Baked Spinach & Mozzarella Bites

These delicious bites are great for an appetizer, a side dish for breakfast, or to eat alone just because they are so incredible! Everything about these baked bites is oh so good. They really melt in your mouth. We couldn't stop eating them! We used them as an appetizer for our Fall feast.

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package spinach, rinsed and chopped
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 onion, chopped (I omitted the onion, not a huge fan of onions)
  
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Place spinach in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook until spinach is limp, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. Stir in eggs, milk and butter. Mix in spinach, onion and mozzarella cheese.
4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before serving.

Green Bean Casserole

I think I've posted green bean casserole once before on this blog. Not sure if this is the same recipe. We made a few changes. We blanched the green beans after cooking them. The green beans were perfect and crisp. We also omitted the soy sauce and added 1/2 cup of cheese with the soup mixture. This is always a classic fall recipe and we loved it once again.

Ingredients

• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup or Campbell's® Condensed 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 cups cooked cut green beans
• 2 2/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions

Directions

1. Stir soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, beans and 1 1/3 cups onions in dish.
2. Bake @ 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until hot. Stir.
3. Top with remaining onions and bake for 5 more minutes.

Perfect Mashed Potatoes

We are the happy owners of a potato ricer. We used our ricer for the first time this weekend and will NEVER go back to mashing our potatoes. This is Martha Stewart's mashed potato recipe. I think what makes them "perfect" is a combination of the creaminess from the ricer and the fall flavor from the nutmeg. Mmmm....

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

• 2 pounds russet, Yukon gold, or long white potatoes
• 1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 cup milk, or cream
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  

Directions

1. Peel and cut potatoes into 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water; add 1 tablespoon salt. bring to a simmer. If using a potato ricer, fill another saucepan with water; place over low heat. Keep potatoes at a low simmer until a knife slips in and out easily. Drain potatoes in a colander. Place milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. If using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, proceed to Step 4. If using a potato ricer, place a heat-proof bowl or top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Press hot, drained potatoes through ricer into bowl.
3. Stir potatoes with a wooden spoon until smooth, about 1 minute. Using a whisk, incorporate butter. Drizzle in hot milk, whisking continuously. Add pepper, nutmeg, and salt to taste; whisk to combine. Serve immediately.
4. For the electric-mixer method, transfer hot, drained potatoes to bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed, until most lumps have disappeared, about 1 minute. Add butter; mix until blended. On low speed, add hot milk in a slow stream, then add pepper, nutmeg, and salt to taste. Mix to combine.

Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

Oh my goodness. I think I stepped into creamy sauce heaven when I took my first bite of this delicious recipe. It's very rich and absolutely perfect for beef and mashed potatoes. It was probably one of our favorite recipes of the night.

Ingredients

• 4 cups heavy cream
  
• 3 to 4 ounces crumbly Gorgonzola (not creamy or "dolce")
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

Bring the heavy cream to a full boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, then continue to boil rapidly for 45 to 50 minutes, until thickened like a white sauce, stirring occasionally.

Off the heat, add the Grogonzola, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley. Whisk rapidly until the cheeses melt and serve warm. If you must reheat, warm the sauce over low heat until melted, then whisk vigorously until the sauce comes together.

Sweet Potato Casserole

The weather today has been wet and gloomy... I guess that's why I'm posting tasty and warm comfort foods. This is the perfect holiday sweet potato dish. The hubby and I love it as dessert too! Just thinking of it makes my mouth water. So yummy!

Ingredients

• 4 cups sweet potato, cubed
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  

Topping: (double, if desired)

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash.**I baked the sweet potatoes for an hour in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F. Before baking I poked each potato a few times with a fork. Do not wrap the potatoes in foil to bake. After baking I cut each potato in half and scooped out the yummy goodness. The taste is so much better when you BAKE the potatoes first.**
2. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In medium bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.

Serves: 12
Prep time: 30 min - 1 hour Cook time: 30 min. Ready in: 1 hour
Amount per serving: 195 cal. 7.8 grams fat

- Mindy

Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes

I love, LOVE mashed potatoes. We've had to resist since being on our healthy diet. I found a pretty healthy recipe and it just happens to be delicious too!!

Ingredients

• 8 medium red potatoes, quartered and not peeled
  
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk, warmed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender. Drain well. Add the butter, milk and salt; mash. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Serves: 6 (one cup per serving)
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 25 min. Ready in: 30 min.
Amount per serving: 190 cal., 5 grams fat

-Mindy