Ricotta & Spinach Stuffed Shells

for one...

A couple of weekends ago, I had the luxury of spending quite a bit of time playing in the kitchen and took full advantage of it by making several dishes. This was my first time making stuffed shells and for the life of me, I can't figure out why I've never made these before given just how easy they were. What I really like about this dish is the that you can make up a whole batch and eat them right away, or you can do like I did: freeze them individually so you can pull out as many or as few as you want on a day that you just don't feel like cooking.

Ricotta & Spinach Stuffed Shells

for a crowd...

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 shallot, minced

6 ounces spinach (I used fresh, but you could always use frozen/defrosted)

1 tsp. lemon pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder (go ahead... you know you want to use fresh)

1 tsp. dried basil

pinch of nutmeg

salt & pepper to taste

15 ounces ricotta cheese (I used part-skim instead of whole milk ricotta)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

18-24 jumbo shells, cooked shy of al dente and tossed in olive oil to prevent sticking  (different brands of pasta make different size "jumbo" shells)

Directions:

In a saute pan over medium-low heat, cook the shallot in olive oil until slightly softened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the spinach and all spices, continuing to cook until the spinach has wilted and most of the moisture has cooked out, about 6-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the cheeses and the cooled spinach mixture. Fill each of the shells with the cheese mixture. Once all of the shells are stuffed, you've got a couple of options...

Option #1: Cover the bottom of a glass baking dish with your favorite marinara and nestle the stuffed shells down into the sauce. Drizzle on some olive oil , cover tightly with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes before removing the foil and baking for another 10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubbly.

Or, Option #2 (what I did): Spread out the stuffed shells on a lightly oiled baking sheet and place them into the freezer until they are frozen solid, about 2 hours. Once they're frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer bag and not worry about them sticking together. When you're ready to eat them, you can pull out as many as you want (bake up a big pan to feed a crowd, or pull out a few and bake in an individual casserole dish for one) and follow the directions in Option #1, although you'll need to add to the cooking time if they're frozen.

Enjoy!

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

It's not often that I go to the effort of making a lasagna because I really only want one serving of it... even though you need to make an entire pan of it to get that single serving. When I do make lasagna, I prefer to use the no-boil noodles because it really does simplify the process and you can't tell the difference (texture-wise) if you use enough sauce and make sure to cover it while baking. Anyway, it shouldn't be surprising that I make these lasagna rolls much less frequently because of the simple fact that they're fairly labor intensive. It's not that any one step is difficult, per se, but there's just so damn many of them that it's not exactly something you can throw together on the fly or at the last minute.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Ingredients:
6 dried lasagna noodles (NOT the no-boil kind)
recently boiled kettle of water (you got it- need to go old school on this technique)
2 cups of your favorite marinara (homemade or jarred, whatever you've got on hand)
10 ounces of spinach (fresh or frozen)
1 small onion, diced (I actually used a shallot)
1 tsp. garlic powder (or fresh, if you insist)
salt & pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg
15 ounces of ricotta cheese (I use the reduced-fat kind, but you can use the full fat stuff if you prefer)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (in this case, the stuff from the green can works just as well as freshly grated)
1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella (again, I used the reduced-fat kind)
1 Tbs. dried basil (I would normally say to use fresh, but in baked dishes like this, it really doesn't make a huge difference)
1 Tbs. dried parsley (same goes)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Arrange the dried lasagna noodles in a single layer in 1 or 2 baking dishes (depending on the size of your dishes- I had to use two 13"x 9" pans) and pour the recently boiled water over them, enough to cover by about an inch. Why not just boil the noodles in a pot like the directions of the box say to? Well, this way, the noodles stay separated (tend to stick together in a pot of boiling water), you don't have to go through the hassle of draining them and then oiling them and laying them out flat to prevent sticking. Plus, they'll be just shy of al dente which means they're pliable enough to roll, but then they won't get too soft in the final baked dish.

Meanwhile, in a saute pan over medium-low heat, cook the onion, spinach, garlic powder, salt & pepper, and nutmeg in olive oil until the onion is softened and the spinach is wilted, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, parmesan, mozzarella, basil and parsley. Once the spinach mixture has cooled, add it to the cheese mixture and blend well.

To assemble the lasagna rolls: Pour 1 cup of marinara in the bottom of an 8" x 8" square baking dish. Remove the noodles from the water and lay flat on your work surface. Spoon 1/4 cup of the cheese & spinach mixture onto the noodle and spread it out in a thin-ish (yes, I said thin-ish) layer over 2/3 of the noodle before rolling it up. Why not cover the entire noodle? As soon as you start rolling, the mixture spreads down the noodle and if you were to cover the entire noodle, it would just squirt out the end as you completed the roll; trust me, this amount of filling works well.

