Spinach Alfredo Casserole - A Great Side Dish

Spinach Alfredo Casserole - A Great Side Dish!
by Kay Curtiss

Well, another week on my new eating plan and I've lost a total of 14.8 pounds in a month and 3.2 pounds last week -- while eating foods like this Spinach Alfredo, Chocolate Eclairs with Whip Cream, grilled steaks, Loaded Cauliflower Soup, Salmon patties, Fried Green Beans, Pancakes, Cookie Bowl Oatmeal and more.  I'm really enjoying eating like this.  I'll be posting recipes for all the different things as I get the recipes down the way I like them and take pictures this time :O). 

Thrive came through for this recipe of Spinach Alfredo Casserole, making it so much easier to make than the original recipe of Spinach Casserole in the Trim Healthy Mama book (pg. 358).  So here you go --

Spinach Alfredo Casserole

FD - Freeze Dried
Thrive Product numbers are for pantry size can except seasonings
Trim Healthy Mama (THM) Meal category - "S"

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Thrive FD Spinach (#22234)

1 2/3 cups water

1/3 cups Half and Half

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 teaspoon Thrive Chef's Choice Seasoning (#23628)

1/4 teaspoon Thrive Peppercorn Blend (#23629)

2 Tablespoons Thrive FD Onions (#22227)
1/4 teaspoon Thrive Lemonade Powder (#22899) 

1/2 teaspoon minced Garlic or Garlic Powder

1 tsp. Glucomannan Powder***

1 cup Thrive FD Mozzarella Cheese (#22443), reconstituted

Instructions:

Put Thrive FD Spinach into a casserole baking dish.  Into a blender add: half and half, butter, Chef's Choice, Peppercorn Blend, FD onions, Garlic, Lemonade powder and Glucomannan Powder. Blend until everything incorporated about 20-30 seconds.  Pour over spinach in baking dish.  Mix well. Add 1/2 cup reconstituted mozzarella cheese and mix in.  Sprinkle the other 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese on the top and bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes until heated through (reconstituting the spinach in the baking) and the cheese is melted on the top and browned a little.



***Glucomannan Powder is a white powder that comes from the konjac root and looks like corn starch.  It is used to thicken gravies, puddings, sauces or soups -- really anything you want to thicken.  It is a soluble fiber that slows glucose absorption and lowers the glycemic index of a meal.  Glucomannan has ZERO carbs, ZERO calories, ZERO taste and blends into recipes really well.  It does not have to be heated to thicken liquids but it is more potent with heat.  It also has about 10 times the thickening power of cornstarch, so you don't need much.  I put mine in a salt shaker and just sprinkle it in, unless I’m going to blend the liquid to make sure it gets blended in without lumps.

Click to download Spinach Alfredo Casserole Recipe

Thrive Superhero's Magic Power Dust

Thrive Superhero's Magic Power Dust

Thrive Superhero's Magic Power Dust Can

Need a fun way to get more veggie nutrition into your kids?  Try this Thrive Superhero's Magic Power Dust.  It is loaded with nutrition from Thrive FD Vegetables and can be sprinkled on eggs, pizza, tacos, mac cheese, salads or mixed into sauces, soups, or stews.  The sky is the limit on how you can use this.

I found a cute picture of some of my nieces and nephews from a family reunion that I used to make my Superhero label.

Here's the recipe:

Thrive Superhero's Magic Power Dust

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Thrive FD Spinach
1/4 cup Thrive FD Broccoli
1/4 cup Thrive FD Red Peppers
1/4 cup Thrive FD Tomato Dices
1/4 cup Thrive FD Peas
1/2 cup Thrive FD Butternut Squash
1/2 cup Thrive FD Corn
1/2 cup Thrive FD Cauliflower
1/2 cup Thrive FD Mushrooms
1/2 cup Thrive FD Cheddar Cheese (optional)
3 T. Thrive Salad Blend Seasoning
3 Empty Thrive Seasoning Cans or other Shaker Container

Click here to shop for these Thrive FD Vegetables

Instructions:
Blend all the veggies and cheese until powdered in a food processor.  Add the Thrive Salad Blend Seasoning and hand whisk in.  Divide between 3 empty Thrive Seasoning Cans or other shaker container. This filled each of my 3 Thrive Seasoning Cans about 2/3 full.

Note:  You can use any combination of Thrive FD Veggies to make this.  Dehydrated Veggies did not become a powder in my food processor so I didn't use any of those.

Click to download the recipe for my Thrive Superhero's Magic Power Dust

Sweet Potato (aka Pumpkin) Buttermilk Pancakes - Family Favorite Thrivealized

Sweet Potato (aka Pumpkin) Buttermilk Pancakes

From DeAnn Draper

Thrivealized by Kay Curtiss

Today's Thrivealized Family Favorite Recipe comes from my sister, DeAnn Draper.  She sent me her Pumpkin Buttermilk Pancake recipe.  I Thrivealized it with our Thrive Sweet Potatoes & our Thrive 10 Grain Pancake Mix.  Here's how I did with it:

Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:

Thrive Sweet Potatoes

Thrive 10 Grain Pancake Mix

1/2 Thrive Sweet Potatoes

1 cup boiling water

1 cup Buttermilk

2 T. Thrive Brown Sugar

1/2 t. Cinnamon

1/8 t. Nutmeg

1/8 t. Ginger 

1 1/2 cups Thrive 10 Grain Pancake Mix

1/3 cup water

Thrive Honey Crystals

Topping:

Thrive Applesauce

Thrive Cinnamon Honey Butter**

Thrive Applesauce, reconstituted

Directions:

Add Thrive Sweet Potatoes to boiling water in saucepan with lid.  Turn off heat and let sweet potatoes reconstitute in covered saucepan about 10 minutes.  DO NOT DRAIN.  Pour sweet potatoes with left over water into food processor.  Add buttermilk, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger.  Blend until smooth.  Put Thrive 10 Grain Pancake Mix into mixing bowl.  Add sweet potato mixture & 1/3 cup water.  Blend but don’t over mix.  If you want thinner pancakes, add additional water, a Tablespoon at a time, mixing lightly to desired consistency.

