Gnocchi with Spinach and Gorgonzola

As I said in yesterday's post, when I was freshly out of my dad's and living on my own, the first cookbook I bought was Rachael Ray's Just in Time.  Since I had it out to make the flounder, I decided to whip up another old favorite last night - Gnocchi with Spinach and Gorgonzola.  We usually make this as a main course, but we had bought some salmon the other day and wanted to have that, so the gnocchi ended up being a side for that (which meant more leftovers and a yummy lunch today!)

This is very simple to make, though Rachael Ray says it takes 15 minutes and tries to lay it out step by step so you can be doing 5 things at once.  The way it's written, it's a little hard to tell exactly when you're supposed to start the next step, and usually I was still finishing one thing when the timer for the previous component went off.  In all, it took me maybe 30 min to get everything done and cooked.  To make this kosher, I substituted Imagine No-Chicken Broth for the chicken stock.  Additionally, in my market, the gnocchi only comes in 17oz packages, so we ended up using a bit more than she says.  Oh, and I thought that we had chopped walnuts at home and it turned out we barely had any left, so I used sliced almonds this time around.  Tasted delish, though!
  

Gnocchi with Spinach and Gorgonzola (from Rachael Ray's Just in Time)

Ingredients
2 (10 oz) boxes frozen chopped spinach
Salt
2 (14-16oz) packages fresh gnocchi
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 4 times around the pan
3 to 4 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
Black Pepper
1 cup chicken stock
8 oz gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Directions
 To defrost the spinach, place it on a plate and microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Wring it dry in a clean kitchen towel and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the gnocchi and season it liberally with salt.  Cut open the gnocchi packages and set aside.

Place the walnuts in a small skillet and toss over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes until toasted and fragrant.

In a deep skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic to the warm oil, then add the spinach, separating the clumps as you add it to the garlic oil.  Season the spinach with salt and pepper, add the stock, and bring to a bubble over medium heat.  add the gorgonzola to the spinach and stir until it melts.

While the spinach heats, cook the gnocchi in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes, or until they float to the surface.  Drain, then add to the spinach and toss for 1 minute to coat, then adjust the seasonings.  Serve the gnocchi topped with the toasted walnuts.

Poached Flounder

When I was first living on my own, I decided that I should try eating like an actual adult and cook real meals, so I went out and bought Rachael Ray's Just in Time.  One of the first recipes I tried was her recipe for Poached Flounder.  In the past, I would eat flounder a few times a month, but mostly just put lemon juice and paprika on it and throw it under a broiler for a bit, so I was excited to have a new way to cook it.  It was so delicious that I started making it every few months.  A few months into dating my now-husband, I decided to cook for him and made this dish.  I'm convinced it's one of the reasons he married me.  Even at my bridal shower, they played a game where they asked me questions and I had to guess his answer.  They asked what his favorite dish I made was his favorite, and without hesitating I knew it was this one.  He knows that I've been trying to make new stuff and try new recipes, but every so often he'll put in a request for the flounder.

What's interesting about this dish, kosher-wise, is that it can be dairy, parve, or meat with minor adjustments.  I normally make it dairy, using butter and vegetable stock, but this time decided to make it a meat dish, using soy margarine and chicken stock.  To make it parve, I'd use the soy margarine and either vegetable stock, or (the best invention ever for Kosher cooking) Imagine No-Chicken Broth.  The recipe actually calls for chicken or seafood stock, but I haven't yet found a Kosher seafood stock, so I'm not sure how that would change the flavor profile.

I don't know if it was the chicken stock or the fact that my chopping skills have vastly improved recently (thanks to a knife skills class at The Brooklyn Kitchen) but this was the best this dish has ever tasted!  This recipe will be staying in regular rotation for a long time to come....

