Awesome Lasagna

I'm just gonna post a link here with some notes for this awesome lasagna. I didn't change much.

http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Lighter-Lasagna-Primavera-(Moosewood-Restaurant-New-Classics)/28886/

Notes:

1. I made my own basil sauce which is my puttenesca recipe minus capers and olives, plus basil (http://lttlpggy.blogspot.com/2009/12/puttanesca-sauce.html)

2. I didn't add the crumbled tofu because Andy says he doesn't want to have it much (something about estrogen? I don't know)so I subbed in chopped turkey meatballs cooked in the sauce.

3. I didn't puree the cottage (or ricotta cheese); it saved me a dish. I just mixed together the cheeses with the asparagus in a bowl. I also didn't add garlic to this mix; I felt there was enough in the sauce.

4. I used a smaller pan (8X8) since there are only two of us.

5. No nutmeg on hand; it was fine and I used whole wheat noodles.

6. Finally! To keep confusion limited, the layers go thusly: sauce, dry noodles, cheese mix, chopped meatballs, dry noodles for two layers then a final layer of the artichoke hearts topped with dry noodles and SMOTHERED in sauce (make sure you reserve enough for the final layer of noodles or they won't cook through.

Such a great recipe! Andy loved it.

Kale with Pan-fried Walnuts

Ingredients:

2-3 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup walnut pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced or finely chopped

Large bunch of kale

Preparation:

Tear kale into pieces and add to heavily-salted, boiling water and boil for 6 minutes.

Drain and set aside.

Fry walnuts in oil until golden brown and then add garlic til fragrant.

Add cooled kale and sautee til heated.

Spicy Garlic Tofu

From Epicurious

Ingredients:

1/4 c Scallions, chopped

Garlic, 2 cloves, roasted

1 tbs sesame oil

3 tsp sesame seeds, toasted

3 tbs soy sauce

pinch salt

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

soft tofu

Preparation:

Rinse tofu carefully and Cut in half (top and bottom) and place in large pan and cover with cold water; set pan to simmer of med heat while you prepare the sauce.

Roast garlic (wrap cloves in tin foil in 350 degree oven til soft and golden).

Toast sesame seeds til golden brown in hot skillet.

Mash roasted garlic with a pinch of salt and then mix with other ingredients.

Crush sesame seeds with a knife or spoon and stir into sauce.

Carefully remove tofu from water and set on paper towels to drain.

Plate and serve with sauce on top.

I served this with brown rice and Kale with Panfried Walnuts.

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad 2

Ingredients:
Red and Golden Beets
8 oz Goat Cheese
Dried Tarragon
Walnut pieces
EV Olive Oil
Watercress
Salt

Preparation:

Wrap beets in aluminum foil and roast. Chill overnight. (Maybe spend a Sunday afternoon roasting so they'll be good to go for Monday dinner.) Arrange your chilled, peeled, and chunked beets on a plate (the red ones stain!) and salt. Drizzle with olive oil; top with walnuts and washed watercress leaves. Serve with dollops of goat cheese mixed with dried tarragon.

Carrot Ginger Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:
1 Onion, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 Shallot, Chopped
1/4 cup Ginger, peeled and minced
3 Tbs Butter
2 Tbs Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
4 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced
8 cups Veg Stock

Preparation:
Saute onion, garlic, shallot and ginger in butter and oil until soft and aromatic. Deglaze with wine and cook for 5 minutes. Add carrots, stock and sweet potato, boil for 45 minutes. Puree. Serve cold or hot iwth a pinch of curry and a squeeze of lemon if you'd like. Yum!

Vegetarian Reuben

Ingredients:

Dark rye bread
sauerkraut
spinach
mushrooms, sliced
shallots, thinly sliced
swiss cheese
olive oil
butter
Thousand Island dressing (mix equal parts mayo, ketchup, and chopped pickles)

Preparation:
This is pretty self-explanatory, actually, since it's just a sandwich but here we go.

Saute the mushrooms and shallots in oil until soft and add spinach. Cook til wilted. Butter your bread and place on griddle pan. Stack cheese and veggie and grill open faced. Remove from heat, layer sauerkraut and Thousand Island, close up and serve warm.

Veggie Wrap #1

Ingredients

1/4 c. red pepper, chopped
1/4 c. yellow pepper, chopped
1/4 c. shallots, slivered
1 tbs olive oil
1 bag of baby spinach
2 tbs goat cheese (or more, however much you want)
1 c. brown rice, cooked
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
2 large flour tortillas
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Prepare your rice. When rice is finished, preheat oven to 200 degreess. Spread goat cheese in tortillas and slide into warm oven until the veggies are ready. Sautee peppers and shallots in oil until softened and add spinach with lemon juice to wilt. Remember to salt and pepper the veggies. Remove tortillas and smear the goat cheese evenly, top with 1/2 c. rice, salt and pepper to taste. Add walnuts. Top with veggies and roll it up!

