• Recipes
  • Contact
  • Work with Us
  • Privacy

Chattavore

What I ate, plate by plate.

  • Start Here!
    • Contact
  • Easy Recipes
    • Air Fryer
    • Drinks
    • Easy Baking
    • For the Grill
    • Freezer Friendly
    • Instant Pot
    • No-Bake Desserts
    • One-Pot Recipes
    • Salads and Cold Dishes
    • Sheet Pan Recipes
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
  • Videos
    • From Scratch
    • Recipe Videos
    • Techniques
    • Tools
  • How-To
    • How to Cook From Scratch
    • How to Get Organized
    • How to Make Ahead and Meal Prep
    • How to Use Tools and Techniques

Cranberry-Almond Quinoa Muffins

May 28, 2013

Cranberry-almond quinoa muffins pack some of my favorite flavors into a dense, filling, satisfying muffin, perfect for a weekday breakfast.
Cranberry-almond quinoa muffins back some of my favorite flavors into a dense, filling, satisfying muffin, perfect for a weekday breakfast. | recipe from Chattavore.com

Woohoo! Summer Break is finally here. I feel like I’ve spent the last ten months waiting for this….oh wait, I have.

Cranberry-almond quinoa muffins back some of my favorite flavors into a dense, filling, satisfying muffin, perfect for a weekday breakfast. | recipe from Chattavore.com

Don’t get me wrong. I love my job…I really do. Teaching preschool-and exceptional education-is the kind of work that you don’t keep doing if you don’t love it. It’s super physically and emotionally exhausting, though, and during the school year I spend nights and weekends thinking about tantrums, unmastered IEP goals, behaviors I didn’t “fix”, activities that went awry, what books I need to read, lesson plans, how to increase communication, how to increase social interactions….and so on, and so on, and so on.

Cranberry-almond quinoa muffins back some of my favorite flavors into a dense, filling, satisfying muffin, perfect for a weekday breakfast. | recipe from Chattavore.com

That’s not to say I don’t think about those things on summer break. I write lesson plans. I work in my classroom. I read work-related books. I make materials. It’s just that….it’s not so pressing when it’s not right in front of you. Summer break provides a reprieve from the urgency of day-to-day with four-year-olds, or ten-year-olds, or seventeen-year-olds. Every age group, every ability level provides its own pressing issues. People often criticize teachers for the breaks that they get, often asserting that we do it for the breaks. I argue that those people have never been teachers. Summer break provides two months of mental break, two months that I can actually rest my brain, something that is virtually impossible between August and the end of May.

Cranberry-almond quinoa muffins back some of my favorite flavors into a dense, filling, satisfying muffin, perfect for a weekday breakfast. | recipe from Chattavore.com

Sorry, that got a little heavy. I didn’t mean for it to; I simply wanted to provide my perspective on why I so look forward to summer break. It’s funny, though….the second summer break begins, the blogging bonanza begins as well. I’ve done more work on my blog since Friday afternoon than I have in the entire last month, starting with an impromptu post about how much money I spend on groceries and including some delicious soda and some fantastic muffins.

Cranberry-almond quinoa muffins back some of my favorite flavors into a dense, filling, satisfying muffin, perfect for a weekday breakfast. | recipe from Chattavore.com

I’ve been cooking with quinoa lately. I made it several years ago and haven’t made it since. I had a jar of it in my pantry that I had bought not that long ago and kept meaning to use it. I made quinoa “fried rice” last week and after looking at some oatmeal muffins that someone had posted somewhere (so descriptive, right?) I thought that quinoa sounded like a pretty good fit for a muffin too. Of course, Martha Stewart came through for me with a recipe for quinoa muffins with raisins. I did a little adaptation to the recipe and came up with these whole-wheat cranberry-almond quinoa muffins. They’re heavy (in weight, that is) but surprisingly not overly dense. And since quinoa is a complete protein (making it a vegetarian’s dream) these cranberry-almond quinoa muffins are more filling that your average muffin.

These cranberry-almond quinoa muffins are breakfast perfection.

