In Sock Monkey Slippers is a family food blog celebrating fresh whole foods and bringing the family together around the dinner table. You'll find step-by-step recipes for everyone in the family, product reviews, and a peek into the sometimes comical life of Meredith Steele in her sock monkey slippers.
Be on the look out! ISMS is getting a face-lift in May.
Breakfast has always been my favorite meal of the day and I’m perpetually puzzled by people who ignore it. The last time I skipped breakfast I left my phone on top of my car and drove off, forgot to put shoes on my child then dropped her off at school, didn’t wash the conditioner out of my hair, sounded like I just had a lobotomy on a conference call with a client, and almost set the house on fire cooking dinner. Trust me people, eat your breakfast.
Some of my favorite breakfast recipes are savory and one of the easiest savory breakfast recipes is strata – a cheesy savory bread pudding if you will. This Spinach and Ham Strata is one I make often for brunch. Cheesy, savory, and come back for seconds delicious — there are never any leftovers!
Meatloaf. I can still taste my grandmother’s recipe with the sweet brown sugar ketchup on top. It’s just one of those homey meals that says comfort food. Unfortunately, the words comfort food don’t really relay lean, do they?
Trying to keep things leaner, I’ve made meatloaves with ground turkey and to be honest they were so hard you could use it as a home defense weapon when it came out of the oven.
Side Story: When I was first married, my mother-in-law (for some reason) gave me a frozen roast. This wasn’t just any roast but a massive piece of meat that took up my entire freezer with the expiration date 1994. To put things in perspective we were married in 2005. So instead of cooking it I kept it and determined if anyone were to break in the house I would at least have the home defense roast to protect myself. It’s now long gone because it wouldn’t fit in a moving van.
Through the years I’ve learned a little trick to avoid eating a brick for dinner — Ricotta. Along with making this meatloaf moist, ricotta brings a nice mild flavor that pairs excellently with marinara and cheese, of course!
Cheesey and tangy from the marinara, this delicious Spinach and Ricotta Turkey Meatloaf is comfort food on the lighter side. Enjoy!
Spinach and Ricotta Turkey Meatloafserves 6
1 pound lean ground turkey
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry*
1 cup ricotta cheese, part skim
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs, preferably wheat
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper
heavy pinch fresh grated nutmeg
1 cup marinara
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
* Thawed frozen spinach carries a lot of excess water. Before using the spinach for this recipe, gently squeeze the water from the spinach with your hands or by placing the spinach in a towel and pressing the water out.
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl combine the turkey, spinach, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until mixed. It’s best to do this with your clean hands. Just think of it as a luxurious hand treatment.
In a baking dish lightly greased or lined with parchment paper, form the turkey mixture into roughly a 3 to 4 inch thick loaf.
Next, evenly pour the marinara over the loaf and top with mozzarella. Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes.
Once the meatloaf is finished and making your kitchen smell fabulous, remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with roasted potatoes and a salad perhaps.
Spinach and Ricotta Turkey Meatloafserves 6
1 pound lean ground turkey
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry*
1 cup ricotta cheese, part skim
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs, preferably wheat
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper
heavy pinch fresh grated nutmeg
1 cup marinara
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
*Thawed frozen spinach carries a lot of excess water. Before using the spinach for this recipe, gently squeeze the water from the spinach with your hands or by placing the spinach in a towel and pressing the water out.
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl combine the turkey, spinach, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until mixed. It’s best to do this with your clean hands.
2. In a baking dish lightly greased or lined with parchment paper, form the turkey mixture into roughly a 3 to 4 inch thick loaf. Next, evenly pour the marinara over the loaf and top with mozzarella.
3.Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes. Once the meatloaf is finished, remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with roasted potatoes and a salad perhaps.
There are days when you just need a cheesy, creamy, crunchy, fall on the floor fast comfort meal or a quick snack for game day. This is one of those days and this is one of those meals. It’s simply pure awesomeness on a piece of toast.
