Spanakopitas and Orzo

A family favorite of ours is Greek spanakopitas (spinach pies, if you prefer an easier way of pronouncing). Spanakopitas are time consuming to make but are totally worth the time because they are so gosh darn good; crispy phyllo outside, spinach, dill, onion, and melted feta in the inside. HEAVEN, I tell ya. Get the recipe here.

Orzo is such a great pasta and it's super versatile. Tonight, I prepared another family classic with it; orzo, tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta cheese, lemon ( I use the juice of 2 lemons), and olive oil. Normally, I would put fresh basil in this salad, but the basil we bought at the store somehow was no where to be found!!! I added some fresh dill instead, worked just fine. :-)

(The mouthwatering inside of the spanakopitas)

(Fresh and flavorful orzo salad)

(The crispy outside of the spanakopitas)

(Angel food cake out of the box, so what!)

SPICY Bean Tacos

These were good, not great, just good. If I make them again I plan on cutting back the amount of chipotle peppers in adobo (the flavor was good but they were too spicy for Jake's taste) and replacing that flavor with taco seasoning spices (cumin, chili powder, garlic, and a little cayenne pepper)

Instead of sour cream (which we love), we used plain yogurt and it tasted almost as good as sour cream, I'm not kidding. :-)

Spicy Bean Tacos (wholeliving.com)
8 whole-wheat tortillas, 7 inches each
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic , minced
2 cans (15 ounces each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo, finely chopped, plus more for serving (optional)
Coarse salt and ground pepper, to taste
1 cup store-bought green salsa, plus more for serving (optional) - I omitted this
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed - omitted this
1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap tortillas in foil, place in oven, and warm while you prepare the filling.
-In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add scallions and garlic; cook 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in beans, chipotle, and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer, season with salt and pepper, simmer 5 to 7 minutes until slightly thickened and hot. Add salsa (if desired), corn, and lime juice; cook until heated through.
-Unwrap tortillas; spread yogurt over one side. Top with the warm bean mixture, cilantro leaves, lettuce, and cheese. Fold tortillas over and serve 2 per person with additional salsa and chipotle, if desired.

I couldn't resist posting this pic of Grace. How cute is she?!