Spanikopita Pasta Bake

We’re coming down the home stretch with wedding preparations, and let’s just say I’m getting super stressed.

Among other things, I feel like there are so many incompetent people that I’m dealing with, or maybe I just see them that way, but it’s making me seriously worried that things aren’t going to get done on time…and to my liking.

Do I just have high expectations? or maybe I’m asking for things that normal people don’t ask for? But whatever it is, I feel like no one “gets” what I want! I just really hope that in the end it all turns out ok.

Spanikopita Pasta Bake

Nate and I have been watching Bridezilla on the WE channel. I hope that’s not how I come across to the people I come in contact with.

I made an appointment over a month ahead of time for the only person I trust to do my eyebrows. The salon called me on Sunday to tell me that they had to cancel my appointment because the woman (with whom I had already made an appointment) decided she’s going on vacation FOR A MONTH. Seriously?!

They told me she’d be back on October 16th, which is exactly one day before I leave to head down to PA for the wedding. I’m not sure if you know this about me, but I like to do NOT like to leave things til the last minute because I always expect the worst to happen.

She’s foreign so I have a feeling she’s going home to visit her family in Europe, but the vacation seems so sudden that now I’m paranoid she won’t be back on the 16th and I’ll be stuck with no one to do my eyebrows. I was so worried that I dragged Nate with me to the salon to talk with them in-person to assure me that she was in fact only going on vacation and that she’d be back on the 16th.

After 5 minutes of listening to me voice my every concern, the guy at the front desk told me there was no reason to think she wouldn’t be back in time for my appointment…and then he turned to Nate and said “Are you sure you still want to marry her?”

I.kid.you.not.

 Spanikopita Pasta Bake

The only benefit of being stressed is losing my appetite. At least I hopefully won’t have to worry about not being able to fit into my dress that has now officially been taken in. They still have some adjusting to do with other parts, so I suppose they could change the size a bit if they had to.

Although depending on how stressed I am, sometimes I eat more. Let’s hope that’s not the case this time.

Spanikopita Pasta Bake

A dinner like this won’t hurt too much in your weight loss goals. If you’re trying to lose a few pounds like me, you could easily serve it with a nice green (or Greek!) salad and take a smaller portion.

I got inspired by a recent orzo pasta bake on saw on Smitten Kitchen’s site. I thought if I subbed the mozzarella for feta, it seemed kind of Greek-inspired. I tried to figure out what else I could add to feta and when I thought of spinach, I knew I had to try to create the flavor of Spanakopita.

Spanikopita Pasta Bake

I looked up a few spanakopita recipes to get the ratio correctly and then just kind of winged it. This recipe uses several tablespoons of butter but it’s spread over the entire pan. This was so good I kept going back for more…perhaps the only negative thing about making it :)

“Spanakopita” Pasta Bake

Recipe by Me

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Serves 8-10

3- 10 oz. packages chopped frozen spinach
16 oz. Orzo shaped pasta
2 large onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp butter
2 tsp salt + pepper to taste
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
12 oz. feta cheese
8 oz. Ricotta cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil water and cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, thaw spinach in microwave and drain THOROUGHLY. You will need to squeeze as much water as possible out of the spinach. Set aside.

Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a large saute pan. Add onions and cook 5 min. Add garlic and cook til onions are soft. Stir in spinach and warm through. Stir in salt, pepper, nutmeg and dill. Cool slightly.

In a very large bowl, combine feta, ricotta and 2 eggs together. Stir spinach mixture into egg mixture and mix thoroughly. Stir in drained pasta.

Pour mixture into a 9×13 baking pan. Bake 30 min or until top is crispy and mixture is bubbling at bottom. Let rest for a few minutes before digging in.

Peach and Arugula Salad

There’s a lovely blogging group, that you may or may not know about, called the Love Bloghop. Every month they highlight a seasonal ingredient and we all link up together so you can see everyone’s recipes. I’ve participated many times, but as you know, life has a way of keeping you busy…and I think this is my first time back in several months!

I really love doing these bloghops, not just because of the extra exposure one gets, but also because it’s a great way to discover delicious, new recipes from all over the web in one convenient place!

Peach and Arugula Salad

In recent months, I have become obsessed, perhaps even infatuated, with watermelon salad. I combine juicy, delicious watermelon atop a bed of arugula, sprinkle with some mint (or basil), goat cheese, and a drizzle of oil and balsamic vinegar, and I’m in heaven.

