What a symphony of flavors ! Your mouth doesn’t know what to be the happiest about – is it the pine nut accent? Or the spicy pepperjack cheese? Or the creamy avocados? Or the smoky chipotle dressing? This is one of THE BEST salads I’ve ever made.
Southwest Spinach Salad
4 servings
300 calories per serving
8 c fresh baby spinach
1/2 c corn with sweet peppers
1/3 c halved black pitted olives
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 oz. diced pepper jack cheese
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered
1 ripe avocado cut into 16 slices
3 T lime juice
2 T oil
1 t chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1/8 t salt
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T toasted pine nuts
A few extra squirts of lime juice if you like your salad nice and ‘wet’
Combine spinach, corn, olives, cilantro and cheese. Place 2 c worth on each plate. Arrange tomato, egg and avocado slices atop the spinach. Combine lime juice, oil, chopped chipotle, salt and garlic. Whisk well and pour over salads. Sprinkle with pine nuts.
This chicken is delightfully lemony while the spinach wilts just the right amount with the addition of the rice and shallots. This is a great quick chicken dinner that is restaurant quality.
Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Spinach
4 servings
350 calories per serving
1 ½ lb. chicken tenders
1 t grated lemon zest
2 T lemon juice
1 T water
1 T oil
1 clove garlic, minced
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
¼ t rosemary
Pam
8.8 package precooked brown rice
¼ c chopped shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
2 c packed fresh baby spinach, chopped coarsely
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
½ t garlic powder
Heat a grill pan or skillet and spray with Pam and cook chicken 4 minutes per side or until browned and done. Combine lemon zest, water, juice, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary and spoon over chicken then cover and let sit 5 minutes.
Microwave the rice to heat it and keep it warm. Heat a skillet and spray with Pam then cook shallot and garlic 3 minutes or until tender. Put spinach in a bowl and add rice and shallots and mix together so the heat wilts the spinach a little. Stir in salt, pepper and garlic powder. Serve alongside the chicken.
The sauce in this recipe is much like a mild, creamy spinach pesto and that made it just wonderful in my book 🙂 This was such a rich and satisfying dinner or you could have a smaller portion and have it as a side to a chicken or fish dinner. The sauce would be just as good on unflavored fettucine but the tomato element really was a nice flavor combination.
Tomato Fettucine with Spinach Sauce
8 servings
255 calories per serving
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained well (place in a colander and press down with your hand)
1 c shredded parmesan cheese
¾ c 2% cottage cheese
½ c skim milk
1 T oil
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ t oregano flakes
½ t pepper
¼ t salt
¼ t red pepper flakes
2 10 oz. packages FiberGourmet tomato flavored fettucine (without FiberGourmet pasta, you have to add another 120 calories per serving to this)
In a food processor, process spinach, parmesan, cottage cheese, milk, oil, garlic, oregano, pepper, salt and red pepper until smooth and evenly green. Pour into a pan and heat on medium. Cook pasta according to directions and serve with the sauce.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Serving a combo veggie and starch side always cuts down on the work of a meal. This one is packed with wholesome spinach and cheesy enough to make it a welcome addition to any meal.
Cheesy Spinach and Rice
6 servings
140 calories per serving
2 c cooked instant white rice
9oz. package frozen spinach
¼ c Egg Beaters
¼ c slim milk
1 T minced onion flakes
½ t onion garlic powder
¼ t salt
½ t basil flakes
1 c (4 oz.) low fat shredded swiss cheese
Pam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rice according to package instructions using no margarine or oil. Spray an 8×8 baking pan with Pam. Microwave spinach until warm, 3 minutes or so and then place in a colander and press out all the liquid then combine with rice and all the rest of the ingredients except the cheese. Place in prepared dish and sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil and cook 15 minutes. Then uncover and cook an additional 7 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Alternately, replace swiss cheese with parmesan cheese and you’ll get a whole different flavor here.
Sometimes nothing will do but pasta ! And orzo is one of my favorites ! This recipe is great served next to a lighter fish or chicken dish and you get in lots of veggies along with the pasta. Sometimes I leave out the parmesan if it will not match well with the flavors of the other dinner components – and it tastes just as great without it.
Spinach Orzo
8 servings
160 calories per serving
2 t margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ c coarsely shredded carrot
4 c fat free chicken broth
2 c orzo
3 c thinly sliced fresh spinach
3 T grated parmesan cheese
1 T chopped basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Melt margarine and cook garlic and carrot 2 minutes then stir in broth, pasta and spinach. Heat to boiling and then reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until broth is absorbed. Stir in the rest of the ingredients just before serving.
Always a favorite at BBQ’s, this pasta salad with tuna adds a healthy bed of spinach to the dish and the flavors mixed extraordinarily well.