Chicken Artichoke and Spinach French Bread Pizza makes 4 servings
artichoke hearts cut in half (canned or frozen/thawed)
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add flour. Whisk to combine and allow to cook for a minute. While whisking, slowly add milk to the butter flour mixture. Whisk until the milk is incorporated and thickens.
Add cheese, salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.
With a knife, slice the loaf of bread in the middle lengthwise forming two open halves. Next you can either slice each half in half again forming 4 large pieces to serve as a meal or keep it in two pieces creating two large “pizzas” to be sliced in strips after baking to serve as an appetizer. Place bread on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes until lightly toasted.
Once the bread is toasted, spread the white cheese sauce on each slice of bread.
On top of the sauce, add cheese, chicken, spinach, and top with a pinch of cheese. Place the baking sheet in the oven and set the oven to broil. Broil until the cheese has melted and turned golden, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Serve and be happy.
Eat whole, or slice and serve with your favorite marinara for dipping.
Chicken Artichoke and Spinach French Bread Pizza makes 4 servings
artichoke hearts cut in half (canned or frozen/thawed)
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add flour. Whisk to combine and allow to cook for a minute. While whisking, slowly add milk to the butter/flour mixture. Whisk until the milk is incorporated and thickens. Add cheese, salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. With a knife, slice the loaf of bread in the middle lengthwise forming two open halves. Next you can either slice each half in half again forming 4 large pieces to serve as a meal or keep it in two pieces creating two large “pizzas” to be sliced in strips after baking to serve as an appetizer. Place bread on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes until lightly toasted.
3. Once the bread is toasted, spread the white cheese sauce on each slice of bread. On top of the sauce, add cheese, chicken, spinach, and top with a pinch of cheese. Place the baking sheet in the oven and set the oven to broil. Broil until the cheese has melted and turned golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Serve and be happy. *Eat whole, or slice and serve with your favorite marinara for dipping.
Spinach. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that it’s good for you. I love it. So, I figured since this is the first post of a new year and we’re all trying forget the 5 pounds we packed on eating Aunt Agus’ 5,000 calorie a piece pound cake from the holidays, a simple sauteed spinach recipe is fitting.
This recipe is one of my favorites. It takes me back to my childhood days of eating at the local Bar-B-Q joint called Peggy Sue’s and inhaling their lemony spinach. Garlicky and bright, this simple side dish is perfect with almost anything.
Lemon Sauteed Spinach with Toasted Garlic serves 4
In a large saute pan over medium heat, add olive oil and minced garlic. Saute the garlic until just lightly golden and toasted. Remove the garlic to a plate and set aside.
Raise the heat to medium-high and add the spinach. With tongs or a wooden spoon, gently toss the spinach until wilted and bright green. This will only take about 3 to 5 minutes. By the way, What’s the secret to not having watery spinach? Sop it up with a paper towel when no one is looking. Ah, I’m just kidding. Although that would work the best way is waiting until just before serving to add the salt. Salt will pull out lots of moisture from the spinach and if you add it when cooking you will basically have a spinach soup on your hands. True story.
Next, add the toasted garlic, lemon, and salt and pepper to taste.
Plate and serve. I could eat an entire bowl all by myself. No lie.
I make frittatas on a weekly basis. It’s a simple one dish family meal that everyone loves. Every week I use a different combo of veggies and cheeses to mix things up a bit. Last week, while trying to clear out the fridge, I made this spinach and lemon spaghetti frittata with feta and basil. Although it was different from the usual it was absolutely delicious and made for a refreshing summer breakfast. Unfortunately, Mia the resident 2 almost 3 year old, is not a fan of this particular frittata (a little too eclectic breakfast fare for her pallet) and I promised next week I would make her favorite potato, Canadian bacon, tomato and parmesan frittata. And yes, I promise to post that in the future because it is really good and one of our family faves.
Spinach and lemon spaghetti frittata with feta and basil is a uniquely bright and delectable summer breakfast. It’s also a great way to use up leftover pasta.