Cheryl's Poached Fish (from Rachael Ray's Just in Time)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons drained capers
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken or seafood stock
4 (6-8 ox) fillets of flounder or other white fish
Salt
Black Pepper
1 lemon, sliced
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Crusty bread for mopping


Directions:
In a large skillet, melt the butter into the extra virgin olive oil over medium to medium-high heat.
Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the capers, Worchestershire, and wine, and allow the wine to bubble up and reduce for a minute, then stir in the stock.
Pat the fish dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
Arrange the fish in the skillet, scatter the lemon slices around the skillet, and poach the fish for 10 to 12 minutes until firm and opaque.
Scatter the parsley over the fish, then transfer the fillets and sauce to shallow bowls or deep plates and serve with bread for mopping.

Balsamic Chicken with White Beans and Wilted Spinach

One of the biggest issues I run into when cooking dinners is usually a lack of time.  Most recipes say that they take a certain amount of prep time, and somehow I end up taking about 5 times as long to get the meal done.  9:00 is the usual dinner time in my home, even when I make super fast meals.  So I've been trying to choose meals that say that they take 30 min or less, knowing that if it takes me an hour, so be it.  This one from Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals ended up in that category.  I'm sure I could have used pre-chopped garlic or other shortcuts, but I'd rather take the few minutes and chop the clove myself.  One time-saver was that I used my mandolin slicer for the onions.

It felt like a complete meal in one dish and even let me be a little fancy with the presentation; though I will admit I added a little more chicken to the plate after taking the picture.  I wanted to serve a complete chicken breast, not just the half that looked pretty :o)

In all, it took almost an hour, but I was also puttering around at the beginning since I had forgotten to buy chicken stock and had to send my husband to the store while I got started.  I waited til he returned to actually start cooking, so this probably would have taken less than 45 min in total otherwise.

Balsamic Chicken with White Beans and Wilted Spinach (from Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals)

4 servings

Ingredients

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp grill seasoning (I used McCormick's Montreal Chicken seasoning)
4 boneless chicken breasts
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and black pepper
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
14 oz can cannellini beans
12 oz sack baby spinach
1 cup flat-leaf parsley
juice of 1 lemon


Directions

- In a shallow dish, combine the balsamic vinegar, about 2 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil, and the grill seasoning.  Coat the chicken breasts in the mixture and set aside to marinate while you start the white beans and wilted spinach.

- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, twice around the pan.  Add the onions, garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are a little brown, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the white wine and chicken stock, bring up to a bubble, and cook for 5 minutes.

- Heat another large skillet over medium-high heat.  When it is hot, add the chicken breasts and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side.  Remove the chicken to a plate, cover loosely with foil, and let rest a few minutes.

- Add the cannellini beans to the skillet with the onions and stir to combine.  Cook for about 2 minutes or until the beans are heated through.  Turn off the heat and discard bay leaf.  Stir in the spinach, parsley, and lemon juice.  Toss and stir until the spinach wilts.

- To serve, place a portion of the white beans and wilted spinach on each serving plate.  Thickly slice each chicken breast on an angle and arrange over the bean and spinach.

Penne alla Vodka

Each day, when I look at the Blog Update thread on the What's Cooking board, I basically drool over each picture and recipe, bookmarking many to be tried in my kitchen.  When this one popped up from Laura, I knew it was one that would have to be tried in our home.  While my husband and I have varying opinions on what goes on top of our pasta (he's a tomato sauce guy and I'd rather have a little oil, garlic and dash of salt), we both agree that vodka sauce is delicious.  I had made some homemade pasta (light wheat pasta, using my KitchenAid pasta press - a wedding gift my husband didn't think I'd ever use, but I've definitely proved him wrong!), and I had leftovers which I had frozen a few nights earlier.  So this seemed like the right time to try this recipe out.

The recipe was pretty simple to make, though I was a little pressed for time due to a little mix up with another recipe I was trying out just before (post to come later this week on that), so I started making this sauce forgetting to prep everything (rookie mistake, I know!) so as I realized I needed to cut up some garlic, the onions ended up getting a tiny bit burned.  But, in the end, I don't think it mattered much.  The end result was delicious and I would definitely make this again.  It doesn't take too long, even with a little prep time (which I'll remember to use wisely next time!), so it's something that I can whip up after work and still eat at a relatively normal hour.  And honestly, aside from the 1/2 cup of heavy cream, the sauce doesn't really have anything unhealthy in it!