Cranberry-almond quinoa muffins back some of my favorite flavors into a dense, filling, satisfying muffin, perfect for a weekday breakfast. | recipe from Chattavore.com

Whole-Wheat Cranberry-Almond Quinoa Muffins

Print recipe
Serves 12
Prep time 25 minutes
Cook time 30 minutes
Total time 55 minutes
Allergy Egg, Milk, Tree Nuts, Wheat
Dietary Vegetarian
Meal type Bread, Breakfast, Snack
Misc Freezable
Website Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa (rinsed-don't skip the rinsing!!)
  • 2 cups white whole-wheat flour-you could also use all-purpose (plus more for flouring pan)
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil-I used melted coconut oil (plus more for oiling pan)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cups brown sugar (preferably dark brown, but light will work as well)
  • 3/4 cups buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, use whole milk)
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 Large egg
  • 1/4-1/2 cup chopped almonds
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract (you can also use vanilla or orange extract if you don't like almond)

Note

You can substitute any dried fruit or extract in this recipe. You can also substitute other types of nuts, or omit the nuts altogether.

Directions

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the rinsed quinoa in a medium saucepan with 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-13 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. While the quinoa is cooking, brush the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with oil and lightly flour, tapping out excess.
Step 2
Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. In another container, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, extract, and brown sugar. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry then add 2 cups of the quinoa (if you have extra, set aside for another use. I had just over 2 cups), the oil, and the cranberries (if you don't use coconut oil, you can just whisk it with the liquid ingredients. I didn't want my coconut oil to solidify in the cold buttermilk). Mix with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are moistened, but don't overmix.
Step 3
Divide the muffin batter among the cups of the prepared muffin pan. They will be very full. Top with the chopped almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 4
Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. They are also great for freezing!
Powered by GetMeCooking

Cranberry-almond quinoa muffins back some of my favorite flavors into a dense, filling, satisfying muffin, perfect for a weekday breakfast. | recipe from Chattavore.com

Filed Under: Breakfast & Brunch, By Course, By Main Ingredients, Grains and Breads, Recipes Tagged With: bread, breakfast, vegetarian By Mary // Chattavore 5 Comments

Creamy Cabbage Casserole

March 7, 2013

Show of hands: how many of you “hate” cabbage?

(hand raised)

Okay, really…I wouldn’t say I hate cabbage. However, cooked cabbage tends to be cooked to the point that it turns my stomach, and raw cabbage seems to be most often served in slaw, of which I am usually not a fan. I don’t really recall my mom cooking cabbage as I was a kid, and most of my experiences with cooked cabbage have been extra-stinky cabbage from the kitchen of the small school where I used to work. I’m probably exaggerating here, but it seems like the entire school reeked of sulfur for the entire day and when we trashed the uneaten leftovers (as we were required by the USDA to do) in our classroom trashcans (we ate in the classroom) the classroom would be overwhelmingly smelly for the rest of the day.

As odd as it may sound, I’ve always liked the idea of cabbage. I can remember (very vaguely) eating a raw cabbage leaf as a kid and thinking it wasn’t half bad. A few years back, a St. Patrick’s Day special about Ireland aired on Food Network and a lady made a cabbage dish with butter and just a tiny bit of water to steam it. Not overcooked, it was delicious, and I have tried ever since to find more ways to fit cabbage into my diet. Fish tacos, vinegary slaws, chicken chow mein with Napa cabbage….the more cabbage dishes I make, the more I like it.

One of my assistants recently accompanied me to the Main Street Farmers Market, where we each purchased a head of cabbage. A few days later, she mentioned that she had turned hers into a creamy cabbage casserole. I knew I had to have the recipe, so she brought it to me. I was not disappointed. Creamy, buttery, slightly cheesy, crunchy, and not overcooked, this casserole was just what I was hoping for. There’s no strong, overpowering taste….no stinkiness to contend with. Just delicious goodness. If you’ve been trying to find a way to make this much maligned vegetable pleasing to the palate…here it is.

cabbagecasserole2

Creamy Cabbage Casserole

Print recipe
Serves 6-10
Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 30 minutes
Total time 50 minutes
Allergy Milk, Wheat
Dietary Vegetarian
Meal type Side Dish
From magazine Southern Living