Spinach & Lemon Spaghetti Frittata with Feta and Basil serves 4 to 6
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup cooked spaghetti
1 cup baby spinach, chopped
3 Tbs feta cheese, crumbled
2 Tbs fresh basil, chiffonade (cut into thin strips)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Combine eggs, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
Roughly chop the spaghetti. In an oven safe 10″ non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat and add the spaghetti or other long thin pasta such as capellini.
Add spinach on top of the spaghetti.
Next, pour the egg mixture onto the spinach and the spaghetti and lightly stir with a spoon making sure that the egg mixture evenly covers the pan. Simmer on medium-low for about 3 to 5 minutes until the egg begins to set or firm up.
Sprinkle the feta evenly across the top. Turn off heat and place the skillet in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the frittata is cooked through. Warning: here comes a story about feta cheese… My daughter was born prematurely at 24 weeks gestation and spent months in the hospital. My husband and I stayed at the Ronald McDonald house as the hospital she was in was far from our home. One night I decided to cook dinner in the house kitchen because I was getting pretty tired of hospital food. As I was getting the feta cheese out of the fridge and placing it on my salad a very tall woman resembling Joey Ramone I had never seen before appears out of nowhere. I swear she popped out of the pantry. She’s staring at me as I awkwardly put the cheese on my salad knowing she’s watching my every move. I look up just in time for her to grab the container of cheese, slap her hand down on the counter and yell with a thick southern accent, “OHH WEEE, I LOVE THAT FEET-A (pronounced feet-a) CHEESE! YOU HAVE A GOOD DINNER!” and then walk away. In my head when I tell the story she walks away singing Rockaway Beach, but that’s just my version. After a long hard day of watching your baby fight in the hospital I thought that was one of the most strangest yet hilarious encounters with a stranger I have ever had and I now can never think of feta cheese without hearing her voice in my head. FEET-A CHEESE!!! Now back to the frittata.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes then slide a knife or spatula around the perimeter of the frittata to loosen it from the pan. Carefully and quickly slide the fritatta onto a serving plate. Don’t be scared. If it breaks it will still taste good. Garnish with basil.
Slice, serve, and enjoy that frittata with feet-a cheese.
Spinach & Lemon Spaghetti Frittata with Feta and Basil serves 4 to 6
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup cooked spaghetti
1 cup baby spinach, chopped
3 Tbs feta cheese, crumbled
2 Tbs fresh basil, chiffonade (cut into thin strips)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Combine eggs, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
Roughly chop the spaghetti. In an oven safe 10″ non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat and add the spaghetti or other long thin pasta such as capellini.
Add spinach on top of the speghetti.
Next, pour the egg mixture onto the spinach and the spaghetti and lightly stir with a spoon making sure that the egg mixture evenly covers the pan. Simmer on medium-low for about 3 to 5 minutes until the egg begins to set or firm up.
Sprinkle the feta evenly across the top. Turn off heat and place the skillet in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the frittata is cooked through.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes then slide a knife or spatula around the perimeter of the frittata to loosen it from the pan. Carefully and quickly slide the fritatta onto a serving plate. Don’t be scared. If it breaks it will still taste good. Garnish with basil.
I’m going to make this short and sweet. This recipe is pretty flippin’ delicious and super quick and easy to make. For years I’ve been making a smaller appetizer version of this using wonton wrappers and it wasn’t until recently that we started using the same technique to make a healthy baked “egg roll” for dinner. This one is definitely Mia, aka 2 year old, approved.
Baked Chicken Spinach & Artichoke Egg Roll makes 12
2 cups baby spinach
1 1/2 cup cooked chicken
1 cup artichoke hearts (about 10 hearts, I use frozen and thawed)
1 cup fontina or mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 Tbs dried Italian herb mix*
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 Tbs strained Greek Yogurt (I use Fage)
12 egg roll wrappers
2 Tbs water
marinara for dipping
* Italian herb mix = 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried rosemary or any store bought mix will do
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Finely chop spinach and place in a large bowl.
