Day 37 - Spin-Art Pasta

We have been into eating Artichoke Dip since I made this Spinach Artichoke Pasta so I found a different recipe at Heat Oven to 350.

Spin-Art Pasta

Ingredients:

1 (13 oz) box shell pasta
1 tsp butter
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 8 oz package reduced fat (not fat free) cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1T lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts (packed in water), drained and chopped
10 oz chopped, frozen spinach, thawed, with as much excess water squeezed out as possible
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped cooked chicken (optional)
Additional Parmesan for serving

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Slowly stir in milk, then add lemon juice, salt and red pepper flakes. Stir in artichoke hearts, spinach, Parmesan cheese and chicken (if using).

3. Drain pasta and add to artichoke mix. Toss and season to taste with salt and additional lemon juice as needed. Serve with additional shredded Parmesan.

Verdit:
Of course it was a hit...it had artichokes in it.

Day 36 - Loaded Potato Casserole

 This recipe has been flying all over Pintrest with the name Crack Potatoes.  I just had to try them.  The recipe comes from Plain Chicken.

Crack Potatoes or Loaded Potato Casserole

2  (16 oz) containers sour cream

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

2 (3oz) bags real bacon bits

2 packages Ranch Dip mix

1 large (28 - 30oz) bag frozen hash brown potatoes - shredded kind

Combine first 4 ingredients, mix in hash browns.  Spread into a 9x13 pan.  Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes.  

Verdict:

This was really easy to make and was delicious too!

Day 35 - Gummy Fruit Snacks

I thought this was going to be a neat idea for the kids to eat...found the recipe at All Day I Dream About Food.



Gummy Fruit Snacks

1 cup mixed berries
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup fruit juice (apple, cranberry, blueberry, whatever)
2 envelopes gelatin (1 envelope = 2 1/2 tsp)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the berries and water. Bring to a boil and cook until berries are soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree berries until smooth. Return to pot. Add applesauce and return to a boil, then remove from heat, cover and set aside.

In a large bowl, sprinkle gelatin over fruit juice and let stand one minute. Add hot fruit mixture and stir until gelatin completely dissolves, 3 to 5 minutes.

Pour into 8 x 8 inch glass or ceramic baking dish (or into molds, if you want to go that route). Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. Cut into blocks or shapes.

Verdict:
Sounds easy, right?  I think I did it wrong.  I used jello for my gelatin.  I want to try this again so I will be looking for plain old gelatin.  Its supposed to look like the picture above but mine never got hard.  I ended up putting it in the freezer and when it froze I turned it into a smoothie.  The kids loved that!