One Pot Wonder: Drunken Pasta with Baby Spinach, Dried Cranberries & Goat Cheese

This is a one pot recipe that is quick, easy and will make you look like a 5 star chef!

Reading other food blogs is a constant source of inspiration. I get to see trends, what people are loving and as I see these trends I immediately get a spark of what I can do with it. Reading Joanne Eats Well with Others, I saw a one pot pasta recipe and thought, wow- this actually works?! I had an immediate flash of inspiration when I saw it- I remembered something else I had heard of and wanted to try- drunken pasta! Pasta cooked in red wine, lending color and flavor to the pasta- how could this be bad?

Spinach and Feta Strata

I cannot get enough of the spinach and feta combo. I made Spinach and Feta Orzo, I made a Spinach and Feta Salad and now I got for you a Spinach and feta Strata. It is part quiche, part potato and part fritata. In fact, I had a really had time naming this, LOL. But a food bloggers friend of mine came up with something sorta like this and called it a strata, so thanks Joanne from Joanne Eats Well with Others. You saved me on this one!

Why is this a Foodgasm?

Spinach and Feta, it is magical and delicious and totally Greek. I like to give a nod to my hetitage when I can and they knew what they were doing with this flavor combo. Salty, creamy and you got a little bitter from the spinach, it just works. Then of course I add in some caramelized onions, garlic and you got yourself a full blown Greek-gasm. I love that this has a layer of potatoes too. It's a great filling meal, especially nice with a side salad for breakfast, brunch, lunch or even dinner.

A nice Greek inspired side: Spinach orzo topped with feta

Why is this a Foodgasm?

There are some Greek classics that I just love. I'm not talking about literature or democracy...I'm talking Greek food. A staple in my home growing up was spanakopita aka spinach pie. Savory, salty crunchy and creamy: this was my favorite. Especially the way my grandmother made it, with some rice inside. It is basically phyllo dough filled with spinach, onions and garlic, sometimes with rice.

This is sort of a deconstructed take on the classic spinach pie. Some orzo topped with roasted garlic, onion and sautéed spinach and brightened up with some lemon juice all covered in some crumbled feta cheese. It's vegetarian, delicious and satisfying!

PS- I HATE looking in the ingredients when following a recipe's instructions, let me know if you like this new formatting and if it helps.

Greek Spiced Chicken with Spinach Rice pilaf

Why is this a Foodgasm? This was a spontaneous creation. You know how sometimes you just look in the fridge and freezer and make various combinations in your head, well that is what happened. I intended on making stir fry, but I find stir fry sooooo boring. I had me some orzo, brown rice, spinach, chicken breast and feta and I was feeling my Greek heritage saying "just do it!" So I made a kind of spanakopita inspired rice pilaf, similar to the filling in my yia yia's (grandma in Greek) spanakopita. Plus we needed some protein so I seared some chicken tenderloin in some Greek spices as well!

This is a 8 point foodgasm! (Recipe yields 5 servings)