Spinach Spaghetti Pizza

I have become obsessed with the Pioneer Woman on The Food Network.  Unfortunately, we traded in our DVR cable box in an attempt to be more budget conscious.  So this means I just leave The Food Network on in the afternoon hoping to catch an episode.  The other day, I over heard this recipe on another program.  It looked pretty good, and I always love the idea of sneaking in more veggies but I felt like I could probably make it more "me", and the Spinach Spaghetti Pizza was born...

You Will Need:

1 bag of baby spinach (about 4 cups)

8 ounces of spaghetti

2 cups of tomato sauce 

1 box button mushrooms, diced

2 eggs

Turkey Pepperoni, about 30

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese 

2 TBSP olive oil

4 TBSP milk

1 Tsp garlic powder

1 TBSP Italian seasoning

Salt and Pepper Blend (2 parts salt, 1 part pepper)

A large spring form pan

Directions:

In a large pot of salted, boiling water cook the pasta until al dente.  Meanwhile, chop or tear the spinach into bite size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.  Drain the cooked pasta and add to the bowl of spinach.  Toss the spinach and pasta gently.  In the same pot you cooked the pasta in, add a small amount of olive oil and the diced mushrooms.  Cook until darkened and add a 1/2 tsp of the salt and pepper blend.  Add the mushrooms to the pasta and spinach mix along with a drizzle of olive oil and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese.  Gently toss and allow the spinach to wilt as the pasta cools.  

Once the pasta is cool, whisk together the milk, eggs, the parmesan cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp of the salt and pepper blend.  Pour the liquid over the pasta mixture and toss well to coat.  Pour the mixture into a greased spring form pan.  Gently press the spaghetti and pasta mixture into the pan in one even layer.  This will be your crust, and you want it to cook evenly.  Cook for 15 minutes in a 350 oven just until the edges start to crisp and the crust is firm to the touch.  

Top the crust with the sauce, half of the mozzarella cheese, the pepperoni and the rest of the cheese.  Bake an additional 20 minutes, until the cheese melts and starts to brown.  Slice into 4 sections and serve with additional parmesan cheese if desired.  

Enjoy! 

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Chicken Under a Blanket

I love chicken pot pie.  I hate making pie crust.  Granted, ever since my friend taught me how to do it, it isn't really that hard...but this recipe is so much easier.  I call it Chicken Under a Blanket because it is chicken pot pie filling under a blanket of yummy biscuit mix.  I have a big pan of it going right now in my oven and I can not wait to eat it later!

You Will Need:
1/2 cup Bisquick (I used the Gluten free version)
1/2 cup low fat milk
2 eggs
2 cups shredded chicken
2 cups mixed baby vegetables
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP olive oil
3 TBSP flour (I used gluten free flour)
2 TBSP grainy brown mustard
1/2-1 box chicken stock
2 TBSP salt, 1 TBSP black pepper- blended and set aside
Cooking Spray

Directions:
In a large skillet melt the butter and olive oil.  Whisk in the flour until smooth.  Add the broth to the flour mixture, 1/2 a cup at a time, whisking in between, until you have a thick gravy.  You should not need all of the stock.  Add the brown mustard and whisk to incorporate.  Taste and add a 1/2 tsp of the salt and pepper blend if needed.  Taste again, add more as needed.  Chicken broth has salt, so don't skip the tasting step before adding more seasoning- especially if you used salted butter.  Add the chicken and vegitables and stir to combine.  Taste again...you get the idea.  Pour the chicken mixture in a large greased baking dish.

In a large measuring cup, combine the milk, Bisquick and eggs.  Stir well.  Pour the batter on top of the chicken mixture.  Without actually stirring, gently poke the chicken mixture so the biscuit batter can sink down a little bit into the pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.  The batter should be set and brown.

This recipe is adapted from the Bisquick website for mini pot pies.  I have found them difficult to get out of the muffin pan and hard to store leftovers, so I prefer to bake mine in a large baking dish.  I also like the thicker biscuit topping.