Garlic Butter Noodles

Colorado's own Osage Gardens basil

Domaine de Bramarel truffle oil, love the bottle

Delectable trust me

Mitica Parmigiano Reggiano - the real deal

And the rain continues... I am starting to get cranky! 

This dish was inspired by apinchofyum; a wonderful blog, check it out. I tweaked the proportions to suit two hungry folks for dinner on a soggy Wednesday. And used Jovial rice egg noodles cause of my finiky tummy. Even gluten people will love this pasta!  And added truffle oil brought back from our trip to the north and south of France in April.  Served with leftover Chipotle Lime Grilled Chicken with Avocado Ranch (blog: 5/20/15), Voila!

As a side dish or main dish or as I had with the leftovers; with an egg on top for breakfast, this is a yummy way to grace your body with major antioxidant-packed greens. Basil is known as "The Garden of Youth".  Rapidly approaching 60, bring it on!

For those of you that cringe at using butter; simply cut the amount to your comfort zone.

Ingredients:

• Jovial rice egg noodles (7-8 nests) or noodles of choice
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (yes, people BUTTER)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 ounce bag baby spinach (365 brand) (coarsely chopped in food processor)
• 3 ounce container fresh basil (Osage Gardens I love you!) (coarsely chopped in food processor)
• 1/4 cup fresh Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
• salt and pepper to taste
• drizzle of truffle oil (optional; ok you just need to go to the south of France)

Direction:

Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet and add garlic. Saute gently for 3 minutes, being careful not to brown the garlic. 

Add the chopped spinach and basil and saute briefly; about 1 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Prepare the noodles according to package directions. Drain and add to the skillet. Toss and salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle truffle oil and add the grated cheese.

Chipotle Lime Grilled Chicken with Avocado Ranch

Love my new tool from Crate and Barrel!

Getting better on my photos!

Chipotle in adobo sauce and garlic

The marinating chicken process

Threaded skewers ready for the grill

Ahhh the sauce

We have had rain here, solid, all week. The high today, so far, 39 degrees and it is May 20th. All my flower pots are planted, but have not made it out of the garage... Sorry I just had to vent! This has not stopped me from looking at "grill it" recipes. This recipe comes from howsweet it is.  

Leftovers of this dish are endless; over greens, noodles, rice. First round I served with a green salad and sweet potato fries.

Just a side note: the sauce calls for one mashed avocado. Thank you that I tasted the avocado BEFORE adding to the sauce! It was horrible and had to throw out. Subsequencely, my sauce lacks the pretty green color. However, the sauce stood on it's own... Also, I did not have dill on hand and actually not a fan of dill; so eliminated it.

Ingredients for Chicken:

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3), cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
• 2 limes, zested and juiced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Ingredients for Avocado Ranch:

• 1 ripe medium avocado
• 1/3 cup sour cream (I used greek yogurt)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions for Chicken:

Combine all the ingredients except chicken. Place chicken in a zip-lock bag and pour marinate onto chicken; turn to coat. Place in refrigerator for 1-4 hours.

Thread the marinated chicken onto pre-soaked bamboo skewers.

Preheat the grill to high. Place the skewers on the oiled grill until golden brown. About 3 minutes per side for a total of 10-12 minutes.

To serve: drizzle with avocado ranch.

Directions for Avocado Ranch:

Combine all ingredients and blend until creamy. Store in a sealed container for up to 2 days.

Crustless Spinach Quiche

I bought two bunches of fresh spinach and needed to use before it saw better days. I was thumbing through my old printed recipe books and ran across this recipe; which I believe I never made... I have been madly making Green Chili Sauce (blog: 4/15/13) from last years frozen roasted green chilies and had some unthawed in the refrigerator. The original recipe called for 10 ounces of frozen spinach. I just wilted the chopped two bunches of spinach in a little olive oil in substitute. I also used one large shallot in place of the onion.  Below is the original recipe. I have been eating this for lunch; high in protein and packed with vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup roasted green chilies, chopped or 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 2 medium zucchini, grated
• 3/4 cup onion, chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry or fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 7 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbles or 1 small block feta, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Spray or grease a 10-inch springform pan with canola oil. I had to dust my pan off as have not used it in a LONG time! Preheat oven to 350-degree.

As I mentioned I wilted the chopped spinach in a little olive oil and removed from skillet to cool.

Add the 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and zucchini. Saute to crisp tender. Remove and cool.

Add the roasted green chilies to the cooling zucchini mixture.

Combine the beaten eggs to the ricotta and feta cheeses. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add the cooled remaining ingredients to the egg mixture and combine well.

Pour into prepared pan, placing the pan on a baking sheet.

Bake 45-50 minutes until slightly brown on the edges and middle is set.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from springform ring. I ran a spatula around the edges before releasing.