the eggs and whisk vigorously. (If you want to be really sure not to curdle the eggs, take a ladle of soup and cool it a bit before tempering the eggs.) Whisk in two more ladles of soup broth, whisking each well and letting them cool.

Add the egg mixture to the soup pot, whisking very well. Return to very low heat, stirring the whole time.

Cook carefully over low heat until the soup has thickened slightly. Add cooked rice and chicken. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley and feta cheese (or Parmesan).

Green Smoothies-with Freeze Dried Spinach

So have you caught the green smoothie craze? My friend Kim introduced me to green smoothies a couple of years ago. (She has a great post on her blog about them.).  The idea is to eat/drink some highly nutritious foods such as spinach or Kale, along with a bunch of fruit in smoothie form. Recently I have had a ton of people at my parties talking about green smoothies.  I thought I would try them with freeze driend spinach.  I did and it turned out great.  My husband says "the tree huggers will love it"  so to all of you tree huggers out there give it a try.

One note: Lots of people making green smoothies have amazing blenders.  I on the other hand don't.  I have a Hamilton beach blender that I got for my wedding 8 year ago, and it worked just fine)
My friend Marie calls these "Shrek Smoothies" (she does not use strawberries that make it turn brown) and she says her kids LOVE them.

Green Smoothie
1 banana  (or use freeze dried, I would of but I am out until my Q ships this month)
1 cup freeze dried spinach (dry you don't need to rehydrate before)
2 cups frozen fruit (we use strawberries)
2 c hot water (the hot water helps rehydrate the spinach and to help your blender run smooth)
1 Tablespoon honey (optional)

Put all the ingredients in blender and blend well.  In my blender it takes a few minutes.  I just let the blender run until it is smooth.

Freeze Dried Spinach-Ski County Pasta

THRIVE Freeze Dried Chopped Spinach is a great addition to your food storage.  There are 45 servings of the nutritionally spinach in a can.  Spinach has been shown to fight cancer and improve functioning in the heart, eyes, and brain.
How does it compare to fresh or frozen? 
In the can the pieces of spinach at first appeared pretty small, yet when rehydrated the finished product is what I expect cooked spinach to look like.  It tastes like spinach.
How to use it?
Use it on sandwiches, in salads, in pasta dishes, or store it away for a rainy day. As with all THRIVE freeze dried products,
Shelf Life and Allergen info
Chopped Spinach is GMO-free and guaranteed to taste fresh and delicious, lasting two years if opened and 25 years if sealed.
The best part? 
It is so easy to use the amount I need. No more spinach wilting in my refrigerator!

Ski Country Pasta

1/2 c. sliced almonds
1/2 c precooked bacon or bacon TVP (rehydrated)
4 c. penne pasta
2-6 cloves garlic (I like it with 6)
1 cup Freeze Dried spinach, rehydrate in 4 cups hot water. Drain.
1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
5 Tblsp. Balsamic vinegar
2 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 c. fresh chopped basil (optional, but tasty)

1.Cook pasta al dente (until it's done) in salted water. 
2. Meanwhile: Toast almonds over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Add bacon during the last minuet.
3. Add garlic and chopped spinach, to almond mixture. Stir over medium heat unt
4. Whisk mustard and vinegar together in large bowl, and then mix in drained pasta, cheese, cooked spinach mixture, bacon, and basil. Serve warm, topped with toasted almonds.

Serving suggestions: Add cooked cubed chicken breasts for a more substantial protein-filled meal.