Spinach Ricotta Pasta

A week or two ago I read a blog post that mentioned making a dish that was penne pasta, spinach, and ricotta cheese, but didn't actually give the recipe. So tonight I decided to try to re-create it . . .

1 lb whole wheat pasta (choose whatever shape you want, spirals worked well)
chopped fresh spinach (not sure how much I had, needed more . . . as much as you have, remember fresh spinach cooks down a LOT)
15 oz ricotta cheese
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
salt to taste
shredded parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in salted water.  During the last minute or two of cooking, add chopped spinach to cook it. Drain the pasta and spinach and stir in ricotta cheese, garlic and salt.  Garnish each serving with shredded parmesan cheese.

Lentil Cups

I've been meaning to try this recipe for awhile now, finally got around to it today . . . here's my version:

2 c cooked lentils (I added a bunch of random herbs & spices while they cooked, should have added more, or some after cooking, or both . . . )
2 eggs
1 Tbsp whole wheat flour
a few chopped carrots (didn't have bell pepper, wasn't fond of the carrots, will probably try other veggies in the future)
1 sm onion, chopped
handful of spinach, chopped
4 oz feta cheese crumbled (I was going to use shredded cheddar but saw the feta in the fridge from yesterday and figured I'd use it instead)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pan. Stir all ingredients together. Spoon mixture into muffin pan (mine made 10, but since all ingredients were pretty approximate, my guess is it will vary). Bake for 20-25 minutes, let cool some in muffin pan before removing (ask me how I know LOL).

Verdict: Little Bit & L were only so-so on it. Though I think Little Bit's biggest problem was she saw a muffin pan coming out of the oven and was expecting cupcakes or muffins LOL. A wasn't feeling good today so only took a bite of mine, thought it was good though. I had meant to salt the lentils after cooking (one site suggested that salting prior to cooking would make the lentils tough), and forgot. These definitely needed salt, and as mentioned above, more herbs/flavor to the lentils. But definitely have promise! They're infinitely adaptable too. Whatever veggies, cheeses, etc need using up, here's a way to use them AND they're portable!

Greek Salad

I decided to try this recipe for lunch today.  But I was kind of lazy about it all, here's what I did:

1 large English cucumber, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
juice from one lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
a "glurg" of olive oil
a couple "shakes" of dried oregano, dried thyme and dried dulse

Stir it all together. I'm sure it would be better if we'd let it chill and the flavor meld for awhile, but we were hungry, the big girls & I scarfed down the whole thing. Yum!!