Easy Spinach Pie (Dairy Free)

My husband declared that he was going to be meat-free for the month of May. Why? I don't know, maybe just to shake things up a bit. We don't eat a ton of meat around here but I'll admit, it's been both challenging and fun to design completely vegetarian dinners for us a month. Here's the rub: dinners also have to be nut-free (my allergies), dairy free (my preference) and pasta free (my husband's preference).

This spinach pie recipe is based on a classic recipe that I got from my mom. It's a family favorite. My adaptation of her recipe has no crust and no cheese and just five ingredients. It's the kind of thing you're going to want to make in bulk not only because it's delicious and you'll plow through it but also because it freezes beautifully. Having one of these tucked away in your freezer is like a goldmine on those days when you're too pooped to make anything. 

Popeye would be delighted! 

I use frozen spinach for this recipe. Most of the produce that I buy is fresh but I've read numerous articles like this one from the Washington Post suggesting that green leafy vegetables like spinach are "so nutrition-dense that it's good for you either way you eat it" (i.e. fresh or frozen). Spinach is like the superhero of greens. It has vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron and fiber. The eggs in this dish hold it together and give it added protein and the sautéed shallot and dill round out the flavor. This recipe can serve 4 people as a main course but my husband and I ate 2/3 of a recipe for dinner. I had the rest for lunch the next day. 

Leftover Spinach Pie for lunch.

Spinach Pie (Dairy Free) 

Ingredients
20 oz chopped frozen spinach (two 10 oz packages) 
2 whole shallots, chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons of fresh chopped dill
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Preheat the oven to 375. Cook the spinach as directed on the package and drain as thoroughly as possible. Place in a bowl. Sauté the chopped shallots in olive oil until translucent. Let cool for a few minutes and then add to spinach. Mix well. Add the eggs and dill and make sure everything is well combined. Add salt and pepper as desired. Place in a baking dish (I use an 8x8). Bake for approximately 30 minutes. 

Best Beans

I spend all winter long dreaming about that stretch of weather between Mother's Day and Father's Day. I look forward to being outside as much as possible during those days, which leaves me with less time in the kitchen. Despite the iffy weather we've been having, I have faith that soon enough, we'll be able to spend more time outside. In preparation, I've been experimenting with batches of black beans using dried beans instead of canned beans and just like everything else that 's prepped in advance, having a big ol' container of delicious black beans on the ready in my fridge makes life easier and frees up time for outside adventures! Making beans from scratch initially felt like a luxury to me; I never figured that I had the time for such an undertaking but I've come to realize that the low-maintenance set-up of beans (hours of soaking followed by hours of simmering) is much less stressful and time consuming than I initially thought. And the result? More time with my clan plus a giant container of phenomenal beans for several days which actually means less time sweating the dinner meal planning. Score. 

My first go-to for how-to was TheKitchn. I read this fantastic post about cooking dried beans and have pretty much committed it to memory. Making a delicious pot of black beans is literally no more than beans + water + salt + time.  I have experimented with this formula by adding fresh garlic or fresh shallots or a bay leaf. My kids had the most compliments for the batch using fresh garlic (recipe below). Seriously, I am bowled over by how easy this has been. Armed with my pot of beans, I have a world of possibility at my fingertips. 

Though some people consider a pot of black beans to be just a cold weather comfort food, we eat them year round. The list is endless: Roasted black beans, DIY black bean wraps, black bean tacos, black bean soup, feijoada, black bean dip, black beans and rice, black bean burgers, black beans without anything else in a bowl with a spoon. I am a big fan of canned beans, don't get me wrong. But I feel like a rockstar these days for making my own. 

Here's the recipe for amazing black beans, slightly adapted from TheKitchn: 

Ingredients 

1 pound dried black beans
Water
1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste
2 small garlic cloves, cut into large chunks

Instructions

1. Cover the beans in water and soak them for at least two hours, preferably longer. I've had amazing results when I soak them overnight but have also produced delicious batches with just a couple of hours of soaking. 

2. Drain the soaked beans. There may not be much water left, as the beans have absorbed  them and grown. Rinse the beans with cool water. 