Seriously, you can ask Nate, I ate this salad for dinner every night for at least 2 weeks straight. But now that peaches are equally juicy and in season, I couldn’t help myself from buying a few the other day. And you know what? They are just as good, if not better in this same simple salad.

Peach and Arugula Salad

The bitter arugula, sweet peaches, creamy goat cheese and fragrant mint combine in the most amazing way. Also, at Nate’s insistance, I added some candied pecans on top.

If it looks like there isn’t mint in my pictures, it’s because I forgot it at the market when I photographed this and wasn’t about to go back and get it. But trust me, you don’t want to leave it out!

Peach and Arugula Salad

I join with the following lovely hosts this month for #peachlove!

Becky @ Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves  
Betsy @ Java Cupcake
T.R. @ No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
Jessica @ Oh Cake
Shelia @ Pippi’s in the Kitchen Again
Helena @ Rico sin Azúcar 
Linda @ Savoring Every Bite 
Liz @ That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!! 
EA Stewart @ The Spicy RD 
Susan @ The Wimpy Vegetarian
Serena @ Teaspoon of Spice Serena

Please join in on the #peachlove fun by linking up any peach recipe from the month of August 2012. Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #peachlove event! The twitter hashtag is #peachlove :).

Recipe is below linkup!

Arugula Salad with Peaches, Goat Cheese, Mint, and Candied Pecans

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Serves 2

1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 Tbsp sugar
3 cups arugula
1 ripe and juicy peach, sliced
3 Tbsp crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Put chopped pecans in a small saute pan over med-hi heat. Sprinkle with the sugar. Stir occassionally until sugar melts and coats pecans. Turn the candied nuts out onto a piece of tinfoil to cool.

Put arugula and mint in a medium-sized bowl and toss with the oil and vinegar. Add peaches and goat cheese and toss to combine. Divide on plates and sprinkle with pecans

Corn and tomato salad with basil

I apologize again for the lack of blog posts. I think this past week was the first time I went an entire week without posting and while it took some stress off of me, I was sad to break my post-at-least-once-per-week streak. Oh well, hopefully things will slow down after the wedding and gvive me more time to devote to this little blog. But on to the recipe…

Before the summer’s bounty of sweet, juicy corn and bright flavorful tomatoes is gone, you MUST make this.

It’s also a good way to use up some of the basil that’s taking over your herb garden. If that’s the case, I’m really jealous…I want a garden so badly.

I would create an indoor herb garden but my cat would eat everything I grew and then probably throw it up all over my living room. Does anyone have a solution for growing things indoors when there are cats around? One of my friends suggested maybe hanging the herbs in containers on the wall. That could definitely work, I’m just trying to figure out what type of containers I could use. Also, my apartment walls don’t take screws very well, only nails, so it’d have to be lightweight. I dunno if it’s worth the effort.

Corn and tomato salad with basil

Aaaanyway…the original recipe I based this from also added mozzarella and scallions to the dish, but I don’t like scallions and I really wanted this to be a nice fresh, low-cal side dish. I thought the cheese was unecessary since I’d be serving protein with it anyway.

It resulted in the most delicious, juicy, fresh summer salad you could imagine. I LOVE basil. Honestly, I think I could sprinkle a shoe with basil and it would taste summery, although this probably tastes a bit better than that. Nate and I couldn’t stop raving about this simple little dish.

Make this alongside some fish or chicken for your next meal!

Corn and tomato salad with basil

Oh and I almost forgot to mention, you NEED this tool in your kitchen if you don’t already have it:

Kuhn Rikon Corn Zipper

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/kuhn-rikon-corn-zipper/

I used to think this was stupid because you could just use a knife to strip all the kernels off. But after making a lot of corn recipes this summer and having the kernels fly all over the kitchen (I know you know what im talking about), I sucked it up and bought one. Actually I used a gift certificate so I didn’t even feel guilty about it.

Anyway, this could be one of my all-time greatest kitchen purchases. Seriously. It makes it SO much quicker, neater, and easier to de-kernel your cobs!

Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad with Basil

Adapted from the Food Network

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makes about 5 cups

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 ears fresh corn, husked (about 4 cups corn kernels)
2 cups red or orange grape tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves, chopped

Whisk the vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream, to make a smooth dressing.

Shear off the corn kernels with a sharp knife over a bowl. Toss in the tomatoes. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat. Cover and let set for 15 minutes or up to 2 hours (even good immediately!). Before serving stir in basil.