Ingredients

  • 1 Medium cabbage (coarsely chopped)
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (preferably freshly ground)
  • 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese (grated)
  • 1/3 cup panko crumbs (toasted over medium heat in a dry skillet till lightly browned)

Directions

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook the cabbage in a small amount of boiling salted water for ten minutes. Drain well and set aside.
Step 2
Melt three tablespoons of butter over low heat in a large skillet. Add the flour and whisk until smooth then cook for one minute. Gradually add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat until thickened. Whisk in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cabbage and stir until thoroughly combined.
Step 3
Butter a 1 1/2 quart baking dish (mine is an 8x8 Pyrex dish). Spread the cabbage mixture into the dish. Top with the grated cheese then the bread crumbs. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and pour evenly over the bread crumbs. Bake for twenty minutes.
Powered by GetMeCooking

cabbagecasserole1

Follow on Bloglovin

Filed Under: By Course, By Main Ingredients, Recipes, Sides, Vegetables or Vegetarian Tagged With: side dishes, vegetarian By Mary // Chattavore 4 Comments

Kale Salad & What I Had for Lunch This Week

February 23, 2013

Lunch.  On weeknights, packing something to eat for lunch is more of a nemesis to me than cooking dinner.

Back in the “olden” days (I don’t really think they were that long ago) teachers often didn’t get lunch breaks at all.  Now contracts guarantee that teachers get to take a “duty-free” lunch that’s the same length of time that their students have to eat.  20-25 minutes.  You know, plenty of time.

I know, I know, that last statement makes it sound like I’m bitter over the length of time that I get for lunch.  The honest truth is that I choose not to take a lunch break at all.  Sometimes when you teach preschoolers or other children that need to be carefully monitored at all times, it’s just easier to not worry about trying to figure out when you can escape to the teachers’ lounge to scarf down a PB & J.

Nay nay, my problem is this: I don’t have time to run out to grab anything to eat, which is what most people do when they didn’t feel like packing a lunch the night before.  Not packing a lunch = not a choice for me these days.  Since I try to avoid packaged foods, there are no  Lean Cuisine pizzas either.  And I’m not a huge fan of a made-the-night-before sandwich.  This results in much wailing and gnashing of teeth each night after dinner as I try to decide what to eat.  Usually my lunch includes my Klean Kanteen, half an avocado and some cheese.  The other items are wild card items depending on what kind of mood I’m in.  Anyway you toss the dice, packing my lunch makes me long for my first teaching job, where meals were provided for us as we were expected to eat with the children (to provide a role model for appropriate mealtime behavior).  But those days are gone, so I suppose I’ll keep packing a lunch.This week Presidents’ Day brought an opportunity to put a little more thought into what I was going to eat for lunch that usual.  You’ll have to forgive me for the neon pictures.  These were taken with my phone at the cafeteria table right before I ate….

photo-1
I cooked some black beans, washed a head of lettuce, and made some salsa.  When I was ready to pack my lunch, I chopped some lettuce and put it in a reusable bowl, topped it with a cup of black beans seasoned with salt, cumin, and chili powder and some crumbled queso fresco.  I included a halved avocado (wrapped in plastic and stuck in the bowl) to be scraped out onto the salad right before I ate it, a bag of tortilla chips to be crumbled on top, and my “dressing”, a couple of tablespoons of salsa mixed with a spoonful of sour cream.  Now that was a good lunch!
photo-2
This is what I had Thursday and Friday: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1/4 cup rinsed chickpeas, 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds, and 1 tablespoon chia seeds, plus Ak-Mak crackers on the side.