Lay the rolls seam-side down in the baking dish. Spoon any leftover spinach & cheese mixture in the space between the 2 rows of rolls (this size pan is perfect for 2 rows of 3 rolls each), then cover the lasagna rolls with another cup of marinara. Sprinkle on more parmesan or shredded mozzarella if desired, cover with foil, and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes before removing the foil and continuing to bake, uncovered, for another 15-20 minutes until the top is nicely browned. Allow the lasagna rolls to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Tofu Parmesan

Tofu Parmesan

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken breast
3 links of Italian sausage, removed from casing
1 egg white
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbs milled flax seeds
1/4 cup each low fat shredded mozzarella and parmesan
spices (onion, garlic, herbes de provence, thyme, basil)

leftover sauteed tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers
1 sm can tomato sauce
2 cups broccoli slaw

4 slices previously baked tofu
2 Tbs parmesan cheese (from the can is best)
sprinkle each of shredded mozzarella and parmesan

Directions:
Combine all meatball ingredients until well mixed and form into golf ball sized balls. Roast on wire rack on baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 15-18 minutes, until well browned and cooked through. Meanwhile, reheat sauteed tomato mixture with can of tomato sauce, adding pinch of red pepper flakes. Lightly press the tofu slices in the grated parmesan before crisping up in a saute pan in a little bit of olive oil. Dump any remaining parmesan into the tomato sauce so as not to waste it. Once tomato sauce comes to a slow simmer, stir in broccoli slaw then turn off the heat, allowing the slaw to warm through yet retain it's crunch. Sprinkle the crisped tofu slices with the shredded cheese and move to the oven just until melted. Build as follows: tomato sauce with broccoli slaw on the bottom of bowl, 2 slices of tofu parmesan on top, chicken meatballs on the side. For my vegetarian friends, just skip the meatballs. :)

Enjoy!

Stuffed Meatballs with Sweet Potato & Brussel Sprout Hash

Stuffed Meatballs with Sweet Potato & Brussel Sprout Hash

Ingredients:

1 small onion, finely diced

1 medium carrot, finely diced

1 stalk of celery, finely diced

2 Tbs. yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 c. bread crumbs (panko)

1 egg, beaten

1 lb. ground meat (turkey, chicken, beef, meatloaf mix)

2 string cheese, diced into 12 pieces

Directions:

Saute the veggies in olive oil until softened before mixing together all ingredients except cheese. Form into meatballs and stuff 1 piece of diced mozzarella cheese into the center of each ball. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes on a baking rack on top of baking sheet to promote even browning. Once removed from the oven, raise temperature to 425 degrees to roast the diced sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts for 40 minutes, stirring once midway through cooking time.

Enjoy!

A Comfort Food Classic

Ever have a day where, at the end of it, you just crave comfort food... something to restore that warm and fuzzy feeling? Well, today was one of those days for me, and as muzzy headed as I was after the dust had settled on this less than stellar day, I wasn't really up to preparing a full meal. (The way this day has been going, I'd probably set the kitchen on fire or sever a finger.) Instead, I decided to go with the quintessential rainy (emotional, if not meteorological) day classic: a grilled cheese sandwich. But just because you're having a crappy day, that doesn't mean comfort food can't be elevated to a more, shall we say, sophisticated level without compromising the integrity of the kitsch factor, or, on the other hand, losing sight of the fact that we're ultimately talking about something as simple as melted cheese on bread. So here we go with tonight's version of comfort on a plate.

Ingredients:

2 slices of whole grain bread (the hearty, nutty flavor is the perfect foil for gooey cheese and holds up well without getting soggy)

1-2 slices of provolone cheese (fontina would be fantastic here as well)

1-2 slices of fresh mozzarella (the ultimate melting cheese)

2 slices of Canadian bacon (I also like turkey bacon but really didn't want to cook any tonight in the name of keeping things as stream-lined as possible... or you can leave off the meat, I just wanted the extra protein)

1-2 slices of tomato (equally as good to serve on the side)

Dijon mustard (basil pesto is really good if you're not a mustard fan)

Keep the preparation quick and easy. Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on only one slice of the bread, otherwise it can easily overpower the sandwich. Next layer is a slice of cheese, dealer's choice on which to lay down first. Then comes the Canadian bacon, followed by the tomato slices, and topped off with the rest of the cheese. In a pan over medium-low heat, melt some Smart Balance and gently place the sandwich into it. Flip after 2 minutes, or until desired level of golden brown goodness is achieved. Don't forget to spread a small amount of Smart Balance on the other piece of bread so that when you flip the sandwich, the second side isn't hitting a dry pan. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown and delicious on both sides. Remove to a plate and let it sit for at least 30 seconds before diving in, otherwise you will burn your mouth from all the hot gooey cheese and the rest of the filling will just fall out onto the plate. You think your day was bad before? Try burning your mouth and having your comfort food fall apart... that'll really make your day!

Enjoy!