Corn and Spinach (Suam) Soup

When I was growing up, this was our fall back soup. When my Mom or our help either runs out of ideas or time to make something elaborate for dinner, you can be certain - Suam na Mais or Corn Soup would be on the table. Don't get me wrong, I never had any issues or bad feelings about this soup even though I have had this so many times. In fact, I actually miss it as my Mom (or our former helpers) are not here to make this soup for me. This time, I have to make it for myself and my family.

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Chicken and bacon, you simply can't go wrong with this delicious combination! But how about adding spinach and ricotta cheese to the mix? Even better, I'd say and this dish has it all! Stuffed with a delicious spinach and ricotta filling and then wrapped in bacon for extra flavor, these perfectly baked, moist and succulent chicken breasts are simply mouth-wateringly good! Are you hungry yet?

Spinach and Cream Cheese Crostini

Crostinis consist of small pieces of toasted or grilled bread served with toppings. They are essentially Italian appetizers which are great for entertaining. I thought since the holidays would soon be with us, it would be great to share a recipe that's easy to make, elegant  enough to serve with company and most of all - delightfully delicious! This recipe for Spinach and Cream Cheese Crostini is all that! Make it this holiday season for your family and friends or as a quick and delectable lunch option! We love these these yummy toasted bread for lunch with our favorite salad! Enjoy! 

Eggs, Spinach and Mushrooms Skillet

A delicious breakfast or brunch dish - Eggs, Spinach and Mushrooms Skillet. All done on the stove top. Naturally nutritious, low-carb and gluten-free!

If you are a follower of this blog or our Facebook page you would notice that I love to have eggs, spinach and mushrooms for breakfast. I have a few recipes that feature all these three ingredients together in one dish. I think they all work together well that's why. The texture and flavors of each of these lovely and nutritious ingredients all combine to produce a delicious breakfast dish. However, when you have the same recipe all over again you get tired of it no matter how great it is. That's why I make a rotation for these ingredients. I don't cook them together in the same recipe all the time. I try to make variations whenever possible. Here's another lovely recipe using this three ingredients which this time does not involve the oven but just a skillet on the stove top. Easy and pretty to.

Now, depending on how big your skillet and the number of people you want to serve this - you can make up to 5 eggs/5 servings in one go. Since we are only a family of 4, more often than not, we use 4 eggs for 4 servings though occasionally if it's just me and hubby eating, we cut it down to 3 eggs.

While Spinach is my favorite greens to use - feel free to use Kale or Swiss Chard if you like.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Olive oil (for cooking the mushrooms)
1 (8 oz package) mini-bella mushrooms, chopped
1 (10 oz) package fresh spinach or about 5-6 cups firmly packed spinach
3-4 eggs

A little butter (optional)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

 Procedure

Heat the oil in a large skillet or fying pan. Saute the mushrooms until they are tender and have fully released their water about 6-8 minutes. Set Aside.

Place the spinach in the frying  pan or skillet that you cooked the mushrooms in. Add a little water, 2 tablespoons more or less. Using medium heat, cook the spinach just until wilted, about 2-4 mins. Use either your hand or a spatula to pack in the spinach.

Bring back the mushrooms to the skillet. You may season the vegetables lightly with salt and pepper at this point. Depending on the number of eggs you are using, create wells (if using 4 eggs, then 4 wells) in the middle by pushing the spinach and mushrooms to the side.

Dot each well with a little butter or spray with a little oil.

Crack an egg on each well. Season the eggs with salt and pepper. Cook until the eggs are fully set or to your desired doneness roughly 5-6 minutes.





Serve with toast or if you're Pinoy, with rice of course. Enjoy!

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Baked Spinach and Eggs

Have I already mentioned that I love hot cooked breakfast? Perhaps just a million times! I am a creature of habit, that's why. I grew up in our island of Marinduque having cooked breakfast all the time. Everyday. It was the norm. We had rice for breakfast everyday - almost always accompanied by eggs and with some meat cooked in a variety of  ways (pork tocino, beef tapa or perhaps even some left-over fried chicken) and yes, even fish - whether smoked (Tinapa) or fried (Daing - first comes to mind)! Of course, I should not forget the Ma-ling (Chinese Spam) or the more expensive Spam! I won't mind having them everyday though I will probably gain a few pounds if  I do so. :-)

But that's just the way it is, I assume, in most houses in the Philippines. Breakfast is almost like dinner in the sense that people still eat together whenever they can. Kids have to be up early for school and parents need to prepare for work so it makes sense for everyone to eat together. Well, at least it was like this in our house when we were growing up. There's only one cook - whether it was my mom or a helper who makes breakfast so it's impractical to cook each breakfast dish on piecemeal basis. If you want to eat a later breakfast, you may, but it would be a cold one. We usually gather at a certain time and though we would leave some food for anyone who wakes up later than usual, the food would have gone cold. My brother can attest to this! When we were young we didn't have a microwave so nuking the food to reheat it was not an option. Even nowadays, not many people in the Philippines use the microwave though already readily available.