Monday I made an amazing kale salad from The Smitten Kitchen cookbook, with a couple of twists of my own based on what was available in my kitchen. Kale is a funny green, one that many, many people say they don’t like. I wouldn’t be surprised if they changed their mind after trying this salad……

kalesalad4

Kale Salad with Dried Cranberries, Pecans, and Sunflower Seeds

Print recipe
  • Print with main photo
  • Print text only
Kale Salad with Dried Cranberries, Pecans, and Sunflower Seeds
Serves 1
Prep time 30 minutes
Cook time 5 minutes
Total time 35 minutes
Allergy Milk, Tree Nuts
Dietary Vegetarian
Meal type Lunch, Salad
From book Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons pecans (very coarsely chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
  • 2oz kale (the original recipe calls for )
  • 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
  • 1/2oz queso fresco or feta
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon spicy brown or Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • salt & pepper to taste

Note

I adapted this recipe to provide one serving, but of course it's easily multiplied to feed more people!  Most of the thirty minute prep time is "marination" time for the kale leaves.

Directions

Step 1
Heat a small skillet (not nonstick) over medium heat. Place the pecans and sunflower seeds in the skillet and heat until lightly toasted, tossing or stirring frequently. Remove to a small bowl and set aside.
Step 2
Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl.
Step 3
Wash the kale and dry it by pressing it between paper towels. Cut the ribs from the kale then stack the leaves and slice them into very thin ribbons. Place them in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Allow to "marinate" for twenty minutes to slightly tenderize the leaves.
Step 4
Toss the dressed kale leaves with the cranberries, pecans, sunflower seeds, and cheese. Transfer to a serving bowl and eat immediately.
Powered by GetMeCooking

kalesalad5

Follow on Bloglovin

Filed Under: By Course, By Main Ingredients, Recipes, Salad, Vegetables or Vegetarian Tagged With: salad, vegetarian By Mary // Chattavore 1 Comment

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

January 5, 2013

There are many things about my job that I would consider rewarding, with seeing the children make boundless progress over the course of one short school year being, of course, not the smallest reward. While I definitely don’t do my job for the gifts that I get, I was not sad to open this box at my class Christmas party:

bread basket

The Bread Basket is a locally-owned bakery with locations on Signal Mountain, in East Brainerd, and in Cleveland (my assistant tells me that there used to be one in Hixson, and I can’t remember it for the life of me. They’re on my “list” of places to write about, but it seems that every time I think about it it’s almost closing time (they close at 3:00 on Saturdays). The Bread Basket sells specialty breads, muffins, cakes, cookies, and bar cookies as well as trays and gift boxes.

ftc2

While the sourdough bread is patiently awaiting me in the freezer, I tore into that apple-cinnamon loaf at 11:30 that night (as I prepared to observe the pre-surgery after-midnight fast). Over the next few days Philip and I ate almost the entire delicious loaf, mostly slathered with butter, liberally sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar (that’s what is in the jar between the loaves), and broiled. We share the same philosophy about cinnamon toast: every centimeter must be covered with butter and cinnamon sugar, broiled until the sugar forms a candy-like crust. We could almost break the layer of cinnamon sugar off in a sheet. It’s a perfect coupling (me + Philip, cinnamon sugar + butter). The apple-cinnamon topping and the sweet glaze just adds to the perfection of the treat.

ftc1

When we got down to the last third of the bread, Philip was struck with the idea that it would work well in a French toast casserole akin to the eggnog French toast casserole I made a while back. I agreed. Instead of cooking it in the Crock-pot, though, I decided to bake it, riffing on a recipe that I read in The Smitten Kitchen cookbook. The most important part of this recipe? Wait for it…..

Cinnamon. Toast.

That’s right. I spread all those slices of bread with butter. Sprinkled them with cinnamon-sugar. Broiled them till a sugar crust formed on top. Only then did I arrange them in the baking dish, cover them with custard, and bake them until all that lovely, creamy egginess was soaked up in the bread, perfect for drizzling with maple syrup (grade B, of course). Unlike the Crock-pot variety, the baked version is more chewy, crunchy on top from the cinnamon-sugar sprinkle. Perfection on a plate. Seriously.

Please note….I cook for two people, so the recipe that I’ve written below is larger than the one pictured (I halved the recipe…feel free to do so as well).

ftc3

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

Print recipe
Serves 4-6
Prep time 30 minutes
Cook time 30 minutes
Total time 1 hour
Allergy Egg, Milk, Wheat
Dietary Vegetarian
Meal type Breakfast
Misc Pre-preparable
Occasion Christmas
From book adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened, plus more for buttering the dish)
  • cinnamon sugar (I used Wildwood Cinnamon Toast Sprinkle)
  • 1 1/2 cup heavy cream, half-and-half, whole milk, or a combination (I used half-and-half)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2lb apple-cinnamon, cinnamon raisin, or cinnamon swirl bread (sliced. I cut each slice in half to make the arrangement more manageable.)

