I decided that I wanted to spice up my cream cheese today. I was craving celery and cream cheese but decided that unless I put more nutrients in the cheese, it would not be worth the calories. This recipe features some of my favorite flavors: roasted red peppers, Kalamata olives, and scallions.
Ingredients:
1 package cream cheese (8 ounces), softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
2 tablespoons finely chopped kalamata olives (pitted)
2 tablespoon finely chopped roasted red pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
pepper to taste
Instructions:
Place cream cheese in mixing bowl. Add other ingredients to the bowl. (Make sure everything is chopped fine enough before you put it in the bowl). Mix the ingredients into the cream cheese with a fork. I prefer a crunchy texture but if you want the spread to be smooth, you can pulverize it more in a food processor. Serve with crackers, vegetables, or pieces of toasted bread.
This recipe is always a crowd pleaser. This is my mom’s version. She uses dill and scallions to add flavor. We eat the low fat version most often but when we bring the dish to a party, it’s always full fat.
Ingredients:
1 lb. fillo, defrosted in refrigerator if frozen
3, 10 oz. packages of spinach, washed and thoroughly dried
7 large eggs
1 bunch scallions, sliced thin (should yield about 1 cup)
1 lb. feta cheese, crumbled
1 tsp. dried dill or 1 tbs. fresh, chopped dill
½ pound butter, melted
Instructions:
Note: I use a 15 inch round pan. If you want to use something rectangular, use a 10×16 pan or something comparable.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Clean spinach and cut off the stems. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Whisk eggs together in a medium mixing bowl and add to the spinach. Add scallions, crumbled feta, and dill. Toss with your hands or a pair of tongs until all the ingredients are well blended. Melt butter in the microwave or stove top (don’t burn it!). Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom of the pan with a layer of butter. Place two sheets of fillo on the pan so that the bottom is completely covered and brush with butter. Place two more sheets of fillo down on the pan and brush with butter. Repeat two more times until eight sheets line the bottom. Spread spinach mixture evenly over the fillo. If the fillo is going over the sides of the pan, fold it over the spinach mixture. Place two sheets of fillo on top of the spinach and brush with butter. Repeat until there is no more fillo left. Pour remaining butter over the top. Cut three diagonal slits across the top and bake uncovered for an hour until golden brown on the top.
Low fat substitutions. You could use less butter, light butter. You could use half fat free cottage cheese and ½ lb. of feta instead of all feta.
One of the best cooking tips that I know is to always keep a container of pesto in the house. You can either make your own or buy it - I get mine from either Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s - both are excellent. There’s so much you can do with pesto. I love making salad dressings or last minute pasta dishes out of it. So, I thought I’d share with all of you some of the many things you can do with pesto.
- Make salad dressing. Stir together 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs vinegar, and one teaspoon of pesto for a delicious salad dressing.
- Use it as a marinade. You can prepare the dressing, above, and actually use it to marinate meat or chicken. You can also spread the pesto on chicken, seafood such as salmon, or steak before grilling or baking.
- Quick pasta dish. Toss pesto in with some pasta. I like using ziti or rotini but you can use anything. Sometimes I mix in a small amount of tomato sauce and cream.
- Roasted vegetables. Roast vegetables such zucchini and eggplant. (Sprinkle vegetables with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them out on a baking sheet, and bake for 45 minutes.) When vegetables are done, transfer to a serving bowl and toss with pesto.
- Spread for crackers and bread. This is much tastier than butter! I like to spread the pesto directly onto those Wasa crackers or on a piece of whole wheat bread.
- Pesto Cheese Dip. You can mix 2 tbs of pesto with 8 ounces cream cheese for a quick cheese dip.
Do you have any ideas for things you can do with pesto? Share them in the comments!
I steamed asparagus for the first time on the grill the other day. It came out great! My only critique is that I would have cooked it longer. I made hamburgers and put the asparagus on about halfway through but I should have put it on the grill right when I started the burgers. Anyway, here’s what I did:
- Snap the ends off of about 15 spears of asparagus (you can also trim them with a knife).
- Cut a large piece of aluminum foil and place it shiny side up.
- Place the asparagus in the center of the tin foil. Sprinkle with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper (all to taste).
- Cover the asparagus with the tin foil (make sure all of the spears are covered).
- Place it on the grill away from the center of the direct heat.
- Timing varies. If you like your asparagus crispy, leave it on for 15 minutes. If you like it cooked all the way through, leave it on for about thirty minutes.
