Doc's Spinach Artichoke Dip

Happy 2010 folks! Hope you all had safe and happy holidays! This next recipe is also cause for a celebration. I've served it at parties (okay, well...two so far) and for intimate get-togethers.

I appropriated the recipe from a friend several years ago, and have used it ever since. Mr. Berry and I actually try spinach dips at restaurants in an attempt to compare them to this recipe, and some have some close, but most have failed. Try it, and you'll see what I mean. Comments welcome :)

Ingredients:

2 10 oz. packages of chopped spinach
8 oz sour cream
8 oz monterrey jack shredded cheese
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
1/2 onion (chopped fine)
1 stick of butter
4 oz of philadelphia cream cheese (fat free or light will do)
2/3 c fresh parmesean cheese
garlic to taste (I used two cloves)
Tortilla chips

optional : ground cayenne pepper for garnishing

Directions: (see pictures below)

• Gather all ingredients from the list above.
• In a large pan, slowly melt the stick of butter as shown below.
• As butter is melting, chop onions.
• Chop garlic. Add onions and garlic to pan. Saute for a few minutes.
  
• Remove spinach from package(s) and place in small, microwaveable bowl.
• Place spinach in microwave for a minute on high power or until no longer frozen. It should still be bright green in color.Set aside.
• Remove artichoke hearts from jar. Chop artichoke hearts finely (or cheat like I did and use the food processor.)
• Onions and garlic should be well sauteed in butter.
• Add spinach, stir, and cook for ten minutes on medium heat.
• Add cream cheese and mix well.Add sour cream and mix well.Add artichoke.
• Remove from heat;
• Add parmesean cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Add to casserole dish; Add Monterrrey jack on top.Heat in oven on 350 degrees until cheese is melted on top.
• Once cheese is melted (I like mine to have a tinge of brown crust on top--but that's just me :)
• Let cool for five minutes and serve with tortilla chips. *I also like to add a sprinkle of ground cayenne pepper on top of my serving for an extra KICK.

Spinach Omlette (Sunday Brunch at home)

Of course this doesn't beat the brunch at the Four Seasons or the Ritz, but it comes really close--

(that was me tooting my horn, in case you missed it :) Just kidding.

Believe it or not, I didn't always know how to make an omlette. *gasp!* Some years back I had this crazy idea to impress Mr. Berry with breakfast one morning, and called a friend up to instruct me on how to create this egg masterpiece we call an omlette. My friend then invited me over to teach me how to make one. Afterwards, I asked, "That's it?..." My friend said, "Um yep...that's it." I don't know why I thought it would be more complicated to make. So I went to the grocer's to pick up the things I needed to make the omlette, and needless to say, Mr. Berry enjoyed his breakfast that next morning. Since then, I've gotten more creative and honed in on my omlette 'stuffings' of choice.

Sherry's Omlette favorites:

Ham, grilled sweet onions, scallions, cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, swiss, provolone, paremesean, or mozarella), peppers, spinach, basil, and garlic. What's your favorite omlette combo? --comment here.

A couple of Sunday's ago, I was craving a spinach and cheese omlette. How did I make it, you ask? Like this:

Ingredients:

• handful of fresh spinach
• half an onion, diced
• shredded cheddar cheese
• two slices of jalepeno jack cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 eggs (sub egg whites or egg beaters if you wish)
• basil
• parsley
• one glove of garlic
• 8-10 inch omlette pan or cast iron skillet
• (or if you want to cheat you can use one of those omlette 'shaped' pans...

Sautee fresh spinach in a teaspoon of olive oil and galic.

When spinach is sauteed to your liking, set aside.

Dice half an onion and saute in a teaspoon of butter and basil until slightly transparent.

Crack three fresh eggs into a bowl and beat well. I always add a two teaspoons of warm water to the mixture to make the eggs fluffy. This is completely optional, of course.

Add a pinch of salt and pepper to eggs.

Melt a teaspoon of butter or non stick spray to your pan, then add eggs.

As the outside of the omlette cooks, pull the outsides to the middle of the pan to insure even heat distribution to the uncooked portion of the omlette.

Once the omlette is mostly done, start to add your cheddar cheese. Then proceed with the spinach and onions. Gently slide omlette out of pan onto a plate and carefully fold over. Top with slices of pepper-jack cheese and garnish with fresh parsley.

Optional: Add a fresh fruit salad on the side- I had some apples and oranges on hand, so that's what I chose to use, but by all means go crazy with kumquats and starfruit if you wish. lol

My fancy-smancy apple corer ;) Ya' dig?

No brunch is complete without a mimosa! (or virgin momosas with sparkling white grape juice if you a party pooper.)

Voila! Enjoy...

-S

Grilled Chicken Spinach Wraps

I got this idea from reminiscing. When I was in college, there was a food court in the basement of our dormitory adorned with the usual cafeteria style and snack bar foods. On occasion, they would offer something different, to appeal to more tastes. I specifically remember a "build your own wrap" station, in which you could pick from a variety of veggies, beans, rice and/or grilled chicken. They would then pan saute everything you chose in a skillet in front of you, and then wrap it up like a burrito, cut it in half and serve it on a plate (or in my case, most days I would take it to go in a Styrofoam container and go up to my room to study). I miss those wraps...lol They were good, and a great alternative to burgers, pizza, and chicken fingers. What was your favorite food memory from college? Please leave your comments here.

