Popeye Power

Ever find yourself coming home from Costco with one of these bad boys?

Yeah, I had no problem going through it back when I had the Vitamix. Spinach is the ultimate blender add-in as it becomes tasteless - you can chuck handfuls into anything and no one's the wiser. Our kids have been downing green smoothies since they were babies (until I got zealous adding flax and powder supplements and chard, which made them sorta wary of mom's "shakes.")

I still come home with these here, but have to get more creative. You can only have so much wilted spinach, you know.

Enter: SPINACH PIE.

After browsing a bunch of recipes online, I hastily threw together my own version and man, was it gooood. Like, it got a 9*, good. And it made a serious dent in our vat'o'spinach. I basically emptied a bunch of containers and didn't measure anything, but I'll estimate quantities here because we'll be making this one again.

Spinach Feta Mushroom Pie

4 large mushrooms

small onion

3 cloves garlic

(diced & saute in olive oil)

3 huge handfuls spinach ~8 cups?

(steam atop sauteeing veggies)

4 eggs

1/2 C cottage cheese

1/2 C ricotta cheese

1 C Tasty cheese, shredded (pick a fave)

3/4 C feta cheese

2 T ground buckwheat (flour's fine)

pinch nutmeg

 fresh ground s&p

Pour into partially baked pie shell. Top with fresh grated romano-parmigiano cheese & paprika. Bake 15 min. at 400, then 20-30 min. at 250 til browning on top and knife comes out clean. Alternative: skip the pie shell and throw on a sheet a puff pastry - aaaamazing.

Wondering what to do with the remaining 3/4 of that spinach tub?? Try it in:

scrambled eggs

omelets

soup/stew/chili

sandwiches

pasta sauce

stir fry

lasagna

salad

dip

quesadillas

brownies/cake (no lie, see here)

baked potato or pizza topping

rice/couscous/risotto mix in

Very versatile veggie, that spinach.

Darren came home with a Costco cheese pizza one day and I could hardly stomach a whole piece until I lifted that quilt of gooiness and shoved a fistful of fresh, crunchy spinach under there.

Mmmmmmm, perfect.

*Darren sometimes rates new dishes. It started when we were recently married as it was pretty hit and miss with the cookbooks. A 10 is the impossible ideal, like we haven't even tasted one yet. A 9 is aaaaamazing, like the scallops we had at Bambara on our anniversary. (A dish actually worth the small fortune it cost.) He really saves up those 9s. My dishes are generally in the 7-8 range, but I've pulled out a proud handful of 9s to date.

The Wait is Over

Spring has sprung!

I woke up this morning to find our cold spell snapped and that finally, spring has arrived. Officially, it's not for another 8 days but when I see enough of these little glimpses, it's hard to not get enthused.

Especially when it has been a solid 18 MONTHS since we last saw spring.

Ohhh, it's a delight.

 

Poor kids had been flirting with spring all week - the second they got home from school they'd be out on our bathroom balcony with their snacks, books & homework.

(Can't you see all that homework Will's doing?)

Even set up cardboard box "shelters" when it rained~ they were hard core.

So, WELCOME back, our long lost friend! We celebrated this morning with Ricotta Pancakes (try them) and a whole lot of outdoor play.

Barefoot. Of course.

Parenting

Many of you already know and love the Eyre family.

Richard and Linda are authors of a wide range of awesome parenting books that have been on the NY Bestsellers list multiple times. (My favorite? Teaching Your Children Values) And today, they're doing a bunch of giveaways of their newest book:




Most of our fam matched up in age with the Eyre's so we grew up in the same stake (LDS church group) and attended high school together. I always loved hanging out at Tal's house for reasons I couldn't put my finger on. Years later, having finally discovered their books once I had a brood of my own, I gained such a clearer appreciation for my peeks into the way their home functioned. I'd read their personal experiences of raising their family and say "So that's why..." or "I remember that!" There was always just something special about their kids' levels of confidence, achievement, and character. Eyre kids were cool kids.

Anyway, they know what they're talking about. And I can only imagine this newest one is a keeper, especially in such a day and age where "I want it now" and instant gratification is the norm, especially among the kiddos.

To pre-order and/or enter for a giveaway, click HERE.
Also check out their daughter Shawni's beautiful blog with insightful parenting tips, HERE.
Or book a place at one of Saren's (another daughter) outstanding Power of Moms retreats, HERE.

Good luck and enjoy!