Penne alla Vodka (from Tide and Thyme)

Ingredients
 
1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 small onion minced (about 1/4 c)
1 Tbs tomato paste
2 medium garlic cloves minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 C vodka
1/2 C heavy cream
1 lb penne pasta
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh basil
Grated Parmesan for serving


Directions

Puree half of the tomatoes in food processor until smooth. 

Dice remaining tomatoes into 1/2 inch pieces, discarding cores.

Combine pureed tomatoes and diced tomatoes in liquid measuring cup add reserved liquid to equal 2 cups.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until simmering.

Add onion and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are light golden around the edges, about three minutes.

Add garlic and pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 tsp salt.

Remove pan from heat and add vodka.

Return pan to medium-high heat and simmer briskly until alcohol flavor is cooked off, 8 to 10 minutes; stir frequently and lower heat to medium if simmering becomes too vigorous.

Stir in cream and cook until hot, about 1 minute.

Add pasta sauce to penne pasta that has been cooked to al dente.

Stir in basil and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, top with parmesan.

Pesto Chicken Rolls

My husband came home from the store the other day with thin-sliced chicken breasts.  In the past I've sliced them up and cooked them with a little ground ginger and teriyaki sauce, but I wanted to do something different.  As I was on my way home last night thinking of what to make for dinner, the chicken entered my mind and I thought 'what if I put something on it, like maybe pesto, and rolled it up?!'  So I did a little googling and came across some recipes.  Of course, most pesto has parmesan cheese in it, so I knew I had to improvise to make this a kosher meal.  A little more googling of 'dairy-free pesto' followed, I made a stop at the store for some basil and pine nuts, and I had the makings of a delicious dinner!

This recipe even allowed me to use my immersion blender for the first time, which I've been meaning to use since we received it last fall.  The pesto was super easy to make (put ingredients into blending cup, blend, add garlic, blend, add oil while blending, done!).  The prep time ended up being about 40 minutes, which included unpacking my blender, so next time it will probably take me less than 30.

I put the rolls on top of pasta, which I had mixed with a little oil and salt for a bit of flavor and a delicious dinner was served!!

Dairy-Free Pesto (from Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom)

Ingredients
 
2 cups Fresh Basil Leaves, packed
1/3 cup Pine Nuts
3 medium Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 and 1/2 tsp. fresh squeezed Lemon Juice (more or less, to taste)
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

Directions

In a food processor or blender, combine the basil leaves with the nuts, lemon juice and sea salt.  Pulse a few times until mixture is reduced in volume and the mixture is well incorporated.

Add the garlic and pulse a few times more.

Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the blender or food processor is running, stop to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.

Taste.  Add more lemon juice and/or salt if needed.

Chicken Pesto Rolls (slightly adapted from Taste of Home Cooking)

Directions  

Spread each thin sliced chicken breast with a scoop of pesto to within 1/2 in. of the edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; secure with a toothpick or small metal skewer.  

Place chicken in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 30-35 minutes or meat is no longer pink.

Remove toothpicks or skewers. Serve warm as a main course.

Spanish Chicken and Veggie Kugel

It's Passover once again.  Growing up, Passover was the time of year when you order a ton of candy from the catalog I brought home from Hebrew school, and then spent the rest of the week eating things out of a box marked Manischewitz that probably tasted like cardboard.  In recent years, though Manischewitz foods and mixes have gotten a bit better, I've also realized that I can still eat like a normal person with minimal adjustments (if any) to my recipes.  This week I will be blogging several of my family's recipes that have become a staple of our Passover diets for years in addition to a few new recipes.

When my husband and I sat down and looked at this year's calendar and figured out our holiday schedule, we decided to spend the first seder up in Massachusetts with my mom's family and the second night at his parents' home.  We wanted to spend some time this holiday with my father's parents, so we invited them over to our apartment for lunch.  I looked over my recipes and aside from making my grandmother's gefilte fish (recipe to be posted later this week) for an appetizer  I chose to make as our main course veggie kugel and Spanish chicken.

