Spinach Ricotta Spread with Parmesean Chips

I feel like Monday arrived super fast this week, didn't it?

Or do I always say that? I know I typically feel that way.

I spent the weekend picking up some maternity clothes (more on that soon) and spending time down the shore. We are trying to soak up these last weekends of summer as they seem to be flying by! How was your weekend?

Meanwhile, it's that time again for the Secret Recipe Club reveal day! Hooray!

I really do love the Secret Recipe Club because it's so fun to branch out and try new recipes, not to mention the opportunity to find a ton of new blogs!

Each month, The Secret Recipe Club, run by the lovely April, pairs a blogger with another blog. The blogger then chooses one recipe to cook or bake and reveals it as a surprise on a designated day. I like. A special thanks also to Debbi @ Debbi Does Dinner Healthy for playing hostess in Group C!

I was thrilled to receive Feast on the Cheap as my blog assigment for this month. A gorgeous blog written by mother-daughter team Mary Anne and Mariel, I had such a tough time picking a recipe because they all look so fantastic! 

I chose their Spinach-Ricotta Spread on Crispy Parmesean Squares as my recipe for the month. Since my cooking has been limited lately (read: virtually nonexistent), I thought this beautiful recipe was perfect due to its simple yet delicious nature. And right I was. I changed up the parmesean chips a bit. Since I'm lazy these days, I chose to make my quick baked tortilla chips sprinkled with parmesean cheese, rather than rolling out pizza dough...though I'm sure that would really put this recipe over the top!

I also served this spread as a dip, rather than spreading on individual chips. It was just a snack for Shaun and me, so I found it to be much easier this way, and then I was able to save the rest for another day!

Spinach-Ricotta Spread with Parmesean Chips
*Adapted from Feast on the Cheap
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
15-oz container of part skim ricotta
1¼ cup + 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
2 8 inch tortillas
1 Tablespoon butter 
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper
Cooking spray

To make the chips, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up 2 tortillas and lay on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp parmesean cheese. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until crispy.

In a skillet, melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the ricotta and parmesean cheese. Stir together until melted and bubbling. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with parmesean tortilla chips.

Shaun and I really loved this dip. It came together in a snap and I could see us eating this on many a football Sunday to come!

So there you have it. Another great Secret Recipe Club recipe! Thanks to Mary Anne and Mariel for sharing!

Questions of the Day:

What are your favorite dips or spreads?

What did you do this weekend?

To see other great recipes from Secret Recipe Club members, visit the links below!

Homemade Nutella   Tortellini, Basil, and Fire Roasted Tomato Soup   Fudgy Butterscotch Brownies   Banana Nutella Pumpkin Bread   Chocolate Pecan Wafers   Watermelon Slush   Double Chocolate Snowball Cookies   White chocolate and raspberry fudge   Spinach-Ricotta Spread with Parmesean Chips   Strawberry Crumble   Romano Orzo-Julie's Eats & Treats   Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookies   BBQ, Bacon, Cheddar Smokehouse Chicken Melt   Chicken Pot Pie   strawberry melon smoothie   Lightened Buffalo Chicken Dip   Deep Fried Twinkies with Strawberry Topping   Apricot Cardamom Curd   Coloured popcorn   Non Dairy Banana Chocolate Ice Cream Pie   Raspberry Greek Breakfast Parfaits   Asiago Garlic Knots   Roasted Carrots with Spiced Pistachios   Peppermint Filled Brownie Cupcakes   Funfetti Cake Batter Dip   Spiced Apple Butter   Eggplant Involtini   Cookies and Cream Cookies~   Dulce de Leche Brownies   BBQ Beef Shepard's Pie   Smoky Caramelized Brussels Sprouts   Chocolate S'more Thumbprints   Rosemary Garlic Cheese Straws   Quinoa, Black Bean & Turkey Stuffed Peppers   Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies!   Summer Spinach and Grape Salad   Spinach and Onion Pinwheels   60 minute Sandwich Buns!   Apple-Cinnamon Bread Pudding   Chicken and Mushroom Stuffed Shells   Maple Grilled Pork Tenderloin   Southwest Stuffed Peppers   Sweet Spring Green Smoothie   ULTIMATE TWIX BARS   Potato Pancakes & Roasted Tomato Soup   Sfincione Palermitano   Banana Zucchini Muffins   Preserved Lemons   Watermelon-Mint Granita

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Week 17

So I'm almost at the end of Week 17. Time really feels like it's flying now!

And there's no doubt about it...I definitely have a little bump!

Ok, I'm still bordering the line of 'Is she pregnant or just eating too much ice cream and doesn't realize she shouldn't be wearing tight clothes?'

It's pretty wild because just a few days ago I feel like I was the only one who could really notice that my belly was growing. Then I woke up one morning and...there it was! After all, about a week ago, I barely had anything to show:

 

Growing pains

A few aches and pains this week! I'm getting a little bit of lower back pain in the evenings...I think from my front section growing and loosening and putting a bit of stress on my back. I also noticed that yesterday my stomach muscles were KILLING me! It felt like I had worked out and done 300 crunches (which obviously, I did not). I assume this is from all the stretching going on and to be honest, I'm loving every moment of it. It's pretty amazing to see and feel my body changing so much. Oh and to help with the stretch mark situation, I'm using both Burt's Bees Mama Bee and The Body Shop coconut butter (thanks Christine Bean!!).