With Thrive Applesauce

Cook on a medium heat skillet greased lightly with butter.  Serve with Thrive Cinnamon Honey Butter & Thrive Applesauce or Thrive Applesauce & Maple Syrup or just Maple Syrup or any number of Thrive Freeze Dried (FD) Fruits plain or made into sauces.

**Thrive Cinnamon Honey Butter

1/2 cup Butter, softened

2 T. Thrive Honey Crystals

2 T. Thrive Brown Sugar

1/2 T. Cinnamon (adjust to taste)

Beat together until smooth.  Keep in covered container.

Original Recipe:  Pumpkin Buttermilk Pancakes

From DeAnn Draper

Ingredients: 

3 cups flour 1/4 t. ginger

3/4 tsp. salt 3 T. brown sugar

2 tsp. baking soda 1 (15 oz) can Libby’s pure pumpkin

1/2 tsp. cinnamon 3 cups buttermilk

1/4 tsp. nutmeg 3 eggs

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar, combining well.  Add pumpkin, buttermilk, and eggs to dry ingredients and mix gently. (If batter seems stiff, add water until it can be easily spooned onto a griddle.)  Heat griddle to medium heat and grease lightly.  Scoop about 1/3 cup of batter onto griddle and let cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Let other side cook again until lightly browned. Repeat these steps until all the batter is gone.

Click Here to download 

Sweet Potato (aka Pumpkin) Buttermilk Pancake Recipe

Email your Favorite Family Recipe to thrivewithkay@gmail.com.  

When I Thrivealize it,   I will then share it 

Here on my blog, in emails and on Facebook.

Basic DIY THRIVE Cup of Soup

Basic THRIVE DIY Cup of Soup Recipe

Last weekend, I went to a Saturday Summit Meeting with other Thrive Consultants in Charlotte, North Carolina.  One of the fun things we did was bring 4 people up and give them a variety of Thrive ingredients and give them 15 minutes to create a Pasta Dish.  They worked in pairs and both had a Chicken Pasta dish done in 10 minutes - yes that is correct - 10 MINUTES start to finish! And we got to sample it and it was delicious! This got me to thinking (I know that can be dangerous :O) . . . 

Having cooked with Thrive myself for over a year and working with others, it seems that the biggest fear is that cooking with Freeze Dried food is a little different so people tend to fall back into familiar habits that usually take longer, are not as nutritious, and in a lot of cases cost you more money. 

I decided that in my future demonstrations, everyone that comes will have the opportunity to "cook" with Thrive products so they can see just how easy it really is and hopefully take some of the fear away.

So today, my friend Judi Stull, came over and we were "Thrivin' It Up" all afternoon.  We figured out a basic proportion of various Thrive Products which you see in the recipe at the top or download it here.

We then started playing and made 6 different Single DIY Soups using the basic recipe above and the Thrive ingredients in my Home Store -- Chicken Rice Veggie Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup, Chili, Cauliflower Cheese Soup, & my favorite Shepherd's Pie Soup - it was awesome!

Thrive is so forgiving - if it is a little thick, add a little water - a little thin, add a little more sauce mix. Most ingredients will rehydrate in 10-15 minutes.  Bigger & thicker pieces, obviously, will take a little longer. 

You pick one of Thrive's 4 New Sauce mixes as the base for your soup.  They are Bechamel Sauce (Creamy White Sauce), Espangnola Sauce (Savory Beef Gravy), Tomato Sauce (Classic Tomato Sauce); & Veloute Sauce (Rich Chicken Gravy).

Now if you want meat, you can pick from Seasoned Chicken Slices (FD), Sausage Crumbles (FD), Ground Beef (FD), Diced Beef (FD), and lots more.  

You can find all the meat selections available by going to My Thrive Website and then Shop for Products.

Next you add your Basic Veggies (Mirepoix Mix) - which is usually Onions, Celery & Carrots.  I also have Mixed Bell Peppers available as well.

Then pick from a variety of Thrive's 9 New Spices to add to your soup mix, like:

If you want any Instant FD Pinto, Red or Black Beans OR Instant White or Brown Rice OR Egg Noodle Pasta, Thrive has you covered.

The last layers, you pick 3-5 different Thrive FD Vegetables from their vegetable line which currently has 27 different options, like: Asparagus FD, Broccoli FD, Cauliflower FD, Beans FD, Peas FD, Corn FD, Mushroom FD, Tomato Dices FD, Zucchini FD, new Butternut Squash, and coming soon Sweet Potatoes.  Where can you find this kind of variety that stores for 25 years unopened and usually around 2 years opened (if it lasts that long).

Add about 6 ounces of boiling water, stir well.  Put a lid on it and let it "steep" for 10-15 minutes. Then it's time to each and ENJOY!

To Recap:  To check out all the Thrive Products go to My Thrive Website.  From there it's easy to navigate to Shop for Products - or if you want a better deal or find out ways to get THIVE even cheaper (and sometimes for FREE) you can always email me at thrivewithkay@gmail.com.

You can check out all of my Thrive Recipes including the soups from this post here - or click on the Soup names above for a link to the individual recipes.

Happy Thrivin'