Orzo Pasta Recipe with Spinach and Parmesan

Orzo Pasta with Spinach and Parmesan is an easy recipe using fresh ingredients to maximize flavor. This orzo pasta recipe makes an impressive meatless meal or side dish, but orzo pasta recipes are super versatile, so just add chicken for a heartier dinner that's quick and easy any night of the week.

Spinach Artichoke Pasta Recipe

Spinach Artichoke Pasta Recipe is an easy recipe you'll rely on whenever you don't feel like cooking. It is so easy and everyone loves the creamy deliciousness of this pasta recipe that tastes just like the spinach artichoke dip we love to eat on game day and at parties.

Green Smoothie with Peanut Butter and Banana

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MySmoothie #CollectiveBias

Loaded with good-for-you stuff, my favorite Green Smoothie recipe combines peanut butter and banana with yogurt, milk, & spinach for a power packed breakfast or super-charged snack. Adults and kids will love the peanut butter and banana flavor combo, and it only takes a few minutes to whip up this easy recipe in a blender! Easy, refreshing, and satisfying too! You can't beat that!

Stuffed Green Peppers Recipe

My Stuffed Green Peppers Recipe is sponsored by Mahatma Rice, however the opinions expressed herein are those of Life Tastes Good.

Green Peppers stuffed with a mixture of turkey sausage, spinach, fresh herbs & Basmati rice in a spicy salsa topped off with ooey gooey cheese are easy to make and packed full of exciting flavors.

Whole Roasted Chicken with Vegetables #SundaySupper

Whole Roasted Chicken with Vegetables is a comforting meal perfect for the fall season. In addition to the roasted chicken, this complete dinner also incorporates my favorite fall flavor, butternut squash, and Popeye's favorite veg, nutrient rich spinach all cooked together in one skillet. That's a lot of good-for-you stuff all in one pan!

Spinach Artichoke Pizza Recipe #SundaySupper @GalloFamily

Spinach Artichoke Pizza is like eating one of your favorite dip recipes in pizza form! The crust is smothered in an easy-to-make, creamy white Gruyere cheese sauce and then topped with fresh spinach, marinated artichoke hearts, and even more cheese. This pizza smells so good while baking and tastes even better!

Butternut Squash Orzo Pasta #SundaySupper

Butternut Squash Orzo Pasta is an easy-to-make, delicious side dish full of all the healthy goodness that is butternut squash. It's also super versatile! A real winner!

Although, I am calling this a side dish, it easily converts to a satisfying main simply by adding your favorite protein. Or leave out the protein and enjoy this as a meatless meal. Your choice!

No matter how you serve this pasta dish, you can bet it will make a splash! With the wonderful combo of creamy butternut squash puree, fragrant sauteed garlic spinach, and the salty goodness of grated Parmesan Cheese, this pasta dish will make a great addition to any meal! Most especially the big one - your Thanksgiving Feast!

This Butternut Squash Orzo Pasta was inspired by my Orzo Pasta with Spinach and Parmesan. Hands down that recipe is the most popular on the blog, and it doesn't surprise me one bit! It is full of flavor, easy-to-make, and versatile too. I couldn't resist putting a new spin on it!

Breakfast Potato Patties

Breakfast Potato Patties are loaded with all the delicious flavors of my regular breakfast potatoes (or HomeFries as we call 'em), but in a patty! It's a totally new way to enjoy your breakfast potatoes!

Chicken Florentine Pasta Recipe

Chicken Florentine Pasta is similar to a Chicken Florentine dish, but it is served over pasta...just like it says in the name, so I have no idea why I felt the need to explain it, but I did <grin>.

Florentine recipes typically feature some kind of protein served on a bed of spinach and smothered in a deliciously cheesy Mornay sauce.

Chicken Florentine is a bit boring to me, so to change it up I added the pasta. Plus I've been on a kind of pasta kick recently. Late at night I've been getting hit with ideas for fun new pasta dishes such as Chicken Pot Pie Pasta, Spinach Artichoke Pasta, Spicy Chicken Pasta, Chicken Fajita Pasta, and the list could go on, but you get the idea! Check out my pasta page for more yummy pasta recipes.

This pasta dish has bite sized pieces of pan seared chicken, sauteed garlic baby spinach, and grape tomatoes on a bed of linguine. I topped it all off with a Green Onion and Parmesan Mornay Sauce that is out of this world! The sauce has a little bit of Swiss cheese in it which gives it just a hint of tang. I like that! I'm not a huge fan of Swiss cheese but it sure works in this sauce!