Anyway, talking about hot breakfasts and eggs - here's a very easy dish that you can prepare in minutes. Love this breakfast anytime!

Ingredients

6 cups firmly packed baby spinach or 1 (10 oz or up to 1 lb) bag fresh baby spinach*
4 eggs (can increase to 6 if you are using more spinach)
Salt and freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp crumbled Feta Cheese for 1-2 eggs (about 2-3 Tbps in total)   
Baking spray or a little oil for greasing

*You may use frozen spinach too.

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly spray or grease with a little oil individual ramekins or other small oven safe dishes that can accomodate 1-2 eggs. See photo above. Set aside.

Place the spinach in a deep skillet or a large frying pan. Add a little water (2-3 Tablespoons). Using medium heat, cook the spinach just until wilted, roughly 3-4 minutes. Use either your hand or a spatula to pack in the spinach. Drain the excess water well especially if you are using  frozen spinach.

Distribute the spinach evenly among the prepared ramekins or oven-safe dishes.



Crack 1-2 eggs on top of the spinach. Season lightly with salt and pepper - lightly because Feta cheese is pretty salty on its own. Sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese on top.

Place the baking dishes or ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake for about 15-18 minutes or until the eggs are set/cooked (whites are set and yolks look firm on the edges) to your liking. I like mine well-done but some like eggs that are a little runny. Whatever you like as long as the eggs are susbtantially cooked inside, it's fine.

Serve with some toasted bread or rice on the side and tomato juice! A healthy breakfast that will keep you going for hours! Enjoy!

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Spinach Quiche Cups

Completely gluten-free and low-carb is this healthy and delicious SPINACH QUICHE CUPS that everyone will enjoy. You can tweak the recipe to add your favorite vegetables! 

A friend of mine is a distributor of Demarle products (Silpat, Flexipan and Silform non-stick bakeware made of fiberglass and food grade silicone from France). This week she kindly lent me some of her wares so I could try them at home and learn how to use them, or sort of put them to the test.

One of the products I borrowed was her flexi-muffin tray. Since it is supposed to be non-stick, I thought the perfect dish to try would be my crustless spinach quiche cups (inspired by South Beach Diet's Vegetable Quiche Cups), my favorite breakfast treat when I am in the mood for a low-carb and gluten-free diet. I love these mini-quiches but when I bake them without using liners, it can be painful to clean up the pan afterwards. That's despite the claim that they are non-stick and that I even used some oil spray on them. So, I am really looking for a product that I can use for this recipe - one that will truly work and would also provide hassle-free cleaning. 

Wow, I am amazed at the result! One look at the photo above and you can already see that it was an astounding success. Look at these beautiful quiches, how they stand up so well, perfectly shaped, didn't look like half of them were left in the muffin pan (that usually happens before I used this wonderful product). I also tried baking raspberry muffins in the flexi-tray and they came out beautiful as well.

And, because it's truly non-stick I did not use any muffin liners nor did I ever need to grease the pan. How's that for convenience? However, if you don't have this pan, don't fret, either just use muffin liners or grease your muffin pan.

Here's the recipe for the spinach quiche which is truly a healthy low-carb and gluten-free breakfast. Try it!

 

 Ingredients

A little olive oil (for cooking the mushrooms)
1 (10 oz) package fresh spinach (I used the baby ones) --- about 284 grams
4 eggs (if the yolks are quite small I use 5 eggs)
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice (I use mozzarella or the Italian Blend)
1 (8 oz package) mini-bella mushrooms, chopped

1-2 Tbsp, heavy cream or half-and-half (optional)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

*Variation - If you don't fancy mushrooms, try asparagus or bell peppers with the spinach. Also, add some onions to the mix. I add some when I do not use mushrooms.

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 375F or 190C.

Heat a little oil in a large skillet. Saute the mushrooms until they are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Set Aside.

Place the spinach in a deep pan or in the skillet that you used for the mushrooms. Add a little water, 1/4 cup should do it. Using medium heat, cook the spinach just until wilted, about 3-4 mins. Use either your hand or a spatula to pack in the spinach. Drain the excess water really well (especially if you decide to use frozen spinach instead).

 
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until combined. Add the cooked mushrooms, spinach, cheeses and cream (if using) to the eggs. Mix well. Season to taste. 

  

Divide evenly among the 12 muffin cups. The muffin tray was slightly bigger than usual so I only filled about 10 cups.

Bake for about 20-23 minutes, or until it's well set and a tester/toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.



Leave in the pan for a few minutes or just until it's cool enough to handle. It was so easy to remove them from the pan! They practically pop-out!

Sprinkle with a little more cheese on top, if desired. Mark enjoys them with rice on the side!

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