Zesty Ravioli Skillet

1/3 cup whipping cream
4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
6 oz provolone cheese, grated
1 TB olive oil
1 small jalapeno, seeded & chopped (optional)
3 garlic cloves, pressed
2 cans diced tomatoes with onions, undrained
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
24 oz package frozen cheese ravioli, thawed
halved grape tomatoes (optional)

1. Heat oil in skillet, add jalapeno and cook about 1 minute. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
2. add tomatoes, salt & pepper and heat to a simmer. Add ravioli and cook 4-5 minutes or until tender. Stir in the cream and cook again until simmering.
3. Sprinkle spinach over ravioli and cook, covered, 1 minute or until spinach is wilted.
4. Remove from heat, top with cheese, cover and let stand until cheese is melted. Garnish with grape tomatoes if desired.

This is a Pampered Chef recipe we made at a Pampered Chef party.

Tortellini Spinach Soup

Heat 6-8 cups of a tomato-based vegetable soup in a large saucepan. Add about 2 cups spinach & cheese tortellini and 4 cups chopped baby spinach. Top with parmesan.

Source: Parenting magazine, October 2009, p. 67 (you'd think I could have thought of this myself)

Open-faced Chicken Parm Sandwich

Slice a loaf of whole grain Italian bread in half, then in half lengthwise. Lay 4 pieces of cooked chicken breast on the 4 slices of bread and top with baby spinach leaves. Pour some jarred marinara on top, then sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. Broil until cheese is bubbly.

Source: Parenting magazine, October 2009, p. 67

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

2 TB extra virgin olive oil

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

s/p

3 carrots, sliced crosswise

1/2 cup long grain rice, rinsed

16 oz pkg frozen black-eyed peas, thawed

32 oz (4 cups) chicken broth

9 oz pkg frozen creamed spinach, thawed

1. In large pot heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Season the chicken with s/p. Add to the pot and cook, stirring, until golden 6-8 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add carrots, rice and beans, scraping up any browned bits, for 1 minute, then stir in chicken broth and 2 cups water. Bring to a simmer until rice and beans are tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, shred the chicken. Add to the soup along with the creamed spinach and cook for 5 minutes; season with s/p. Serve with baguette, rolls, or bread.

Cut calories by using chicken breasts instead of thighs and plain frozen spinach instead of creamed.

Source: Everyday with Rachael Ray October 2009

What I did: I did use chicken breasts and I grilled them on the George Foreman instead of cooking them in the pan and then shredded them. So you can use whatever shredded chicken - however you like to do it, and just start out with the carrots and beans and rice in the pot. It seems like anytime I try to cook it in a pan like that it just gets burned on the outside and still raw in the middle, so for me this was simpler. Justin is not really a fan of soups, but he complimented me on this one. And it's pretty hearty, not too soup-y.

Bowties with Lemon, Sun-dried Tomatoes & Spinach

1/3 cup sun-dried tomato halves (not oil-packed)
1/2 cup boiling water
8 oz farfalle pasta (bowties), cooked according to pkg
1 tsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 TB lemon juice
2 TB butter
6 oz fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup parmesan
1 TB fresh oregano

1. Place tomatoes in small bowl, soak in boiling water 10-15 min. until soft. Remove tomatoes, reserving liquid. Slice tomatoes into thin strips.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over med. heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper. cook 2-3 minutes.
3. Increase heat to high. Add broth, lemon juice and reserved soaking liquid. Bring to a boil. Boil 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup.
4. Reduce heat to low & add butter. Stir in tomatoes and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted. Add pasta, stir to coat. Sprinkle with cheese & oregano.

What I do: This is one of my old stand-bys, but I add chicken (cook in step 2 with garlic & remove from the pan after its cooked. Add to pan again with the pasta) Also, instead of sun-dried tomatoes I usually use the roasted red peppers that come in a jar. Slice them into strips and use the liquid out of the jar). I haven't made this in a while, but I think I usually end up adding some extra broth.

Spinach-Pasta Caesar Salad

Salad:
3-4 grilled chicken breasts (marinated in Newmans Own Low-fat Sesame Ginger dressing)
1 lb pasta, cooked
6 oz bag fresh spinach
1 cup craisins
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 can artichoke hearts, drained

Combine for the dressing:
1/2 cup Newmans Own Low-fat Sesame Ginger dressing
1/2 cup Ken's Light & Creamy Caesar dressing

Chop the grilled chicken breasts before adding to the salad and you'll probably want to let your pasta cool after cooking it so it doesn't wilt the spinach. I used whole wheat rotini, but you could use bow-ties or penne, whatever kind of pasta.

We decided it needed something crunchy, so you could add croutons, bacon crumbles, or slivered almonds

Source: Angela made this probably about a year ago for a lunch... not sure why it took me so long to actually get the recipe from her. Thanks!