Spinach Pesto Chicken

posted by Marion@Life Tastes Good on 2013-11-25

Spinach Pesto Chicken - you'd think that name is pretty self-explanatory, right? Think again!

What the name doesn't tell you is how unbelievably easy this beautiful dish is to make, nor does it explain how you can serve this to company and they'll be super impressed with your culinary skills! 

You can't tell from the name that this chicken cooks all-in-one pan and is ready in under an hour! Doesn't get much better than that?! Right? OOOOOh, but it does...

I saved the best for last! This lovely entree has a  beautiful secret! CHEESE! Yes! As if spinach and basil pesto isn't enough to make this chicken fabulous, we go ahead and top it with glorious Parmesan cheese, and that makes everyone happy! This is a real crowd pleaser, and will be making regular visits to my dinner table :)

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

posted by Marion@Life Tastes Good on 2013-11-10

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto is a delicious side dish that pairs nicely with fish, steak, chicken, pork, or go vegetarian...anything really!

Have you tried Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto? OMgosh! Where has this stuff been all my life? It is so goooood! I seriously could eat a whole jar in one sitting! HA, who has time to sit?! I'd eat it... with a spoon... at the counter! No shame in that! It's good stuff!

This versatile side is super easy to make and a real crowd pleaser! My mom even likes it! You can use any vegetable your taste buds desire, and it's ready to eat in under 10 minutes! Yep, you heard me right (no need to clean out the old ears!)

Using Angel Hair Pasta is the key to saving time with this dish. The pasta cooks in about 3-4 minutes! You can't beat that! This goes nicely along side my Tilapia with Lemon Butter Sauce.

Roasted Pork Club with Scallion Mayonnaise

Roasted Pork Tenderloin, scallion mayo, bacon, spinach, avocado and cheese make a delicious sandwich. It's easy, too, when you use leftover pork. Enjoy this for lunch or dinner. It is a hearty sandwich that will satisfy anytime! No need to go to a deli when you can make sandwiches like this at home!

Ingredients (makes 2 sandwiches)
4 slices bacon
1/4 cup mayo
2 scallions, minced
salt and pepper
6 slices of your favorite sandwich bread
leftover pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
1/2 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced thinly (coat with lime juice to prevent browning)
2 slices Creamy Havarti cheese (or your favorite)
spinach leaves, stems removed

Directions
Cook bacon until desired doneness and drain on paper towels to cool. Bacon on the crispy side works well on sandwiches. Mix mayo and scallions in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place bread on your work service and spread mayo on each slice. Layer two slices of bread with pork and avocado and layer 2 other slices of bread with spinach, bacon, and cheese. Stack layers and top each with one remaining slice.  Enjoy!

recipe from marthastewart.com

Boneless Pork Loin Chops with Raspberry Sauce

 allrecipes.com Pork Chops with Raspberry Sauce

I love pork - it is no secret!  Of course it has to be cooked properly. Many folks are afraid of pork and tend to overcook it. After all, most of the meat thermometers advise you to cook pork to 160 degrees. Please don't ever do that! Those are old standards and it overcooks the pork to a dry, tough, tasteless, nasty something you don't want to eat (which is probably why many don't care for pork)! Pork should be removed from the oven between 140-145 degrees and let rest for about 10 mins. I like to remove it closer to 140 degrees.

This is a quick and easy meal you can make any night of the week, yet it is so delicious and impressive it is good enough for company! It is one of my faves!

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 (4 ounce) boneless pork loin chops
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine crushed thyme, sage, salt, and pepper. Rub evenly over pork chops.

Melt butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook pork chops for 4 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and keep warm in preheated oven.

In the skillet, combine raspberry jam, orange juice, and vinegar. Bring to a boil, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until sauce is reduced to desired consistency (sauce will thicken as it cools). Spoon sauce in a pool onto a serving plate, and top with pork chops.

This pairs perfectly with Garlic Spinach and Mashed Potatoes

NOTE:  If you aren't a fan of the tang vinegar offers, I advise to  add 1 tablespoon of the white wine vinegar and then reduce the sauce to desired consistency. Then give it a taste to see how that works for you. Add more as desired. Personally, I use the full 2 tablespoons - it is just right for my tastes.

TIP:  When I make this for company I always double the sauce. I double everything in the sauce except the vinegar. I do add more before serving if I feel it needs it.

Kiwi-Lime Pork Ribs

allrecipes.com Kiwi-Lime Pork Ribs

Another delicious recipe from my favorite website!

I think my family was a bit skeptical about this recipe, but they LOVED it! and best of all it was super easy!!