Tex mex pasta salad

Here’s another no-cook recipe coming your way! Ok, well I guess you technically have to boil the pasta, but you don’t have to turn on your oven.

This is a nice twist on the traditional pasta salad. The vinegar-based one, I mean.

I don’t really understand the mayo-based pasta salad. Maybe because I didn’t grow up eating it? I always take a bite thinking I’m going to like it and then I don’t. I guess maybe I think it’s going to be like an alfredo sauce or something but it’s actually kind of tangy. I think maybe I don’t mind the taste so much but I just get thrown off because it’s not what I’m expecting.

Tex mex pasta salad

Anyway, non-mayo pasta salads are much healthier…AND they’re good for picnics! I don’t want you to go making something and getting people sick because the mayo sat in the sun too long. And I especially don’t want you to blame it on me.

I suppose I’m a bit late for you to make this for 4th of July, but I’m sure you have plenty of upcoming summer bbq’s that you could bring this to….or you may eat a little too much while doing “quality control” taste-testing and not have any left to bring so you just have to keep it for yourself.

Oh well, these things happen.

Tex mex pasta salad

On another note, Saturday is my birthday!!! My parents are coming into the city and we’re going to see a concert by the singer/songwriter who will be playing at our wedding, David Berkeley, so I’m pretty excited.

Also, Nate ordered me a birthday cake from this little bakery near us called Two Little Red Hens. I got to choose exactly what I wanted and so I decided to go with an orange cake with chocolate pudding filling and orange buttercream frosting. Um, yeah, I know. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I’ll be sure to take pics and tell you how it was since there won’t be enough to go around ;)

Vegetarian Tex-Mex Pasta Salad

adapted from Cooking Light

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Serves 10-12

1 pound uncooked pasta- i like wagon wheels :)
1 1/2-2 cups preshredded Mexican blend cheese
2 cups chopped seeded tomato
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup sliced ripe olives
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 Tbsp water
1 (1.25-ounce) package 40%-less-sodium taco seasoning (such as Old El Paso)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime

for next day:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain; set aside.

Combine pasta, cheese, and next 7 ingredients (through corn) in a large bowl.

Combine water, taco seasoning, vinegar, oil and lime juice. Whisk well. Pour over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat. 

If you make a day ahead, stir in 2 Tbsp oil, 2 Tbsp vinegar and salt to taste.

*This is best made a day ahead of time.

Broccoli Salad

This weather is disgusting.

When you wake up it’s already 80 degrees out, and by noon it’s 90. It just doesn’t feel right turning on the oven to cook. So it’s good to have a bunch of no-cook, cold, fresh salad recipes in your recipe box.

Salsa and tabouli are both great for this purpose, and this recipe is another good one.

Broccoli Salad

You need to make this a day ahead to give the broccoli time to marinate and soften. I didn’t realize this when I was making the recipe, so I blanched it as a shortcut. I recommend following the directions though :)

On a side note, did you know that sometimes pignoli nuts can cause you to have a bitter taste in your mouth for days? Yeah, I didn’t either until it happened to me. It’s not ALL pignoli nuts, but apparently some are affected.

I  also don’ t know if it only affects some people (since Nate didn’t seem to notice it) or if I’m just hyper aware of tastes, but it was disgusting. All food tasted bad/bitter until it wore off several days later. It probably didn’t help that I continued to eat this for 3 days until I realized that the pignoli nuts were the cause. Don’t let that this stop you from making this recipe, and I hope I haven’t in any way affected your love of these tasty little seeds.

On another note, I worked on more wedding crafts this weekend! I have to say they came out super cute…here’s a sneak peak.

I also had my wedding hair trial appointment today. I don’t know what I want to do! I hate making decisions.

Nate is pretty set on having me wear my hair down, and since he hasn’t asked for much I feel like I should honor his request. i know I want it off my face though, so maybe some sort of half up, half down thing? I think I want some loose waves.

The hairdresser showed me a few options. I defintely don’t want anything complex…I’m a simple girl.

Broccoli Salad

 

Cold Broccoli Salad

From mom’s recipe box (original source unknown)

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Serves 6

1 head broccoli, cut in 1″ pieces
1/2 cup sliced black olives
4 thin-sliced radishes
1/4 cup pignoli nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
tomato wedges for garnish

Soak broccoli in salted water for 10-15 min. Drain.

Add olives, nuts.

Combine oil, vinegar, and seasonings to make dressing.

Marinate broccoli for five or more hours, chilled.

Add rest of ingredients before serving.