Guest Chefs Jana and Mary

October 29, 2011
Spinach, Artichoke Cups and Runza Casserole

This week two of my favorite speech-language pathologists came and made a fabulous dinner with me. We made an appetizer, salad and a main dish. We had five men to feed so we had to cook up quite a feast. We started with the Spinach and Artichoke Cups. I love starting with an appetizer. It gives us all something to munch on while we whip up the rest of the dinner. I forgot to thaw the spinach so we had to put it under hot water to speed up the thawing. Lucky for me that worked.

Mary and I chopped up the artichokes and peppers. The rest was just dumping in some mayo, garlic and cheese. A quick baking and we had a pretty cool beginning to our evening. None of us had made this appetizer before so we followed the recipe.

Spinach & Artichoke Cups

24 Won Ton wrappers
14oz can artichoke harts, drained, chopped finely
1 C. Shredded mozzarella cheese
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1/3 C. mayo with olive oil reduced fat
1/3 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 C. finely chopped red pepper2 garlic cloves, minced (we used 2 tsp minced garlic in a jar)

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Spray mini muffin cups with non-stick spray
Place won ton wrappers in mini muffin cups
Bake 5 minutes
Mix ingredients
Spoon mixture into won ton cups
Bake 12-14 minutes until edges are brown.

 These were a big hit with our table mates. A very quick and easy appetizer.

Spinach & Artichoke Cups

Mary's Artichoke Tip

Mary also threw together a super good salad. I highly recommend this salad. I love cashews so it was a big hit with me. The guys liked it too.

Cashew Lettuce Salad

3 bags lettuce
Chopped red onion
12 oz cashews
8oz shredded swiss cheese

Dressing
3/4 C. Oil
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. White Vinegar
1 tsp Poppy seed
1tsp ground mustard
We put the dressing on 1/2 the salad.

Runza Casserole

2 lbs ground beef
2 C. Chopped Cabbage
1can cream of celery soup
2 (8 count) tubes crescent rolls
1/4 C. chopped onion
1-1/2 tsp pepper
1 C. mild shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the ground beef along with onion, salt and pepper. Drain and add cabbage. Simmer for 15 min. Stir in cream of celery soup.

Spray a 9 by 13 pan with non-stick spray

roll out one tube of crescent rolls in the bottom of the pan

Add cabbage hamburger mixture

Sprinkle with cheese

roll out second tube over the top of the casserole
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Jana's Runza Tip

Runza Casserole and Cashew Lettuce Salad

What I Learned: 

     I learned that Won Ton Wraps make great appetizer cups when they are pushed into a mini muffin cup and baked. They are simple to fill and make for easy pick up and eat. Plus they are were quick. I absolutely loved it.

     I also learned that crescent rolls make a great top and bottom crust. They are flaky and tasty. The Runza Casserole was wonderfully simple and I'd suggest making a double batch because it truly is great warmed up the next day. I love casseroles and this one is very convenient.

     Since Runza sandwiches were so big in Nebraska when we lived there, we looked up Runza on the Internet to see the history. According to Wikipedia, a Runza is a yeast dough bread pocket filled with a beef, onion, cabbage or sauerkraut mix. The Runza sandwich originated in Russia during the 1800s and spread to Germany. German immigrants brought the Runza sandwich to the US. There is a registered trademark restaurant in Nebraska that specializes in the Runza sandwich. I remembered the sandwiches being rather time consuming. I'm happy to say, the casserole is a super simple way to make the Runza. 

An A+ Night

Thanks Everyone!!!!