Strain all water from frozen or canned artichokes, chop and place in the same bowl as the spinach.
I LOVE roasted chicken, don’t you! This is a great way to use leftovers of a chicken you roasted yourself or a store bought rotisserie chicken. Dice cooked chicken in small pieces and place in the bowl.
Place the cheese, herbs, and salt in the bowl with the chicken spinach and artichokes. Stir to combine.
Now add the Greek yogurt. We use the 2% Fage yogurt but if you would rather something more decedent you may substitute with mascarpone cheese. Stir well to combine.
On a flat surface, lay out the egg roll wrappers with a point facing you making a diamond shape. Place two heaping spoonfuls of the chicken, spinach, and artichoke mixture at the lower point of the wrapper.
Fold the lower point over the filling.
Next, roll the egg roll towards the upper point
…and then fold both sides of the egg roll wrapper inward.
Finally, pour water into a small bowl. Dip your finger in the water and spread on the remaining point of the egg roll wrapper.
Fold the final point over onto the egg roll to seal. Now you have an egg roll ready for cooking! Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spray the rolls lightly with cooking spray (like PAM). Place in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden.
Allow to cool and serve with marinara on the side. Simple, delicious, and healthy, baked egg rolls are a perfect food for the whole family and an easy meal for kids to make.
Baked Chicken Spinach & Artichoke Egg Roll makes 12
2 cups baby spinach
1 1/2 cup cooked chicken
1 cup artichoke hearts (about 10 hearts, I use frozen and thawed)
1 cup fontina or mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 Tbs dried Italian herb mix*
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 Tbs strained Greek Yogurt (I use Fage)
12 egg roll wrappers
2 Tbs water
marinara for dipping
* Italian herb mix = 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried rosemary or any store bought mix will do
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Finely chop spinach and chicken and place in a large bowl.
Strain all water from frozen or canned artichokes, chop and place in the same bowl as the spinach.
Add the cheese, herbs, salt, and Greek yogurt in the bowl with the chicken spinach and artichokes. Stir to combine.
On a flat surface, lay out the egg roll wrappers with a point facing you making a diamond shape. Place two heaping spoonfuls of the chicken, spinach, and artichoke mixture at the lower point of the wrapper.
Fold the lower point over the filling.
Next, roll the egg roll towards the upper point and then fold both sides of the egg roll wrapper inward.
Finally, pour water into a small bowl. Dip your finger in the water and spread on the remaining point of the egg roll wrapper.
Fold the final point over onto the egg roll to seal. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spray the rolls lightly with cooking spray. Place in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden.
Allow to cool and serve with marinara on the side.
I love enchiladas! As a Texan and don’t see how you couldn’t. When my father-in-law asked recently if we could get something together for my mother-in-law’s birthday I thought enchiladas were the perfect thing. And not just any enchiladas but chicken and spinach enchiladas. Besides the traditional corn tortilla, beef and red sauce enchiladas that The Husband makes, these are my favorite and perfect for a large get together. Be aware that this recipe makes 20 enchiladas and serves 8 to 10 people. Simply reduce the amount of ingredients by half to serve for 4 to 6 people. But I warn you, these are nowhere close to low-fat and you will for sure hate me after this! The good news is that these can easily be turned into a light dish by simply substituting the Monterey Jack cheese for reduced-fat or fat-free Monterey Jack cheese and using reduced fat or low-carb tortillas instead of regular tortillas.
Thankfully the party was a success and everyone enjoyed another dinner at the ranch. How could you not with a beautiful sunset, the serenade of a lone coyote, and good times with friends and family. If only the Cowboys beat the Giants that night….
chicken and spinach enchiladas makes 20 enchiladas serves 8-10
3 cups shredded cooked chicken, I use a store bought rotisserie chicken
3 cups of finely chopped fresh baby spinach (about an 8oz package)
4oz goat cheese, softened
3 cups finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese, plus 1 1/2 cups for topping
1/2 tsp sea salt
20 flour tortillas
cooking spray, I use Pam
2 cups of salsa verde, make your own from this past salsa verde recipe or use store bought
Preheat oven to 375°.
