Tag: spinach

Food

Chicken Spinach Tomato Bake

thestlouiscooks

This Chicken Spinach Tomato Bake has become a favorite in this house and it’s healthy. Everyone’s looking for that quick and healthy chicken dish. This is it! I’ve done a few different variations with the tomatoes. Originally I was using Rotel tomatoes, but recently I tried sundried tomatoes. Both give it a little different flavor. One reason I love this Chicken Spinach Tomato Bake is because you can change it up each time to meet the needs of what you have at home. You don’t have to use mozzarella cheese each time. I’ve used shredded Mexican style cheese because I always have that in bulk in my fridge. This is a great recipe with a lot of flexibility and it tastes so good.

Chicken Spinach Tomato Bake

  • Servings: 5-6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

  • 5-6 Large Chicken Breasts
  • 16-24 ounces of Fresh Spinach
  • 1 and 1/4th cup of Chicken Broth
  • 1 can of Rotel or a jar of Sundried Tomatoes
  • Creole or Spicy seasoning
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Shredded Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese to your liking
  • 4-5 Green Onions chopped (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 9 by 13 dish and any other dishes being used. For 5-6 large chicken breasts I use two a 9 by 13 and 11 by 14 dish.
  2. Next, place the chicken breasts on a cutting board between sheets of plastic wrap and pound the chicken with a flat mullet until all meat is even. This is a key step.
  3. Sprinkle the chicken with Creole seasoning, salt, and pepper.
  4. Put the fresh spinach is prepared dishes. Salt and pepper the spinach.
  5. Add the chicken broth evenly to each dish.
  6. Arrange the chicken over the spinach and add tomatoes on top along with green onions.
  7. Cover the baking dishes with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
  8. Uncover and continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165.
  9. Top the chicken with cheese and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with your favorite sides.
Family, Food

Italian Sausage Spinach Soup

thestlouiscooks

 

 

Italian Sausage Spinach Soup

Soup is the perfect comfort food, especially on cold winter days.  It’s also the perfect meal for a busy family that doesn’t have time to sit down for a meal.  Soup is always our “go to” meal when we have a night packed full of practices or meetings which happens a lot.  It was one of those kind of nights.  Time to make some Italian Sausage Spinach Soup, leave it on the stove, and eat at your convenience.

Italian sausage is used in this house at least once a week. I love Italian sausage!  It probably has something to do with my Italian heritage, but it also adds so much flavor.  You can taste the extra bold flavors and spice of the sausage in this awesome Italian Sausage Spinach Soup.  This soup is also very versatile. If you are looking for a low carb option, then leave the pasta on the side.  My husband eats the Italian Sausage Spinach soup with out the pasta. The kids enjoy it with the pasta so everyone is happy. Of course, we double the recipe because we like left overs. Italian Sausage Spinach Soup is a favorite in this house.  Check it out!

Ingredients:

  • 16 Ounces of Bulk Italian Sausage
  • 4 Cups of Chicken broth
  • 2 14 1/2 Ounce cans of Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic, and Oregano
  • 2 Cups thinly sliced celery hearts with leaves
  • 1 Cup uncooked Small Shell Pasta
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasonings
  • 4 Cups of bagged Spinach Leaves
  • 4 Tablespoons freshly Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1.  Heat a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add the sausage to the pan and cook.  Stir the sausage, breaking it up to crumble for approximately 10 minutes, or until browned. Drain, and return to the pot.
  2. Add broth, tomatoes, celery, pasta, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until pasta is done.
  3. Remove from heat and stir in spinach until wilted. Sprinkle each serving with fresh grated parmesan cheese.  Serve with hot Italian bread!

Optional Low Carb – If you want to add the pasta separately, prepare pasta according to package directions.  Do not add pasta as indicated in step 2.  Leave the pasta on the side.  It can be added individually to each serving.  Another note, we used a larger shell pasta because that is what we had at home.  Remember, you can get a little creative and adjust accordingly to what you might have in your kitchen.

Enjoy!

Family, Food

Fresh Spinach and Bacon

thestlouiscooks

Spinach

Looking for that last minute, quick, throw together, side dish?  This spinach dish is for you. On this particular night, I was looking for something different instead of the usual “go to” quick vegetables such as corn and peas.  I had some fresh spinach from Costco in the refrigerator.  It was time to use it as a side dish instead of doing the normal spinach salad.  I threw together this recipe in about 8 minutes which is exactly how long it takes to cook.

Wow, it was really good!  I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of cooked spinach, however I do like it when there are great flavors involved.  The combination of Rotel and bacon were a perfect fit.  The Rotel added some extra zing not to mention bacon is always a great addition to many dishes.  We LOVE bacon.  My 10 year old son even liked this spinach dish.

Another bonus about this dish…it only take 8 minutes! I would suggest making this dish when everything else is ready for the table. It is that quick and easy.

Ingredients:

  • 10-15 Ounces of fresh Spinach (Earthbound Farm Organic Baby Spinach from Costco)
  • 1/2 Can of Rotel (original and strained)
  • 4-5 Slices of cooked Bacon (broken up in pieces)
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
  • 2-3 Cloves of fresh Garlic
  • Salt and Pepper to taste ( we prefer Sea Salt)

Directions:

  1. Heat Olive Oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Using a garlic press, add the fresh minced garlic to the oil.  Next add the Spinach.  It will shrink very quickly.
  2. Stir in the Rotel Tomatoes and Chilies. Then mix together the Bacon.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Family, Food

Stuffed Pork Chops

thestlouiscooks

Stuffed Pork Chops

On this particular evening, I didn’t cook.  My husband and my 11-year-old daughter took care of everything.  They decided to use our Costco thick cut pork chops and stuff them. We’ve never stuffed pork chops at this house.  We usually buy them already stuffed from our local meat market, Kenricks, however this time they decided to make some Sievers stuffed chops home-made.

These pork chops are my favorite recipe of 2014 thus far! If you like gouda cheese, bacon, and spinach, then this recipe is a must. Wow, it was absolutely delicious.

Stuffed Pork Chops

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: average
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Ingredients:

  • 6 thick cut Pork chops (Costco pork chops are ideal)
  • 1/2 Pound of Smoked Gouda (shredded)
  • 8 slices of cooked Bacon (chopped)
  • 1 Cup of fresh Spinach (chopped)
  • Salt and Pepper for Taste (prefer Sea Salt)
  • 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Directions:

  1. Begin by preparing the stuffing.  Add the shredded gouda cheese, chopped bacon, and fresh chopped spinach to a medium Mel stuffing chopsbowl and mix together. Add salt and pepper for taste. Set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray.
  3. Lay each chop flat on a cutting board. With a sharp knife held parallel to the cutting board, cut a pocket into the pork leaving three sides in tact. Stuff each chop with the mixture.  Sticks or small skewers can be used to keep stuffing together. Lightly salt and pepper each chop.
  4. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium to high heat. Brown pork chops on each side.  Then add them to the 9×13 baking dish.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes or until meat reaches correct internal temperature.

Stuffed chops before

Enjoy!