Creamed Spinach with Roasted Cipollini Onions and Toasted Bread Crumbs

Creamed Spinach with Roasted Cipollini Onions and Toasted Bread Crumbs

Serves: 4
Adapted from Tyler Florence

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 pounds cipollini onions
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 lbs fresh spinach, stemmed and washed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the unpeeled cipollini onions in a bowl and cover with very hot water. Set aside for 15 minutes to soften the skins. Drain the onions, then peel and pat dry.

2. Heat a large skillet over high heat and add 2 Tbsp of oil. Add the onions and saute until they are golden brown. Roughly 10 minutes.

3. Add the vinegar and honey. Then reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the mixture has reduced to a syrup and the onions are soft, about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

4. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp of oil, add the butter, and stir it around until it melts.

5. Next, add the onions and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes, or until soft.

6. Add the spinach in batches, pushing it down into the pan to help it wilt. Add more spinach as soon as there is room in the pot. Cook the spinach until it’s dry. Reduce the heat and add the cream and nutmeg. Stir and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Pour the creamed spinach into a baking dish and top it off with the onions, panko and the Parmesan cheese. Bake until the breadcrumbs are golden brown…15 minutes. Serve hot.

This dish was super delish! I think next time I’ll be making it vegan instead. I realize now that I can no longer tolerate dairy in my diet. I had too much ice cream last night and now I’m paying the price. My body hurts so bad. I’ve never experienced this before. I couldn’t figure out why I was in so much pain this morning. Then I had more ice cream again tonight. A couple hours later and the pain has returned. My feet, legs and back ache so bad. I feel like I need a nice hot bath and massage. I should really be going to bed, but the pain is too much. Instead, I am writing this blog post, laying in bed, trying to get my mind off of this horrible debacle. Lesson learned…NO DAIRY EVER AGAIN!!!

Banana Bread, Cinnamon Bun, Brownie, Bread Pudding with Carmel Sauce

I made all this Banana Bread the other day. It had been about a week and the second loaf had barely been touched. It eyed me from afar, in the depths of the over crowded fridge. In that moment, i was inspired to make it into something new.

My roomy and I headed over to the grocery store to pick up supplies. As we wandered up and down the isles, i spotted, there on the half price shelf, a container of brownies and 3 iced cinnamon buns. I decided then, that these had to be involved in the Bread Pudding!! How could I not try and top my previous version.

Banana Bread, Cinnamon Bun, Brownie, Bread Pudding

Adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 5 large beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup cubed Stale brownies
• 3 stale cinnamon buns cut up
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.

1. Mix together the sugars, eggs, and milk in a bowl; add vanilla and butter.

2. Next, add the chips. Pour over cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes.

3. Pour bread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven. Top with Easy Caramel Sauce by Ree Drummond.

Easy Caramel Sauce

Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 packed cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 4 tablespoons butter
• Pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix the brown sugar, half-and-half, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook while whisking for 5 to 7 minutes, until it gets thicker.

2. Then, add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken more.

3. Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool slightly. Next, pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold.

Cauliflower Mash

I was in L.A. last summer eating at “Veggie Grill” Somehow, I ended up trying their cauliflower mashed potatoes. I don’t normally eat cauliflower and i never had them mashed. Boy was I in Heaven. I sure have been missing out all these years. Anyways, I decided I would make some tonight. First attempt and I think they turned out Devine!

Adapted from detoxinista

Mashed Cauliflower
serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 Medium-sized head of cauliflower, chopped into florets (about 3 lbs.)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 6 roasted garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 fresh chives, chopped
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• salt and pepper, to taste

• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Fill a large stockpot with about an inch or two of water, and insert a steamer basket. Bring the water to a boil, and add the cauliflower. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Steam the cauliflower for 6-8 minutes, or until fork tender.

2. Drain the steamed cauliflower, and transfer to the bowl of a large food processor. Next, add in the roasted garlic cloves and seasonings, and process to your desired texture.

3. Put into a baking dish and sprinkle with Panko and Parmesan. Broil until lightly browned on top.

I made this tonight with creamed spinach and salmon. It was amazing. My friend told me that is topped her favorite dish from The Cheese Cake Factory. That made me smile. I do love to cook good food, for all the special people in my life. Don’t mind the cut in the creamed spinach. I dropped my iPhone on my plate, before I could even take a picture. Lol!!

Guacamole Spinach Soup

Soup, soup, soup; its time for more soup! It sure has been getting nice here in Vegas. The last couple of days it’s been in the 70’s. Either way, I felt like making a nice little batch of soup. I had a bunch of guacamole that I made a day or two ago. I decided to convert it into something else. I think I had about 1 1/2 cups of the guacamole left over. I basically put everything into the blender, added a few spices and heated it all up. It was very simple. Took maybe ten minutes. The spinach made the soup nice and thick and I added a bit of coconut milk for creaminess.

Guacamole Spinach Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1/2 green pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large avocado or 2 small
• 1/4 red onion
• 1 lime
• Huge handful of spinach
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/8- 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 2 Tbsp coconut milk
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Saute the peppers and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Next, add the spices and cook until fragrant; about 2 min.

Now, put everything into your blender and puree. Once that is done you put everything into a sauce pot and heat up the soup. This shouldn’t take that long on medium heat.

Garnish with diced green onions, diced tomatoes, croutons and a fresh squeeze of lime juice.

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Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Today I decided it was time to make some banana bread. The bananas having been turning more and more black everyday. I looked up a couple of recipes and decided I would make my own concoction. This recipe makes 2 loaf. You could always cut it i half if you like. I like to make big batches most of the time. That way I have leftovers that I can either freeze or turn into something new. All depends on what it is I am making.

I added raspberries, blueberries,white chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips this time. I was making it for friends and have plans for one of the loafs to turn into another special treat.

Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 cup raw cane sugar
• 1 cup cashew butter
• 6 bananas, slightly mashed
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup coconut milk + 4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp all spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips

Directions:

1. First, you cream together the sugars and cashew butter. Next, add the mashed bananas. I like to leave chunks of banana, but you don’t have to if you prefer not to do this.
2. Now, add the baking soda, vanilla, cinnamon, all spice and salt. Mix everything well.
3. Now its time to add the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar. After that you mix in the flour and oats.
4. Put the mixture into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour. It may need up to ten minutes more. Just check and see if a toothpick comes out clean. Then place on your cookie rack to cool slightly before turning over onto the rack to cool completely.