My Big Fat Greek Burgers

Greek and Spinach and Feta Burger | Photo by HealthyandLazy

This recipe comes to me from Better Homes and Gardens, via my mom.  It’s a lot like my black bean burgers in preparation, but totally different in flavor.  There’s not a whole lot to say about it – put all the goods in a bowl and mix it up, squish them into pattie shape, toss ’em into a pan.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

The only difficulty I had was that the burgers tended to crumble a bit when I flipped them.  The spinach/stuffing/feta mixture didn’t hold together as well as black bean burgers – there’s just no mushy ingredient to hold it all together.  I toyed with the original recipe a little bit.  Adding a little more olive oil and stuffing mix seemed to improve the consistency and made it a little easier to work with (those changes are reflected in the recipe below).

Homemade Spinach and Potato Gnocchi

 

Potato and Spinach Gnocchi | Photo by HealthyandLazy

Saturday afternoon, not much going on, hanging out at the house watching movies and surfing the web and it hits me – tonight would be a great night for gnocchi.

When I was studying in Italy, I had some of the best gnocchi ever, specific meals that I still remember years later.  I’ve had it at restaurants and I’ve bought packaged gnocchi that is super quick to make at home.  BUT, until yesterday, I had never made it myself, from scratch.

So, I looked up some recipes online and set to work.  Turns out, just about every potato gnocchi recipe on the web is the same, but I liked this one because of the spinach (definitely a blog worth reading, too).

Let’s start with the positives – it was delicious, it was fun, it was filling.  I had a great time making the gnocchi.  I used every space in my kitchen and then some.

The downside?  It took forever.  I wasn’t exactly rushing through it, but the meal clocked in at just under 3 hours from start to delicious finish – it was like the Super Bowl of healthy/lazy cooking.  Oh, and I somehow managed to dust the kitchen, the dining room and my entire body in a fine layer of flour.  Perhaps careful cooking could avoid the flour problem, but it’s in my nature to be a little sloppy in the kitchen.

Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Panini

Roasted Red Pepper Panini | Photo by HealthyandLazy

So, I’m on a bit of a roasted red pepper kick as of late.

My sister called a few days ago with a new recipe she wanted to try out, and as soon as I heard the ingredients, I knew I was game.

It’s a quick and easy sandwich that is hot and filling, perfect for these dreary winter months.  It’s stuffed with roasted red peppers – told ya – spinach, goat cheese and pesto.

The key to this sandwich is the bread.  Buy something crusty.  We picked up several loves of ciabatta bread from the Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Petersburg, Fl (my hometown!).  The goat cheese melted down into the nooks and crannies, and the bread was both light and crispy.

Spinach and Artichoke Pizza

Pizza night? Count me in.

Who doesn’t love a good spinach and artichoke dip?  I, for one, am a sucker for a warm bowl of gooey, cheesy dip.  Unfortunately, eating a bowl of dip for dinner in the company of others will elicit funny looks and muffled chuckles.

So, we’ve compromised.  Today’s creation is a spinach and artichoke pizza.  It’s a little nontraditional – no red sauce, no mozzarella cheese, and of course, no meat.  But it is delicious, and it’s a good way to incorporate a lot of delicious vegetables into a single meal.

You will need some pizza dough – and there are a lot of options.  Pillsbury makes a pop and bake crust, which is super easy.  There’s also the add-water-and-mix doughs.  And there’s always homemade pizza dough.  Choose whatever suites your style (and your time frame).