Note

The 30-minute prep time includes 15 minutes of inactive prep for the bread to soak in the custard.

Directions

Step 1
Liberally butter a 2-quart baking dish. Set aside.
Step 2
Set the broiler to low. Spread each slice of bread with softened butter then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar (I like to completely coat each slice with butter and sugar). Broil until browned, then change the oven setting to 375 degrees.
Step 3
While the toast is broiling, whisk together the eggs and the milk, half-and-half, or cream, and vanilla.
Step 4
Arrange the toast in the baking dish in an even layer-I "shingled" the edges to help them fit-and pour the custard over the bread. Press the slices down into the custard and leave them to soak for about fifteen minutes. Sprinkle the top with more cinnamon sugar.
Step 5
Bake the casserole for about 30 minutes, or until the egg is no longer "liquid-y" when you press on the top. Serve with maple syrup and/or powdered sugar.
Powered by GetMeCooking

ftc4

Filed Under: Breakfast & Brunch, By Course, By Main Ingredients, Grains and Breads, Main Dishes, Recipes Tagged With: bread, breakfast, special occasions By Mary // Chattavore 3 Comments

Weeknight Meals Thanks to Nigella: Mushroom Risotto and Pasta with Spinach, Feta, and Pine Nuts

December 21, 2012

I learned how to cook as a teenager.  My brother and sister were elementary-age, my dad was a long-haul truck driver and was out of town during the week, and my mom didn’t get home till 6:30 or so.  I would start dinner many nights, often spaghetti, tacos, a roast, or chicken taken from a bag of frozen tenders or breasts.  I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it necessarily, but I did enjoy the (at that age) rare knowledge of how to actually prepare a meal that didn’t involve a drive-thru.

My college roommates loved it too.  Our freshman year I taught them how to make breaded and fried chicken tenders from scratch, dipping the chicken in seasoned bread crumbs (storebought, of course) and frying them, dipping them in insane amounts of Naturally Fresh honey mustard.  I don’t remember what we ate with them, but I do remember the chicken tenders.  I’d probably still love them now, though I haven’t made chicken tenders in so long.  I can’t remember the last time, actually.

It seems so odd, so foreign, to me now that when Philip and I were dating we really did not cook very much at all.  I recall the first meal I cooked with him with a guffaw, if you will.  It was a gigantic pan of lasagna, Caesar salad from a bag, frozen garlic bread, and an attempt at apple crisp that did not, in fact, crisp on top.  Philip referred to it as “apple sog”.  Thank God I knew him well enough to understand his sarcastic sense of humor, because we had only been dating for about a month and making fun of my cooking could have been a deal breaker.

So….getting married and moving in together presented some interesting challenges.  WHAT would we eat?  I owned three cookbooks, my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and two really crappy “cooking for two” books that I had picked up at McKay.  They were not much help, although I do remember an elaborate New Year’s Eve dinner in that first apartment that consisted of homemade tomato-basil sauce and homemade French baguettes (all from the Better Homes and Gardens book, which is a good cookbook-I still own it-but I wasn’t very skilled in the kitchen or very good at using the leftovers from all the meals that “served 4”).  Suffice it to say, we ate a lot of Hamburger Helper and Homestyle Bakes.  Do Homestyle Bakes still exist?  They were these meals that consisted of opening a can of some meat & gravy combo, dumping it into a baking dish, scooping some bready mixture on top, and baking.  Gross.  I shudder just thinking about it.

Then came Nigella Lawson.  Oh, Nigella.  I had attempted to watch some Food Network, but 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray was the only thing that really appealed to me at the time (this was 2001 and there just. wasn’t. much. on. Food Network. though apparently I just missed Good Eats?).  However, Style Network had this beautiful British woman that cooked all kinds of interesting foods like, you know, it was just no bigs.  Oh, Nigella.  I watched her show, Nigella Bites, constantly, every time it was on, watching the same episode over and over, eventually watching every episode.  I still miss that show.  She’s had others and, while some of them have been pretty good, none of them have been Nigella Bites.

