Ryan's Creamed Spinach

Here's the recipe for Ryan's favorite--creamed spinach!

1 lb. of fresh spinach (recipe called for 3 pounds, but I thought it was too much). I think you could also adapt this recipe and use frozen.
3 Tblspn. butter
1 Tblspn minced garlic
1/2 cup parmesan
3/4 cup heavy cream, heated
pinch of grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Wash and drain spinach and pile into a non-reactive pot (whatever that means). Place pot over medium heat and cook, stirring until just wilted, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Use your hand to squeeze out excess water. Transfer to cutting board and roughly chop. Melt the butter in a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook about 2 minutes. Add the cream, parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Continue to cook until the cream has thickened up a bit. Add the spinach and it is ready to serve!

Stromboli

2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I use Robusto Ragu)
1 small can sliced mushrooms
2 cans refrigerated pizza dough/crust

In a pan, brown ground beef and onions; drain grease. Add jar of spaghetti sauce and garlic, italian seasoning, basil, oregano, garlic salt and mushrooms. Stir occasionally until thoroughly heated. Add the cheeses and mix evenly. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Pinch seams to seal and tuck ends under. Place seam side down on baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until brown.

This serves 6 people.
This is a great recipe to make in advance and leave in the refrigerator until needed!!!!!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert

Prep Time:
15 min

Total Time:
4 hr 15 min

Makes:
12 servings

What You Need

12 NUTTER BUTTER Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, divided

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tub (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Make It

CRUSH 8 of the cookies in resealable plastic bag with rolling pin. Mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom of foil-lined 9x5-inch loaf pan.

MIX cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in 3 cups of the whipped topping. Spoon 1/2 cup of the cream cheese mixture into small bowl. Stir in melted chocolate until well blended; set aside. Spoon half of the remaining cream cheese mixture over crust. Top evenly with chocolate mixture; cover with remaining cream cheese mixture.

FREEZE 4 hours or overnight until firm. Invert onto plate. Remove foil, then re-invert onto serving platter so that crumb layer is on bottom. Coarsely break the remaining 4 cookies. Top dessert with remaining whipping topping and cookies.

This was Mia's b-day cake and everyone loved it. I also made this for the x-mas party!

Crunchy Onion Chicken

Crunchy Onion Chicken

1 1/3 cups French's Original French Fried Onions (the stuff you use on green bean casserole)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten

• Crush the french fried onions in a plastic bag.
• Dip chicken in to egg. Coat in onion crumbs. Press firmly to adhere.
• Place chicken on baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink in center.

Chicken Stuffed with Bacon and Feta

Ingredients
4 boneless chicken breasts (Next time I will use the thin chicken breast)
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 package bacon, cooked and crumbled
14.5 oz can of tomatoes ( I used the ones with basil, oregano, and garlic)
olive oil

The first thing I did was to cook the bacon, pour the grease into a container, and set it aside to use later. The recipe says to cut a slit in each chicken so you can stuff it. This is where I will use the thin chicken breast next time so I can just fold them over. Stuff or fold the chicken with the feta cheese and crumbled bacon.
Use a toothpick either way to secure the chicken closed. Brown the stuffed chicken in olive oil in a fry pan until golden brown. (I added some of the bacon grease in at this point for a little more flavor on the outside of the chicken) Once the chick is brown add the tomatoes and cover, cooking until chicken is thoroughly done.

Tomato-Cream Sauce for Pasta (All Recipes)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter

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DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat. Make sure it doesn't burn. Add tomatoes, basil, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and continue to boil 5 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat; stir in whipping cream and butter. Reduce heat and simmer 5 more minutes.

Tip: This dish probably would taste really good with some meatballs, italian sausage or even proscuitto for those of you who are meat lovers!

Meatloaf Options

Since all my spices are in storage I've had to be selective and a bit creative about what I cook. I refuse to go out and buy more spices I know I already have.

This week I made meatloaf and the recipe I had called for breadcrumbs. I know I have some breadcrumbs in our shipment and the price for breadcrumbs at Wal-mart was too high for me to justify. So I used Shake N' Bake and it turned out great!