Madison wanted me to pair this with coleslaw, but I didn't get out to the grocery early enough to make the slaw. Also, I really felt with the sauce in this recipe would be too much sweetness (hard to believe I just typed that - can there be too much sweetness??). So, I opted for sauteed garlic baby spinach with mashed potatoes, and it was a winner! The flavors paired perfectly!

Because I can't leave well enough alone, I did adjust some of the seasonings in this recipe to suit our tastes

Ingredients

• 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (3 pound) package country-style pork ribs

Directions

1.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2.

Blend kiwis, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, salt, chili powder, cornstarch, and garlic in a blender until thickened into a sauce. Be sure to taste it and adjust the seasonings to your liking.

3.

Place pork ribs in a baking dish. The sauce will increase in volume, so be sure you use a baking dish with some depth.

4.

Drizzle blended kiwi sauce over ribs.

5.

Loosely cover ribs with a sheet of aluminum foil.

6.

Cook in preheated oven until pork reaches 140 degrees F. Check the temp around 45 minutes and remove when up to temp. Let rest for at least 5 minutes.

This pairs perfectly with Sauteed Garlic Baby Spinach on Mashed Potatoes

Sauteed Garlic Spinach on Mashed Potatoes

Sauteed Garlic Spinach on Mashed Potatoes was a happy accident! One night while cooking dinner, I was planning to pop some frozen veges into the microwave until I went to the freezer and couldn't find my veges!!


OH NO what to do?! I couldn't just serve the meat and potatoes without a vege! That wouldn't be right! Right?

I had to think fast - pretty much everything was ready to go! Then the light bulb went off - I had a bag of spinach! But how will it pair with mashed potatoes? That just sounded weird to me, but whatever, I was desperate. No time to get picky now!

Mushroom and Spinach Ravioli with Chive Butter Sauce

This was my first time ever making pasta from scratch! As a result, I see a pasta roller in my future (hint hint to the hubs - and, BONUS, I have lots of those 20% off coupons too!)

These little raviolis were so good, but they were sooooo labor intensive! Rolling out pasta dough is a workout! I think I worked off enough calories to eat two servings!! Which is a good thing, because I'm pretty sure I ate at least 2 servings!

It's so cute!

 The Chive Butter Sauce was good, but these little guys can stand alone.  The one thing I wouldn't do is put a red sauce on them. I think that would take away from the delicious flavors combined in the filling.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons water (or more as needed)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (or more as needed)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 (8 ounce) package fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg white beaten
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Whisk together 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons water, and 2 eggs until combined; set aside. In a separate large bowl, combine flour and salt and make a well in the center. Pour the egg mixture into the well and stir until just combined. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour or water as needed. This should take about 5-10 minutes. Wrap dough tightly with plastic rest and set aside.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and 1 clove minced garlic and stir until onion softens. Add 8 ounces of fresh chopped mushrooms and continue cooking and stirring until the veggies are soft and the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. Beat 4 ounces of cream cheese in a bowl until smooth, stir in the cooled veggie mixture, 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, 1/2 cup spinach, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper. Mix to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.\
4. Roll the pasta dough out very thin, about 1/16". Using a large 3-4" cookie cutter or tart cutter cut circles out of the dough. Roll each circle out as thin as possible. Working with one circle at a time, brush the pasta lightly with the beaten egg white and top with 1 heaping tablespoon full of the filling right onto the center of the pasta. Top with another piece of pasta and pinch edges to seal. Use your cookie cutter or tart mold to cut the pasta once more to form a uniform shape. Reserve the finished ravioli on a floured baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pasta and filling.
5. Fill a large pot about 2/3 full with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water using about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Once the water is boiling, stir in the ravioli and return to a boil. Cook about 3-4 minutes or until the pasta floats to the top. Drain.
6. Begin making the sauce while you are waiting for the water to boil, but keep and eye on it! Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a skillet over mid-high heat, cooking and stirring until browned (about 5-7 minutes). Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons chives and serve over hot ravioli. Enjoy!

recipe source: allrecipes.com Mushroom & Spinach Ravioli with Chive Butter Sauce

Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue

The girls in this house LOVE the Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue from the Melting Pot.  A night out can be a bit of a splurge, so we decided to try it at home.

Grandma gave Madison a portable Induction Cook-top for use at college, and we decided to make sure it works before she hauls it all the way to Savannah (we just really wanted to have some fondue, but making sure it works sounded like a good excuse).  Seeing as my stove has an induction cook-top we are very familiar with the technology and thought it would be perfect for a fondue night. Because it's portable, we could do the cooking right at the table just like being at the Melting Pot!

