Spinach Pinwheels

By now you have heard me talk about dinner club plenty. Following tradition each year we have a Christmas gathering, this year hosted by the Grostic's. A fellow dinner clubber brought this as a dish to pass and I thought it was pretty darn good.

You will need:
10 ounce bag of frozen spinach, rinsed and drained
2 cans refrigerated Pillsbury Crescent rolls
1 tub Garlic and Herb cheese spread (I used Allouette)
Cookie sheet

Roll the crescent rolls out of can. Following perforation, split in half the long way so you have 2 rectangles (4 once you roll out both cans). Pinch seams together (well). Spread 1/4 cheese spread on each rectangle. Divide spinach evenly and sprinkle evenly on all 4 rectangles. You can modify this to taste by using less cheese or less spinach. Roll each rectangle and make sure all seems are well closed. Cut into 1 inch sections. Bake following instructions on crescent roll can (about 350 for 10-12 minutes depending).

Serve warm and enjoy!

Throw in a little Triple Overtime wine from our friend Igor Larianov and you have what I call a nice little happy hour...

September update

I love September and I really enjoy fall: getting out all the decorations, changing up the wardrobe, red wine, college football, memories of tailgating, its all so lovely. The only part I dont like is what's coming later but I'm in denial and ignoring that for now.  So its been a little quiet on the ol' blog lately, I owe you an explanation. I have been knocked down by the plague/black lung/bronchitis/insert awful illness here. Technically I guess its been called bronchitis but its been a long, slow recovery. Im feeling a little more spunky tonight after a weekend full of couchin' it. Maybe Im on the upswing. All that said, I have not really been interested in preparing foods for my loved ones the past couple of weeks. Coughing germs into a meal sounds less than appealing. So instead I have done some surfing on the internet - have you heard of or visited Pintrest? Don't do it unless you have an hour to spare. This site is wonderful! I really enjoy and I am collecting a lot of great ideas.

The one thing I did prepare was a Jalapeno Popper Dip Mishap. It was quite good I am told but I don't care to look at a jalapeno for a very long time. A friend at work has a garden and brought in some goodies so I took 3 jalapenos and then it took me a week to figure out what to do with them. I settled on making a version of a dip I read about on allrecipes. Here's what I did:

3 fresh jalapenos, diced (next time I will use a 4 oz can)
1 can diced green chiles (4 oz)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayo
Parmesan Cheese
Combine all ingredients except the Parmesan in a bowl and stir. Pour into an oven safe dish, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350* for 20 minutes (or so). Serve with crackers or pita bread.

So why do I call this a mishap? Well, I was being very careful chopping the peppers but because I had this unpredictable illness my nose began to run. I picked up a paper towel from the counter to wipe my nose and continue. Turns out the paper towel had jalapeno seeds on it. Ouch. Awful awful pain in my nose. And on my hands. This lasted about one hour. I had to stop my preparations and have Josh Google ways to remove jalapeno oil while I held ice to my face. Turns out the home remedies include rubbing alcohol, olive oil, or lemon juice. Not at the same time. Im generally much more graceful than this. I will blame the illness for my inability to think clearly. Ive had a few other moments I'm not proud of in the last week or so, that is why I stayed close to home this weekend. I was unable to capture a photo because getting out the camera was the last thing on my mind.

Give the dip a try, be more careful than I was!

Another thing to love about September?  ArtPrize!

Texas Caviar

This one comes from my Uncle Jim and Aunt Terri. We had everybody over for Fathers Day and this was one of their contributions. It is very good and makes a nice alternative or addition to salsa. I did a bit of research and it doesn't appear this is so bad for you either.

Texas Caviar
Drain and rinse one 16 oz. can black beans
Drain and rinse one 16 oz. can pinto beans
1 can of white or yellow corn
1 sm. jar of pimientos diced
Dice:
1 c. green peppers
1 c. yellow peppers
1 c. celery
1/2 c. red peppers
Then:
Mix and boil (bring to boil/cool) the following:
1 c. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt and pepper
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. olive oil
Pour over vegetables and marinate overnight.
Drain in colander after marinating.
This is best served with scoops. Enjoy!