spinach cheese pie - hold the crust

We've doubled this recipe, and added even more cheese! You can never have enough cheese!

2 bags frozen spinach, thawed, moisture squeezed out
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup of white cheddar
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place cast iron skillet in oven and heat for 10 minutes. In a bowl, combine spinach with eggs, feta, cottage cheese, cheddar, salt and pepper. Mix well. Remove skillet from oven, and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Spread spinach filling evenly over crust, and bake for 20 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

porky belly salady

In an effort to find the right side salad for our sweet potato soup we came up with a delicious pork belly, fried egg and parmesan salad.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
cooked pork belly
hard parmesan cheese
balsamic vinegar
lettuce

Wash salad greens and distribute among two bowls. Shave parmesan into each bowl. Fry pork belly until crisp on all sides. Slice the fried pork belly. Fry each egg in the same pan as you fried the pork belly to use the leftover pork fat. Mix everything together.

favorite steak salad

This is our favorite steak salad - we eat it nearly once a week.

1 skirt steak
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 teaspoon (packed) dark brown sugar
4 cups (lightly packed) arugula
goat cheese
dried cranberries

Sprinkle steak generously with salt and pepper or steak seasoning. Heat oil in cast iron skillet over high heat. Add steak; cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to plate. Add vinegar, shallots, and sugar to skillet; boil until reduced to glaze, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Divide arugula, goat cheese and cranberries between 2 plates. Slice steak; place atop arugula. Drizzle lightly with glaze.

Adapted from Epicurious.com

dark rum mojito steak salad

I'm not sure where this recipe came from, but it sounds super tasty, and we have lots of different rums to try in it.

1 (8-ounce) top sirloin, fat trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ounce white rum (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 red bell pepper, minced
½ red onion, minced
1 cup corn cut off the cob
8 to 10 cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing
½ cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons taco sauce or salsa
Juice of ½ lime
Salt and pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mint, sugar, rum and juice of 1 lime. Pour over steak and marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper, and sear until golden- brown or desired doneness, preferably medium-rare or medium. Let steak rest and slightly cool.

In a large bowl, mix together lettuce, peppers, onions, corn and tomatoes. Thinly slice steak and toss with salad.

Mix all dressing ingredients together, and pour over salad. Serve immediately.

cheesy frittata

The first frittata we made came about out of necessity - we were hungry and the only thing we could make out of what we had in the house was a frittata. It was so good we went out to get the ingredients to make it again.

Ingredients:
8 eggs
2 tbsp half and half
1 small log of herbed goat cheese
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lb of bacon
salt and pepper
1 tomato, thinly sliced
slices of brie
2 zucchini, chopped

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop raw bacon into small pieces. Fry in a cast iron skillet until crispy. Remove to a separate bowl and pour off excess bacon grease from the skillet. Fry the onions in the bacon grease until softened and add the chopped zucchini, frying both until lightly browned. (Cover to help speed the softening process.) Add the crumbled bacon and stir to combine.

Place slices of brie on top of the mixture (use as much or as little as you want).

Whisk the eggs with the half and half and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the eggs over the veggies, meat and cheese in the skillet. Place slices of tomato carefully on top of the eggs and sprinkle chunks from the log of goat cheese over the top.

Cook on the stove top for 8 minutes, then transfer to the oven for another 15 minutes, then broil for 4 minutes until brown and bubbly on top, and cooked through.

Cut into wedges to serve.

My favorite part of the frittata is the tomato, every time. So while we haven't tried this yet, next time we plan a tomato-heavy version. 

Prepare as above, except omit the zucchini. Once the onions have softened, add the bacon and stir to combine. Place slices of tomato over onion mixture. Add a layer of goat cheese, then add another layer of tomato and a layer of brie. Pour eggs over the top. Add another layer of tomato and crumble the goat cheese on top. Cook as directed above.