What's for Dinner 2/9/2011?

I really intended to add some new recipes I've tried out here... time gets away from me these days!

Last night I tried out this very simple recipe from one of my fave magazines Real Simple:

Cheesy Baked Pasta With Spinach and Artichokes

Ingredients

• 8 ounces mezzi rigatoni or some other short pasta (1/2 box)
• 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, rinsed and quartered
• 1 9-ounce package frozen creamed spinach, thawed
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)
• 2 cups grated mozzarella (8 ounces)
• black pepper

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return it to the pot.
2. Add the artichoke hearts, spinach, Parmesan, 1 cup of the mozzarella, and ¼ teaspoon pepper to the pasta and toss to combine.
3. Heat broiler. Transfer the pasta mixture to a shallow 2-quart (or 8-inch square) broilerproof baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cup of mozzarella.
4. Broil until the cheese is browned in spots, 2 to 3 minutes.

My only substitution... I added some finely chopped mushrooms and I used some fresh spinach that I had on hand (just sauteed a bit). It was DELICIOUS! Super easy, and very good. Try it sometime!

What's for dinner 10/5/2010?!?

What do you cook for dinner? Any new recipes? These are common questions at any mommy related function these days. As more and more families seek cheaper alternatives to eating out and healthier recipes, a lot of us are eating at home more!

I love to cook. Wish I had time to make a big gourmet meal every night, but life gets in the way. But, I'm pretty decent at looking at the cupboard and throwing something together every night. I wish I was better at meal planning, but I never seem to have the patience for it. So, I'm more of a "it's five o'clock, what I can make for dinner" kind of girl.

Because a blog probably shouldn't be all about bows, I'm going to attempt to post at least one weekly recipe of something I made on the fly that week. We'll see how it goes!

So, here is this week's recipe from my freezer/refrigerator/cupboard... no prep, what so ever. Did I mention I don't measure things? So, just eyeball it... you'll be fine.

4 frozen tilapia fillets
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup Panko italian breadcrumbs
little feta cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil

Thaw fish in cold water. If you have a little lemon or lime juice, throw a bit in with the water to take away a little of the "fishy" taste.

Heat olive oil in non stick skillet on medium heat. Pull out three deep plates or bowls. Flour in one, egg and milk wisked together in another, panko crumbs in the third. Dip tilapia fillets in the flour, egg mixture, and the panko crumbs, coating each side. Throw fillets in skillet. Cook on each side until center is done (approximately 5 min per side for me), and top each fillet with feta cheese.

Serve dinner! I made some smashed red potatoes and salad as a side. It was delicious! Even my three year old loved it. My extremely picky five year old wouldn't touch it, but you can't win them all ;)