Before Nigella, I had never heard of risotto.  Now, it’s an easy weeknight staple for us.  This risotto is really not even a recipe.  It’s just something I threw together.  The pasta is adapted from Nigella’s book Nigella Kitchen, in which she details the real foods that she cooks for her family.  This struck me as a true quick meal….truly “no bigs”.

Mushroom Risotto

Print recipe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Small onion (chopped)
  • 4oz mushrooms (wiped clean & sliced)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cup arborio rice ((though I used the much-less-expensive Arroz con Rico from the Mexican section of my grocery store, which is very similar to arborio!))
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • salt & pepper (to taste)
  • Parmesan or Romano cheese (to taste)
  • chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions

Step 1
Melt half of the butter with half of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Set the wine and chicken stock over low heat to warm (I added half a teaspoon of saffron to mine but this is definitely optional). Dice the onion and sauté until it is soft and translucent, then add the mushrooms and sauté them until soft. Add the rest of the butter and olive oil. When the butter has melted, add the rice and cook for about a minute.
Step 2
Using a ladle, pour half a cup of the wine/chicken stock mixture into the rice mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has completely absorbed. Continue adding liquid and stirring until you have used all of the liquid. I turned my burner down to medium-low to do this because I did not want it to absorb too quickly…that way the starch in the rice really gets pulled out.
Step 3
Salt and pepper the risotto to taste then add a copious amount of grated cheese. Serve garnished with chopped parsley and more grated cheese.
Powered by GetMeCooking

saffronrisotto

Rotini with Spinach, Pine Nuts, and Feta

Print recipe
Serves 2
Cook time 20 minutes
Allergy Milk, Tree Nuts, Wheat
Dietary Vegetarian
Meal type Lunch, Main Dish
From book adapted from Nigella Kitchen by Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic (minced)
  • 1/2 Small onion (peeled & sliced)
  • 5oz whole wheat rotini
  • 1 bag baby spinach ((5 ounces))
  • 2oz crumbled feta
  • Parmesan and/or Romano cheese

Directions

Step 1
Heat a dry skillet over medium heat and toast the pine nuts, tossing frequently, until they begin to brown, then remove them to a small bowl and set aside. Slice the onions.
Step 2
Bring a large pot of water to a boil (I use a 4-quart Dutch oven for this amount of pasta). Salt liberally and add the pasta to cook (whole wheat rotini usually needs to cook for 7-8 minutes).
Step 3
Heat the olive oil in a medium to large (mine is 10-inch) skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions until they are softened and lightly caramelized, then add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or so.
Step 4
Drain the pasta, reserving about half a cup of the cooking water. Return to the the hot pan. Add in the cooked onions and garlic, the spinach, the feta, and desired amount of grated parmesan and/or Romano cheese and stir to completely combine and wilt the spinach. Add reserved pasta cooking water as needed to loosen the pasta. Divide between two bowls and garnish with toasted pine nuts. Serve with additional cheese to pass at table.
Powered by GetMeCooking

spinach&pinenutpasta

Filed Under: By Course, By Main Ingredients, Grains and Breads, Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes Tagged With: cheese, main dishes, pasta, vegetarian By Mary // Chattavore 3 Comments

Next Page »

About Chattavore

Hi, I'm Mary! Welcome to Chattavore, a destination for people who want to feed themselves and their families well every day! Life can be crazy, which means that getting dinner on the table can be a challenge (more often than not!) and my mission is to take all your favorite recipes and figure out how to serve them on a Tuesday.

Follow Chattavore!

  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Bloglovin
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • RSS

Categories


Copyright © 2023 | All content property of Chattavore and may not be reproduced without permission | Cha Creative Clique

Want recipes from scratch & restaurant reviews in your inbox weekly?
Subscribe below to get Chattavore's weekly newletter AND a free set of recipe cards to help you learn to cook from scratch!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
 

Loading Comments...