Spinach Feta Pocket Pies
Awhile back I made these Chicken Pocket Pies and they were fabulous. The dough worked out perfectly, angels sang, and we left nothing but pie dust in the kitchen. Remember?
I've been "trying" to bring spinach back into Cooper's diet so I thought these Spinach Feta Pocket Pies might do the trick! Plus this momma loves spanakopita, and these are pretty similar (except they're made with cream cheese pastry instead of phillo dough).
I whipped up the pastry dough the night before using light cream cheese instead of full fat. I am soo happy to report that it tastes just fine! A bullet has been dodged, people. We can have a tasty lower fat pie crust and eat it too!
The spinach pockets were super. I was delighted every time I got a chunk of feta in a bite. Next time I am going to add a little more cheese to the filling. Oh man do I love feta! The pies totally satisfied my spanakopita cravings!
Creamy Artichoke Dip
For those of you who are on the Mayo=Yuck team like me, this is a nice treat!
What we have here is a cream cheese based artichoke dip! A guaranteed hit at your next dinner party!
Or if you are a member of my household, you would just call it "last night's dinner."
We sat around the dinner table just dipping stuff into it. *yum*
Casey REALLY loved it and was upset there wasn't more. A good sign indeed.
The recipe is very simple and open to interpretation. I have a hard time following recipes like this because it seems silly to measure parsley in a little tablespoon. I just added a small bunch in the processor. I think I got a greener than normal dip, but I loved the way it tasted so I am totally OK with that.
Zucchini Pancakes
I woke up Saturday morning at 7am!!!!!!!!
Preparation for the bebe? Hmmm....perhaps. It could be the fact that I woke up with heartburn and a nagging pain in my back. I think I had a dream about bacon....which is what inspired me to get my butt out of bed and make us some breakfast.
I also really wanted mushrooms as you could see....
Waking up that early is as annoying as it is nice. I started grocery shopping at 8am and felt like there was soo much potential food wise this weekend.
While Casey was still sleeping, I was able to put the final touches on our new guest room. The old guest room is going to be converted into the new baby room. I love this new color blue. The really nice part is that you can lay in bed and look at the trees outside. A perfect place to read a book/magazine in the afternoon.
I also made those deceptively delicious brownies (seen in the previous post).
For lunch, I used leftover bacon and made us some BLATS (Bacon Lettuce Avocado Tomato Sandwiches)
We went to see a matinee showing of The Dark Knight today (really good btw).
I decided to treat us to a nice afternoon early dinner on the back deck.
Zucchini pancakes with a dill/cucumber yogurt dip, a mixed green salad (with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions & feta) Hot Genoa salami, Sopressata & some slices of a sour batard.
I also made a yummy *mocktail*
Cucumber & Pineapple Juice with Gingerale and Seltzer water. MMMMMMMM Refreshing.
Nothing like putting some zucchini to good use!
Zucchini Pancakes
(made about 8)
Ingredients:
-3 large zucchinis shredded (drain in a bowl lined with paper towels for an hour before making)
-1/4 cup flour
-1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
-2 large eggs
-3 tablespoons chopped Italian Parsley
-2 teaspoons garlic powder
-1 dash of cayenne pepper
-salt & pepper
-cooking spray
1. Preheat oven 200 degrees. Put a cookie sheet in the oven- line with a few pieces of paper towel.
1. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the egg & zucchini. Mix well.
2. Heat up a non-stick skillet on medium heat with cooking spray. (It's much healthier than frying). Spoon zucchini batter on the skillet and flatten each pancake.
4. Cook each pancake for about 3 minutes per side before flipping. Put cooked pancakes in the oven while you are making the rest!
5. DEVOUR. Immediately.
Top it with a yogurt/dill/cucumber dip and you have yourself a little slice of heaven.
Now I leave you...off to start the laundry and relax. There's a nice breeze here today and I'm thoroughly enjoying the calm before the storm.
Happy Sunday Everyone.
Sun Dried Tomato Goat Cheese Appetizer
Favorite Appetizer from Trader Joe's Items:
Goat Cheese with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Basil & Pine Nuts
The magic makers:
Take the goat cheese out of it's packaging and put it on your party plate.
Chop up the Trader Joe's Sun Dried Roma Tomatoes. Pour on top of the goat cheese log. A little bit of the oil from the tomatoes makes it soooo yummy & flavorful.
Top with pine nuts and sprinkles of chopped basil. Add some salt & pepper.
And then you have a wonderful appetizer. It's just soo easy & convenient!
It works well with sliced up crostini or crackers. This went really fast last night! If by chance you have leftovers, toss it all in a food processor and you have a tasty pink goat cheese spread. It's a great way to recycle a good thing.
Here's your shopping list:
- 1 log of goat cheese
- 1 jar of sun-dried roma tomatoes
- 1 handful of pine nuts
- a small handful of chopped up basil
