7 Spooky Days of Recipes ~ #5 "Moldy" Cheese Balls

"Moldy" Cheese Balls

 8 ounces neufchatel cream cheese

1 tablespoon Wildtree Onion & Chive Blend

2 tablespoons water

1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

2 cups spinach, shredded

1/4 cup chives, chopped

 

Prepare the Onion & Chive dip as directed before stirring in the Monterey Jack cheese. Spoon out the cheesy dip and roll into balls; approximately 2 tablespoons each. Roll the balls in the shredded spinach and chopped chives until fully covered. Serve with crackers and/or veggies.

 

To order all your spooky groceries, please go to www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com.

Spaghetti with Spinach, Sundried Tomatoes, and Feta

This is a super simple, delicious and healthy dinner that can be made quickly on a busy night.

 

Spaghetti with Spinach, Sundried Tomatoes, and Feta

2 tablespoons Wildtree European Dipping Oil-Garlic

4 cups packed spinach
½ cup sundried tomatoes, diced
4 ounces spaghetti, prepared according to package directions
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the Grapeseed Oil. Sauté the spinach and sundried tomatoes until the spinach is just wilted. Transfer to a mixing bowl along with the cooked pasta and balsamic vinegar. Toss to combine. Divide among two bowl and top with feta cheese.

 

To order any of your Wildtree groceries please go to www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com.

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

My family LOVES stuffed shells! They are a slight bit labor intensive but not difficult so here's my suggestion...make a triple batch and freeze them! It will be SO worth it on a night when all you have to do is pop a pan into the oven and out comes a delicious meal!

 

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
1 (12 ounce) box jumbo shells, prepared according to package directions
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Wildtree Perfect Pizza Seasoning
1 egg
2 cups part skim ricotta
2 tablespoons Wildtree Savory Spinach Dip
3/4 cup shredded parmesan, divided
2 teaspoons Wildtree Rancher Steak Rub
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Once shells are cooked and drained, lay them in a single layer on a sheet pan so they do not stick and are easier to handle. Combine the tomato sauce and Pizza Seasoning and pour into the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. To prepare the filling combine the egg, ricotta, Spinach Dip, ½ cup parmesan, Rancher Steak Rub, and spinach Using a spoon, scoop a small amount of the filling and stuff into a pasta shell. Nestle the stuffed shell into the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining shells until the baking dish is filled. Top the shells with the remaining ¼ cup of parmesan. Tightly cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the parmesan begins to bubble and lightly brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

 

To order any Wildtree groceries please go to www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com

How healthy is that bowl of spinach?

How healthy is spinach? Healthy! It is loaded with antioxidants, it's anti-inflammatory and filled with fiber and vitamin A. For more information go to 11 Health Benefits of Spinach.  But did you know that a bowl of spinach from 1957 requires 51 bowls of spinach in 2009? Read on to learn more - it's quite interesting!

Last spring I had the pleasure of listening to an amazing speaker, Peter Greenlaw, lecture about 'Toxicity in America'. Peter is an Information Junkie like me, but he has the scientific background and data to back it up. It was extremely interesting and fact filled. I thought I would share a few insights with you... 

Peter asked us, "How bad are things?" We so often hear people talking about how buying organic really isn't any better (in most cases it is much better), or you see ads (paid for by the corn industry) talking about how high fructose corn syrup is no different than sugar (it is) or companies trying to 'greenwash' their products to tap into the 'natural' market that they are realizing is so lucrative (Aveno). Peter wanted to paint a picture of how things are and I must say that my Mum and I sat there speechless. 

Here we go...

~ 1 million people die of cardiovascular disease each year. In 1923 less than 3000 people did.

~ Breast Cancer Stats: 1990 - 1 in 15, now - 1 in 8, 10 years from now - 1 in 3. In 1930 the cancer stats were 1 in 10,000. 

~ In a report to the US Senate in 1936, it was reported that American soil had become “almost void of trace minerals” due to the use of pesticides and herbicides, and the fact that farmers no longer rotated their fields. Today, in 2009, the problem has only been exacerbated, and America is considered to be the most overfed and undernourished society on the planet. 
In fact, our food supply is so nutritionally bankrupt that it would take about 12 apples in 2009 to equal the nutrition in just one apple from 1976. The nutrition in a bowl of spinach from 1957 requires 51 bowls of spinach in 2009. 

Some of these numbers have gone up due to population growth, better detection, etc. but it does make one stop and think, "Could we be contributing to it? Or could we help prevent it? Personally, I believe both. The choices we make affect our bodies, minds and spirits. 

So what can one do? Get informed...make better choices...read labels...demand consumer rights for things such as labeling GMO's. Eat local, eat seasonal and make things from scratch. Chicken soup from a can is not the same as your Grandmother's!