Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago Cheese

1 pound fusilli pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (9-ounce) bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped
8 ounces (1/2 pint) cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup (about 3 1/2-ounces) grated Asiago
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, warm olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook until the spinach wilts, about 2 more minutes. Add the cooked pasta and toss. Add the cheeses, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.

I got this one from Everyday Italian a while back and thought it was good, and then the episode was on again today so I decided to make it again. I forgot the Asiago cheese, so I just added more Parmesan in it's place and it still worked out fine.

Greek Style Chicken

2 chicken breast halves
Greek Seasoning
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 ripe tomato, sliced
1 1/2 oz crumbled feta cheese (or sliced goat cheese)
2 to 3 tbs pine nuts, toasted (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pound chicken between pieces of plastic wrap to even thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a baking dish. Top chicken with tomato slices, cheese, and pine nuts (if using). Bake until chicken is cooked and cheese is melted (5 to 8 minutes).

This makes 2 servings (and very small ones at that), so I usually double it.

Recipe Time Again

Since I feel stupid posting recipes over on Roll Bama Roll, I'll still do that here. I've actually gotten back to cooking more (Mom got me an awesome crockpot for Christmas, so I've got that going for me) and have a crazy scheme to make next year a "52 Chilis in 52 Weeks" affair, so maybe I'll be posting up some good stuff. Or maybe I'll do three and go back to talking about Alabama football all the time again. Anywho, here's one for "Taco Bean Soup" that I got out of the paper a long time ago. It's something that a local pub that has since closed down was known for, so I'm glad I found the little newspaper clipping that I'd been holding onto forever.

Taco Bean Soup

3 lbs hamburger meat, browned
2 green bell pepers, diced and grilled
1 large yellow onion, diced, sauteed in virgin olive oil
3 packets taco seasoning
2 small cans black beans
2 small cans kidney beans
2 small cans pinto beans
2 small cans red beans
2 16 oz cans tomato sauce
2 16 oz cans whole yellow kernel corn
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 tbs pepper
1 tbs salt
2 cups water

Saute onions and bell peppers in virgin olive oil.

Add onions and bells peppers to meat as it browns.

Stir in taco seasoning.

Stir in cans of beans (Note: Do not drain the canned beans; use the liquid).

Add tomato sauce, corn, diced tomatoes, salt, pepper and water.

Simmer, about two hours.

(Note: "Small" cans of beans typically have 15.5 or 16 ounces per can.)

I actually cut that in half because the recipe makes a ridiculously large amount (though I did use 2lbs of meat and 2 taco seasoning packets, so not strictly in half).

So obviously I'm just not doing anything with this blog anymore. The movie thing? Bleh. I'm still averaging about three a week, but the idea of updating a list just makes me tired, plus the Netflix Queue is full up with TV on DVD, and I'm way more into that these days. If you want to keep up with me, I'm at Roll Bama Roll.

Fun With Dick and Jane - So much potential, so little payoff. I had a feeling this wouldn't be any good so I don't know why I got it in the first place.

Beowulf & Grendel - In spite of a wonderful cast, it was about as boring as you remember having to read it in high school was. Giant pet peeve alert: Sarah Polley, I love your work, but everyone else has an accent. Get your head in the game.

Grandma's Boy - Obviously not the best week for movies. Had a few chuckles, but was mostly just gross and juvenile, and not in a good way.

The Fountain - Absolutely beautiful movie that left me wholly unsatisfied. A waste of gorgeous visuals and strong acting.

Stranger than Fiction - I liked this a lot. I thought it was going to be a comedy, and it was funny at times, but once you get past the quirky humor and really get into the story it's very sweet and touching. I saw it the day after I watched The Fountain, so it was kind of weird going from "death is part of life and we must embrace it" to "a noble death is no substitute for a simple and happy life." I liked the latter.

Bandidas - Two things I love: 1) Westerns and 2) Smoking Hot Chicks. The movie was silly and pointless, but I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy it.


Would have probably been just as good on mute.

Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling - Man, talk about some tough old broads. I wouldn't mess with these ladies NOW. Entertaining documentary about the pioneers of lady wrestling, showing the evolution of the sport (with very strong parallels to the current WWE wrestling-tainment) from freakshow undercard attraction to main event in it's own right.

Kiss of Death (1947) - Turns out the awful David Caruso version was a remake of a much better 40's B movie. The much simpler story worked better: Mature is the ex-con who will do anything to protect his family, Widmark is the crazed criminal out to get him after he testified against him, and that's about it. No subplots that go nowhere or lofty aspirations about societal metaphors. I like.