Tuna casserole and Artichoke dip

Tuna Caserole
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 c dry white wine
1 small carton heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1 can chunk light tuna in oil or water, drained
1/2 bag frozen peas
1/2 c basil, chopped
pasta of your choice
1/2 c parmesan cheese

Prep:

Cook your pasta according the package directions.

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add white wine and let it reduce for one minute stirring occassionally. Add heavy cream and salt and let reduce by another minute. Add drained tuna and stir. Add tuna mix to the cooked and drained pasta with the peas, basil, and cheese.


Artichoke Dip:

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen spinach
1 can of artichoke hearts, rough chopped
1/2 c. fat free sour cream
1/2 c. fat free mayonnaise
3 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. shredded mozzarella
1/4 - 1/2 c. fresh parmesan cheese

Prep:

Preheat oven to 375.

Cook spinach according to directions.  In the meantime, you can mix the remaining ingredients in a big bowl. add spinach. Spoon mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake until the top is crusty.

Recipe from mommy, what's for dinner on blogspot

Whole Wheat Pizza

Ingredients:

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 pkg. or 1 tbsp. active dry yeast
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. honey
Pizza sauce
Leftover ingredients

Preparation:

Mix together flour, yeast, and salt then add water oil and honey. Cover with warm towel and let rise for ten minutes. Punch down and knead til smooth. flatten half of the dough into the bottom of a greased (oil or cooking spray) 9" pan then layer with sauce and all the leftovers but not limited to goat cheese, grated fontina, salami, marinated veg, tapenade, etc.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Veggie Burger

This is a good mix to serve with eggs, too, if you don't want to make a burger and the ingredients are usually on hand in your pantry and refrigerator.

Ingredients:
1 tbs molasses
1 tbs honey
1 tbs hoisin
1 tbs soy
1 can black beans, drained
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 tbs onions, finely chopped
1 tbs finely chopped canned beets
1 tsp beet juice (from can)
1 tbs chili powder
1/4 tbs ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 egg white
2 tsp olive oil

Preparation:
Stir first four ingredients to make a sauce and set aside.

In a large bowl, mash beans and then stir in 3 tbs of sauce (reserve the remaining for brushing burger) then combine remaining ingredients except olive oil (that's for cooking). Form into patties (mix will keep for at least 5 days).

Heat oil in frying pan over medium. Grill burgers 2 min on each side, flipping carefully (they will fall apart, regardless).

Serve on toasted bun.

Veggie Quiche

This is my mother's recipe and I have no idea where she got it. Probably from her mom.

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c cold water
1 tsp salt (oops, forgot this last night...)
3 tbsp butter (you can use just one if you want cut down fat)
Seasonal Veggies
Tomatoes, sliced
5 eggs
Cottage cheese
S+P

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour and butter until crumbly with a fork, add baking powder and salt. add cold water slowly and mix to form a ball. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead 5 times, roll til big enough to lie in 9" pie pan. Shape to pan, line with parchment paper (I always forget the parchment paper!), fill with pie weights or uncooked beans or rice and pre-bake for 10 minutes, just before the edges get brown. This will help the crust from being soggy when you fill it.

Sautee veggies on medium heat with olive oil. Mix 5 eggs with salt and pepper and some cottage cheese. Place veggies in crust and cover with egg and cheese mixture. Top with tomato slices and cook til firm, about 30 to 45 minutes.

UPDATE! I've been finding that whole wheat, low fat everything is, um, boring. So, for the crust this week (Dec 6, 10), I used all purpose flour and 3 tbs of butter. Now we're talkin'.

UPDATE!! Haha, crust needs more butter and actually maybe even Crisco and definitely more salt. Andy licked his plate but the roast chicken, goat cheese, parsley, onion, garlic, potato combo might have been the real draw. I found the crust to be...less than. Next time! 


UPDATE 3: Sorry (no really) to say that this crust needs a cup of butter to be flaky and worth eating. You can try for less, go ahead but, so far, a cup where I'm at.

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing

From smittenkitchen.com

Ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoons ground allspice (I skip this)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
one 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley ( i used parsley)

add roasted chicken (bought so easy at the grocery store all roasty for ya) for a non-veggie version!

1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine the butternut squash, garlic, allspice, olive oil, and some salt and toss the squash to evenly coat. Roast them on a baking sheet until soft (about 25 minutes).

In a small bowl, whisk together garlic and lemon juice then add tahini and blend. Add water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. Add more water and lemon juice to thin out if necessary.

Combine the warm squash, chicken, chickpeas, onion, and cilantro or parsley in a mixing bowl. Serve dressing on the side.