3. Place the beans in a sturdy pot or Dutch oven. Add the garlic. Cover with an inch of salted water.

4. Bring the beans to a boil. Give the beans a gentle stir and reduce heat to a simmer and cook with the lid on for at least an hour, potentially up to three hours. Stir occasionally and taste for doneness. If the beans are quite al dente and the water is mostly evaporated, add a bit more water. 

5. When beans are nearly done, add the salt, stir and taste. Adjust salt as needed. Continue to simmer until beans are tender. 

Best Black Beans with rice packed for lunch with Spring Citrus Salad, baby carrots, dried apricots and sunflower seed cookies.

We feasted on black beans for days! It was a perfect companion to the April Citrus Salad. Let us know your favorite uses for black beans! 

LaLa Monster Body Art

We are beyond excited to announce the launch of our new store! For a limited time, you can purchase Tattly temporary tattoos of three of our hungry little LaLa Monsters: Eva, Jules and Pearl and accessorize your skin! There are two packages available: the Trio and the Dozen. 

Each LaLa Monster Tattly is safe and non-toxic, printed with vegetable based ink, made in the USA and FDA compliant and fun for all ages. We love Tattly! We hope you and your hungry little monsters do too. 

Meatballs, Deconstructed

You know that person who always has a cold? I'm the opposite of that person. I am never sick. It's a point of pride, if you must know. 

But I've been put in my place this winter. Any whiff of smugness that I once had about my ninja ability to stay healthy is over. Winter has smacked me in the face with two stomach bugs and now a virus with fever that has basically flattened me.  

I'm not alone in this; my babysitter had it and my girls have it. Misery does not love company. My mission is to keep my son and my husband fever free and care for my girls and myself in the meantime. I'm unbelievably grateful that my babysitter is feeling better! Last night, with super low energy, I decided that instead of going through the steps to make meatballs (originally the plan before the fever hit), I'd make them deconstructed - which really just meant I'd use all of the intended ingredients but throw them together instead of carefully construct them. So I threw the ingredients in a frying pan and served them with spinach linguine, deconstructed. You know what? It was tasty. And fast. And it's something I'm going to keep tinkering with. I realize I'm posting this recipe and have only made it once, which is not typically something I like to do. But I've done it, so there. 

Spinach linguine with deconstructed meatballs, sautéed spinach and strawberries. A really fast dinner! 

Deconstructed Meatballs
1 clove of garlic
1/2 pound ground meat (I used ground pork but anything should do the trick)
1/4 cup of plain unseasoned bread crumbs
1 large egg  
1/2 teaspoon salt
olive oil for frying
Grated parmesan to sprinkle on top

Serve with pasta (we used spinach linguine) 

Method:
Place olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the ground meat and stir, breaking it up into small bits. Add the breadcrumbs, egg and salt and combine well, using the side of a spatula to make it piece-y. 

Continue cooking until the meat is fully cooked. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil and prepare pasta as directed. Serve the meat on top or combine as I've done. Garnish with grated Parmesan.  

Teething and Crunchy Cravings

My baby is  teething something awful. 

She just got three of her four first molars (the ones next to the eye teeth) in the last three weeks and the fourth is now making an entrance. Plus, at least one of the eye teeth is on the way. The worst part is, she seems to be such a slooooow teether. My two older kids used to get two teeth at a time, there would be two days of distress and then bam! it was over. This seems to be lasting forever. Pile on a 24 hour stomach bug (for her AND for me!) and it's been less than pleasant at my house lately. 

In the process, my little gal seems to only want either crunchy foods or super soft stuff like applesauce and avocado. I'm taking matters into my own hands. We are well stocked on avocados. The applesauce is easy enough - I make this one fairly regularly. Applesauce is also great for tender tummies, so it's doing double duty. Bread crust is beloved right now but she keeps begging for "cah-cahs" (crackers) so I decided to make croutons - bread crust, taken to the next crunchy level. 

Here's how: 
I used the remaining half of a loaf of seeded sourdough bread that I bought from my local bakery three days ago. I sliced it into chunks that seemed a good fit for her little hands (she likes to have something in each hand these days) and drizzled with olive oil. I spread them onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and popped them into an oven preheated to 375. They baked for 15 minutes and came out perfectly crispy, crunchy and delightful. 

These are also great for dipping and have been used as a hummus delivery vehicle by my little gal too. These croutons would keep for several days but most likely, they'll be devoured within 48 hours!