SAUTEED SPINACH

"Mom - how do you make that spinach?"

Well #1, you.......

• Buy 100 times more spinach than you think you will need because it pretty much cooks down to nothing. I buy mine at Costco in one of those BIG containers.
• Put pine nuts in a dry skillet and toast them. Keep moving them around so that they do not scorch and smell up the entire house up. I cannot tell you how many times I have done this!

• Remove the pine nuts and add olive oil to the pan and let it get good and hot.
• Add spinach, minced garlic, sea salt (for some reason it isn't the same if it is not sea salt).

• When the spinach starts to wilt, add sun dried tomatoes. I use the jarred kind.
• At the end, I add the pine nuts and I usually drizzle a little balsamic vinegar and give it a good toss.

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MEXICAN BEANS AND SALAD

Great minds think alike!

I was in the middle of cooking this last week and had to laugh when #1 called me and asked me how to make it. She was craving it too! There really isn't any recipe I just add the things I have and saute it all together.

I marinade boneless skinless chicken breast in a Mexican flavored marinade.

I like

Chipotle & Lime Marinade by Masterpiece

and

Tequila Lime Marinade by Lawry's

I usually grill them but have used my George Foreman before.

Saute.....

black beans (canned - rinse first)

kidney beans (canned - rinse first)

onion

garlic

celery

frozen corn (it needs to be frozen - not canned)......

....in olive oil.

Add salt, pepper and cumin while it is cooking. I like for the corn and beans to get a little toasted so I don't stir it constantly. Sometimes I have to drizzle a little more olive oil in there. After it is done I squeeze lime juice over it and cook for another couple of minutes.

Dressing:

salsa, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, spoonful of sugar, lime juice

(you could add fresh cilantro like I have done in the past, BUT the deer ate all of mine!)

mix in blender

You could definitely add cheese and sour cream on top, but we have broken ourselves of that habit. It is good enough without it.

SALMON AND PASTA

This is what we had for dinner the other day.

#1 came home from school during the week and this is what she asked for.

The salmon was seasoned with salt and lemon juice and then after I drizzled it with olive oil I baked it in the oven. While that was going on, I sauteed garlic, sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms in olive oil. After the mushrooms were done, I added white wine and the juice from one lemon and let it simmer a few minutes. I spooned this over the salmon when I served it.

This pasta is so simple and it is crazy good!

linguine

• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups very finely grated Pecorino Romano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup coarsely chopped arugula

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the linguine and cook until it is al dente, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Immediately toss the hot pasta in a large bowl with the butter to coat. While tossing the linguine, gradually sprinkle the cheese, pepper, and enough of the reserved cooking liquid evenly over the linguine to moisten. Add the arugula and toss to combine. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt

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