To make this a simple fast dish, I used a rotisserie chicken form the store and shredded and diced the chicken. Place in a large bowl.
Dice the spinach and place in the bowl with the chicken.
Place the softened goat cheese in the bowl as well. This gives the enchiladas a special tang but if you can not find it you may leave it out.
Don’t forget to add the Monterey Jack!
Add the salt. Stir until well combined and the goat cheese is evenly mixed into everything else.
On a clean work surface, set up a work station with the spinach and chicken mixture, tortillas, and a baking dish lightly greased or sprayed with a cooking spray. Since I’m making this to travel to the ranch, I’m using a aluminum baking dish perfect for easy clean up at parties. Ohhhh la la, notice anything? There are no more neon blue counter tops! Here’s a sneak peak of the kitchen remodel. I’ll show you the rest a little later next week.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of spinach and chicken mixture on a tortilla.
Tightly roll the tortilla up.
Place the rolled tortillas tightly next to each other in the baking dish (a 13×9 baking dish fits about 10 to 12 tortillas).
Spread the salsa verde over the top of the prepared tortillas. On top of the sauce evenly sprinkle a cup of the monterey jack cheese.
Place in oven for 20 to 25 minutes until cheese is melted.
Serve two to a platter. Yum! It’s making me hungry just looking at this again. Like I said earlier, this is super simple for a large get together. It can be made up to a day in advance preparing the enchiladas up to the sauce point. Before cooking add the sauce and cheese.
You heard me right, blueberry and spinach french toast and it is wonderful. It tastes like a blueberry cream cheese danish and you would never know that it is packed full of healthy spinach. I used the blueberry, apple, and spinach puree recipe posted here months ago. The only change was when I recently made this puree I was out of apples and turned it into blueberry and spinach puree. You get the point. This french toast is one of Mia’s favorites and I am always jealous when I make it for her!
In a bowl lightly beat together the egg and milk. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix together the puree and cream cheese.
Spoon the blueberry, spinach and cream cheese mixture onto one slice of bread. Place the other slice on top.
Dip the entire sandwich in the egg wash making sure to coat all sides.
Melt the butter over medium heat in a skillet. Place the sandwich in the skillet and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until the bread is a nice golden color.
Serve with your choice of honey, powdered sugar, syrup, or nothing at all.
** Update: I just tried this and it worked. If you don’t have or don’t want to make puree, add 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries and a handful of fresh baby spinach (if possible try to use organic, blueberries and spinach are on the dirty dozen list of foods to buy organic) into a food processor or blender. Pulse for 1 minute or until the mixture is as smooth as possible. Use in place of puree.
To save myself some time in the morning from cooking everyone’s breakfast I spent about thirty minutes and cooked up a batch of theses, spinach and sweet potato quiche. Mia has mixed emotions about these. You have to catch her in the right mood for her to really enjoy these. She would rather have scrambled eggs but I think it’s a texture thing. This is more of a toddler food and she’s at that in-between stage. So I needed a second opinion and who did I go to? The neighbors baby and she liked them so it’s a go.
Spinach and Sweet Potato Quiche · stage 3 +
2 Tbs butter
1 medium peeled and grated sweet potato
10 oz of shredded organic fresh baby spinach or frozen organic spinach (if you use frozen make sure to drain the spinach well)
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375°.
In a medium skillet, melt butter.
Add grated sweet potato and saute over medium heat until done. About seven minutes. Next, add the spinach and saute an additional 3 minutes. If you ’re using frozen do not add the spinach just yet.
Transfer sweet potato and spinach to a medium bowl and allow to cool a bit. Next, add the eggs, ricotta, parmesan cheese and if you are using frozen spinach add it at this time. Mix well.
Fill a greased mini muffin sheet with mixture and place in oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Makes 26 and freezes well. Can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in microwave for 15 to 20 seconds. Yummmmmm.
