Cooking blog & spinach

Sometimes I can't believe that I write a cooking blog. I'm definitely no Rachel Ray! I'm not even a person that enjoys cooking very much. I guess that is why I like it to be simple & easy because I do enjoy eating! It's not so natural for me, so when I actually make something that I love, I just want to tell everyone. When I was younger, everyone gave me their recipes for chicken & dumplings. Seemed easy enough, but I would ruin them everytime. I'm not even sure why now really because they taste decent when I make them now. Not good enough for me to write a blog about, but edible anyway. I've never liked spinach at all. I always thought it was suppose to be boiled & never understood why anyone liked it. I have had it where it wilted into pasta dishes & thought that was pretty good or in salads. My husband has a cousin that loves food as much as I do & I asked her what her favorite food to eat was & she said spinach!!! I was in shock. She told me how she makes it & I tried it-- I wouldn't say it is my favorite but it sure did make eating spinach much better for me. I don't know why I never thought of it before & the rest of the world probably has, but just in case someone like me stumbles onto this blog- it was very simple. Sautee lots of onions & fresh garlic in olive oil in a pot & slowly add the spinach with some salt. That was all. No water involved & the amount of garlic & onion would depend on taste & how much spinach but for me, I love garlic- so there is never too much.

Baguette with tomato.

I love fresh basil, so I make this often. When I don't have the bread- I will put everything on sliced tomatoes & just bake them. I think that tomatoes are good even if you just slice them in half, salt & pepper really well with fresh parmesan on top & bake. They are very versatile.
Back to the baguettes...
Cut the bread in half & slice each side down the center. Arrange the bread on a baking sheet & drizzle the bread with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle italian seasoning over the olive oil. Layer each piece of bread with thin slices of tomato. (One small tomato should be good for four pieces of bread) salt & pepper the tomatoes. Top with chopped sauteed garlic. I love garlic, so I use 3 cloves. Sprinkle italian cheese blend or any italian cheese on top. I bake this at 350 for about 5 minutes, take it out of the oven & add fresh basil & goats cheese on top. I put it back in the oven for a few minutes & serve.
Olives, capers, peppers can be added as well.

I love cream cheese!

I do love cream cheese & my thighs know it. I have already posted my favorite cream cheese & chicken meal- which I try to only make once every few months. I eat it plain on bagels or crackers. My husband had this huge king mackeral that he made dip out of that was really good. I use it to make fruit pizza, many dips... I really try to take it easy with the cream cheese! My friend Beth told me that she was just playing around in the kitchen & made a dip that the children over at her house wouldn't stop eating. That one is very simple, so I will put that on here. I made it & thought that it was pretty good to be sooo simple.

Take a block of cream cheese & mix in one small devilled chicken from the can.
That's all.
I told her that I could get more chicken from the chicken of the sea can, but she said that it needed to be the one that is devilled, where the can is wrapped in the paper. I just can't remember the name of it now. They are small cans.

I mentioned the fruit pizza above, I will write the recipe for that as well because it is very easy. I went to my mothers once & my brother brought one over. It was so pretty. I have heard others say that they make them different & I am not sure that I even make mine like he (or his wife) does but this is how I do it.

Pillsbury sugar cookie dough in the can. I spread it on a pizza pan & flatten it like pizza dough. I mix a block of cream cheese with sugar. I can't really say how much sugar. I think it is 1/2 cup but that is according to taste. Spread on the cooled cookie dough after it has baked until golden (follow pkg. directions on the cookie dough) Slice whatever fruit that you like & arrange it on top of the cream cheese/sugar mixture. I usually slice kiwi, strawberry & sprinkle blueberries on top. I sprinkle more sugar on top of the fruit. Refridgerate until ready to eat. Slice it like you would slice a pizza.

Mushroom & Chive sauce

This one is very simple & quick. My family loves this & I make it quite often. I almost didn't want to put this on here because I have had 2 people come over that wouldn't eat it- not even taste it. I guess just from the way it looked, they thought it was too fancy & they both said that they like their food more simple. These were 2 different people on 2 different occasions. The thing is that this meal is really simple & as far as mushroom sauces- there are other methods that require harder work. I consider this to be basic, but really good.

I cook boneless skinless chicken breast (4) in a covered griddle or pot with butter. I remove the chicken, leaving the drippings in the pan. I do season the chicken with a chicken seasoning slightly. I pour in a container of mushrooms & stirfry those around for a minute, adding more butter if needed. Pour in one container of heavy cream, add salt, pepper& chives according to taste & bring to a boil. Put the chicken back in, turn to low & stir. Serve over pasta.