Spanakopita Quesadilla

A fusion of Mexican and Greek cuisines.  Spinach, feta, and mozzarella packed into a whole wheat tortilla and fried.

I'm sure I've mentioned how much I love cheese.  Cheese is a food group for me.  I believe I eat some every day.  So, to get my cheese fix, I've been making quesadillas lately for a quick lunch.  Quesadillas are a grilled cheese sandwich on a tortilla.  I even found some good whole wheat tortillas (that are made locally) and one tortilla has 3 grams of fiber.  That's a great way to add a little more fiber to my diet.

#Quesadilla a #grilledcheesesandwich on tortilla  [Tweet this]

Since I love cheese I tend to have plenty in the house.  I had made some other dishes that left me with leftover shredded mozzarella and some feta crumbles so I wanted to use them in a quesadilla.  I also had some baby spinach so I came up with this idea.  It turned out fantastic and I like to think it's healthy too.

#Spinachandwholewheat make a #healthy quesadilla.  [Tweet this]

Spanakopita is a spinach pie of spinach and feta wrapped in phyllo pastry.  They are absolutely delicious.  A great way to eat your spinach.  So when I had the spinach and feta I knew they would be great together.  Feta doesn't melt well so I knew it alone would not be able to hold a quesadilla together.  I need a good melting cheese to act like a glue and keep everything from falling out when I flipped and ate this quesadilla.  That's what the mozzarella does.  It melts really well and it has a very mild flavor so the feta and spinach flavors stand out and the quesadilla stays closed.  I added garlic just because (you can omit it if you want but I am a garlic addict and add it to everything...I think it make the spinach and feta even better).

Spanakopita Quesadilla a great way to #eatyourspinach.  [Tweet this]

Spanakopita Quesadilla

Prep and cook time: under 10 minutes
Servings:  1

Ingredients:

1 10 or 12-inch whole wheat tortilla
2-3 Tbsp mozzarella (or any mild flavored melting cheese)
2 hand fulls of baby spinach, torn
garlic powder (optional)
2 Tbsp feta crumbles
sprinkle of Parmesan (optional)

Place the tortilla flat into a 10-12 inch frying pan (I use a non-stick pan so no need for oil).  Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the entire tortilla.

Then, top half of the tortilla with the spinach tearing it into bite-sized pieces (pack as much and/or more spinach in as you can it will shrink when cooked).  Sprinkle some garlic powder (as much as you like), the feta, and Parmesan (if using) over the spinach and place the frying pan over medium heat.

Once the mozzarella starts to melt, fold the tortilla in half so the mozzarella cheese is on top of the spinach too.  Keep cooking until the spinach starts to wilt a little and the bottom of the quesadilla begins to brown.  Then carefully flip the quesadilla and cook on the other side until the spinach is tender and both sides of the quesadilla are browned.

Remove to a plate and allow to cool slightly before eating.

Enjoy.

If you like this recipe, check out:

Greek Nachos

Greek Salsa

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Spinach Artichoke Quiche

A quiche packed with turkey sausage, cheese, spinach, and artichoke hearts.

I don't like eggs.  I've tried them scrambled, fried, and boiled and I just don't love them.  However, I love quiche.  Probably because there is so much else added in you don't just taste the eggs.  I often need eggs for something I'm baking and most cakes and breads only use a few so I end up with extra eggs.  What is a person who doesn't like eggs do?  I either hard boil them for my husband to have as an after workout snack or I make quiche.  Quiche is one of my favorite egg dishes.

I don't like eggs, but I love quiche. [Tweet this]

Many people complain that quiche isn't filling (check out my rant on Quiche) but they must be eating the wrong quiche.  This quiche is incredibly filling and delicious.  It's packed with marinated artichoke hearts, spinach, Monterey Jack cheese, and turkey breakfast sausage.  It's terrific and filling enough for any meal.

Quiche not filling? You're eating the wrong quiche. [Tweet this]

Spinach Artichoke Quiche

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground turkey breakfast sausage
2 cups artichoke heart quarters
2 cups frozen spinach
5-6 eggs
1 cup milk
1-2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 Tbsp granulated garlic or garlic powder
2 Tbsp dried minced onions
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pie crust (I used Easy Pie Crust)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Line the pie crust with a double thickness of foil and bake at 450F for 8 minutes.  Uncover and continue to bake for 3-5 minutes more.  Remove crust from oven and lower oven temperature to 325F.

Brown and crumble the sausage over medium heat in a large fry pan until cooked through.  Allow to cool and remove to a large bowl.

Thaw spinach and squeeze out excess moisture.  Place spinach and artichokes in a food processor and pulse a few times until roughly chopped (or chop them by hand).  Add to the bowl of turkey.

To the bowl with turkey, spinach, and artichokes add the eggs, milk, and the rest of the ingredients.  Beat until well mixed then pour into prepared pie crust.

Bake at 325F for 45-60 minutes until set and browned on top (a knife inserted in the center will come out clean).

Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.  Makes 1 8-9 inch quiche.  Serves 6-8.

Enjoy.

Other recipes and rant mentioned in this post:

Quiche (and Easy Pie Crust)

For more egg recipes check out:

How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs

Mayonnaise-less Egg Salad Sandwich

Egg and Cheese Crepes

Linked to:  Pretty Pintastic, Show off, Best of the Weekend, 2 Cup, Treasure Box, Lou Lou Girls, Tickle my Tastebuds, Tasty, Cook Craft Share, Full Plate, Freedom, Foodie Friends

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Mushroom Spinach Tomato Pasta

Linguine noodles in a light white wine and garlic sauce tossed with mushrooms, spinach and grape tomatoes.

Pasta is an easy go to recipe when I don't really feel like spending too much time or thought on dinner.  I always have some kind of pasta in my pantry and if I don't it's sold at the corner store (that is only 1 block away). White wine sauce is a very simple sauce for pasta that tastes great and doesn't require much time and few ingredients.  Yes, opening a jar/can of pasta sauce is probably easier but I don't like to use store bought pasta sauce and I don't can my own...and sometimes I don't want a tomato based sauce.  I love white wine sauce because it is flavorful and light (it doesn't sit heavy in your stomach it may or may not be any lighter in calories than other sauces but I like to think it is).  My basic white wine sauce is made of olive oil, shallots, garlic, and dry white wine (my favorite is Pinot Grigio) then I just toss in whatever I happen to have on hand.  In this case it was mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes.  This dinner takes less than 30 minutes (the longest part for me is waiting for my ancient electric stove to boil water...I rent so I can't just get my dream stove).

Mushroom Spinach Tomato Pasta

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp minced shallots
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water, optional
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 large handful baby spinach
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 pack linguine, cooked al dente
Parmesan
salt
pepper

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add shallots, garlic and mushrooms.

Cook until fragrant add the broth/water if the pan gets to dry then add the tomatoes.  Let the tomatoes begin to blister and soften slightly then add the spinach, wine and salt to taste.

Continue cooking until the wine reduces by about half and add the cooked pasta.  Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Toss and serve with parmesan and fresh cracked pepper.

Makes 2-3 servings.

Enjoy.

Linked to: Eat Create Party, Freedom Fridays, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper, Saturday Night Fever, See Ya in the Gumbo, Much Ado, The Yuck Stops Here. Two Cup Tuesday, LouLouGirls, Brag About It, Whimsy Wednesday, Full Plate


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