Here is the recipe that inspired us and the following is how we ended up making it...

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/2 to 1 cup fresh baby spinach, chopped

1/4 cup artichoke hearts, chopped (we bought the ones in the jar, because getting to the heart of an artichoke is quite a task)

1 tablespoon chopped garlic (it was more like 1.5 tablespoons, but it was a bit too much - even for me)

4 oz Butterkase Cheese (Publix did not have this, so I found it at Petty's, and yes, it was worth it)

4 oz Fontina Cheese

1/4 cup grated Paremsan

flour

dash of Rooster Sauce

Dippers

Tortilla Chips

Various breads cut into bite sized cubes

Apples cut into bite sized cubes (coat with a little lemon juice so the don't turn brown)

Various veges cut into bite sized pieces

Directions

We used one of my regular sauce pans because we needed a magnetic bottomed pan to work on the induction top (love that technology!).  We heated the vege broth in the sauce pan and mixed in the spinach, artichoke hearts, and the garlic.  Turn down the heat before adding in the cheeese

I grated the Butterkase and the Fontina and lightly floured it.  I added it to the vege broth mixture a little bit at a time. Being sure to melt it as I go.  

Tips for working with cheese:  It is important to treat the cheese kindly during cooking.  Too high a temperature or too much heating time can make the proteins tighten up resulting in rubbery globs of cheese in a pool of grease - yuck!  If this happens you can't fix it and your fondue is ruined.  To lessen the chance your cheese will succumb to this sad fate be sure to grate your cheese to increase the surface area that is in contact with the heat source - this will ensure a quicker melting time. Always be sure your cheese is at room temperature before you heat it - again this will reduce the time and heat needed to melt it.  Melt cheese at a lower heat to prevent it seizing up.  Bottom line - Be kind to your cheese and your cheese will be kind to you

With induction technology you really can use a paper towel between the pot and the heat source! Don't try this at home with an electric or gas stove though!

 We had trouble getting the cheese and the vege broth to combine to a good consistency, so I added a tablespoon of flour and mixed it all really well. That worked great.  If I were to make this again, I would probably add in a tablespoon of flour with the vege broth at the beginning to thicken it - I think that might work better, but I haven't tried it. 

This was a fun family night! 

The fondue was really delish (although a bit too garlicky - even for me!)

HomeMade Pizza

We love pizza!  We used to order pizza from a nearby pizza place quite often.  That was until Madison made her first homemade pizza!  Madison spoiled us with her culinary creations before she left for college - we weren't quite sure how we would get along without her!  It seems like just last week I was crying my eyes out heading west on I-16 after leaving my only baby alone in a strange city for her first year of college!  Now she's gearing up for finals week and saying goodbye to her Freshman year!
She survived! and, more importantly, so did I

Madison always used Bridgford Ready Dough for her homemade pizza, and it is a very good choice for the dough! Easy to use and very tasty!

Publix carries it in the freezer case

For this recipe I used the the Homemade French Bread.

This is the first time I used this dough to make pizza, and we liked it a lot.  I did not use a breadmaker - I made the dough by hand. After punching down, I spread the dough out on a large pizza pan.  Then I set it aside to rise. I like a thick crust, so I let this rise a couple hours to get it nice and puffy. You can let it rise until it looks good for your tastes.  Here is what mine looked like after rising a couple hours

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. When the dough is nice and puffy, poke some holes in the center of it with a fork. I try to leave the edges nice and puffy, so I don't attack them with the fork! Now you want to mince up some garlic in a small bowl and pour some olive oil over it - about a tablespoon will do - whatever looks good! Use the back of a spoon to crush the garlic a bit, and then gently brush the garlic olive oil all over the pizza!  Then put it in the oven for about 10 minutes. You just want to get it lightly browned.

Once your pizza is a little toasty you are ready to top it as you like. Here's what I did...

While the dough was toasting in the oven, I sauteed some fresh baby spinach in garlic and olive oil.  I used about 1-2 teaspoons olive oil with a clove of garlic (sliced). When that was warmed, I added a 10 oz bag of baby spinach and sauteed until it just started to wilt. It doesn't take long. I also sliced up some fresh plum tomates and set them aside until ready to top the pizza.

I topped the pizza with about 6 slices of Mozzarella first. Then I added the spinach and tomatoes. After that, I topped with about a cup of shredded Mozzarella and some shaved Parmesan cheese.

Now that my pizza is topped just the way I want it, I put it back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes. Take the pizza out of the oven when the cheese is melted and the crust is nicely browned.  Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing! ENJOY!