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!
Citrus Beet Salad
Ummm I've been going a little overboard on the juicing lately.....
I've been stock piling fruits & veggies in my house!
This is what my counter looked like a few days ago-via my cameraphone.
I am totally crazy huh? This doesn't account for the stuff that's already in the fridge!
Since I have a surplus of veggies, I decided to make a Citrus Beet Salad for dinner tonight.
I gots to get rid of it somehow!
It's really refreshing, sweet, tangy & delightful! The sweetness is balanced by the tartness of the citrus.That red onion and feta give it such a sharp bite!
The best part is that it is SOOO easy.
Wanna see?
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Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers
Last week, I checked out the cookbook The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger at the library and was pleasantly surprised at how many recipes I bookmarked. I guess there are LOTS of foods that I crave. HAHA GO FIGURE!
This Greek Style Stuffed Pepper recipe was the first of many recipes I'll be trying soon and I was pretty impressed with the results. Thinking about all of the vegetables I put into one meal was totally awesome. My meat and potatoes loving husband really loved the results too and so did my baby!
Next time I might add a little bit of feta in the filling because I am such a sucker for feta! I will probably add a little bit of red pepper cuz I dig on spice! I did add some chopped parsley because it was sitting around in my fridge waiting to be used. Maybe I will knock it up with some chopped garlic too. I have a feeling that this recipe could be improvised in many ways... Here I am brainstorming....
Here I am mixing the filling:
A peak at pepper assembly:
About to put them in the oven:
Dinner- Served with a salad:
Soo filling-- that I didn't end up eating bread!
Coop would like to share his first bite of the filling for you. "See guys, I'm eating it!"
And YES! I loved it. I ate the filling of TWO peppers last night!
Greek Style Stuffed Peppers
(recipe Ellie Krieger)
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 medium zucchini, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)
- 1 small onion, minced (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup bulgur
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, cores and ribs removed (I used 4)
- 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium stewed tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl combine the beef, spinach, zucchini, onion, bulghur, egg, oregano, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Arrange the pepper halves cut side up in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and fill each pepper half with the meat mixture. Pour the tomatoes over the peppers and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the meat mixture is completely cooked and the peppers are tender, about 25 minutes longer.
summer lovin’
last night's dinner:
I am very proud to say that I grew EVERY tomato in that lil bowl up there!
I made a little Greek inspired salad with:
-mint
-feta
-tomatoes
-cucumbers
-white corn
-salt & pepper
-olive oil
-red wine vinegar
Served that with some grilled chicken sausage & some grilled lavash bread. Now we're talkin'!!
Cooper joined us on the patio. I think he likes eating outside too. It's dinners like this that reassure me that I can be a mom AND make a really good dinner. Just don't look in my kitchen. It's a disaster.
I think he enjoys eating dinner with us...but he's always trying to get his hands on things he can't yet eat.
This sounds like someone familiar....
Mediterranean Couscous
Favorite Trader Joe's Item #30: Couscous
Cook couscous according to directions.
I doubled the recipe so that we could have leftovers for the next few days.
Let's begin with the recipe......
Chop 1 red onion:
Drain & rinse 1 can of garbanzo beans:
Chop up some little tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes (half of the TJ's jar), two handfuls of basil, 2 lemons & 1 jar of marinated artichokes:
Open 1 package of crumbled feta:
Mix those ingredients with the Cous-Cous.
Make sure to add some Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.
Squeeze the lemons on top & mix. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Serve in a bowl:
Dig in with a fork or spoon:
It's pretty good with grilled sausage on top:
Now you have a tasty meal & a few leftovers to last you a few days. The end.
