Tortellini Mushroom Spinach Casserole

Tortellini Mushroom Spinach Casserole

This vegetarian dish was a hit!  Full flavored, creamy, cheesy delicious-ness!  Great to make ahead and easy to double for large groups.  I keep a big bag of cheese stuffed tortellini in the freezer for 'go-to' dishes just like this.  You can make this with just one kind of mushroom, but I love the complexity of the different textures and flavors of varieties like the Shitake and Cremini.  Excellent with Texas Caesar Salad and crusty hot bread. Follow with Tiramisu Toffee Cake!

Ingredients

20 ounces frozen cheese tortellini

1/3 pound fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced

1/3 pound fresh shitaki mushrooms, sliced

1/3 pound fresh white button mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

Juice of one large lemon

grated lemon rind from one lemon

1/2 cup butter, divided

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

8 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded

1-1/2 pounds fresh baby spinach

8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 cup Panko (Japanese) bread crumbs

1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/2 tsp Herbs de Provence

Directions

Cook tortellini according to package directions. 

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, garlic, onion, cayenne pepper, black pepper in 1/4 cup butter until mushrooms are tender. Add spinach to pan, along with lemon juice, lemon rind and nutmeg. Combine with mushrooms in pan until spinach is wilted. Remove from pan and keep warm.

In the same skillet, combine milk and remaining butter. Bring to a gentle boil; stir in Gruyere cheese. Cook and stir until smooth. Drain tortellini; place in a large bowl. Stir in the mushroom/spinach mixture. Add cheese sauce and toss to coat.

Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.   In separate bowl, combine Panko bread crumbs, Parmesan and Herbs de Provence. Sprinkle mixture over mozzarella.  Spray or drizzle top lightly with olive oil.  Cover and bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through and cheese is melted and lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. 

Yield: 12 servings.

Note:  If making ahead, cover and refrigerate.  About 1-1/2 hours before baking, remove from refrigerator. Increase baking time to 35 minutes + browning time.

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Glowing Green Smoothie

Glowing Green Smoothie (R)

Drinking the Glowing Green Smoothie (GGS) is a great way to incorporate tremendous amounts of greens into your diet – far more than just eating your veggies. A serving of the GGS contains over 3 cups of dark leafy green vegetables, which is more than many people get in a week!
Greens have more valuable nutrients than any other food group on the planet. You might be surprised to learn that greens even have high-quality, easily-assimilated amino acids – enough to build the protein that supports the muscle mass of the mighty, greens-eating gorilla, which pound-for-pound is the strongest animal on earth!
Blending helps make greens’ full spectrum of nutrition readily available to the body. Nutrients are encased inside plant cells and getting their benefits requires these cells’ walls to be ruptured. Greens need to be worked down to a creamy consistency, but most people simply don’t chew that much! Blending addresses this problem, helping your body absorb the maximum amount of nutrition from your greens.
This is the drink that I drink every day, and have all my clients drink to feel and look their best. I hope that it will become part of your daily life as well.
I generally recommend starting out consuming around 16 ounces of the Glowing Green Smoothie, and then working up to 24 ounces or more. A Vitamix blender is definitely recommended to make this smoothie, so that it’s smooth, silky, and delicious in only a few minutes of prep time and cleanup.
The advantage of making a big batch like this one is time and convenience. Unlike juice, the Glowing Green Smoothie will keep in your refrigerator, as long as it’s covered, for about two and a half days. You can share it with your family or roommates, or have it yourself over that time period. You can also freeze portion sizes of it in glass containers and thaw out the night before in a bind.
Ongoing cleansing is a critical way to reach your highest potential of health and beauty. The Glowing Green Smoothie retains all of the fiber of the greens and fruit, rather than removing it. In nature, vegetables and fruit are found with both their fiber and juice intact, and we can’t improve on nature. Fiber is critical for ongoing cleansing by sweeping out toxins on a regular basis, helping to keep your digestive tract and body clean, and also keeping you more full so that you tent to eat less heavier and/or acidic foods throughout the day.
Note: I encourage you to mix and match your greens and fruit. Vary this recipe with kale, chard, arugula, and the like. Just avoid melons, as they don’t combine well with other produce.

Excerpts from Kymberly Snyder's Official Website

I encourage you to peruse her website, it is 

loaded with healthy goodness and valuable information!!

Glowing Green Smoothie (R)
The Beauty Detox Solution
Ingredients (64 ounces / 2-4 servings)


1 ½- 2 cups very cold, filtered water
6 cups spinach, chopped (I used kale)
5 cups organic romaine lettuce, chopped
2 stalks of organic celery (I used several of the tender baby stalks)
1 organic apple, cored and chopped
1 organic pear, cored and chopped
1 organic banana
1–2 Tbs. fresh organic lemon juice
Optional Ingredients
Ice cubes (the extra coldness can help newbies with the taste)
1/2 cup of organic cilantro
1/2 cup of organic parsley
Directions
Add water, spinach and chopped romaine to the blender. Starting the blender on a low speed; mix until smooth.
Gradually move to higher speeds and add the herbs, celery, pear, and apple. Add the banana and lemon juice last.