Energizer

They aren't lying when they say the 2nd trimester is great. In general, I feel really good! Since the beginning I've had much more energy in the morning than in the evening. Now, I'm starting to have a bit more energy at night and I almost feel human again. When I come home from work, I no longer head straight for the couch, but actually help out making dinner, tidying up and doing the dishes. I'm sure that Shaun is pretty psyched for this development! Though he's still handling the bulk of the chores (like making tacos for dinner! Yum!) and just generally being a rock star.

 

Hunger Games

I'm learning that hunger is a crazy, crazy beast when you are pregnant. I go from 0 to 60 in a matter of minutes...one minute the thought of food couldn't be less appealing and the next my stomach is a burning ball of hunger and if I don't feed it, it feels like it will implode. I can also eat like a champ. Salads? Not cutting it. I could easily down 2 breakfasts and snacks are a must. I carry a few things in my purse at all times for emergencies. I've also noticed that I could eat until I'm full and then about 15 minutes later, my stomach is growling again! Not just a bit of hunger...actual growling! It's hunger like I've never felt before and so I'm trying my hardest to reach for healthy things when this crazy feeling sets in...apples, carrot sticks & hummus or cut up fruit seems to work nicely. In my purse, I always have a couple of granola bars and a bottle of water. My favorite food this week? Green apples. Yeah, I dunno.

Clothes

I'm happy to say that I made it until over 4 months in my regular clothes. I did pick up a BeBand from Target which has helped me continue to wear my pre-preg pants for the last couple of months as those buttons just stopped buttoning (or continued buttoning, but dug into my belly all day so that I felt as though I - and Baby H - couldn't breathe!). It's just a stretchy band that goes over the top of your pants, which can be left unbuttoned or unzipped. The band smoothes everything out and holds up your pants. Yeah, it's pretty genius.

But! I'm kind of approaching that point where even that just isn't cutting it anymore. Today I'm going on my first maternity shopping trip to find some pants and skirts. Tops are still fitting just fine, especially since I usually wear baggy tops with form fitting pants anyway. Oh! And my wonderful aunt loaned me some of her maternity clothes (she has 3 adorable little ones!) which are so cute and comfy. That's where I got the purple top above. It's amazing how much more comfortable that was to wear, so I'm excited to get some more staples that will fit me now and grow with me over the next few months!

So that's my update for this week! In general, I couldn't feel better or happier :) Here's to a fantastic weekend! 

What are your weekend plans?

Summer Shows

It's no secret that I love television.

Once the Fall hits, my schedule will be pretty packed with great television...and I love every minute of it!

The summertime, notorious for lackluster programming, does leave a bit to be desired, but since Shaun and I have spent many a night at home on the couch this summer, we definitely have a short list of summer TV that we've been digging.

Breaking Bad

If you aren't watching this show...please do it! But start from the beginning, don't jump in now. This is at the top of our favorite shows list. Walter White's descent from passive, honest high school teacher (Mr. Chips) to manic, scary drug kingpin who knows no bounds (Scarface) has been a wild ride. Each season never ceases to amaze me by reinventing itself and keeping the core storyline a fascinating one...and leaves me with my jaw on the floor each week. Oh and the A-mazing supporting characters don't hurt either...Jesse, Mike, Saul and Hank...love 'em all.

True Blood

Ok. Who else is watching this show? I've always been willing to go along with the over the top craziness of True Blood, mainly because it was fun, Eric was hot and the storyline was good enough. This season? I don't even have words. Every week Shaun and I look at each other and wonder why we are still watching. For me, it really jumped the shark this season with the Lost-ian smoke monster. At this point, there are 2 eps left so I have to continue...but am I alone in this feeling? I miss the good old days of fighting over Sookie, Eric not being a giant loser and caring about the characters. At this point, the only ones I can tolerate are Jason and Pam...as always :)

The Olympics (!!!)

We had so much fun watching The Olympics this summer! I really loved the gymnastics, swimming, diving and track & field. So great. I wish it wasn't every 4 years (I'm not as big a fan of winter Olympics...you?)! But, I will say that I"m happy to not have the urge to stay up until midnight each night to make sure that I don't miss any of the good stuff. Until 2016!

Jeopardy

Yep. We DVR it every evening. We really enjoy having this as a quick watch. It's fun to note that I can answer a respectable amount of questions and feel like I'm being educated at the same time. Yeah, just peddle us right into the geriatric unit already...

America's Got Talent

I'm definitely not one for competition shows, but I am one for Howard Stern. I could kind of take the show or leave it, but I do enjoy getting a dose of one of my favorite media stars. And who would have thought that the creepy curmudgeon of the show would actually be Howie Mandell? (And Howie? Once you ask people if the hat is cool, it automatically negates anything that could have possibly been cool). Howard makes the show watchable and now we are sucked in and rooting for the guy with the strings and the dog troop. Both of these acts make me happy.

So that's what we've been digging this summer. It's been fun, but I'm ready for my flood of Fall shows to start up!

Questions of the Day:

Do you prefer summer or winter Olympics?

What shows (if any!) have you been watching this summer?