Pasta Salad with Tuna
4 servings
260 calories per serving
2 c uncooked Fibergourmet rotini pasta (using regular pasta, you add 80 calories per serving)
2 6 oz. cans fancy white albacore tuna canned in water, drained
¼ c finely chopped green onions
2/3 c frozen peas, thawed
2/3 c low fat creamy Italian salad dressing
1/8 t pepper
4 c fresh spinach leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to package instructions then drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Add flaked tuna, onions, peas, dressing and pepper and mix well the chill for at least 2 hours. To serve, place spinach on plates and top with pasta salad. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Wow – this is a great filling meal for only 220 calories and if you have a low cal side dish, you can up the amount of shells you eat and still stay under 400 calories. The mushrooms and spinach really bulk up the meal and you feel like you are cheating, but you’re not 🙂
Stuffed Shells Florentine
8 servings
220 calories per serving
1 c coarsely chopped mushrooms
½ c chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ t garlic powder
½ t onion powder
½ t parsley flakes
¼ t pepper
¼ t salt
16 oz. fat free cottage cheese
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
½ c Egg Beaters
24 jumbo shells
15 oz. marinara sauce
Pam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Saute mushrooms, garlic, onion, and seasonings in a skillet sprayed with Pam. Remove from heat and stir in cottage cheese, spinach and eggs. Spoon the mix into the shells. Spread ½ c of sauce into the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish and place the shells in the dish. Top with the rest of the sauce and bake 35-40 minutes. You can make these well ahead and keep refrigerated and then just slip into the oven 40 minutes before it’s time to eat – that makes it a great convenient meal and a great one for entertaining.
I always find bay scallops sweeter than their larger sisters. The spinach mix gives this dish a special feel and it is sooooo low calorie !
Sicilian Scallops
4 servings
197 calories per serving
1 ¼ lb. bay scallops or seas scallops, quartered
Pam
1 T oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T chopped basil
¼ t salt
½ t black pepper
1 c cherry tomatoes
4 c spinach leaves
¼ c sliced black olives
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Rinse and dry scallops. Spray skillet with Pam and then add oil and heat. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Do not let it brown or it will be bitter. Add scallops, basil, salt and pepper and cook until scallops are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. If you get a lot of water in the bottom of the pan, drain it or the scallops will not brown. Remove to a platter and keep warm. Add tomatoes and spinach to skillet and cook just until spinach is wilted. Add olives and cheese and mix well. Place tomato mix around bed of scallops and serve immediately.
This has the most awesome Middle Eastern flavor ! It was spicy without being too hot and the texture of the cheese really went well with the chopped spinach – – it picked up the spices of the spinach nicely. This was my first time making cheese and it was well worth it. It was a definite ‘2 thumbs up’ from the whole family 🙂
Homemade Cheese with Curried Spinach
4 servings
302 calories per serving
2 quarts 1 % milk
1/3 c lemon juice
4 t oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t ground coriander
¾ t turmeric
¼ t salt
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 c chicken broth
2 T tomato paste
2 t jalapeno pepper sauce or Asian chili and garlic sauce
Bring milk to a boil (be careful to not let the bottom scorch – be patient and do it on medium or medium high heat rather than cranking it up to high) then remove from heat and add lemon juice. Let stand about 15 minutes so that the curds and whey separate. Line a colander with a doubled piece of cheese cloth, place in the sink, and pour in the milk mix letting the whey drain away. Let sit 20 minutes or so and then pull together the cheesecloth and squeeze gently to remove any more liquid. You can use a light twisting motion and that helps. Then flatten into a disk on a plate and then place a small saucepan on top of it and place an unopened canned good in the pan to create a weight on top of the cheese. I used a large can of crushed tomatoes and it worked great. Do not refrigerate. Let stand 2 hours or until firm enough to cut.
In a large skillet heat 2 t oil and add onion and garlic and cook 7 minutes or until tender and then add the coriander, turmeric and salt. Mix and then add the spinach, broth, tomato paste and pepper sauce. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out skillet. Cut the cheese into ½ inch chunks. Heat 2 t oil in skillet and add the cheese cooking for 4 minutes or until light browned and crusty then gently stir in the spinach and cook another 2-3 minutes.
Here’s a couple more pictures of the cheese making process:
This is so lemony and refreshing and is easy, easy to prepare. It’s a great addition to a lunch time wrap or sandwich.
Lemon Soup
2 servings
37 calories per serving
2 c chicken broth
3 t lemon juice
¼ t thyme
1/8 t salt
4 leaves spinach, torn
1 green onion (green part only) thinly sliced
Lemon slices for garnish
Combine all except spinach and onions and bring to a boil on high heat. Place spinach in bowls. Spoon soup over spinach and top with sliced green onions.