Since I had some left over grilled chicken and corn-black bean salsa from our Mesquite chicken salad, I decided to use my creativity to devour all the ingredients we had left :)

I sautéed some spinach in some virgin olive oil and garlic until tender and prepared some yellow rice (you can use any rice, of course) with diced peppers.

Warm the spinach tortilla wrap in the oven on 375 for five to ten minutes or until warmed throughout. Place a tablespoon of corn/bean salsa mixture in the middle of tortilla.

Add chicken, rice, and sautéed spinach.

Add cheese (optional) . I used jalapeño-jack.

Wrap like a burrito (envelope style) and cut in half.

Yep, it's that quick and easy, and it's a great snack or a fancy-smansy lunch box alternative to the usual turkey sandwich. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas

Being from Texas, alot of our dishes have a Mexican influence;  Growing up I remember eating tacos of all sorts (puffy, crispy, soft)...as well as, chalupas, flautas, chimichangas, gorditas, and pretty much any other variety of "a tortilla wrapped around something"...lol    Inspired by a childhood favorite coupled with the start of some summertime grilling, I thought I would take a stab at these spinach quesadillas.  They're fun to make, and of course you can add the fillings that you desire.  I don't really like mushrooms or tomatoes, so I didn't use them but by all means modify the ingredients as you wish.

Here in Texas we absolutely love HEB supermarkets.  They have fresh produce and meats, and their prices are fair.  They carry a variety of pre-seasoned chicken breasts for convenience.  I chose the ones seasoned for fajitas (of course :)  

If you purchase fresh chicken breasts that are not pre-seasoned, I suggest just seasoning them with fajita seasoning or ground cumin, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

I also picked up some flour tortillas, which are made fresh daily in my HEB.  You may also used the packaged ones, usually sold on the bread aisle.  Local restaruants in your area may sell fresh tortillas for as little as $.15 cents each.  Taco Cabana is a local Mexican fast food chain that sells them here in Texas, and they are very good.  

Tortillas come in so many varieties.  I've seen spinach, tomato, wheat, and even pesto. You can most definately use these flavors as well.  I went the traditional route with this dish.

Fillings:  This is what I used, but as I stated earlier you may use any fillings that you wish. 

1 white onion 

1 green or red bell pepper

2 1/2 cups of shredded colby or monterray jack (or mixed) cheese 

1 bunch of fresh spinach leaves (or the ones in the bag can be used as well)

1 pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Other popular options for fillings:  mushrooms, jalapenos, pico de gallo, tomatoes, beans (black, pinto, kiney, etc.), 

Cheeses: smoked gouda, swiss, jalapeno jack

Meats:  ground beef (with taco seasonings or groud cumin), meatballs, diced ham, shredded chicken.

Sooo let's get started!

1.  Chop bellpepper and onion corsely.  Place in a 'bundle' of foil paper for easy grilling.  Spray foil paper  with non-stick spray or olive oil to prevent sticking.

2.  Prepare charcoal or gas grill cooking (375 degrees F.) 

3.  Place bundle of onion and bellpepper on grill, as well as seasoned chicken breasts.

Note:  I placed my chicken breasts on foil paper because it makes for easier clean up.  You don't have to do this;  You may place chicken on grill grates if preferred.

4.  Grill chicken for about 6-8 minutes on each side.  In the meantime, while chicken is grilling, prepare your sauteed spinach (or whatever other veggies you have chosen).  I sauteed spinach in a small skillet on the stove with a tiny bit of olive oil and pinch of pepper.

5.  Set oven to broil. 

6.  Once chicken is grlled an ready, remove from grill and place on a place or cutting board for slicing.

7.  Also remove bellpepper and onion from grill at this time.  Sprinkle with pinch of salt/pepper.

8.  Slice chicken and set aside. 

9,  Take out tortillas and brush with a little butter or butter subsitute of your choice.

10.  Place vegetables on top of tortillas as shown.

11.  Top off with cheese. 

12.  Place a second tortilla on top, and place in oven for a minute or two (until cheese melts.) Then flip the quesadilla on the other side and repeat.  This step can be done on the grill as well, if you choose to use it instead of a conventional oven.  The nice thing about the grill is that you get the infamous "grill marks" on your tortillas...  which makes them look extra 'special'... hee hee.

13,  Cut finished quesadilla in fourths.

And Voila!  you're done!   

You know the drill.....Drumroll please!  


He likes it!  He likes it!  (Mr. Sherry Berry poses for the camera in his 'Turkey Day' shirt we got at a Thanksgiving volunteer function.  Yes, it's May and he's still wearing that tshirt.)

I liked the quesadillas too.. they were really a good snack.. I even had one for breakfast the next day. 

- Oh and in case you're wonding what refreshing beverage that is sitting next to his plate.. that was a glass of peppermint green tea I made.  Follow the link for instructions on making the tea.

Enjoy!

~S