*For 1 serving, cut out one of the fruits and the celery.
Remember, your overall diet and lifestyle, and how you are cleansing out waste regularly are critical to you getting the results you want. You can’t just drink the GGS and expect maximum results…Be sure to read The Beauty Detox Solution to learn the entire program! It includes the crucial information to understand how to eat for beauty, as well as recipes, meal plans, and much more.


That's right, you guessed it....the Vitamix is on it again!!!

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Our Texas Thanksgiving

I'm Whooped.  How about you?  It has been a crazy busy few days, well, months truthfully, and now it is beginning to slow down....until Tuesday.  Then it starts all over again.  My daughter's wedding next Saturday in Kauai and I cannot wait to forget my name and finally relax.  So I'm sure we are all Turkey-ed out, so I will keep this short.  I just finished my Turkey and Cranberry Sandwich and I am now officially back on my healthy eating. Quickly, here was the menu:

Assortment of cold snacks + Jalapeno Deviled Eggs + Artichokes with Lemon Mayonnaise
Brined and Roasted Turkey (roasted upside down so the juices run to the breast, not very pretty, but very effective for super moist turkey)
Gravy
Mom's Cornbread Dressing (recipe to follow)
Corn Souffle' (recipe to follow)
Spinach Artichoke Gruyere Bake (recipe to follow)
Bailey's Mashed Potatoes
Collin's Sweet Potatoes
Cranberries with Cointreau
Green Pineapple Salad
Waldorf Salad
Pumpkin Pie (with grated orange rind and Cointreau in the pie crust)
Apple Pomegranate Pie
Lemon Creme Meringue Pie
Apple Tart in Puff Pastry
Mincemeat Pie (with toasted Pecans and Bourbon in the pie crust)
Bourbon Pecan Pie
Chocolate Pecan Pie

Mom's Cornbread Dressing

1 lg + 1 sm pkg of Pepperidge Farm Cornbread dressing
1 lg onion, small diced
4 ribs celery, small diced
2-3 T butter (to saute onion & celery)
1 stick butter, melted
1 1/2 pounds of Jimmy Dean HOT sausage, crumbled, browned and drained
1 T Poultry Seasoning
Salt and Pepper
Basil, Oregano, Savory and Majoram (use any combination or all)
1 T Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (or to taste)
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 Apple, chopped
1/2 C pecans, broken
2 cans Chicken Stock, heated
3 eggs, slightly beaten

Place cornbread dressing in a large bowl.  Saute onion and celery until translucent, pour over in bowl.  Brown sausage and pour into bowl.  Add to bowl seasonings, pecans, mushrooms, apple, melted butter, eggs and toss lightly together.  Lastly, add chicken broth as needed to make dressing fairly moist.

Start this recipe early and let sit covered until liquids are absorbed.  Lightly spoon dressing mixture into pan(s).  DO NOT PACK. 

Bake at 350 degrees covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes more.  I add some of the drippings from the Roasted Turkey when they are available.

Corn Souffle' with Caramelized Onion Sauce

Souffle':
6 ears of corn - remove from cob, save liquid
1 lg onion, diced
1 C Heavy Cream
6 T butter
2 tsp cornstarch
Salt and Pepper
4 eggs

Onion Sauce:

3 lg Onions, sliced
3/4 C Heavy Cream
1/2 stick butter
1 T Soy Sauce

Saute onion and corn with liquid - do not brown.  In a food processor (yippie), combine 1/2 of corn and onion mixture with eggs, cornstarch and cream until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl and add reserved sauted corn and season with salt and pepper, mix together.

Pour corn mixture in buttered baking dish.  Cover with parchment paper or waxed paper to keep from forming skin.  Bake in a water bath 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.  When done it will slightly jiggle.

For Onion Sauce, saute onions in butter until caramelized.  Add heavy cream and cook until reduced my half.  Season with salt and pepper and add soy sauce.

To serve, spread caramelized onions over souffle'.

Spinach and Artichoke Gruyere Bake

3 pkgs frozen spinach, cooked according to pkg directions and drain thoroughly
1 pound bacon, sliced and trimmed on most of the extra fat, browned and drained
2 T butter
2 med onions, diced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced (use your favorite variety)
1 lg jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Cayenne Pepper, to taste
Nutmeg, freshly grated, to taste
1 tsp dry mustard
Lemon juice of 4 lemons and grated lemon rind from1 lemon
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 C gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 C parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 C dry bread crumbs
2 T butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Saute onions and mushrooms with seasonings.  Combine sauted mixture with spinach, artichokes, soup, lemon juice, lemon rind and gruyere cheese.  Pour mixture into buttered baking dish.  Combine parmesan cheese with bread crumbs.  Sprinkle on top of spinach/artichoke mixture, dot with butter.

Baked covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes until browned.

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