The veggie kugel recipe is from my friend (and bridesmaid) Jamie.  She sent it to me a few months back and mentioned as an aside that if you swap matzah meal for the flour, you can make it for Passover.  It includes potato, carrots, zucchini (which I admit I had never tried prior to making this the first time!), onion and a few binders, then it cooks for an hour.  So simple!

The Spanish chicken is a recipe that my sister-in-law (and also a bridesmaid) gave me at my shower in the recipe book they put together for me.  It seemed pretty easy and the flavors seemed to be something that most people would enjoy (chicken stock, white wine, garlic...what's not to like?!).  It came out super moist.  I ended up doubling the recipe and cooking it in two separate roasting pans so I didn't have to layer everything, so I added about 10 min to the cooking time and an extra 5 to the broiling time.  Below is the single batch recipe.

I literally spent all day yesterday cooking, so I intend to share lots of recipes over the next few days.  Whether or not you celebrate Passover, you'll be able to add at least a few of these to your cooking repertoire.

SPANISH CHICKEN (original source unknown)

Ingredients
3lbs chicken (I used leg quarters and drumsticks)

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

5 cloves garlic

8oz white wine (I used Kedem white cooking wine, which was kosher for Passover)

8oz chicken broth

Directions

Rub Chicken with oil

Place 4oz wine in food processor.  Add garlic and whirl until blended together.  Add 4oz chicken broth in processor and whirl together.  Add salt to taste.

Pour mixture over chicken (add the other 4oz of wine and broth if the mixture does not cover the chicken) and marinate overnight.  In morning, flip pieces to marinate both sides.

Place chicken and marinade in baking dish (if you already had it in a roasting pan, just flip chicken right-side up and use same pan).  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 min.

Remove foil, baste chicken and continue to bake, uncovered, for 45 min.

Baste chicken (and remove excess liquid if chicken is too covered but don't remove it all) and broil for 5 minutes to darken the chicken.

VEGGIE KUGEL from Jamie at Skinny Apple, Fat Appetite

Ingredients
2 lg carrots, grated

2 med zucchini, grated

2 med potatoes, grated

1/2 cup onion 

4 eggs

1/2 cup oil                                        

3/4 cup flour (or matzo meal during Passover)

S/P to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor grate carrots, zucchini, potatoes, and onion (If you want a good arm workout feel free to use a hand grater).
In a large bowl use a whisk to combine eggs and oil.
Add all remaining ingredients except for the flour and stir.
Add in flour (or matzo meal)
 Pour ingredients into a greased 9 x 13 pan, bake at 350 degree for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Black Bean Burgers

When looking for something quick to make for dinner, my husband turns to frozen Boca spicy black bean burgers about once a month or so.  I've been trying to stay away from frozen dinners, so when I came across this recipe I knew I wanted to give it a shot.

There isn't anything too fancy in the burgers (the only thing I had to run to the store for was chili powder since I had just used up the last of mine the other day) and it really wasn't hard to make.  I even got to use my fancy new masher I picked up at the store the other day.  I never really felt like I was doing anything wrong, though I did burn my finger on my stupid stovetop.  I forgot that the burners get hot when the oven is on (apparently the output for the hot air is directly into one of the back burners) so I bumped my knuckle on the burner and now have a lovely blister.  I did learn something new - if you burn yourself, put toothpaste (the white paste kind) on it.  I don't know exactly how it helps, but my mother-in-law suggested it, so I did it and it stopped hurting as much.

Next time I make these burgers I'll get fancy and add some toppings.  Normally my husband doesn't put anything on his black bean burgers, and I put a little sour cream on it to cut the spiciness (and I eat it sans the bread), but I think that some tomato and maybe a little cheese would go really well with this.  I served the burgers on whole wheat rolls with a side of roasted brussels sprouts and a sweet potato puree.  In all it took me less than an hour to cook.  I started the brussels sprouts first, then while they roasted I started getting the burgers ready.  When the sprouts came out, I finished mixing everything in, covered it, put it to the side, then finished up prepping the burgers.  While the burgers cooked, I heated the sweet potatoes in the microwave, then pureed it while the burgers cooled.

I'd definitely make these burgers again, I think they were better than the frozen kind!
 

Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers (from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients 

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 onion, cut into wedges

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 egg

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)

Directions  

If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.   

