what christina cooks.

So I had an idea...

I love to cook. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to do it. (Ok, get your mind out of the gutter. I'm still talking about cooking...). I also love photography. I take pictures of EVERYTHING, especially my food. I make my dinner, take a pic if it's looking particularly appetizing and usually post it on Facebook.

I always seem to get positive comments along with recipe requests, so I figured, why not add it to my blog??

Now these recipes should be pretty easy. I work a lot and Mr. Mc has no idea how to cook, so I do all the cooking. Sometimes I get home very late. I cheat everything I can because in all reality, I'm kind of lazy like that. These recipes will use common ingredients and be pretty easy, but taste really freaking good.

So here you go. The first installment of what christina cooks. I hope you enjoy!

Feta Pasta

My original plan was to make a quiche, but Mr. Mc didn't want to wait that long to eat, so I had to make up something else. This is what I got...

Very simple ingredients...

1. Box of Pasta (any kind will work), cooked according to the box. Now, if you can't boil water and cook pasta, (you know who you are, cough:Sabe:cough) you might be SOL.

2. About 1-2 ounces of Feta cheese. Now I like the organic Whole Foods kind, but I'm kind of snotty like that. Any kind will do. You can even cheat it up and use the crumbled. Also, I say 1-2 because it really is to taste. Some people don't like too much and it is a strong cheese, so it can be overpowering.

3. Bag of Spinach. I prefer fresh because it tastes better, but you can use frozen too. Just cook it in the microwave first and drain out all the water.

4. Garlic to taste. I use 1 really large clove or a few small ones. Mince it up. Again, this is too taste. Mr. Mc doesn't like too much...

5. 2 TBSP Olive Oil.

6. 2-3 TBSP Pesto. Again, this is to taste.

7. Salt & Pepper, to taste. Yeah, big surprise there.

How to cook this...

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water. Be sure to salt the water every time you cook pasta. This is the only time you can truly season the pasta, so do it now. You don't need too much. A couple large pinches will do.

2. In a sauté pan heat the olive oil over medium-hi heat. When hot reduce to medium and add the minced garlic. Cook about 1 minute until it starts to soften and get more of a golden color, but not brown. With garlic brown=burnt.

3. Add the spinach. If using fresh, cook until wilty, about 2-3 minutes, or until it looks like the picture below. If using frozen, just heat through. When done, remove the spinach from the heat.

4. While waiting for the pasta to finish, chop up the feta cheese. Or as Mr. Mc says "cut the cheese" and then giggles, because yes, he's 12...

5. Drain the pasta once it's done and put back into the hot pot. Add The feta, spinach mixture and pesto back into the pot.

6. Now just mix the whole thing up serve. Yeah, not too difficult, but it sure looks like it is!

One piece of advice, presentation means a lot when cooking. Use smaller plates or bowls and space things in an artful way. It makes it look like you slaved away for hours to make this fancy dinner and you can usually get out of doing the dishes then...

I hope you all enjoy! I'm going to try to post a couple of these a week, but we'll see how that works out...

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