Everyday with Rachael Ray

I love this magazine. It's fun and full of easy, yummy recipes as well as interesting articles. Each issue comes with a 7-day menu planner pull-out. These are the best! They're usually quick and easy recipes. Tonight I am making Mini Ham & Egg casseroles with a side of tomato slices drizzled with olive oil and scallions.

Here's the recipe:

1/4 baguette (cut into small cubes)
4 oz. cream cheese, cut into 12 slices
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of cut-up ham
4 scallions, thinly sliced
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
6 large eggs
1/3 lb plum tomatoes, sliced into wedges

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 12-cup muffin pan and fill each cup half-way with bread cubes. Top each with a cream cheese slice.

2. In a small sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add ham, scallions and a pinch of pepper. Cool, stirring until the scallions are tender, about 5 min. Stir in the half-and-half and bring just to a simmer before removing from the heat.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and then whisk in the warm, half-and-half mixture. Fill the muffin cups with this mixture and bake until puffed and golden around the edges. Abut 15 min. Run a knife around the edges and invert onto a cooling rack.

4. Drizzle the tomato slices with olive oil, top with scallion greens and season with salt & pepper.

Yum-O!

I found a fun recipe for what I'm now calling "Spinach Cups". I made a few variations and made it my own.

Here's the recipe:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/8 cup sour cream

1/8 cup cream cheese

1/8 cup parmesan cheese

Handful of shredded Mozarella cheese

1/2 package of frozen spinach, thawed & drained

1 package of Crescent Rolls

Pre-heat oven to 375.
Mix together all the ingredients except the Crescent Rolls. Set aside. Take the package of Crescent Rolls and separate into 6 squares. (Just press together the perforations.) Use a 6-cup ungreased muffin pan. Press one square into each muffin cup. Fill each crescent with spinach filling. Bake in oven for 9-11 minutes or until edges are nicely browned. Makes 6 Spinach Cups.

These were SOO good and so easy to make. Even my son loved them. Although he likes most everything, but still, he loved them too. Next time I'm going to use a mini-muffin pan and make them bite-sized for appetizers. And perhaps double the recipe for a larger group. This was a perfect amount for just the 2 of us.

So I got a call from the Vet today. Apparently Jenny needs to be on a new diet. Her food is giving her kidney stones. Or something like that. I didn't really understand it. She's got crystals forming in her pee. And he suggested a "Urinary Diet". I don't have the details yet (he left a message), but tomorrow I'll call back and find out what she's allowed to eat. I'm guessing caramel corn and peanut butter crunch won't be on the list...

We're in the midst of another winter storm. I imagine I'll be up early to snow-blow the driveway. I wonder if there will be school...

Semi-homemade

I was given a cookbook the other day at work. We had featured it on our morning talk show and had an interview with the author. The producer was nice enough to let me keep the cookbook. (Another very nice perk of my job!) Well, I absolutely love this cookbook. It's called "Semi-Homemade 20-Minute Meals 2" By Sandra Lee. One of my pre-requisites for cookbooks is one that has lots (and I mean lots) of pretty colorful photographs. Being a visual person, I really like to know what things are supposed to look like. This book has a full page photo of each and every recipe. The recipes are great! Every page has something on it that I would cook and eat. The fact that they're quick and super easy makes it even better.


Last night I made the "Black Bean & Spinach Couscous". I probably would not have made this dish if it weren't for the very pretty photograph of the finished product. Not only was it delicious, it was very healthy as well. And it made for my entire meal. For dinner last night and lunch today. And I still have more for later that I will set out as a side dish for our Sunday dinner. Sandra Lee claims that it takes 10 minutes to make from start to finish. And she was right on. And that included time to do the dishes.


I have just now decided that as I make some of the recipes, I will post my opinions here on my blog. As well as posting the recipes and photos too. Enjoy!



Black Bean & Spinach Couscous

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup couscous, Near East
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach
3/4 cup black beans, drained
2 tsp lemon juice
Salt & pepper

1. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring chicken broth to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in couscous. Cover and let sit for 5 min.

2. Squeeze excess water out of thawed spinach. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine spinach and black beans. Heat in microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir spinach and black beans mixture into couscous. Add lemon juice and season to taste with salt & pepper.