In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty. 

In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans. 

In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce. 

Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties. 

If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Rolls

I did not participate in the pasta recipe swap on the Nest message board, mostly due to the fact that I don't have any awesome recipes to submit.  But when the swap ended and everyone posted their results, I drooled my way through the blog postings.  One that stood out to me was for Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Rolls.  Now, I love me some spinach and artichoke dip.  I even have an amazing recipe for it that I can't wait to share here, but I don't make it too often because I would end up eating it all and that's never a good thing.

When I saw the post by Jey I fell in love.  Spinach and artichoke and other yumminess wrapped up in a lasagna noodle?  Yes, please!!  These lasagna rolls were easy to make and super delicious.  I never had a panicked moment where I thought I screwed it up (though I did have to make a panicked "we're out of shredded mozzarella" call to the husband).  It's so simple.  You cook the lasagna noodles, thaw the spinach (I heated it on a plate in the microwave for 4 minutes, then put it in my colander to squeeze out the access water), mix everything up, then spread, roll and bake.

My adjustments that I made were that I didn't use as much roasted red pepper (though I think I'll use the full amount next time, I thought my husband hated them, but it turns out he just dislikes raw red peppers) and I didn't use as much alfredo sauce.  I did the 1 cup in the mixture, but when I went to add the cheese and sauce to the tops when it was in the muffin pan, I just scooped a spoonful into each one, not using the full leftover amount.  I also used light alfredo sauce since I was trying to make this somewhat healthier (the recipe already calls for low fat cream cheese).

I normally wait a day or two to take leftovers for lunch so I vary my meals, but this was so delicious that I couldn't wait.  I even brought a little extra shredded mozzarella and put it on top as I heated it up in the microwave at my office.  It's just as delicious reheated!

Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Rolls – from The Jey of Cooking

• 12 Lasagna Noodles
• 1 8 oz. Package Reduced Fat Cream Cheese
• 1 10 oz. Package Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 14 oz. Can Artichoke Hearts, quartered
• 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 3 Cups Alfredo Sauce, divided
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. Oregano
• 1/2 Cup Roasted Red Peppers, chopped
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 375.   Spray a muffin pan or baking pan with cooking spray.

Cook and drain the noodles, then set them individually on waxed paper to prevent sticking.
In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, spinach, artichokes, 1 cup mozzarella, 1 cup alfredo sauce, garlic and oregano.  Mix well, then spread evenly on top of each noodle.  Sprinkle with the roasted red peppers.

Roll the noodles up tightly and place into the muffin tin (or baking pan, seam side down).  Top with remaining alfredo and mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Sweet Potato Burgers

I am constantly in search of new recipes to try and I came upon this one for Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers on Pinterest.  Now, there are two foods that I have been obsessed with over the past year or so...sweet potato and avocados.  Put them both in a recipe?  I'll make it next chance I get!

I adapted the recipe a slight bit.  The original recipe says it makes "7-8 large patties".  That just sounded like too much since there are only two of us, so I adjusted a bit and only used 1 can of cannelini beans and although it says "1 large sweet potato (about 2 cups)" I used one medium-large potato which seemed to yield a little over a cup.  The rest of the ingredients I halved as well (for the flour I eyeballed half of my 1/4 cup).

The rolls we bought were very large wheat ones, so I tried to make the patties the size of the rolls.  What I ended up with was one large patty, one extra large patty, and one small patty with what was left in the bowl.  I also was making this after work, so to "bake" the sweet potato I put it in the microwave for 4 1/2 minutes, then let it cool enough to peel.  When I went to cook the patties, they ended up burning a little bit on the first side (I then turned the high heat down a bit when I flipped them).  I honestly don't know how long it ended up cooking for in the end.  But thankfully no ingredients needed to be cooked to be eaten, so I wasn't worried about undercooking it.

The last obstacle I ran into was that I didn't have a masher (guess who needs to make a run to Bed Bath and Beyond??!!).  I used a serving fork to mash the ingredients  The only problem with this was that some of the beans didn't get fully mashed, but I did the best that I could...

