Crab and Spinach Casserole and Awards

I've had my eye on this recipe for a while and am so glad that I finally tried it. I'm a fan of everything spinach, and the crab thrown into this casserole makes it a definite winner. The recipe calls for imitation crabmeat, but I imagine it would be superb with fresh crabmeat if you can find it on sale. I was a little worried that the imitation crab would ruin the dish, but it really had a nice flavor when mixed with the leek soup mix. I would recommend cutting it into smaller pieces before adding it to the casserole, however. As usual, I added more than the recommended amount of cheese to the top of the dish before baking. I wanted a nice thick crust on top. The only other change I would suggest would be to add some salt to the dish before baking. I did salt the water before cooking the pasta, but I felt that the sauce needed a little salt as well. I added some into the recipe listed below. Since I served mine with homemade garlic knots (recipe coming soon), I chose to use garlic salt. If you aren't a fan, regular salt would work fine.
Crab and Spinach Casserole

2 cups uncooked gemelli pasta

1 package (1.8 ounces) leek soup mix

2 cups milk

1 package (8 ounces) refrigerated imitation crabmeat chunks (cut into smaller pieces)

2 cups baby spinach leaves, stems removed

1/2 - 1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Garlic or regular salt to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 1.5 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on the package. While pasta is cooking, mix soup mixx and milk in a 1 quart saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Mix pasta, cut crabmeat, and spinach in the casserole. Pour soup mixture evenly over the pasta mixture, stirring gently to mix. Spread evenly. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until bubbly and light golden brown.

Source: Betty Crocker's Quick and Easy

Finally, a sincere 'Thank You' to my sister, Rachel and the girls at Three on Food for the awesome awards pictured above. It has been a rough few weeks with my grandfather being ill and my son dealing with some health issues. These awards totally made my day and I truly appreciate them! I'm going to have to brainstorm and pass these on very soon! There is such a large list of deserving bloggers who I so love visiting every day! Check back soon and I promise that I'll get these handed out! :)

Thank you for the Awards!

I am so unbelievably touched and honored to receive the following blog awards!

This award was passed to me by Rachel, from Rachel vs. The Kitchen. For those of you that don't know, Rachel is actually my sister and I have been having so much fun sharing the 'blog world' with her! We both were raised to love to cook, and it is so nice that even though we don't get to see each other as often as we might like, we can connect and share our recipes and ideas with each other as well as all of our new blogging friends. Thanks for the award, Rachel!

Along with this award, I'm supposed to share seven things about my personality and then pass along the award and meme on to seven other bloggers for them to do the same. I've really enjoyed "meeting" new people from all over the country and am excited to learn even more about some of my fellow bloggers!

1. I have to borrow Rachel's number 1 also-- Family Oriented. I am definitely someone who needs to be surrounded by family. I would do anything for them and know that they would for me. It is very important to me that my children are raised surrounded by family as well and are able to understand the bond that a strong family shares.

2. Mommy-genes. This could really be rolled into number 1 and isn't necessarily a 'personality trait' per se, but I LOVE being a mommy. I have never known love like that shared between a mother and her children. I would literally walk through fire for my little ones.

3. Teacher/Mentor. I have taught first grade for 6 years and I love every second of it. It is one of the most rewarding jobs I can imagine and I love to watch the excitement on a child's face as they learn something new and build their confidence.

4. Goal Oriented. I have a dream to one day open up a bakery/cafe. My friend Christy and I have been working on a side business along these lines but one day hope to open up an actual storefront.

5. Patient. As a first grade teacher, patience was a necessity. My husband would also probably joke that being married to him requires some patience as well! :)

6. Loyal. I would like to think that I am a loyal person and will stand by those that I love. (I hope my friends and family would agree!) My husband and I met in high school, started dating in college and now have been together for 10 wonderful years. I'd walk to the ends of the earth for him.

7. OCD. I seriously have a problem! :)

I am passing this award along to the following bloggers:

1. Christy, from Christy's Kitchen Creations

2. Pam, from For the Love of Cooking

3. Shelby, from The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch

4. Monica, from Lick the Bowl Good

5. Holly, from I Heart Bowheads

6. Marin, from Marin's Creations

7. Cathy, from Accountants Can Cook

The other award I was lucky enough to receive came from Kathy at Three on Food. Thank you so much, Kathy!

The Rules:

1. Put the logo in your blog

2. Write five things you are passionate about apart from blogging

3. Tag 5 people on your lists and let them know you tagged them.

A lot of these are going to be the same as the other award... but here we go!
Five things I'm passionate about...

1. My Children/Husband - My family means everything to me and comes before anything and everything else!

2. My Career - I take my responsibility to teach very seriously and fully understand the great trust that parents have when they allow me to work with and for their children. It is an honor to be in such a position.

3. My Religion - My parents always worked to instill a sense of pride within our religious background, but not until recently have I come to fully understand the power of faith and prayer. I am very grateful for the foundation that my parents have provided and hope that I can do the same for our children.

4. My Family - I said it before and it's worth saying again. I am blessed to have close relationships with so many members of my family and would do anything for them. Family is very important to me and I want to model that for my children as well.

5. My Friends - I am so unbelievably lucky to have such a great group of close friends that I know I can count on no matter what! (I wish I haven't always given you guys such ample opportunities to prove that!)

I would like to pass this award to the following people:

1. Rachel, from Rachel vs. The Kitchen

2. Christy, from Christy's Kitchen Creations

3. Leslie, from The Seasoned Homemaker

4. Aubrey, from The Fam Five

5. Jen, from Jamie and Jen Dish