Sweet Potato Burgers slightly adapted from the Happy Healthy Life vegan blog

 Ingredients
1 can cannellini white beans, drained
1 medium-large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed
1 Tbsp tahini
1 tsp agave syrup
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/8 cup wheat flour

optional: additional seasoning - I used a little salt and a little pepper

Panko crumbs
vegetable oil for pan
Whole wheat rolls.  

 Toppings - avocado, tomato, Dijon mustard

Directions
Bake sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl.
Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potatotogether.
Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning.Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form apatty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs - or dry rice to thicken themixture if needed.
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan over high heat.
Form a patty from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs.Thick coating. Then drop the patty in the pan. Repeat until the pan is filled.Cook until browned on both sides.
Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a fewminutes.
Serve on bun with toppings of choice.

**Note from original recipe: yes this patty does fall kind of apart as you eatit. But that is OK because it tastes yummy.

Eggplant Lasagna

I've never been a big vegetable eater (much to my husband's dismay).  Eggplant had always been on my "I know I don't like it, even though I don't think I've ever tried it" list until I was at a party a few months ago and tried some eggplant parm and liked it.  Then about a month ago I ordered eggplant rollatini and LOVED it.  So, when we were coming up with what to make for dinner a few weeks ago, I searched for eggplant lasagna.  Not the kind that substitutes eggplant for the noodles, but uses it as a filling, and I came across this one.

My only complaint about this is that it says the total time is 1 hour, 10 min.  This might be the case if you start with sliced eggplant, chopped onions, etc, but I'd say it took me a good 45 minutes just slicing, chopping and prepping to make this.  In addition, "quickly brown"ing the 1 1/2 pound of eggplant wasn't done as "quickly" as it sounds!

You can tell by comparing my picture and the one from the original recipe, mine didn't seem to have as much cheesiness to it (though I used exactly how much the recipe called for).  Maybe next time I'll add extra mozzarella and sauce to the top layer.  I should also spread out the layers more so everything is even.

In general, it was very simple to make and it tasted delicious.  And between the eggplant and mushrooms, it gave me a good serving of veggies.

Eggplant Lasagna

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds eggplant, thinly sliced

vegetable spray

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

16 ounces sliced mushrooms

9 lasagna noodles

1 jar (16 ounces) spaghetti sauce with vegetables

8 ounces ricotta cheese, part-skim

4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 

Directions 

In large nonstick skillet sprayed with vegetable spray, quickly brown eggplant slices; set aside.

In the same skillet in hot olive oil, cook onion for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until tender.

Add mushrooms; cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.

Cook lasagna noodles in boiling salted water according to package directions.

Into an 11x7-inch baking dish, spoon about 1/4 of the sauce.

Arrange three alternate layers of lasagna noodles, ricotta, mushroom mixture, mozzarella cheese, eggplant slices, sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Bake eggplant lasagna at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes.

Meatless Three Bean Chili

I love my crock pot.  Most nights we want a home-cooked meal, we end up eating around 9 or 10pm.  With the crock pot, we can come home to a hot meal whether it's a night we get home by 7 or if we have things planned after work and don't get home until after 9.  This recipe is one of our favorites to make.  It's so simple, there's really nothing too it!

We like cheese with our chili (and I like a good dollop of sour cream on top as well....one of the things the husband and I agree to disagree on), so we needed a vegetarian option.  I Googled to find one that sounded tasty, and I found this one from CDKitchen.com.  This one's so basic but sounds so delicious.  It says it makes 4 servings, which sounds about right since the two of us usually have 2 bowlfuls each!  We like to have this with blue corn tortilla chips.




Meatless Three Bean Chili (from CDK Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS

1 can (15 ounce size) no-salt-added red kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 can (15 ounce size) small white beans, rinsed, drained
1 can (15 ounce size) very low sodium black beans, rinsed, drained
1 can (14.5 ounce size) canned diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 cup beer or chicken broth
3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
dairy sour cream (optional)
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS 

In a 3-1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker combine kidney beans, white beans, black beans, undrained tomatoes, beer, chocolate syrup, chili powder, and Cajun seasoning.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with sour cream and cheese, if desired.